C253: The Truth of That Day (3)
The researchers told Rudger everything about what was going on here.
The Steel Chapel was a project to create a terrifying strategic weapon automaton for use in war.
By injecting the human soul into the automaton, it gives it more detailed and autonomous movement while at the same time, even trying to make them obey their owners' orders unconditionally.
Originally, such a project was to be kept confidential, and researchers should not talk to outsiders even if their mouths were torn. However a monster that killed all the security inside the laboratory was in front of their eyes and threatened them so they had no choice but to speak.
Nothing was more important than their own lives.
Of course, some researchers rejected Rudger's proposal with loyalty alone, saying they would not speak so Rudger immediately killed them in public and after seeing his cruel methods the other researchers said even what he didn't ask.
"Is that all?"
"Yes, yes, yes. This is really all we know."
"I see. Compared to the data here, nothing seems to be left out."
After hearing the whole story, Rudger nodded as if he understood.
"Well, then we'll……."
"Oh, yes. You told me everything I was curious about, so I'll have to give you a reward accordingly."
The surviving researchers had a ray of hope on their faces.
"But before that, I'll ask you one last question. If you answer that, I'll let you live."
"Yes, yes!"
"The names of the children you kidnapped and used in the experiment. Do you remember?"
The faces of the researchers, who were initially full of hope, slowly began to harden at the question.
"What? What the hell is that?"
"You don't know their names?"
The researchers were silent as Rudger eyes scanned them.
"You don't know? Not a single person?"
"Well, that's……."
"I'll tell you, I hate lies. You saw what happened to the person who lied a little while ago."
There were researchers who lied to Rudger's questions so they also became cold bodies on the floor of the laboratory.
"There's no one?"
"What are you doing? Remember! Remember!"
"Shit! You have to do that! I only measured their vitals in the first place!"
"You useless brats!"
In a hurry, the researchers stared at each other, pointing fingers and uttering abusive language. No one seriously tried to recall the names of the children who were used as experiments because they didn't want to and didn't need to know they didn't pay attention to anyone even if they died.
They thought it didn't matter.
"Ah."
"Well, well…"
The researchers who realized the situation turned pale and looked back at Rudger with fear-filled eyes.
Rudger was sitting in a chair and watching them with his legs crossed, was smiling coldly at the researchers.
"Thank you."
A creepy, cold smile appeared on his face.
"For not remembering the names of the children."
Shortly after, a giant shadow engulfed the researchers.
* * *
Hans came into the bloody lab while frowning at the bodies scattered around him, he reached Rudger with big steps to avoid them.
"Is it all over?"
"Yes."
"But didn't you need to keep a few alive? I think you should've done that so that we could proceed with the experiment."
"No need."
Rudger looked back at Hans and said,
"I'll do it myself."
"…is that possible?"
"The research materials are here."
Rudger unfolded the data he had taken from the researchers. It was an experiment to transfer the human soul into an automaton.
The Steel Chapel Project was only in the early stages of implementation, but Rudger alone could fill in enough of the remaining parts now.
"The researchers caught the children because a child's soul was easy to transplant into an automaton."
"Then the person in the experiment did that……."
"The body collapsed due to the soul being separated from the body but unlike adults, children wouldn't collapse. They are still small and slender in spirit, and above all, pure."
In addition, they wanted to create a weapon that only followed their orders faithfully by transplanting the soul and applying a kind of seal to the soul.
In order to do that, it was necessary for the soul to be easily controlled so the children's souls fit right in there.
"The experiment with children was also disrupted, but it was only recently that it was completed."
"The reason they kidnapped people again today was that they were going to increase the number of automatons with a successful experiment."
"Yes."
Rudger responded by looking at the research data.
The automaton, which can be called a success, had its code name engraved, and the only successful one now was Beta.
From the Gamma position after Beta, all names were drawn with red lines meaning they were all failures.
Then Arte's sister, Sally…….
Rudger shook his head. For now, saving Arte was the first priority.
Rudger laid Arte's body in a test tube and when the machine started, green liquid filled the tube.
Hans, who was watching Arte, submerged in green liquid, asked.
"Brother, are you all right? However, this child has already died."
"Yes, he's dead but his soul still remains. He's not completely dead."
"Even so……."
Hans thought about whether to say this or not so he gathered his thoughts and opened his mouth.
"……The child who will open his eyes will not be the one you knew."
"I know."
That was what Rudger was also prepared to do.
Arte's soul will now be implanted in an automaton called the empty prototype Alpha.
Rudger won't add a seal on the soul like the other researchers but Arte's soul will undergo some kind of change simply by the process of soul transferring.
Even if the soul was successfully transplanted and he opened its eyes, he would likely be something other than Arte.
The soul belongs to him, but if it has changed then was it his former self or something new?
Rudger didn't bother to answer that, he just wanted to believe it.
'May this child open his eyes again.'
"What do we have to do now?"
"We have to watch. It takes time for the soul to be transplanted completely. There's nothing to do since the machine will transplant it on its own."
"Then I think we should leave it here for a while."
"When it's over, I'm going to close it. Until then, I have to care about other places."
Rudger recalled the names of the people in the research materials, the people who put their stamp of approval there and the organizations they belong to, as well as many hidden laboratories and factories.
Having heard it all, Hans stuck out his tongue in disgust.
"These are crazy people. I never thought the rumors about starting a war were true."
It wasn't a peaceful time since the powers were bent on taking more land and resources, and were only looking for opportunities to do so.
However, since the powers were equal and there was the huge existence of the Empire, this strange tension continued. However, if either side was hoarding this amount of power beneath the surface, the story would be different.
The balance of the world would be broken.
"To think they were trying to create an army of automatons that were not afraid of death and were much stronger than ordinary soldiers."
There are stronger beings called knights, and they cost a lot of money and time to nurture but automatons don't.
The same was true of resources, but mass production was possible and it could be put into practice immediately.
This Steel Chapel project was enough to change the game of war.
"If it was successful."
But the secret laboratory was now in Rudger's hands.
Of course, he couldn't keep it hidden for long because if no additional reports were passed to the superiors they'll find something strange and send someone to check the situation.
"Hans, we have a week to make a decision."
"A week? Isn't it too tight?"
"If we make a little more noise, we can increase our time since it would catch the people's eyes and rumors would spread widely."
If the top-secret project, which was secretly carried out in the dark, is disrupted, those involved will try to cover up the matter somehow but if it rises to the surface without a break those involved will not be able to move recklessly.
"From now on, it's a battle of speed. Do we tell the world first or do they try to hide it first? That's where it will be decided."
"They will have an advantage since we have to fight in their front yard."
"But it will be us who move first and I have a strong ally."
Rudger replied, recalling Casey Selmore.
"Are you going to move right away?"
"There is also an abandoned coal mine here but it's not a place to hide a secret laboratory like this. There must be something else here."
"What else do you mean?"
"It is a coal mine where a rare metal is mined."
Hans remembered that he saw something similar.
"Rare metal mine, but I heard it's closed because there's no more rare metal?"
"It's a trick. Rare metal is still mined there and used for the automaton production here."
"Then it's strange. No matter what, rumors about rare metal are bound to circulate, can they hide them this tightly?"
It is not enough to have only a few people to mine rare metals. Large-scale manpower is needed, and it is virtually impossible to cover up information while controlling all those people.
"They don't use people when they mine."
"Then……."
"Yes, that's right."
Rudger put the word that came to Hans' head in his mouth.
"They are illegally enslaving sub-species and use them to mine rare metals."
* * *
Hans' face hardened in front of the rare metal mine, which was said to be the largest in the Delica kingdom after receiving information from the mouse he sent in.
"……What a coincidence. I checked and found that there were a lot of people inside. Most of them are subspecies, and there are many Suins and Dwarves."
"Most probably they kidnapped them and used them as slaves."
"They're crazy. When was the abolition of sub-species slavery?"
"If they cared about that, they wouldn't have kidnapped people and tried to do a biometric experiment."
"That's true, too. Damn it. I can't believe you're doing this kind of crazy thing on a national level. How the hell are they different from the Black Wizards?"
Hans was annoyed for no reason and kicked a nearby tree.
He also saw many things normal people wouldn't usually see, but it was disgusting to kidnap children and use them as experiments.
"So what are you going to do?"
"What do you mean? What we have to do is decided."
"I know that. This time, unlike the automaton laboratory, I see a lot of armed forces."
Unlike laboratories that did not need that much security, rare metal mines required a lot of manpower.
Most of the mining is done by slaves, but there were more troops than expected that guarded against the slaves rebellion.
"What would you do?"
"Let's go inside first. I don't know what else they're doing in there."
After making a decision, Rudger and Hans headed into the mine.
They showed that the mine was closed by blocking the shaft in the middle. However, the two people who already knew where the secret passage was were not fooled by such a shallow trick.
After walking for a long time the road was cut off and a huge cliff appeared.
"Down here."
Using floating magic, the two slowly went down.
When they arrived deep in the mine, there was only darkness around them and nothing was visible. Then a faint sound began to be heard from afar.
Hans opened his mouth to the sound of iron colliding with iron.
"Brother."
"Yes, it's that way.
The two people killed the sound of their footsteps and headed to the place where the sound was heard from.
As they chased the sound, they began to see a light from beyond and soon they discovered a huge underground mine.
Inside, there were people with guns monitoring the slaves of the subspecies who were mining.
"That's a lot."
Hans was tongue-tied on an unimaginable scale.
Slaves are slaves, but the number of watchmen alone was almost over 100.
"Yes. Besides, it's not just soldiers."
Rudger's keen gaze turned to a side where he saw a man wearing a wide robe and a cane around his waist. It was a wizard.
"I think it's going to be a little hard."
When Hans was beside him at a loss, Rudger looked elsewhere.
"Hmm?"
He saw a slave of unusually small size, unlike other slaves. It was a young girl, but seeing her in this place, she must be subspecies, and considering her body size, it was clear that she was a Dwarf.
She was swinging a pickaxe eagerly while sneaking the mined by-products into her pocket. Her actions were so secretive that even the watchmen did not notice it, but Rudger was different.
"Hans."
"Yes, brother."
"Maybe I can get help."
"What?"
Hans looked back at Rudger, asking what that meant.
"I found a strange person."