“So, you’re bragging about getting beaten up by a freshman? You idiot…”
The woman sipping coffee at her desk sneered.
The man standing before her grimaced.
His appearance was a mess.
Bruises covered his face, a bump had formed on the back of his head, and his left eye was swollen shut.
“No… Sis! That bastard hit me first! I told you, didn’t I? My wallet got stolen last time. Thinking back, it must’ve been him!”
Ignoring Martin’s complaints, Martina lightly twisted a strand of her dangling side hair with her finger.
Damn, her hair was damaged.
Watching Martin’s furious outburst only made her more amused.
“Ugh… Damn it! You’re my sister, aren’t you? Isn’t dealing with stuff like this your job?”
Martina found Martin’s whining increasingly irritating.
Unable to endure his complaints any longer, she growled softly but firmly.
“Shut up.”
“…Ugh.”
“I told you not to mess around, but you did anyway. This is on you. I’m already irritated to death because of that violet-haired girl, and now you’re making it worse?”
Faced with his sister’s overbearing attitude, Martin backed down, looking sheepish.
“No… I just thought… you might take care of it for me.”
“Fine. What’s their name?”
“Violet! She’s called Violet! And… Daphne, too!”
Martina replied in an exasperated tone.
“How am I supposed to figure that out with just that? Do you think I’m like the student council president, memorizing every face and name?”
“Here…! I asked a friend to look into it. Here, I’ll send you a message.”
Martin immediately texted her the information.
The message included their names, places they stayed, and their department.
There were even pictures.
One was of a stunning silver-haired girl, seemingly captured on the street.
The other was a blonde girl devouring food as if starved.
That was a familiar sight.
“Oh, her. It’s her.”
“You know her?”
“Yeah, I do. Not personally, but I’ve seen her photo on Messenger. Remember that third-year who got suspended for drinking? Their friend fought a freshman and got beaten up. I heard they tried food torture, but she ate everything prepared. Didn’t they say she could create clones or something? Turns out, that’s her.”
Martin’s swollen face brightened instantly.
“So? You’ll help me, right? Yeah?”
“Ah… wait a minute. Oh! The student council president…”
Her expression shifted when she saw the message from the student council president appear on her phone screen.
It was a rare response.
Feeling cheerful, she decided to humor her dumb little brother’s request.
“Well, I can’t deal with it directly due to Management Committee rules, but… fine. I’ll reach out to some friends or acquaintances. I’m a bit curious myself.”
Now she realized the ridiculous rumors were about this girl.
She thought.
This cheeky little brat could use a taste of the real world.
Too many underclassmen had been getting cocky lately.
The fact that several had simultaneously challenged upperclassmen to duels recently was proof enough.
It was time to set an example.
As she scrolled through the images, she paused at the one of the silver-haired girl.
Her foolish brother had probably gotten into trouble trying to hit on her.
Looking at her, it was understandable.
Though Martina had no personal grudge, she considered giving this silver-haired roommate a hard time as well.
It might be unfair to her, but collective punishment was a thing.
And she was a little too pretty.
Fairly decent-looking, but surely had some work done.
Martina didn’t like pretty underclassmen.
The assistant researchers were guided around the facility until 11 PM, touring various areas.
They even visited the tunnel with the large pipes we’d noticed last time.
Nothing particularly unusual happened.
The scene before me resembled a company orientation.
People were seated while a senior researcher spoke at the front.
The content wasn’t academic—just trivial details about the job.
“Are we really going to do it? Let’s just gather more data instead…”
“Data? We’ve gathered everything we can. We scoured the internet to identify the research equipment in the photos and videos. We’ve compiled a basic list of the personnel here.”
“Do these people even go home? Last time, I saw some staying here overnight.”
After spending time and effort, we had a rough idea of who was here and what they were doing.
But it wasn’t enough.
It felt like assembling a thousand-piece puzzle with the middle missing.
What we’d found were scattered corner pieces at best.
“Let’s just kidnap Dr. Sturgis.”
“What’s the point if we don’t even know what they’re up to? The risks outweigh the benefits.Besides, you know as well as I do…”
“This is like abducting a factory worker to investigate a nuclear weapons plant.”
The clones’ opposing voices grew louder in my mind.
Frustrated by the interruptions, No. 2 snapped.
“Ugh, stop interrupting me! That’s not even a good analogy. With their expertise, they’re more likely to have the critical information we need.
And most importantly…”
No. 2 projected an image into my mind.
It was a photo of a document titled “Level 1 Confidential Security Pledge.”
It looked like a standard government or military document.
The contents were mostly predictable.
Our focus shifted to a silvery magical pattern resembling a QR code near the signature line.
“A Neural Engraving Pledge Spell. Ugh… I didn’t think I’d actually see one of these.”
“Let’s not forget—the main reason we dropped the abduction plan wasn’t exhaustion. It was this thing.”
This object was a type of magical gag order.
Failure to meet the contract’s conditions caused excruciating pain.
In extreme cases, the spell could incinerate the subject’s entire nervous system, killing them.
In the game, there’s a subplot where an advisor accidentally signs a contract with this spell and suffers for it.
The security pledge’s summary boiled down to this:
“Do not disclose any information about the internal projects of the lab to anyone unauthorized without explicit permission.”
The terms were written so strictly and explicitly that even hinting at the information through indirect means was prohibited.
Had we executed the abduction plan without noticing the contract, we’d have ended up watching someone die, smoke rising from their body.
The arrival of armed forces would’ve been the icing on the cake.
“Well, it’s not ideal, but we don’t have a choice.”
“What are the chances these people have signed it too?”
“First, let’s confirm whether they’ve signed it. If the Neural Engraving Spell has been applied, there’ll be a physical mark. If it’s there, we’ll just pretend to be robbers and knock them out.”
The plan was crude and impromptu, but we needed “human intelligence.”
Even if they didn’t know any classified information, it didn’t matter.
As long as they could help us interpret the data or research papers we’d obtained, that was enough.
On another note, this research facility had an interesting mix of personnel.
Based on job titles, books on their desks, and their research papers, the facility housed experts across various fields.
From physicists and medical doctors specializing in Awakened research to neuroscientists, psychologists, and even big data algorithm specialists.
The purpose of bringing together such diverse experts remained a mystery.
“Are they trying to create super soldiers? Or maybe a ghoul army…?”
“You’ve felt it yourself, haven’t you? That’s just a low-tier beast. Even a well-trained, unawakened mercenary with a gun could handle it better.”
“Well, we’ll figure it out eventually.”
“Oh, right! I had something else to explain, but I forgot…”
“Huh? When did you take these?”
Violet No. 2 clicked on some photos she had taken before but forgotten about, displaying them on the screen.
They were pictures of a calendar and a chart.
The schedule chart showed parts marked as ‘Winter Break’ and ‘Start of Second Semester.’
As for the calendar, most of it just contained trivial personal notes, but between December and February, there were many sections marked with stars or shaded in red.
“This place uses a September semester system, right? That’s why the second semester starts in January.”
“Why did they mark those dates?”
“Who knows. Must be something important.”
While we were chatting, a researcher announced the end of the session.
“…Please don’t be late tomorrow! Anyone absent will be considered as opting out.”
People began dispersing, and No. 65 watched them gradually scatter.
No. 2, who was sharing her vision with us, spoke in a grave tone.
“Let me go over this again. What we’re doing is kidnapping. Once we start, there’s no turning back. In the worst case, we might have to kill someone. Is everyone clear on that? Speak up if you’re against it.”
Hesitation was palpable among us, but no one voiced any objections.
“Alright. Who’s the target? Should we catch them inside the facility?”
No. 2 shook her head vehemently, the motion relayed through the network.
“There’s probably an exit we don’t know about somewhere on this campus. Let’s just wait for them to come out. While we’re at it, we can try to deduce the location of the exits. Let’s focus on capturing one person. Are the others in different areas ready too?”
“Ready. No. 54 is waiting with a truck at the rendezvous point. Fuel’s checked, and the engine’s fine. We’re good to go.”
Before the conversation even concluded, Violets disguised under cloaks had already arrived at the front gate, back gate, and the school parking lot.
“We’re in position. Standing by.”
After waiting for a while, the people we had seen earlier began to trickle out of various buildings in pairs or small groups.
“Alright, let’s begin.”
We followed at a distance, observing for the right moment. Then, a signal came from the Violet stationed in the parking lot.
“Hey, I see one of the targets we noted earlier. Looks like they’re heading to their car.”
“Can you get close?”
“Yeah, no problem!”
Under the dim shadows and lights, a man in a gray sweater opened his car door.
The Violet cautiously moved into range for clone generation.
As the car’s engine started, one Violet appeared in the trunk and another on the backseat floor.
They flattened themselves against the floor, holding their breath to avoid detection.
Thankfully, the darkness seemed to keep the man unaware.
“What about tracking the others?”
“We’ve secured one. That’s enough. Going after two or three would be too much.”
The car exited the parking lot and headed down the road, passing through the front gate.
“Begin pursuit.”
Violets stationed outside the school mounted motorcycles and trailed the car at a cautious distance.
Those of us hitching a ride felt the vehicle moving.
Because our tracking abilities weren’t entirely accurate, we brought a tracker just in case.
The tailing team monitored the car’s movements in real-time while keeping their distance to avoid suspicion.
After about thirty minutes, the car came to a stop.
Checking the location, we found ourselves in a small residential area a bit removed from the Polaris Academy.
It appeared the man lived nearby.
“Yawn… so tired…”
The man parked in front of a multi-family housing complex and turned off the engine while yawning.
“Now?”
“Now!”
The Violet lying flat in the backseat rose. Sensing movement, the man started to turn around, but sparks flew from the taser in Violet’s hand.
“What the…?”
-Bzzzzt!
“Urghk!”
As the man fainted, Violet No. 15 immediately generated three more clones on the spot.
“Search for the target’s belongings. Don’t forget to tie up his limbs!”
One Violet retrieved the man’s wallet, keys, and phone while the others stripped his clothes. There was something we needed to check.
“No traces of a magic circle. Looks like he hasn’t signed any binding contracts.”
Everyone sighed in relief.
“…Good, but I’m still not sure. Does this guy really know what we’re looking for?”
No. Three hesitated.
“He’s probably aware of something if he was briefed about the project. If not, we’ll just dump him back on the road. That’s why we prepared those disguises in advance. There’s no need to rush.”
Using a flashlight, we carefully examined his body multiple times, but no magic circle like the ones seen in games appeared.
The man had dusky skin and wore thick black-rimmed glasses—an appearance stereotypical of a science nerd who’d become an online meme.
While No. 21 used the man’s keys to enter his housing complex, we blindfolded and gagged the unconscious man. We started the car and drove to the agreed meeting point.
After traveling for some time under the moonlit sky, we spotted our truck parked by the side of an empty road.
“Good work!”
“See you later.”
We hoisted the man into the truck. No. 12 drove the compact car back to the residential area.
After securing the man tightly, we threw him into the truck bed and covered him with a blanket.
The destination was an isolated warehouse between the western and central districts.
After a long drive, we arrived to find other Violets awaiting us at the warehouse.
“Welcome back! Great job.”
“We’re going to rest. Take care of the rest.”
We carried the man into the warehouse and tied him to a chair.
The effects of the taser had kept him unconscious for quite some time.
It was time to wake him up.
After removing his gag, we shook him lightly.
Splashing water felt a bit too inhumane.
Wake up! It’s time to leave dreamland.
“Where… am I? What’s going on? Help! Is anyone there?”
Good.
Let’s start asking questions.
Hopefully, he has something useful to share.
Bringing another person here would be too much trouble.