Otis casually brushed off Dongrang's joke in the heavy atmosphere and pointed at a pure white desk that had nothing special placed on it.
"Then what kind of seat is that?"
"Ah, that seat is reserved. We're waiting for a new employee to arrive."
"Oh... then is there a separate recruitment notice? Where can I see it?"
"Ahem."
Ishmael's eyes sparkled as she tried to pry out information, but Samjo's unpleasant cough cut her off.
So you did want to change jobs... At this company's level, well, uh... if it were me, I'd want to too. I've got nothing to say.
"Eek, our Samjo's gotten touchy. Shall we get to the real point now? Samjo."
"I'll be direct. Let's make this a win-win. If you recover the laboratory that was taken from us, we will transfer ownership of the [Golden Bough] we discovered to you."
Wow. Now that's a generous reward.
"May I ask a question? Is this a finalized contract, or a post-review contract? Is the method representative-agency execution, or joint execution?"
"I'll answer. It is an immediate contract, executed through representative-agency execution without liability for defects. A contract with a witness using a Class 1 contract office will also proceed according to procedure."
Mm, hm. So that's roughly what that means.
"A contract office...? I, I don't really know what's what, but... do they really have to make it that complicated?"
"At J Corp, they couldn't secure a proper witness, so they weren't able to receive the [Golden Bough] directly."
"Ah... that guy from the Mariachi gang, what was his name? The one who lost to Rodion in the game, then broke the promise and picked a fight for no reason."
"Aide from the Mariachi gang..."
"Yes, that's right. Because Aide, who was supposed to serve as the witness, suddenly changed his tune, they had to take it by force. That's why using an association or a contract office that handles witnessing and notarization is the safest option, even if it costs more. Faust must have paid the closest attention to that point as well."
Oh, nice. I don't have to explain it myself. I was wondering how I was supposed to make it understandable at a decent level, but Ishmael stepped in and explained the relevant details first.
"This is certainly a contract format favorable to our side."
""So long as the objective is achieved.""
...These picky geniuses have way too good of a rhythm together. Annoying.
"Secretly, I actually can't understand more than half of what Samjo says. I just let it go with, 'Oh, I see~.'"
"Coincidence? We're the same..."
"At least Dongrang should be able to understand it, shouldn't he...?"
"...If he could understand all of it, there'd be no reason for Dongrang to hire Samjo, wouldn't there?"
"Ah."
Law and medicine are, strictly speaking, different fields. This side should be called biotechnology, I guess. Anyway.
"Aha, but if we make a contract with K Corp's laboratory, then we won't have to fight those people for a while. The ones who kept getting healed no matter how badly they were hurt."
Ah, right then. While using an identity, it didn't feel too bad. Not that the others would agree.
It was a decent training session that let me raise my spear proficiency, in its own way. Even if I nearly died a few times in exchange.
"Ah, so you've already seen K Corp's unique regeneration technology."
"Oh, come on, seen it?!"
"We went through that hell over and over until we were sick of it..."
Rodion and Gregor said with exhausted expressions.
Don Quixote, the main culprit behind the whole situation... was looking away. Should I stab her.
"Ah... then as a keepsake, would you like to see my laboratory instead? Not here... you have to take the elevator once more."
"Geh? You'd show us that far, Dongrang-nim? That place is off-limits to anyone without clearance..."
"Ha, Samjo just said something hilarious. What's the big deal? We're going as a celebration of signing the contract."
...There's some kind of sinister feeling in that expression. Not that it's bad, but...
But is "celebration" really the right word? Even I, who probably looked the most composed, couldn't call this a good memory—just not a bad one.
Led by Samjo's uncomfortable expression, we arrived at what was, well... yes...
A factory making ampoules. The kind of factory people usually imagine. Just, more City-like.
"Right here is where we produce the regeneration ampoules. On the surface they're called HP ampoules, but... at their core, they're nanorobot treatment technology.
There were various hurdles along the way, but now the ampoules I recently improved just a little are the ones most widely used."
Oh... a successful Singularity refinement. That's an achievement worthy of a chief researcher.
"You're the one who spread that...? Damn, we nearly died over that thing so many times..."
"We barely got over those hurdles by crawling on all fours..."
It was true that being broken down and reassembled a few times didn't feel particularly pleasant.
"Still, I'm glad none of you seem to have died or suffered fatal injuries.
Ah! I heard that every company has different definitions and procedures for death on the job. Samjo explained it to me, but..."
"Then Dongrang, are you still researching this... nanorobot technology that heals anything?"
"Haha, of course not. HP ampoules have been commercialized for a long time already. Right now, I'm conducting livestock improvement research using HP ampoules."
Right after Dongrang answered Gregor's question kindly, Ishmael slowly opened her mouth, as if something in Dongrang's words had caught her attention.
"Livestock... improvement research?"
"If the concept of 'cutting' becomes nothing at all... if it's merely a momentary thing...
Think about it. We could eat high-quality meat endlessly.
Not just any high-quality meat, but meat from rare, high-quality livestock that countless people have devoted themselves to researching and improving..."
So that means Boddhisattva Chicken is being handled under Dongrang's direction too.
While I was briefly considering K Corp's current situation, Hong Lu suddenly spoke up.
"It seems... Dongrang also loves meat more sincerely than anyone else, just like Rodion!"
"Mm... love, huh. If love means endlessly pouring in time and attention, then maybe."
...Why do these people fit together so strangely well? Is it because they're the same sort of type?
"Ha, the two of you are weirdly obnoxious. You've been getting along like birds of a feather since earlier, haven't you?"
"Don't beat up the client, Heathcliff. Got it?"
"We'll see."
...Should I kill him? It might actually be safer for us to drag him around as a corpse.
Whirr, clack. Slish. Whirr, clack. Slish.
Above us, I could see chickens having their legs regenerated, cut off, and processed.
Was this also serving as a livestock refinement lab and a chicken factory? Maybe they were numbering each chicken and adjusting the ampoule dosage little by little.
As my gaze naturally followed the chickens being slowly moved overhead, Gregor's eyes finally landed on the green ampoule.
"Huh... so this is what nanorobots look like? To me, it just looks no different from liquid..."
"When particles that small gain fluidity, they can look no different from a liquid."
Hmm... so that means the inside of that green liquid is packed with nanorobots. But why green? There's no reason nanorobots have to be green, is there? It would also be strange if the color changed just because there were a lot of them.
"Ugh... do you really have to go this far for food?"
"A young master who grew up eating juicy meat since childhood must find this disgusting, huh?"
"...Kid, there are plenty of people in this world who will do anything for a meal."
Hmm, it seemed Sinclair's words just now didn't resonate with people who were born into harsher circumstances.
Though Sinclair probably hadn't meant it that way.
"No... that's not it. And my family were people who didn't eat meat... I, I didn't, though...
Why does it have to be shaped like this? I mean... what I'm saying is..."
Should I help a little?
"Why go so far as to use expensive ampoules just to mass-produce food? Is that what you mean?"
"Yes, yes..."
"Certainly, when you think about the quality you can calculate by price, this kind of technology is a bit inefficient. If it were the back alleys, where food is absolutely scarce, they'd welcome it... but..."
"...Technology."
Yi Sang?
"No. This is nothing more than husbandry. Those birds will never know, for their entire lives, that they can fly."
Yi Sang, who normally showed interest in nothing, looked straight at Dongrang as he spoke.
"Objection. Chickens cannot fly in the first place, and this technology is currently providing qualitative welfare to countless citizens..."
"It's fine, Samjo.
When someone who normally never even makes eye contact suddenly glares at another person so clearly...
that means they're desperate, doesn't it?"
"......"
"Husbandry is..."
Wheeeeen──! Wheeeeen──! Wheeeeen──! Wheeeeen──!
A sudden sound from Samjo's chest cut Dongrang off.
"...Something seems to have happened in the laboratory.
Would it be wise to head there now?"
"It'll be fine, Samjo. These people are skilled enough to have fought the K Corp security guards equipped with our regeneration ampoules and not have a single scratch."
Uh... hm... is that right?
Well, the result was right, but...
Since Faust didn't correct it, I guess that means there's no problem?
Though I was somewhat reluctant, there was no doubt that this was what we had to do.
Once we realized that, we immediately started running toward the laboratory.
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