# Chapter 52
The first basement floor looked ordinary. Corridors and rooms that appeared no different from other floors. Except for the lack of human presence despite it being mealtime, probably no one would notice anything unusual.
Lee Hwan carefully checked the locations of the CCTV cameras, worried his wig might come off. The cameras were so well placed that there were no blind spots. However, he could at least detect which direction they were pointing.
He constantly kept his back to the cameras, only turning his eyeballs to glance around, and headed towards a door with an unusually polished floor.
If there was a place in this empty corridor where many people frequently passed through, and a door with a separate security system attached to it, then it must be the passage leading underground.
Clunk.
The firmly locked door seemed to require an ID card and iris recognition to pass through. Lee Hwan calmly searched his pocket and took out a hemisphere-shaped silicon ball.
This was one benefit of having regressed. Information that the real Lee Hwan from seven years ago would never have known.
‘Good thing I read that article back then… I almost would have had to pluck someone’s eyeball.’
The biggest obstacle when planning to infiltrate the lab was the iris recognition. He couldn’t exactly go around plucking someone’s eye just to open a door.
If he could avoid detection, he would have knocked out a researcher and dragged them over to open their eyes, but with CCTV, that was difficult too.
After much deliberation, Lee Hwan recalled a small incident from before his regression. An event where the locks of a seemingly secure company were all breached by a single internet broadcaster.
For some reason, the video was taken down before reaching 1 million views. However, screenshots circulated around, and it eventually made it to broadcast television.
Later, he heard that Naru was using the same locks. That fact became valuable information for Lee Hwan today.
The culprit behind all this was an iris copier developed by an electronics store owner using years of experience. The principle was extremely simple: by photographing an iris with a camera equipped with a specific lens, the machine would imprint the exact pattern onto the silicon.
The machine was, to be honest, crude. The components looked cheap for the price, and since it directly erased and reimprinted the image on the hemisphere, it seemed like it might stop working properly after a few uses.
But for a one-time use, it seemed more effective than a dead eyeball.
‘That electronics store was in the Goyang area, probably.’
At the time, the developer hadn’t applied for a patent because the machine was still inadequate, but it seemed he occasionally sold it to interested buyers.
On the day he decided to find the underground laboratory, Lee Hwan stayed up all night searching through all the electronics stores in the area. Afterwards, dressed in a cheap suit posing as a young startup entrepreneur, he visited the store and, babbling some nonsensical excuse about needing the product for testing, handed over a wad of cash and received the item.
The owner didn’t question the truth of his story much. Since he was paid in cash, he even offered words of encouragement, wishing him success.
After being surrounded by people who constantly doubted him, suddenly having someone believe his lie made Lee Hwan feel both refreshed and guilty.
‘Still… it looks crude even upon second glance.’
The iris pattern drawn on the silicon looked slapdash. Would this really work? What if that internet broadcaster had manipulated the video for sensationalism?
Tensely, Lee Hwan held up the silicon and then swiped the ID card.
Beep- click.
A short, concise alert sound. Simultaneously, a very faint clack sound indicated the lock was released.
‘It actually worked.’
There wasn’t even time to be surprised. Lee Hwan quickly looked around and shoved everything in his hands into his pocket. When he grabbed the handle and pushed, the door opened smoothly without any resistance.
Beyond the door was a room the size of a living room in a typical house. In the center of the cool interior was a solitary elevator.
‘This is… the elevator going down to the laboratory.’
Lee Hwan rolled his eyes to identify the CCTV’s location first and then slowly turned his head. From this point on, if detected, it would truly be a bad ending with no way out. He had to be extremely cautious.
Ding.
Upon pressing the button, there was a whirring sound from below, and soon the elevator doors opened. Inside was, of course, another CCTV. Being so close to the camera, Lee Hwan’s mouth went dry with worry about being discovered.
The elevator operated by scanning an ID card. Only when he placed the ID card against the marked spot did the floor buttons light up.
However, although the building had up to the fifth basement level, all the buttons below basement level 3 were off.
‘What’s this?’
Lee Hwan hesitated for a moment, then pressed the unlit B4 button. There was no response. The B5 button was the same. Doubtfully, Lee Hwan then pressed the B2 button.
Whirr-
Only then did the elevator move. Lee Hwan silently looked down at the ID card. It seemed there were positions or ranks among them, and they could only access areas assigned according to their level.
The researcher Lee Hwan had left on the staircase seemed to be someone who could only access basement levels 2 and 3. Well, the person seemed too socially awkward to be in charge of any experiment.
Although he had planned to just take a quick look around and leave, not being able to see the floors below was quite disappointing.
Ding.
The elevator sound rang again as the doors opened. Lee Hwan, with a tense face, pressed himself against the wall, then quickly exited the elevator after confirming no one was outside. A long corridor that somehow looked chilling and eerie entered his view.
‘Really… the atmosphere itself advertises that they’re doing suspicious things here.’
White lighting, rooms with security devices on each door. Had they deliberately made it so devoid of human warmth? If so, it was in poor taste.
‘I’d like to hear if anyone is inside first… but pressing my ear against each door might be difficult because of the CCTV.’
Lee Hwan moistened his dry lips with saliva and approached any door, swiping the ID card.
With a click sound, the lock was released.
Opening the door slightly to confirm no one was inside and entering, a spacious laboratory greeted him. The space filled with beakers and petri dishes was permeated with an indescribable scent of unease.
As he walked over and stood in front of a computer, the back of his neck tingled. A strange ringing noise like giiiiik, kiiiiik brushed past his ears.
Suddenly feeling as if he had boarded a train with broken brakes, and simultaneously.
[A Fragment of Causality has been discovered.]
A familiar system message appeared, and for a moment, his vision went dark.
* * *
Lee Hwan thought for a fraction of a second. On the day he found the first fragment, how much time had passed while he saw hallucinations?
The beginning of the ensuing hallucination was once again Kang Dongha. He urgently enters a laboratory and looks around. Judging by the size and structure of the room, it doesn’t seem to be where Lee Hwan is currently standing.
Basement level 2? 3? Or even lower…
After repeatedly confirming no one is around, Kang Dongha searches inside his clothes and takes something out. A red light illuminates his hand.
It’s the gem he obtained by sacrificing multiple lives, the regression skill stone.
Kang Dongha carefully places the skill stone on a machine in front of him. Analysis graphs are printed on paper, and his eyes widen. His Adam’s apple moves visibly as he swallows hard.
“Shit…”
Unexpectedly, a curse flows from his mouth, which, despite his usual unpleasant manner of speaking, normally maintained a certain level of refinement. His hands begin to tremble slightly.
Lee Hwan doesn’t understand what that graph means. However, he can read that one line on it shot upward and didn’t come back down.
Regression is an EX-grade skill. If the machine could read even fragmentary information from the skill stone, that enormous value would indicate the skill’s grade.
Conflict and desire flash across Kang Dongha’s eyes. Partly fear, partly anticipation.
Unable to contain his excitement, he paces around the laboratory for a while. Is it an illusion? Lee Hwan feels as if he’s experiencing those emotions while watching the hallucination.
‘No. It’s not an illusion.’
The excitement is faintly transmitted to him. However, rather than being possessed by Kang Dongha’s perspective, it feels more like empathizing with the intense emotions around him.
Kang Dongha hurriedly walks back, picks up the skill stone and paper, and tucks them both into his clothes. The view moves following Kang Dongha as he leaves the laboratory.
‘!’
Suddenly Lee Hwan realizes one more fact.
This hallucination is not from Kang Dongha’s perspective.
‘When the skill stone was placed on the machine, the viewpoint didn’t change even as he moved.’
This is probably… from the skill stone’s perspective.
He is seeing specific moments recorded following the skill stone.
‘Perhaps, does each Fragment of Causality have memories like this…?’
Come to think of it, the previous hallucination was also related to the skill stone. If so, could he someday glimpse others’ situations through these hallucinations?
Lee Hwan unconsciously reaches out his arm, but still no movement is captured in front of him. Kang Dongha walks quietly through the corridor without any interference.
Ring ring-
A basic ringtone sounds. Kang Dongha takes out his phone with trembling hands.
“Ah, Director.”
Seeing that the lab has a separate head, it seems Kang Dongha was just in a management position even before the regression. However, the fact that the director’s call comes directly to him suggests he has some degree of authority.
It’s not audible what is being discussed. However, a cold glint gradually appears in his eyes as he receives the call. The trembling in his hand gripping his collar ceases, and it becomes firmly tensed.
“Yes, this time subjects 7, 11, and 23 were eliminated with BC3 case. Dongying hyung… no, Director has been waiting for a long time, so it’s unfortunate.”
His voice sounds normal, as if he had never trembled. However, his expression is still not good. Clearly felt anxiety, discomfort, and… fear.
The test subjects Kang Dongha just mentioned… are they animals? Or perhaps monsters?
There are numerous restrictions on keeping monsters alive and taking them outside the Gate. However, it’s not an illegality serious enough to be frightened about.
Animal experiments could also happen. But Kang Dongha doesn’t seem to have the kind of personality that would feel guilty or anxious about animal experiments.
One remaining assumption unpleasantly crosses the mind. Lee Hwan’s distrust soon becomes reality before his eyes.
“We’re already having a lot of talk about the supply of test subjects… Unfortunately, the civil war in the Philippines has ended. There aren’t many people who are injured to the point of death and have no relatives these days.”
‘Fuck.’
These bastards. Lee Hwan squeezes his eyes shut. Or rather, tries to. But his body is nowhere to be found and doesn’t move, and the video in front of him doesn’t disappear.
“Of course. I’m anxiously waiting too. If the number of Awakened increases, wouldn’t this Earth become a better place to live? Us too, of course. Haha.”
Kang Dongha’s hand grips the inside pocket of his clothes. A viscous emotion is added on top of his felt anxiety.
Desire. And exhilaration.
He has obtained a skill stone of a grade that the machine could hardly measure. If the experiment succeeds, he will gain an influence that even his brother would not dare to look down upon.
And he will undergo a magical transformation. Like those who raise fire in front of their eyes, create ice spears, break walls, and fly around.
