WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Natty
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ Black Badger ◈
Chapter 29: Luminaries of Science (1)
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I hurriedly knelt before the unconscious man.
“Hey!”
I lifted the gray-haired man’s head and called out urgently.
“Excuse me! Wake up!”
[Oh dear!]
Someone shouted from above my head.
...Above my head?
When I looked up, I saw a round machine hanging from the ceiling. It dangled there like a disco ball, watching the unconscious man and me through a camera.
[John has finally collapsed!]
I had not heard wrong. That voice was definitely coming from the disco ball-like thing.
Holding the unconscious man, I stared at the camera-equipped disco ball.
“Finally?”
[I’ll contact Dr. Han right away! Would the person whose name I don’t know please take John to the hospital?]
“Uh....”
I trailed off in confusion and looked around.
People in white lab coats were craning their necks to watch us. Some had half-risen from their seats. Others called out, asking if they should help.
What surprised me was that no one seemed particularly shocked by the situation. Rather than surprise, they all wore expressions that said, So it finally happened....
Why did everyone look like they had expected this?
Either way, I was thinking I should take the unconscious man to the hospital first when a familiar voice reached me.
“Ah.”
I had never been so glad to hear my senior partner’s low voice.
“So it came to this after all?”
“Yoon!”
I happily called out to the man who had stopped in front of me.
“You’re here! The person beside me suddenly collapsed....”
“He hasn’t eaten.”
Yoon spoke matter-of-factly.
What?
“What hasn’t he eaten?”
“Food. Pick him up. We can go to Samuel together.”
Yoon flicked the documents in his hand and pointed at the man lying limp in my arms like a dried branch.
He was not surprised today, either. My senior partner watched me rise while holding the unconscious man as if he were watching me stand up with a dumbbell at the gym.
The researchers who had been staring our way began turning back to the monitors in front of them, one by one.
The laboratory recovered its rhythm in an instant. Only the disco ball above us kept circling the ceiling, watching us.
[I’ve contacted Dr. Han!]
“Yeah, okay.”
“What is that?”
I looked at my senior partner, who answered the disco ball’s shout so dryly.
“A disco ball AI?”
“A disco ball?”
[A disco ball AI?]
Yoon shot me a look like I had said the stupidest thing in the world. The disco ball repeated my words in a tone of utter surprise.
But I only blinked. My senior partner’s looks no longer bothered me. At some point, I had stopped worrying about looking stupid in front of him.
Everyone probably looked stupid to him anyway.
Yoon said,
“Its name is Martin.”
“Martin?”
[It’s nice to meet you!]
There really was everything in this place.
The AI sounded bright yet polite. I raised my chin toward its camera and nodded.
Still carrying the unconscious man, I left the laboratory. I quietly followed Yoon toward the hospital wing. Martin glided along after us.
Why was it following us?
As we walked through the chaotic, bustling laboratory, Martin remained above my head.
No.
It was still following us even after we left the laboratory.
Yoon rolled only his eyes toward the machine following us.
“Martin. Stay inside.”
[Ah, all right!]
The machine obediently followed Yoon’s order.
The disco ball-like machine silently returned to the laboratory, as quietly as it had come out. The moment it disappeared from sight, I moved closer to my senior partner.
“Can that thing leave the laboratory?”
“If it wants to. We made it so it can move freely around the Research wing, at least.”
“We made it?”
I did not miss Yoon’s last words.
People in lab coats crowded the hallway. I had to be careful that the long man’s dangling arms and legs did not bump into anyone.
Without looking back, Yoon explained.
“I made it.”
“Whoa.”
“More precisely, the man you’re carrying and I made it.”
This gray-haired man?
Hearing that, I felt like I knew this person’s name. Hadn’t Yoon once casually mentioned that someone had invented the Core?
He had also said afterward that the founder of the Core had received an enhanced body.
I looked down at the unconscious man.
“I didn’t hear it from him directly, but may I ask this gentleman’s name?”
“John Mueln.”
Just as I thought.
His long limbs dangled beneath us. Yet the people in the Research wing simply went about their business, unfazed by the strange sight.
“Even if he hadn’t collapsed, you probably never would have heard his name from him directly.”
“Pardon?”
“Do you think someone so absorbed in research that he forgets to eat would respond if you spoke to him?”
He had not skipped food. He had forgotten?
Was that even possible? I had only skipped one lunch after crying myself to sleep, and I was already starving. More and more questions came to mind. I stayed quiet, wondering which one I should ask first.
At some point, the lively hallway quieted and began to carry the distinctive atmosphere of a hospital.
Once our surroundings had calmed down, I called Yoon’s name and asked,
“Did you name Martin yourself?”
Yoon turned to look at me.
My senior partner stared at me as though asking why I would ask that, then replied in an even voice.
“Yeah.”
Satisfied with his answer, I remained silent until we reached Dr. Han’s office.
* * *
Samuel was eating a sandwich at his desk.
When we entered, he looked up from his sandwich at us. His patchily shaved chin, shaggy black hair, and intelligent blue eyes looked exactly as they had when I first fell into this world.
Seeing us stride inside, he sharply furrowed his brow.
“So he finally collapsed?”
The doctor set down his sandwich and shot to his feet.
“I knew this would happen. I told you to make sure he was eating properly and on time.”
“I haven’t been staying in the lab lately because of this kid.”
Yoon protested to the doctor approaching us.
Samuel Han did not even pretend to listen to Yoon’s protest. After examining the pale, unconscious man, he frowned and sighed.
“Lindsay! Pris!”
People who appeared to be nurses came pouring out from inside.
“John Mueln is here. You know the diagnosis without me telling you. Take him, put him on nutritional IVs, and give this little one carrying John Mueln a full checkup.”
“Yes. It seemed he had not left the laboratory for weeks, so this was bound to happen eventually.”
Things proceeded quickly.
As though this were routine, the nurses deftly took John Mueln from me. Empty-handed, I was guided away by other nurses and put through various tests.
Nothing had changed since the first day.
After the examination, I returned to Samuel Han’s office.
John Mueln was lying on a bed in the office, receiving an IV drip. Samuel was chatting with my senior partner in front of the desk.
...Choi Yoon, chatting?
“Ah, good work.”
The doctor, who had been chuckling at something Yoon said, leaned forward when he saw me.
“Come sit down. Have you been eating properly? How is it that you come here on an empty stomach every time?”
“Ah, yes. I’ve been eating well. I just happened to miss lunch today.”
“I’ll give you the last sandwich. At least eat that.”
Samuel pointed at the round stool in front of the desk.
He was a good person.... I obediently did as the doctor said. As I chewed the sandwich he handed me, I waited for him to look over my examination results and give his diagnosis.
Yoon also crossed his legs and waited for Dr. Han to speak.
Samuel studied the screen with an unreadable expression before breaking the silence.
“You have no health problems right now.”
“Thank you. I thought I was completely better too.”
“We can’t increase your recovery ability, either. Normally, with a recovery rate this slow, the body should not be able to withstand the enhancement. But yours is in perfect harmony right now. If we force an increase in your recovery ability, I think something might go wrong with your body.”
What kind of diagnosis was that, Doctor?
My jaw dropped at the devastating news. Did that mean I would have to remain a half-baked Black Badger for the rest of my life?
That would not do. I did not want to become a burden to my peers and seniors every time I went on a mission.
Yoon was the one who spoke first.
“So he has to stay like this?”
“That’s the safest option. His body is perfectly healthy right now, so there’s no reason to interfere.”
“His recovery ability is lower than other Badgers’. It’s far better than an ordinary person’s, but he still can’t stop bleeding immediately.”
“But it’s difficult to interfere. Increasing his recovery ability is not without risks. It’s not as if his recovery ability is at a civilian’s level, either. A civilian could never have this much recovery ability. Can’t he just stay as he is?”
“Doctor, I would like to increase my recovery ability or have my enhanced body removed.”
I cautiously gave my opinion.
Samuel Han abruptly turned his head. His wide eyes seemed to speak for him.
The doctor stared at me before speaking slowly.
“What did you say?”
“I think I might become a burden like this. If I cannot properly do my part, wouldn’t it be better to have my enhanced body removed...?”
“Do you know how much strain removing an enhanced body puts on your body?”
The doctor furrowed his brow.
Without avoiding his disapproving gaze, I nodded.
“I have heard about it.”
“You know, and you say that so easily? Don’t be reckless, kid.”
“It may look reckless to you, but I mean it. You know where I came from, don’t you? I suddenly appeared out of nowhere and caused trouble for the organization. I can’t keep causing trouble like this....”
“What trouble have you caused? What have you done?”
I was holding my peers back.
I tried to answer, but the doctor did not give me the chance.
With an expression that said he would hear no more, he waved his hand.
“Instead of talking nonsense, work out more. Unless you find being a Black Badger unbearably horrible, I have no intention of removing the enhanced body of a perfectly healthy Badger.”
“Then could we at least try to raise my recovery ability to the level of ordinary Badgers?”
“Ah, that’s easier said than done. If that process goes wrong, it can’t be undone! Just train more! Train until your lower recovery ability does not become a problem! For now, that’s the best option. Learn first aid from Yoon perfectly.”
“But isn’t there still something wrong with me?”
“It’s strange precisely because there isn’t. Normally, with a recovery rate this slow, the body should not be able to withstand the enhancement....”
“The Core has been strange ever since that day.”
An unfamiliar voice interrupted.
The voice came from a corner of the Infirmary. We turned toward the sound.
Three pairs of eyes fixed on the man lying with his hands clasped as if he were in a coffin.
A man with only his blue eyes open, staring at the ceiling.
“Where’s the bastard who fell out of the portal?”
It was the first thing John Mueln had said.
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