Chapter 291: Creator God Almighty! (2)

Translator: Dreamscribe

The employees of FS Games had witnessed countless miracles, starting with the virtual reality game Arsilan Saga. From prosthetic arms to the nuclear fusion power plants that had completely freed humanity from its energy problems, things that had once been only vaguely imagined were becoming reality.

And it did not end there.

New technologies poured out of Jinwoo's laboratory every month. It was so hard to keep up that several prestigious universities had gone so far as to establish departments devoted solely to researching the technologies Lee Jinwoo had released.

Every field Jinwoo laid a hand on was developing explosively.

Lee Jinwoo is the singularity.

Every renowned scholar on Earth agreed with that statement.

"Is this really poss..., well, of course it's possible. It's the CEO's work, after all...."

"I imagine it'll be incredible to see in person."

"Haaah...."

Judging by the employees' reactions, it was more than enough to become a talking point even among the Heroes, who were used to Jinwoo by now. Han Yong-seon and the employees fell deep into thought over how to work it into the middle of the program.

But no answer seemed to come easily, and the meeting began to drag on. Since everything concerning the fourth anniversary had been entrusted to Han Yong-seon, Jinwoo did not step in, even though he had plenty of good ideas.

Wouldn't showing them in person give them some inspiration?

Since he was doing it anyway, he might as well give them a slightly shocking experience

Jinwoo kept his expression under control and spoke up.

"Wouldn't the ideas come more easily if you saw it for yourselves? Shall we go take a look?"

At Jinwoo's words, everyone turned to look at him.

"I-Is that really all right?"

"Ooh! I'd love to see it!"

"Then we're going to your laboratory, sir?"

The employees all nodded fervently.

"Let's send everyone home early today, and just the director and the team leads will come along."

Every last FS Games employee got to leave early!

Jinwoo headed to his private laboratory together with Han Yong-seon and the team leads.

Security at Jinwoo's laboratory was extremely tight.

Visitors had to pass through a triple barricade, clear fingerprint and iris scans, and then submit to a body check. Since it was the single most important site in Korea, the government had dispatched special agents of its own and poured everything it had into the security.

Not once had that security ever been breached. A bribed special agent had once tried to get close in order to smuggle out classified material, but he had failed disastrously. These days he was living a life worse than death.

"O-Ooooh!"

Han Yong-seon marveled as he stepped inside the laboratory.

Even Han Yong-seon, the director of FS Games' Salvation Headquarters, had never been inside the laboratory before.

Jinwoo's laboratory was a place the whole world was curious about. It got treated much the same way as America's Area 52, that great magnet for conspiracy theories. [TL: a riff on the real-world Area 51.]

'Arsilan is real, and Lee Jinwoo is hiding it!'

'Arsilan is a planet in another universe!'

'The dimensional planes actually exist!'

Conspiracy theories (?) like these were posted on social media all the time.

Everyone just laughed them off, though.

The laboratory lobby was crammed with astonishing things.

To keep up appearances, Jinwoo had put the things he had invented over the years neatly on display.

There were also machines meant to show that research was underway. Somewhat chaotic-looking contraptions were strewn about, with cables poking out of them.

The sparks that occasionally leapt off them looked terribly dangerous.

By anyone's reckoning, it was the laboratory of a genius scientist straight out of a movie!

Han Yong-seon peered at the thing inside a capsule. Something like a liquid was in there, rippling into all sorts of shapes. It was a truly fascinating sight.

"Sir, what's this?"

"Nanomachines."

"Oh! The kind that go into your body and heal you and all that?"

Jinwoo nodded.

They were extremely tiny biological golems, advanced enough to cure rare diseases and hereditary illnesses. Healing with magic would have been simple, but that could stir up all kinds of controversy, so he had made these as a cover.

Han Yong-seon and the team leads marveled at Jinwoo's yet-unreleased inventions. If even one of them were made public, the entire world would be in an uproar.

"...It feels like we've stepped into the future."

"This is more like a movie than a movie, isn't it?"

"At this point I think I'd just take anything in stride, no matter what came out."

Jinwoo snorted with laughter at the team leads' remarks.

"This way."

They went down a long corridor and boarded an elevator.

The elevator did not go up, but instead descended deep underground.

DING!

When the elevator opened, a dark corridor revealed itself.

Han Yong-seon and the team leads gulped.

Cold air washed over them, and the humming drone of machinery set their nerves on edge. The atmosphere was like walking into a horror movie.

Staging even the smallest things like this was what attention to detail was all about!

It was their first visit to the laboratory, so a welcoming ceremony was in order.

It was an experience meant to inspire them, so it would surely help.

"Actually, there's something I haven't told you. This is top secret, but...."

As Jinwoo set the mood, everyone looked at him with anxious faces.

"A test subject escaped last week. That's the real reason I called you all here today, using the materials as an excuse. Since it's classified information that can't be released to the outside..., I'll need you to help me capture the test subject."

"Come on, sir, that kind of joke...."

When Jinwoo said it in dead earnest with a stiff expression, Han Yong-seon and the team leads, who had been determined not to believe him, flinched.

Even so, they still couldn't believe it.

He really is a great joker!

It had to be a joke.

It's a joke, right?

Everyone looked at Jinwoo with that expression, but Jinwoo's face did not change. He let out a long breath as though tense, then stepped into the corridor. He picked up a flashlight from the ones stationed along the wall and took the lead.

TWANG!

At the sound of something striking something else, everyone tensed up and followed after Jinwoo.

They were walking nervously down the long corridor when it happened.

Beneath a light flickering on and off at random, a woman wrapped in white bandages came into view.

She was prowling around with abnormal movements that could not possibly be called human. Han Yong-seon was startled, but he forced himself to stay composed and smiled.

"Haha! Sir, I'm not falling for it this time. This takes me back to Halloween."

For a Halloween Day event, Jinwoo had used holograms to fill the entire FS Games building with a horror atmosphere. Since he had done it without warning, every employee had shrieked in fright.

Han Yong-seon, who had been putting on a tough front, had ended up bawling his eyes out, and Jinwoo had silently patted him on the shoulder at the time.

"I'll go check it out."

"Are you sure you'll be all right?"

"Come on, it's a hologram. Even if a real monster showed up, I'd take it down myself."

Common sense said there was no way an escaped test subject existed.

What's more, that thing was humanoid. Was there any chance that the Lee Jinwoo would be running human experiments?

STRIDE, STRIDE!

Perhaps to make up for his embarrassing display at Halloween, Han Yong-seon walked bravely toward the test subject. But once he was actually standing in front of it, fear came surging up.

CREEEAK! CREEEAK!

The test subject was contorting its body this way and that, letting out eerie noises. Han Yong-seon forced himself to look unbothered, laughed loudly, and reached out his hand.

It was a hologram, so his hand would pass right through....

"See? It's a hologram...."

GRIP!

It didn't. It touched something solid.

The texture of the bandages, the feel of a body beneath them.

All of it registered as vivid, unmistakable sensation. Unable to believe it, Han Yong-seon moved his fingers once more, and it was still there under his hand.

T-This is real!

It's a monster with an actual body!

"Uh, uh, UWAAAAAAAAAGH!"

Han Yong-seon screamed and bolted back toward where Jinwoo was.

At that, the test subject's waist folded backward and it planted itself in a handstand on the spot.

PATATATATAT!

It came hurtling at Han Yong-seon and the team leads at tremendous speed. Everyone panicked and started running for the elevator. Han Yong-seon frantically hammered the elevator button, and the doors opened.

Just as they piled inside and reached for the close button.

"Kurgh!"

The test subject came racing in and pounced on Jinwoo, who was at the very back.

Jinwoo screamed as he collapsed, and the test subject tore into him with its teeth.

SPURT!

Blood sprayed out and stained the floor.

The instant the doors began to close, the lights inside the elevator went dark and the power died. A red emergency lamp came on, and the test subject's form became clearly visible.

It looked like a skeleton wound in bandages.

A genuine monster escaped from a laboratory was right under everyone's noses.

GRRRRRR!

The test subject let out a low growl, then reached out its hands and advanced on Han Yong-seon and the team leads.

"Hwuuuuuaaah!"

"A-Aaaagh!"

"Aaagh! S-Somebody help!"

Han Yong-seon and the team leads pressed themselves flat against the elevator wall and shrieked. The test subject was an instant away from clamping its hand around Han Yong-seon's throat.

Ta-daaa~! Dee-dee-dee-dee~!

Cheerful music rang out, and bright lights flooded the corridor and the elevator.

The test subject halted right in front of Han Yong-seon as if it had turned to stone. Han Yong-seon and the team leads were left utterly dumbfounded. Jinwoo, who had been sprawled in a pool of blood, slowly picked himself up. At that sight, Han Yong-seon screamed once more and slumped to the floor.

Jinwoo watched him and burst out laughing.

"Haha! Got you, didn't I?"

Even after Jinwoo said that, Han Yong-seon and the team leads stayed frozen. They were so still they might as well have fainted where they stood. When Jinwoo snapped his fingers, the test subject stepped back and stood at attention.

"S-S-Sir?"

"You're still as timid as ever, I see."

Jinwoo held out a hand to Han Yong-seon, who was slumped on the floor. Han Yong-seon grasped Jinwoo's hand and got up. His body was still trembling. The team leads looked like their souls had left them.

"W-What was that just now?"

"It was in the materials I showed you today."

"Ah!"

That was the very thing they had come to the laboratory to see.

The atmosphere had been so terrifying and overwhelming that it had never once occurred to them that the thing was what had been in the documents.

"An android...!"

Han Yong-seon recalled the word from the materials.

What Jinwoo intended to unveil this time was none other than androids.

They could assist the Heroes who were wearing Soul Links and playing Arsilan Saga, and they could do a great many other things besides.

"Now then, shall we go?"

Jinwoo was in a fine mood, feeling that he had fooled Han Yong-seon and the team leads properly.

Jinwoo led them to the largest research room. When the door opened, they could not help but be stunned, because countless androids were standing there without moving.

Dressed in white gowns, they were no different from people. Had no one told them these were androids, they never would have realized it.

"These are r-real androids?"

"Wow, this is insane."

"They look real, don't they?"

Han Yong-seon and the team leads reached out and touched the androids. The feel of their skin was identical to a human's, and even their body temperature was similar.

One of the androids opened its eyes and greeted Han Yong-seon and the team leads. Han Yong-seon jumped in fright and awkwardly returned the greeting.

"To begin with, they come standard with an AI, so they can help with housework and all sorts of other tasks."

They would be a great help to the Heroes who enjoyed Arsilan Saga. Since rough work like construction could be handed over to them too, wouldn't Earth go through yet another great upheaval?

That was what Han Yong-seon thought.

"Sir, according to the materials you showed us in the conference room, these link up with Arsilan Saga as well. May I ask exactly what that means?"

"Sure, I'll show you."

Jinwoo nodded, led them deeper inside, and opened the door to an inner room.

A woman was lying inside a capsule.

She was a woman all too familiar to Han Yong-seon and the team leads.

It was Ella, the goddess who looked like golden light given shape.

Ella was asleep with her eyes closed.

She looked exactly as she had in Arsilan. So much so that one might have mistaken her for a hologram.

"Don't tell me...."

Linking with Arsilan Saga!

Han Yong-seon realized what that meant.

It was on an entirely different level from Arsilanians visiting the company building or Seoul as holograms.

They could be touched, and warmth could be shared with them.

They could hold hands, wander all over Earth together, and build shared memories.

"The plan is to make linking available once you've built up a deep Affection Level with an Arsilanian."

When Jinwoo pressed a button on the capsule, a mechanical tone sounded, thick vapor billowed out, and the capsule opened.

Ella's eyelids fluttered, and she slowly opened her eyes.

She looked around, then sat up and stretched.

"Oh? Hello there."

Ella greeted Han Yong-seon and the team leads.

"H-Hello. It's been a while."

"Director, are you feeling unwell?"

Han Yong-seon's whole body was clammy with cold sweat. It was the residue left behind by the test subject performance. Jinwoo took out the hamburger he had brought and handed it to her.

"Thank you. I still like gukbap better, but a hamburger isn't bad either."

As Ella beamed and ate the hamburger with relish, everyone turned to look at Jinwoo.

An android body that could eat food!

It felt as though their common sense was being smashed to pieces.

"They can recharge their energy with food. The one difference is that there's no need to go to the bathroom. The nanomachines built into the body take care of all of it."

This wasn't some sci-fi movie, and yet this was reality?

Creator God almighty!

"Well? Are the ideas starting to come to you?"

At Jinwoo's question, Han Yong-seon and the team leads nodded at once. Ideas for how to stage the whole thing came bubbling up like water from a spring.

The fourth anniversary festival would be held on a grand scale in Arsilan, and the plan was to unveil the androids at the offline fourth anniversary event.

What if an Arsilanian appeared at the offline event?

And what if it was an extremely famous Arsilanian at that?

"Yes! I'm getting a real feel for it now."

"I think I know exactly what to do."

"Heh heh! The Heroes are going to lose their minds when they see this."

The team leads said all this, unable to contain their excitement.

Jinwoo watched them and nodded.

Even the Heroes, who were hardly fazed by anything anymore, were certain to be astounded. Holograms using the Soul Gate had their limits, after all. Even when they were together, the distance between them felt impossibly far, as if a great wall had been raised in between.

Through the fourth anniversary event, the true fusion of Arsilan and Earth would begin.

"I knew putting on that horror show was the right call."

"...I don't believe that's it, sir."

Han Yong-seon shot back immediately at Jinwoo's self-satisfied remark.

At any rate, land near the hologram center had already been purchased and a production factory built. Of course, it was all just dressed up to look convincing, and the actual production could be handled easily with magic.

"Let's hold the meeting in the next room."

Han Yong-seon and the team leads moved to the next room and began their meeting. Jinwoo's eyes met Ella's.

She grinned brightly.

"Now I'll be able to walk around out in the open."

Jinwoo nodded at her words.

Inhabiting a body with a completely different appearance and going about that way hadn't been bad either, but she had wanted the Heroes to recognize her.

To the Heroes, Arsilan really was fake.

When it came down to it, it was nothing more than a game, but most of them didn't think of it that way. Perhaps it was because, whether they knew it or not, real feelings had passed between them.

So the sight of Arsilan and Earth blending into each other would be tremendously beautiful.

This fourth anniversary event.

'This should be fun.'

It was going to be a great deal of fun.

*****

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