Chapter 82
You're the World Politics Board mod?
I don't know exactly what 'mod' means, but the way he treats Kim Sungjin like an ordinary user makes it clear it must mean something very impressive.
-What's a mod?
-It's the board administrator.
Administrator!
"This bastard...! He was a big shot!"
The World Politics Board is a mysterious website even the Administration Bureau can't trace. Being the administrator of a site like that must definitely mean something.
They said that behind this world there are not only the Administration Bureau but also various other organizations. That means there must be plenty of hidden dark-power users as well.
The World Politics Board's administrator... they might be one of those exceptional practitioners too.
But how are those fake Administration Bureau bastards tracking this place? I wonder about that, though they're not tracking it perfectly either. They must have some sort of conditions and techniques.
"Grong. Find anything?"
"Yes! Please take a look at this!"
Jaldi and Mr. Jamtree, with the exception of Mr. Spangdal who had left his seat, came up behind me to watch the chat window.
"This guy invited me into a chat room. And he said he was the board's administrator."
"That's impressive. Grong. Step aside. I'll handle it from here."
"No, no! I'll do it! We can't make them suspicious!"
I just saw him posting on the board. What reason would I have to trust him with this?
Jaldi is the bureau chief, but he's almost completely ignorant when it comes to internet boards. If he chatted like that, he'd be finished in this line of work.
"Grong. I am the bureau chief. The way to contact an unknown individual like this-"
"Come on, Team Leader, step back for a moment. Grong. Do your best. Honestly, I don't think Team Leader Jaldi is suited to dealing with this guy."
Nice, Mr. Jamtree!
"I'll show you what I'm made of!"
"Ahem. Well, I suppose it wouldn't be bad to assess Grong's capabilities here."
Jaldi said with a blank face, but the corners of his mouth kept twitching, so he was clearly dissatisfied.
But it can't be helped. Right now, it'd be better if I handled it.
-So that means you're the true moderator of the World Politics Board?
-I don't think there's any need to reveal that much.
This guy.
He doesn't like showing his hand.
-Anyway, understood. From now on, I'll regard you as the World Politics Board's administrator. You did receive contact from Kim Sungjin, correct?
-Kim Sungjin has currently returned to our board. First, I would like to express our gratitude for rescuing him.
-I'd like to hear it from him directly.
-That can't happen.
How resolute.
-You don't trust us? If you'd heard it from Kim Sungjin, you'd know.
-We know nothing about each other, and Kim Sungjin can't exactly be considered mentally normal either. This sort of conversation is meaningless.
Though they're speaking firmly, they tossed us the bait first. That means they want something from us.
-You called me because you want something, didn't you? Wasn't that post about the human meat factory meant to make contact with us?
-That's correct. I wanted to verify Kim Sungjin's words, and based on that, I wanted to contact you.
-Right. So you want something from us. We want something from you too.
Beyond the monitor.
It felt as if electricity were flowing between me and the World Politics Board mod, whose face I didn't even know. That person is the administrator of that mysterious site.
Why are they maintaining a site like this? I was terribly curious. There must be some purpose or ideology behind keeping it running.
-Since we both want things, I think we can talk enough. But don't try to track us.
The World Politics Board mod sent another chat immediately after.
-We know how to evade your eyes. Tracking is meaningless, and understand that your attempts to track us are no different from attempts to attack us.
I can see how obsessed they are with concealment.
It's because they have that sort of nature that the World Politics Board has been able to stay hidden all this time. But there was something about this that bothered me a little.
If they really wanted to stay hidden completely, it would have been better to persuade Kim Sungjin to act like he knew nothing at all.
With this chat attempt, their very existence has been confirmed. For the World Politics Board regulars who want to stay hidden, this is a huge loss and a risk.
Why are they willing to take that risk?
-The reason we revealed our existence is because you saved Kim Sungjin and gave him information.
-So you called me to greet me out of courtesy?
-That is part of it, but we believe there is a possibility of cooperating with you.
-Cooperating?
"So that's what it was."
Jaldi said from behind me.
"Grong. They must have some immediate problem. It looks like they want to use our Administration Bureau to solve it."
"I think so too. They called because they want something. Besides, even if they heard it from Kim Sungjin, the fact that they've revealed themselves first suggests the issue is quite serious."
"An accurate insight. For now, figuring out what they want is the priority. Grong. Keep it up. Your chat style is a little frustrating, but it's acceptable."
"Yes."
No, Team Leader Jaldi, I told you, you can't be the one typing the chat.
-What do you want from our Administration Bureau?
-Let's see.
Let's see?
-If there's something you want, say it.
-Administration Bureau. Don't try to probe us carelessly. Likewise, don't set any traps. The initiative is ours.
What the hell, this bastard?
"Team Leader Jaldi. Damn, this guy's got a lot of confidence. I really like how his swagger is just overflowing. If you're the administrator of an organization, you should have this much swagger."
"He wants to hold the initiative. But we're in no hurry."
"Yes."
Above all, we've confirmed that bastard Kim Sungjin is alive.
As such, I'm in no hurry at all.
"Wanting the initiative means they need the Administration Bureau's help a great deal when it comes to solving the problem."
"Oh? You're saying because they need our help more, they're trying to seize the initiative so they won't be at our mercy?"
"Yes. So for now, make a brief detour and move away from the main point. If we only talk about something else, they'll get anxious first. They'll try to pique our interest. We'll take the initiative that way."
Jaldi gave his instructions very skillfully.
"Whoa."
I was sincerely impressed by that.
Come to think of it, Jaldi is the bureau chief and the team leader of our comprehensive response team, but he'd never really shown us anything major.
I knew he was experienced, more or less, but I guess I'd never had the chance to properly see his abilities.
But seeing him give orders like this makes me really trust him.
-Understood. First, I have something to say, mod.
-What is it?
-Tell Kim Sungjin this. You fucking bastard, did you forget our friendship?
-?
-We shot an action movie and even a road movie together in a truck, and now you're ghosting me without a single word? Don't you have anything to say to me?! I know you're with the mod right now! If you know what friendship means, answer me this instant!
-I am not currently with Kim Sungjin.
-Don't lie! You're not the mod, you're really Kim Sungjin, aren't you? I kind of figured it out while we were talking. Come on, admit it already.
-I repeat, I am not Kim Sungjin.
-This bastard, lol. Denying it to the end, lololol.
-I told you, I'm not.
-Hey! Contact me, you punk! Kim Sungjin, did you forget your friendship with me?!
The conversation reached a climax and veered completely off onto a different topic. I kept accusing the mod of being Kim Sungjin and harping on about friendship.
After repeating that over and over, eventually.
-Let's stop the conversation here.
With those words, no further chats appeared.
"Team Leader Jaldi? This guy isn't talking."
"This is enough. He'll get anxious soon enough. When that happens, he'll ask to talk again."
"So that's the part where you deliberately get the other side worked up."
"Exactly."
"Wow! As expected of the bureau chief! You're incredibly seasoned! You're almost as cool as me and Kim Sungjin!"
"I don't know just how much inspiration Kim Sungjin has given you... Leave the chat room open. We'll wait until they contact us first."
"Understood!"
As instructed, I kept the chat room open and started on other work.
Jaldi's words meant this guy would soon get anxious and start talking first. Then we could resume the conversation.
* * *
Some time passed.
-Administration Bureau.
It was a little late, but just as Jaldi had predicted, they contacted us first.
-The mod, huh.
-That's right.
So they really must have gotten anxious.
At this point, we can say the initiative has completely shifted to us. According to Jaldi, the mod would try to pique our interest and strongly imply a desire to cooperate through that.
If we could uncover their purpose in the process, we'd be able to figure out what kind of group the World Politics Board is.
-Administration Bureau. If you are the 'real Administration Bureau,' then we are willing to cooperate.
Not willing to cooperate so much as asking for help, probably.
-The Administration Bureau does not cooperate with suspicious outside organizations. As long as we know nothing about you, cooperation is impossible.
-Are you trying to lure us into revealing our identity? I told you it would be useless.
-That depends on how you look at it. Did you pass along my regards to Kim Sungjin?
-I won't talk about that.
Suddenly, that thought crossed my mind.
-Don't tell me you eliminated Kim Sungjin?
-That's not the case.
-Or are you detaining him?
-We don't do such things.
-Words alone aren't enough. You say Kim Sungjin is safe, but nothing has been proven. We can't cooperate with a group like that.
"You're doing well, Grong. Keep pressing them. It's fine even if the chat falls apart. The mod has already taken the bait. They'll keep reacting from their side."
"Of course."
I applied Kim Sungjin's chat method once again.
I suddenly veered off-topic and kept talking nonstop about the true friendship that blossomed between me, the valiant agent Grong, and Kim Sungjin, who was brave enough to be compared to me.
By then, the mod sent a chat.
-Enough. I will guarantee Kim Sungjin's safety. But there is a condition.
-What condition is that?
-We want information on the so-called 'fake Administration Bureau.'
Fake Administration Bureau?
-We don't properly know the difference between your real Administration Bureau and the fake Administration Bureau Kim Sungjin mentioned.
Come to think of it, their greatest enemy would be the fake Administration Bureau.
-If you give us information, we'll cooperate. We'll also send proof that Kim Sungjin is safe.
The initiative had already fully shifted to our side.
-Mod. Can you guarantee that you're the real World Politics Board?
-What do you mean by that?
-Isn't there also a chance that you, the one chatting with me, are actually the fake Administration Bureau and are merely pretending to be the mod to see how much we've figured out about you?
The chat cut off abruptly.
"Team Leader Jaldi. As expected, they seem to fear the fake Administration Bureau."
"Yes... men in black suits who suddenly show up. It's only natural to be afraid of them. The fact that they need information about them probably means the fake Administration Bureau has technology to track them to a limited extent."
Jaldi folded his arms.
"If we use the World Politics Board, we may even be able to lure the fake Administration Bureau bastards in. We might be able to inflict serious damage on those damn impostors. Grong. Keep digging for information."
"Yes."
Just as I was about to type something.
-You definitely seem to be hostile toward the fake Administration Bureau. In that case, we can cooperate.
The mod responded first.
-As I keep saying, we cannot cooperate as long as we don't know your true identity.
-We know what you're asking for. But we want to make clear that we can't help being cautious about revealing our identities.
-Then what can you reveal?
-Our World Politics Board regulars are made up of people who learned the world's secrets, or who were caught up in bizarre phenomena and survived.
What?!
-Our regulars didn't know about the existence of your real Administration Bureau. That means you probably have no information on what we've been through, right? Don't you want that kind of information?
"Team Leader. This guy is making an offer."
"Interesting. Tell him we want it."
-Information like that would be useful.
-We'll give you information, so we want you to tell us about the fake Administration Bureau. If that information proves valid, we'll know that we're not an organization hostile to you.
They're saying they'll provide useful information, so they want to make a deal.
If they provide a benefit, they aren't a hostile organization after all.
-Sounds plausible. Then can I take it that you want an exchange of information?
-Besides that, there is something else we need your help with.
-What is it?
-We want you to resolve a few bizarre phenomena, and investigate the whereabouts of our missing World Politics Board regulars.
The mod sent another chat in quick succession.
-If you agree, we'll provide our information each time.
These World Politics Board guys.
They want to keep themselves hidden, but it doesn't look like they're in a completely safe environment. The existence of the missing regulars proves that.
They want to sell information to make themselves even safer.
"They definitely don't seem to be the fake Administration Bureau. They don't look like a hostile organization either. I'd say they're a private covert cell with a few special pieces of information."
"Is that roughly the assessment?"
"Yes. Grong. Accept it. I want to see what they ask of us. They'll be showing their hand first, so there's no loss."
"Understood."
The mod requested that we resolve a few bizarre phenomena.
Knowing about those bizarre phenomena would be quite useful.
-Mod. Can I take this as a trade? The kind where you give us information if we solve the job?
-Exactly.
-Understood. I accept.