Bad Born Blood - Chapter 172



Only Noblemtl

172

The place I am now is a private hospital that Japha introduced me to. I heard that he is a trauma specialist.

Whirlwind.

I threw the dagger into the air and caught it repeatedly. It was a game I enjoyed since I was a cadet. It was good for killing time, and it also stimulated my combat nerves.

Faster, higher.

My hands move faster as if I’m demonstrating a trick. The tip of the knife falls towards my forehead.

Keying.

I held the blade between my fingers.

‘Stupid Gabriel.’

I sat on the hallway bench and stared at the door to the hospital room. Gabriel was inside.

Gabriel suffered from severe trauma, requiring complex psychological treatment in addition to drug addiction treatment.

I could ignore his trauma and just listen to Giselle’s disappearance, but Gabriel’s mind would be torn apart as well.

Kirick.

I continued my thoughts as I twirled the dagger between my fingers. It danced across my hand.

‘I know Gabriel. He did the best he could. He just didn’t have enough.’

Even if you try your best, something that can’t be done won’t be done. No matter how hard a human waves his arms, he can’t fly with his bare body.

But understanding Gabriel… … doesn’t make my anger go away. Rather, a lost anger is stirring inside me.

Kiiing, kiiing.

The accelerated dagger showed off its cutting power by spinning in all directions as if drawing a circle. It was a fierce blade.

Kit!

The spinning dagger flew past my fingers, leaving a raw gash on my cheek.

Gulp.

I wiped the blood flowing from my cheek with my sleeve. When I looked up, the dagger was still stuck in the ceiling, shaking.

‘I’ll take anyone as long as they can fight.’

I wish someone would pick on me.

At this point, I felt like I could have done without a wish if whoever was behind Giselle’s kidnapping had sent an assassin against me. I was willing to unleash all the violence I had learned on him.

Creak.

The door to the sickroom opened.

“The patient’s condition has stabilized.”

A man with a loose air came out and spoke. He was wearing a flowing white coat. His dark skin made the white coat stand out even more. He seemed more like a religious person than a doctor.

‘Coronaine.’

Gabriel’s new physician was from the Holy Nation of Cora.

Memories of my boyhood flashed through my mind. I reminisced.

‘It must have been the Cora outpost, or rather, the pioneer village. That’s where my cadets and I raided.’

There was a force user I met there. He could have killed me, but he held back at the end.

It wasn’t a pleasant memory. I was already in a state of turmoil from anger, but recalling the memories and emotions of that time made me feel so upset that I thought I was going crazy.

My pupils were trembling, and my vision was blurry. The bio-signals sent from my brain were unstable, so there were slight movements in the prosthesis. The prosthesis, misinterpreting the signals, increased and decreased its output on its own.

‘This is annoying.’

Instead, my anger towards Gabriel subsided. Instead, I became angry at myself for not being able to control my emotions. I felt a strong desire to punish myself and harm myself.

“… … It seems like that patient isn’t the only one who needs counseling.”

“If you keep nagging at me, you’ll end up in the hospital.”

I said with a glare. It’s rude to talk about me as if you know everything about me.

“I am an expert.”

“So? Do you have some kind of mind reading ability that allows you to read someone’s mind the moment you see them?”

“I have no intention of consulting with anyone who hasn’t paid. So even if you come across as aggressive, I won’t say anything.”

“It’s nice to hear that, Mr. Gaya.”

I glanced at the doctor’s name tag. His name was Gaya.

“I have lived twice as long as you have. I wish you would show me some courtesy and respect.”

“That’s why I call you teacher. It’s the most respectful title.”

Gaya shrugged her shoulders, stood in front of me, and asked for my guardian’s signature.

“Mr. Gabriel is a patient who needs long-term hospitalization. If we send him out like this, he’ll do something bad.”

“There’s no need to beat around the bush.”

“You might try to harm yourself. Excuse me, but what is your relationship with the patient?”

I hesitated for a moment about what to say.

“Old… … boss.”

“You are an old friend.”

“Don’t correct me on your own. The treatment costs will be paid by Japha Company.”

“All right.”

I stood up and stared at Gabriel’s hospital room. I didn’t move my feet in that direction.

“Tell Gabriel… … that I don’t resent him. Then the treatment will be easier.”

Gaya nodded and smiled. He walked to the end of the hallway and opened the door for me to easily exit.

* * *

Border City was a city that became funnier the more I looked at it.

In fact, there was virtually no public security organization in Border City. There were police officers, but their numbers were ridiculously small compared to the size of Border City.

‘The police are essentially dedicated to the federal officials and high-ranking officials who reside in Border City.’

In reality, 90% of the residents of Border City were not citizens of the Bellato Federation. Only a few had permanent residency or residency permits, and the majority were not even administratively registered.

As such, Border City’s security was being relegated to private security companies. They contracted with private security companies to protect them from crime and entrusted them with investigations and retaliation. Naturally, the more money they had, the better the protection they could receive from the company.

‘In Akbaran, at least when a major incident occurs, the Empire steps in directly.’

For surveillance purposes, the Empire kept a close eye on the lower sectors.

However, Border City was not just indifferent, but neglectful. The majority of the residents were non-citizens who had not registered with the Bellato Federation. In fact, the Bellato Federation also treated Border City as a foreign country.

There was no sign of any attempt at stabilization in any aspect, be it economy, security or administration.

‘Beyond neglect and indifference… …assistance.’

It was an action that clearly revealed the special nature and purpose of Border City, allowing all sorts of abnormal incidents to occur.

“What the heck, this idiot… … .”

I grumbled and turned off all the holograms. There were no clues to find about the incident that led to Gabriel’s girlfriend’s death.

There were seven large private security companies in Border City. If you counted the small and medium-sized companies, it would be tiresome to count them all.

If you want to look into the crime records of a city, you must first research which security company was in charge of the incident.

It wasn’t even possible to view the company’s database in a uniform manner. Some companies only allowed you to view it if you paid money, while others required all sorts of qualifications. They at least showed it to you. Some places even prohibited outsiders from viewing it.

Let’s say I went through all that trouble to get permission to look through the databases of various companies. There was no guarantee that the case records I was looking for would be there. Given the way things are going, it’s possible that the criminal himself could pay to erase records that are unfavorable to him.

This was a problem that arose because the state’s administrative power was not working and there was no unified system or standard. From my perspective, it was the height of inefficiency.

In Akbaran, all sorts of information can be released with just one breath from the high-ranking officials and those in power. However, here, even those in power have a hard time finding the information they want.

This is a city shrouded in chaos. I closed my eyes and opened them, muttering the name.

‘Siren, Runia.’

The woman Gabriel dated was Siren, and her daughter was Runia.

‘It must have been a terrible incident for Gabriel, who was a seasoned gangster in the lower districts, to be shocked.’

It seemed like it would take a long time to investigate this case on my own. I’m a stranger with no base in Border City.

… … I needed someone’s help again.

I know that too. The world cannot survive alone. I received help from many people during the storm. It will be the same in Border City.

I went to see the person I liked the most in the Jafar Company. The great technician who created my body, Lapis Lazuli.

Lapis Lazuli was humming a snake song while repairing some unknown machine. The beat was familiar now.

I brought up my business with Lapis.

“Unauthorized network? Oh, the deep web? Why that all of a sudden? If you want to see something weird… … .”

I answered quickly before Lapis’ eyes narrowed.

“I have something to look up.”

“Oh, I also log in sometimes. With a terminal that I don’t use.”

Lapis readily threw the terminal from the shelf to me.

I booted up her old terminal. Luckily, the commercial for Japa didn’t show up.

Instead, as soon as I connected to the unauthorized network, dozens of illegal advertisements would pop up on the screen, and then the terminal’s firewall would kick in and the advertisements would disappear.

Wow!

The hot terminal screamed. The terminal was calculating in real time and throwing out advertisements. Among them, there might be unidentified programs and viruses disguised as advertisements.

Lapis’ search history was displayed on the terminal screen.

-The 13th Wonder of Border City, a ghost body that moves without a brain?!

The mainstream was filled with silly urban legends and ghost stories. It seemed to be one of Lapis’ hobbies.

-The meat that goes into the Jaffa Burger is not snake, but in fact… … .

I was a little curious about this too. When I clicked on it, it said I had to pay to learn it.

“Excuse me, can I pay for this?”

Lapis frowned at my words.

“I was wondering who would pay for something like that, and it turns out it was someone like you.”

“I’m kidding.”

“I don’t know what you’re looking for, but most of it is gossip and trash information.”

“You worked hard for something like that.”

“Because it’s fun. Sometimes there’s also rare information. Like the legendary mercenary, the one-man army Mushir Al-Kashra. I thought it was just a legend, but it actually existed.”

“Mushir al-Kashra?”

“You can find it right away if you look for it, so look at it later. What are you looking for? If you’re so slow, your terminal will crash.”

I agree. Judging from the loud noise from the terminal, it seemed like smoke was about to blow out.

Lapis approached me, her tools hanging from her waist. She moved the terminal’s holographic interface toward her and waited for my instructions.

“Please collect only cases where a mother and daughter died together, and in very brutal ways. There must be some people who only collect and collect horrible cases.”

Lapis flinched and looked at me with contempt. I hastily continued speaking.

“For research purposes, damn it! I’m just a human male with a perfectly normal sexual desire. I don’t like aliens or the same sex! I only like members of the same species, human women!”

“Okay, don’t be angry. Anyway, I’ve logged onto the most famous snuff site. I’ll run a conditional search.”

“The incident occurred 7 years ago. Narrow down the time period.”

“Oh, I heard you have to pay to search? By the way, it’s really expensive.”

“Money is overflowing.”

I handed over one credit chip.

Beep.

As soon as I swiped my card on the terminal, the number on my credit chip started counting down.

“I’m telling you in advance that most of these provocative photos and videos are photoshopped. They often just waste money. Ah, um, this is, a bit… … I’ll do it myself from here.”

Lapis turned her gaze and closed her eyes tightly. I checked the photos and videos that had been uploaded seven years ago one by one. Thanks to the paid subscription, there were no advertisements on this site.

It was a tedious task. Horrific photos and videos came pouring out. Among them, one photo caught my eye.

… … It was a picture of a dead mother and daughter.

The woman’s stomach was cut open, and inside was a child’s head stuck. The face couldn’t be seen properly, but I had a feeling that these victims were Siren and Runia.

-The cycle of birth and death, Ouroboros.

He even gave his work a title as if he were an artist.

‘What a bunch of nonsense… … .’

I checked to see if the poster had been active recently. This was also something that required paying to search. I scratched the credit chip again.

Beep.

My terminal rings. It’s Jafar’s call.

-Mr. Luca!

“This is a necessary payment. I’ll take care of a few things later. Move on.”

I spoke briefly and then cut off the communication. I am not a person without a conscience. I was starting to feel sorry for Jafar.

Border City required more money than expected.

‘This guy is still posting consistently.’

There were posts every 1-2 weeks, and up to 1 year. The photos were imitating artists, as if there was an aesthetic to murder. Furthermore, the victims’ faces were completely mutilated or hidden, making it difficult to identify them.

I stared at the posts and photos he had uploaded. My eyelids didn’t even close, only my pupils moved in a helpless manner.

It’s been a while since I’ve felt this way.

Finding the right answer with only extremely limited information and clues. It’s embarrassing to say this, but it was challenging and fun.

Jukruk.

Hot blood flowed from my nose. My head was on fire.

‘Based on the subject’s tendencies, he is left-handed. And the date and time the post was uploaded, and the murder cycle… … and the height of the photo.’

I blinked, wiping the blood from my nose. I checked the photos again in chronological order.

In the short term, the height of the photo had no meaning. However, when compared over the years, the viewpoint of the photo was gradually increasing.

‘I’ve grown physically over the past few years. I’ve gotten taller.’

Once we had established one clue, the rest of the deduction was not difficult.