"Hey, answer clearly, how many people do you have?""T-this is all of us, I swear!""You bitch! You will regret being the enemy of —Ugh!"Jung Heewon gave the bald guy a strong kick in the chest, shut him right up, while Lee Hyunsung patched his mouth up with tape. Han Sooyoung rummaged through the terrorist comms, only after making sure that they had no accomplices left that she called the other members in for cleaning. A pop-up message floated on her lock screen, informing her about the other teams' situation.["All clear."]["It's done."]["Done."]When she received information that there were four attacks on the theme park they had chosen on that day, she was completely speechless. Because of limited time, she had to mobilize all The Garden members currently present to investigate. Yet in that short period of time, they still managed to find four. Han Sooyoung put the phone back in her pocket, sighed exaggeratedly. "Haah, even though I expected this to happen anyway, the trouble-attracting aura of those two combined really can't be underestimated..."Lee Hyunsung' eyes were covered by a layer of faint worry:"I wonder how our distracted team is doing.""The kids will be fine, those MBCC guys are also with them after all." Jung Heewon patted Lee Hyunsung's back, reassuring him. To those guys, Shin Yoosung's group were still normal civilians, so there was no reason for them to not protect them. Suddenly, San Sooyoung buzzed in her pocket, signaling an urgent message just came. News from normal channels did not trigger this buzzing mechanism, therefore she pulled it out immediately, while silently praying. Sadly for her, this wish was destined to be unfilled.["Alert! Langley is coming!"]Han Sooyoung's mouth widened, almost dropped her lollipop:"Now!? What are those useless in the investigation team doing?"She typed at the same time, fingers almost left only afterimage:"Where is she now?"*****Inside the game world, Yoo Joonghyuk was having the best time of his life in a long time. After Kim Dokja had done recharging, they went to the closest access point to update the mission, then spent the next hours wandering through the forest. Ruins of human civilization could be clearly seen on both sides of the road, which has now become a roaming place for wild animals and alien machines. Yoo Joonghyuk swung his sword and cut the body of a medium biped in half that was rushing towards them. A little further behind him, Kim Dokja slashed a medium quadruped across its head. Perhaps thanks to the Android body being stronger than his real-life one, Kim Dokja's fighting movements were lighter than usual. For a moment, Yoo Joonghyuk felt like they had returned to the old days, when they were still fighting side by side.
At first, Kim Dokja couldn't even look at him straight and quickly blushed whenever he came close. Not that Yoo Joonghyuk was any different - he just hid it better, but he couldn't just let this chance slide so, fuck dignity.Sadly, due to his damned quick adaptability, Kim Dokja got used to their new appearance too fast and was able to comfortably look at him directly just after a few minutes, the frequency of blushing decreased a lot as well. Yoo Joonghyuk couldn't say that he wasn't disappointed, especially when his still threatened to rear their heads every time he looked at Kim Dokja's curves.He never thought he was still capable of having so many horny thoughts at this age, with all that happened.Conversations with Han Sooyoung years ago flowed back into his head. Sometimes, he had to help her revise her work or brainstorming ideas - a job that belonged to Kim Dokja before. Han Sooyoung in the days before deadlines and when having an idea block was exceptionally terrible. Different from usual - she usually filtered her words a bit, these days she has absolutely no control, and just blurted out all kinds of curses and vulgar language, and of course, sex scenes couldn't be excluded.In Lee Jihye's words:
"Got dirtied~".He immediately sliced the machines blocking his way in half, as if shredding his embarrassing memories. Kim Dokja gawked at the man suddenly went on a rampage with a hefty of killing intent, couldn't help but murmur:"What got into him now..."The map they got from Anemone in the Resistance Camp wasn't detailed - it only led them to the entrance, while the rest was completely empty. Kim Dokja looked around the ruins, yet couldn't find anything similar to a gate, until his gaze hit a rusty manhole cover on the ground, almost covered by dust and grasses.After lifting the round cover up and pulling it aside, they entered the dark tunnel. The sewer was completely dried up - the place must have been abandoned for a very long time. A gentle light lit up from his white dress, forming a halo around him like a luminous jellyfish emerged from the deep sea. From his radar sensor, there were no enemies in the sewer, so the light shouldn't attract anything unwanted. Under the blindfold-shaped google, he glanced at Yoo Joonghyuk. He didn't know if the man could see in the dark or not, still, having some was better.The sewer was much simpler than its real-life version and quite straightforward, it didn't take them much time to reach the end and climb out. Laid out in front of them, giant trees and building ruins formed an impenetrable fortress, while standing in the middle of them was a grand amusement park. Fireworks and balloons decorated the park's sky, yet the eerie atmosphere clouded over the whole place still persisted. A large sun wheel could be seen over the sky background, mixed with castle-like towers. Greeted by a familiar sight, Kim Dokja's heart almost stopped. Without any warning, reality and mirage overlapped, a familiar weightlessness swept through him. All of his senses felt like they got clouded by a thick mist, His limbs were leaden, as if sinking in a thick, murky marsh.On one hand, he can see clearly on the other side of the open gate, rusty machines dancing in lines, wearing costumes and painted their round heads, forming a bizarre parade. Their chanting echoed:[Oh, wHat FUn! Oh, whaT FUn!][LeT's bE haPPy toGETher!][toGETher! ToGEtheR!]On the other hand, the shapeless mist changed into various familiar figures, Hecate, Yoo Sang-ah, Hela, Zoya,... mixed in with the machine's forms. However, this time they didn't attack or reach out to him, instead, they just talked and did their own thing, as if he was watching them from the sideline. He saw Yoo Sang-ah talking to someone on the phone with an emotionless face, OwO scratched her head while doing homework. A bit further away, Hela was cursing at someone.This situation was way too abnormal, so out of habit, Kim Dokja acted as if nothing happened. He quietly called Etti:"What is that?"[It's a public procession, humans usually call it a 'parade'. It can also refer to a formal march or gathering of troops for inspection or display, a public square or promenade, or a row of shops.]...As expected, the mist was his problem. Kim Dokja thought that after eating on time and sleeping well, the symptoms of fatigue would disappear. Why did it seem like his condition was even worse? As the two get closer to the entrance, the clearer the music and shapes of machines can be seen. Their spherical forms melded into the fog, casting an eerie air that unsettled the onlookers. Even with them standing only two steps from them, the machines still paid them no mind, completely immersed in their singing and dance. It was truly a different experience. Maybe they could get straight to the boss like this? His mission only told him to investigate the Resistance signals inside the park, not purge.After a short moment of thinking, he signaled Yoo Joonghyuk to avoid the machines:"No need to fight them for now."Walking past them was much easier than they expected, all the machines either treated them as other machines or just acted as if they were invisible, Kim Dokja even received a bouquet made of tin foil from a colorful small flyer unit. It was easy to ignore the fog hallucinations at first, since they weren't as agitated, but the further they went, the more familiar their action became. Now, the scene has recreated the moment his group and Zoya were fighting the distorted behemoth of a monster. A sarcophagus on a white stone altar could be seen just a few steps behind them, Kim Dokja could even trace the hazy red patterns on the altar. He felt a sense of anticipation, if these foggy illusions were created from his memories, then what would happen next? Could it show memories he didn't remember?...Now that he thought of it, didn't this mist strangely similar to the tentacle-shaped contamination leaked out from the sarcophagus?Could it be that those illusions were from the
thing he absorbed?What was the situation now? Digesting? Or being contaminated?
Kim Dokja was strangely quiet, Yoo Joonghyuk could notice that much, despite the other man seeming as if there was nothing unusual. At this point, he realized that other than work-related subjects, he didn't know how to start a conversation. And because there were no enemies attacking, Yoo Joonghyuk had absolutely nothing to do, except leisurely walking next to Kim Dokja.Somewhere in a corner of his memory, scenes of dating couples that he had seen when taking Yoo Mia to the park emerged. However, just a fleeting memory was enough to make him shudder at its cheesiness, and immediately dismissed the notion as utterly unfeasible. Despite his rational mind's protests, his emotions were compelling him to just fuck then marry Kim Dokja once and for all, time and tide waited for no man.A large hand with rough calluses covered Kim Dokja's hand, startled and pulled his attention away from the illusions. His line of thoughts went blank for a second, then immediately running at full speed. How should he interpret this?He himself had just been 'born' a few months ago, and the type of love he had received since then was the twisted love of mentally unstable Sinners. He could clearly feel other people's emotions when listening to their 'stories', but when he stood there himself, everything became hazy. Yoo Joonghyuk's actions from yesterday until now were extremely conflicted. On the one hand, this man's actions pushed everyone around him away, on the other hand, he was extremely careful in taking care of them. This was even more evident around him. It wasn't 'friendship', nor any type of 'love' that Kim Dokja knew of.Not like he himself has much experience in love either.The only conclusion that Kim Dokja could draw was that everyone at the Garden restaurant deeply respected and was loyal to him. Was this how he earned their loyalty? Did Yoo Joonghyuk realize that his condition was abnormal, and wanted to reassure him? If so, then this person's intuition is truly extremely scary......If Yoo Joonghyuk knew what Kim Dokja was thinking, he would probably ignore Loki and Etti watching and just fuck Kim Dokja to oblivion.By the time they approached the largest castle-like building in the middle of the park, the mist had replayed half of the scene when Suspect R broke into the MBCC headquarters. The Resistance's Android signals could be picked from inside a large dome rising from the ground nearby. [Alert: Multiple Resistance members detected beneath this building.]This type of architecture was half submerged in the ground, with only the roof protruding to receive light, usually, it would be connected to another building and entrance. However, this type of architecture was usually only built on cliff terrain, who would place it in the middle of flat land like this?Yoo Joonghyuk also seemed to realize this, because without saying anything, he kicked out a window frame and climbed through it, Kim Dokja also immediately followed suit. They were about to follow the spiral staircase down when a 'crack' sound suddenly rang out, pulling them all below.In the darkness, a pair of muscular hands immediately enveloped Kim Dokja. The floors below have almost no light at all, only a glimpse of sunlight from the dome above and a faint red light somewhere. Almost all the floors of the lower floors had collapsed, the pillars below were also heavily damaged. After several seconds, they crashed through a crystal ceiling and landed on the ground. Before Kim Dokja could activate his night vision, all the lights were lit up, revealing a grand theater. The first floor of the theater was completely empty, making it more similar to an arena than for the audience seats. Red curtains were badly tattered, except the ones covering the main stages. Based on the tears, Kim Dokja had the feeling that they weren't eaten by moths, but as if someone had intentionally torn them violently.As if to confirm his thoughts, the stage curtain was suddenly pulled back, revealing a machine draped in red. Underneath the red fabrics, plates of metal overlapped like scales. Dozens of Android chassis hanging from its head spikes and 'gown', as if they were decorations. Their synthetic shell swayed, emitting clanging sounds of metal as the machine rotated around.The machine opened its mouth wide, emitted a series of high-pitched sounds like opera singing. It flies from the stage down to the ground, lasers spreaded from the bottom level of the machine, forming a chain of deadly blades. Layers of iron plate above also moved and contracted, revealing rows of guns below, the gun muzzles covering the entire area without a single dead angle. Yoo Joonghyuk immediately pulled out his blade, ready to cut the singing machine in half. However, next to him, Kim Dokja just stood completely still despite rows of bullets coming, as if being nailed in place. Ether sprang up from Yoo Joonghyuk's blade and turned the machine's lower body into metal scraps. Loki's complaint could be heard somewhere about 'not acting according to the script', but he couldn't care less. With a swift movement Yoo Joonghyuk pulled Kim Dokja's blindfold out, revealing his blank eyes, as if being hypnotized.As for Kim Dokja, the situation wasn't much different from being hypnotized. He had been able to ignore those strange illusions, until they all suddenly rushed towards him. The fog covered his eyes for a moment, then immediately dissipated, revealing a white room with glass on all four sides. The glossy glass surface reflected Kim Dokja's projection. Only then did he realize that his original third-person perspective had changed to a first-person perspective.All of his limbs were tied closely to the straitjacket, as if that still seemed not enough, he himself was restrained to a heavy iron chair. Even though there were only reflections around him, he still 'knew' he was being closely watched. This wasn't based on intuition or speculation, but a kind of 'knowing', as if he could directly see countless eyes staring at him through one-way glass. A man cladded fully in white entered the room and sat right opposite to him. Despite his hazy facial features, Kim Dokja still felt emotions raging in his chest, anger, frustration, stubbornness... and sadness, like a hope to be understood yet unreciprocated. He heard himself exchange words with the man, yet not a single clear word could be understood. As time went on, his emotions gradually became agitated. The moments before the man left the room, he was almost shouting. After him, several other people walked in and talked to him, but the result was the same. The only thing Kim Dokja could feel was that no matter how much he shouted at them, those people dressed in white were still completely unaffected and emotionless, like lifeless dolls. Then the scene changed. This time, Kim Dokja felt himself submerged in cold blue liquid. The noctilucent liquid quickly filled his vision, distorting his surroundings into deformed figures. The back of his neck down to his spine felt painful as if being cut open, while all of his limbs were completely uncontrollable. The strange liquid didn't hinder his ability to breathe, however it dulled all of his other senses, cradling him into a sense of paralysis.Then, a sharp pain suddenly assaulted his brain, as if someone just stabbed a needle into his head and stirred it violently. The pain was too sudden and real, erasing all barriers between reality and illusion. Only now was he fully aware that this was no longer an illusion, he was actually reliving those memories. Amidst the pain, he heard a cold, distorted voice said:
"Personality reconstruction failed. Retry attempt: 1.""Personality reconstruction failed. Retry attempt: 2.""Personality reconstruction failed. Retry attempt:3.""...Personality reconstruction failed. Retry attempt: 14.""-----""...Memory erasure complete."Red spikes of Shackle flashed out from Kim Dokja's body, pierce through everything in the way, even the space around him was heavily distorted and cracked. He clutched his head in pain, almost falling to the ground. From somewhere, a female scream could be heard, along with Loki's panicked voice:"Etti!"Sensing the immense danger, Yoo Joonghyuk reflexively activated his defense skill, yet only enough to block most of the spikes. Despite no visible wound, he could feel cuts formed on his arms and legs, one side of his cheek stung.Kim Dokja was already on the verge of blacked out, when his vision abruptly changed again. The immeasurable pain was gone almost instantly, like a fleeting mirage. He saw himself in a much shorter and smaller body, enveloped by white light. His tiny hand was wrapped in the hand of a woman, slightly calloused yet filled with warmth. White pages of the book laid underneath their fingers. He heard himself asked her:
"This... is the end?""This is the end.""There isn't anything that comes next?"There is no 'next'. However, just because it's the end doesn't mean you've seen the whole story.""Yes?""Read it again.""...Why read a story I already know?""If you read it again, it'll definitely be a different story."Kim Dokja heard himself stubbornly denied:
"...I don't want to."A light chuckle escape the woman lips, she lowered her head and said gently:
"Do you want to read it together?"Upon seeing the woman's face, Kim Dokja's eyes widened.Outside of the park, Cinnabar and Garofano let out a painful scream at the same time, red veins flashed over their skin. The pain was over in an instant, but that was enough. There was only one case of Shackle going riot before, and they were all aware of the reason behind it. No longer caring about disguise, they rushed towards the park entrance as a sleek black car came into view. From it emerged a slender woman, her long brown hair cascading down as she stepped into the open. Harry's face went pale immediately as soon as he saw her face - Langley, the mythical leader of 9th Division, and their chief's direct superior. Until now, Ms. Yoo Sang Ah hadn't sent a single message, which meant the situation should be still under control. Did she know Langley would come to retrieve Chief herself? Was that why their mission only ordered them to protect him?In the game, Loki turned the game off himself and took both players out immediately. The scene around Yoo Joonghyuk immediately changed into a familiar theme park, right in the exact location where they were before entering the world in the map. The ombre haired girl kneels next to Loki, no longer in pain. However, Kim Dokja still clutched his head, his expression hiding behind the shadow.Yoo Joonghyuk put one arm around Kim Dokja, holding him tightly in a protective position, while taking out his phone with the other hand. Han Sooyoung's number was waiting on the screen. With just one ring, all members of The Garden would immediately surround this place. A cold gun barrel touched his head, along with a cold voice:"I should have known when all of his trails were cut off. Get away from him."Yoo Joonghyuk didn't need to turn his head to know who was behind him. He silently clicked his tongue:"...Langley.""I won't say this twice."Yoo Joonghyuk brows furrowed, he had known and fought her enough times to know she definitely wouldn't let him take Kim Dokja away. However, he also had no intention of backing down either. Not far away, the group of sinners from MBCC could be seen looking nervously towards them, wondering what to do. A little distance away from them, Shin Yoosung's group was also in an equally panicked state. There was no doubt that if he fought Langley here, they and the entire park would suffer.Suddenly, Kim Dokja pushed his arm lightly, as if to reassure him:"Don't scare the others."The throbbing pain still imprinted in his voice, but his eyes were unusually bright. He looked directly into Langley's:"Mother."