Genius Engineer in the Labyrinth - Chapter 52
Only Noblemtl
Episode 52
【Apartment community】
Dr. Oh, who was looking closely at the ring on my hand, asked.
“This seems like an unusual item. Where did you get it?”
“I picked it up when I was fighting Elder Kim.”
“Then did you find it in the labyrinth at the entrance to the Dragon Palace?”
I shared with Dr. Oh the monster encyclopedia and information related to the Dragon Palace.
Not only was he the greatest expert on the Ark Church in Korea, but as a doctor of religious studies, he had extensive knowledge.
After hearing the story of the Dragon Palace, I put forward the hypothesis that perhaps the ability to relate to water was passed down through generations in the Sim family, like a hereditary shaman.
As time passed and he grew further away from water, he forgot his ability, but by chance, Min Do-yoon experienced drowning and regained his ability.
With this ability, he not only created the Ark and threw the world into chaos, but he also ended up submerging the world in water.
Although it had many loopholes and leaps of logic, it was the most plausible hypothesis given the information available to date.
I nodded and answered.
“Yes. In the bottomless passage.”
* * *
The bottomless pit was quite steep, so once you fell in, it was impossible to get back up.
But Elder Kim had a strong claw.
I waited for a while at the entrance to the bottomless pit, wondering if they would dig their pincers into the slope like crampons and climb up.
As I was looking down the steep slope, I saw something stuck in a crack in the ground.
I wondered what it was, but upon closer inspection it looked like a ring.
At first I was going to ignore it, but the Mujeogang was the most powerful trap in the Dragon Palace.
That means, the one who falls here isn’t a normal enemy of the Dragon Palace, but one who has done something.
If that’s what someone dropped, wouldn’t it be something incredible?
“Hey! Is this a superconductor? Why is it so slippery!”
I slipped before my feet even touched the bottom of the slope.
Not only that, the floor was as hard as titanium.
This won’t even fit a golden shield.
It seemed as though Elder Kim would not be able to get up unless he had wings.
I slowly untied the rope and went down.
And finally, I pulled out the ring that was stuck in the crack in the floor.
Looking closely, there was a mark near the ring, as if something had scratched it.
Perhaps it’s a trace left by the ring’s owner.
Wow! What a powerful weapon that was.
The ring looked even more impressive, as if I had discovered a brand logo.
* * *
“I don’t know either.”
Dr. Oh, who was examining the ring on my hand, said.
“But I think it might have something to do with mermaids.”
“Are you a mermaid?”
Trash Island is like that too, and suddenly there are a lot of mermaids appearing.
“Oh. This trident mark symbolizes the King of Mermaids.”
“Oh, this is the trident mark. Now that I look at it, the bottom of the letter l is a bit longer.”
I stroked the trident pattern.
“By the way, do you know how to take this off?”
“How did you get it out?”
I answered with a puzzled expression.
“I tried it on, thinking it might give me some kind of power, but it didn’t give me any power at all, it just wouldn’t come off my finger.”
“haha.”
Dr. Oh burst into laughter at my answer.
“I’m not kidding. I tried everything from soap to oil to ice to thread, but nothing worked.”
“Okay, so have you experienced any physical changes or acquired any special abilities?”
“As I said, there is no change. Instead, the fish tastes a little bit better.”
“haha!”
Dr. Oh burst into laughter again.
“Mermaids eat fish as their staple food, so this must be a ring related to a real mermaid.”
While we were talking, we arrived at the 7th floor where people were gathered.
There were 46 people who came to our apartment to row.
Since most of the people had gathered, room 723 was packed with people, even the living room and bedroom.
The meeting seemed to be heating up as someone spoke loudly.
I deliberately stood behind Director Park and Dr. Oh and observed people without being noticed.
“As the world went underwater, the nation itself disappeared. Then, what would happen to the private property that was operated within the framework of the nation?”
A middle-aged man with a semi-bald head and a receding scalp gave a passionate speech.
I looked down at the papers for a moment, then looked up and asked Director Park.
“Isn’t that person Hong In-seong?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“Oh! I thought you weren’t like that. But didn’t you originally have a lot of hair?”
“It was a wig.”
“aha!”
In a world submerged in water, it was nearly impossible to maintain one’s former appearance.
Still, Rep. Hong’s eyebrow tattoo remained as a relic of the past.
But it’s a perfect match.
“Wealth should not be monopolized by a few. It should be enjoyed equally by all. Now that the state that used to oppressively control its people has disappeared, we need to introduce a new system that fits the times. With these apartments left, each of you should get at least one apartment. Isn’t that how fair distribution is achieved? I, Hong In-seong, a former Gangnam-gu council member, advocate for fair distribution.”
I had two or three people stay in each house.
This was because they wanted to gather people together if possible since the elevator was out of operation.
However, Rep. Hong tried to do a favor as if the apartment was his.
Equality? Fairness? Wasn’t that guy a Conservative?
People’s reactions to Rep. Hong’s instigation were mixed.
“No, but still. If you suddenly say something like that, isn’t it a bit strange?”
“You saved me from the Ark Church, and you gave me a place to stay and food. Now you’re asking me to give you my house.”
“What’s the difference between taking it out of the water and asking for the bundle?”
There were quite a few people who opposed it, but there were also those who were in favor, vociferously cheering.
“That’s right. The world has changed, so we need to make new rules.”
“Apartments for everyone.”
“Equality! Fairness! Justice! I want to be a landlord too. Real estate is undefeated!”
Among them, there was a young man who shouted in a threatening manner.
The young man had a bushy head of hair that grew into a ponytail, and the tattoo on his shoulder became visible whenever he raised his arm and shouted slogans.
That kid is doing that on purpose to reveal his identity.
I looked down at my identity documents and asked.
“That tattoo is Kang Jin-man’s.”
“yes.”
It was written that Kang Jin-man worked at Shipjong Construction.
Shipjong Construction was a company run by gangsters.
I heard that he was in collusion with the Ark Church, but why is he here when he looks like he’s in the action team?
The flesh he had gained in the previous world had disappeared, and the dragon he had carved had shriveled up and turned into a snake-like creature.
I have a rough idea of what happened.
But that brat wasn’t the point.
Moreover, Rep. Hong, who is shouting with his head raised, is not the key person.
“Not only that. What is this food rationing? Are we pigs and dogs who live only on food? Luxury items, coffee, alcohol, and cigarettes should also be provided according to individual taste. If you elect me, all of this… … .”
Rep. Hong spoke with strength in his voice as if he were running for president.
I looked behind Representative Hong.
The real key is the gray-haired woman, Kim Myeong-ja, the president of the Parents’ Association of the Anti-Corruption Association, also known as the Sabangdae.
The reason she took up rowing seemed so perfect that it seemed false.
Truth is bound to always be imperfect because it is subject to the vulnerabilities of chance and error.
This was a fact that I realized through interrogation and investigation.
Kim Myeong-ja whispered something behind Representative Hong.
Then, Commissioner Hong changed the subject.
“Even the ark is like that. Who is the owner of the ark? We are the ones who rowed it so that it could move forward. But what is it? They have monopolized the ark. In order to defeat this unjust act, we must rise up and claim the rights to the ark. We must arm ourselves with the weapons that were on the ark so that they can no longer ignore us.”
As he continued to speak, my head began to tilt more and more crookedly, as if I was dissatisfied with his words.
These people keep crossing the line.
Then someone raised a hand.
“Uh, what is it?”
“It was thanks to Detective Kim that we were able to hijack the ark. It seems natural that Soyou would go there.”
The person who stood up and presented a rebuttal was Lee Jeong-woo.
Lee Jeong-woo was tall and thin, but he had lean muscles as if he had done physical labor.
“You may not know this because you are young. Possession, you know. It is when one person has everything… … .”
“I’m not young. I even voted.”
Lee Jeong-woo interrupted Rep. Hong and said.
“Sir, I told you. Jungwoo oppa is a good person. And he’s brave too.”
Bomi poked my ribs and praised me.
I held back the urge to tease Bomi, who was laughing.
Instead, I thought I absolutely had to recruit that guy named Jeong-woo.
Looking at the speaking model, I felt like I could trust it if we went sailing together.
If you’re good at cooking and sailing, you’ll be a top groom, no, it’ll be the icing on the cake.
“Okay. I listened carefully to your story, you’re still young.”
Perhaps offended at being cut off, Rep. Hong raised his hand to interrupt Jeong-woo.
“Rather than that, shouldn’t we also prepare for something? They might suddenly kick us out. If that happens, we, without any weapons, will have to suck our thumbs and go out to sea like refugees.”
This time, Rep. Hong’s argument seemed to have resonated with the people.
I could feel the people’s unrest.
It was not hard to understand their position, since if they were driven out to sea they would have no choice but to die.
“So here’s what we’ve prepared.”
Kang Jin-man dragged Ho-young out.
Hoyoung tried to shake off Kang Jinman’s hand, but Kang Jinman’s grip was very strong.
“Put this down. Why are you doing this?”
“Kid. Stay still. Then you’ll be fine.”
When Bomi saw Kang Jin-man threatening Ho-young, she got angry and tried to run away.
“Is that X-boy crazy!”
“Bomi. Wait! I’ll take care of it. Wait.”
I went forward.