How to Live as an Immortal Chapter 130

Chapter 130

Co Out

***

Embezzlent, tax evasion, speculation.

Items that fully embodied the qualities of a politician.

Rouge was an old man obsessed with lining his own pockets, hardly the sort of figure who could be called one of the great evils of the age.

Should reaching the triple crown be considered aningful?

Even so, for a lawmaker who had successfully won reelection, his misconduct could be described as rather ta. Of course, it was also possible that Kurtnik simply hadn't managed to dig any deeper.

'More importantly...'

Figuring out how Wendy had been cloned was what mattered.

For now, it seed she had been replaced soti around Solweek. According to Kurtnik, the reason he had noticed so late was because he had been away from ho during that period.

With the election just around the corner, he had been completely occupied with strategy etings and campaign planning.

It wasn't difficult to understand. He had been standing at a crossroads in life. Faced with an opportunity that might never co again, he must have been completely preoccupied.

Perhaps the reason he had accepted the request at the risk of his own political career stemd from guilt over abandoning his younger sister. No, in all likelihood, that was exactly the case.

Ordinarily, the proper course would have been to explain the situation to Wendy herself and request her assistance. However, this commission also included keeping silent so that she would not beco aware that she was a clone human.

Just in case, I had casually sounded her out at Oratic Bionics, but she wasn't even aware that any mories were missing from her mind.

In a way, that was only natural.

Whoever was behind this had gone so far as to clone an entire person. There was no way they would have left any traces behind.

Still, one thing bothered —the astonishing speed at which everything had been cleaned up.

Even for a clone human, cultivation took ti. If mories were transplanted as well, it took even longer. Why else would Baek Geum-do have recruited Baek Gi?

The map that represented the neural network's connections—the connecto.

The degree to which it could be perfectly replicated determined the quality of the clone human.

Needless to say, ordinary technology couldn't even attempt such a feat.

The specialized solutions and core materials involved were strictly controlled by the Board, and the equipnt required to realize it cost astronomical sums. Moreover, there weren't many experts capable of overseeing the process at interdiate stages.

And yet, despite all those obstacles—

'They did it within Solweek.'

Of course, that was the maximum estimate, not the minimum. There was no way to know exactly when she had disappeared.

For all I knew, it might have been completed within three sols.

The speed was utterly abnormal.

Perhaps rapid cultivation would be the proper term.

There were not many organizations that possessed such technology.

No, there were so few that they could be counted on one hand.

A handful of gacorps, the Mars Defense Force, and the Four Great Underworld factions.

All of them were colossal powers that supported society itself.

In contrast, Wendy was an utterly ordinary person.

If she had been the chairwoman of a gacorp, I could have spun a lengthy novel out of the possibilities, but she was soone who would struggle to write even a single line.

There were no records of her ever visiting regions with poor public security, nor was there any trace of her associating with such people.

She was simply one of the countless ordinary citizens of this era, going back and forth between ho and work.

If there was anything noteworthy about her, it was that she had lost her parents at a young age and that Kurtnik was her only remaining family.

This was precisely where all the circumstances failed to align.

If soone wanted her dead, they could have simply killed her. There had been absolutely no reason to bring her back. Yet the other party's actions had been so elusive that it almost seed as though they were trying to prevent any investigation from taking place in the first place.

'Is there a reason she has to remain alive?'

At present, that was the only conclusion I could draw.

Just what kind of incident had Wendy beco entangled in?

What circumstances had forced her to beco a clone human?

And who was manipulating everything from behind the scenes?

Carrying countless questions in his mind, Ga-on quickened his pace.

***

District 29 was an industrial complex developed solely for production.

Countless factories stood in orderly rows and columns like paving blocks, lined up in perfect formation and stretching endlessly into the distance.

Perhaps because of that, District 29 was filled with fog and steam despite it being early morning.

Leaving behind the gray scenery that resembled streets from the Industrial Revolution, Ga-on stopped in front of a factory.

[RG Purification Foods]

A secondary vendor for Trian, a gacorp famous for food engineering.

Calling it a secondary vendor sounded nice, but in reality it was a subcontractor's subcontractor.

Even so, there was no denying its remarkable scale and size.

It alone was connected to four factories.

Each one was the size of a football field.

Wendy worked here as a managent manager.

She wasn't the general manager, but it was still a fairly high-ranking position—

No, considering that she wasn't even thirty years old yet, it was a position well beyond what would normally be expected.

"Welco."

Led inside by Wendy, Ga-on was greeted by an interior so ticulously organized that it sent chills down his spine.

Under lighting so bright it seed as though the sun itself had descended, countless androids carried out their duties in perfect order.

Like shadows facing one another, their movents continued without the slightest margin of error.

Simply watching them was enough to inspire awe.

Yes, this very sight was the foundation upon which the universal basic inco system stood.

"It's not my first ti seeing it, but it's still overwhelming."

"So even you feel that way, Mr. Ga-on? I feel the sa thing every ti I co to work."

Though the topic itself was trivial, Wendy responded cheerfully, as if it brought her great joy.

"Access for outsiders must be strictly controlled. I'm surprised you managed to get permission."

"My oppa's business is my business too."

Wendy had been told that Kurtnik was running in the upcoming legislative election.

She had also been told that I had been hired to examine him from a third party's perspective and determine whether he had any disqualifying issues.

She might still wonder why she herself had undergone such an extensive examination, but it was sothing that could be brushed aside.

There was nothing unusual about the background of a first-ti candidate being thoroughly investigated.

Even more so when it involved family mbers.

The situation practically forced Wendy to cooperate.

"Do you work in the factory all day?"

"We work in four shifts. I only have to co in on weekends about twice."

"What about interacting with other people?"

"Not really, aside from shift changes. It's not a job where exchanging opinions is particularly important. If there's anything to pass along, we just leave it on the intranet."

Ga-on had imagined factory work as sothing a bit rough around the edges, but that didn't seem to be the case.

From what he had heard, it was actually a highly intellectual profession.

"What about company dinners?"

"We do have them periodically, but attendance is low. There just aren't many people here."

"Co to think of it, how many people work here in total?"

"Hmm. I don't think it's more than twenty."

A number that didn't suit a factory of such enormous scale.

Yet it didn't affect product quality in the slightest.

In modern society, full-auto factories—commonly called plants—were the standard.

Everything from raw material procurent to component production and product assembly proceeded along a single continuous line.

Everything was automated and unmanned.

Even maintenance, repairs, and managent were handled entirely by androids.

Theoretically, it was a perfectly sterile facility where not even a speck of dust could enter.

There was virtually no room for human intervention.

However, that didn't an there was no need for people to verify that everything was operating according to its programd instructions.

If an unexpected variable arose, tens or even hundreds of billions of Pia could vanish in an instant.

If employing a handful of people could prevent that, it was a highly profitable arrangent.

That was also why the workers' positions were manager-level rather than ordinary employee or assistant manager roles.

"I know what you're worried about, but I really do work hard. I don't cause trouble, my performance evaluations are excellent, and my relationship with my coworkers is..."

Trailing off, Wendy took hold of Ga-on's hand.

"It's true."

"You really care about your oppa."

"I've always felt that I could never repay him."

“At an age when he should have been focusing entirely on his studies, Kurtnik had been the one taking care of the household.

Wendy wasn't soone who failed to understand what he had sacrificed and what he had lost.

"My oppa didn't do anything wrong. Even if soone is at fault, it's all because I was stupid."

The tone was unusual.

Feeling that sothing was off—

"You..."

Ga-on was about to ask her to elaborate, but a chilling voice from behind cut off his intention.

"Wendy? Isn't it working hours right now? What are you doing here?"

Click, click.

Without making any effort to conceal the sound of her high heels, a woman strode over. Irritation was written all over her face.

Only a beat later did Wendy, shrinking into herself, reluctantly greet her.

"Hello, General Manager Halmi."

Without even responding, the woman turned her head and looked Ga-on up and down.

"I've never seen you before. Who are you?"

An unmistakably confrontational tone.

Since Wendy had called her General Manager, she was likely the general manager of the facility.

Perhaps because she held the highest position beneath the president, an air of self-importance seed to billow from her shoulders.

As Ga-on wondered how he should respond, Wendy stepped in to diate.

"He's my guest."

"A guest? I don't rember hearing any report about that today."

"I reported it to the president... and there was also a notice on the intranet..."

"So you're saying there was no reason to tell ?"

The mont Halmi barked at her, Wendy's shoulders drooped once more.

Was this so kind of disciplinary display?

Anyone with functioning eyes could tell that she disliked Wendy.

"Co with for a mont."

"But Mr. Ga-on is still here..."

"So what? I have work-related matters to discuss. Or should I start talking about company affairs in front of an outsider?"

It was a justification that couldn't be openly challenged.

However, it was equally obvious that malicious intent lurked beneath it.

Judging by the way Wendy clenched both fists and struggled to hold back tears, this clearly wasn't the first ti she had been subjected to such treatnt.

"It's fine. Go ahead. As long as I don't leave this place, right?"

"I'm really sorry."

Following after Halmi, who had already started walking away, Wendy disappeared from sight.

The instability in her legs, as though she might collapse at any mont, seed to reveal a glimpse of her emotions.

'Should I put her on the list of suspects?'

Left alone, Ga-on organized his thoughts and rose from his seat.

This wasn't part of the original plan, but the result he wanted remained largely the sa.

In truth, the interview with Wendy had rely been a smokescreen to conceal his real objective.

What Ga-on was after was the server managed by RG Purification Foods.

Even if it was rely a subcontracted factory, its internal security was airtight thanks to its closed network.

There was no way to infiltrate it from outside.

Which was why he had no choice but to enter from within.

Through Wendy's invitation.

Plugging a portable storage device—a so-called package—into a port, Ga-on tapped the probe.

"Dobby, you can do this, right?"

[Of course.]

***

In the end, he only saw Wendy's face for a few more minutes after that.

She had turned away listlessly, saying she had work piled up.

The contrast with the lively expression she had shown earlier left him feeling strangely uneasy.

Kurtnik probably believed Wendy was living without any problems.

Yet it seed she had difficulties of her own.

'For now, all I can do is wait and hope Dobby finds sothing useful after infiltrating the server...'

At that mont, sensing a presence behind him, Ga-on changed direction and entered an alleyway.

He preferred luring others rather than being lured himself.

After walking aimlessly for so ti, he arrived at a secluded vacant lot.

He had walked quite a distance, yet the murderous aura stabbing into his back remained firmly attached.

It was clear he wasn't imagining things.

"Co out."

As if responding to the call, unidentified figures erged from all directions.

At least dozens—

No, judging by the fact that their numbers continued to grow even as he counted, there were probably far more than that.

"Hey, if this many people co out, I won't have enough money to split between all of you."