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Kim Dokja's consciousness was trapped in the darkness, prostrating in the mud. His body felt heavy, like a a million chaotic creatures were tangling behind him, dragging him backward. He tried to stand up but failed miserably. 'This' body was so huge, and a burning pain came from 'his' waist, yet 'he' couldn't feel anything from there on down.

It's... not over yet...

'He' seemed to be moaning, making a sound he was unfamiliar with. The sound was like steel needles scraping across his throat, painful but unstoppable. It was as if he had to keep struggling to survive.

...Don't want to die... I... don't want to die...

'He' struggled to reach his hand downward. 'His' arms withered and weak, and 'his' palms were burning with pain, oozing out lava-like filth. It fell on the ground, making sizzling sound and scorching his nerve.

One step, then another... 'He' wailed as 'he' reached forward, dragging the heavy body across the floor. Something kept flowing out of the lower half of 'his' senseless body, from which wild monsters gush out. That was 'his' lost life force.

But 'he' didn't stop.

Climbing over ditches and hills, crushing everything 'he' passed along the way. 'He' heard a distinct obsession gradually became frantic, pulling 'him' forward.

Live... I need to... live... and... KILL HER !!!

Countless scenes flashed through Kim Dokja's vision, from the familiar scorching Keylan Square, exactly like how he saw in his 'vision' before, to a giant ventilation duct, covered by the same sizzling lava-like filth. The scene lingered for a short moment before being replaced by an upside-down television tower. All of its displays were black, reflecting its surroundings, but before he could make out anything from the blurry and cracked screens, his vision switched again. This time, the lava didn't smear on the ground anymore, but fell from the sky like rain, turning countless stone crosses into deformed debris.

Just as his consciousness was about to be torn apart, a strange musical sound split the darkness, followed by a flash of blue light that cut through the madness and broke the foul chaos that trapped him.

Kim Dokja's eyes snapped open. He was lying on his back, still surrounded by darkness, but the fire and the scorch marks were gone. Only the sensation remained, his back, the back of his head, and the shackles on his hands were all burning with pain.

But the mental chaos had subsided, and he couldn't help but reach into his pocket, where the blue Hypercube fragment was lying.

The shackles were responsive, and that... wasn't a dream, but an omen, a revelation. He had seen the lava-like scorch marks, the very source of the contamination he was chasing.

Whatever induced BR-004's anomaly stopped here.

...But where is here?

His memory drifted back to when he was in the car. Thanks to his suit and mask, unless he said out loud or through his comm, no one could hear his words, so he didn't have to worry about the officer sitting in front of him. He asked 'Rust':

"Is there a way to infiltrate the place?"

"The risk is high, but there's indeed a way. There's a private funeral home at the bottom of Drifter Camp. Regardless of your status. faction, Mania or not... as long as you die in the territory of the Drifter Camp, you will be taken in and buried."

"I just need to die, right?"

"Yes, if, unfortunately, happened to be a conflict, just play it out in front of them. I can meet you halfway. As long as I can stop your vital signs on the spot, they won't do anything more to you. your body already belongs to the funeral home."

Han Sooyoung said he also used to fake his death quite a lot back in his days in Korea. Time to give it a try.

"Sounds good. I'm already familiar with kidnapping plays. Guess it's time to change the script."

"Haha, oh right, please keep this a secret from your adjutant. That scary woman will have my head if she ever knows I suggested to you this."

The familiar voice of the 9th Agency's agent - 'Rust' suddenly rang next to his ear, making him reflexively hold his breath. His in-ear communication had worked again, which meant he was out of the jammed range.

"You're finally awake. Shh, don't talk, and don't move. Check your surroundings first. Is there anyone else around?"

Kim Dokja calmed down, held his breath, and tried to perceive his surroundings. He was trapped in a small rectangular space, and with the help of a shimmering light fell from above, he could tell it wasn't very high.

He could feel his heart beating. About a minute passed by, and through that gap occasionally came the sound of airflow, as clearly audible as his heartbeat... This place was quiet, dim, and cold inside out.

"There doesn't seem to be anyone else around, so you're safe. How are you feeling? I heard that the Chief is not in good physical condition lately. The suspended animation lasted 2 hours, and there could be side effects."

Indeed, the place where the 'bullets' hit still hurt a little. Kim Dokja thought they would crack his bones, but now it seemed fine. Except for the fake plasma on his clothes, that felt a little nasty. He recalled the scene where Rust 'shot' him in front of everyone.

"I'm surprised no one saw through your little trick."

"Don't underestimate the little toys of an agent. It was quite shocking to see your head explode. Although you could have told me you have people inside Drifter Camp sooner, he would have broken my neck on the spot if I didn't manage to tell him the plan fast enough."

Huh?

"Anyway, the plan went well, Chief, and you have now infiltrated the funeral home at the bottom of the Drifter Camp. Your boyfriend and daughters are also on their way here. As long as they can reunite with you before you're pushed into the crematorium, there won't be a problem, probably."

"What are you talking about..?"

He could get the 'daughters' part, since people at the MBCC also liked to tease him about how he treated the young Sinners like his children, but where did the 'boyfriend' come from?

He tried to move his limp, which had started to regain its function, and sent the soreness all over his body to his brain. Somewhere in the back of his head, he regretted not spending more time blending in with a disguise.

"Well, the enemies of the Drifter Camp are thinking of the same thing. They've caught several 'acting personnel' and tightened up entrance checks recently, so it's not so easy to go undercover anymore."

"Will this compromise you?"

"The risk has indeed increased. So I'll be keeping a low profile from here, and there will be very little help I can give you. Don't try to find me either. Any 'agreement' between you and me will only increase the risk of exposure. But I believe things will be a piece of cake for you from now, considering none of the drifters had seen your real face."

Kim Dokja could feel his hooded coat and mask on him, maybe because it was covered in fake blood and brain pieces that no one thought of taking it off. Meanwhile, 'Rust' continued:

"Now that you've entered the Drifter Camp, have you sensed anything about the Corpus?"

Kim Dokja recalled the scenes he just saw, and gave out his conclusion:

"It's been here but has left. The shackles are very sensitive to their presence, but now it's calm. Parma and his 'Corpus' are no longer in Drifter Camp. I don't know if this is a good or bad thing."

"It's a good thing. The population density here is very high, and it will be hard to control the situation. We can relax for a while at least. Take this as a starting point and continue the investigation. You can still find out what 'the thing' did here and what Parma did. The attack just now was aimed at you, they seemed to know you well. I'm not sure where the info is from, but it will be used against you. Remember, from now on, do not reveal your identity or the fact that you're still alive. Drifter Camp may not be your enemy, but they're definitely not your friend."

His words reminded him of the conflict he just had, the gun pointed at the young man and his frantic and cold eyes behind it. Although his plan was already in place, and he had no intention of firing, he still couldn't help but falter for a moment.

If he was still a chief with only more than 8 months of memories, he might have shot the young man and started an irreversible war. If the news of 'DisCity officials shot and killed Drifter young man' spread, it wouldn't be brushed off as a trivial matter. The radicals were only a minority, and most drifters were civilians. But if a particular line was crossed, then there would be no coming back.

Compared to that, he died there, the incident would only be described as 'the remaining gangsters tried to disrupt the negotiations between the Drifter Camp and DisCity authorities, and the negotiators were all killed in the line of duty, sorrow tribute'. The public wouldn't investigate his 'death' too carefully, and he would also have more room to operate.

"Your timing was perfect. Thank you."

"If you want to thank me, then you should check your boyfriend's condition first."

'Rust' rubbed his neck, where the handprint was still prominently visible. The condition of that man was a bit different than normal, but the black smoke surrounding him was undoubtedly Mania. However, he woke up from it too easily to be a Corruptor. Just a moment ago he was like a monster with the sole intention to kill, but as soon as he heard 'Rust' say that Kim Dokja hadn't died, he immediately returned to normal. Even the black smoke dissipated too quickly.

"If my sense didn't trick me, then his mania level was definitely abnormal."

Then, the communication was cut, and Kim Dokja was back in the dark. He could feel the Sinners getting closer on the other end of the shackles, but they would probably take a while. Before that, he struggled to raise his hand and pushed the wooden board covering him. Yet, the board wouldn't budge.

Was he too weak after the suspended animation? Or was the box nailed shut?

He tried to push the four corners, which could be lifted, but then quickly realized something heavy was pressed into the center of the board. Was it another wooden box? It wasn't too heavy, but he really didn't have the strength now, so he decided to lie there and rest.

Instead of making a scene, it was safer to wait for his strength to return or for the Sinner to follow the shackles and find him. As he ponder, a soft laugh came from above the wooden box.

"Hehe...Giving up so soon?"

The laugh made his nerves tense immediately. Someone is out there?!

"Oh? Holding your breath again? Aren't you the one talking big, faking your own death just now? Come on, make a reasonable offer, and I'll open the lid and resurrect you!"

A girl's voice came from above the board, and he realized she was sitting on it to keep him from getting out. And she had been there since before he woke up, so she must have heard everything he said. Pretending to be dead would be useless now. Kim Dokja reached into his pocket, but the pistol wasn't there.

He tried to push the lid again, but nothing happened. He couldn't use shackles without seeing the situation either, if there were others outside, it would be fatal for him if he consumed too much sanity. The girl's voice rang out again:

"Huh, where's your offer? Do you want my help or not? You need to work really hard alone to come back from the dead. Want something to cheer you up?"

Before he could react, a shrill sound of an instrument penetrated the board, piercing his eardrums and reaching the depths of his soul. Even after the song ended, the shrill sound still made him dizzy. The girl didn't seem to realize how destructive her instrument was, and asked in a cheery tone:

"How's that? Are you awake? My suona is unmatched, so you must feel refreshed and delighted. What you just heard is worth 10,000 DisCoins. So pay up!"

"You are a Sinner?"

"Don't try to change the subject! What Sinner? I saved you, and you need to pay up. Or... Are you thinking about using those red spikes on me? You don't want to pay me?!"

Kim Dokja pondered quietly, if she knew about his shackles, could she be one of those that 'Rust' warned him to be wary about? Still, Drifter Camp was indeed not his enemy. He could sense through the shackles that the Sinners were getting closer, so he began to stall.

"Where did you learn about me?"

"Hmph... I'm the all-knowing, the past, the future, everything there is! You woke up not long ago, destroyed BR-004, wiped out the Corpseborne, and took out the two leaders of the Legion."

"I'm not the enemy of the Legion."

The girl said with some tenderness mixed in her voice.

"I know, the Legion doesn't hate you. In their eyes, you're a friend, a good person, and you've done your best."

"...Who told you that?"

Her murmur got closer, as if a hand was caressing him through the cold board.

"They said it themselves... It's the last message they left to this world... Want to know what they said?... Then pay up! 20,000 DisCoins!"

Her soft tone spiked up, wiping all the gentleness out as if they had never been there. Her high-pitched voice made him couldn't help but cover his ears.

Just as she was having fun, a boom resounded, followed by a whirring sound. Something was blown away, rolling around on the ground. Without any heavy object on it, the coffin board immediately got lighter. Kim Dokja could easily push it open and sit up. The dim light only dazzled him for a second before he was pulled into a strong embrace.

The frame of the one hugging him was large, enough to cover him entirely. His arm wrapped around Kim Dokja's back and waist tightly, almost like clutching onto him. His head hid deep into the crook of Kim Dokja's neck. It was as if he wasn't hugging a person, but a person about to drown at sea, clinging to his life-saving lumber.

Something clicked in Kim Dokja's mind, all of 'Rust' previous words finally made sense. Then he froze.

Does that mean he saw that?

Yoo Joonghyuk greedily felt the life of the person in his arms. Only now could the heavy feeling in his heart ease away. Kim Dokja's temperature was still low, but his heart was no doubt beating steadily. He murmured with a voice so low, that even Kim Dokja had to concentrate to hear.

"...Don't ever do that again."

"Erm... Sorry."

So he did see that. Must be quite a shock.

Remembering the fake plasma still stuck to his jacket, Kim Dokja wanted to remind Yoo Joonghyuk, but his desperate air stopped him. The last reminder of 'Rust' appeared in his memory.

" If my sense didn't trick me, then his mania level was definitely abnormal."

He turned his head with difficulty, and tried to observe the man's exposed skin from the neck up. There wasn't much light, just enough for him to see dimly. But Yoo Joonghyuk's skin showed no signs of being corrupted, aside from scars scattered here and there.

As air slowly being squeezed out of his lungs, Kim Dokja patted the man on his back, as a signal for him to let go. Then, he heard a familiar voice from above:

"Chief!"

Nightmare leaped straight down from a high place with Hecate in its palms, stopping between his coffin and the strange girl knocked aside. The girl stopped in her tracks at a scene that was no different from a romantic drama at 6 p.m., mouth agape, even Nightmare's eyes widened. Seeing that Yoo Joonghyuk didn't seem like going to let him go anytime soon, he signaled Hecate to grab the strange girl first.

Contrary to his thought, the girl barely resisted at all. Her eyes were still glued to the scene in front of her.

Seriously, what is so shocking? Does Drifter Camp not have any tradition of hugging?

Dudu indeed was in shock, but it wasn't because of the hug, but the one making that hug. What she was seeing could be comparable to another Perishing Star colliding with Earth.

The overcautious and cold Mr. Yoo was hugging someone? and that passion posture! This news alone could make the whole Drifter Camp explode!

In just a few short seconds, countless scripts of enemy to lover ran through Dudu's head. Then she belatedly thought of something, when she was already in Nightmare's palm.

He... wouldn't silence her by killing, right?