Chapter 54

“Is this an experiment?”

“Yes, that gay… I mean, the drug dealer introduced himself as a researcher.”

When I heard about the drug dealer last time, he was more interested in bringing people in than money.

Ability users or children. And experiments…

“By any chance, did he sell drugs like this before, with the first Ability Amplifier?”

“How did you know, Doryeong? I was just about to tell you…”

‘Looks like my initial guess was right.’

The drugs that the Blue Scope gang were selling were prototypes using the slums as a testing ground.

And the ones who collaborated with them were the researchers.

‘A group capable of operating on this scale.’

Most likely, no, almost certainly, it’s the organization from the original work.

“We’ve gotten tangled up in something more troublesome than expected.”

“But we can’t give up, can we!”

Well, that’s true.

After all, that’s the mission I was given.

‘Though it seems like completely uprooting it will be difficult.’

I’ll just do what I can.

“Alright, I understand. So where is that drug dealer… I mean, researcher?”

“I tied him to that utility pole over there.”

“?”

Why on earth did you tie him there?

“Sigh… Follow me…”

Uchi, seemingly unwilling to explain, sighed deeply and walked ahead.

Though it was puzzling, I followed him without saying much.

“……”

“Haah… Haah… Abandonment play!”

What I saw was the drug dealer tied to the utility pole with a dog leash.

“…Just so you know, he asked for it.”

Uchi tapped his forehead and spoke to me.

‘Hmm.’

I need to kill him quickly once I get all the information this time.

I suppressed my murderous intent and made up my mind.

“Researcher. Tell me what kind of experiment you’re conducting here.”

“W-will you reward me if I talk…?”

“…If I’m satisfied.”

I’ll end it quickly with a shotgun.

Swallowing my words, I forced a smile.

“..First, as you already know, I’m a researcher. I can’t tell you where I work, but…”

The researcher nervously stroked his neck as he spoke.

It seemed more like a habitual gesture than discomfort from the dog leash.

‘There must be some kind of restriction.’

Whether it’s an ability, an artifact, or an unrefined Mystic Trace, I don’t know.

But it’s not that strange to have such a restriction on speech.

The question is, how far does that restriction go…

“Can you tell me what kind of experiment you’re conducting?”

“Yes, I can talk about that!”

Was that a show of confidence?

Or perhaps there’s a limit to the restrictions.

Either way, fortunately, it seems there’s no problem talking about this part.

“…We were experimenting with enhancing abilities and increasing aggression.”

“Enhancing abilities and aggression…”

“If the prototype only reacted to ability users, this time, even non-ability users could experience physical enhancement and heightened inherent violence upon taking the drug…”

The researcher began explaining their plans and the exact purpose of the Ability Amplifier.

But the more I listened, the more something felt off.

‘Physical enhancement and aggression…?’

Excluding details like addiction, temporary effects, and limitations on humans and other animals, it almost matched the effects of a certain potion I knew.

In some aspects, it was an imitation, and in others, it was like an upgraded version.

“…Are you planning to add something like infectivity to that drug?”

“How did you figure that out? Actually, the completed version we made before the prototype had that effect… But we lost all the data due to some incident…”

Well, no need to hear more.

‘The biochemical weapon I stole from Ido-geop’s mansion was the prototype of the Ability Amplifier.’

Due to some reason, the drug’s data was lost, and they recreated it as the Ability Amplifier.

In other words, the Ability Amplifier and the biochemical weapon I stole were created by the same group.

‘And the group that created this weapon…’

“Sigh… This is going to be a headache.”

In the original work, it was a crazy group that almost destroyed several regions of the country.

***

In the original work, the forces are largely divided into three groups.

First, the Hero Association.

Most ‘official’ heroes belong to this group, and they protect regions according to the directives of the association in each country.

They have strong unity and always cooperate with each other.

Second, the Villain Organization.

These are groups of villains united by their interests, and their actions vary depending on their relationships.

They fight and cooperate with each other, but they don’t have the same level of unity as the Hero Association.

And finally, the Third Force.

This group consists of individuals who don’t belong to either the Hero Association or the Villain Organization.

They are neither heroes nor villains, just individuals acting for their own purposes.

Among these individualistic groups, the researchers are the ones who can be called a collective.

‘Outwardly, they appear as good citizens or researchers for future development, but behind the scenes, who knows what crazy things they’re doing.’

Among them, the group with the most lunatics is ‘Z Bio,’ the group to which the researcher I caught belongs.

“Do, do you have any more questions…?”

“Not for now.”

After listening to the researcher, I sorted things out, and there was at least one fortunate aspect.

‘At least, it’s highly likely that I won’t have to fight the entire Z Bio in this matter.’

Z Bio is one of the largest groups among the Third Force.

Given their size, they have a variety of research projects.

‘And the important point is that this project is just a subordinate project aiding other higher-level projects.’

Given their nature.

Even if a few subordinate projects are destroyed, it’s clear they won’t mobilize everything for revenge.

They each have their own main projects to focus on.

“What should we do now?”

“First, we need to catch the researchers selling the drugs.”

We need to eliminate variables early.

“Location…”

“There’s someone who knows, right?”

I kicked the researcher.

“Haah…! Haah… Haah…”

“……”

The researcher gasped for breath and trembled.

…Could this researcher be an ability user?

How can they evoke such a strong sense of disgust? It’s almost impressive.

“..Anyway, let’s find them quickly.”

I want to wrap this up today if possible.

***

“Hurry up, test subject.”

“……”

In a dark alley.

A man in a cloak and a young girl were walking.

“Tsk. You’re not even listening to me properly.”

The man clicked his tongue and turned his head sharply upon seeing the girl dawdling.

“That young senior researcher, where the hell did he go… There’s still so much work to do, and he just disappears…”

The man grumbled as he walked ahead.

For a man well past forty, everything was just irritating.

The young senior researcher, who was on par with him, suddenly disappeared.

And the bratty test subject trailing behind him.

“……”

The man glanced back at the girl.

Her eyes gleamed as she looked at him.

‘Still those creepy eyes.’

The man frowned at the girl’s eyes, which resembled those of a bird of prey.

A beast. That’s the word that defined the girl’s appearance.

She had a human form, but there was something inhuman mixed in.

A hybrid they had created.

Crunch!

The man shuddered at the girl’s human-like behavior.

“Test subject. Don’t you dare look at me with those disgusting eyes.”

“……”

Even after being slapped, the girl stared at him expressionlessly.

“That’s right. You can’t resist no matter what I do.”

The research lab had brainwashed her to control her.

That’s why she couldn’t express emotions or attack the researchers.

So, the man could treat her like a toy.

Slap! Crunch! Slap!

How much stress did he vent on the girl?

“Haah… Haah, huff…”

The man caught his breath.

He rubbed his hand with a handkerchief as if it was dirty from touching her cheek and threw it on the ground.

“……”

Ring-ring!

Just then, the phone rang.

The man glanced at the girl, then turned his back and answered the phone.

“Yeah, it’s me. What…? Other researchers are…”

It was a casual call, but the urgency in the caller’s voice made him think something had gone wrong.

“Someone’s attacking you? A drug addict?”

No, even if the researchers are weak, as long as they have self-defense tools, a drug addict shouldn’t be a big problem.

Then who could it be?

Villains trying to steal drugs to resell?

Or maybe, a hero who occasionally appears in the slums?

“Where are you now?”

Whatever it is, since they called, they must need help.

First, I’ll head to the coordinates the researcher sent…

Just as the man turned around.

Crunch!!!

Sharp teeth pierced the man’s carotid artery.

“Guh, guh…!”

And the owner of those teeth was none other than the girl.

‘W-why…?’

Seeing the girl biting him, confusion outweighed anger.

The brainwashing should have been perfect.

There’s no way she could have resisted our brainwashing.

Complete trust in our organization.

That’s why the man didn’t know.

That the girl he looked down on was actually pretending to be brainwashed.

And that she was waiting for the perfect moment to escape.

“Aah… Aah…”

The man’s body gradually grew cold.

“……”

The girl pulled her teeth out of the man, took the phone from his hand, and ran off towards somewhere.

***

“Hmm…”

What’s this?

While clearing out researchers in the slums, a young girl suddenly appeared before me and collapsed.

She held up a sign with crooked handwriting.

1 serving.

Possible.

Me.

Raise.

‘How am I supposed to judge this?’

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