WeTried Translations

Translator: ZEROSUGAR

Editor: Abstract

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

Chapter 326: The past (5)

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Zetter's plan was simple, and that simplicity was exactly what made it lethal.

"There's an easy way to find out whether a time traveler exists."

"Easy? Explain."

"We set a trap that only a time traveler could fall into."

"...A trap?"

"The secret warehouse we were originally going to build. We use that as the trap."

America's secret warehouse was going to be built. No, the basic construction had already been completed.

America was buying up items from the Tower on a national scale, and this was not unique to America. There was plenty of demand for research on things that came out of the Tower, and the supply was limited.

The problem was that there was no suitable place to keep the purchased items. They were so expensive that people had risked their lives trying to steal them, and for comparison and research purposes, they needed to be kept together in one place. So naturally, a warehouse was created.

To make sure its location was never exposed, they reused an abandoned bunker, and the actual construction relied mainly on automated machines and players. (To begin with, Zetter had a player capable of long-distance spatial movement, and he also had an Inventory user. If the two abilities were used together, feats that were normally impossible became possible.)

Therefore, the number of humans who knew the warehouse's location was fewer than ten. And all of them were people he could trust. Something like the location being discovered "by accident" was impossible.

"The number of people who know the warehouse's location is limited."

"...True. From gathering the materials to the actual construction, you and your subordinates handled everything, didn't you?"

"Then have you ever mentioned the warehouse's existence to anyone else? Or even hinted at something that could let them infer its location?"

"Not at all."

"Then in conclusion, unless there is someone with a mind-control trait or a trait that can read other people's memories, there is no way to know the warehouse's location. Do you agree?"

"...I do."

"Then this plan will succeed."

Tap. Zetter pressed a finger lightly against the table.

"I'm going to head to the secret warehouse now. Other than the teleportation ability user, you, Mr. President, and myself, no one else can know."

"...What do you intend to do there?"

"Install cameras and sensors. Please provide the kind that make absolutely no operating noise."

"Ah, understood. And after that?"

"Nothing."

"?"

Zetter's cold eyes looked as if they would pierce straight through the President.

"And after some time has passed, I'll spread a rumor to every insider who knows the warehouse's location. That an enormous treasure has been moved inside that warehouse."

"So it's bait."

"That's right. It's a trap to find out whether there's a mind controller, or someone with a surveillance-type ability."

First, they would filter out the insiders. The tactic of feeding different information to people on the inside so you could sort out who was a traitor and who was a trustworthy ally had been used from ancient times to the present.

"I understand there is a player assigned specifically to guard you, Mr. President. Is that true?"

"...Yes."

"I'll keep that person and you under separate watch. There may be a mind controller, or a mimicry-type ability user. I ask for your understanding."

"...Understood. Then what do you intend to do after you've filtered out the insiders?"

"We wait."

Again, Zetter's plan was simple. And that was exactly what made it lethal.

"We wait, and keep waiting."

"...What are you going to achieve by simply waiting?"

"We wait long enough, and then, about one or two months before that incident happens, the one you won't be able to perceive, Mr. President, we'll spread the rumor about that warehouse. And then we'll destroy the warehouse."

"...Surely not."

"That's right."

Zetter intended to spread the rumor that America's secret warehouse had existed in the past. What was the point of spreading such a rumor after the warehouse had already been destroyed? This was a trap meant to catch the regressor.

"An ordinary human will see a warehouse that has already collapsed. If someone comes looking for it after I spread the rumor, it has no meaning at all."

But.

"But if a time traveler exists, it's different. That person can hear the rumor and return to the past, so they will come looking for the warehouse. The point in time I'll include in the rumor. The point in time when it is impossible for anyone to know about the warehouse, and impossible to notice it even if there is a mind controller. If a human comes looking for the warehouse at that point in time."

"..."

"That person is the regressor."

The President fell silent. Zetter's plan was that radical. And it also looked highly likely to succeed.

"...I heard you have someone under you with a Prophecy... or Divination... ability. What do you plan to do if it isn't the regressor who comes, but the Divination ability user?"

"It's a trap from the beginning. There is no trait that would lead its owner into a trap like this. And I intend to leave the secret warehouse empty from the start. There's no chance a trait that leads its owner to treasure would activate incorrectly."

"..."

"If you're worried about what happens if something goes wrong, that's fine. I have a plan prepared for that situation."

There were no particular resources required. Well, aside from the need to build a new secret warehouse. But that was nothing.

"...Very well."

The President approved the plan.

* * *

Mahesh, the Indian player. Currently the aide and prophet of Michael Zetter, the Association president. (He also fills a secretary role, but he is not much help there.)

If someone asked Mahesh what prophecy was, he would answer, "I don't know."

Prophecy was not something that emerged through any thought process. Mahesh would dare say it with certainty: a prophet is more ignorant than anyone else.

The cause? He didn't know. The process? He didn't know that either. The only thing he perceived was the result.

He had less background knowledge than even an ordinary person, had been born dull-witted, and had poorer reasoning ability than other people. If someone asked him, "Why is this happening?" he could not answer. Because he himself did not know.

However, if someone asked, "Are you certain this will happen?" he would nod without a moment's hesitation. He knew nothing, and because of that, he could know. Because he was ignorant, he could insist that his claim was certain.

When a wild animal avoids an earthquake, is that the result of advanced thought? When a newborn swims the instant it is born, is that the product of learning and skill? No. It's instinct. And prophets are the kind of people who live by instinct. They are sharper than anyone.

"This won't do."

That was why Mahesh could tell.

"...Divination about the regressor... won't do."

"What do you mean, won't do?"

"It just won't. I can't know, and there's no way to know. It's just... blocked."

Mahesh's limited vocabulary gave him no way to express what he was feeling right now. There was only an incomprehensible sense of rejection, and fear.

"...I think it would be better not to interfere with anything related to the regressor. I think the outcome will be bad."

"Is that a prophecy?"

"No. Just my personal... feeling."

"Then that's enough."

Mahesh's advice did not get through. Zetter had no intention of relying on such an uncertain feeling, and Mahesh himself was not confident in his own intuition.

Right.

It was that kind of tragedy.

* * *

Time passed.

The regressor did not come. The warehouse was destroyed. The rumor was spread as planned, but the President could not shake the feeling that this was all meaningless. (There was an incident where Dok Su-hee loitered around the warehouse on a false date, but Zetter stopped it.)

In the end, more time passed, and then more, and monsters appeared, and Zetter killed the dragon... Even as the world changed violently, the warehouse stayed exactly as it was. Destroyed.

"...Does that mean the regressor doesn't exist?"

"I don't know. This may be before the regression. Or it may not be."

"You... ha ha. It must be nice, always being so cool-headed."

To make the secret warehouse seem more believable, the President had recently reduced how often he used the book for the sake of the public good. As a result, the response when the monsters appeared was somewhat lacking, and his political base weakened as a consequence, but because Zetter and the President had already agreed on the plan in advance, they stayed still for the time being.

"Then the plan..."

"I'll carry it out."

"Very well."

Public opinion toward the President was currently at its worst. There were too many humans dead because of the monsters to count. When disaster strikes, people curse the leader, and the current leader was the President.

But if things went according to plan, his approval rating would recover quickly. It was a little regrettable, but it could not be helped, and since they had already decided to do it, Zetter chose to go along without complaint.

What needed to be done had been decided. Now all that remained was to do it. There was nothing left to think about.

"..."

However, Zetter was still human, at least for now. So he had his doubts as well.

Was this truly before the regressor's regression? Or did no such regressor exist in the first place? He had been certain a regressor existed. Had he been wrong?

He didn't know. Even so, what needed to be done had already been decided. As always, he would simply do what had to be done...

And so it seemed that America was about to change. In the direction of the President's downfall, and Zetter's rise to power.

But.

"To stop the monsters, we need to become stronger."

Time runs backward.

As always.

Footnotes:

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