EP.25 Lifting the Veil (1)

 

– Ding♬ –

 

With a classic bell sound, the elevator stopped at the top floor.

 

When the door opened, only a white hallway stretched out before her.

 

Parang tapped the wall.

 

The dull thud indicated that the inside wasn’t hollow.

 

As she walked a bit further, a very cybernetic door with white metal and blue neon accents appeared.

 

It was similar in style to Parang’s home.

 

Curious, she approached, and the door opened with a soft whir.

 

The interior was also similar to Parang’s home, a futuristic space with a harmonious blend of white and sky blue.

 

The absence of aquariums, unlike her home, was the only difference, but the familiar decor made her feel slightly at ease.

 

‘Oops, I need to stay alert. This could be a ploy to make me relax.’

 

Still, it’s hard not to feel comfortable in a pleasing space.

 

The wall directly in front of Parang was entirely made of glass, offering a clear view of the city’s nightscape. In front of it was a desk reminiscent of those used by CEOs in dramas.

 

And seated there was a man in glasses and a suit.

 

Contrary to her expectations, he looked very young, probably in his mid-twenties.

 

“Please, have a seat.”

 

His voice was gentle. It wasn’t commanding or overbearing.

 

It was simply a suggestion, as if standing would be uncomfortable.

 

On the surface, he seemed to harbor no hostility.

 

Still on guard, Parang sat down.

 

Facing the man across the desk, the chair’s height was just right, putting them at eye level.

 

“You must have many questions.”

 

“You know me well.”

 

She had a lot she wanted to ask.

 

“We also have a lot to tell you. I’m just not sure where to start.”

 

That must be a lie. They wouldn’t have called her here without organizing their thoughts.

 

“First, who are you? What’s your position within Silo, and what information do you have?”

 

That was a crucial point.

 

“Our internal hierarchy is quite complex. However, I can assure you that I possess a substantial amount of information.”

 

An unsatisfactory answer. Parang stared intently at the Silo man.

 

Sensing the atmosphere, he added,

 

“I can tell you that I know everything Silo knows.”

 

If he knew everything Silo knew, he must hold a high position. Whether this was true would become clear as their conversation progressed.

 

“Why did you call me now, at such a perfect timing?”

 

Right after Xiao’s dive ended. As soon as Parang got involved in a suspicious incident, they summoned her.

 

It was all too suspicious.

 

The man answered her question.

 

“We didn’t originally plan to meet you now, Hunter Yu Parang. However, it seems you witnessed something that requires an explanation.”

 

“How do you know that?”

 

Parang growled, lowering her voice slightly.

 

“We can eavesdrop on every sound in the world. Have you ever wondered why Silo lets other businesses operate freely but never relinquishes control over electronics?”

 

They were eavesdropping. Shady bastards.

 

She held back, considering the debt she owed them for saving her.

 

“You said you didn’t originally plan to meet.”

 

“We initially planned to meet Hunter Yu Parang on August 4th at 2 PM.”

 

August 4th at 2 PM.

 

That was the time Manager Choi had told her to visit the Hunter Association.

 

“I was supposed to contact the Hunter Association then. You never even tried to reach out to me.”

 

“We did contact you. Manager Choi Janghyuk, whom you know, and Seo Sunwoo, the head of the Asian branch of the Hunter Association, are both our people who infiltrated the Hunter Association.”

 

A massive piece of information suddenly dropped.

 

But the man continued speaking nonchalantly.

 

“About a month ago, Igarashi Natsuko suddenly became the president of the Hunter Association.”

 

Indeed, it was a sudden change that caused quite a stir.

 

“It was a kind of coup. She ousted the existing executives and seized power. During the chaos, we infiltrated Seo Sunwoo.”

 

Parang had no idea.

 

The fact that a top executive of the Hunter Association belonged to Silo was a revelation that could cause a massive uproar if exposed.

 

“What about Manager Choi?”

 

“He is an employee under President Seo Sunwoo.”

 

His tone remained calm.

 

“And you’re telling me this out of the blue?”

 

Parang asked, slightly taken aback.

 

“Yes. This is classified information on our side as well. And revealing this to Hunter Yu Parang means…”

 

“Hmm…”

 

It meant they were desperate to gain her trust.

 

The information just shared felt like an entry fee to open a dialogue with her.

 

If that was the case, Parang felt inclined to show some of her cards to extract more information. After all, they had initiated the exchange.

 

“Why is the World Government trying to kill me?”

 

“Let’s start with that.”

 

Parang didn’t want to lose control of the conversation. She was determined to learn everything she wanted to know before leaving.

 

“The reason they want to kill you is that you are a significant obstacle to their plans.”

 

“So, what exactly are those plans? If you’re going to state the obvious—”

 

“Your broadcasts, Hunter Yu Parang.”

 

“…What?”

 

“We haven’t fully grasped the entire truth either. However, they want to push people into the sea.”

 

“What?”

 

So, they tried to eliminate Parang because she was preventing people from going into the sea?

 

‘No way, was my broadcast that influential? There were no comments in the chat about quitting diving, though?’

 

Parang’s puzzled thoughts were evident on her face.

 

“You seem confused. Would you like to see this?”

 

The man tapped the desk, and a monitor rose from below.

 

What appeared was a graph.

 

“Do you see this? After your broadcasts, the number of diving hunters has almost halved.”

 

As the man said, the graph, which had been steadily rising, plummeted sharply at a certain point.

 

The dates roughly matched the dates of Parang’s broadcasts.

 

‘I made an impact.’

 

Parang felt a sense of pride.

 

So, the World Government, for some reason, wanted to push people into the sea and thus tried to eliminate Parang, who was obstructing that. On the other hand, Silo protected Parang.

 

Despite feeling proud, Parang growled.

 

“Then why are you protecting me? Moreover, you developed underwater cameras. Doesn’t that mean Silo also wants to send people into the sea?”

 

“We don’t want people to go into the sea, Hunter Yu Parang. For the same reason as you. We developed the cameras to spread footage of people being attacked by monsters.”

 

Parang froze momentarily but quickly regained her composure.

 

“The same reason as me? Do you even know what my intentions are?”

 

“Isn’t there something down there in the sea?”

 

Parang swallowed hard.

 

“We know there’s something unprecedented that could bring chaos to this world. But that’s all we know. We don’t have more information than that.”

 

It meant that Oceanos still had the upper hand in terms of underwater intelligence.

 

In summary, the World Government wanted to push people into the sea, and Silo, trying to prevent that, sought out Yu Parang.

 

It wasn’t an unconvincing reason, but there was a critical flaw.

 

“Why does the World Government want to send people into the sea?”

 

This part hadn’t been explained.

 

“We don’t know that either. To be honest, the recent movements of the World Government have been very suspicious.”

 

“I understand that it’s suspicious. I’m asking specifically how it’s different from the previous World Government.”

 

“Their actions are rough and slow. They’ve become incompetent. This incompetence allowed us to protect you and your associates thoroughly.”

 

The World Government had become incompetent, but the reason was unknown. Parang made a mental note of this.

 

She found herself momentarily speechless, as she couldn’t think of anything else to ask.

 

The initial questions she had when she came here were mostly resolved.

 

“It seems it’s our turn to open the conversation now.”

 

When Parang remained silent, the man spoke up.

 

Parang looked at him as if to say, “Go ahead.”

 

“First, let’s talk about ‘Departure.'”

 

Parang flinched.

 

“I understand your surprise. You can relax. Our goal is purely to have a conversation.”

 

Still, Parang didn’t let her guard down. Who knew what might happen?

 

“We have two questions.”

 

“What are they?”

 

“First, where exactly did you find it?”

 

After a moment of contemplation, Parang decided to be honest. It was better to reveal a bit and gain more in return than to awkwardly hide information and break the conversation.

 

“The South China Sea Hive. You know it? I even broadcasted it.”

 

“We know. It was impressive.”

 

“I found it deep inside. A colleague helped me.”

 

“Oceanos, right?”

 

They already knew. As expected.

 

“…Yes.”

 

“I see. The second question is actually the crucial one.”

 

Parang tensed slightly. What was coming?

 

“The question I’m about to ask is the main point. It’s the biggest secret Silo is hiding and the reason we invited you today.”

 

They were about to reveal Silo’s biggest secret to her.

 

Parang read the hidden meaning.

 

First, they were desperate. Desperate enough to reveal such a big secret to her.

 

Secondly, Parang was also in danger. No organization, including Silo, would leave someone who knew their most important secret alone.

 

In an emergency, they would force her to cooperate.

 

For a moment, Parang’s expression turned grim.

 

“…You’ve already figured that out. I won’t deny it. However, the proposal we are about to make is not something that will harm Hunter Yu Parang.”

 

Parang glared sharply, as if to say, “Go ahead and speak.”

 

“Let’s get to the point. Near that artifact, did you happen to find any other bodies or skeletons?”

 

What did he mean by that?

 

“Other bodies?”

 

“Other than Matilda Mueller’s body.”

 

“It sounds like you’re saying there should have been a body there.”

 

“To be precise, we hoped there would be a body there.”

 

“What do you mean? Hoped for a body? Whose body…?”

 

“Olivia Cloverfield.”

 

“…What?”

 

“You didn’t mishear. According to our information, the most likely place to find Olivia Cloverfield’s body is near ‘Departure’.”

 

The situation was becoming incomprehensible again.

 

Why would someone who was supposed to have ascended be found as a corpse in the sea? As far as she knew, they had no connection to the deep sea even up to the moment of their ascension. Even in the scenes of ascension depicted in the story, there was no link to the deep sea.

 

But what this man was saying completely contradicted that.

 

“The Slayers did not ascend, Hunter Yu Parang. They went to the bottom of the sea and died.”

 

“…What?”

 

Parang’s eyes shook violently.

 

 

 

Translator Note:

 

Hi everyone! I want to inform you that the release schedule for free chapters Deep Sea Fish Hunting Specialty Broadcast will be adjusted from 4 Chapters a week to 2/3 Chapters a week depending on the release rate of the author, as currently the author is feeling burnout and taking a break. He is planning to take 1 week break, hopefully he can return and feel better than ever, and also continue to produce great chapter for this novel.