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7:40 a.m., same day.

BR-004 Post Disaster Contamination Cleanup Area.

It was still early for DisCity, most people hadn't even left their houses yet. Layers of white mist cover the whole square. Scattered sunlight barely penetrated the grey clouds, leaving only the blue lights from the Hypercubes on the buzzing hovering drones to purify the residual contamination. The drones were parts of 'Blue Rain', the latest Hypercube-based extensive-cleansing technology to disinfect Mania contamination on a large scale.

The only substance that can defend against Mania - Hypercube, could only mined exclusively in the area where a Black Ring erupted, thus making it extremely rare and valuable. On the black market, this substance could cost hundreds of thousands. However, the difficulty in exploiting this material is also extremely high, due to the concentration of Mania and the dense amount of monsters in the contaminated fields. Even so, the number of illegal miners who die each year didn't decrease.

Kim Dokja's eyes followed the drones doing their purification aimlessly, as his thought drifted to the past.

It's been half a year.

Too many things happened, too many were lost, both friends and foes.

On the communication device, Yoo Sangah was giving him a briefing about the mission:

"The FAC decontamination force reports an unusual increase of residual contamination in the BR-004 lockdown area was observed two weeks ago. The contamination level wasn't high, and the M-value in the area was maintained at a low level. But its source has yet to be located. That's why we need you to investigate this matter...."

She paused for a bit, still couldn't help but voice her worry:

"Are there any signs of the Black Ring being revived? Could there be remains of the 'Corpus' you broke?"

Kim Dokja pressed his chest unintentionally, but quickly disguised it as the act of adjusting the front of his coat. He reassured her:

"You can rule both out."

There were only a handful of people knowing about 'Corpus' in all of the MBCC, FAC and the 9th Agency. Even Dr. Iron wasn't allowed to learn about it.

The Black Ring was rooted in the Corpus. It bursted when the Corpus revived, and shattered when its 'Corpseborne' was destroyed.

Corpus didn't have a fixed form, it could be a substance or a creature, infused with an excessive amount of Mania. When a Corpus awakened, its emotions and consciousness grew stronger and resulted in the appearance of a Black Ring. That was what happened to the Square Black Ring.

Usually, when fused to someone, a Sinner would become a 'Corpseborne'- the owner of the Ground Zero of that Black Ring, while normal humans would die instantly. Yet the core of that Black Ring was inside him, doing nothing aside from slowly eating away his life. Comparatively, this Corpus had been pretty docile.

BR-004 couldn't be more dead, nothing could change that.

Kim Dokja walked through the ruins, scanning the surroundings with his shackles. Some traces of the ring were still here, but it didn't feel like the original Corpus of BR-004. He couldn't feel any sign of another Corpus around either. Which left only two possibilities remaining.

"Either there's an unknown contamination mechanism, or the 'thing' that caused the mutation has left."

"Understood, I'll put together a report for your analysis immediately. Please leave the contaminated lockdown area and return to somewhere safe after the investigation finishes. You don't have to enter the contamination zone yourself."

A notification floated up on his phone. From the tone of the text, Kim Dokja could feel the restlessness of the person on the other end of the channel.

[Yoo Joonghyuk: Have you left Keylan Square?]

Seriously, these two.

[Kim Dokja: I've only been on the ground for less than 15 minutes, you know.]

"Are you worried about something?"

He typed and talked through his comm at the same time. Thanks to the power of the person who created this communication channel, unless that person and he revealed it by themselves, even if he held it right in front of Yoo Sangah's nose, she wouldn't see what was on the screen.

"...You're not standing on safe grounds. The mental contamination field is weak but does exist, and the FAC has found new Corruptors nearby. Your shackles are powerful. However, we know from the tests that the strength and controllability of the shackles are positively correlated with the level of contamination in your area. In an intense mental contamination field, they can be very powerful, and you have used them to solve many Mania crises and break two Black Rings."

Yoo Sangah sighed, almost sounding pleading, which made Kim Dokja feel a bit guilty.

"But you're now in a purification zone where the M-value is maintained at a low level. Once you're not in a Mania-contaminated area, the shackles will remain inactive. If you force it, there will be severe consequences."

[Yoo Joonghyuk: Too many are watching you, you can't fight like this.]

Well, that was also true.

Kim Dokja had slowly remembered quite a lot of important things, including his 'Bookmarks' skill, which allowed him to copy other Sinner's abilities. However, the amount he could use was also proportional to the limit his body could endure. With his current deteriorated state, using it was out of the question.

Not to mention Paradeiso's watchful eyes.

In the Black Ring and highly distorted mental contamination fields, he had incredible power with the inductive and destructive power of the shackles, and now the 'Bookmarks' to cover his physical weakness.

Outside the isolated Mania zone, he could hide the truth by crowning all the credit to Sinners. It was safer and more convenient to disguise himself as a weak but necessary loser than a scary 'anomaly'. He had more secrets that should be kept unknown.

"Chief, are you listening?"

"Yes."

Yoo Sangah's sigh could be heard again:

"...The Black Ring is something that exceeds human perception. You keep fighting it and then return to where it used to be. Everyone is worried about the possible side effects it may have on you."

"It's okay, Yoo Sangah. I'll be back soon. This place is more than a Black Ring, and I'd like to come back every now and then."

A ray of blue light descended near where he was standing, as slow as it was floating, and gently fell into his open palm. It was a small Hypercube fragment, thin, light, and fragile like a snowflake. Kim Dokja had the feeling that if he held his hand lightly, this small piece of Hypercube would immediately crumble and disappear into thin air.

The piece probably just precipitated and hadn't yet formed a cube. There was speculation that when the ring became inactive, some areas within would slowly precipitate Hypercubes, just as reduced solubility would lead to supersaturated precipitation. Hypercubes had been found at BR-004, and FAC was recovering these valuable resources.

Ironically, the deadliest type of Catastrophe was also the one that brought hope to humanity.

A guard in white armor flashed through his mind. The one who died protecting him to the end. If it wasn't for him, BR-004 couldn't have been solved.

He asked his adjutant:

"Can I keep this one? It reminds me of old friends."

"Of course. That's..."

An alarm resounded on the other end of the communicator, interrupting her. Yoo Sangah's words changed instantly:

"...There're Corruptors in the blockade area. There aren't too many, but they are close to the anti-Mania base. The only tricky part is the civilians on the scene. Those monsters are extremely hungry for human emotions. They could break through the base and cause more destruction. Chief..."

That was fast. Kim Dokja's lip curved under the black reflective mask:

"I'll get right to it. This is a clue delivered to our doorstep. Send me the coordinates and I'll be on my way."

*****

"Paradeiso's forces are thinned out? Why?"

Lee Jihye received the latest report from The Garden's agent, a feeling of anxiety rose in her chest. Almost all of Kimcom's was dispatched this morning, including Yoo Joonghyuk and Han Sooyoung, leaving all the monitoring work to her. This wasn't the first time they let her handle the work while they were gone, but this timing was just too coincidental. She recalled what Han Sooyoung said before she departed:

"I'll go greet an 'old friend'. We probably won't be able to reply, but keep us updated, OK.."

Did her 'old friend' relate in any way to this?

Next to the Rust, Han Sooyoung was standing on the giant sun wheel, watching various mutated monsters roaming the godforsaken place. If Kim Dokja were here, he would immediately recognize where this place was.

Carnival amusement park, the origin of a lot of Kim Dokja's nightmares.

23 years ago, The Rust was still the Grace River with a beautiful view, but now it was only the meandering isolation belt separating the West District Syndicate and Eastside of the DisCity, a dumpster for waste, and an uninhabited area filled with contamination.

There was no water in The Rust, only a river of black contamination that resembled infernal tentacles, extended outward endlessly. Almost half a year ago, this area was still being imposed by an enormous red luminous ring floating in the air. It was the first Black Ring in the DisCity that lasted for 23 years - BR-001, the Endless Carnival. Until Kim Dokja took charge and ended this nightmare.

A message came from one of her private channels. Based on the tone of the message, the person sending it must be very confused right now.

Han Sooyoung knew why Paradeiso's troops were being sent away, but for the time being, she didn't have enough evidence to tell others. She smirked while turning her cat-like eyes over to somewhere far away, over Syndicate.

"Now, where are you?..."

She and Lee Sookyung had been competing to find the culprit behind BR-004. That black umbrella man had been very active on both sides of the Rust, throwing false leads around for both of them. Even with all the forces of The Garden joining, they still had a hard time pinpointing his location.

Nonetheless, she was here.

"Heh, I wonder can you continue playing mysterious if your backyard is destroyed, huh, 'Parma'?"

Han Sooyoung's killing intent leaked out of her slender figure. Despite being over 200 meters high, her aura still made the corruptors on the ground cower in fear. However, it vanished after a second, and the corruptors continued to wander aimlessly in confusion. As much as she wanted to, now wasn't yet the time. And she wasn't here for that either.

On the ground, a voluptuous woman was fighting dozens of black coat figures alongside a muscular woman. Large and small wounds impaled on her body, partly showing signs of being corrupted. Her companion was also injured, however hers seemed different. Black and purple cracks crawled on her skin like a broken porcelain doll. Her silver eyes gleamed as she noticed those in black coats only increased. Black smoke oozed out from where should have been their face, indicating their enemies weren't human at all.

"Need a hand?"

A voice rang out from somewhere next to her head, making Zoya immediately alerted, she didn't sense anyone coming at all!

Only now that they realize there were dozens more figures surrounding them, all were identical in height and form. They all spoke in a cheery unison:

"Your death would be a waste of his effort, so please don't die here, ok?"

*****

The battle with the corruptors finished much quicker than Kim Dokja expected. Hella and Hecate were sent out as his reinforcement and were standing with him as they destroyed all the corruptors. Behind them, the FAC decontamination force was finally coming. An FAC soldier's awkward voice came from behind the white helmet:

"Chief, could you...oh, is it already over? I knew we could count on the Chief! Sorry, we were late."

Hella put her petite hands on her hip, smug vividly:

"Hmph, that worked out just fine. You guys would just hold me back anyway. What do they call, the division of neighbor? I'll fight the monsters, and you guys clean up after. Make sure you get the corners too, CLEANUP FORCE~"

"It's 'the division of labor', I taught you that last night." Hecate corrected her.

"...Ahhhh shut up!"

Blushes crawled on Hella's ears as she yelled to her friend. As the two girls chatted with the FAC soldier, Kim Dokja was deep in thought. The contamination analysis from the FAC test came out fast. This contamination wasn't from any external invasion. It was exactly the same as the residue of BR-004, which started to proliferate under the influence of some stimulus.

However, the monsters just now were easily frightened and even tried to run when facing the girls. Monsters formed from contaminations would inherit the mania from the source, which was the obsession of someone deranged. For example, those in the fourth ring were influenced by Zoya and were dominated by a reckless desire to destroy.

In conclusion, what woke them up now must be very different from BR-004.

He looked over to the Anti-Mania base not far away, a ring monitor network was built. It was meant to keep the contamination in and prevent the recurrence of disaster. Looking down at the remaining filth, he found them turned gray in the Hypercube force field. But they kept trembling like struggling to escape or hide.

If the shackles were power from 'the other side'... Would it give him hints?

Kim Dokja reached out to touch the remaining with his shackles, but before he could manage, a strange sensation swept through him. Without warning, something drummed and the world was submerged by a spurt of shadow. The world around him was spinning.

Then the scenes in front of him changed. As if something huge and burning was crawling through the streets and walls, a path dragged out by scorching palm prints creeping on the roofs toward the northeast. The pungent smell of rust and scorched earth choked him. His skin was freezing and burning at the same time, while his eardrum was pierced by some terrible sound. He could hear a mournful wail:

"AHHHH... AHHHHH...."

The epileptic sight was only in a moment, the darkness receded and everything returned to normal. Everyone around him was watching him in astonishment. They didn't see the sight just now at all. But the huge scorch marks that crawled across the crumbling city had been burned into his mind.

Kim Dokja's throat still felt parched, but he pressed the call to Nightingale immediately. The call went through, but instead of the warm voice of his adjutant, the logo of 9th Agency showed up first, and an unfamiliar voice spoke to him. But it didn't matter, he had learned for a long time that his mother's agency was also monitoring him. He immediately got to the point:

"I may have 'sensed' something that triggered the mutation."

*****

"He had discovered traces of 'it'. He's on his way to Drifter Camp."

Yoo Joonghyuk put his phone away after reading Lee Jihye's latest update, his footsteps didn't halt for a single moment. On an alley between overlapping houses, he followed the bridges and paths zigzag-like a maze in patterns. The building was built on layers and layers of complicated mechanisms to protect itself, one step wrong and he would seriously be in trouble.

Fortunately, during the time he was away, The Architect did not change anything, he thought to himself. Meanwhile, his footsteps arrived in front of an empty space that looked like a train platform. A few steps away, some elders pulled a level, and with a few clanks, a small railcar rolled over to them, hanging on the rail.

Yoo Joonghyuk was about to do the same, when a shout suddenly rang out from a group of youngsters walking by:

"Hey, isn't this Mr. Yoo! When did you return?"

He observed the familiar youngster faces as they surrounded him. It took him a while to figure out who they were, but there was no sign of confusion in his expression. He nodded in greeting simply:

"Long time no see."

"Us too! You should have told us earlier that you're back, The Architect could use a lot of your help!"

"I'm going to visit him now."

Yoo Joonghyuk wasn't unfamiliar with the Drift Camp. Not long ago, this place was still an ordinary deserted building. The poor drifters paid extortion for the gangs for so many years and couldn't do anything to help themself. The first time he entered this place was several years ago, and he'd been in and out since then. The last time he entered Drifter Camp was around half a year ago, right after the fall of the gangs. Thanks to all those works, he was as good as a native Drifter Camp in others' eyes. And now was when that perfect cover came into play.

After the outbreak of BR-004, the enforcement of West District Order Management Regulations was suspended, the local security precinct was withdrawn, and the Reconstruction Committee, led by the city council assumed the district administration functions.

It was said to be multi-funded, diversified and open, crossing the Rust to the West District in order to cover the economic, medical, educational and public administration fields, seeking to fix the chaos and help Syndicate get back on track.

However, as the direct witness, he knew this so-called help was nothing but a joke, which only fueled the hatred the poor drifters have for the government. And as an investigator from the said government, he didn't need to think much to know what Kim Dokja would face if he set foot here.

Therefore, before Kim Dokja came, he needed to lay some groundwork first.