61 – Interlude (2)
My body froze at the author’s serious words.
I could feel sweat welling up on her inconspicuous back.
“That… what do you mean?”
Did you notice that there is a monster inside me?
No, it can’t be.
If I did, I wouldn’t have created a situation where the two of us were alone.
I calmed my breathing, feeling a bit calmed down.
“This is a video of the senior fighting that suit-type monster this time.”
When the author said that and operated her remote control, she came out and a video of the monster’s fight flowed on the screen hanging on the wall.
It’s an angle taken from the bottom up, so I can understand that it’s a noisy and urgent situation, but I don’t know what exactly it is.
This was a video taken by an ordinary person who was parasitized by a monster.
“Because there are things you can see in this video.”
As the author said, she paused the video being played back and pointed the laser at the screen.
The scene was filmed with pale blue sparks flying.
“According to the content of the interview with the senior, the suit-type monster can borrow the wearer’s superpowers and use them. But none of the people around him had lightning powers.”
As the author said that, he looked at me with a serious expression.
“Senior….”
Looking at the author’s expression, I felt like all my secrets were being thoroughly dug up.
The author turned his back on me and let out a short breath.
“Because black technology can break through the law of personal privacy protection to some extent. Assuming that it is for the development of mankind as a whole.”
Suddenly what does that mean?
“Buwon Hospital, Eunseong Hospital and other hospitals where seniors volunteered with supernatural powers… A supernatural power that suddenly appeared, a lightning ability that had not been used until now, a story about catching up to an opponent as fast as an accelerated person, and so on.”
The author turned around and looked up at me.
“Are you stealing psychic powers or possessing abilities equivalent to those?”
“….”
ㅡ That’s amazing. Can you figure out this far with that little information?
That’s right.
I’m asking, but I’m already sure.
If I say no even if I die, they won’t believe me, but I’ll show them that I believe them.
It’s obvious that you’ll get caught even if you look around here anyway.
“Right. The day I was hospitalized after being hit by a car in front of Buwon Hospital, the ability I acquired was a different ability than body strengthening and hardening.”
“….”
I told you what happened in the accident at Buwon Hospital.
Of course, I omitted the story about the grid that came into my body.
After listening to the story for a while, the author nodded his head and made a refreshing expression.
“The senior suit was also a bit strange. There is no monster reaction. I don’t have it, but the structure is slightly different from the model my senior ordered. Is this your senior ability?”
“Uh.”
To be precise, it’s Grid’s ability.
“I don’t think there’s anything wrong for now, so I’ll just move on. But isn’t that a bit too much? I could tell you that much….”
The author asked why he hid it with a slightly playful expression.
I’m not good at lying, so I couldn’t help it because I thought I’d tell you about the grid.
“Aren’t heroes with secrets cooler?”
“f*ck.”
The author asked if it was okay to put a certification mark on the suit to indicate that it had passed the test.
Grid hated it, saying it was like a mark for grading animals, but he finally gave up his will because it was unavoidable.
“It will be fine now.”
“Thank you.”
A strange silence arose between us, whether it was because business was over or because something important had been exchanged.
What should I say….
“Senior.”
“Huh?”
“This is a secret… The law regarding hero suits will be revised soon.”
It’s a secret, can I tell you?
I glanced at Ji-eun with that kind of notice and put my index finger on her mouth with a mischievous expression.
“It’s a secret. Did you know?”
“Yes.”
According to her today, the author, who was used to something, feels unfamiliar.
“The number of mutant monsters has increased these days, and the burden on heroes has increased accordingly. So, laws will be enacted for the safety and smooth activities of heroes.”
“Specifically, how does it feel?”
“Take the lightning ability as an example….”
The lightning ability and flame ability are strong.
However, as these two abilities are strong, you need to be careful when using them.
Because both are abilities that can spread as secondary damage called fire.
“That’s why we decided to give it a direction.”
“Direction?”
“It feels like using a weapon mounted on a suit, like a taser gun. Then there will be less cases of secondary damage caused by electricity being emitted.”
Aside from suits, heroes also get equipment that suits their abilities.
Like Snake prepared a plain sword.
However, it also had some limitations.
This is because there was more negative public opinion about the use of weapons by heroes.
Anyway, the public opinion may have felt that the possession of weapons by heroes was like gun legalization in the United States.
The plain clothes sword prepared by Snake was a conditionally allowed equipment because without the sword, it would be impossible for Snake to act as a hero.
Those with Fire and Lightning abilities have high fire power even without equipment, so there is a limit to possessing such equipment.
However, this means that the restrictions will be lifted to some extent.
“That’s fine.”
It has high firepower, but there is a way to use it in a limited way by controlling the abilities that can cause catastrophe if misused.
Then, people who usually only hunt monsters will be mobilized to catch villains, so security will be a little more stable.
It’s already considered safe enough, but there’s nothing wrong with getting better.
If you can use secondary weapons that can produce higher firepower when dealing with monsters, you can safely protect the citizens even if stronger monsters appear.
“But nothing can be implemented right away. You know?”
Of course I know.
“That’s why I called the senior here.”
“Hmm?”
From noble mtl dot com
“Because seniors are quite talkative and I know each other. Will you help?”
….
I felt that things were going strangely.
***
After talking with the author, I returned home.
Today, I had been on leave from the office in advance, saying that the prosecutor might take a long time.
I wish I knew it would end so early… No, it must be difficult to be a hero in this state.
The story told by the author was simple.
Regulations on hero equipment are about to be lifted, so it seems that a beta test is needed to handle the equipment and prove its stability.
It is said that those who have black technology have already gone through an alpha test, so it is as if safety is guaranteed, but to be honest, it is a bit surprising.
Why me?
ㅡ It’s because you and a woman named Jieun are acquaintances.
Is that so?
ㅡ Besides that, there must be a reason why you are a convenient existence in many ways. Because you can try all the equipment.
Ah, that might be too.
ㅡ Aren’t there only good things in many ways? Why are you so worried?
I wonder if the reason why the author became a researcher is because of me, so I feel a bit strange.
The author hated psychic powers.
But she is suddenly working in a laboratory where she has to use all of her abilities.
Maybe it’s because of me.
It must have been quite a shock to see myself getting hurt while fighting the monster that had turned into Taeil.
She didn’t seem to be okay at all even if I calmed her down and said that she was fine.
ㅡ It’s a job you choose.
Yes, it is a choice you make.
The author said that her dream is to get a job at an ordinary company and live an ordinary life.
Everyone in the club who heard it laughed and said what kind of dream it was.
Come to think of it now, she might have been the author’s true dream when she sang that ordinary, ordinary song.
She thinks that she is messed up because of me.
ㅡ You still look like a sweet potato.
What, man.
As well as the recent Yongsu incident, I felt uncomfortable because people around me seemed to be affected by me.
Otherwise, Grid started banging on his computer as soon as he got home.
I stared blankly at it, then lay down on the bed and fidgeted with my smartphone.
At the moment I was thinking about what to make for lunch today, I got a text message.
It was a text message that was charged a considerable amount.
“Hey!”
You bastard, what did you buy?!
ㅡ It is a necessary expense. To get past this.
“You mad man! Do you want to be a medical student?!”
Grid suddenly ordered a book on medicine that only nurses and doctors would read.
It was a 7-digit number with 2 in front.
Isn’t this the amount that would be higher than my height if I built a tower with my major books?
Why all of a sudden?
ㅡ The woman uses us to test new equipment, she said.
I did.
ㅡ We need to get more psychic powers.
I guess so.
We may have to fight the man with unknown powers who declared war on us.
ㅡ Then, inevitably, there may come a moment when we have to disclose how we gain strength.
… Maybe so?
ㅡ Then, you can’t dig into other people’s bodies like a facehugger forever.
Ah… Is it like that?
There are still people with psychic syndrome in Korea.
There are many people in foreign countries suffering from the disease.
If my abilities become known, I might be invited to another country to help those people.
At that time, it is not certain that the secret of how the disease is treated will be kept, along with information hiding, as it is now.
Grid insists that we need to understand the structure of the human body more in preparation for that time.
In order to easily absorb excess energy without having to touch the human body.
ㅡ In the first place, the inside of humans is dirty. Smelly and nasty
… Isn’t that the biggest reason?
He’s a very tidy and trembling fellow.
If you think about it, it was like that when the hero suit was stained with vomit.
First of all, I should tell Yuna-san or Hawkeye about the things I was inspecting the hero suit for today.
I tried to send KakaoTalk messages to Yuna and Hawkeye, but the contents were not well organized.
The relaxation of hero equipment regulations has not yet been announced.
You’d be surprised if I told you that I suddenly became a beta tester for hero gear, right?
As I was thinking about what to do with this, Hawkeye sent me a KakaoTalk message.
ㅡ Brave. I got a call that I was registered as a tester for a new hero equipment. Do you know anything?
Ah, the author has already taken action.
I sent a brief note of what happened at the research center to Hawkeye and Yuna, asking them not to leak it as it has not yet been announced.
Then I got a call from Yuna right away.
ㅡ Be, a beta tester… What does that mean?!
I honestly don’t know, Yuna-san.
Somehow, it happened that way.
“Uh… Somehow it happened.”
So I had nothing else to say.