Chapter 319

Lazarus, a hospital specializing in extreme treatment, was a specialized medical facility located in Border City.

As its name suggested, Lazarus treated patients who were generally considered impossible to revive or heal through experimental methods.

Border City was a melting pot of different species on Planet Novus, where various technological advancements from different lineages intertwined. Moreover, it was a free city where legal regulations and restrictions were virtually nonexistent.

'In Border City, even treatments that border on unethical human experimentation are tolerated.'

That was why Lazarus Hospital was based in Border City.

My memory had been cut off in Akbaran during the Storm Era and resumed at Lazarus Hospital in Border City. In essence, I had leaped twelve years in an instant.

'Lazarus succeeded in treating me. It was both a remarkable achievement and a gamble.'

The chances of failure or waking up in an incomplete state must have been high.

'But there was no other place that could have treated me besides Lazarus.'

I couldn't exactly entrust myself to a national medical institution.

Stepping out into the street, I got into a taxi and began to move.

Weeeing.

Inside the taxi, I absorbed every piece of information about Lazarus Hospital that I could scrape from the network, as if imprinting it directly into my brain.

'Lazarus Hospital operates under NewGen.'

NewGen was a company specializing in biotechnology and the leading enterprise in the bioindustry of the Bellato Federation.

'Even the federal government can't easily lay a hand on NewGen.'

The power dynamics between the Empire and the Federation were vastly different.

As a republic, the Bellato Federation’s government could not arbitrarily suppress corporations.

Within the federal government, various factions and forces kept each other in check, maintaining balance based on mutual interests. Even Deputy Minister Ismael La was being kept in check by other bureaucrats.

In the Empire, the imperial family monopolized power. If they wished, they could destroy any company or noble family by fabricating even the most absurd justification.

'In the Federation, not even the government or its leaders can act at will without solid justification. The principles of diversity, power distribution, and checks and balances are at play.'

That was why the Bellato Federation and Border City attracted various species and talented individuals—because they didn’t want their achievements and results to be unjustly taken away.

If this had been the Empire, hiding someone in a hospital would have been discovered sooner or later. But the Bellato Federation was different. Even the government couldn’t freely access a corporation’s internal information.

'Giselle hid me in Lazarus Hospital. And she herself…'

Everything was an uncertain gamble.

There was no such thing as a perfect plan in this world. A minor mistake or an insignificant variable could throw everything into disarray.

‘A major variable has already disrupted Giselle’s plan.’

I woke up earlier than scheduled. Giselle’s plan must have been for me to remain in cryosleep until the right time, when ‘Barbara’s intervention’ would complete my treatment.

‘But Kinuan interfered. He provoked hatred in the outstanding Tajirunese entrepreneur Jafa, leading her to find me and wake me up.’

The Tajirunese information broker families only deal with other Tajirunese—specifically, very wealthy ones. No matter how capable Kinuan was, he had no way to make contact with a Tajirunese information broker family.

As a contingency in case I woke up early, Giselle had prepared Juppe. Even Barbara probably didn’t know that Juppe was Giselle’s insurance.

‘My mind is clear. External information flows in cleanly, embedding itself in my brain as if it were always meant to be there.’

I hadn’t felt this sharp in a long time. My brain was likely being flooded with hormones that kept it soft and receptive.

‘A visible clue has finally appeared.’

Giselle’s message was clearly pointing to Lazarus Hospital.

Lazarus Hospital categorized patients based on their wealth and escrow deposits. ‘Poor patients’ were essentially subjected to human experimentation under the guise of treatment, while ‘wealthy patients’ received proper medical care.

‘The impoverished, stricken with incurable diseases or severe injuries, throw their bodies into Lazarus’s experiments. It’s the only way they have even a slight chance of survival.’

It was undeniably a hospital far removed from ethics and morality—perfectly suited to Border City.

The taxi slowed down and eventually came to a stop. As the road narrowed, it effectively turned into a pedestrian walkway. In Border City, roads suddenly turning into walkways was a common occurrence.

“Sir, this is as far as I can drive…”

“This is fine. Thanks for your service. Keep the change.”

I grabbed a random credit chip from my pocket and tossed it. Whatever I threw would more than cover the fare. If the driver was lucky, he might have just received enough to buy a brand-new taxi.

“H-Holy—!”

Looks like today is his lucky day.

Leaving the stunned taxi driver behind, I stepped out of the vehicle.

Beep, beep.

As I walked, I checked the latest articles about Lazarus on my retinal display.

Halt.

I stopped mid-step while reading an article. Since I was in a crowd, several people bumped into me as they passed.

-Lazarus Hospital, attacked by rioters…

Lazarus had long accumulated the resentment of the local populace. As a consequence, it was attacked during a period of chaos in Border City.

-…Closed down.

This is bad.

* * *

I arrived in front of Lazarus Hospital and narrowed my eyes. I forcefully suppressed the urge to shout.

Thud, thud.

I wanted nothing more than to snap the arms and legs of the pedestrians who bumped into my shoulders. You’re holding back well, Luka.

Lazarus Hospital had become an abandoned building due to a fire. The inside was completely empty.

‘What happened to the patients who were here?’

I stepped into the ruins. Burned and broken equipment caught my eye. The nameplates were all scorched, making the text unreadable.

‘No bodies.’

The ruins showed signs of an organized evacuation. Suppressing my emotions, I analyzed the situation.

Stay calm, Luka. Don’t get agitated. Losing your composure won’t lead to answers. Absorb the information, analyze it, and think.

Lazarus also treated wealthy patients. There was no way they would have left them to be killed by rioters.

‘It wasn’t destroyed by rioters—it was shut down. With so many immobile patients, they must have preemptively closed and relocated as a precaution.’

My thoughts reached a conclusion.

I needed to find out where Lazarus had transferred its patients. But my current network access didn’t provide any further information.

After shutting down, Lazarus Hospital had completely disappeared from Border City’s records.

To uncover more information, I needed someone else’s help.

‘Jafa? Ismael? Or Mikael?’

I needed someone with access to high-level intelligence.

Clank, clank.

I turned at the sound of metal shifting.

Standing there was a transport android, a common sight in the streets of Border City. Since many areas here were difficult for vehicles to navigate, androids handled logistics and deliveries.

But a transport android had no reason to be inside a ruined building.

Narrowing my eyes, I focused on the android.

“Barbara.”

At my words, the android’s eyes glowed red.

-You’re looking for Giselle, aren’t you?

“Show yourself. I have no interest in talking to an android.”

-I hid myself from the world. You ruined everything.

I couldn’t show any weakness here.

Barbara was a woman who didn’t adhere to common sense—and the daughter of Mushir al-Kashura. A daughter who had inherited his genetic temperament.

“If you won’t reveal yourself, this conversation is over.”

I grabbed the android by the neck and slammed it against the wall. The metal in my grip crumpled.

Creaaak, crack.

Sparks burst from the android’s neck. I didn’t let a single emotion show.

-…Fine. Come to this location.

The android scratched the wall with its fingers, writing down coordinates. I entered them into my terminal.

Crackle!

After confirming the coordinates, I slammed the android’s head into the wall, crushing it.

‘Barbara coming to find me in this situation isn’t a coincidence.’

This was my first time encountering Barbara since I killed Mushir al-Kashura.

‘Barbara said she was in hiding. Until the day Giselle promised.’

She must have been watching my movements, worried that I would find Giselle before the appointed day arrived.

For Barbara, the worst-case scenario was me and Giselle meeting in secret and vanishing together.

“…This is a goddamn mess.”

I frowned after checking the location of the coordinates. It was an orphanage operated by the Jafa Scholarship Foundation.

* * *

The Jafa Scholarship Foundation had made significant investments in Border City’s welfare.

Corporate social responsibility was considered an ethical act… but few corporations engaged in it for purely moral reasons. More often, it was a convenient cover to mask their own stench.

Regardless of the reasons behind it, orphanages were the last refuge for Border City’s orphans.

I was an orphanage child myself, and I only survived thanks to the shelter it provided. For children who lacked the strength to protect themselves, orphanages were the only social safety net.

I sat across from the orphanage director in the reception room.

“What brings you here?”

“I’m looking for a child to adopt.”

The orphanage director stared at me in silence. I probably didn’t give off the impression of a wholesome guardian.

I had no intention of using Jafa’s name here, nor did I want my visit to the orphanage to spread.

Clatter.

I pulled out a pouch of jewels and spilled them onto the director’s desk.

Before coming here, I had used a Jafa Trading Company credit chip to purchase jewels and gold accessories for use as physical assets. The prices had been exorbitant, but it wasn’t my money, so I didn’t care.

“…Are you looking for a girl?”

The orphanage director’s disgusting words made my skin crawl. He had done this sort of human trafficking before.

Even Jafa couldn’t oversee every single orphanage under the foundation. Or, like any true businesswoman, she might have known and chosen to turn a blind eye.

I swallowed my nausea. I wanted to shove a gun against the orphanage director’s head and pull the trigger.

“I’ll take a look first.”

Suppressing my emotions, I followed the director through the orphanage.

‘On the surface, it looks clean. The facility is well-maintained.’

It was ten times better than the orphanage I grew up in. However, the children’s faces darkened the moment they saw the director.

I scanned the children playing together. Barbara had to be among them.

‘Orange hair.’

Finding Barbara wasn’t difficult. A girl with orange hair, looking about six or seven years old, stood out.

I instinctively knew that she was Barbara.

‘…A biological body.’

Barbara had implanted her brain into a body resembling her own.

‘A witch who inserts her brain into another’s living body and moves around.’

A tremor ran beneath my eyes in physiological disgust.

‘The original owner of the body Barbara is using now…’

…Barbara had stolen a child’s life to hide herself.

‘Disguising herself like this makes it nearly impossible to find her.’

I fixed my gaze on the child who I suspected to be Barbara. Sensing my interest, the orphanage director spoke as if presenting a product.

“That child suffered a head injury in an accident. Because of that, her speech is slow, and her behavior is erratic. She’s practically a fool.”

“I want to speak with her.”

I kept it brief. The orphanage director smirked.

“I’ll leave you two alone.”

The director brought over the orange-haired girl and led us into an enclosed room.

Creak, thud.

The orphanage director shoved us inside and shut the door. The room was sealed, complete with a bed and even a shower.

“…This is a soundproofed room. No noise escapes outside.”

‘Barbara’ immediately dropped her act and sat on the sofa. Crossing her legs, she let out a short, amused chuckle.

A sinister expression, unbefitting a six-year-old child, darkened her face.

“This time, you’ve stolen a child’s body?”

“Heehee, what a fitting question for a good boy like you. She was brain-dead from an accident.”

I felt uneasy. The child’s appearance resembled Barbara’s too much for it to be mere coincidence.

‘To maintain her identity, the body must resemble her as closely as possible.’

Barbara possessed an alien mind, but she wasn’t a monster like Mushir al-Kashura. Short-term use was one thing, but for long-term concealment, she needed a body that resembled her own.

…I wanted to press her, to interrogate her on how she came to possess that child’s body.

But I was just another wretched soul steeped in the filth of the world. Finding Giselle came first.

What a goddamn mess.

“I don’t do things Giselle would hate.”

Barbara spoke as if she had read my thoughts. She knew my personality well.

"Considering your time at Accretia Academy, that’s hard to believe. You’re the one who inflicted a nightmare-like trauma on Giselle."

"I was young back then, so I made mistakes. I have trouble understanding other people's emotions. The structure of my mind is different from yours."

"And now you claim to understand?"

"Through experience and reasoning, I’ve been learning common emotional responses in my own way. Whether you believe it or not. But isn’t there something more important to talk about? You found Giselle, didn’t you? Let’s make a deal. I have information you’d want."

I didn’t answer right away. My thoughts multiplied and exploded inside my head, making my forehead burn with heat.

"Forget the deal, Barbara. If you truly consider Giselle a precious friend, then help me."

Barbara tilted her head.

"I can’t trust you without making a deal."

"You must have made a deal with Giselle too. But a deal won’t win you her heart. To her, you’re not a friend—just an unpleasant business partner."

"…That’s impossible. She promised me friendship."

Barbara frowned. Her face twisted in a way no child’s ever should.

"If Giselle truly thought of you as a friend, she would have told you where she was. Learn how to trust people, Barbara."

Barbara’s lips and hands trembled. Forcing a smile, she awkwardly pushed up the corners of her mouth with her index finger. Cold sweat dripped from her chin.

"…Hee, hehe. Alright. Let’s see if I can trust you, Luka."