Cha Jun Sung returned to the medical tower in zone A. He is in Mechanic City for the first time in 1 year and 5 months. He wanted to contact his party right away, but the PDA is jammed.
“I can’t. I thought about it again, but I don’t want to. Send me back to reality.”
[We cannot do that. This is not a light matter that I can decide arbitrarily on. It is upper instruction beyond my authority.]
Cha Jun Sung is rejecting the in-depth examination. It is true that he does have something to hide but even if that were not the case, he would not want to go through with it anyway.
“Connect me with your superior authority. It’s troublesome for you to be stuck in the middle, right? I’ll tell them.”
Being in the middle is hard for everything. Most people do not realize that the person in the middle is swayed by people from both sides, but Cha Jun Sung is different.
Odin does not speak. If it is not possible, he would have said it. It seems like he is going to connect Cha Jun Sung to the superior. If it is higher than the helper as an administrator, is it a producer?
[I didn’t know we would meet like this… It’s a pleasure, Lifer Cha Jun Sung.]
“The superior?”
[Yes.]
“I’ll say it outright. I won’t get an in-depth examination.”
[Why not? If there is still an issue left in your body, we will treat it without deducting points. We have a reward in mind as well.]
Cha Jun Sung smirks. Point deduction? He has points in the millions just from what he had gathered before entering Public Underground. He does not care about deductions or rewards.
“Is there a precise reason why I have to do it?”
[We cannot let you walk around Mechanic City like this. If you go wild like you did then… It’ll have a great effect in reality as well.]
Cha Jun Sung smirks.
Is this a joke? Everything has become a mess since Life Mission appeared. The great effect was made a few years ago, no, when the beta started.
“Huh, treatment….. Who are you to oppress my freedom?”
He wants to speak plainly while he has the superior’s attention. He is curious as to what the other side is thinking.
“Fine. Let’s say there is still a problem with me. What if it can’t be treated? Are you going to kill me? Isn’t this a prevention experiment?”
There are a lot of things he realized while wandering in the mission. The biggest shock was that the A virus was injected into his body. Virus A was what was spread all over that world as well.
Life Mission’s operation – the creators and virus A are closely related. The feeling that it is like leaving a fish to a cat is strong.
“You take people living average lives, give them the strength to fight mutants, and push them into another world that is dominated by mutants… Isn’t this What distorted the balance in the first place? And you say a great effect on reality? It’s lacking explanation. You don’t have the right to take away Lifers’ freedoms.”
[Hm.]
“Oh, and… why did you put virus A into Lifers’ bodies?”
[….. How did you know that?]
There is a slight tremble to the voice. It seems like he is trying to keep his composure, but there was no way to hide the surprise.
No one knows this other than the helpers. It has been kept a complete secret from Lifers. It must not be leaked until the end, but Cha Jun Sung knows already.
“The Oriax and I shared our knowledge with each other when we fused. Looking into this, it seems virus A was what made us stronger in body modifications.”
They fooled Lifers. Why did the mutants become mutants? It was because of virus A. They experienced all sorts of bad things like madness because of that.
‘Are there problems caused by stage 5 or 6 body modifications? I’m sure Odin said that problems arise starting with the 5th stage.’
It was several years ago, but he remembers. Odin had said that there could be side effects beginning in the 5th stage. He is restricted from acquiring information because he does not have contact with the outside. He should be able to figure out what is going on once he gets outside. Though the virus was diluted, it is a harmful substance. Even if no Lifers become mutants, there could have been crazy people resulting from this.
“That’s not enough to persuade me to leave my body here to you with treatment as an excuse.”
[But you thought of it positively in the mission?]
“Because I needed to go here or to reality. I was sick of drifting through the mission.”
[Alright. I’ll tell you honestly. Lifer Cha Jun Sung, your treatment isn’t the main purpose. It’s testing to see what changes have occurred in your body.]
The upper level revealed their true colors. Their intent is not transparent. There are too many secrets in Life Mission. He knows that the goal is to kill mutants, but he does not know why Lifers were created or why they need to kill the mutants. What he does get a little comfort from is that they gain more information as they get higher in level and gain more experience.
Though he is somewhat dissatisfied that it is not through Life Mission. He found them out himself while experiencing the strangest things.
It is best to go at something head to head. Cha Jun Sung intends to tell his party members all of this once he gets out of here. They have a right to know as well.
“What if I refuse until the end?”
[Then your return to reality and entering missions will be limited. We will also take away your ability to be active in Mechanic City.]
Is it tyranny? He was overridden with annoyance, but he could not blindly get angry. Putting missions and Mechanic City aside, he must go back to reality where he has lived.
“So that means you have no right to oppress me, but you’ll use force to get what you want out of me in Life Mission?”
[We will give you 1 billion points in exchange. With the 20 million you have in your PDA and the real estate you’ve had tied up for over 1 year, you’ll have more than enough to get a level B full set immediately.]
Cha Jun Sung is no longer concerned with points. With a level 8’s abilities, he could complete a level B advancement mission right away. He could gather 10 million points in a day if he wanted to.
“I don’t want to do an in-depth examination. How am I supposed to leave my body to you when I don’t know what you’ll do?”
[Then?]
“I’ll give you my flesh or blood. That should be enough.”
[Body tissue… We’ll discuss it. Wait a moment.]
The conversation ended. It seems he is of a high position, but can he not make a decision on his own? It means this matter is that important. What could it be that they are trying to find out?
‘Hey, it’s possible, right?’
[We’re in a fused state. I’ll be revealed if they take tissue. But if we gather the elements of the virus to one place in your body, it could be possible.]
There is not 100% certainty.
[I’ll forcibly burn energy to increase the possibility. I’m sure it won’t matter here.]
It will burn energy. To put it simply, it is throwing the energy away. They need to save it inside the mission, but this place is much safer than a mission. It will no longer be aroused if it uses all of its energy like it did when fighting Medusa. If they use this, they should be able to escape this difficult situation.
‘I’ll leave it to you.’
[I’ll burn about 80%. You’ll get a helpless feeling, but endure it.]
The Oriax secretly burned energy. Cha Jun Sung was standing still, but was captivated by a feeling that his strength was leaving him. It is similar to when a person is suffering from anemia.
[Lifer Cha Jun Sung?]
“Yes.”
The results of their discussion must have come out. He must listen to what they have to say.
[We will release the constraints after receiving body tissue and blood for now. But if we do not get satisfactory results from this, you will have to agree to an in-depth examination. Is that okay?]
“What happens if I agree to the examination and there aren’t any problems?”
[Then of course you will be able to be freely active as you were before.]
“Alright.”
There are a lot of tricks. He can leave the Oriax in reality and come as a simple human, or throw away points and go through body modifications from the beginning again. All he has to do is somehow avoid this situation.
[“Follow me.”]
A metal cyborg escorts Cha Jun Sung. It is special. He would not have been able to take it on even while wearing a battlesuit before, but he could destroy it with one kick now. Energy continued to be consumed even while walking.
[I’m gathering the cells that configure the body. I’ll hide in your right arm, so draw blood from the left side.]
The Oriax paid attention to the smallest details. Though they are fused, it is not an easy feat to control cell units. What it is doing now is not really separating, but some degree of isolation. The only place it has to hide is within Cha Jun Sung’s body.