Chapter 63
The Ender that Anschel knew wasn’t someone who enjoyed killing. In fact, as far as Anschel knew, Ender had never killed anyone. Yet here he was, forecasting a massacre for Harriet’s sake.
It made no sense at all. Harriet wasn’t angry or seeking revenge… so why?
“Sunbae, do you know where the control room is?”
“Hmm.”
Am I expecting too much from Harriet who was an experimental subject?
Harriet smiled slightly and tapped the exterior of Ender’s gas mask with his index finger. It was like a gentle touch soothing a cat, as if apologizing for not remembering. Of course, the fickle Ender melted at that touch.
They said there wasn’t much time, yet these two were acting disgustingly lovesick.
“Come to think of it, I know where most researchers gathered.”
“Where is it?”
Harriet raised his finger. How could even his fingernails be so white? He tapped twice on a research lab located in the most remote corner of the map. It was a spot that wasn’t particularly noticeable, being the smallest and most tucked away on the map.
Had Harriet not pointed it out, they might have passed it by due to its size and their time constraints. Anschel wiped his sweat and surveyed his surroundings. Strangely, the smell of blood seemed to be vibrating throughout the laboratory.
“Colonel, I think there are other intruders besides us.”
Creeeeak.
As they opened the door, two researcher corpses that had been burned to ashes lay in a miserable state. The laboratory interior, devoid of life to a terrible degree, resembled the horror movies Anschel hated. Unlike Anschel, whose face had paled, Ender calmly went deeper into the laboratory.
There didn’t seem to be any useful materials in a place already ransacked by someone else. They were too late. Perhaps they should escape now. The military might have already mobilized. As Anschel swept back his sweat-soaked hair, Ender spoke.
“We’re going to the research lab Sunbae mentioned.”
“…It seems the attack happened not long ago. The bodies still retain heat.”
Anschel anxiously opened his mouth. The burned corpses still retained their heat. This meant that whoever had ravaged this place could still be in the same space.
Anschel was a bit frightened but soon calmed himself. The two people beside him now were Ender McGuire, the military’s strongest hero, and Harriet Alster, who graduated at the top of his class from the academy. The opponent might be defeated, but they certainly wouldn’t be defeated first.
Anschel put his gas mask back on and nervously followed Ender. The attacker must have been a fire ability user, as there were soot marks all over the research institute. Even those traces still retained heat.
“Ender, would you go ahead? I have somewhere I need to check.”
Harriet, who had been following behind Anschel, whispered. His gaze was directed at a specific location, and recalling the map, Anschel realized it was one of the laboratories. Harriet took off his gas mask again and smiled slightly as he brushed back his white hair.
“Yes. Sunbae, I’ll see you shortly.”
“Colonel?!”
The attacker might still be around, making it dangerous to move alone—it would be better if they stayed together. But Ender, as Harriet requested, let him go and continued walking.
The research facility, splattered with blood everywhere, was filled with an eerie atmosphere. Unable to hold back any longer, Anschel nervously bit his lip as he repeatedly glanced back from behind Ender toward the direction Harriet had taken.
“Colonel, is it really okay to let Harriet go alone?”
“It’s fine, that guy has probably slipped out by now.”
That guy? Come to think of it, Ender hadn’t shown any agitation or surprise when Anschel reported earlier that someone had attacked the research institute. Rather, he moved calmly as if it were expected.
“Did you know, Colonel? That someone else besides us would come here?”
“I’m not the only one who wants to bring down Dante Maxim. Well… I didn’t expect them to move this quickly.”
Ender McGuire wore a nasty smile that was apparent even from outside his gas mask. Anschel barely concealed his confused expression behind his gas mask and followed Ender.
The interior of the research institute, still reeking of burning and gunpowder, had researcher corpses embedded here and there. This could truly be called a massacre. Passing by them made Anschel feel sick.
Ender stood in front of a rather shabby door at the end of the corridor and pulled it open without hesitation. Fortunately, there was no one inside. Anschel doubted whether proper information could be found in such a shabby room.
The intruder hadn’t thought to search this place, as the interior of the room was quite clean. The computer was still on, and experimental materials and research files were scattered all over the floor.
“How long will the hacking take?”
“About five minutes.”
Anschel said as he plugged the USB into the computer.
“…I don’t need the data. Find the keywords.”
Ender McGuire spoke while slightly using his ability. The wind blew, rummaging through bookshelves everywhere. And it pulled out all suspicious files, spreading them before their eyes. Paper fragments fluttered around Ender.
“Keywords?”
“Yes, brainwashing keywords.”
“…For Harriet?”
Collar, tamed dog, experimental subject, and brainwashing keywords.
Putting it all together led to the conclusion: Harriet. And Anschel could also understand why Ender McGuire couldn’t bring down Dante Maxim despite having these biological experiment documents.
The documents regarding military’s internal human experimentation here were inhumane enough to bring down Dante Maxim even now. Even pharmaceutical companies were legally prohibited from animal testing, let alone experimenting on humans? This could destroy everything Dante had built up.
“The military wouldn’t release the first artificial merman without a collar. Especially that old man…”
For the president, it was nothing but beneficial to use Harriet with a collar to annihilate the eastern sea and use Ender McGuire, who wanted to control the artificial merman, as a long-term pawn. Anschel realized that Ender McGuire was acting for the sake of Harriet Alster until the very end. It was a devoted love, but something felt unsettling.
Anschel hacked into the computer and began searching through the internal documents. Numerous research materials were listed and were being backed up at tremendous speed. He moved his eyes left and right to find the experiments related to Harriet.
“How many minutes will it take?”
“It’ll be done soon!”
Anschel was sweating profusely as he broke through the triple encryption. As expected of a military research lab, hacking wasn’t easy. He turned his head while loading all the research materials, experiments, and cases that could create artificial mermen onto the USB.
“I’ve got it.”
Ender removed his gas mask. While Anschel was drenched in sweat, he hadn’t shed a single drop. He picked up a trash can nearby and brought it to Anschel.
“If you need to vomit, do it in here. Don’t leave evidence.”
“???”
Not understanding Ender’s words, Anschel skimmed through the backed-up files inside the hacked USB.
50… 61… 70… 99… 100.
As soon as the encoding finished, a video filled the monitor screen. It was an experimental video with the strange title “Successful Case” yet “Defective” of an artificial merman. There was a blonde boy lying on an operating table. And Anschel immediately recognized that it was Harriet.
“……”
Continuing to watch the playing video, Anschel, as Ender had predicted, couldn’t suppress his nausea and vomited the contents of his stomach into the trash can.
A sour smell filled the room, and Anschel, unable to bear it anymore, closed his eyes tightly and fled from the video. But Ender McGuire was absorbing the experimental video with his eyes.
In truth, he had arbitrarily thought it wouldn’t be much.
Harriet didn’t get angry or sad. Even when they infiltrated the research institute, no emotional disturbance could be found in him. So Anschel had thought on his own: perhaps the biological experiments Harriet endured weren’t that severe. That’s why he had felt uneasy when Ender declared he would kill the researchers.
“Ugh, urgh… th-this, this is insane. BLERGH!!! H-how, how is he… alive? H-how… ugh… ughhh… Harri. How is Harriet still alive?”
Anschel trembled, gasping for breath as nausea made it difficult to breathe. His complexion had turned pale. Drops of gastric fluid clung to his lips.
Ender McGuire was looking down at him with a sharp gaze, coldly.
“H-how, Colonel, can you remain so… calm?! Th-this. This is truly, urgh…”
Anschel shuddered as if just thinking about it made him nauseous.
Having served in the military for several years, Anschel was a veteran soldier who had been through all sorts of hardships. But this was truly unbearable. No matter how many atrocities he had seen in war, this was simply too much.
“It’s, it’s a monster. This… a person…”
Anschel, trembling, vomited again. Harriet shouldn’t be alive. This experiment was one that “couldn’t be survived.” Harriet, who had succeeded in this, wasn’t human.
How… how.
“This is insane. After receiving such experiments… how can he be so… unfazed?? Getting a pension of five million won?? BLERGH… Does he even have a heart??? This is… this isn’t sane.”
Anschel’s lips were painfully pressed together as he continued speaking. He was quite fond of Harriet. Harriet was a person who made others feel comfortable and warm when around him. His surroundings were always quiet. The faint presence of Harriet seemed to purify his surroundings to the point where there was a refreshing clarity.
Suddenly, he recalled Delta Maxim ranting about Harriet being “defective.” Yes, Delta Maxim was right. Harriet Alster was defective and a failure.
He was the military’s finest artificial merman who had uniquely succeeded in the experiment, but he was a failure “because he survived.”
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
