“Uuuuggghh… ahhhhhh….”
Yu Parang wakes up.
The clock shows eight in the morning.
She had slept deeply without any dreams, getting a proper good night’s rest.
Parang turned off the alarm clock before it even rang, scratched her belly as she went to the kitchen, and heated up the leftover pizza from yesterday.
She took a hearty bite of the warm pepperoni pizza after drizzling it with Tabasco.
The subtle spicy aroma of Tabasco, savory cheese, and salty pepperoni combined to create a fantastic flavor.
While eating pizza for breakfast might not be great for the stomach, Parang’s philosophy was that it was incredibly good for ntal health.
Especially if it’s leftover pizza from last night’s dinner.
Well, anyway.
After arming herself to the teeth with morning pizza, Parang opened the door and stepped outside.
Then splash into the ocean.
She swam to Busan, then took a warp to Florida, USA.
Of course, there’s a warp station in Pohang too.
But Parang takes this complicated route to avoid the world governnt’s eyes.
Now that she knows the governnt has completely lost it, she’s strengthening her defenses even in daily activities.
Today’s eting is with Silo Corporation.
They agreed to et to discuss the rising Monster Fish Layer and developnts with the world governnt.
From Parang’s perspective, she needs to cross-reference Alice’s information with Silo’s regarding Yoo Sungjun’s condition and the Monster Fish Layer rising ritual.
And she needs to get a new bodysuit too. She broke the last one while playing with the submarine with Yuna.
So, Arica, Florida.
Unlike Korea where it’s starting to get cold, Florida is warm all year round.
As soon as she opened the automatic glass doors of the warp station, the hot humid air of the Arican South hit Parang like a wall.
“Ugh….”
Parang quickly reached to turn on the cooling function of the bodysuit under her suit… then stopped.
“Ah.”
Right, she broke it.
With no choice but to fan herself with her clothes in the old-fashioned way to barely manage the heat, she got into the vehicle Silo Company had prepared.
As soon as she got in the car – AC, AC, AC!
The cool breeze blasted away the heat completely.
With her body now comfortably temperature-regulated, Parang stood in front of a downtown high-rise.
‘Ugh, so hot….’
She hurried inside.
As soon as she entered, a suited man who seed quite high-ranking recognized her and guided her to the top floor.
Why do big corporation executives always have their conversations on the top floor of tall buildings?
Parang found herself sowhat curious about this.
Soon, Parang boarded the elevator with its luxurious wooden interior paneling, pressed the top floor button, and started whooshing upward.
A mont later, with a ding, the doors opened to reveal the top floor office.
As she had felt when eting Silo in Korea, these people had an exceptional talent for selecting interior design that sohow both did and didn’t match.
While in Korea they had made the office look like sothing out of a cyberpunk ga that a ga-corporation executive would use, this ti it felt like they had transplanted a 1910s Hawaiian resort.
Floor-to-ceiling windows letting in Florida’s sunset, with furniture like desks, chairs, and bookcases all made in rattan style, giving the impression of being in a bungalow.
And to top it off, two glasses of Blue Hawaii lemon cocktails brazenly placed on the reception table.
Parang made a slightly dumbfounded expression at the absurd scene.
Then the high-ranking Silo official sitting at the desk stood up and greeted Parang in a friendly manner.
“Please, have a seat.”
Then walking over smoothly to recline in a chair angled almost like a sun lounger, they took a sip of cocktail through a straw.
“It’s non-alcoholic. You must have been hot, please have so.”
“Ah, yes….”
When Parang lay down on the adjacent sun lounger, it was so comfortable she could believe it had been custom-made for her.
“The comfort is quite nice, isn’t it? This is my favorite office.”
She picked up the cocktail with a dubious expression, but then set it back down without drinking.
She wasn’t particularly in the mood, and sothing felt a bit suspicious.
While Silo was certainly a good partner, she wasn’t close enough with them yet to just readily drink whatever they offered.
Sure, Silo had protected Parang and worked on various projects together, but they were still a ga-corporation wanting to rule the world. It made her a bit uneasy.
It felt like they must be hiding so kind of plan behind the scenes.
That’s why Parang rated her trust in Silo at about 75%.
For reference, even that was giving them a lot of credit.
Anyway, seeing Parang set down the cocktail, the Silo executive looked slightly dejected before handing her a USB drive.
“What’s this?”
“It’s a compilation of reports from our investigators who infiltrated the world governnt. There’s sothing in there that attacks your mind through the screen, so please view it underwater.”
“It attacks your mind through the screen?”
“Yes. Currently, all the deputy minister-level and higher officials in the world governnt are not human. Horrific monsters that are beyond description are wearing human skin and pretending to be human.”
“Oh my….”
“Most likely that… eye monster, as you called it – soone high up in the world governnt must have seen it through a screen. We suspect that person was Yoo Sungjun.”
He took another sip of his cocktail.
“And according to that theory… the current Yoo Sungjun is probably in a state similar to a host, or a hive mother. All the detailed information is in that USB, please take a look.”
Parang held the USB and idly spun it once on her finger.
“I’d love to play it right here and watch it together… but unfortunately we can’t bring an aquarium into the office. And I can’t go underwater either.”
“Hmm. I understand.”
After that, matters regarding the rising Monster Fish Layer and future counterasures against the world governnt were conveyed to Parang.
These were all things she already knew from exchanging nurous docunts and files. Only so specific details had been finalized.
“So, our future course of action is as follows. Regarding both the rising Monster Fish Layer and the world governnt, we believe taking extre asures would be best. We judge this will be far more beneficial for humanity’s preservation.”
Silo’s plan was simple. To prepare for the Monster Fish Layer’s rise, they would fortify all coastal strongholds worldwide. As for the world governnt, their goal would be the elimination of President Yoo Sungjun and complete governnt overthrow.
Though radical and extre, these were necessary counterasures.
Parang also agreed and nodded.
“However, we haven’t yet decided which of the two should take priority.”
“Dealing with the Monster Fish Layer’s rise should be the priority.”
“Why is that?”
It was then that Parang relayed to Silo what she had heard from Alice, appropriately edited.
Excluding talk of the Kraken and Alice’s true identity, she spoke only of the Monster Fish Layer’s rise and Yoo Sungjun’s death.
The Silo executive’s expression imdiately turned serious upon hearing this.
“…Is this true? So the Monster Fish Layer will rise to match the current sea level, and the cause involves a ritual using Yoo Sungjun as a sacrifice?”
“Exactly.”
“Then addressing the Monster Fish Layer’s rise must be our most urgent priority. The world governnt’s overthrow can be dealt with later.”
“What? Deal with the Monster Fish Layer first?”
Parang asked with a sowhat, no, very surprised expression.
Of course, while addressing the Monster Fish Layer’s rise was indeed the more urgent matter, she had expected Silo to choose the opposite.
After all, that would be the shorter path to world domination.
The Silo executive slowly nodded as if understanding Parang’s question.
“I understand what you want to ask.”
A bitter smile crossed his lips.
“It seems Hunter Yu Parang still misunderstands us. You see us as a sowhat suspicious partner with unknown motives seeking world domination.”
“No, suspicious isn’t…”
“Well, I understand. Sotis, even when one states their true intentions plainly, people suspect ulterior motives due to the ssenger. In this world as it is now… I think this is an inevitable problem that ga-corporations like us must face.”
He took a deep sip of his cocktail.
“Of all organizations that exist in the world, even including those that don’t exist, Silo possesses an overwhelming number of conspiracy theories about it. I know this. Looking at these conspiracy theories, I sotis feel like I’ve beco a squinting character from a novel.”
Silence filled the room.
“I understand it’s unavoidable. However, I don’t want to be doubted even by our partner in achieving our ultimate goal. Hunter Yu Parang, Silo’s highest priority has remained unchanged since our founding until this very mont. That is the protection and preservation of humanity.”
The sunlight is strong.
“World domination is rely a ans to that end. Never the goal itself. If we truly wanted to rule the world, we would have started wars worldwide as soon as the Hunters’ Association fell.”
Parang quietly listened to his words.
“The sa applies to Hunter Yu Parang. We certainly know you’re no ordinary being. The power you can unleash underwater is definitely not that of a normal human. However, our reason for supporting Hunter Yu Parang has nothing to do with that.”
He sat up and gazed straight ahead.
“Simply put, we help because Hunter Yu Parang has the ability to save humanity and is actually walking that path. I stake everything Silo has on there being no other reason.”
The eyes now turned directly toward Parang were emitting a light she had never seen before.
Firm will, conviction, and steadfastness.
As he said, Parang realized that all of Silo’s actions had indeed been conducted under the single value of ensuring humanity’s safety, never once deviating from that course.
Yet the title of ‘corporation large enough to dominate the world’ had given the impression of having so hidden, unsavory agenda.
But now, what about the look in this man’s eyes as he gazed at Parang?
There was sincerity in them. A genuine desire to build an honest partnership with Parang under the mission of protecting humanity.
Overwheld by his intensity, Parang unconsciously took a sip of the cocktail beside the sun lounger.
It was cool and refreshing, simply a delicious cocktail.
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