Chapter 57

In a small, dark room, there are two men, with only an old electric stand lamp on one side of the table providing light.

One man is bowing his head while shifting his eyes around, and the other man simply stares into the void, tapping his fingers on the table.

Tap, tap, tap.

In the darkness, a small noise rings out rhythmically.

A clock hanging in the corner ticks, signaling the passage of time, but the men remain completely still.

Suddenly, the fingers that had been absentmindedly tapping the table come to a halt, and his cold gaze turns toward the man who has his head down.

“Now, Mr. Geojek.”

“….”

No response from Geojek. But the man was persistent.

“Are you going to continue to act this way? You must know well enough that keeping your mouth shut doesn’t help you.”

His tone is calm, yet Geojek still doesn’t reply.

“The Fangju’s security team has directly verified that an Invader came out of your garage. What, exactly, is the contract the bastards spoke of?”

The man, growing frustrated at Geojek’s silence, slams a file onto the table.

“Damn….”

But Geojek wasn’t silent because he didn’t want to speak.

Contract.

The words spoken by the Invader in the warehouse. But Geojek truly knew nothing about that contract.

He protested several times that he was unaware of it, but the man interrogating him would always block his mouth with the same question.

– So, does that mean the Invader was lying? For what reason would they say that?

– That’s….

Questions begat more questions, and the conversation spiraled into a quagmire, returning to square one.

Damn it, how am I supposed to answer about something I don’t know!

The urge to scream this was overwhelming, but in a life-threatening situation, Geojek wasn’t arrogant enough to act tough.

However, the stress of being asked the same questions about something he didn’t know was immense for Geojek.

“And what about the hideout? When on earth had you been hiding them? Why is there no CCTV data from the garage, Mr. Geojek?”

This was the next thing that stressed Geojek out.

CCTV, including Automatons, were tightly installed in both Geojek’s garage and home. Moreover, the neighborhood where his house was located was filled with surveillance cameras.

Yet, it was said that none of those cameras captured the culprit’s appearance. Furthermore, the crucial CCTV data from the garage was entirely deleted.

“That doesn’t make any sense!!”

Even as he shouted this in his mind, reality didn’t change.

Damn these tin cans, once this situation is resolved, I’ll have to replace them all with real people—

“Mr. Geojek!”

Lost in his thoughts, Geojek is pulled back to reality by the man’s shout.

“….”

“Please answer!”

Bang!

The table shakes violently, but Geojek keeps his lips tightly sealed, head bowed as he ignores the man.

“I swear….”

Silence returns.

As time passes, when the man on the other side of the table seems to calm down a bit, Geojek slowly opens his mouth.

“Please call Assemblyman Grozei.”

Short and concise, Geojek states what he wants. His head bows again, and his lips are shut firmly.

“Mr. Geojek, I’m sorry, but did you evolve into a broken radio instead of a person?”

Bang!

The table shakes again.

“This is a place where you’re being interrogated for your crime, not somewhere to listen to your requests!”

“….”

“I swear….”

The conversation breaks off again. The man, with a cold expression, shakes his head in disdain as he looks at Geojek.

Just then, a soft knock sounds, and light seeps into the seemingly solid wall as the door cracks open slightly.

“Hm…?”

The man rises from his chair and heads toward the door, where he receives some message. He clicks his tongue in surprise.

“That’s quite impressive.”

“…???”

Geojek, observing the man’s reaction, is perplexed, but the man abruptly flings the door open and leaves the room.

Only then does Geojek raise his head and examine the situation.

Just beyond the open door, a figure flickers slightly, and the person Geojek had been eagerly waiting for appears.

Clank.

Geojek instinctively rises from his chair.

“Assemblyman Grozei…!”

“…Geojek.”

The man responds with a dry voice—Grozei slowly walks into the room, his gait unsteady due to his protruding belly.

Grozei takes a seat in front of Geojek and turns his gaze toward the doorway, signaling to the security personnel outside. They nod and close the interrogation room door.

Then, Grozei’s eyes meet Geojek’s.

“Assemblyman, thank you for coming—”

“You stupid ruffian!!!”

Pow.

With a stinging cheek, Geojek stands there dazed, realizing only after a moment that Grozei has just slapped his face.

“Assemblyman?”

“Do you even have any thought in that head of yours? Why do you come looking for me after causing such a mess? Are you trying to die alongside me?!”

“N-no, Assemblyman. I was framed for a crime I didn’t commit—”

Geojek hurriedly tries to explain as Grozei storms, but this only backfires.

“A framed crime? You idiot, they say an Invader’s tank and armored vehicle came out of your garage, right?”

“Y-yes. But I’m innocent—”

His voice becomes more frantic.

However, as soon as Grozei hears that, he goes even more berserk.

“Innocent, my ass!! You idiot, it’s over since the moment it was discovered coming out of your garage by the security team. Everything points to you, and there’s not a single piece of evidence to refute it!”

“What? But if I prove my innocence, isn’t that enough? If only I were given the chance—”

As Grozei’s insults become more frequent, Geojek’s excuses get quicker. But upon hearing that, Grozei blinks and suddenly bursts into laughter.

“…Geojek, Geojek! Are you so frozen with fear that you can’t grasp the situation? What the hell are you saying?”

“If only I were given the chance to prove my innocence, Assemblyman. Please give me that chance—”

Yes, there must be a chance.

Somewhere, the security team must have overlooked or missed something. Otherwise, there’s no way I’d find myself in this situation.

But Grozei, upon hearing this, puts his hand on his forehead and lets out a deep sigh.

“You’re driving me crazy. Fine then, I’ll give you a chance.”

“Really?!”

On Geojek’s previously dull face, a tiny spark of hope finally ignites.

“Yes, then prove it.”

As he says this, Grozei extends his hand toward Geojek.

“What?! What do you mean?”

“You’d better show me proof that you’re innocent. Right now!!”

At Grozei’s shout, Geojek stiffens.

“N-no, that’s—”

“Did you just ramble without any evidence?! Right now, produce the evidence that you’re innocent, the same bullshit you’ve been reciting!”

“I just need a bit more time. Then I can definitely present the evidence that I’m innocent!”

“You idiot!!!”

Bang!

With a loud sound, Geojek’s neck snaps at an awkward angle. After swinging his fist but still feeling unsatisfied, Grozei gasps for breath and glares at Geojek, rising from his chair.

“Do you think I came here without even confirming those things? It’s over, Geojek, don’t you understand that it’s over?”

“No way.”

“Yes, the moment you let the Fangju security team into your garage that evening, it was over. All the evidence and circumstances point to you, and there’s not a shred of evidence to refute that.”

At Grozei’s cold declaration, Geojek’s face turns pale.

“Do you understand, Geojek? It’s over. Finished.”

Finished.

That word echoes in Geojek’s mind, and the fear he’d been repressing begins to feed on him as cold sweat starts to drip down.

His hands and body tremble. Breathing becomes labored, and a throbbing headache pierces through his mind, while his heart feels as though someone is squeezing it tightly.

“Ah, oh—”

“…Hah, so you finally grasp the situation.”

“Assemblyman, I—”

“Enough, I don’t want to hear any more.”

Grozei suddenly rises from his seat, and Geojek gazes at him with hollow eyes.

“And just to be clear, don’t say anything foolish. If I get into trouble because of you, your miserable life won’t be worth a dime.”

“….”

An unilaterally delivered notification.

But Geojek had nothing he could do.

After Grozei leaves the room, some time passes before a man returns to the room again.

“It took quite a while, so Mr. Geojek—”

The man’s words are cut off as he is startled. His wide-eyed expression betrays his thoughts.

“Mr. Geojek?”

The man rushes over and shakes Geojek’s body.

Slowly, Geojek, his hair turned completely white from extreme stress, lifts his head.

A story of how someone’s hair turns white under extreme stress—named after the protagonist of a tale known as the Marie Antoinette Syndrome.

But the man who doesn’t know this stares intently at Geojek, wondering what has happened to him.

Then, Geojek’s previously tense lips relax.

“Hehe, ahihihk, ahahaha—”

“Mr. Geojek?”

“Ahahaha—”

Laughter filled with madness.

Startled, the man pushes Geojek away without realizing it, but Geojek’s laughter does not cease.

“Ahahaha, hehe, ahahahahah—”

The laughter of a madman resonates through the interrogation room.

Corrupted by evil and ultimately having fallen, it was the ugly words of a villain.