Chapter 197

“From here on, I’ll move separately.”

Tap, tap.

Right after successfully infiltrating the research facility, Vladimir Kharitonov brushed the dust off his red suit and spoke.

“We’ve broken through the most dangerous section, so handle the rest yourselves. My assistance ends here.”

“Will you be all right alone?”

“Are you seriously asking that?”

Vladimir snorted, “Hmph,” and in response, I simply nodded lightly once.

Vladimir was one of the top high-level Adaptees even within New Valhalla City. I had only asked out of courtesy, not because I was actually worried about him.

“Don’t let your guard down.”

“Worry about yourself first, not me. No, wait—come to think of it, it is a situation worth worrying about. Honestly… what was I thinking following you all the way here?”

As Vladimir said, when looked at objectively, this entire situation was either insane—or just plain ridiculous.

A younger brother firing thousands of missiles and shells at his older brother over an inheritance dispute, and that older brother forcing his way through all of it just to “teach him a lesson.”

And to make matters worse, the successor of the rival corporation Militech had jumped into the chaos, hoping to get something out of it.

If the media ever caught wind of this, it would’ve filled the front pages for at least a month. Conversely, that meant no matter what kind of mess we made here, there was no chance of it leaking to the press.

The Stingray Chairman would surely prevent any kind of media leak.

Knowing that, Vladimir had probably walked into this deathtrap of his own will… though even I wasn’t sure what exactly he hoped to gain from it.

“Well then, I’ll be off.”

And just like that, Vladimir left without a hint of hesitation.

A soldier serving as his driver followed behind him, armed with an assault rifle.

“Um, Mr. Aaron…”

Watching him quietly, Ciel suddenly turned her gaze toward the armored vehicle that was half-buried in the wall. Smoke was billowing out from it.

It was strange—something that had survived direct shelling was now useless after a single head-on collision.

Well, that’s Militech for you.

“What is it?”

“How are we supposed to get back?”

“……”

Right.

I hadn’t thought of that.

One hour after parting with Aaron Stingray.

“That happened about an hour ago.”

Vladimir, legs crossed and arrogance radiating from his expression, spoke while sitting on the sofa.

Across from him, Linda Beta sat trembling, sipping cold water to calm her nerves.

She was probably drinking it to steady her heart, but judging by the fact that it was already her fifth glass, it clearly wasn’t helping much.

Still, Vladimir didn’t bother pointing that out. Instead, he decided to quietly wait until Linda regained her composure.

While she was filling her sixth glass, he turned his head and examined the room’s interior.

A hexagon, huh. Quite a unique structure.

While most buildings in New Valhalla City were built in rectangular forms, this one was fundamentally hexagonal.

The apartment itself was relatively low-rise and rounder rather than tall and narrow. In fact, it resembled a beehive almost perfectly.

A beehive… yes, that’s exactly what it looks like.

One person per cell.

Just like how a single larva occupies a single honeycomb cell.

Unlike the chaotic and ever-expanding construction style of New Valhalla City, this place seemed standardized in every way.

In Linda Beta’s room, there was a small single bed. The living room had a table for meals, a sofa, and a TV.

Curiously, there was a dining table but no kitchen. Other than a few drinking cups, there wasn’t a single piece of tableware.

Instead, by the window, there was a meal delivery slot resembling one you’d find in a prison. Beside it sat a neatly emptied tray.

She probably received her meals through that.

“Hoo…”

Only after finishing her sixth glass did Linda Beta finally seem to calm down, exhaling deeply.

She mustered a bit of courage, met Vladimir’s eyes, and spoke hesitantly.

“S-So, to summarize… you’re saying you’re someone from the outside world, right?”

“Correct.”

“And you came with others. The one leading you all had a rather… unique name, ‘Aaron Mercy-something.’”

“Pffft!”

“Hmm?”

“N-Nothing.”

Vladimir barely suppressed his laughter.

Aaron Mercy-something.

Even hearing it again, it was a masterpiece.

Stingray and Mercy-something. The sound of the names together was oddly satisfying.

Of course, if Aaron ever found out that Vladimir had messed with his surname like that, he’d probably try to strangle him—but since Aaron wasn’t here, there was no risk of getting caught.

Besides, Vladimir had his own excuse—or perhaps justification—for twisting Aaron’s name that way.

It seemed that in this city called “Honeycomb,” its founder, Chairman Drake Stingray, was regarded almost like a god.

Under such circumstances, if Aaron Stingray—someone sharing the same surname—were to show up, it could certainly cause some complications.

In that sense, it was something Vladimir might receive gratitude for, not resentment. Yes, definitely.

As Vladimir chuckled to himself, satisfied, Linda Beta looked at him, thinking, “People from outside are so strange,” though he remained unaware of her thoughts.

“Continue.”

“Ah, yes. And after parting ways with Mr. Aaron Mercy-something, you wandered around various parts of Honeycomb City and eventually came across my room by chance, right? You didn’t have any particular intention?”

“That’s right.”

At first, Vladimir had planned to locate the research director’s office before Aaron, but somehow ended up arriving in this city first.

Meeting Linda Beta here was purely a coincidence—one hundred percent by chance.

“Then, do you not know what happened to your other companions?”

“I don’t.”

He had long parted ways with Aaron and the android, so there was no way for him to know their whereabouts.

And as for the soldier who had come with him—he had suddenly disappeared.

Yes, literally suddenly.

Wait. Hold on.

Why had he forgotten that?

It had been less than an hour ago.

Why had he completely forgotten such a thing until now?

He clearly remembered everything up until they entered the city, yet everything afterward was hazy, as though covered in fog.

Something’s not right…

A strange headache struck him.

Using his cybernetics device, Vladimir slowly began retracing his memories. Then, like sparks igniting a fire, the forgotten scenes flooded back into his mind.

Right. There was a battle.

He remembered black hair and golden eyes.

Right after entering Honeycomb City, someone who shared similar traits with Aaron Stingray had attacked them.

He had immediately counterattacked and managed to repel the assailant, but in the process, the accompanying soldier was killed.

The enemy hadn’t been particularly strong, and just as Vladimir cornered him, the man slipped away like a loach.

And after that… what happened?

He couldn’t quite recall.

The cybernetics within his head hummed and groaned as they struggled to process his memories.

At last, he managed to recover the events from an hour ago.

I had used too many modules, so I looked for a place to rest…

He had overworked both his body and his modules far too much that day.

His body and mind were exhausted to the limit, and deeming further battle impossible, he began searching for somewhere to rest.

He could have contacted Aaron Stingray for help, but his pride wouldn’t allow it.

So he had wandered the city aimlessly alone.

Along the way, he witnessed several bizarre scenes.

Every person in the city wore clothing resembling jumpsuits, and all of them had black hair and golden eyes—just like Aaron.

However, while some of them were beautiful and well-built, others looked ordinary, and still others had crooked noses or frail figures.

The sight filled Vladimir with an indescribable sense of nausea, and he eventually fled to where he felt the least number of biological signals.

When he came to his senses, he was here—in the home of the woman named Linda Beta.

What the hell is going on here? What…

“Mr. Vladimir?”

As Vladimir’s expression darkened, Linda Beta looked up at him with worry.

He met her black and golden eyes—and immediately felt sick again.

“A-Are you all right?”

“…Stay back.”

“If you’re not feeling well—”

“I said stay the hell back!”

Shouting as though in a fit, Vladimir shot up from his seat.

But at that moment, his head spun violently—and then everything went dark.

When he opened his eyes again, an unfamiliar ceiling greeted him.

No, not unfamiliar—he recognized it. The beehive-like structure unmistakably belonged to Linda Beta’s house.

Still… intact, huh.

Had he lost consciousness?

To think he’d let this happen in the middle of enemy territory—he really had no sense of danger.

As that thought crossed his mind—

“Ah, Mr. Vladimir!”

Linda Beta rushed toward the bed—

“Wah!?”

Thud!

After tripping once and groaning as she stood up again, she hurried back to his side.

Vladimir looked at her with disbelief but said nothing.

Smiling as though nothing had happened, Linda spoke cheerfully.

“I-I was so shocked when you suddenly lost consciousness.”

“…How long was I asleep?”

“Um… around nine hours?”

“Nine hours!?”

That meant it was the middle of the night.

Just as she said, the view outside the window was enveloped in darkness. It was likely an artificially simulated night.

Wait—hold on.

If nine hours had passed…

Why was the city still perfectly fine?

“Linda, was it?”

“Me? Yes.”

“Did anything unusual happen while I was asleep? Any loud noises, or someone rampaging and destroying parts of the city?”

“Huh? No, nothing like that at all.”

…Strange.

If nine hours had truly passed, Aaron Stingray should’ve had more than enough time to destroy half the city by now.

He had more than enough power to do so.

And yet, there were no signs of destruction. Honeycomb City lay silent and peaceful, buried in deep stillness.

What happened to that man?

Could he be dead?

If that were true, it wouldn’t necessarily be bad for Vladimir—but that was unlikely.

He simply couldn’t imagine that detestable Aaron Stingray losing so easily.

Something’s wrong.

This city was strange.

Not just his sudden blackout, but even the missing fragments of his memory about the city.

It wasn’t as simple as people being imprisoned and used as test subjects.

Damn it. What the hell is going on here?

He needed to find at least one clue—

whether to escape this place, or to uncover the module they were developing here.

While he was lost in thought—

“Mr. Vladimir?”

Linda Beta spoke cautiously.

“Would you like me to show you around the city?”

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