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Chapter 115: Hive (Part 1)

“According to the report I received, it seems that Ramphil may be a Wargrave soldier. A Wargrave uniform was found in his luggage.”

“Well, isn’t it possible that he picked up the uniform somewhere? Or perhaps it’s for camouflage.”

“It’s unlikely given the rank and the badges.”

“Why would a Wargrave soldier travel with a hunter? If he needs something done in the first place, there are plenty of Wargrave Fortresses around.”

Mr. Odin frowned at the report that didn’t make much sense. If that wasn’t the case, it could not be ruled out that the hunter was traveling with him at the request of Wargrave. Whatever his intentions were, there was no way he would not have known about a highly-skilled Wargrave soldier wandering around.

“Is Wargrave planning something? No… if that’s the case, his actions are too reckless.”

Disrupting the gangs was too noticeable to be a secret. Rather, it was more likely that it had little to do with the nearby Wargrave.

If he needed to collect chips, there were many Fortresses around that he could’ve gone to for support. Collecting chips without doing so pointed to the fact that it was unlikely that it had anything to do with Wargrave.

“I don’t know what it is, but it’s very unpleasant…”

Whether it had anything to do with the fortresses, simply not knowing enough about it was enough to offend Mr. Odin.

“Get in touch with them. I need to talk to them.”

“Yes.”

At Mr. Odin’s instructions, the secretary quickly fiddled with something that made something at Mr. Odin’s desk ring.

Ring! Ring!

It was the phone.

Communication represented enormous power in this era, and it could not be used just by anyone. In addition, Mr. Odin had established an in-house network, but forbidden the network to be available outside.

Telecommunication in that massive city, therefore, was only available at Odin Corporation.

Of course, the telecommunications was also being used in places outside the big city.

[Long time no see, Mr. Odin. It’s been a long time since you rang personally.]

“Good afternoon, Commander. It’s been a long time.”

The person on the other line was none other than the general leader of the Wargrave Central Asian Army. The big city’s rulers and all of Asia’s Wargrave were close enough to communicate with each other.

Although it seemed perfectly reasonable, this communication between all parties had been established just recently.

“At the risk of embarrassing myself, I’ve called you for information.”

[What do you want to know?]

“Do you know anything about a Wargrave soldier named Ramphil? He has been involved in a lot of things in the big city lately. Honestly, it’s not a question for the Commander, but I’m calling to see if you know anything.”

Sometimes, it was better to confront the issue head-on rather than thinking about it. It would be suspect if the Commander were to answer that he didn’t know anything about it, but if he were to find out the answer for him, that would reaffirm his loyalty.

However, the Commander’s reply was completely unexpected.

[Ramphil? Did you just say Ramphil?]

“What? Ah… Yes, I did, but…”

[I’d like you to elaborate a little more.]

“Hmm?”

Having received a completely unexpected response, Mr. Odin tilted his head. Sensing his hesitation, a nervous voice came forth from the receiver.

[This is very important to us. Where did you see the Enforcement Officer?

“Enforcement Officer?”

Luwin guessed that there was something strange going on.

————-

District 83.

Ramphil, who walked a long way from the 82nd District because there were no trains running that way, said,”There’s something different about this place.”

Unlike other places that were full of dazzling signs and flashing advertisements, District 83 had an eerie atmosphere, its buildings intact but devoid of people. The only creatures seen on any of the streets, including the main road, were rats.

And somehow, green-colored mist wafted over the far-off edge of the street.

“It used to be the site of a pharmaceutical factory,” replied Yoohwan.

He was moving carefully in his exoskeleton suit.

In the distant past, there had been several pharmaceutical companies here, and thanks to the factory complex, District 83 had been crowded with laborers, as well as merchants with businesses that catered to those laborers.

“What happened?”

“There was a pharmaceutical gas leak at a company called Grimpills. The factory was the biggest around, so there were big repercussions,” said Taehone.

“Was the leak dangerous?”

“Maybe for generic drugs, but this used to be a big drug industrial complex to be exact. So, they cleaned and stored CP from chips. Using the right amount produced low-risk, reliable drugs.”

Factories from similar industries had gathered there to form an industrial complex that became the 83rd District. As the explanation lengthened, Zin cut it short,

“So, a large CP gas storage tank exploded? Am I right?”

“That’s correct.”

“Yes.”

Both nodded at Zin’s words. The CP gas tank in the drug manufacturing plant had exploded. That meant that super-high levels of CP gas had spread to surrounding areas.

“How did it happen?”

“Some say that Grimpills was attacked by some sort of industrial espionage agent, and some say that it was a terrorist act by citizens outraged by drug sales. Or it could’ve simply been poor maintenance.”

Yoohwan kept walking.

“But the important thing was that when the gas tank exploded, countless people working in the area, as well as in the factory, were exposed to ultra-high levels of CP.”

“… That must have been terrible.”

Everyone in the group knew what would happen to a person heavily exposed to Chaos Poison. They either died or became vagrants. Taehone stiffened as he recalled that time.

“Thousands of people in the area who had inhaled CP had their lungs melted or developed acute responses to become vagabond. In District 83, a group of vagabonds hit another gas tank, and they created a chain reaction explosion that covered the whole area, as well as the surrounding areas. Back then, the hunters were having a hard time trying to clean up the area.”

Since then, the vagrants in District 83 have been cleaned up by hunters, but no one has been able to live on the land or in the buildings that were contaminated with ultra-high concentrations of CP. The area became a place where no one could live and has been left in ruins ever since.

Of course, there had been times when people who had been beaten and beaten and, unable to live in Harlem, had somehow managed to live there and become drifters.

After he said that, Taehone stopped walking, and everyone did the same. The green haze could already be seen. Taehone took the gas mask out of his coat and skillfully put it on with one hand.

Guardian helmets also functioned as gas masks, so Yoohwan only had to activate the purifying function.

Looking at Zin, Yoohwan said, “Starting from this area, there is a high concentration of CP. It would be better to wear a gas mask.”

“I’m fine.”

“So am I.”

Zin and Ramphil did not wear gas masks. By now Zin, had recovered a considerable amount of energy, and Ramphil was a cyborg that was immune to CP. The two had no further questions or didn’t argue when it came to Zin and Ramphil.

The team walked into the green mist.

“We searched everywhere to find the entrance to the Hive, and this was the last place we looked, District 83. It was a dangerous place, so we couldn’t just walk in.”

After searching the whole city, the last place they had visited was there, District 83, and they had found their way into the Hive among the abandoned buildings. It was a hole in the big city and a dangerous place, but people were living in areas that were about half an hour away.

Ramphil thought that was strange, but could also somewhat understand it.

The intact buildings were saturated with Chaos Poison, but nothing seemed changed. He was watching, in real time, the unusually high concentration of CP with his eyes.

At this level, the area was close to the Mass Confusion Point. If it was that bad outside, the inside would be even worse.

Taehone and Yoohwan were constantly checking the exact location of the place as they wandered around. The fog was not very thick, but it limited visibility, and all gradually became silent.

‘Caww, Caww’

Far away, a sound was coming from something that was neither human nor animal. However, the team just took out their weapons without stopping.

Naturally, there would be some non-human things in that abandoned space. Everyone walked slowly and on high alert.

Without having to say anything, they stood in a line. The order was Yoohwan, Taehone, Ramphil and Zin, and they advanced slowly, each with a watchful eye on the front, left, right and rear.

Three were veterans, and Ramphil was a soldier. Getting in that kind of formation required no discussion.

When patrolling the streets, one had to check above, not just the front.

Without any conversation, they advanced cautiously and slowly.

‘Tap, tap’

The sound of footsteps and something moving around the building was heard. The monsters were moving as cautiously as the reconnaissance team.

The slow advance lasted about ten minutes, and then Yoohwan, in the front, raised his hand.

“I think he’s gone.”

Whether it was a monster or a vagrant, the source of the sound had disappeared.

Enemies didn’t always attack.

Since they were also living creatures, they backed down when the opponent looked dangerous. In this case, something had lurked around but eventually given up the attack and disappeared.

“I’m going to speed things up a little.”

Yoohwan moved faster, and the three followed. Nevertheless, they diligently monitored their surroundings all the while.

Whether there had been rumors of a recon team in the residential complex, or because they were sensing something dangerous, the sound of monsters running away could be heard wherever they passed. That meant that they were creatures with some intelligence, and that they were running away after sensing danger.

After however long, Yoohwan suddenly stopped walking.

“We’re almost there.”

“… This is too much.”

All of a sudden, the fine buildings suddenly turned into ruins. The buildings had collapsed almost in a circle and were vividly displaying the effects of the huge explosion from that time.

CP, extracted from a lump of energy called a chip, was both poison and energy.

It was only natural that the leakage of such a huge mass of energy would have affected a large area.

There would be no trace of a factory complex left in the center of the explosion.

Ramphil said, “We should disinfect thoroughly when we leave.”

Even though they would not turn into vagrants, the concentration of CP was so dense that they would cause damage to the surrounding areas.

But Yoohwan said as if there was nothing to worry, “I’ve already prepared a disinfecting team for us at the station.”

“That’s great.”

Zin once again realized the eternal truth that money made things convenient.

The reconnaissance team roamed around the 83rd District, where the ruins began.

The entrance of the Hive, not exactly the entrance, but a sort of tunnel revealed by the rupture in the ground, was more like a passage that took you to the entrance of the Hive.

The tunnel was huge enough not to collapse completely by the impact of the massive explosion.

It was the first time seeing it for Zin and Ramphil, but Yoohwan and Taehone stared at the pit, looking stiff as a stone.

They had lost everything there, and they had never thought they would ever be able to come back.

Yoohwan, the hunter, had become the right-hand man of Odin Corporation as he stood here again, and Taehone had become crippled. The two had hardly encountered each other since then, but for now, they shared the horror of that moment and the sense of defeat.

“Let’s go,” Taehone spoke up, and Yoohwan nodded.

They re-entered the huge hole that had once swallowed everything they had.

Following them, were the Devil Hunter and the Wargrave Officer who hadn’t been there at that time.