Chapter 208
It was time to put aside all these worries.
The top priority was the removal of the Ability suppression.
To do that, we had to become Model prisoners.
Paradox had Osai ask the HR Officer to make our Companions into Model prisoners.
The HR Officer was completely smitten with Osai. We thought she would easily grant that much, but… unexpectedly, she was deeply conflicted.
Only when Osai pressed her did she reveal the inside story of the Stance.
She seemed to prefer that Osai didn’t become a Model Prisoner.
The reason was a secret hidden in the restraint release device.
There was a reason why the Model prisoners with Supernatural abilities couldn’t even dream of escaping and remained loyally obedient to the Officer.
How exemplary could a prisoner of Glitch Hall really be, anyway? But it didn’t matter how sinister their hidden intentions were.
Because during the process of releasing the suppressor, a control microchip was inserted into their internal nerves preventing them from harboring any ulterior motives.
Even if they wanted to try any funny business, they couldn’t.
If their superior so much as lifted a finger, they would drop dead foaming at the mouth, so they couldn’t even harbor the thought of rebelling.
Having obtained this important information, the Companions sighed.
No wonder the control over the Model prisoners seemed loose even with a deterrent like the inquisitor existing; this was the secret hidden behind it.
Even if it was a virtual simulation, Glitch Hall was still Glitch Hall. It was truly thorough.
Because of this, the Officer tried to stop Osai from becoming a Model Prisoner. Who would welcome their lover wearing a dangerous bomb necklace?
But regardless, the suppressor issue had to be resolved.
When Osai refused to bend, the Officer had no choice but to say she would help him become a Model Prisoner. She, too, knew the gap between a Model Prisoner and an ordinary prisoner.
Furthermore, being blinded by love, she had become willing to go through fire and water to help Osai.
However, resolving the control chip issue was a concern.
Fortunately, the Officer had a plan.
With her authority, she could tamper with the restraint release device to adjust it in advance, ensuring the chip insertion sequence would be skipped.
The biggest hurdle was persuading the Officer to perform that 'manipulation' not just for Osai, but for the rest of the Companions.
This wasn’t directly related to Osai’s safety, and it significantly increased the risk of getting caught, so the Officer resisted very fiercely.
Osai had to cling to her and beg for days, even resorting to blackmail like, “If you don’t help these people too, I’ll just bite my tongue and die,' before he could barely manage to persuade her.
Becoming a Model Prisoner, or according to the quest name,
“Struggle to Emerge from the Egg”
It was the day of the operation’s execution.
The Officer secretly sent a message to Osai. It said that she had finished setting up the device, so there was nothing to worry about, and that she would see him later.
Afterward, the Companions were summoned as Model Prisoner candidates. The Model Prisoner guiding them was, unexpectedly, a familiar face: Gleck.
They arrived at the release room while listening to him chatter away boastfully, supposedly giving advice as a Senior Model Prisoner.
Inside the humming, rotating circular machine space designed to enclose the entire body, focusing on the head and neck, a person’s body repeatedly went in and out along with a yellow light.
Another Model Prisoner was already in the middle of releasing their suppressor. Whether it was the effect of a Supernatural Ability, an unidentified Energy Wave spread out, making skin and fine hairs tremble.
Cheonchilbaek had a somewhat bad premonition and narrowed his eyes as he watched.
As expected, the HR Officer stood in front of the release device, supervising the process.
Unexpectedly, however, even though Osai had appeared, she remained cold and didn’t give him a single glance.
She usually pretended not to know him in front of others, but it had never been to this extent.
She even looked excessively stiff, as if she were walking on eggshells around someone.
Just who could it be to make even the almighty Officer so tense?
A quick sideways glance soon provided the answer.
A wooden man wearing a pitch-black suit and sunglasses, his hair slicked all the way back, was watching the release process from behind, arms crossed, without saying a word.
Perhaps feeling the gaze, the eyes hidden behind the black lenses snapped around and turned toward Cheonchilbaek.
At the sudden chilling sensation, Cheonchilbaek hastily bowed his head.
“H-Hurlock…”
When he carefully whispered to Paradox, Paradox, too, nodded.
“Shh. Don’t open your mouth carelessly. I see him, too. The situation is unusual.”
They had come to release the suppressors, firmly trusting only the Officer, but it seemed a variable the Officer couldn’t control had arisen, which was a big problem.
If he had his way, he would want to run away, but having come this far, there was no way that was possible.
Whiiir-
The sound of the release device stopped, and the bright yellow beam that made one feel uncomfortable ceased.
The Model Prisoner Candidate who had gone in first staggered to his feet, looking as if he would throw up at any moment.
The suppressor was definitely released. Instead, something even worse had simply been planted inside his body.
“What are you waiting for? Next in line.”
The HR Officer said in a sharp, ringing voice. The one standing at the very front was Samsao.
Their eyes met for a moment, and Samsao strode forward.
There was no way to turn back. They just had to go through with it.
Samsao entered the device, and the spine-tingling mechanical sound and yellow light leaked out once again.
Despite the tension, Samsao’s procedure finished faster than expected, without any issues.
The problem was whether the Officer’s “device settings” had been properly applied, but there was no choice but to believe the Officer had done it well.
The next turn was Osai.
Cheonchilbaek carefully observed the Officer’s expression. Her complexion was dark, but since she hadn’t had a bright expression earlier either, it wasn’t easy to read her inner thoughts just by looking at her face.
Osai’s turn also finished safely. The time it took for Osai was even shorter than for Samsao.
However, it was by no means a pleasant experience, as he practically crawled on the floor, dry heaving as he left the release room.
Paradox’s turn. The moment the fat, middle-aged prisoner stepped into the device, the Man in Black Suit suddenly opened his mouth.
It was a rough voice, like scraping metal.
“Strange. Has the release device changed a bit? It seems the time it takes has gotten shorter than what I knew.”
Cheonchilbaek’s hands sweated. There was only one reason the time had gotten shorter. It was likely because the control chip insertion sequence had been skipped.
The Officer had kept her promise. The problem was the possibility that the Man in the Black Suit would notice this.
“Are you going to take issue with the release procedure now, too? Matters related to Model prisoners are under my jurisdiction. You haven’t forgotten, have you?”
The Officer retorted coldly. However, a faint tremble remained in a corner of her voice.
Did he detect that? The Man in the Black Suit spoke in a calm voice.
“Well. If it’s related to Supernatural abilities, you could say it all falls under my jurisdiction. Come to think of it, I heard there was an unpleasant incident in your Office a few days ago?”
Cheonchilbaek licked his dry lips.
Did he know something? Or was he just testing the waters?
“An unpleasant incident, you say. It was nothing much. The Security system just malfunctioned. Is there a problem?”
At the Officer’s annoyed reply, the man in a black suit stared through his pitch-black sunglass lenses and answered.
“Haha, of course not. If I offended you, I apologize, Officer.”
“I will accept that apology, Transcendent Inspector.”
Transcendent Inspector? There was definitely related content among the information obtained from the Officer. Just as Cheonchilbaek was trying to recall his memory, Paradox’s turn ended.
Perhaps the Glitch Hall 17-year veteran also had good resistance to the suppressor release, for even though his face had turned an ashen color, he stepped out standing straight.
Cheonchilbaek, it was his turn.
As he stepped into the device, he heard the voice of the Man in the Black Suit.
“Come to think of it, the Model Prisoner list is quite unusual this time, especially these four…”
He really had a bad premonition about this.
* * *
His vision was entirely bright red. Yellow and red afterimages wouldn’t go away even when he closed his eyes.
Cheonchilbaek vomited several times from the thousands of afterimages flashing through his mind and his tightly strung nerves. Later, having eaten nothing, he was at the point where only saliva and gastric juices dribbled out.
The Model Prisoner acting as a guide pulled Cheonchilbaek, who had collapsed on the floor, to his feet.
“Hey, you’re a bit extreme. Just what kind of ability do you have to be like this? It’s not like you’re overreacting… Tsk. This is why cleaning up after newly made Model prisoners is so exhausting.”
Cheonchilbaek felt it was unfair, too.
Samsao, Osai, and Paradox hadn’t experienced such severe symptoms.
His head throbbed as if it were burning, to the point where he suspected the Man in Black Suit might have pulled some trick during the suppressor release.
Still, his other colleagues seemed fine, and they had all succeeded in releasing their suppressors, so it was a relief…
Just then, a string of text popped up.
『
GM
: Quest Updated!
“Struggle to Emerge from the Egg (Completed)”
You have become 'safely' Model prisoners and released your Ability suppressions through excellent stratagems, outstanding improvisation, and fatal charm.
A bird that has emerged from its egg is bound to eventually learn how to fly. Now, all that remains is to gradually get used to your respective Supernatural abilities.
However, it is unknown whether you will be given enough time.
The last line was ominous.