Genji received this prompt while attending the funeral of all the agents who died in the behemoth siege. Seeing this prompt, Genji woke up from his daze. He wasn't particularly enthusiastic about attending this event, but he figured he might as well since it was his last day.
Now that the faction shop opened, Genji pushed those thoughts aside and opened the exchange list. This kept him occupied until the end of the funeral event.
[Current Reputation Points: 7819]
1. Epic ranked fuhai-boshi, Taki's Remembrance: 1500 points
2. Epic ranked Badge of Honor: 1000 points
34. Orb of power: 5000 points
96. Steroid injection: 100 points
190. Knowledge of Corruption: 2000 points
Please complete more events to unlock additional exchange items.
There were numerous items in the shop, but only a few caught Genji's eye. From knowledge books to equipment, everything one could think of could be exchanged. The only problem was that the items seemed to be limited to what CEC had in their possession. A few sounded interesting but would be worthless outside of this world. As for the items that caught his attention, here are their details:
[Taki's Remembrance]
Description: A scythe wielded by the only rank 7 agent before his demise.
[Badge of Honor]
Can be used to boost the ratings of this world during world settlement.
[Orb of Power]
Effect: +4 con, +4 str Description: A better imitation of something grand with fewer side effects. This was a more stable Orb of Corruption he got from the Troll of Grief. Can't say much about it, but the stat buff seems nice.
[Steroid Injection]
Effect: +2 str, +1 con upon use for 20 minutes.
As for the last listed item, it's a knowledge book. Genji was somewhat disappointed by the choices he was given. Other than a few steroid injections, he decided to save the remaining points for what EverRealm has to offer.
"There goes my plans about the shop."
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When the funeral was approaching its end, everyone gathered around to symbolically watch a coffin being lowered into the ground. Since so many people had died, this was the most the organization could do.
"We have gathered here to send off the heroes that fought for this city. For those of us that live, we thank them for their sacrifices. To give thanks to our families that survived this disaster because our comrades in arms fought to their last breath. May we remember this day for years to come."
'What a euphemistic way of putting it,' Genji thought to himself and decided to leave early. As he'd said before, he's not a big fan of these events.
As he was walking out, he was stopped by a man in a red suit.
"Hello, Agent Enigma. I am Pierre Francisco. I come as a messenger to invite you to the main headquarters of CEC."
Genji looked at this weirdo and debated on accepting the offer. He only had 17 hours left before he gets transported back, so why should he bother?
"Please, don't reject me. I am under orders to bother you until you accept."
Hearing this, Genji briefly considered ending the conversation to avoid further problems.
"Don't look at me like that, Sir Enigma. This isn't anything bad. We're considering matters of promotion."
"Promotion?"
"Yes. You see, our pillar of support, Taki, had perished in battle. Now we are left with a void that we seek to fill. It's very devastating for our morale when our strongest agent died in battle against the corruptors."
"So you want me to become the new pillar?"
"Yes."
"Now, this changes things. If he receives a promotion, does that mean he will have access to better items in the exchange?"
As Genji was about to agree, he noticed 7156 gesturing to him. Genji pretended he didn't see him but paid close attention to his movements.
'He wants to talk?'
"Okay. Just give me a couple of minutes to consider everything."
"Very well. I look forward to your answer," Pierre bowed elegantly, allowing Genji to take a walk in peace.
When he was out of sight, Genji slipped into an alley. Something about this Pierre character ticks him off. Weaving through the maze-like alleyways, Genji came to a corner where 7156 was waiting.
"What's up?"
"Pierre. Be careful of him."
"Oh?"
This intrigued Genji. 7156 doesn't seem like the type to say random things. If he's warning him of this, then something is definitely wrong with Pierre.
"Care to elaborate?"
7156 fell silent for a few seconds before answering, "He's a mutant that should be dead."
Genji knew exactly what 7156 was trying to convey. Since he's a mutant, he should be related to the mutant faction or the Dark Forces. So why then is he with CEC right now? As far as he knows, neither faction has anything to do with CEC. Then there's the part about him being dead. For 7156 to say that, it must mean he was involved in the process somehow. He doesn't sound so confident, so it should be implied.
"Understood. I'll be careful."
'Man, what an event I got involved in!' Genji retraced his steps and made it seem like he had just returned from his walk.
7156 only looked at him, wishing him luck in his endeavors.
'I shouldn't be the one to say this, but greed can kill. Be careful with what you bite off.'
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Genji returned to Pierre and accepted his invitation.
"Stupendous! When can you leave?"
"Anytime."
"Then follow me."
Pierre led Genji to a limo, which they entered. The driver started the vehicle, heading to the airport.
The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.
'The airport? Where could we be going?'
Genji thought to himself as the plane took off. After landing, several hours had passed, but the journey was far from over. It involved navigating a series of complicated roads, security checks, and changing vehicles. It seemed they were going to great lengths to disorient him and keep the route a secret.
"Fine. Have it your way then."
He closed his eyes and let the driver do his thing.
"We're here."
Genji checked the mission timer to see how much time remained—about 6 hours. He couldn't help but roll his eyes at the unnecessary secrecy. He got out of the car and found himself facing an ordinary-looking building, nothing grand or remarkable. The peculiarity lay in the fact that this building was situated in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by nothing but trees and grass for miles.
Pierre approached the door and scanned his card, allowing them entrance. Pierre led Genji up to the second floor and entered a meeting room.
"Sirs, I have brought Agent Enigma."
"Very well. You may leave."
Pierre bowed and closed the door behind him.
"I heard you wanted to see me?" Genji asked as he put his feet on the table.
"We've heard much about your exploits. They are quite extraordinary." The council of five was unfazed by his unruly behavior.
"Let's cut to the chase. What do you want from me?"
Genji was running low on time, and spending it with these people was the last thing he wanted to do, especially after they had wasted 12 hours of his time.
"We want you to become the new rank 7 agent."
"I know that. But what benefits can I expect?"
"We can offer you money, fame—anything you desire."
"Somehow I doubt it. Can I please speak with the real higher-ups?"
"W-what?! We are the higher-ups!"
"You're very insistent, almost as if you're trying to convince me."
Genji got up from his seat and approached them.
"What are you doing?"
"Getting rid of the middlemen."
Then blood splattered across the room. Genji reached down to the body and retrieved an earpiece and some ID cards.
"A true leader wouldn't need to receive instructions from others. So, are you coming to meet me, or should I come to you?"
The earpiece went silent.
"I guess I'll do it the hard way."
Genji descended the stairs and started tapping on the walls. It took a while, but he eventually found a section that sounded different from the rest.
'Did they really think I wouldn't notice the inconsistency in the layout?'
He kicked down the hollow wall and entered a hidden elevator. Genji noticed there were no buttons, only a scanner. He held up the ID card, and the light beeped green. The elevator doors closed, and it began descending.
"This is taking too long. Just how far down is this place?" Genji asked after a minute.
Then the elevator dinged, the doors opening to reveal a high-tech hallway and Pierre.
"You saw through the ruse. Come. They are waiting."
"What are these tests, anyway? And how are you everywhere? What is your role in all of this?"
"Your questions will be answered in due time. Please, they are waiting."
"You know what? I'm tired of you. You're too much of an unpredictable factor."
"What—"
Genji sheathed his sword as a red line appeared on Pierre's neck. Then he took out a lighter and some gasoline to conduct his standard ritual to ensure someone was dead.
*Clap, clap, clap*
Genji turned to see a man in a white lab coat walking over.
"How ruthless of you to kill without explanation."
"Doesn't matter. As long as they are a threat, I will eliminate them."
"Then you must have killed many."
Genji held his position, and an awkward silence ensued. The longer the silence lingered, the more the man sensed the danger.
'He can't actually be thinking about killing me, right?' He asked himself after a while.
"Give me one reason why I shouldn't cut you down right now."
Looking into Genji's eyes, the man knew he meant it and grew increasingly flustered.
"Listen to what we have to offer first. But if you kill me, you probably won't be able to walk out of here either."
The only thing he could resort to was mutually assured destruction, hoping to deter the madman in front of him.
"Lead the way then."
Genji lowered his hand as the man let out a sigh of relief. They walked through a set of automatic metal doors and entered a lab—a large space filled with numerous glass containers and complicated machines.
Noticing his gaze, the scientist offered an explanation.
"This is the main place for weapon research against corruptors. We probe the weaknesses of these alien creatures and try to study their features. What we have found is that all the corruptors have certain parasites living inside them. The interesting thing about these parasites is that when we try to inject them into another living corruptor, the parasites enter a frenzied state and try to kill each other. That's the origin of anti-corruption materials."
"Fuhai-boshi."
"Yes. That was the concept that later evolved to be the first fuhai-boshi. We would use the bodies of the slain to make more weapons. Ironic, isn't it?"
The man became somber at that, which Genji found odd, until he stumbled upon a tube containing human bodies and mutants. Then he grasped the full significance of the mood.
"Human experiments?"
"*Sigh* Do you know how this whole mess started?" The person asked, to which Genji shook his head.
"Eighty years ago, portals around the world opened up, and powerful corruptors invaded our world. At first, we were able to repel them with our weapons, but everything changed when the animals became corrupted.
The invaders amassed an immense army of corruptors that overwhelmed the military weapons of that time. In response, secret labs sprang up around the world, all with the hope of researching a means to combat them.
The solution we eventually settled on was the creation of superhumans. We required individuals with extraordinary strength if we had any hope of battling these monstrous beings with their bizarre physiques. Consequently, we conducted countless experiments until we achieved success.
After numerous trials and errors, we finally developed a solution that allowed people to survive the parasites and gain extraordinary powers. We then distributed this solution across the country, and many mutants awoke. However, this marked our first mistake," the person lamented at their history.
"Mistake?"
"Yes. In our rush to develop this solution, we have opened the doors to a bigger problem. The mutants that were awakened at that time were unstable and often became berserk, which lead to more casualties that we weren't expecting. Humans almost went extinct at that time, but we finally managed to make a stable version of the drug. After a long-fought battle, we finally managed to defeat the source of everything."
'A stable version? Does that mean there's a way to destabilize it?' Genji couldn't help but recall the Sirius incident when he had suddenly gone berserk. That would explain a lot.
"If that's the case, how come no one knows about these mutants?" Genji voiced his other question.
"Humanity was extinct at the time, so we had to do something. The solution we arrived at was cloning. We used the DNA we managed to save before the calamity to make clones of people and planted false memories inside their heads. Then we waited for the mutants of that generation to die off before we released everyone and established CEC to maintain some semblance of normal life."
'Something doesn't add up. Why are there no records of this? And why was Sirius so adamant that CEC had a dark side? Just what are they hiding?' Genji realized something didn't add up, but he didn't voice his doubts.
They continued deeper until they reached a massive glass tube. Inside the container, Genji saw a green humanoid creature with jagged tips on its armor. In the middle of the chest was a dark green orb that seemed to pulse with life.
"That's the source of everything. We managed to preserve the body despite so many years."
But Genji didn't pay attention to any of that. Instead, his focus was on the familiar orb in the chest. As he saw it, Genji recalled the Orb of Corruption in his storage. Clues began to piece together in his mind as he realized what was wrong with CEC.
Everything the scientist said had some truth, but he left out what came after. These researchers became obsessed with this mysterious power and continued their human experiments. That's why they erased all records of the mutants: to eliminate the doubt that might form regarding their questionable practices. They attempted to imitate the power source of this creature and caused the incident in Cavean Town!
In that case, what is the actual cause of the corruption? If the source is dead, shouldn't everything else have stopped? How can they continue to conduct these experiments? How are they determining what's good and bad? Since they are able to do this, then the source must still be alive!
"What a hell of a facade you put up," he muttered as he entered a meeting room with people around a table.
"I see. You must have figured something out," the scientist said as he locked the door.
"So why don't you tell us?" An older man spoke out.
Genji took a deep breath before he voiced everything he pieced together.
"You're not the protectors of this world, but rather the controllers. You purposely didn't eliminate the corruption, as that would give you the most power. As long as the threat exists, people will flock to your cause and listen to you."
*Clap clap clap*
"Not bad. But do you know why we let you see all of that? It's because we want you to understand how the organization works. So how about it? Will you accept our offer to become the new rank 7 agent? You can rule the organization with impunity. All you have to do is become a new pillar."
"I just have one final question. Did Taki know about this?"
"Taki? No. He's a failed experiment like all our other experiments, but a failed experiment still has its uses. It's just a shame that our most promising experiment got killed before his growth was completed. So much for trusting that fox. Your answer now?"
[You have been offered a permanent position in the organization. Should you accept, you will no longer be able to leave this world.]
The decision was made for him when he saw this prompt. Genji drew his sword and cut down the man next to him.
"What are you doing?!" Everyone shot to their feet.
"Sorry, but I can't afford to be stuck in this world. I still have things I want to do."
Genji ran at them and started cutting them down.
"What are you talking about!? Why did you - Stop, you madman!"
Soon, only one person remained with his back pressed against the wall.
"You psycho! Stop right there."
He took out a remote and held it up.
"If you come any closer, I will trigger this."
"Is that supposed to scare me?"
"It's a mechanism that ensures your death. You don't want to face it."
Genji stopped.
"That's it. We don't need to do this. Just let me go, and-"
Genji appeared beside him and cut his arm off.
"Somehow I doubt you will let me leave peacefully after everything."
Suddenly, alarms started blaring.
"What have you done!?!?"
The last scientist screamed in panic. Genji looked down at the remote. Realization dawned on him. It seems that when the hand hit the ground, the button bounced onto the finger and triggered the mechanism.
"Now we're all going to die. Everyone. Humanity will-"
Genji finished him off. There's no point in keeping him alive now that their trump card has been triggered. The only thing that matters now, is if he can survive it.