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Chapter 48

Her name was Kevin, a senior reporter from the DailyMars branch located in the commercial district.

“I’d like to ask the Team Leader, who is the chief person in charge, about the recent riot incident in the residential district and the reasons behind it.”

“I’ve already told you, I can’t talk about that. You should ask the residential or harbor district for information about it.”

“They told me to come see you, the head of the armed police team in charge of the operation, if you’re not the one in charge, then who is? Oh, is it one of those secretaries running around outside?”

Jae-sung felt irritation rise at her impertinent tone, but he couldn’t speak to her rashly. The DailyMars was operated by the Zhao family, one of the Noble Capital families, and it was less than a week until the council.

He was aware that the Noble Capital and Prime Capital families were constantly at odds, and as a Third Capitalian himself, if he caused trouble with a media outlet operated by Prime Capital, Laila would likely personally send him to the Entertainment District.

‘Do I have to handle this as well…?’

Jae-sung had a pile of urgent tasks to handle, but the eccentric woman had no intention of leaving. It seemed like she wouldn’t budge until he provided some information, so Jae-sung eventually gave in.

“I’ll ask again. In the Residential Zone…”

“Enough! I get it. I’ll tell you the name of one of the Operation Survivors, and you can inquire with them.”

“Dealing with a strange name…”

“He was the first to report this incident to the Harbor District Detective Team, so he should know best.”

Kevin, seeing the pleading look in Jae-sung’s eyes, nodded. Having grilled him for two hours, she was fairly confident that the information she had was likely accurate.

“If it turns out to be a lie, you can expect our article tomorrow.”

In response to her warning, Jae-sung glared at her and remained silent. Kevin smiled provocatively and left the office.

“The Harbor District, then.”

Kevin left the building and turned off her communication device.

“Oh, wait. Could you tell me about the detective who participated in the last operation in the residential district? What? No, it’s not about that. I just want to ask something. Yeah. Yeah. You’re on vacation today? Where? Uh-huh. Thanks.”

After turning off her communication device, she headed to the subway. Even though it was well past the morning rush hour, the station was quite crowded.

As a city built above space, private vehicles were only allowed for government officials. Special-purpose vehicles could be used by hospitals, police, and other similar organizations. As a result, the subway stations were always crowded like this until it closed at 11 PM.

Kevin arrived at a subway station located in the residential district’s administrative area. The destination the informant provided was not far from the station.

Clean and colorful houses lined the streets paved with marble. Compared to other districts, it looked luxurious. Kevin whistled in amazement.

Upon arriving at her destination after walking along the marble-paved sidewalk, she looked around the house before pressing the doorbell. The subject’s house was clean, like the others, with one key difference: every window was covered with curtains. It was as if they didn’t want anyone peering inside.

‘It might become a big scoop, so I can’t afford to miss it.’

Kevin was a typical MegaCorp reporter. In other words, she didn’t care at all about what her interviewee thought, as long as it served her scoop and promotion.

‘If they are in a mentally difficult state, all the better.’

They would spill everything as soon as she asked. With a fake smile on her face, Kevin pressed the doorbell firmly. She waited for a response, but there was none.

“Huh?”

Seeing a car parked in the private parking lot, it was clear that the subject was at home.

Kevin pressed the doorbell again.

Still no response, but she didn’t mind. She could keep pressing it until they came out.

After ten minutes of continuous ringing, a sound finally came from inside. Footsteps approached, and the door opened a moment later.

The man who opened the door could be described as a living skeleton. Kevin extended her hand to the man, who looked like a terminally ill cancer patient.

“Hello, Team Leader. I’m Kevin, a senior reporter from DailyMars. You’re Detective Team Leader William, right?”

“…”

William scanned her from head to toe with sharp eyes. He tried to close the door immediately, but Kevin had already placed her foot in front of it, expecting him to do so.

Without success in closing the door, William finally spoke.

“…What do you want?”

“I’d like to ask about the disturbance in the Residential Zone.”

“I have nothing to say.”

“There were quite a few casualties during that operation. I’m curious about the cause, and who you were chasing. It would be great if you could cooperate for the sake of MegaCorp citizens’ right to know.”

“I’m not obligated to answer.”

“If you don’t answer, then I’ll have no choice but to write an article based on limited investigative material.”

In other words, she threatened to fill the story with unfavorable content. William’s expression twisted in clear frustration. It was a fierce, wounded wolf-like look, but she showed no fear at all.

The standoff ended with a sigh from William. In a tone devoid of any irritation, he asked her, “What exactly do you want?”

“It’s a bit awkward to discuss it here. Can we go inside and talk?”

Contrary to her words, she entered the house without waiting for William’s response.

“The atmosphere inside is quite different from the outside.”

As Kevin had described, the inside of the house was a complete mess. Unwashed clothes, leftover food dishes, and other items were scattered around haphazardly. To make matters worse, it seemed like the place hadn’t been ventilated for a while, as there was a nauseating and unpleasant odor.

“…Ask your questions quickly; I’m busy.”

Kevin sat on the messy chair as if it were her own home. She took out a small recorder and gestured to William if it was alright, and he waved his hand as if saying, “Go ahead.”

“Well, let’s start with an overview of the operation in the residential district.”

The interview lasted for over an hour. William, initially gruff, gradually answered most of her questions. However, despite his cooperative attitude, as the interview went on, William’s condition deteriorated.

He took some pills several times during the conversation. The pills he took were known to be the most potent painkillers available, and Kevin was aware of their strength.

‘There doesn’t seem to be any obvious physical trauma. It’s not even an antidepressant for PTSD,’ she thought.

Even after taking the pills, he continued to press his temples with both hands. He pressed so hard that blood was almost oozing from his temples.

The interviewee was clearly in distress, but she had no intention of stopping the interview. If he died during the interview, it would only add more sensation to the story from her perspective.

‘Why does he keep looking at the watch?’

William frequently checked his watch, which seemed unnatural. According to the grapevine, he was currently on vacation. Despite appearing to have nothing urgent, he seemed extremely agitated.

‘Could this be a big scoop?’

An interview is not just about answering questions. The subject’s behavior and reactions to questions can also be a valuable part of the story.

She silently celebrated the hunch of a possible big story.

As the interview was about to conclude, she asked William one final question.

“You mentioned that this person, Sander, is already deceased. Do you have any information about the perpetrator who was dealing with him?”

“….”

For the first time after the interview, William remained silent. Kevin didn’t miss the fleeting reaction.

When she asked about the perpetrator, he subtly trembled around his eyes. It indicated that he knew something about the criminal.

“I’ll ask again. About the one who was dealing with… ”

“Hey.”

“Yes?”

“I can’t answer this. Not for my sake, but for yours. If it’s a threat against me, be it DailyMass or Prime Capital Zhao family, you should never underestimate them.”

“For my sake? What does that mean?”

She didn’t quite understand, but it seemed like William was being sincere.

“If you’re trying to threaten me, remember, DailyMass, or even the PrimeCapital Zhao Family, will never forgive you.”

“PrimeCapital? Can such useless entities really protect you? Be careful. Now that you’ve entered this house, I’m not sure if my warning will mean anything to you, but…”

With those words, William stood up, walked to the door, and stood there silently.

It was a gesture that meant, ‘It’s all over; leave.’ Kevin recalled all the information she had gathered during the interview.

She had already achieved her goals. There was no need to stay in this dirty house any longer.

“Thank you for cooperating with the interview, Detective Team Leader William.”

“…”

William, with an expression that said there was no need for unnecessary chatter, subtly indicated that she should leave. As she was heading out, just before William closed the door, he offered one last piece of advice.

“You said your name is Kevin, right? It’s better not to go out alone at night.”

“What are you talking about?”

Without waiting for a reply, William closed the door.

“What nonsense is this?” Kevin thought, irritated by what she perceived as a veiled threat. She was about to press the doorbell to confront him when her communication device rang.

“It’s the Director.”

It must be to report on today’s interview.

“Yes, Director. The interview is finished now. What? Who am I? Of course, it was a success. Yes, yes, I’ll head there right away.”

She gave up on voicing her complaints, answered the call, and ran back to the subway station.

Unbeknownst to her, someone was watching her from within the house.

It was William, who had been inside the house. He had been observing her until she disappeared and then picked up his communication device.

***

‘Looks like this is about done.’

I had been crouching all day, but now I stood up. The mucus that had dried on my outer shell fell off as dust.

I stretched all six of my arms.

‘It took longer than I thought because of the extensive range.’

This place where I stood was my nest, hidden within the city’s secret passages. The passage that used to be nothing more than discarded garbage by past laborers had transformed into something resembling the insides of a living organism. Brownish mucus flowed down the walls, ceiling, and floor, and spores were constantly ejected in various places.

If a regular organism were to enter here where the ventilation system was absent, it probably wouldn’t last long due to the peculiar air.

‘Building a big nest was the right choice.’

The completed nest had a diameter of 500 meters. Compared to the enormous city spanning 60 kilometers, it was relatively small. However, when linked, it covered about a quarter of the city, including all of the residential zone and roughly a third of the commercial and entertainment zones.

Unlike research vessels, the city was full of activity, so it would be difficult to detect the precise movements of both humans and machines. However, if I concentrated, I could monitor the movements of the enemies targeting me.

As I got up and stretched, a sudden hunger washed over me.

‘Creating the nest depleted most of the remaining energy.’

After the battle with the armed police, I had been receiving a steady supply of food through a new slave.

William, the head of the Port District’s detective team. I didn’t kill him after capturing him through Armed Police Unit 103.

“He’s a clever one, so it would be a waste to just eat him.”

William was the only person who had found me independently and was one of the people who pushed me into a tough battle. In the long run, he was a useful person for me.

At least compared to the mostly insane Unit 103, he was a much more useful slave. So that day, I spared William and instead devoured Unit 103.

Seeing me eat a living person right in front of him, he had completely lost his sanity. Even before I implanted the parasite in his head, he had already fully submitted to me.

Of course, his submission and the parasite were separate matters, so I implanted the parasite in his head. Like most people, he shuddered, but he offered no further resistance.

Turning William into a slave allowed me to obtain all the information related to the broker he had, and thanks to that, I knew exactly where the smuggled organisms were stored in the containers.

I didn’t need to enslave the personnel of the materials management team or the contraband animal surveillance team. I could directly raid the containers.

‘Well, I might need William’s help when it’s time to go.’

Since I couldn’t do anything about the cameras, I was still relying on him.

William, under the pretext of focusing on security in the Port District, had the authority to change the camera placements and android patrol routes at will. Within the Port District’s security team, he seemed to have a fair amount of influence, and there was no one within the team who doubted his intentions.

Every time there was a change in cameras or patrol routes, he reported the surveillance’s weak points to me. Thanks to him, I could easily roam around the Port District.

Of course, I couldn’t go to eat smuggled animals too frequently, as it would raise suspicions, so I only did so once every three days.

‘Today happens to be the day to get some smuggled animals.’

I was contemplating whether it was time to wake up the sleeping ones when a communication device lying on the floor started ringing.

‘William?’

It was surprising to receive a call when it wasn’t time to replace the parasite.

‘Come to think of it, I’ve been receiving signals continuously since earlier.’

While I was building my nest, messengers from the parasites had flown over several times. They were reporting that my host would cause harm to me, so they would inflict suffering.

It wasn’t betrayal. The parasite within him was at stage five. Even if he merely contemplated betrayal, he would suffer excruciating pain and die.

The messengers from the parasite were more like a mild warning, considering this.

‘Something must be going on. Let’s answer.’

I answered the communication device with 103’s voice.

“What’s going on?”

“There is someone pursuing the owner.”

“Pursuing the owner?”

“Yes. A journalist from DailyMass, an agency operated by Prime Capital.”

Operated by Prime Capital?

‘Media control, huh? That should be the Zhao Family.’

The Zhao Family, as per the setting, controlled the media, entertainment, and other media-related sectors through Prime Capital. They were a bunch of people who dealt with information itself, rather than direct combat, which made them quite annoying in the game.

‘Even on a planet with fewer than 100 residents, they criticize the governor.’

If they couldn’t enter a planet directly, they’d launch satellites nearby to broadcast within the planet. This eccentric group had an overwhelming information network, making it difficult for players hostile to MegaCorp to compete.

‘I’ve been searching for a way to block their signals too.’

Here in reality, I was growing in a completely different way from the game, but ultimately, the time had come.

‘A journalist, huh.’

If the opponent was a journalist, it was already decided that I needed to eliminate her. If I left her alone, she would be endlessly troublesome.

‘They’ve taken photos of her with the cameras installed in the house. I will send the pictures via email.’

Then, an alert popped up on the communication device screen, indicating the arrival of an email.

‘I guess I’ll have to deal with this side today.’

There was a woman with brown hair sitting at the dining table. She had no idea about the fate that awaited her; she simply smiled.