Hoarding In Hell [EN]: Chapter 339

Extracurricular 1.

From Beast to Human (1)

The rock music blasting through the earphones was deafening.

Even the noise of the small vehicle speeding across the desolate country road couldn’t drown out the sound leaking from the earphones.

The middle-aged woman, her face etched with fatigue, glared at the soldier plugged into the earphones, contemplating whether his hearing would give out first, or if she would land a punch first.

The soldier, feeling her piercing gaze, grinned and said,

“You look like you want to stab me with a knife, Professor Keller!”

At the soldier’s words, Maria Keller smiled and said something. However, the soldier couldn’t hear her over the loud music in his earphones.

The soldier finally pulled the earphones from his ears.

“What was that?”

“I said, what’s the point of talking if you can’t even hear me, you moron, Victor.”

Instead of getting angry at Maria Keller’s harsh words, the soldier named Victor chuckled.

“Don’t get so worked up. We’re going to meet a devil, shouldn’t we listen to songs praising the devil in advance to appease him? Isn’t that right? The church says rock is the devil’s music.”

“Then shouldn’t you be listening to hymns?”

“I’m a reasonable man. If there really is a devil, I think it’s wiser to appease the devil right in front of me than to look for God to save me from somewhere up in the sky.”

Maria made a fierce expression at Victor’s reply. Victor grinned, enjoying Maria’s angry gaze.

“Relax, Professor Keller! What’s the big deal? Devils, monsters… These uncivilized desert folks worship all sorts of things anyway. Once, a farmer asked me if George Bush was going to be their king now, you know?”

“Don’t be so arrogant just because you were lucky enough to be born a white man in a good country, Victor. You’re just exposing your ignorance.”

“What I mean is, the CIA is mistaken again.”

Victor put his Walkman and earphones on the seat next to him and said.

Maria felt relieved that she wouldn’t have to listen to that noise anymore. Victor smiled brightly and continued.

“As you know, this mess started when Comrade Gorbachev withdrew his plans to withdraw from Afghanistan. Because of that, what was it? Because the whole world is in an uproar because of something called a dungeon, it seems like they’re going to keep eating like a mouse in the meantime.”

“Are you talking about the dungeon outbreak? That’s more serious than you think. The war in Afghanistan is nothing. It could be the biggest change since the discovery of fire.”

“In the end, war is always the same for soldiers. Whether it’s a stone ax, a nuclear bomb, or psychokinesis. Anyway, as you know, the CIA put a lot of effort into making Afghanistan the Soviet Union’s Vietnam.”

As soon as the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan, the CIA did its best to trap them in a quagmire and prevent them from getting out.

The result was Afghanistan, where 80% of the country outside the capital had become the enemy.

“Even when Gorbachev announced the withdrawal, they must have believed they had succeeded. But when the withdrawal announcement seemed to be fading away……”

Victor clenched his fist with an excited expression and then spread it out.

“Suddenly, a battalion-sized Soviet force disappeared in northern Afghanistan. There was no mention of withdrawal. Even when I asked the local intelligence personnel, they said they didn’t know. Instead, there were only strange rumors about devils and monsters.”

The reason Maria Keller was riding in this old car with Victor, speeding along the desert sand road, was because of that.

To find the reason why the Soviet troops suddenly disappeared and the cause.

Officially, there were no Americans in Afghanistan, so it was a very dangerous mission. Moreover, no documents could guarantee the identities of these two.

“I heard there’s a pretty dangerous armed group over there. Isn’t it their doing?”

“Ah, you mean those armed guerrillas. They’re the ones who are trained and supplied with weapons by the CIA. But I don’t overestimate them. They’re just armed guerrillas; they can’t wipe out a Soviet battalion.”

“So, they didn’t fight with conventional weapons.”

Maria Keller smiled crookedly and tilted her head.

“So, that’s why you’re taking me like this.”

Victor snapped his fingers and said.

“That’s right, Professor. Frankly, no one knows the cause yet. But I guess it has something to do with the dungeon outbreak, like you said earlier. They say weapons don’t work on the creatures that come out of there, right?”

“It’s not that they don’t work at all……”

“Anyway, they say they don’t die easily. Anyway, I think monsters like that wiped out the Soviet army. The CIA sees this as a very valuable opportunity, and if we use it, we might have valuable strategic resources.”

“They’re doing something ridiculous.”

Maria snorted. Monsters from dungeons still cannot be controlled by any means.

She had been in and out of dungeons several times, but she couldn’t figure out how monsters with completely different ecosystems, habits, and environments could exist.

“It would be easier to tame ants or mosquitoes.”

“Hehe. The CIA listened to what the professor said, so they just ignored it until now. In fact, stories about devils and monsters have been heard in this area for a long time. At that time, I just thought it was a legend, but I can’t just sit still when a battalion-level Soviet force has disappeared.”

That ‘legend’ may be a metaphor for secret weapons or biological and chemical weapons. Or maybe it’s about the secret nuclear missile base that’s already rumored to be widespread.

Either way, it was a rumor that the CIA could not ignore.

“So, there are no Soviet troops there now?”

“As far as I know, there aren’t any. The remaining troops have also withdrawn. Only some of our dispatched troops and locals are there.”

“Dispatched troops?”

Victor nodded.

“Dr. Samuel and his guards. It’s nothing special.”

Maria made a dumbfounded expression and then let out a deep sigh.

“Samuel, that bastard, he’s everywhere.”

“I heard your major fields overlap a lot, Professor.”

“That guy is an occult maniac. He’s an embarrassment to the name of doctor. Don’t lump me in with him.”

But Maria knew that the CIA was not taking this matter lightly.

She was now the foremost authority in the newly started dungeon-related research, and Samuel was a well-known figure in academia, though not to that extent.

Bringing scholars to a war zone where the United States was not ‘officially’ involved meant that this was a pretty serious secret operation. Furthermore, northern Afghanistan bordered the Soviet Union.

Victor’s expression showed none of that tension.

When the conversation stopped, Victor plugged his earphones back into his ears. Loud rock music flowed out.

Maria pulled out the earphones and threw them out the window. She was satisfied with Victor’s gaze, which seemed dumbfounded.

“Let me get some sleep. Okay?”

Victor grumbled and gave up on the earphones.

In fact, it was just a pointless tantrum.

Maria didn’t like any of this. Not this unpaved country road, not the dry desert, not the sandstorm.

But above all, she didn’t like this strange wasteland that often conceived gods.

***

It was midnight when they arrived at the canyon.

The desert was asleep, dreaming of memories of lush trees from a long time ago.

As they went against the dry land where the wind flowed eerily instead of the river, people revealed themselves from the shadows.

Victor exchanged meaningless questions and answers with them in Arabic. Judging from his awkward pronunciation, it seemed like they were exchanging passwords rather than actually speaking the language.

“You’re late.”

As soon as the exchange was over, someone appeared in the moonlight.

It was Samuel, a nervous-looking man wearing glasses. Arab men wearing turbans stood armed beside him.

“The roads are terrible. Doctor.”

“I don’t care about the circumstances. I think it’s better to hurry.”

Samuel seemed anxious. He only gave Maria a quick nod.

They weren’t close enough to exchange friendly greetings.

First, the three decided to talk while walking.

As they entered the canyon, there were bloodstains and bullet marks everywhere. It seemed like they had recently fought a very fierce battle.

“Did the Soviet army come again?”

“No. It’s worse.”

“Worse?”

Victor asked as if he didn’t understand.

Currently, the United States’ greatest enemy is, of course, the Soviet Union. He couldn’t understand how the situation could be worse than the arrival of such Soviet troops.

But instead of answering, Samuel glanced around and held back his words.

Victor must have felt that it was not the time to urge an answer, so he closed his mouth.

“Maria, stay close to me. The atmosphere doesn’t seem good.”

Maria looked at the people in the canyon.

They were local guerrillas who had been trained and supplied with weapons by the CIA, as Victor had said.

It was difficult to recognize each face because it was night, but the brightly shining eyes were staring at them.

“They’re supposed to be protecting Samuel. But it feels like we’re being watched?”

“Something seems to have gone wrong. The CIA dispatch members are nowhere to be seen either.”

Victor was ready to take out his hidden gun at any time, but if the guerrillas turned into enemies, there was no chance of winning.

But until he understood the situation, he had to be faithful to his mission of escorting Samuel and Maria.

“Um, Dr. Samuel. Excuse me, but could you at least tell us where we’re going and what we’re going to see?”

Victor carefully opened his mouth.

Samuel looked at Victor, slightly embarrassed.

“Didn’t you hear anything?”

“You know, the CIA tries to monopolize and hide even the most garbage-like information. They told me to go and hear it myself.”

Samuel didn’t answer. Rather than trying to hide it, it seemed like he couldn’t find the words to say.

As he pondered his answer, Victor probed as if giving a hint.

“There were stories about monsters or devils. What is it? Did something pop out of the dungeon? Or is it some kind of secret weapon hidden by the Soviet army?”

“Monsters or devils wouldn’t be wrong either. But……”

Samuel made a troubled expression and reluctantly opened his mouth.

“The locals call them God’s agents. A divine punishment sent by Allah [God in Islam] to drive out foreigners who have invaded the sacred territory.”

“God?”

“Ha. No wonder you’re looking for the occult; you’re from a theological seminary [a school for training religious leaders].”

Victor made an openly disappointed expression, and Maria made an openly mocking expression.

Samuel glared at Maria with an unpleasant face.

“You’re the only one who calls someone an occult maniac just because they majored in theology. And I’m just conveying what the locals said.”

“The very fact that you picked up such words reflects your unconscious bias. Or you deliberately judged it in a biased way. Look at Victor. He’s already disappointed after hearing your words.”

“No, please exclude me from the conversation.”

“Maria.”

Samuel said in a stiff tone.

“Many of these guerrillas are simply people who have gathered to protect their country, but many are armed with religious fanaticism to supplement their patriotism. Do you think such people would carelessly mention ‘God’? People in a country that doesn’t even allow the carving of God’s image?”

“Because it’s a group of fundamentalist fanatics, it’s easier to manipulate. Do you know how many religious groups mistook the dungeon opening for the rapture [a Christian belief about the end times]? How can any rational conclusion come out of such a group?”

Instead of refuting, Samuel let out a deep sigh.

“Then I hope you will see and judge for yourself. I don’t know what ‘it’ is either. Professor Maria Keller’s fresh and objective reason will surely be able to discern it.”

Samuel was sarcastic, but his eyes were full of anxiety. His gaze soon turned forward.

“But before that, there is someone we need to meet.”

***

The place Samuel led them to was a cave dug into the side of the canyon.

Inside the recently built dugout, an old man with a thick beard was smoking a water pipe.

But he only looked old because of his beard and turban; he didn’t actually seem that old.

As the old man glanced over Victor and Maria, Samuel said in English.

“This is Professor Maria Keller, whom I told you about. She is the foremost authority in this field.”

Maria looked at Samuel with a surprised expression.

Just as Maria dismissed Samuel as an occult maniac, Samuel hated Maria for being radical.

Their fields of activity were different, so they didn’t have to clash directly, but they were busy slandering each other in places where the other wasn’t.

The old man looked at Maria, then turned his gaze to Victor and said something in Arabic.

Judging from the fact that he understood Samuel’s words, it seemed like he could speak English but was deliberately speaking in Arabic.

“He’s just a bodyguard. You don’t have to worry about him.”

Victor raised both hands and stepped back, as if there was no need to worry about him.

The old man looked at Victor and said something to the men who looked like bodyguards.

The men soon approached Victor and took away his weapons. Victor was annoyed, but surprisingly, he gave up his weapons willingly.

“It’s for safety. It’s better not to have knives or weapons when approaching ‘it’.”

“Is that the old man’s opinion, or Dr. Samuel’s opinion?”

Samuel didn’t answer.

Maria stepped forward as if the complicated introduction process was over.

“Assalamu alaikum [Peace be upon you – a common greeting in Arabic]. I am Maria Keller. What is this person’s name?”

Instead of answering, the old man smiled and turned his gaze to Samuel. Samuel whispered to Maria.

“That person doesn’t talk to women. He can’t even tell you his name. Just know that he is a wealthy man who is actively supporting the CIA and the guerrillas. Be careful in your actions because he is a radical fundamentalist.”

“Whether he’s a dog or a cow, he needs a name to call him.”

“Don’t talk to him directly; talk to me. If you really need a title, call him ‘Mohamed’.”

At that time, Mohamed opened his mouth.

Samuel paused for a moment and then answered in Arabic this time.

Mohamed seemed to be instructing Samuel on something, then gestured to unilaterally announce that the conversation was over.

Samuel wiped the cold sweat and conveyed the words to Victor and Maria.

“He welcomes you.”

“……I don’t think that’s a summary of what he said.”

“I’ll tell you if there’s anything you really need to know, so just know that. First, get ready to move again right away.”

“Wait, move right away? We just arrived?”

“Were you expecting a 5-star hotel and a welcome drink? Be patient even if you’re tired. Once you get there, you’ll forget what being tired is.”

Soon, an armed guerrilla approached them.

The guerrilla led the way in front of them with a blunt attitude. As Samuel followed without hesitation, Maria and Victor had no choice but to follow.

The guerrilla skillfully moved his steps, relying on the moonlight even though it was night in the canyon.

Following behind him, Maria soon felt her heart fill with excitement.

No matter what happened here, it wouldn’t be an ordinary thing.

Something was happening that even Samuel, Victor, and these desert guerrillas were struggling with.

And no matter what it was, it was enough to make the heart of a researcher who was willing to risk his life for research beat faster.

After a while, Maria felt her fiercely beating heart stop. Instead, a chill that seemed to dig into her heart came over her.

Looking at the round silhouette visible above the canyon, Maria tried to discern what it was for a while.

But in fact, she had already realized it as soon as she saw it.

It was a huge mass made by rounding up hundreds, thousands of humans like lumps of clay.