My mind went blank.
Since it was Samra speaking, there was no need to doubt the truth. Samra did not tell lies.
Kwak Han-mook immediately sprang from the bed.
As expected, not much time had passed since the clear; he was dressed in his uniform rather than patient clothes.
Since there were no major abnormalities, it seemed they had simply moved him to a hospital room for now, while all available personnel swarmed around Han Goyo.
He quickly slipped into the military boots placed beneath the bed and bolted outside.
He knew that the Research Department occupied the basement of the Gyeonggi Provincial Office.
Having no luxury to wait for the elevator, he headed straight for the emergency stairs.
The emergency stairs of the Gyeonggi Provincial Office were structured with a hollow center, with the stairs wrapping around it in a square.
The center was a vertical shaft open from the basement to the top floor.
Whish.
The prayer beads on his wrist coiled around the stair railing.
Kwak Han-mook leaped straight into the center.
The beads extended in a loose web, slowing his descent.
The moment he reached the basement, he burst through the door as if to break it.
The basement was in total chaos.
Researchers were running busily here and there, shouting things, and some were engaged in loud arguments.
It wasn’t just the Research Department; personnel from other headquarters had flocked in, making it even more congested.
Kwak Han-mook grabbed the shoulder of the nearest researcher.
"Where is Trainee Han Goyo?"
The researcher, who had turned around irritably, flinched upon meeting Kwak Han-mook’s eyes and immediately guided him.
Following anxiously, Kwak Han-mook finally encountered Han Goyo.
Han Goyo was submerged in preservative fluid.
It seemed that as soon as the pronouncement of death was made, he had been placed in the fluid to prevent bodily decay.
The sight of him with eyes closed, as if sleeping inside a massive glass cylinder, was familiar.
This was because Mo Hae-in occasionally slept like this due to the Trial Meteor implanted in her body.
But... he never imagined he would see Han Goyo like this.
Submerged in the preservative, Han Goyo looked exceptionally pale, and perhaps because of that, he looked younger than usual.
Kwak looked around for the small slime that was always with him, but it was nowhere to be seen.
He gazed up at the one who seemed to be in a deep slumber, then checked the vital sign monitor located right next to the glass cylinder.
The waveforms were all flat lines.
The pronouncement of death was absolute.
And yet, out of nowhere, a thought surged up.
’He’s alive.’
Despite having no evidence, Kwak Han-mook was certain.
Han Goyo was alive.
"Han-mook."
A voice called out like a whisper, Mo Hae-in had approached his side.
She, too, seemed to have rushed over.
Her face bore the shock of the unbelievable tragic news, but her gaze remained steady and unwavering.
The moment their eyes met, both Kwak Han-mook and Mo Hae-in realized it.
They were thinking the same thing.
Han Goyo had not died.
They were sharing a conviction that could never be explained.
"Hae-in. Are you okay?"
The short question contained many meanings.
Perhaps thanks to the time they had spent together, Mo Hae-in immediately understood Kwak Han-mook’s intent.
She nodded silently.
With a slight sense of relief, Kwak Han-mook shifted his gaze.
Only then did his surroundings come into focus.
The first person to catch his eye was Je Hyun-oh.
He was standing right in front of the glass cylinder.
Standing still with his metal hands hanging down, he looked like a guardian for the one trapped inside the glass.
Without even needing to check the pitch-black, powered-down goggles, Kwak could easily guess Je Hyun-oh’s state.
He had fully deployed his metal wings.
Je Hyun-oh usually kept his metal wings retracted and hidden unless necessary.
Outside of a Trial, he almost never deployed them.
Looking ready for combat at any moment, Je Hyun-oh clicked his metal fingers.
In front of him, Ham Ji-wol of the Research and Analysis Headquarters and the directors of Pasung stood in a confrontational standoff.
Unlike Mok Sae-hwa and Seo Moon-chan, who were dressed in neat suits, Ham Ji-wol was covered in blood.
It seemed she had been lightly attacked by Je Hyun-oh while trying to approach the glass cylinder.
However, despite the blade cuts all over her body, her eyes glittered with madness.
A short distance away from them, he saw Commissioner Jang Seok-yoon, Lieutenant Won Tae-beom, and Samra.
Jang Seok-yoon’s complexion was so poor that one couldn’t call it good even as a white lie.
Beside him, Won Tae-beom looked even more devastated than Jang Seok-yoon for some reason.
On a face that rarely showed emotion, a distinct despair was etched.
As if his entire world had shattered.
Samra... was also not in a normal state.
Their eyes were flashing incessantly, as if they were constantly calculating something.
Ham Ji-wol spoke in a very clear voice.
"Mr. Goyo’s body belongs to the Trial Response Agency."
She continued her claim with precise pronunciation.
"It is essential data for the Republic of Korea, and the entire world, to defend against the Trials. Lieutenant Colonel, Directors, please give up now."
"Haha, Director Ham. I’m sorry. What power do we have? Were just salaried employees. It’s just that CEO Cha left us with specific instructions beforehand. You know our CEO’s personality, don’t you?"
Seo Moon-chan gave a sly smile.
He spoke smoothly, like a snake, asking her to consider their position as well.
"Pasung will take Mr. Goyo’s body."
"Absolutely not! It is only right that it be returned as state property; it cannot be handed over to a mere private corporation."
The moment Seo Moon-chan finished speaking, Ham Ji-wol countered.
Mok Sae-hwa looked at Ham Ji-wol who refused to back down despite bleeding as if she were very cute.
However, she was poised to draw her weapon at any second.
Mok Sae-hwa had no intention of backing down either.
Seo Moon-chan immediately turned to look at Jang Seok-yoon.
"Commissioner Jang. The trainee contract has ended. The Trial Response Agency has no right to claim ownership of Han Goyo. In contrast, Pasung has signed a dispatch contract, so in this case, wouldn’t Pasung have a bit more priority?"
Seo Moon-chan pulled a contract from his inventory and fluttered it.
’What the hell is that now?’
Kwak Han-mook barely suppressed the curse that wanted to fly out of his mouth.
What on earth had Han Goyo been doing for something like that to end up in Pasung’s hands?
If he were by his side right now, he would have given him about ten flicks to the forehead with his prayer beads.
"Director Seo. I understand what you want, but it is impossible. The contract does not specify post-mortem ownership."
As Jang Seok-yoon replied slowly, Mok Sae-hwa let out a deep sigh.
Intentionally acting rude to draw attention to herself, she spoke.
"Commissioner. Listen. Right now, only CEO Cha is in a coma, right?"
A coma?
Kwak Han-mook immediately checked Je Hyun-oh and Won Tae-beom again.
They must have encountered the god as well, yet like himself, they were perfectly fine.
Unlike Han Goyo, who had been pronounced dead.
He concluded that Han Goyo must have done something to create this situation.
Otherwise, he and the others wouldn’t have remained this intact.
Unconsciously, his gaze drifted toward Han Goyo inside the glass cylinder.
He remembered how Han Goyo had spoken, unable to even make eye contact, before the meteor fell.
"Could you... please keep being on a team with me?"
Fuck.
Kwak Han-mook cursed himself as he struggled to keep his train of thought.
Then why was only CEO Cha in a coma?
It was certain that some accident had occurred during the clear.
That wasn’t the only thing that was strange.
Despite CEO Cha being in a coma, the directors showed no fear or worry.
There was only a firm belief that CEO Cha would surely regain consciousness and recover.
He knew they were fanatics of CEO Cha, but this was practically at the level of worshipping a god.
"We entered the Agency’s Trial, the CEO ended up like this, and you’re ignoring the dispatch contract. You aren’t suggesting that Pasung should bear all the losses and devote itself to the state, are you?"
Following Mok Sae-hwa’s remark, Seo Moon-chan drove the point home.
"You should at least hand over Mr. Goyo’s body so we can recover some of our losses."
Sparks flew from Ham Ji-wol’s eyes. She shouted in an even louder voice.
*What can Pasung possibly do with the body! You don’t have research facilities on the scale of the Agency; at best, you have medical facilities. To claim ownership without any meaning!"
Ham Ji-wol clenched her fists and spoke rapidly.
"The Agency will analyze Mr. Goyo at a nano-level, using everything from a single strand of hair to a piece of fingernail as data for the future. Mr. Goyo’s value for the future of humanity...!!"
"Director Ham. It doesn’t matter what the Agency does. It is only important that we follow the orders the CEO gave in advance."
Seo Moon-chan had the same look in his eyes as Ham Ji-wol. Mok Sae-hwa followed with a beaming smile.
"The Agency only thinks about dismantling Mr. Goyo’s body piece by piece, don’t they? Mr. Goyo wouldn’t have wanted that. Right?"
However, it wasn’t Ham Ji-wol who answered the directors.
"At the Trial Response Agency..."
Samra, speaking in a slightly slower tone than usual, said with flashing eyes.
"It may be possible to revive Mr. Han Goyo. I am calculating a method to connect the brain to an artificial life. support system and transplant it into an android body. I will ensure Director Ham Ji-wol cannot use Mr. Han Goyo’s body."
"Samra!"
"Director Ham Ji-wol. Mr. Han Goyo is needed for the sake of humanity."
Just as things were becoming a complete mess with Samra joining in.
Screech!
The sound of metal scraping echoed through the space.
Everyone’s gaze turned toward the source of the sound.
Je Hyun-oh, who had scratched the vital sign monitor with his metal hand, whispered.
"He’s not dead."
At that moment, Kwak Han-mook immediately extended his prayer beads.
With a rattling sound, the beads coiled around the glass cylinder.
After hiding Han Goyo from everyone, he stood beside Je Hyun-oh.
"You might not believe this."
And he looked at those who couldn’t understand the situation.
In his heart, he wanted to overturn both Ham Ji-wol and Pasung.
However, since what he was about to claim sounded absurd, he spoke as calmly as possible.
"As the Lieutenant Colonel said, Trainee Han Goyo is still alive."
It wasn’t just Kwak Han-mook. Mo Hae-in also rushed over and stood in front of the glass cylinder.
Standing to shield the cylinder with her small body, she drew her Black Moon Blade.
Gripping the blade so tightly that her knuckles turned white, she made the same
claim.
"He is alive. Please believe us."
A long silence descended.
The directors let out hollow laughs as if this were absurd.
After exchanging a glance with Mok Sae-hwa, Seo Moon-chan spoke.
"I would like you to tell us the basis for your judgment. Or, show us Mr. Goyo, opening his eyes."
It was then.
Something appeared before the eyes of Je Hyun-oh, Kwak Han-mook, and Mo Hae-in.
It was something only they were given, invisible to others.
A light flickered on the pitch-black goggles.
^^
Everyone was left speechless by the sudden emoticon.
Je Hyun-oh extended his metal hand forward.
Just before the directors could nimbly draw their weapons, a short sentence was heard.
"Three days."
Je Hyun-oh spoke languidly, clicking his extended metal hand.
"If he doesn’t wake up after three days, then take him to Pasung."
It was a statement filled with conviction, as if he had received some kind of revelation.
***
I will never ever take children’s nutritional supplements again.
Once in a lifetime was more than enough for such an experience.
I did my best, but I couldn’t hold out until the end.
Eventually, I lost consciousness and fainted.
When I came to, I found myself dropped alone in a pitch-black space.
Before I could even figure out where I was, a flood of delayed system windows popped up and filled my vision.
I checked the system windows one by one.
<The Cell Block X> Clear!
- Ending: The Azure Cradle
Seeing the ending phrase made me feel a bit melancholy.
’In the end, I didn’t learn how to swim."
I was sad that I couldn’t go to the sea with Orca.
I probably couldn’t have swum anyway because of my physical condition, but if Dominic had summoned me just a bit later, I could have at least dipped my toes in the seawater...
Still, it felt okay when I thought about Orca now swimming freely in the vast ocean.
The creatures all looked healthy, too.
I stared at the ending for a while before moving to the next window.
[’Han Goyo’ has made a name for himself in Akasha!]
[■■ ■■■ is moved! They gaze upon you with overflowing ecstasy.]
[Current Recognition: 10%]
Mr. Black Block was still watching closely, and surprisingly, my recognition had risen by 9%.
I was dazed by the fact that I had reached double digits in an instant.
Even if it was only a tiny fraction, the fact that I had faced a god seemed to have given me a huge bonus.
[Trial < The Cell Block X> has ended.]
[The Trial will be permanently closed in 80 seconds.]
[You are the top contributor of < The Cell Block X>.]
[You may take ’1’ item.]
Item selection has been completed.
Because I had been unconscious, the item selection was completed automatically.
I was satisfied that the selected item was the Killer Whale’s Band-Aid.
However, I was dissatisfied that I could only choose one after all that hardship.
And then, I blinked at the following system window.
Connecting to the physical body in 72 hours. (Remaining time 71:59)
’Surely this doesn’t mean I can only leave this black space after 72 hours have passed?’
I hoped not, but it seemed to be the case.
Just as I was staring at the system window displaying 72 hours, wondering what kind of bolt from the blue this was.
A new window appeared.
[You have met the minimum requirement by achieving 10% Recognition.]
[Congratulations! Planet ’Earth has become a member of Akasha.]
[The civilization of Akasha reaches planet ’Earth!]
[You can now use ’Interstellar Communication’!]
[You can now use the ’Galactic Trading Post’!]
Even as I looked at it, it was a sequence of words I couldn’t understand.
"Interstellar Communication? Galactic Trading Post...?"
I read it aloud and glanced around.
Neither the squishy pudding slime nor the 3-meter-tall man was in sight.
I was the only one in the black space.
Actually, this might be for the better.
For now, it was hard for me to look at Dominic’s face.
I felt as though the things he had done with my body, and the pain I had endured, would come rushing back.
I wasn’t anxious about the fact that Dominic wasn’t in front of me.
I could still feel a gaze watching me.
Once I left this place, he would return to my side.
’I need to get out quickly.’
It felt suffocating to be trapped alone while everyone else was likely outside.
But no matter how much I fumbled around the black space, there was nothing I could do.
I decided to check out the newly acquired functions first.
Since they were created thanks to the recognition I had raised without even knowing what it was, I was curious.
’Galactic Trading Post.’
As soon as I spoke the desired function in my mind, a system window appeared.
[Welcome, Young God ’Han Go-yo’ of planet ’Earth!]
[A customized user interface is being configured.]
[Analyzing Young God ’Han Goyo’.]
[Analysis complete! Entering the Galactic Trading Post.]
A system window appeared that looked exactly like a shop page in a game.
I explored the Galactic Trading Post with a sense of wonder.
The Galactic Trading Post was divided into purchase and sale pages.
When I clicked the purchase page, a detailed list categorized into attack, defense, and enhancement items appeared.
But only one category caught my eye first.
’Decorations!’
I clicked it immediately, and my eyes widened.
[Bubble Breathing Pill: Creates an air layer with the most perfect ratio for breathing.]
[Soil-Net Vacuum: Microbial friends that suck up pollutants from the ground and turn them into fertilizer.]
[Never-Melting Frozen Bead: Turns melting glaciers into hard ice.]
I could actually buy items that changed the environment of a planet.
’This is basically Earth-decorating.’
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