Chapter 402: Investigation [1]

WHEEE! WHEEEEE—!

Sirens rang across the entire island, the disturbance attracting the attention of everyone on the island.

"What is happening?"

"...Why have I been hearing ambulances all over the islands?"

"Did you not hear? Apparently, a certain game has been circulating lately, causing people to go mad. Some suggest that the company even went as far as using anomalous objects in order to make the game more immersive."

"Holy shit!"

The people started talking.

News articles started to be released.

It didn’t take long for the entire island to find out about the incident.

Anger immediately surged.

—What the hell were they thinking!?

—Are they trying to kill people?!

—This is corporate greed at its finest!!

—Get the BUA to handle this matter! This is totally unacceptable!

Reporters began to swarm the company, while the outcry online grew so loud it drowned out every other piece of news. The chaos escalated to the point where the BUA had no choice but to release an official statement.

[We have already reviewed the situation and taken the individuals involved into custody. A formal investigation will commence shortly. We ask for your patience and understanding during this time.]

That just barely managed to suppress the people’s outrage and outcry.

And such outrage was only natural.

Anomalous objects were taboo items, handled only by trained professionals. They had once been cursed artifacts that claimed countless lives. Ordinary people were never meant to come into contact with them, and with the constant threat of the gates looming over them, it was only natural that the public would be outraged.

This was why the BUA had to take this matter very seriously.

*

In a dimly lit room.

A man stood before a haggard-looking figure, his face pale and mouth trembling, "I... I don’t know what’s going on. I really don’t know."

Everything felt like a nightmare to Daniel.

He had merely been an assistant a moment prior, with the game he had been working on reaching massive success, when all of a sudden, everything came crumbling down before his very eyes.

He still couldn’t believe how it had all fallen apart so quickly.

’H-how did this come to be?’

"You’re saying that you don’t know anything?"

A man sat opposite Daniel.

He had neatly kept dirty blonde hair and wore a dark suit that perfectly accentuated his sharp features. Just his presence alone was enough to make Daniel feel extremely suffocated.

"I... I don’t."

He really didn’t know anything.

"Whatever is being reported... I really have no idea. How is it possible for our games to have an anomalous property inside? We’ve all tested it well. There were no issues beforehand. It’s almost as if—Ah."

Daniel suddenly paused, a thought occurring to him.

"Hm?"

The investigator raised his brow upon seeing the subtle change in Daniel’s features.

"Is there anything that you’d like to share?"

"About that..."

Daniel hesitated, but he eventually bit his lips and came clean.

"The programs that we’ve used for our games... They’re not actually ours. At the very least, it wasn’t developed by us."

"Oh?"

"It was developed by another developer who gave us the programs. Ah!"

Daniel smacked his hand against the table.

"Right! Right...! He also works for a Guild! It’s him! It has to be him!"

Daniel’s eyes turned crazed upon saying this.

"He’s the one who is responsible for all this mess. He must’ve sabotaged the programs! I know for a fact that it’s not us! We have no access to any of this stuff! In fact, we also have the programs that he gave to us! You can check them! We’re innocent!"

"....."

The investigator from the BUA didn’t say anything, his eyes squinting slightly.

"Seth! His name is Seth Thorne!"

*

Clank—!

The door to the investigation room closed a moment after.

The investigator walked out, his expression complex as he turned to his right, where his colleague walked out from another room.

"How did he answer?"

"He said that the programs don’t belong to them. They got them from another developer."

"Same."

Luke replied, brushing his dirty blonde hair back as he reached for his breast pocket and took out a pen.

He took out a small notepad and began jotting down some things.

"They both claim that he’s the one to have caused this mess. The investigation also appears to show conflict between the two parties. Should we have him come to our station?"

"There’s no need for that."

Luke replied, frowning as he looked at the notepad.

"As far as I’m aware, he is from the Severed Stars Guild. They’re a Queen Grade Guild that is on the verge of reaching the King Grade. It’ll be difficult to get them to send him over to us. The best thing we can do is go there directly, or get strict permission from the Central Branch."

"That complicated?"

"Yes."

While the BUA had strict control over matters that handled the ’supernatural’ and ’gates’, they still needed permission before raiding a Guild.

Guilds held a lot of power, and if the Guilds joined together, they’d be able to overturn the entire BUA.

This was why they needed to be careful when handling matters like this.

But surprisingly—

"Chief Investigator!"

A woman came rushing in a moment later.

She had a look of urgency on her face.

Seeing her like this, the two investigators frowned, but before they could get their words out, she spoke, "There’s someone here! He seems to know about the current situation and wants to talk with the two of you."

"Hm?"

"What?"

The two investigators stopped, their heads slowly turning to meet one another’s gaze.

And then—

"Bring us to him."

"Let’s not waste time."

"Yes!"

The woman followed their orders and immediately brought them away.

The BUA branch on Malovia Island wasn’t anything extravagant. Its main building stood at the island’s center, several stories tall, with most of the "interrogations" taking place in the levels hidden underground.

Arriving on the higher floors, the investigators made their way towards a specific room.

Clank—!

The moment they did, they both came to a sudden pause as they caught sight of the man who stood by the sofa. Although not well kept, his dark hair was generally well maintained, and while his features weren’t remarkable, upon closer look, he was actually rather handsome.

If not for how pale his face was, he would’ve been much more attractive.

But that wasn’t what grabbed their attention.

What truly grabbed their attention were his eyes as he turned his attention towards them.

For some reason, feeling his gaze, the two felt a subtle chill running down their back.

But soon,

"Hello."

A smile appeared on the man’s face as he stood up to greet the investigators.

"How are the two of you doing?"

He held out his hand politely.

"I just came here because I have some important things to talk to you about regarding the current investigation."

At the same time he shook their hands, he sat back down.

"Please have a seat."

He pointed at the seats opposite him, his dark eyes flickering for the briefest of moments.

"There’s a lot that I want to talk about."