Not A Regressor - Chapter 141

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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I Am Not a Regressor Chapter 141
Extinguished Starlight (3)
Drip, drip, drip.
A basement saturated with moisture.
Water droplets clung to the walls as if rainwater had seeped through, falling to the floor with soft taps.
In the basement shrouded by oppressive darkness, only the squelch of wet sounds echoed.
—Click.
“Ugh, the stench.”
“This place is always revolting, no matter when you visit.”
A dim electric light switched on, revealing the silhouettes of a man and a woman.
The woman with piercings through her nose and lips pinched her nose as she surveyed the interior of the basement.
The space had the appearance of a mad scientist’s laboratory—the kind where inhumane human experiments would be conducted repeatedly in pursuit of creating the ultimate lifeform.
Along the moisture-laden walls stood a row of enormous circular tanks filled with clear liquid, connected to one another by tubes that branched like blood vessels.
Perhaps it was a mercy.
The circular tanks, which appeared as though they should contain chimeras born from horrific experiments or captured aliens, sat empty.
“We should really clean the digestive chamber once in a while.”
“Ugh… that’s such a hassle. Can’t we just have the prey we’ve captured do it?”
Digestive chamber. Prey.
Ominous words threaded through the conversation between the man and woman.
At the woman’s suggestion to have the prey do the work, the man shook his head with a grimace.
“Don’t be stupid. What if the prey goes berserk and breaks the tanks? That day, we’re done for—Sosuke will just…”
The man drew a finger across his throat and shook his head.
Hearing this, the woman pouted her pierced lips and continued speaking.
“He barely shows his face anyway.”
“That’s only because we’re low-level grunts who just dump prey into the digestive chamber.”
“Ugh, don’t call me a grunt—it’s annoying to hear.”
The woman smiled playfully and burst into giggles.
Though they joked and teased each other about being low-level, their actual positions within the Seahorse Faction were quite high.
After all, only mid-level administrators and above were permitted access to the “digestive chamber.”
“Oh, right. I’m getting promoted to senior rank next week.”
“Oh, really? We should throw a celebration party for this.”
“The gift should be from you, right?”
The woman ran her fingers suggestively along the man’s lower body and laughed seductively.
A skull-shaped piercing gleamed at the center of her protruding tongue.
The man laughed and pressed his lips firmly against hers.
“Well, let’s think about the party later. First, let’s finish the work.”
“This is such a drag—let’s hurry up and get it done.”
The woman spoke with an indifferent expression and jerked her chin toward the man.
“Wait here for a moment. I’ll bring the prey.”
The man chuckled and climbed the stairs.
“Ugh! Uuugh!! Ugh!”
Moments later.
A naked, bound youth was dragged into the room.
Unlike the Handsome Man, the captured youth’s appearance was unremarkable.
Thick-framed glasses made his already small eyes appear even smaller, and his acne-covered skin resembled a toad’s.
Disgust etched itself across the woman’s face as she regarded the youth.
“He’s so repulsive just to look at. Let’s get him in quickly.”
“Wait, let me remove his glasses first.”
The Handsome Man removed the youth’s glasses and dragged him toward a circular basin filled with water.
“Here we go.”
Splash!
“Glug! Glug-glug!”
The youth’s body plunged into the water-filled basin.
With each thrash of his limbs, water sloshed and overflowed from the container.
“Begin.”
Once the woman confirmed the youth was completely submerged, she opened the Control Room door at the corner of the Basement and stepped inside.
The Control Room, filled with massive machinery that resembled a boiler room, contained a gaunt youth standing motionless.
“….”
The youth in a white lab coat—the kind research scientists wore—stared down at the machinery with trembling eyes.
The woman approached the frail-looking youth and furrowed her brow.
“What are you doing? I said start!”
“J-just a moment….”
“No moments! Start now, you bastard!”
Smack!
The woman kicked the youth roughly.
“Cough!”
Thud!
He flew backward and crashed against the wall.
His white coat slipped slightly, revealing the severed cross-section of his left arm.
“Do you need another beating to get your head straight, Yuji?”
“I-I’m sorry!”
Yuji trembled, his face drained of all color.
“Listen, we don’t go easy on newcomers here, so do your job right. Understood?”
“…Yes.”
Yuji answered in a quavering voice and returned to the machinery.
His movements operating the device with his remaining right arm suddenly froze.
“Hnngh… ugh.”
Tears streamed down Yuji’s cheeks.
“What are you doing?”
“I… I can’t do this.”
“What did you say?”
“I can’t do this anymore! This is too horrible…!”
“Tch.”
Thwack!
Yuji’s body flew through the air once more.
“Ugh! Cough!”
“Look at this bastard. Give him an inch and he takes a mile.”
The pierced woman approached him with a vicious sneer twisting her lips.
She pressed down hard on the severed stump of his left arm as she spoke.
“Didn’t you lose this arm too when you defied Lord Sosuke?”
“H-hiccup!”
Yuji trembled, his expression consumed by terror.
The woman licked her pierced tongue and cast a sinister gaze upon him.
“If you don’t want to lose the other one too, shut up and do as you’re told. Got it?”
“…Y-yes, I understand.”
“Tsk. The problem is Lord Sosuke sent you directly, so I can’t even kill you.”
The woman spat thick saliva onto the floor and turned away.
“….”
Yuji staggered to his feet and stood before the machine.
He gazed at the young man visible through the screen and squeezed his eyes shut.
“I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry….”
He repeated apologies no one would hear as his right hand manipulated the buttons.
And then.
-Gluuuurgle!
Bubbles rose violently from the cylindrical tank.
The young man’s thrashing intensified as the stigma inscribed on his left chest blazed with light.
But it was only temporary.
The young man’s body began to dissolve slowly, as if melting into the liquid.
“Hehe, dissolving so nicely~”
The pierced woman smiled broadly, watching the young man’s body dissolve.
The Handsome Man approached her and wrapped his arms around her waist.
“Want to grab some food after this?”
“Sure.”
Their expressions remained serene, as if the horrific scene before them was beneath their notice.
After about five minutes, the young man’s body had completely dissolved into the liquid.
The fluid that had once been a human being glowed not red, but with a soft blue luminescence.
The woman gazed at the blue-glowing liquid in the tank and laughed deeply.
“For the restoration of the forsaken land.”
“For the restoration of the forsaken land.”
Their laughter and an eerie chant echoed through the Basement.
* * *
“An unfamiliar ceiling.”
I lifted myself up, gazing at the luxurious wooden ceiling above.
Though I’d slept on a bedding laid directly on the floor for the first time in ages, the cushioning was so plush that my back didn’t ache at all.
“Ugh… my head.”
I winced, gently massaging my throbbing temples.
Last night.
The memory of the drinking session that had started under the guise of a welcome celebration surfaced in my mind.
‘Even if someone drank water all day, I doubt they could consume that much.’
Sakaki’s alcohol tolerance was as enormous as his massive frame.
The drinking session that had begun in the afternoon stretched past midnight into the early morning hours, so even with my superhuman physiology, there was no escaping the aftereffects.
“Still, at least we’ve gotten pretty close because of it.”
Just like men tend to do, one drinking session was enough to build a rapport as if we’d been lifelong friends.
-Kahahaha! From today on, we’re family! Family! From now on, call me oyabun!
I smiled faintly, recalling Sakaki’s figure from last night, his arm slung around my shoulder as he spoke those words in his drunken state.
‘I won’t have any trouble getting by in a foreign land.’
According to what Sakaki had told me, Kuroshi was an organization with an iron grip on the Kansai Region.
Since even the government treaded carefully around them, at least within Japan, I wouldn’t face any inconveniences going forward.
The organization members’ caliber wasn’t bad either.
Compared to how pathetic the average level of Japanese awakeners was, the Kuroshi members were quite skilled individuals.
It was probably thanks to the “teachings” of Tamrang Star that Sakaki had mentioned.
“This should be quite useful.”
I smiled darkly as I threw off the blanket.
“Mmm.”
“Huh?”
Only then did I notice Ha-eun lying beside me.
Ha-eun, dressed in almost nothing but scraps of fabric, was fast asleep while clinging tightly to me.
“Noona, wake up. Noona.”
“Uhhh… don’t want to….”
A thick stench of alcohol wafted from her pouting lips.
‘Noona was pretty wild last night too.’
At first, she’d seemed shy and clung only to my side, but once the atmosphere heated up, she’d taken the lead in chugging drinks and went on a rampage.
-Kyahahaha!! Soak it! Soak them, you bastards!
I recalled Ha-eun’s figure from earlier, shouting at the top of her lungs while holding a bottle of Japanese sake.
“Noona really does love her alcohol, doesn’t she?”
As I looked down at Ha-eun with a wry smile.
Suddenly.
A small black mark on her left chest caught my eye.
“….”
What was that?
This irresistible impulse.
Watching the black mole rise and fall with her steady breathing, I felt an overwhelming urge to press it gently with my fingertip.
I thought I should resist, but for some reason, my hand moved of its own accord.
‘Wait, actually, why do I need to hold back?’
After all, we had already confirmed our feelings for each other.
Between lovers, this level of physical contact was practically the norm.
“…Ahem.”
Kwon O-jin cleared his throat and carefully reached out his hand.
That was when.
“Mm.”
Ha-eun shifted her body slightly, positioning herself to make it easier for Kwon O-jin to touch her chest.
Kwon O-jin’s eyes narrowed.
“Noona.”
“Mmm.”
“You’re not actually asleep, are you?”
“Mmmm.”
I could see Ha-eun’s eyebrows twitch slightly.
“Sigh.”
Well.
She had completed her physical reconstruction, so she wouldn’t suffer from a hangover like I would.
“Wake up, you troublemaker.”
“Ow!”
I flicked my finger lightly against the tip of Ha-eun’s nose.
“Ugh. I was almost there.”
“You can’t fool me, noona.”
“Hmph. For someone saying that, you almost fell for it, didn’t you?”
Ha-eun laughed playfully and poked my ribs repeatedly.
“Stop joking around and get up already.”
“Fine. Oh, wait, before that.”
Ha-eun closed her eyes and puckered her lips.
Kwon O-jin chuckled and leaned his face close to hers.
-CRASH!
“You’re awake! Let’s go get some hangover soup together!”
“Kyaaaaaaah, damn it!!”
“Ugh!”
Kwon O-jin, struck by Ha-eun’s reflexive kick, spun through the air and crashed into the wall.
“Hmm?”
Sakaki, seeing the two of them, grinned widely.
“Kahahaha! It seems I’ve inadvertently interrupted an intimate moment!!”
“Ugh.”
Kwon O-jin scratched his head and sat up.
“Did you sleep well last night, Sakaki?”
“Sakaki?! Didn’t I tell you to call me oyabun!”
“Well, that’s a bit…”
I wasn’t formally part of any organization, and calling him oyabun might create unnecessary misunderstandings.
“Hmm. I see.”
Sakaki simply changed the subject as if he didn’t particularly mind.
“Let’s have a refreshing breakfast to clear our heads! Then we can discuss how to deal with those Seahorse Faction bastards!”
Sakaki closed the door and left again.
“Tch… I won’t forget about that bastard later.”
Ha-eun glared sharply at the spot where Sakaki had left.
* * *
After eating a lavishly prepared breakfast that lived up to the saying about table legs breaking under the weight.
Ha-eun, Kwon O-jin, and Sakaki gathered in one place.
“We’ve been investigating the areas where the disappearances occurred… but whenever we seem to be getting close to something, they vanish like ghosts as if they know we’re onto them, so the investigation isn’t making progress.”
Sakaki spread out a map of downtown Osaka across the table and marked the areas where the disappearances had occurred.
“All the missing persons are awakeners. There were no particular connections between them.”
In any case, if they were all awakeners, it meant they were being abducted indiscriminately.
“But what are these bastards doing with the awakeners they kidnap?”
Ha-eun furrowed her brow and asked.
“We don’t know that either.”
Sakaki shook his head and continued.
“First, we need to find their branch. Koshiro discovered what’s believed to be their branch location recently.”
“Where is it?”
I had already heard from Cheon Do-yoon where the Seahorse Faction’s branch was located.
But I deliberately played dumb and asked anyway.
“It’s here.”
Sakaki circled a building on the outskirts of the city.
“It’s an abandoned hospital that was destroyed in a monster attack.”
“It’s the perfect place for shady people to hide.”
The location Sakaki pointed to was one of the three Seahorse Faction branch locations I had heard about from Cheon Do-yoon.
It meant the information Koshiro had provided was accurate.
“Well… we’ve gone to places like this a few times before and came up empty-handed.”
Sakaki clicked his tongue and shook his head.
“But this time we need to catch them.”
“Is there a particular reason you’re pursuing the Black Star Society?”
“Some of our people were among the awakeners they kidnapped.”
Sakaki’s eyes gleamed with a cold, murderous intent.
“I can’t let those bastards who dared to touch our people go unpunished.”
That was fair.
Given Sakaki’s temperament, he wasn’t the type to sit idle while his organization members suffered.
“But aren’t there awakeners being kidnapped from other organizations and guilds too, not just your group? Are they just doing nothing about it?”
Ha-eun asked, unable to comprehend the situation.
“Hmph. Those Guild bastards have been too scared to even think about fighting ever since they got beaten by the Black Star Society a few times.”
“Even though their own guild members keep getting kidnapped?”
“That’s right.”
“Those fucking idiots.”
Ha-eun clicked her tongue in contempt.
No matter how terrifying it was, what kind of guild just stood by and watched while their own members were being abducted?
“That’s exactly what I’m saying!”
Sakaki nodded vigorously, as if he’d been holding back a lot.
“Anyway, I’m planning to investigate this area today. Will you come with me?”
“Of course.”
“Ha ha! I wish those Guild cowards would learn from you guys—they whimper the moment the Black Star Society is mentioned!”
Pleased by the unhesitating response, Sakaki slapped Kwon O-jin on the back and burst into hearty laughter.
‘Now that I think about it.’
I gazed down at the map spread across the table.
I verified one by one the locations and times of the disappearances that Sakaki had marked.
There were fourteen disappearance cases alone around the Abandoned Hospital.
All of them had occurred within the past week.
‘Something feels off.’
My eyes narrowed as I studied the map.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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