[50]
Factory 1, Factory 2, Factory 3, Factory 4…
Of the eight meters in total, six displayed fixed numbers that weren’t moving. As if frozen in time long ago.
But the remaining two were moving, albeit slowly.
“Certainly, these six here… have numbers fixed in the hundreds of thousands, while the two that are still moving are counting up to the millions.”
“Unless there’s some error in this abandoned factory district… someone inside must be working the factories hard.”
Yuri laughed coldly. “The factories of Ishtar City have been quietly revived.”
“What should we do?”
At the question of whether to enter immediately, Yuri’s clear purple eyes looked at Chris.
“…We need reconnaissance.”
In this large abandoned factory district, not one but two factories were operational.
It was no small-scale operation.
It was certain this would be one of the enemy’s main bases. If so, there would definitely be security.
There was something else bothering him.
“Could there be smuggled immigrants held captive here like at ‘the site’?”
Yuri’s head moved heavily at Chris’s question, which mirrored his own thoughts.
“It’s just speculation, but… the means to operate factories of this scale without the Spring Continent people knowing… that’s probably the only way.”
His voice carried near certainty.
The chances were high that Hogan’s “goods” were being supplied from here.
For that to be possible, the mayor of Babel City must be involved.
Doesn’t Mayor Chafnil have labor available for secret, illegal operations?
“…Peter will faint when he hears this.”
Yuri neither confirmed nor denied this statement.
***
In the dark night, a four-legged beast ran.
Under the moonlight, its silver fur glistened with a lustrous sheen.
Despite the appearance of a predator, birds and squirrels didn’t flee but remained in place.
As if they knew this wasn’t a “real” wolf.
‘It would be better if I could transform into a smaller animal.’
Chris quietly swallowed his regret.
Though Anastasia had collected abilities her whole life, the secretive woman hadn’t amassed many different types of powers.
It was fortunate that the ability to transform into a wolf was among them.
‘Is this it?’
Chris mentally reviewed the factory layout Yuri had pointed out.
The two operational factories were Factory 4 and Factory 8, located at the very edge.
They were quiet during the day, but at night signs of activity emerged.
Considering that the few tourists only came during the day, this was quite peculiar.
The light visible through the factory windows swayed slowly.
From the smell of wax and burning wicks, Chris realized they were using candles.
‘They seem to be extremely conservative with electricity.’
In the Winter Continent, many homes used candles. But since coming to the Spring Continent, this was the first environment that solely relied on candles.
Hiding in the undergrowth, Chris observed the interior from a distance.
Security personnel who hadn’t been there during the day were guarding the front and back entrances of each factory.
Factory 8 had only women, while Factory 4 had only men.
Considering the positions of the guards and the angles of the windows, Chris moved to Factory 4 as the moon tilted westward.
The reflection of light on his fur would be less noticeable there.
Hidden among dense foliage, Chris carefully observed the factory interior.
The factory workers wore masks and gloves but no special protective clothing.
The workers, whose expressions were concealed by masks, generally appeared listless.
Nevertheless, they didn’t stop working.
Among the busy people, Chris could see machinery with something bubbling inside.
He also noticed test tubes similar to those in Hannah’s candy shop.
‘Is this really… a drug manufacturing site?’
When the liquid in the machine reached a certain level, people waiting nearby pushed it to tilt.
The suspicious contents flowed down through tubes.
Chris narrowed his eyes at the sight of something being processed through several stages.
White pills without any markings.
‘Narcotic painkillers…!’
These were exactly the same as what Hogan had diverted and hidden.
So they were indeed being made here.
“Ah, ugh, AHHH!”
Just then, someone screamed.
A worker was seen staggering, clutching an arm as if burned by something hot.
Agitation spread among the surrounding people.
But not one of them rose from their places to ask if he was okay. Instead, they continued their work.
An indescribable fear could be read in the backs of those who dared not even move.
“Like a bunch of insufferable addicts.”
A woman stepped forward to stand before the worker in pain.
She was a blonde woman with an irritable demeanor.
She had been leaning against the wall, out of sight.
‘And there’s more than one person… I didn’t even know she was there.’
She kicked the fallen man.
“Ugh, gahk!”
Chris almost jumped up, forgetting to suppress his presence.
“When they’re sober, they steal drugs, and when they’re high, they cause accidents! There’s never a day when things run smoothly!”
Years of accumulated frustration could be read on her agitated face.
That was pure venting.
“How long do I have to stay stuck in this trash heap with these trash people? Huh?”
“But Dahlia. Darling.”
Like someone calming an excited beast, a man approached with arms spread wide, saying “Whoa,” and blocked the woman.
“We need to borrow even hands like theirs.”
He spoke in a gentle tone while wrapping his arm around the woman’s shoulders.
“Would you rather produce it yourself?”
Eventually, the woman stepped back.
The way she spat on the floor showed she hadn’t backed down because her anger was appeased.
Taking advantage of the moment, the man jerked his chin, and the worker staggered to his feet and bowed his head.
“Thank you…”
Burns remained on the arm of the man as he hurriedly returned to his place.
Chris’s claws dug into the ground.
‘Both are likely Espers.’
It was impossible to visually distinguish someone as an Esper.
But they were too few to manage such a large number of workers.
Even if the four external guards joined in, six people managing that many people would be nearly impossible.
‘Two managers. Four guards. Twenty-eight workers in the factory.’
After counting each one, Chris rechecked the structure.
There was a limit to what could be seen through the windows. But Chris’s keen eye detected several differences from the original layout – stairs, number of doors, positions of machinery and passageways.
He needed to relay all this to Yuri.
‘But…’
As he left the abandoned factory district, a question crossed Chris’s mind.
‘Where did those people come from?’
Chris’s question received a relatively quick answer.
“Underground, I’d assume.”
“Underground?”
“Look here, it shows there was a basement for fuel tank storage. It’s close to Factories 4 and 8… and there’s a connecting passage too.”
“It doesn’t seem like an environment suitable for human habitation.”
“They don’t treat them as humans, so they make them stay in such places.”
A twisted smile formed on Yuri’s lips.
“You don’t seem to have been raised too gently yourself. Yet sometimes you act quite naively.”
“…”
Chris’s expression darkened at those words.
“It’s probably because Yuri endured the dirtiest and most difficult parts.”
It was quite a sentimental statement.
But Yuri showed little reaction beyond raising an eyebrow.
He turned his head to look at Peter, who had arrived a little earlier.
“He’s in shock.”
The locksmith, who had returned upon hearing news of discoveries at the abandoned factory district, looked completely dazed.
Since Chris’s briefing began, he had been muttering things like “no way” and “impossible.”
This young man had collapsed right after Yuri made the statement about workers living underground.
“How, how could such…”
His dismay was evident.
“Why are you so shocked?”
Yuri asked.
“Let me guess?”
He looked at Peter with eyes containing a trace of kindness.
“Let’s see. I suppose there were some within the Barrel Society who supported Mayor Chafnil’s citizenship deal?”
“…Ah.”
Peter writhed as if lemon juice had been poured on a fresh wound.
“Probably someone in a quite respected position. Not a field worker, though.”
“H-how did you…”
“How did I what?”
Yuri sneered.
“There’s an organization claiming to help smuggled immigrants operating openly, yet too many of these immigrants have fallen into Mayor Chafnil’s hands, don’t you think?”
Peter squeezed his eyes shut.
“Yes. The truth is, the Barrel Society’s opinions aren’t always unified. Especially on this issue, opinions are quite divided.”
“Ah.”
Chris nodded, feeling he understood.
Hadn’t Yuri already hinted at this?
That Peter didn’t represent the entire Barrel Society. Therefore, they couldn’t fully trust him.
“Thanks to you, Yuri, we obtained witnesses to report Mayor Chafnil. But they said we shouldn’t extend the ethical failure of middle management to the entire organization.”
His shoulders slumped with his self-deprecating tone.
Yuri, completely unfazed, pressed Peter.
“Since you’re the Locksmith, is it the Storekeeper, the Cobbler, or the Baker who’s opposing?”
“…It’s an internal matter.”
“They’ve already made it an external one, I bet?”
It was a subtle implication that forces supporting Mayor Chafnil had brought in outsiders. But Peter kept his mouth shut. His face was rapidly growing pale.
“I don’t know. I… I became a member of the Barrel Society because I wanted to help comrades in the same situation as me.”
The citizenship proposed by the mayor of Babel City was creating the biggest rift since the Barrel Society’s inception.
“Some of the working staff judged that immigrants spread across each continent exceeded what our manpower could handle. So they couldn’t argue against the prediction that if even just the immigrants in the Spring Continent obtained partial citizenship, our burden would be greatly reduced.”
Peter himself was working to the point of breaking.
“How did it come to this?”
He muttered like a lament, laughing “Haha.”
Chris, who had been listening quietly, spoke.
“It’s not your fault.”
