F-Rank Secretly Becomes Stronger - Chapter 51
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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51
“So, you finally came?”
The familiar library that came into view after crossing the Gate.
Mephisto smiled seductively as if she had expected him to come.
Jung Juhyeok’s choice wasn’t particularly surprising.
Just by listening to someone’s past, he could obtain crucial information that might be directly connected to life and death.
He wasn’t stupid enough to hesitate about what to do with that opportunity.
“Get to the point quickly.”
“Which story should I start with first?”
“Garisto.”
“How decisive of you.”
She exhaled a long stream of cigarette smoke and continued.
“Fine. For such a light promise, there’s no need to write up a contract.”
Soon Mephisto extinguished the cigarette that had burned down to the filter and stood up from her seat.
She immediately got to the point and laid out information about Garisto.
“Next month, specifically January 12th. The day when all the modified demons in the mansion are inspected is coming.”
Once a year, Garisto sets aside a day to personally inspect each and every modified demon stationed within the mansion.
According to what Mephisto had discovered, that inspection date was next month.
“If you target that day to visit the mansion, you’ll probably be able to approach more easily than expected.”
“Is this reliable information?”
“You can trust it since it’s from someone who would stake his life on his information.”
An answer given with considerable confidence.
Though Jung Juhyeok was suspicious, he decided to trust her since he knew she wasn’t the type of demon to joke around about such matters.
“So I just need to visit on January 12th next month?”
“That’s right. Of course, he’ll leave a guard or two behind, so don’t let your guard down too much.”
A gaze that subtly looked Jung Juhyeok up and down while offering that piece of advice.
Soon Mephisto naturally turned her head and spoke quietly.
“Well, you should be able to neutralize that much easily enough by now.”
In Mephisto’s view, Jung Juhyeok had already become strong enough.
When next month’s inspection day arrived, he would meet with Garisto.
‘What on earth could make him want to meet that crazy bastard?’
Those who wanted to meet Garisto were usually crazy enough to be similar to him.
Or they were desperate enough to need help from such a madman.
‘This guy doesn’t seem crazy, nor does he seem to have something he’s desperate about.’
The more she knew about him, the more enigmatic this human became.
Because he was such a human, she had made this proposal, even going so far as to seek out such rare information to shake him.
“Now I should hear the other story, right?”
“….”
Conflict.
It was very effective at drawing out human nature.
What kind of conflict would Jung Juhyeok experience after hearing all the stories?
“Seong Jia.”
How exciting.
What choice would he make, what ending would he reach?
With what kind of eyes would he look upon that ending?
“Slowly savor the story of that child and her friends.”
Mephisto began the story with an excited heart.
*
Walls so worn that the paint was peeling off.
A light bulb hanging precariously from the ceiling.
In that place, the children scream again today.
“Please… please stop…”
The research team unilaterally observing the child from beyond the magic mirror.
The friend from the adjacent room endured yesterday in a room over 40 degrees until near death without a single drop of water.
The youngest from the same room went to the brink of electrocution the day before yesterday as increasingly strong electric shocks were applied.
Today was Seong Jia’s turn.
A space so narrow that she couldn’t even stretch her arms.
Already 12 hours since being trapped inside, curled up.
All she could do was cry out to empty air, begging them to stop, then be consumed by rage and threaten to kill them if she got out of here.
Before long, she would grab her hair again, saying she had done wrong, apologizing for mistakes she never made.
Only after repeating this countless times could she finally escape from that narrow space.
“….”
She wanted to attack the researchers who pulled her out, but Jia’s body, trapped for 24 hours without eating anything with her whole body crumpled, was already exhausted.
Her mind was so devastated that she couldn’t answer any questions.
Only after being isolated from the other orphans for about a week and receiving nonsensical psychological therapy could she finally return to her roommate children.
“Jia! Are you okay?”
The roommate children she was seeing after a week.
They each rushed to her with worried expressions.
She looked at the bodies of those friends.
Bruises on the arms and legs of the child hugging her.
Countless syringe needles on the forearm of the child fidgeting restlessly beside her.
The child sitting quietly in the distance, just watching, had bandages wrapped around their head from whatever experiment they had endured.
“I’m okay….”
Comfort shared between children who were not okay at all.
Jia sat down and continued conversing with the children as usual.
“I was trapped in a small space about half the size of our bed.”
“For how many hours?”
“The counselor said exactly 23 hours and 32 minutes.”
“Ugh….”
The children shuddered in horror just imagining it.
Jia asked the child next to her who was covered in bruises with an indifferent expression.
“Were you beaten?”
“Yeah, but this time I was only beaten for four hours.”
A girl who was only physically harmed without her mind being touched.
She smiled, saying she was fortunate, with bruises covering every visible part of her body.
“What about you?”
“I got several injections of strange stuff. After getting them, I vomited and had seizures all day.”
“I see.”
Vomiting and seizures were relatively mild.
If the researchers got greedy and messed up the drug dosage, they would have to spend days vomiting blood and enduring pain so severe they’d think death would be better.
“Ha, when will we ever awaken?”
“Right, we need to awaken to get out of this hellish place.”
There were only two ways to escape from this damn research institute they belonged to.
Either commit suicide unable to endure the life of being experimental rats for artificial awakening.
Or awaken in the end and leave this research institute.
There were actually children who awakened and disappeared from this research institute.
Of course, they never actually saw it happen, only heard news that someone had suddenly awakened one day and left the room.
Either way, the children hoped to awaken as soon as possible to escape from this hell.
“When I awaken, I’ll destroy this research institute first.”
“If that were possible, the kids who awakened first would have already destroyed it all.”
The children gradually began to smile as they shared various stories.
This was the only time they could laugh in this place worse than hell.
Complaints and conversations that flowed while forming common ground with comrades in the same situation.
Tomorrow, they didn’t know who would be called to the laboratory to suffer terrible things.
Knowing this, they spent time bringing up random topics to pretend not to know as much as possible.
That was Jia’s childhood memory.
A child who knew Mother and Father only as words but never felt them with her skin.
That child with dark circles under her eyes saw her roommate being called away one day.
A friend who had stuck with her every day.
A girl who had hugged her when she returned after being isolated for a week.
Who had bruises all over her body and coughed several times every night.
A child who had been in a dazed state since the day before being called away, not responding properly even when spoken to.
Fortunately, she who had always smiled brightly and led the room’s atmosphere returned from an experiment one day, mute and frozen.
She must have undergone an experiment so harsh it was difficult to describe in words.
Thinking this, everyone deliberately didn’t bother her and let her spend time peacefully.
‘Why wasn’t she isolated?’
Usually, children who developed mental problems due to experiments weren’t immediately put back in the room but returned after receiving counseling treatment.
Clang clang.
Why had she returned without receiving treatment?
Nobody knew the reason.
Clang clang.
After she returned, even after a whole day had passed.
Even after more time passed and a week went by.
And then….
Clang clang.
“Kiyaaaak!”
Even after she hung from the ceiling like a light bulb and exchanged morning greetings with a pale face.
Nobody knew.
“What’s wrong!”
“….”
The researcher who arrived at the room along with screams.
He flinched and trembled, then soon let out a deep sigh.
“Hah….”
The researcher turned on his radio with a meaningless sigh.
He spoke quietly.
“The atmosphere in Room B-2 is dead. Please clean it up quickly.”
Atmosphere?
His attitude was as if he was dealing with an object.
Jia, who couldn’t take her eyes off the corpse, approached the researcher who was troubled alone and asked.
“What’s atmosphere?”
“What?”
The man frowned.
Creaking sounds.
Along with the crying of a child vomiting nearby, was her question bothersome in this chaotic moment?
The man waved his hand dismissively and answered.
“You don’t need to know, so move to the next room on your own.”
“….”
At that moment, the children who had been staring blankly at the corpse all looked at the researcher at once.
The youngest, who had been vomiting and sobbing, with an aggrieved expression.
The boy who had been quietly staring at the corpse with the light fading from his eyes, with an empty expression.
Jia, who had asked what atmosphere meant, clenching her fists tightly.
Finally, one of the twins who had been quietly watching this scene spoke softly.
“Her name is Daeun.”
The only hope in this hellish place.
A positive child whom everyone loved.
Who always acted tough in front of the children, saying she was fine even when she came back injured.
“Park Daeun.”
Park Daeun.
She is Park Daeun.
“Not atmosphere, but Park Daeun.”
A name exists.
Even without knowing its meaning, she smiled bitterly, saying it was the only thing her parents who abandoned her had left behind.
One of the twins who had spoken her name stood up from his seat and approached the researcher.
He raised one hand and extended it toward the man’s neck area.
“What are you do— urk!”
“I wonder what it would feel like to die from being strangled.”
Breath trapped tight while floating in midair, without even a hand’s reach.
The researcher looked at the child with bloodshot eyes.
And he looked around at the children standing beside him.
“Die, die… die, die…”
The children in the room emanated an extraordinary aura.
It was the moment when the researcher’s efforts bore fruit.
The researcher, whose neck was being strangled by something unknown and who was gradually getting closer to the ceiling, hurriedly turned on his radio.
“Awak, ening… group awak—!”
“Each, castle… group each—!”
Crack—
The horse’s head that was severed with the sound of breaking.
Then a voice can be heard afterwards.
[Do you want to kill them all?]
“….”
“Yeah, I remember now. I made a contract with that little kid back then, and he’s already grown so much I barely recognize him.”
“So? How does it feel to see the past of those Hyunho Candy brats?”
Juhyeok gave no response to her question.
He simply remained silent and kept his eyes closed.
‘Hmm~ is it wavering?’
She pokes at Juhyeok again, puzzled by his unreadable reaction.
“Are you planning to protect an association that stood by and watched until things got this bad?”
What choice will he make, I wonder.
I could have stopped them without a second thought before I knew their story, but now it’s different.
He had heard about Hyunho Candy’s past, and wondered if he could become someone so ruthlessly cold toward him.
Just as they were watching his reaction, curious about what choice Juhyeok would make.
“If we’re done talking, I’m leaving now.”
“I’ll handle it myself.”
Jung Juhyeok walked toward the gate after giving a simple answer.
“I’m most curious about how you’ll handle it.”
Juhyeok walks toward the gate after giving a brief answer.
“I’m most curious about what you’re going to do about it.”
“I didn’t promise to tell you that part.”
Leaving behind a firm answer, he takes another step forward.
“…Alright, I’ll watch carefully from here to see how you handle it.”
Juhyeok looked back at her and said this before passing through the final gate.
“Coming on January 12th.”
“…Yeah, I’ll watch closely to see how you handle this.”
“Whatever.”
With those words, he disappears.
After the story ended, the study was utterly quiet.
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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