Chapter 134

Episode 134. Escape (3)

****

“Figure it out yourselves.”

That was the order that came down from the Director’s Office. The researchers under Lee Se-ah were truly figuring it out on their own. They didn’t know what abilities Dr. Chloe had, but she didn’t seem dangerous.

The research staff had gathered outside the containment room.

“Anything changed?”

“Dr. Chloe is reading a book. I thought she was dead, but upon closer inspection, the pages keep turning.”

“She’s not doing anything special.”

“Isn’t she dangerous?”

“Sometimes the containment subjects talk. What should we do? Can we just ignore them?”

“Ignore them. It’s fine to record it, but the principle is to ignore what the containment subjects say. And, this time, the person in charge is…”

The Head of Research.

Even the Foundation staff knew.

With someone like that in charge, it’s better to play it safe. He’s not the type to care about the well-being of the test subjects.

The person most likely to care about the containment subjects’ well-being would be the Director, but since Chloe is a traitor who tried to kill the Director…

Even the Director didn’t seem particularly interested.

*Knock knock.*

Dr. Chloe tapped on the glass, and the research staff waiting outside turned their heads. They looked bored.

“Tell Director Kim. If you give me a chance, I’ll capture all three, no, four Blue Roses within a day.”

“Understood. I’ll relay the message.”

“I’m bored. Is there anyone among the research staff who wants to play a board game or something?”

“Sorry, but we can’t let you out of the containment room for that reason.”

“Bring a chessboard. I’ll call out the coordinates. That’s possible, right?”

The researchers pondered for a moment.

“What should we do?”

“Let’s not make contact recklessly. There’s glass, but she could hypnotize or persuade us. She might be something dangerous.”

“Isn’t it fine? She hasn’t done anything suspicious. She’s completely trapped within the Foundation’s influence.”

In the end, the researchers decided not to bring the chessboard.

There might be some ability manifested through the chessboard, or something could go wrong. Unless ordered from above, there’s no need to go through such trouble.

****

Dr. Chloe sighed.

The research staff quickly left the containment room. They seemed scared by her words. She had no intention of harming them.

The containment room wasn’t perfect.

The humanoid containment rooms at Facility 82 were on the weaker side. There were iron doors and reinforced glass, but…

It wasn’t a facility capable of properly containing true superhumans. Chloe was considering ways to escape.

Still, there was a bed and meals. It was better than wandering in tunnels to avoid the Foundation’s eyes. There was no urgent reason to escape.

Most of the personnel working on Jeju Island had been reassigned. After the battle, they couldn’t just resume work as if nothing had happened.

The problem was the executives who directly handled Project Blue Rose. Admiral Furani was dead, and most of the other executives had been taken to Headquarters.

Some were put on the hit list.

And Dr. Chloe, who directly fought Dr. Kim, was immediately placed on that hit list. Dr. Chloe had gone into hiding to avoid the Foundation’s eyes.

She should’ve gone to Busan.

But it didn’t seem like the Busan Branch was actively hunting the Blue Roses. The Seoul Branch was the one who needed Dr. Chloe.

The Busan Branch might have killed her outright.

In a way, she might still be alive because the facility was under Dr. Kim’s control. As long as she was contained within the Seoul Branch, Headquarters wouldn’t try to kill her.

Or would they?

Dr. Chloe pondered further.

Anyway, Dr. Kim wouldn’t completely ignore her. He seemed to visit the Humanoid Containment Department periodically. He’d come here too.

****

Meanwhile, in the Humanoid Research Department’s meeting room.

The Head of Research, Dr. Kang, Dr. An, and Secretary Paper were seated. Since the Director wasn’t coming, Paper had come in his place.

“Uh, should I be sitting here?”

“Since the Director isn’t here, we need at least the secretary. If you don’t know, just sit there. Speak up if you have something to say.”

Lee Se-ah brushed it off casually.

“Let’s get started. We’re busy.”

“Yes.”

“First, let’s talk about what we’ve learned about Dr. Chloe. She participated in Project Blue Rose, and while her records with the Foundation aren’t clear, it’s believed she’s been with us for over ten years.”

Chloe.

Her yellow eyes, small stature, and delicate frame made her look like a child if you ignored her eyes. But once you saw her eyes, that thought vanished.

She didn’t wear a mask for no reason. Just looking at her eyes made you feel uneasy.

“Yes.”

“Her specialties are bioengineering and nanomaterial engineering, and most of her degrees are from within the Foundation. But most of Dr. Chloe’s personal information, like her age, has been redacted or censored.”

Just her name alone tells you that.

Chloe is a name, not a surname.

Calling someone Dr. Chloe is as ridiculous as calling someone Dr. Chulsoo or Dr. Younghee.

Why she calls herself Dr. Chloe is unknown, but she was covering her face on Jeju Island. There must be a reason for that.

“Do we know why?”

“No.”

Dr. Kang spoke up.

“Anyway, we haven’t had the chance to properly examine her, but Dr. Chloe is clearly not human. She looks normal, but she’s not even close to being human.”

“That’s likely.”

“Uh… it’s hard to explain, but she’s not even close to being human. You remember Dr. Kim had chimerism at the cellular genetic level, right?”

Paper tilted her head.

“Sorry, what’s chimerism?”

“It’s when cells from different individuals with different genetic types are mixed together. In Dr. Kim’s case, there were quite a few cells with different X chromosomes.”

Anyway, that’s not the point.

“Dr. Chloe is on a different level. It’s not just that she’s a bit different or something. She’s fundamentally not human.”

Dr. Kang placed a stack of papers on the table.

“Dr. Chloe is… only human on the surface. Only her appearance is human.”

Paper stared at Dr. Kang in shock. Not human at all?

“I think if you cut her open, you’d find a mass of tentacles. She refused an X-ray, but the results of an ultrasound under the pretext of checking for injuries were similar.”

“If she’s not human, what is she?”

Dr. Kang scratched his head.

“I have no idea. If she were a fairy or spirit, she’d react to cinnamon. If she were a doppelganger, her internal structure would be similar to a human’s.”

“If she were a mimic, she wouldn’t be this intelligent. If she were a skinwalker, she wouldn’t be able to act human like this… I don’t know.”

“Should we dissect her?”

Paper was horrified.

The Head of Research chuckled.

“Anyway, let’s study her a bit. At this point, I’m just curious. Did the Foundation know about Dr. Chloe’s true nature all along?”

No one could answer that question. There was no mention of it in Dr. Chloe’s records, and the Foundation doesn’t hire non-humans for executive positions as a rule.

Though now, it seems there are more exceptions than rules. If you consider that the Foundation has become the very entity it fights to contain anomalies, it might make sense.

Paper cleared her throat.

“Uh… since we can’t dissect Dr. Chloe, I’ll just tell the Director and ask Headquarters.”

The scientists froze. To insiders, Headquarters was scarier than any supernatural phenomenon.

“Dissecting her might be easier.”

“Let’s try asking. The Director won’t kill Paper, right? Headquarters might provide information on Dr. Chloe.”

Everyone nodded.

The meeting ended at 3 PM.

“Alright. Since most things are decided, let’s bring it up with the Director. Ask Dr. Kim about the dissection too.”

****

3 PM.

I was sitting at the Director’s Office desk, flipping through papers and reports. There must be some data on the Blue Roses.

The analysis results on Blue Rose-0—

*Ring ring ring!*

Damn, that scared me. My hair stood on end. A call from Foundation Headquarters… has that ever happened before? This might be the first time.

“Seoul Branch Director, Dr. Kim speaking. What’s the matter—?”

Headquarters ignored me.

[Dr. Chloe is not human. We’ve known this for a while. That’s why, despite her experience and abilities, she hasn’t been given a high position in the Foundation.]

“Ah, I see.”

[Dr. Chloe is stronger than she appears. She’s also very old… We recommend creating a thorough control plan.]

Why are they telling me this all of a sudden? Was this something future me would ask? I pondered my next question.

[Good work, Dr. Kim.]

Headquarters hung up again today.