Hoarding In Hell [EN]: Chapter 307

307. The Hour of the Dog and Wolf (6)

Adam’s story about recent events ended relatively quickly.

This was mainly because it revolved around how harshly Professor Keller had treated Adam.

Adam spoke candidly about how painful it was to recall those times, and about the embarrassing and shameful things Adam did to win Professor Keller’s favor.

“People really are different from how they appear on the outside…”

“You’d act differently when you’re with your lover, too.”

That wasn’t wrong. But there was a lot to debate about whether Professor Keller and Adam were actually in a lover relationship.

Rather… wasn’t it closer to the relationship between a gruff owner and a rabid dog who would bite anyone around them except the owner?

Hyeon-woo was bothered by one part of Adam’s story.

It was about a person named ‘Samuel,’ an inspector from the Special Inspection Department who came to see Maria just before the Leviathan mission began.

After he left, Maria became very anxious and began to actively prepare something.

Normally, Adam would have assisted her, but Keller pushed Adam away and proceeded with the work alone.

Adam was frustrated again but thought Maria was just refraining from scolding him.

“So when the Leviathan mission started this time… I was secretly happy because there’s no way the professor would just watch this situation. She would definitely give me some instructions. So I was happy and stepped forward when I received the order at that time.”

Even though she received an order that could kill hundreds of thousands, or even millions of people, Adam was happy that ‘Professor Keller showed interest in her.’

But at the same time, she worried that Professor Keller might hate or fear her after she massacred so many lives.

She felt she had to prove that she was still human.

Hyeon-woo saw Adam making a gesture as if touching a child again.

The more she talked about Professor Keller, the more frequent that hand gesture became.

“Now it’s your turn. How are you going to overcome this situation?”

“Ah, it’s simple.”

Hyeon-woo shrugged and replied.

“I’m going to become the worst person in the world.”

***

Adam was momentarily speechless.

After careful consideration, she gave a blunt answer.

“You’re out of your mind.”

It was a harsh criticism, but Hyeon-woo wasn’t discouraged. He knew that praise would follow.

“But I like that it’s simple.”

“Wait a minute. That’s all you’re praising? The thing is, it only looks simple on the surface, but the inside isn’t that simple. When you consider the overall outline, that’s the result in the end…”

“I don’t need any trivial explanations. I understand.”

Adam stared intently at Hyeon-woo and said.

“In the end, you’re going to sacrifice yourself. For me and Professor Keller.”

“No, it’s not that touching of a story, and there’s a slightly roundabout process because of that fish bastard, right? Besides…”

“Kang Hyeon-woo, don’t talk nonsense. Anyway, just remember that you’re going to be the ‘worst person in the world.'”

Adam emphasized as if that was the most important thing in the world.

“If you just do that, I will help you with all my might. No matter what disgusting and evil things you do.”

Adam held Hyeon-woo’s hand tightly.

Listening to her words, it sounded like she was moved by Hyeon-woo’s spirit of sacrifice, but there was no hint of emotion in her eyes right now.

Rather, she was holding his hand tightly as if to prevent Hyeon-woo from running away.

“First, become the ‘worst person in the world.’ Then I’ll take care of the hardest part.”

“The hardest part?”

“I’ll kill you in one go so you don’t get scared or suffer.”

“Isn’t that too harsh to say to someone who saved your life?”

But Hyeon-woo decided to take it positively that his persuasion had worked.

Hyeon-woo was surprised that she was so easily persuaded. Don’t people usually doubt or question it?

But soon he could understand her thoughts. Adam Fault didn’t care at all what crazy things Hyeon-woo did.

As long as she and Professor Keller were safe.

And to bring about that result, she would do everything Hyeon-woo told her to do.

No, she would make it so.

“I don’t care if you use me like a dog, as long as you do it right. But if you fail… I’ll kill you so horribly that you won’t even find your corpse.”

“The result is the same whether I succeed or fail?”

“You won’t think so when that situation comes. I know how long a person can take to die, especially someone as strong as you.”

Hyeon-woo grinned.

Adam’s brutal threat was nothing more than a pledge of allegiance to Hyeon-woo. It was nothing more than emphasizing how firm her resolve was.

Hyeon-woo slowly began to test Adam. He reached out to Adam and said.

“I’m warning you, during this plan, you must obey my words unconditionally. Like a dog. Pretend I’m Professor Keller for a moment and serve me.”

“That’s a load of crap. It’s impossible to think that way, but if you tell me to obey orders, I’ll do as you say.”

“Hand.”

Clap.

Adam reached out her hand without complaint.

“Sit, stand up.”

Clap, clap.

Adam moved as Hyeon-woo said this time as well.

“Roll over, lie down, bang! Pretend to be dead.”

“How long…”

“Don’t bark!”

At Hyeon-woo’s shout, Adam pursed her lips with a slightly annoyed expression. But at least she didn’t blow Hyeon-woo away.

After a long series of commands, Adam glared at him and urged him for orders when Hyeon-woo finally stopped giving commands.

“Is that the end?”

“Good. I’ve always wanted to raise a large dog. Now my dream is coming true.”

“Congratulations.”

“Don’t be sarcastic. For the record, I wasn’t kidding just now. I was training you. I’m going to keep giving you these orders in the future. Then you have to follow without complaint.”

Adam stared at Hyeon-woo with a blank expression.

“The intensity of the orders you’ve given me now isn’t even as much as an ant’s toenail compared to when Professor Keller was training me. Don’t worry and do it. It’ll only be 40 hours at most anyway.”

Hyeon-woo confirmed that Adam was definitely obeying him.

It was something he did because he wanted to joke around, but Hyeon-woo wanted Adam’s reaction to be displayed at an instinctual level.

‘Dogs’ have to move like that, so that the moment you instruct ‘Bite!’, they immediately jump out and bite whoever the opponent is.

That was how to successfully complete this mission.

“Okay, next order.”

“Is there still more left?”

Adam had an annoyed expression, but Hyeon-woo’s face was serious. This order was virtually the stage to confirm her final loyalty.

“Give me Maria Keller’s phone password.”

***

UN Special Inspection Department Swiss Headquarters.

People were gathering inside a building established in downtown Geneva.

Chrome was small in size but exerted a stronger influence than any clan in the world.

This was because, in addition to Adam Fault, countless ability users had actively cooperated with Chrome, transcending nationality and affiliation.

And the place that poured out all administrative, financial, and legal support for Chrome was the UN Special Inspection Department.

For this reason, Chrome was virtually a supranational organization and at the same time a real force that the UN had never had.

“But Chrome’s status is faltering. Professor Keller.”

Chrome’s headquarters and the place where Chrome’s formation began.

Worrying voices were pouring out from the Special Inspection Department’s underground shelter.

“There is no control over Adam Fault at all. Is it true that Chrome agents were dispatched but failed to stop her?”

“I even heard that Ginyu’s Chain and Tiamat’s Spear were mobilized. Professor Keller, didn’t you say that these two items could easily control Adam Fault even if she went on a rampage?”

However, Maria Keller, sitting in a wheelchair in the center of the conference room, looked around with reminiscent eyes, regardless of whether the people around her were talking or not.

‘That’s right. This is where I first showed off Adam Fault’s trained appearance and explained the justification for Chrome. And I scared the old men with all sorts of delusional doomsday scenarios. And I argued that only me and Adam could save the world.’

“Professor Keller, are you listening?”

Someone raised the microphone volume and made a noise. Only then did Maria turn her head.

“Ah, I’m sorry. Old people have a lot of *jap-saeng-gak* [miscellaneous thoughts].”

“…Professor Keller, are you senile? You need to know what the situation is now. The clans and ability users who have been supporting Chrome so far are withdrawing. At this rate, the foundation itself will collapse in an instant. If we don’t solve this problem!”

“Professor Keller, we still believe in you. You are the only one who has controlled Adam Fault. But suddenly a rampage? ‘The worst person in the world’?”

Maria finally turned her head and looked straight at the inspectors.

“Adam Fault has not gone on a rampage.”

“Yes? If she hasn’t gone on a rampage, then what is this mess…”

It was then that someone hurriedly entered the conference room.

The secretary, who looked flustered by the heavy atmosphere of the conference room, first approached the person sitting in the chairman’s seat, handed over his cell phone, and explained something.

The Chief Inspector widened his eyes after hearing the whisper. Maria frowned.

‘What is it?’

If it’s urgent information in this situation, it must be news about Adam. But I wondered if there was any information like that.

The fact that Chrome agents were annihilated had already been reported, so what could be more surprising….

“Professor Keller, you should take this call.”

“A call? There’s no one who would contact me.”

“A call has come from Adam Fault. Please take it.”

Maria’s expression hardened. Adam had no way to contact her. She had no intention of receiving it either.

Because if she found out about the situation she was in, she would come straight here. But in this situation, there was no justification for refusing the call.

She still needed a little more time.

Maria slowly accepted the cell phone that the secretary was handing over. And at the direction of the inspectors, she turned the voice to speakerphone.

“Adam.”

[Yes, Professor Keller. Long time no see.]

However, the voice that echoed through the conference room through the cell phone was not Adam’s, but a strange man’s voice.

[It’s been a while, but you haven’t forgotten the voice of the head of the Chrome Northeast Asia branch, have you?]

***

Maria remained silent for a while.

She remembered the voice.

Kang Hyeon-woo.

She vaguely remembered whether she had given him the position of head of the Chrome Northeast Asia branch, but that wasn’t important right now.

What was important was that Kang Hyeon-woo was impersonating Adam Fault and contacting her.

“Are you with Adam Fault, Kang Hyeon-woo?”

At Maria’s answer, a buzz spread through the conference room. She answered the phone thinking it was Adam Fault, but it’s Kang Hyeon-woo?

[Yes, Professor Keller. It took a bit of a cumbersome process, but I dug through the professor’s cell phone and contacted everyone I could contact.]

“Did Adam Fault stick to you? To survive?”

[Well, you could say that. It’s a slightly disappointing form, but the professor’s dog is now my dog.]

An unknown commotion was heard from beyond the cell phone for a moment.

Maria assessed the situation while examining the atmosphere of the conference room. The assumption that Adam Fault would do anything to survive was within her expectations.

She didn’t know it would lead to Kang Hyeon-woo, but her plan didn’t deviate from the big picture.

“That won’t change anything, Kang Hyeon-woo. If you don’t want to see hell, the worst person in the world has to die. Do you want to see hell?”

[Ah, about that, Professor. I’ve already seen hell.]

Maria flinched. Hyeon-woo quickly pushed back the answer to prevent Maria from thinking.

[You must have seen another person who said they had seen hell, right? Didn’t you meet a guy named Teacher?]

“…I knew he was called Teacher, although his name was Bi-gwang. Yes.”

[Let’s make a deal. I can provide a better future than the future that guy presented unconditionally. Did that guy promise the best future? Then I promise an even better future.]

Maria did not answer. She was just trying to gauge what Hyeon-woo’s intentions were.

‘Teacher’ told her what the best future was and told her how to get there.

‘Teacher’ can choose the future. He eliminates the wrong paths and chooses other paths.

He was a person who could not fail.

If there was anyone who could inflict failure on Teacher, it would be Kang Hyeon-woo, the man on the other end of this cell phone.

[What the professor is trying to do now is not the path to the ‘best future.’]

But Kang Hyeon-woo continued to coax the professor.

[There’s a definitely better future than that. A better future than you can imagine.]

“Is that so.”

Maria looked around the conference room.

The inspectors were embarrassed and puzzled but seemed to realize that Maria had a plan.

This atmosphere was not good.

No one should know her plan. Not Teacher, not Kang Hyeon-woo, not even Adam Fault.

“Can you switch to Adam for a moment?”

[Professor Keller.]

Adam’s voice was heard immediately.

It seemed that Adam had snatched the cell phone before even getting Hyeon-woo’s consent.

She seemed to have a lot to say, but she couldn’t say anything other than ‘Professor.’ Maria thought this would be the last words she would say to Adam.

“Adam, it seems you’re disappointed in me for sticking with Kang Hyeon-woo.”

[No, Professor. Just….]

“Every order I give you was for the sake of humans. For the survival of mankind, to build and sustain all hopes and dreams forever.”

Adam was silent for a moment. A little later, she opened her mouth as if she was thirsty.

[You love everyone in the world so much.]

At the same time, her voice was slightly choked with tears.

[Why don’t you love only me?]

“That’s because your true identity is not human, but a beast.”

Maria answered without a moment’s hesitation.

A girl who was born with instinct and lived with instinct.

Maria put a leash on her and whipped her to cover her with human dignity, but she was feeling that she could not change that nature.

“I can only love you as a beast of mankind.”