Chapter 10
Putting my roughly organized thoughts aside, I refocused on Peace. My mind, which had been flowing lightly, suddenly became heavy.
I could immediately understand that what Peace wanted to hide wasn’t anything good.
Peace, contrary to its meaning, wasn’t an organization that pursued goodness. Rather, it was an organization that thoroughly pursued self-interest.
Their rescuing of citizens had a background of pursuing their own interests.
Citizens, unaware of this, only showed enthusiasm.
Such a Peace wouldn’t do something for citizens. Rather, the opposite would be appropriate.
It would naturally be illegal, and the kind of thing that would cause a huge ripple in society the moment it was revealed.
“Could there be a connection?”
The 11th basement floor and Alice. Boss clearly said that Alice was in Peace. But Alice had left traces of entering Peace and then vanished like a mirage.
This meant there was a reason she couldn’t leave Peace. What could that reason be?
I couldn’t say with certainty that it was related to the 11th basement floor, but I couldn’t shake the thought that there might be a connection.
With this, rescuing Alice became even more dangerous.
Just extracting Alice was already sufficiently dangerous, but now we might have to touch Peace’s weakness.
If that happened, Peace would rush in without consideration, like a lit bomb.
What followed the bomb’s explosion was predictable.
A hellish scene where no winner existed would unfold. They would only crave each other’s death, with nothing to gain. After the situation ended, only self-destruction would come.
I wanted to prevent such a future. Because Boss would suffer the most damage in that future.
But it was also true that there was no clear solution. If Alice was related to the hidden side of Peace, we couldn’t just stay still either.
For now, I could only hope that Alice wasn’t related to the 11th basement floor. Though the chances of that hope being fulfilled were slim.
I shifted my gaze from staring into space to the screen. Since there was no surveillance camera for the 11th basement floor here, what automatically remained was the 10th basement floor.
The only passage to the 11th basement floor. From what I knew, the 10th basement floor was a restricted area.
Being a research lab, those who could enter were very limited. Of course, Hans hadn’t earned that qualification.
“I’ll have to sneak in, I guess.”
I muttered while looking at the 10th basement floor surveillance camera showing the corridor. It wasn’t without danger, but not impossible either. I could implement it right away if I got Boss’s permission.
Just as I was thinking I should contact Boss after finishing the night shift, a faint sound of footsteps was heard from far away.
It wasn’t Tade’s irregular footsteps with weak impact on the ground.
Neat but authoritative, familiar footsteps. If I could have brought out my wolf ears, I could have heard more clearly.
I only knew they were familiar but couldn’t tell who the owner of the sound was.
But whoever it was, it was right to stop the investigation for now. I turned off the interference waves while listening to the footsteps. With this, Tade would return soon.
Sitting in the chair and looking at the monitor, I could feel the sound getting closer.
Judging by the direction, this place was where he was heading. And no sooner had that thought occurred than the door opened.
With a creak, I turned around. The person I reflexively looked at was unmistakable. I wondered why I hadn’t noticed. Looking at him walking in, I lamented my memory.
Earlier he’d been in a suit, but now he was in casual attire unsuitable for work. I wondered if he’d come from training.
“Are you working alone?”
Ben, who had suddenly entered for some reason, spoke to me. His purple eyes, hidden among his navy blue hair, were gently creased.
After briefly moving my lips at Ben’s unexpected appearance, I spoke.
“One person stepped out briefly for another matter. What brings you here?”
He hadn’t come because of me. I hadn’t even started anything that could be discovered. Then it must be for a personal matter.
However, perhaps due to his painted-on smile, I couldn’t shake the feeling of suspicion.
“I was wondering if I could look at the surveillance cameras for a moment.”
He bowed slightly and pointed at the monitor, despite my unfriendly attitude. An S-class ability user like Ben had the authority to freely access the surveillance cameras. So I had no right to refuse.
I stared at Ben, who wore a kind smile as if he had no intention of causing any harm, then moved the mouse.
“Which area are you referring to?”
“The lounge on the 8th floor.”
The 8th floor was definitely where the heroes’ treatment facilities were located. Why would he want to see such a place? I looked at the monitor with doubt about this area that had nothing special about it.
I found and enlarged the lounge on the 8th floor. It was shortly after that I discovered something in the seemingly ordinary video that caught my eye.
At first, I thought it was a stain. But as I narrowed my focus, I could clearly identify what it was.
Though small, what was visible on the floor was definitely blood. It was fresh enough that the red blood was incongruously spattered on the pure white marble.
“Here.”
It must be related to Ben. For now, I pretended not to know and made way. Ben, who naturally sat in Tade’s seat, stared at the bloodstains I’d seen.
It wasn’t a surprised expression, but rather an attitude of having expected this. His eyes, which had been looking at the screen dispassionately, soon shifted to me.
“Could you rewind about 30 minutes?”
I fast-forwarded and rewound as he said. In the rapidly moving video, I could also understand why Ben wanted to check the surveillance camera.
The video clearly captured him assaulting someone. His appearance of beating someone until they lost consciousness made me doubt if it was really Ben.
I inadvertently looked at him. Ben’s face, illuminated by the light of the monitor, was clear. His face was fully visible.
Ben was just staring at the screen quietly. No emotion was revealed on his face. Not even that common irritation.
It was as if he was reading a book. I couldn’t understand Ben’s demeanor, which seemed as if it was someone else’s affair.
“Please delete this.”
At a time when silence seemed natural, his voice echoed in the space. Although it was a gentle voice that might be mistaken for a request at first glance, the inside was different.
That was an order. This wasn’t the first or second time, was it?
In Hans’s records, there was no memory of encountering Ben. If so, this was our first meeting.
“I cannot do that.”
It would be stranger to comply with Ben’s request. Especially for someone as diligent as Hans.
The Hans I’d understood wouldn’t acquiesce so easily.
Ben seemed to recognize my firm will, as the corners of his mouth, which had been raised, slowly lowered.
But the composure surrounding him did not disappear. Logically thinking, if this matter came to light, it would be dangerous for him.
From the screen, it was hard to determine the exact situation, but it was a record that could be sufficiently harmful to Ben.
Knowing that, he wanted to delete it.
But why did Ben think I would delete the video for him?
An ordinary person would rather try to delete it when no one was around. Not demand it so brazenly like this.
I moved the chair backward, not relaxing my tension. Somehow, I had a bad feeling.
At my action, Ben approached. His straight back bent toward me.
The purple eyes shining gently among his hair quietly gazed at me.
“No. You will delete it.”
“What…”
His gaze felt like it was entrapping me. Ben’s eyes were clouded with a different color. His gaze approached me as if it had its own will.
“You’ll delete it, won’t you?”
I thought something was strange, but it was already too late.
I couldn’t refuse his words. My body moved on its own, regardless of my will.
“…”
My twitching hand slowly raised itself. I knew the reason for this phenomenon. Ben’s main ability was mind control. He was using his ability now.
I’d thought he couldn’t use it inside Peace. It was a naive thought.
Why hadn’t I considered that he could use his ability through different methods?
My stuttering body was like a puppet. A puppet that listened to whatever the master commanded. My body was heavy like water-soaked cotton, and my head was dazed as if filled with water.
It was stifling and painful. My body felt like someone else’s. This situation flowed infinitely slowly. It felt like I’d be consumed by something at this rate.
But—
“…Stop it.”
I couldn’t remain like this. My body wasn’t something he could do with as he pleased.
My hand, which had been hovering in the air, slowly bent. Gradually, the threads that had bound my body began to unravel.
My creaking body gently moved according to my will.
As if a soul had settled into a puppet, my body finally regained freedom. Along with the sense of liberation came a feeling of weakness that made breathing difficult. It was hard to even move a finger.
I had experience breaking free from brainwashing, but this was the first time I’d consumed so much mental strength.
Moreover, I couldn’t even completely break the mind control. I could truly feel how dangerous a person Ben was.
People would likely die with just a flick of his hand. I wondered if Boss had anticipated even this. He’d trained not only my body but also my mind.
Through repeated training, my mind had become increasingly solid. I, who had once easily received shock even from someone’s death, had become someone who could remain unfazed in most situations.
In Ben’s case, since he was S-class, it seemed difficult to be completely released, but without the training, my body would have completely succumbed to him.
“…My ability doesn’t work?”
Ben muttered as if it was impossible, seeing me move my body. His wide-open eyes showed how surprised he was.
