# Chapter 67
Zenon’s head, which had been lowered since leaving the room, was finally raised when they returned to the laboratory. Without meeting Kane’s eyes in front of him, he opened his previously closed mouth.
“There’s somewhere I need you to go with me.”
Kane’s eyes narrowed as he watched Zenon, who seemed somewhat different from usual. The dull gaze visible through his thick bangs sharpened.
“Where?”
“You’ll know when we get there.”
Zenon didn’t specify the exact location, but Kane could instinctively tell it wasn’t an ordinary place.
“…What day?”
“This Saturday. It’s an order from higher-up.”
And it had to be Saturday, a holiday. Given that it was supposedly an order from higher-up yet scheduled for a holiday, it didn’t seem like something that could be publicly disclosed.
“It doesn’t sound like something good.”
Kane tried to probe Zenon slightly to understand his intentions, but his sealed lips remained closed.
“…”
“I understand.”
But that silence wasn’t without an answer. Kane nodded, reading from Zenon’s trembling eyes and twitching hands that his answer was affirmative.
“Also, someone wants to see you in the 32nd floor conference room.”
“The 32nd floor?”
Kane blinked at Zenon’s words. The 32nd floor was a place he had never been to. Judging by how Zenon had just been summoned by someone from Peace, whoever called for him must be connected to that person…
Why would they call for Kane, who had no powers? From the way Zenon stood like a guilty person, it didn’t seem like an ordinary matter.
He probably wouldn’t just be having a normal conversation and then leaving. But he couldn’t refuse to go either.
“I’ll go now.”
After looking at Zenon with an appraising gaze, Kane seemed to have made up his mind as he passed by him and opened the door.
*Creak—*
The door closed as Kane’s footsteps faded away. With him gone, what remained were Zenon and Alice, who had been silently observing the situation.
Having understood everything from her bed, she immediately warned Zenon as soon as Kane left.
“You’ll regret it.”
Her gaze turned toward Zenon. Alice’s usually gentle eyes sharpened and took on a blue glow. Zenon held his breath at her words, which suggested she had already understood his thoughts completely.
“…”
He had expected Alice to read his thoughts. He just hadn’t expected her to speak so directly.
He had no desire to deny her words. He knew better than anyone that what Alice said wasn’t wrong.
Regret. From the moment he spoke to Kane, that was inevitable. He hadn’t wanted to create a situation he would regret. But Zenon couldn’t avoid it.
From the moment, now forgotten, when his hands became stained with indelible blood.
“I’m a person who can only regret.”
He had become such a person.
He wanted to forget this fact, but ultimately couldn’t. A distorted smile formed on Zenon’s face as he failed to hide his true feelings. Behind that self-deprecating smile rose the persistent regret that thoroughly enveloped him.
* * *
The path to the conference room on the 32nd floor was excessively barren. No employees were visible, and not even a common noise could be heard. I was looking around at the unusual atmosphere when it happened.
At that moment, the conference room I was looking for came into view. I stopped in front of the door and placed my hand on the handle. But unlike the situation where I just needed to open the door, I couldn’t find the courage to enter.
I kept hesitating. It was as if my instinct was rejecting the idea of going inside… But I couldn’t just stand there forever. Finally, I moved my feet that had been frozen in place and opened the door that had been blocking my path.
“Excuse me…”
I entered the conference room nervously, appearing more timid than usual to avoid raising unnecessary suspicion. And at the same time, I carefully rolled my eyes. I needed to assess the current situation to know how to behave.
But this didn’t last long. My gaze, which had been moving here and there, stopped at one point.
“Kane…?”
At that call, my body froze for a moment. I couldn’t hide my confusion at this unexpected situation.
What I saw was none other than Ben. Why was he here?
Ben seemed equally confused, as his pupils visibly trembled.
“Do you two know each other?”
My gaze, which had been fixed on Ben for quite some time, finally turned at this unfamiliar voice. The voice, although elderly, carried an unapproachable aura that immediately made me realize this wouldn’t be easy.
“We’ve passed by each other a few times…”
I was able to make eye contact immediately with the person who had spoken, as if they had been watching me. It was a middle-aged man, too young to be called elderly, with striking amber eyes.
His appearance didn’t have any particular distinguishing features. Nevertheless, an enormous pressure enveloped my entire body to the extent that I forgot to breathe for a moment.
This person is dangerous.
I could tell instinctively. I carefully hid my trembling hands. I couldn’t make any mistakes in front of this man. Moving my awkwardly stiffened body, I sat opposite Ben.
“I see. Do you know why I called you here today?”
“No…”
I tried to continue speaking at the man’s voice, who entered the main topic without even revealing his identity, but the words didn’t come out. Ben slightly shook his head, stopping me from speaking. Following his intent, shown through his earnest expression, I kept my mouth shut, which then led Ben to reveal a smile of relief.
“It’s nothing much, I just have a few things I’d like to ask.”
“Things you’d like to ask?”
The situation was developing strangely, but I decided to comply for now. Pleased with my attitude, the man smiled benevolently and slowly began to speak.
“Yes, you just need to sit quietly.”
Amber eyes, mysteriously gleaming, stared at me as if piercing through me. That’s when it happened—when I thought I should escape. Before, I had only thought he was dangerous, not that I needed to flee.
The man, who had replaced his previous smile with a greedy expression, flicked his hand. My mouth became completely dry with tension. Unable to breathe comfortably in this situation, I quickly looked at Ben, the only one I could trust at the moment. But he only bit his lips firmly, avoiding my gaze.
I would understand the meaning of this just after, as I was about to turn my head to look at the man again.
“My body—”
Like a puppet, my body wouldn’t move. I tried to continue speaking by rolling my eyes, but my tongue was stiff, and words wouldn’t come out. My eyes, the only thing I could move, turned toward Ben. He lowered his gaze, as if unable to look at me, and came into my view.
“I’m sorry…”
I wanted to ask what he meant, but my stiffened mouth wouldn’t open no matter how hard I tried.
To make matters worse, even my vision was becoming blurry. Through my misaligned focus, I could see the culprit of this situation approaching me.
After that was blackness. My eyes, which had been barely open, closed as if reaching their limit.
* * *
Kane’s puppet-like body, maintaining balance only by leaning against the chair, wobbled precariously. His unfocused eyes wandered in the air.
“I’ve extracted all the information.”
Ben slowly removed his hand that had been touching Kane’s head. Just moments ago, he had obtained Kane’s information through mind control. Kane had confessed everything willingly, like a puppet with its strings cut.
“Indeed, he didn’t suspect anything.”
The man, who had been listening to everything through Ben, smiled contentedly, as if satisfied. What he had ordered Ben to find was information about vulnerabilities that Zenon might have leaked to Kane. He had expected that through this naive researcher, Zenon’s tongue might have loosened.
“That’s enough now. This person has no more value.”
And his expectation was spot-on. As he had suspected, the true weakness of Alice’s Boss, ‘that person,’ might not be A-11 but rather the executive, Kay.
This hypothesis had been considered since the attempt to smuggle A-11 out. If A-11 was truly that person’s weakness, they wouldn’t have left her behind that day. They would have ordered her escape even at the cost of lives. The executive wouldn’t have ignored such an order, which means a different order was given.
But that would undermine the certainty that A-11 was the weakness. That’s why he had used Zenon to gain definitive confirmation. Zenon might know something.
And through Kane, the man had discovered how precious Kay was to Zenon. It might be that Zenon was unusually fond of Kay, but according to recent investigations into ‘Alice’s’ whereabouts, that person had not left Kay’s house for several days.
In that case, isn’t it obvious? That this person named Kay is that person’s weakness.
“Then what do you intend to do with Kane?”
Meanwhile, Ben, who had been watching the satisfied man, cautiously opened his mouth. Somehow, he couldn’t hide his unease.
“Kill him, of course.”
“What?”
Ben’s head jerked up sharply. It wasn’t unexpected. This was a person who would discard anyone once they had served their purpose. But he hadn’t truly wanted Kane to die. Ben rolled his eyes helplessly, not knowing what to do.
“More importantly, I plan to smuggle out A-11 this Saturday.”
“…Yes.”
Ben, who had been silent for a moment, bit his lip. The words that were about to unconsciously burst out were suppressed. What he truly wanted to say never became a sentence.
“‘Alice’ will probably try to take the test subject away. Your mission is to prevent that. You can kill them if you want.”
“…Understood.”
He must obey this person’s words no matter what. That’s why Ben dared not refuse.
“I wonder what the weakness will turn out to be. I’m looking forward to it.”
But he couldn’t erase the unsettling sensation in one corner of his heart. Ben felt a sense of dissonance at the sight of the brightly smiling man.
