NOVEL WEB Chapter 907
The airplane flew over Kaliningrad without a hitch.
No fighter jets buzzed around to shoot down aircraft flying above, no cannons were aimed at the sky, and the capable folks weren’t on high alert either.
After all, it was making its way with all the necessary permissions.
But there was one person.
One who didn’t have permission and chose to bail out from the air before landing at the airport.
Just like before, Park Jinseong poured his body, transformed into countless bugs, from the sky, and they fell to the ground without a hitch.
Of course, this too went unopposed.
After all, bugs raining down from the sky was just one of those things that happened when the wind blew hard enough.
In fact, birds flapping their wings and sparkling their eyes at the falling prey were probably the bigger threat.
Thus, Park Jinseong landed effortlessly near the research institute.
‘Looks thick.’
The first word that came to Park Jinseong’s mind upon seeing the research institute was ‘fortress.’
On the outside, it looked like a clunky building recycled from the Soviet era.
Park Jinseong peered over the wall topped with rusted concertina wire.
The signs of age were evident, as if the building had been maintained over the years, with cracks too big to be hidden by a coat of paint appearing like wrinkles.
But still, the building felt like a fortress, probably due to its thick walls that had managed to withstand the test of time.
‘But being old means there are plenty of gaps to get in.’
Park Jinseong sent the bugs to scuttle inside the building.
Utilizing the cracks and shadows on the walls to avoid being spotted, they started squeezing into every little crevice. Through window frames, vents, sewers—those bugs slid in seamlessly.
Upon entering, what greeted them were devices set up to stop the bugs.
Dusty and rusty, yet they still did their job perfectly.
Walls stood tall with tiny and tightly packed holes allowing air to pass but keeping bugs at bay.
‘They’ve even got electric devices to fry bugs and rats.’
But nothing can be perfect, right?
Time takes its toll on facilities, and not all maintenance can be perfect.
Park Jinseong found a way for the bugs to slip through among several paths, pushing them in that direction.
And at last, he successfully reached the ‘real research institute’ located underground.
‘…What’s this?’
As soon as he arrived at the real research institute, Park Jinseong saw something sealed inside a large glass tube.
‘…Cultured meat?’
It looked like animal flesh plastered with seaweed.
What was wriggling soaked in nutrient solution, growing larger, resembled the process of making cultured meat.
But it only resembled it; that couldn’t be cultured meat.
At least the cultured meat Park Jinseong knew didn’t have eyes, hair, nails, or anything that resembled organs.
‘Looks like a squished fetus mashed together like clay.’
Park Jinseong recognized what it looked like.
Teratoma.
A tumor also known as a “cystic teratoma.”
‘Hmm. It looks like it’s a mammal, though…’
A teratoma cultured like cultured meat?
Lost in thought about its peculiar appearance, Park Jinseong spread his wings and moved elsewhere.
It didn’t pique his interest too much, but it didn’t seem to be related to magic either.
Wouldn’t it be the kind of thing scientists or scholars dying to write papers about would obsess over?
So, Park Jinseong left the room he entered and sneaked outside.
He cautiously moved toward the source of the voice he could hear.
Luckily, the doors inside the institute were quite thick, and perhaps because of that, they were left open enough for someone to pass through without needing to slam them shut.
As he entered inside, he heard the voice.
“Please! We need precise control over the life force! We need samples for the research!”
“What’s that got to do with me?”
What he heard was the deep voice of a man and the sharp voice of a woman.
The man was pleading with the woman in English, while she snapped back at the researcher, also in English.
“The Russian Desman fetuses aren’t coming out properly! We can’t conduct experiments through natural pregnancies. We need to do artificial insemination in a test tube just to barely obtain enough samples! Please help us!”
“So why should I help you?”
“You might have some personal grievances. But can’t you put that aside for the greater good? This research is groundbreaking. If we succeed with this, we can conquer cancer! Plus, by unraveling the secrets of DNA, we might also tackle genetic diseases! This research could save countless lives!”
“Really? I didn’t know this research had such noble intentions.”
The man, who appeared to be a researcher, was trying hard to convince the woman.
For the greater good, to unlock the secrets of DNA, to conquer cancer, to save many people—this is a grand endeavor that could bring fame to the world, blah, blah, blah…
He didn’t stop there, but tried to persuade the woman by offering every kind of incentive.
He’d give her a boatload of money, offer business assistance, set up a giant corporation through large-scale investments and national support, make her the prominent researcher of the treatment that would be produced from this research, if she didn’t want that, she could name her price, and Russia would do its best to meet it…
But even in the face of such sweet coercion, the woman merely responded with a bored expression.
“I’m trying to help, but this isn’t something I can manage on my own, okay?”
As though she wasn’t even paying attention to the man’s words, she gazed at her nails instead.
Then, with a disinterested look, she turned to the man and spoke slowly.
“By the way, I’m about to clock out, so how about you let me go? It’s not a great work environment to call me back like this when I’m done with everything, right? If this continues, I wonder if it’ll even be possible for me to cooperate at all.”
“No—! That… ah, never mind. Then I’ll take my leave for today, Lady Odilia.”
The man was taken aback for a moment but soon realized his situation and lowered his voice with a deep sigh.
Didn’t seem like his attitude would change easily.
The man turned and left the room.
His slumped shoulders bore a burden of all kinds of heartache, but Odilia’s gaze held no sympathy whatsoever as she watched him go.
It was only natural.
She wasn’t a grad student, nor some low-level employee, and honestly—
She hadn’t wanted to come here in the first place.
As the researcher disappeared, she let out a sigh.
Then, because she had to wear the white robe everyone involved in the experiments had to wear, she threw it to the floor and kicked it away in frustration.
Then, she crawled into the bed in the corner of the room, pulling the blanket over her and lying down.
She seemed ready to close her eyes, perhaps because there wasn’t much else to do in this environment.
‘Do you think I’d help just because I’m bored? Even if you lock me up in this white room, I won’t help your research. Such a nuisance.’
She’d rather sleep than assist with anything.
At least if she slept, her skin might improve.
Odilia stubbornly kept her eyes wide open, but she forced herself to sleep.
However, she couldn’t fall asleep.
Once again, an uninvited guest came to disturb her rest.
“Oh my. Are you already sleeping? I mean, it’s about that age when your sleep starts getting cut down, but why are you trying to sleep so soon?”
A witch completely covered in green.
The Great Witch Joanna.
Joanna casually walked into Odilia’s room as if it were her own and headed towards the bed where Odilia lay. She poked Odilia, who didn’t react even when touched, and with a smirk, sat right down on top of her.
“Get off me!”
Although Odilia tried to ignore Joanna’s words, she couldn’t ignore Joanna sitting on her.
She twisted her body to shake Joanna off and sat up, glaring at her.
“Odilia, you’re cute. It’s really something for someone not even a child to wrap themselves in a blanket and act like I don’t exist….”
Joanna said, observing Odilia tightly wrapped in the blanket.
Then, wiping the playful demeanor off her face, she spoke with a serious expression.
“Odilia. Please cooperate with the research. I can brush off this as a tantrum right now, but it will become a problem if this keeps up.”
But even at her serious words, Odilia didn’t say much.
With her cheeks puffed up, she turned her head away, claiming to be sulking.
Seeing Odilia like that, Joanna sighed softly.
“If you cooperate with the research, I’ll let you have your seed, you know? Besides, this research can elevate you, and witches can get stronger, so why….”
“….”
“…I see. You’re still stubborn, huh? But keep in mind, though a bit forceful, this is all done for your benefit. I’m offering you this chance because we’re friends.”
With that, Joanna left the room.
Once again, silence filled the room, and Odilia tightly pressed her lips together as if trying her hardest to contain her anger.
But no matter how mad she got, there was nothing she could do.
Odilia, resigned, lay back on the bed and tried to sleep.
To spend time in her dreams and ease her fury.
And so Odilia closed her eyes.
[Great Witch, I have found you.]
At that moment, a voice echoed in her mind.
It was a voice she recognized all too well.