Chapter 38: King Zhang

A few hours had passed since I was placed back inside the suitcase.

I didn’t particularly know where they had taken me, but judging by the conversations outside, this seemed to be the area where newly acquired "strange" items were stored for further inspection and testing.

Through the suitcase, I could hear several A.E.G.I.S. personnel chatting nearby.

"Honestly, the recruits this month have been pretty underwhelming. I was expecting at least one or two interesting candidates, but most of them have been rather ordinary."

"Well, what did you expect? It’s not like talented people grow on trees."

Another person chuckled.

"Besides, I heard one of the Directors is sending his son to join the company this month. That should make things a little more interesting."

"Oh? Another nepo baby, huh? Hahaha! So, which division is the lucky guy joining? Something comfortable, I hope?"

"Keep your voice down, idiot! You can joke about almost anything else, but talking badly about the Directors is a good way to get yourself into trouble."

"All right, all right. No need to get so worked up, I’m just asking a question..."

"Well, if you’re that curious, I heard he’s joining the Response Unit."

"...What?"

"You heard me, man. The Response Unit!"

"You’re kidding, right? The Response Unit? Are you telling me the Director is actually letting his own son work in a place like that? Doesn’t he care whether the kid makes it out alive?"

"Apparently, he’s the one who insisted on it. From what I’ve heard, the Director practically forced his son to join the Response Unit."

"Damn, that’s harsh... even by A.E.G.I.S. standards."

The man let out a short laugh.

"I’ll give the kid three months, tops. Either he’ll quit before then, or he’ll finally realize that being a Director’s son won’t save him from what’s out there."

"Three months? You’re being generous, I’d be surprised if he lasted that long."

Their conversation continued for a little while, with the two personnel exchanging a few more jokes about the poor bastard’s future.

Eventually, their voices began to fade as they moved away, leaving me alone inside the suitcase once more.

Recalling their conversation from inside the suitcase, I had a pretty good idea of who they were talking about.

’Is it finally starting...?’

I hadn’t expected to hear about this so soon, especially when I had only just arrived at A.E.G.I.S. and was currently sitting inside a suitcase waiting to be inspected.

Still, the details they mentioned were far too familiar for me to mistake them for someone else.

The son of one of A.E.G.I.S.’s Directors...

Someone who had been forced to join the Response Unit despite the dangers that came with the job...

I knew this story extremely well.

After all, [As Above, So Below] was one of the most popular books in [Arcana] that I had read before coming to this world, and I remembered the circumstances surrounding its main character’s introduction.

If Nica was one of the main casts in [As Above, So Below], then this person was the one at the center of the entire story.

I had always known that meeting him was a possibility, but I hadn’t expected to come across information about him this early.

It seemed that the events of [As Above, So Below] were finally beginning to unfold, and I had somehow stumbled upon the news before even passing A.E.G.I.S.’s recruitment.

There was absolutely no doubt about it...

The main character of [As Above, So Below]...

King Zhang.

’Man, my heart is pounding. I badly wanna meet him...’

Among all the books in [Arcana], he was the only protagonist who felt like someone I could actually reason with, someone whose thoughts and decisions I could understand and relate to the most.

Of course, that didn’t mean he was normal by any stretch of the imagination.

The world of [Arcana] wasn’t exactly known for having mentally stable protagonists.

Still, at least he wasn’t some borderline suicidal maniac who constantly threw himself into danger, nor was he a manipulative machiavellian who treated everyone around them as disposable pawns.

Compared to those people, King Zhang was practically a breath of fresh air agreed upon by all the fans of [Arcana]!

Thump.

After a few more hours of waiting, I was finally placed somewhere I could hear people talking again.

"Is this the one they brought in earlier? Wait, are we supposed to inspect the suitcase itself, or is there something inside it?"

A raspy male voice sounded from nearby, carrying a hint of curiosity.

"Use your head for once and open the damn thing. According to the inspection team’s report, whatever’s inside could be the most useful item we’ve acquired from today’s recruitment."

"Well, excuse me for asking."

The man grumbled before continuing.

"Anyway, let me see the report first... Hmm? An object capable of predicting future events? And the inspection team thinks its predictions might be related to fate?"

He chuckled.

"Oh, now that’s interesting. It’s been ages since we’ve come across an item with properties related to fate. Haha, let’s hope the inspection team’s assessment is accurate for once. I’d hate to get my hopes up over another useless trinket."

"Will you stop talking and open the suitcase already? We still have other items to test."

"Alright, alright. There’s no need to rush me."

Following the instructions in the report, they opened the suitcase containing me.

The moment the lid was lifted, I could feel several pairs of eyes staring directly at me.

"...Oh?"

"Huh. It’s actually pretty cute!"

A female worker leaned closer, examining my appearance with obvious interest.

"Look at its little suit! And that hair! Whoever made this doll certainly put a lot of effort into its appearance."

Hearing her praise, I couldn’t help but feel a little pleased.

Heh. Of course I looked good.

Unfortunately, I couldn’t exactly show off my happiness. In this state, my entire body was nothing more than that of a doll, and all I had to do was remain completely still.

Thankfully, that wasn’t particularly difficult.

"Well, its appearance is one thing, but what about its readings?"

The raspy-voiced man asked as he bit on the food on his lunchbox.

Another worker glanced at the equipment in his hands before answering.

"The advanced SED is picking up supernatural energy, but the reading is only around F-tier."

"...F-tier?"

The man’s enthusiasm immediately faded.

"Seriously? That’s a bit of a letdown. An item with potential connections to fate, and it’s only F-tier?"

"Isn’t that actually a good thing?"

The female worker interjected.

"I heard Response Unit F-5 lost their purple owl recently. You know, Entity F-299? If this little guy can communicate with people, couldn’t we assign it to them as a replacement?"

"Oh, right! I almost forgot about that mess."

The man let out a weary sigh.

"That’s actually not a bad idea. We’re still not entirely sure whether this thing qualifies as a supernatural entity or just a paranormal object, but if it can communicate and cooperate with its assigned personnel, it should be eligible to serve as a supernatural companion."

"Mhm. I was starting to worry we’d get another lecture from the higher-ups about losing yet another entity. Those F-5 rookies really need to learn how to take better care of their companions."

"Cut them some slack. They’re still rookies, and they did manage to bring back some pretty good results when they first started working with Entity F-299."

"Yeah, well, now that they’ve lost it, we’re the ones who have to deal with all their paperwork and requests for a replacement. Do you have any idea how many times they’ve contacted us about getting another supernatural companion? More times than I’d like to count, apparently."

"If they send us one more request, I’m going to start ignoring their messages!"

The male worker chuckled at her complaint before turning his attention back to me.

"Well, whatever the case, let’s finish the tests first before we decide anything, alright?"