WeTried Translations

Translator: ZEROSUGAR

Editor: Abstract

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◈ Regression is Too Much

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Chapter 210

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The regressor endures (7)

The amusement park was in decent shape today. It was not packed wall to wall like on weekends, but there were still enough people for it to feel busy. For us, who had come to hide in that crowd, that was bad news.

"Wow, wooow...!!"

I felt a little bad for the girl looking around with wide, sparkling eyes, but we were not here to have fun. More precisely, we were here to pretend we were having fun.

If I wanted clear sightlines, an escape route if things went wrong, and a way to stay alert without looking suspicious...

"Let's go over there."

"The line is really long, though?"

"That's exactly why we're going."

We joined the line for the balloon ride that loops around the indoor ceiling once. It had a reputation for being boring, but couples and kids loved it because you could make a full lap indoors and take good pictures. On top of that, the turnover was painfully slow, so the line was always long.

"Wow, wow..."

We were just standing in line, but Areum looked thrilled anyway. The cheap kids' clothes I'd bought her on the way actually suited her pretty well. The way she kept gasping in awe was kind of cute too.

"You like it that much?"

"Yes! It's so nice seeing things in real life that I'd only heard about...!!"

"..."

Only heard about them. I could already picture the story in my head. A cold laboratory. A pitiful girl. Cruel experiments. One researcher who could not stand it and treated her kindly. My eyes, tense with caution, softened with pity before I knew it.

"After this, can I have that tornado potato over there? Please?"

"...We're not actually riding this, but I'll buy you the tornado potato."

"Waaah!"

Areum bounced in place. The couple in front of us glanced back and whispered about how cute she was.

"Is she your daughter? Or your little sister?"

"Ah, she's my younger cousin."

"Oh my. Could she maybe take off her mask for just a second? Her eyes are so pretty..."

"Ah, that's a little..."

I was smoothly brushing them off when the indoor speakers crackled and an announcement came on.

"We are looking for a missing child. We are looking for a missing child. This is an urgent matter, so please actively cooperate with staff. Thank you."

"Police. Would it be alright if we briefly verify your daughter? It won't take long."

At the same time, I saw a group of police entering the amusement park. No, not just police. There were people in plain clothes with them too, but their sharp presence gave them away.

"Mm..."

It had not even been an hour since we entered the park. No matter how good Korean police investigations were, I did not believe they could narrow it down to "amusement park" in just forty minutes. I'd even chosen routes with minimal CCTV. Under normal circumstances, that speed was impossible.

"Huh? Areum, you need to use the restroom?"

"Yes?"

"Can't be helped. Let's ride it next time."

I took Areum and ducked into the nearest accessible restroom I could find. I thought that would at least buy us some time, but...

"Sir. Please come out."

"..."

"You probably do not even understand what you're doing right now. Come out while we're still asking nicely."

They found us in five minutes. I cracked the door open, and the plainclothes agent I'd seen earlier was waiting outside. The device in his right hand was pointed our way, blinking and beeping.

"What exactly do you think I'm doing?"

"I'm sure you're better off not knowing."

At the man's gesture, the other agents behind him raised their tasers. Right. It would be hard for them to openly use something like a sniper rifle here.

"..."

Should I fight? If I fought, I'd win. But then what?

"Failure."

After sorting out my thoughts, I bit the inside of my cheek lightly. I needed to test a few more things.

[You have taken damage.]

[Returning to the moment of first entry on Floor 21.]

I repeated regression several times. I squeezed every bit of imagination I had and tested every possible scenario, and every result was the same.

Amusement park. Arboretum. Department store. Cafe. Mountain village. Seaside.

Crowded places, empty places, it did not matter. I moved nonstop. Sometimes we acted like siblings, sometimes like father and daughter, sometimes like strangers. Sometimes I had her wear a mask, sometimes regular clothes, and sometimes I carried her in a sack.

"Hoo..."

None of it worked. None of it.

Wherever we went, it did not matter. They always came. Not just the police. These people had influence over major corporations too, and their response speed was insanely fast.

"We're definitely being tracked."

One hundred percent, truly one hundred percent, there had to be a chip or something in Areum's body. No matter what route I took, they found us quickly every single time, without exception. I asked her, "Do you have any square part sticking out of your body?" but she said no. It was hard for me to check directly myself, which made things complicated. At least it did not look like anything was implanted in a way visible through the skin.

If I pushed mana into her body, I could search more thoroughly, but I could not bring myself to do it. Her body was too fragile. What if her organs were damaged? My mana was cold to begin with. She would probably get frostbite in one or two places.

"And no gunfire..."

Another odd thing was that, aside from the first run, I never saw a sniper rifle even once. I went to remote mountains and coastlines, but even there only police and agents showed up. No one took long-range shots, not even once. At this point, I could not shake the suspicion that there was something about that mountain I'd gone to. The problem was that I did not know exactly where it was.

"But that's not a real problem."

Time was fixed anyway, so I could just take the same bus again. I remembered the bus number, and now I knew I could make money through day labor. If necessary, I could use the luggage compartment again. Later, I should find that mountain one more time.

Another question was Areum's movement.

No matter where I was, she always came to find me. In the city, in the mountains, at the sea. If I was too far away, it took her a little longer, but she still walked to my side as if pulled by a magnet. Sure, I'd never gone abroad without a passport, and I'd never tried drifting out at sea on a boat... but what mattered was this one fact.

She followed me.

"She said she felt some strange pull..."

What was she sensing from me that made her keep coming? And what did the government want that made them so obsessed with Areum? After trying so many methods, the option of running away was already gone for me.

No one could solve this. Choi Ji-won? Michael Zetter? No chance. Areum was fated to be caught no matter what anyone did. If I, a regressor, could not do it, no one else could either.

"..."

So should I give up? No. I would not. If running was impossible, I had to try something else.

"Let's negotiate."

First, I had to find out why the government wanted Areum. I needed the reason before I could respond, and I needed a response before I could steer this in the direction I wanted. Repeating the same cycle of running and getting tased would never produce an answer.

But to negotiate, you need a table to negotiate at. If I wanted an environment where I could talk without getting shot first...

"There need to be a lot of eyes."

As many eyes as possible.

I looked down at the iPad in my hand for a moment.

These days, there were more eyes in cyberspace than in reality.

Inside a police station, the chief was slowly chasing off morning drowsiness with a cup of coffee. He had woken up early today, and his eyelids felt heavy.

"Hoo..."

Retirement was close. He did not have enough connections to be offered some honorary post, and he was not ambitious enough to step into politics. Thankfully, he had saved enough not to starve, but for an old man who had spent his whole life working, retirement itself was deeply frightening.

Retire without blemishing the career he'd built bit by bit. That was the chief's small wish, formed while watching colleagues take off the uniform in disgrace.

"Hmm, hmm..."

The chief imagined himself retiring with honor, congratulated by everyone.

"Chief!"

The moment a division head threw open the door and rushed in, that pleasant fantasy shattered and vanished.

"I-it's urgent. I think you need to see this."

"Urgent? What is it?"

The chief set down his coffee and jumped to his feet. In police work, hearing the word urgent made cold sweat run down your back before you even noticed.

"Please look at this."

The division head opened YouTube on his phone and showed him. The chief took off his glasses, squinted, and stared at the screen.

"What crime did our Areum commit?! Why are the police coming after her and persecuting her?! The government must apologize!"

"Apologize!"

A man with a red headband shouted at the top of his lungs, and beside him a cute little girl shouted "Apologize!" in rhythm. She had a ribbon in her hair instead of a headband.

"W-wait, that..."

The girl's face looked familiar. Like he'd seen her before somewhere...

"Yes... that's the girl from the news."

"Where is this being streamed from?"

"A park in our jurisdiction."

"My god."

The chief sprang up and hurriedly put on his jacket.

"Are you going in person? One team has already been dispatched..."

"Call in everyone who isn't tied up. No, tell all of them to come. This is an emergency."

He remembered the official document from dawn, the one that said, Burn this after reading. It had emphasized that she must be recovered alive, and attached a photo of one girl.

"What is this, this late in my career..."

The sender was the President of the Republic of Korea.

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