LIGHTNOVELWORLD Chapter 314
The situation wrapped up decently enough, but that doesn’t mean it ended easily.
First off, we had nothing to do with that explosion. Naturally, it was Noir Corporation’s problem, so there was no reason for us to get involved in that mess, at least not for the most part.
But still, we couldn’t just turn our backs on the situation. There were people still trapped under the rubble, and if we used our magic, there was a good chance we could save them.
As a result, while the number of missing persons decreased, the number of casualties increased.
“……”
At first, my heart felt a bit lighter, but I couldn’t help but grow serious again. Outside, the families of those who worked here were already mourning.
The number of Earthling casualties was low enough to count on one hand, but the alien fatalities were a whole different story. Noir Corporation truly employed all sorts of beings from beyond Earth.
The government, at least, had a bit of pride. The future was uncertain, but they had policies in place to protect their own citizens. If you were Earthling with Korean nationality, you were expected to get a “decent” wage from Noir Corporation. In accordance with that, the salaries of other aliens were somewhat adjusted too, but they were still employed at a lower rate than Earthlings due to corporate logic.
The universe is vast. The conditions on each planet vary greatly. Earth might not have developed properly, but it was not living at a significantly low standard. At the very least, the Federation had a reason to be wary of Earthlings.
Among the crowd outside, there weren’t many aliens. They came here, worked, and died, but their families might not even know whether they were alive or dead.
Or maybe they simply had no family.
Perhaps I could relate to that situation because I was one of those people.
I couldn’t help but wonder if Pang-pang had been here, sweating nervously as I searched, but she wasn’t on the list, and I didn’t see her after the rubble was cleared.
What could have caused the explosion? Was it really a decoy operation? Was it just to blow up research facilities built with their money? Was it truly an accident?
Was it really necessary to protect a single generator at the cost of human lives?
I didn’t want to think that way. I hoped this explosion wasn’t because I stole the generator.
……If so, that would make me responsible for the deaths.
“Ji-eun!”
But my questions didn’t linger for long.
There were many dead and injured, but among the survivors, there was one peculiar case.
A person whose arms and legs were twisted in odd angles—buried too late under the debris, and if the injuries were that serious, normally an Earthling would’ve bled out and died already.
The reason this person hadn’t triggered the bio-detection system and was buried under the rubble was that those twisted limbs, along with the sunken chest and abdomen, did not belong to a human.
“……This person. That executive from earlier.”
“I see.”
Looking at the fainted, or rather, mangled being sprawled out, Ha-yoon said.
“Cherry.”
“Yeah.”
I carefully took Cherry, who was still perched on Ji-hye’s shoulder, and lowered her near the head of that entity.
At least the area around the head looked intact. It hadn’t burst open or anything. Somehow, I thought if it did explode, it would have been more mechanical parts flying out than blood and flesh.
Cherry approached the head and started to rummage through the hair as if searching for something. Could there be a button hidden inside?
“I found it.”
Cherry muttered as she pressed something hidden among the lush fake hair.
So…… it wasn’t really a pleasant sight to see the head of an intricately crafted doll, which only looked human at first glance, suddenly opening up. The closed eyes twitched. Was it moving due to electrical signals activating its artificial skin?
Clunk.
A louder sound followed, and crack, the head split open.
It didn’t ooze some neon-colored coolant like you’d see in sci-fi movies, which was a relief.
Inside was a cockpit reminiscent of what you’d find in a 90’s alien movie.
Sitting there was a being with black fur that closely resembled Cherry.
Squeaky Adult.
“……”
Cherry looked up at me.
Her expression seemed to be asking me what to do next.
A creature that had once tried to create a fake mother for me, attempting to steal away my hope. I wasn’t sure if it was truly the original, but at least that effect was clear.
I couldn’t grasp why such an entity was here, like this.
“……Is this person the one in charge here?”
My voice surprisingly sounded normal, without any trembling, as the kids looked a bit startled by it.
“We can’t really know for sure. Even if they normally hold a high position, they could still be held responsible for their work. ……But we don’t really know anything about the internal affairs of the company.”
“True.”
I nodded and looked down at the black hamster quietly.
“So, is it feasible to check if this person is really in charge? If it’s confirmed that they hold responsibility for what happened here, we should turn them over to the police.”
“And if they aren’t?”
Seo-hee asked.
“Then we’ll have to capture them.”
I wasn’t sure how legal matters worked, but this person was involved in this incident.
At the very least, we could ask why the explosion happened here. And then there was the story regarding Pang-pang.
“Can we legally detain them?”
“……”
Cherry briefly drifted into thought.
“It might be a bit tricky, but…… yeah. It’s possible. This company aligns closer with the Galactic Federation than Earth, according to the standards. But, ultimately, we’ll still have to hand them over to the government, but we can hold on to them while the Federation negotiates.”
“Got it.”
I nodded.
“Then let’s do that.”
*
After the work was done.
I felt leaving promptly seemed too heartless, but I also thought I wouldn’t manage to keep a straight face in front of the bereaved, so I sat in a less visible area and caught my breath for a moment.
Cherry, Seo-hee, and Yeon-woo were taking the executive to the police. I was indeed worried. The government had been turning a blind eye to what Noir Corporation was doing.
……Well, I guess we had been partially turning a blind eye to our actions too.
While I rested, several passersby expressed their gratitude, which only made me feel even heavier.
The circuits didn’t stop, but they felt somewhat slower. After transforming once, it’s not easy to revert completely, so they were still maintained, but if there were any more fights here, I would probably collapse halfway through due to mental fatigue.
“Ji-eun.”
And then, Ha-yoon came over to me.
“Are you okay?”
“Yeah.”
Although I felt mentally drained, the fact that I believed today’s work was done allowed some calm to settle within me.
That probably explains why the circuits aren’t completely shutting down.
“……”
Ha-yoon silently sat down beside me.
“I think things will work out.”
Her words brought me a little comfort.
“That’s a relief.”
“……You’re going to ask about Pang-pang, right?”
“Yeah.”
“If you find out where Pang-pang is, you’ll go rescue her, right?”
“Yeah.”
No matter what anyone says.
I couldn’t know exactly why Pang-pang ended up captured.
But whatever the reason, it was for sure that I was involved. If my friend was captured because of me, then it’s only natural I go help.
“I’ll go with you. No, everyone else will go together too.”
“……Alright.”
Somehow, that felt immensely natural. It wasn’t that I was ungrateful. Just, how should I put it?
When we first met, we weren’t really that close, were we? The only one who showed me interest was Seo-hee, and that interest only came about because I didn’t shy away when she challenged me.
In the end, we did get closer.
Now that I think back, it’s hard to understand why things felt so awkward back then.
“It’s all over.”
Seo-hee approached us and said. Cherry was perched on Seo-hee’s shoulder.
“This one seems fine to take along. But we need to handle her properly.”
“……Is permission that easy to obtain?”
“As soon as she heard I was an executive, she seemed to take a gut feeling. If they’re in the middle of this, the situation is serious. Who knows? If we investigate and find out this incident is unrelated, or if it was just an accident and she was the one in charge, they might let her go again. At least we bought ourselves some time.”
Cherry pinched the back of the black Squeaky Adult’s neck with her right index finger.
I see.
Alright. It’s not like we plan to keep her for long.
We need to extract information quickly and keep it efficient.
Then we’ll either break into Noir Corporation or find another way and rescue Pang-pang.
Only then could I finally stretch out and get some decent sleep.