For Anzu Kumozuka, ordinary life was nothing but pain. Her torment reached its peak when she was sixteen, and she was saved by falling into her back alleys. There were many of her kind.
Her life is always in danger, but here she can write poetry with her own soul.
Anzu wanted more stimulation. she asked for a case.
She wanted a date, she wanted the truth above all else, and she chose to become a freelance informant.
Getting closer to the truth that people cannot know before anyone else, and seeing and feeling it became her greatest joy. Moreover, it has great value and brings her income and reputation to her An. Anne thinks she doesn't have a vocation like this.
Anne divides her work into three categories. A job that uses her eyes and feet. Work that uses eyes, mouth, ears, head and face. And work that uses her arms.
In response to her requests for research, she visits various places on her own, which is a job that uses her eyes and feet, but that's not all. She actively goes to dangerous places and stocks information that no one knows every day. She pokes her nose into anything that sparks even the slightest bit of interest, or an incident that seems to be behind the scenes. It also includes the act of going to get confirmation of the purchased information.
Buy information from backstreet acquaintances or other informants, or exchange information or have them teach you for free. Purchasing information on the Internet is a job that uses your eyes, mouth, ears, head and face.
"The last thing you need to do is use your arms." It is a field that apricots are not good at.
An Kumozuka is currently 23 years old. It's been seven years since she entered this world. She'll be in veteran territory. There were a few times when she almost lost her life, but she's still alive, and her reputation as an informant is pretty good.
One day in winter, Anne was searching for information on the Internet in a room in the underground residential area of Anraku City.
It's a cramped room that seems to be the cheapest rent. The damage to the concrete wall is also terrible. She is stark and doesn't care about the interior at all.
Anne rents several such rooms and spends her days moving between them. It's rare, but she immediately vacates the known whereabouts.
Her outfit is designed with maximum mobility in mind. He always wears a suit woven with bulletproof fibers. Always wear slacks that are easy to move in, and never wear skirts. I don't wear pumps either. The combination of her suit and sneakers has been the default for seven years.
She doesn't want to waste her time, so she quickly finishes her makeup.
Sunglasses are the only way to enjoy changes on the outside. She has collected over 200 sunglasses and wears a different one every day.
Looking into her mailbox, she finds several e-mails from some of the freelance informants and information organizations she is familiar with, asking for information deals. Of course, there are other requests as well.
Among them was her most familiar name, so I clicked on it first.
When I opened the email, only the date and time and location were written. Indicate the time and place of direct negotiations.
Since she has given her cell phone number to the sender of the e-mail, she thinks that it would be fine for her to use that number, but she has a lot of thoughts about the other person, and she doesn't like that. I guess it's the principle of not doing it. It's the same as Anne moving from place to place without a fixed place of residence, or looking only for mobility in her clothes. Caution, vigilance, rationality, the inhabitants of this world have their own thoughts and beliefs.
"Even if it's my closest friend."
Anzu muttered aloud. The date and time indicated 7 o'clock this evening. The meeting place is a place where safety is almost guaranteed for those who work behind the scenes in this town.
＊＊＊
A white space.
A world made entirely of white. The walls, the ceiling, the floor, the desks, the chairs, the beds, the furnishings, even the tableware. Also the clothing given to the inhabitants housed there.
It was a separate place for those who were to be accommodated and those who managed it. But not prison. Those who were put in there were being used for a certain purpose.
Miho Hashimoto had just turned seventeen when she came here.
She doesn't know exactly how long it's been since she's been here. A place without even a clock. There is no set bedtime. If there is a call, you will be woken up suddenly. I can somehow tell if it's day or night by eating. But probably more than three months had passed, Miho thought.
"Recycle Agency" -- that's the name of this place. A government-owned training facility for people with extraordinary abilities. Of course, it's a secret facility, and even the people who live in the backstreet know of its existence.
Miho was the eldest daughter of twelve brothers in a large family, which is rare these days.
This is the result of her drunken and bastard father's unplanned efforts to make children without doing a good job. The father never used violence or yelled at him, but he was someone who had no idea what he was thinking. He was a man who seemed to live only by instinct.
Her mother was also a strange person, and she doted on her father without criticizing him at all. She then lived off debts among her relatives.
When her mother died in a traffic accident along with her thirteenth newborn child, it was thought that the debt-ridden family could only commit suicide. Through a referral, I ended up at the Agar Institution.
Miho entered the garbage organization and got a huge amount of money that would allow her family to live and play for about 30 years. The family was safe with that.
However, while her family was saved, Miho was having a hard time in this white world.
Everyone who came to this facility, including Miho, was treated like a guinea pig under the pretext of a clinical trial to awaken their supernatural abilities.
He was given various suspicious drugs and suffered from the side effects, tried living in a room with strong gravity, and was forced to live a life with almost no water, leading a harsh life.
Among them, the most endurable thing is to put on a headgear-shaped device that uses electromagnetic waves to show hallucinations directly to the brain and make a virtual trip into a virtual world--a dream band and experience a simulated torture experience.
Miho endured her days until the number of years she contracted passed. It can't be helped because it's the price to save her family.
People around her went mad one after another, and there were even those who committed suicide, but seeing that made Miho even more strong in her own will. she doesn't want to lose She said she would survive no matter what happened.
In addition to her inherent competitiveness, there were two factors that made her Miho hopeful.
One is that Miho has awakened to her supernatural powers, just as the purpose of this facility is. Moreover, her power is increasing in strength with considerable momentum.
The other is the change in treatment. Until then, Miho had been treated like an experimental animal and had been full of pain, but since the manager in charge of Miho changed, her treatment of Miho has become human. She was never subjected to torturous experiments, nor was she administered drugs that caused her side effects. The medicine itself was administered, but the pain like before was gone.
Like Miho, the other two subjects who were in charge of her management were also guaranteed human treatment and treated as a group with Miho under their charge. Everyone, as soon as that person was in charge, the supernatural ability bloomed. Miho and the others have no small amount of goodwill and trust in this person in charge.
The person in charge was a girl who looked younger than Miho. On top of active clothes, she always appeared in front of Miho and others in a white coat with a long skirt, and she treated the four with a cheerful attitude.
On that day, she appeared in a T-shirt with a snake's head painted on it with countless black lozenges, and denim shorts.
"Hey, how are you all doing?"
Say hello to Miho and the others who are hanging out. White coat as usual. The usual carefree smile. The mere appearance of the girl fills Miho with a sense of relief.
"Very good"
A chubby boy with a friendly face answered with a wide smile. His name is Takero Kanemachi. he is eighteen years old.
"You're fine, even though you're being used as an experimental animal.
The person who said this with a sarcastic laugh was Nakamura Kunio Nakamura, a slender man in contrast to Takero. His age is unknown, but he looks clearly past his mid-twenties, while the other two are in their teens.
"Tomorrow, my head might explode in front of everyone, so no matter how energetic I am, I won't be able to rest."
"Well, I have a small bomb in everyone's head, so if you go against me, you'll call me a bone."
The red-eyed girl - Junko Yukioka replied with her carefree smile. Of course I know you're joking. No, everyone believed it was a joke and didn't doubt it.
"It's not like I believed in this person without a doubt just because of the change in treatment." There is another reason to believe.
"Now then, I have something important to talk about today."
Junko flips her white coat and takes her seat, and she says with a carefree smile.
"I'm ready to put the plan to escape from here into action."
The girl spoke lightly and kept smiling, but the three of them took a serious look.
"Of course, the people at the waste institution are aware that you have awakened a particularly strong power beyond what I have reported. I'm going to treat you guys like that.
From the point of view of Miho, an ordinary person who doesn't know anything about the underworld, she didn't know how famous Junko was, and she didn't come across well. She hadn't even seen Junko's site.
All she knows is that she's better than any scientist at the Paper Agency. After this girl was in charge, she could tell by comparing it to before. It was also evident from the way other scientists looked at Junko with jealousy, envy, and awe.
"I want you to hear it soon, Junko."
Takero asked with a straight face.
"Why are you helping us? Even doing something like turning the government into an enemy.In the first place, isn't Junko the one who created this waste organization?"
Even Miho was puzzled. I know you have a purpose and want to help. They wouldn't go out of their way to come to a place like this and do something like help a total stranger. However, he hadn't told me about it until now, and even in that state, for some reason, he trusted me――
Miho suddenly had a different question. No matter how much her treatment changed, why would she trust this girl so much just for that reason? The natural question crossed my mind that she had no reason to believe so much, even though she didn't know the other person's intentions.
However, that question disappeared in the next moment. No, her memory of remembering her question had disappeared. And Miho's head was filled with nothing but her familiarity and her trust in Junko.
"Hmm, that's right. I forgot to tell you that."
"You can't trust me unless you tell me that first."
Kunio teased.
That's right, Miho thought again that she certainly couldn't be trusted, but soon those doubts disappeared again, and she didn't even remember ever having doubts.
"I chose you guys simply because you were the most suitable subjects for my research. The person who took over the position of director after me, because he suddenly abandoned his responsibilities――I'm not on good terms with the current director. I asked you to give me the results of my research unconditionally."
"Research results - it's about us."
Takeo smiled wryly and looked at Miho and Kunio.
"From the other side, I gave up my role without permission, came at a convenient time, brandished the privilege of the founder, used research equipment and subjects, and achieved good results, so I guess they don't like it. I didn't draw out your abilities for their sake, but since this is a state facility, I was told that it was reasonable to hand over it to the state because I used it for pure research purposes. Shut up."
She was Junko who said it with a laugh, but Miho felt bad for her when she heard it. We have given up on being a test subject, but when we recall the days of torture itself, the truth is that we do not want to work for such people.
After she was placed under Junko's jurisdiction, her treatment changed completely, and she also awakened to her superior power, so she felt that she would be happy to help Junko. I can get away.
"Well, if you look at it from the other side, Junko is doing things that are convenient, but what the people here are saying is also convenient. Junko made us skillfully, so I'm asking you to give us all the credit. right?"
"Though the nuance is a bit different when it comes to stealing credit. Well, I knew it was going to happen, so I had deceived the report, but it looks like it's been found out on the boulder."
Junko answered Miho, who was a little indignant, without breaking her smile.
"Well, for me, that would be troublesome. To prove that the ability to sleep can be blossomed without the inhumane methods that are being used here――There was also the nuance of research. I don't mind if you give me the data, but I also have a purpose beyond that. "
"If you tell me your situation clearly, I'll be more likely to believe you."
Hearing Junko's story, Kunio said with her fearless smile.
"There's no way a self-proclaimed mad scientist would help people just through charity."
"That's what it is. Well, did you agree? Everyone"
Junko looked over the three. No one objected.
"I mean, whether you agree or not, isn't there only one option?"
Kunio said with a smile.
"If you're going to release it before the contract period expires, even if it's a devil's temptation, I'll gladly jump on it. It's doubtful whether you'll reach the contract period and release it safely."
The words that Kunio said were the questions many people here had. Rumors were circulating among the subjects that the number of experiments conducted here was too out of the ordinary, and that they might be silenced in order to prevent information from leaking outside.
"Then that's why. I'll let you know as soon as it's time to go ahead, so at that time things will move smoothly. See you soon."
Waving goodbye, Junko tried to leave.
Miho looked puzzled as only Kunio chased after him.
A boy in a school uniform greets Junko when she goes to her hallway. She looks the same age as Junko or a little younger, and she's shorter than Junko. However, her appearance was so neat that it could be called a white-haired handsome boy.
"Hmm? What's wrong? Kunio-kun"
Junko looked back at Kunio, who had followed her.
"No, that child always comes with me, so I wondered who it was."
At Kunio's words, Miho and Takeo stood up and headed towards Junko and others.
She knew that Junko always had a companion, but she didn't know who this boy was, so out of curiosity she approached him.
"Are you my brother?"
Takero said.
"Stop joking. Why am I this guy's brother?"
In response to Takeo's words, the boy remained completely expressionless, but said with a heartless or dejected voice.
"So boyfriend?"
"It's an even worse joke."
When I said it in a voice with little intonation, the boy turned on his heel and quickly walked down the corridor. Takeo wonders if he said something that hurt his feelings.
"Ahaha, I'm sorry. That girl looks like a shy person. Well, don't worry about it."
This time, Junko walked away from the place as if she was chasing after the boy.
I wonder what kind of girl she is, she wondered about her relationship with Junko, but since she's already gone she doesn't know now, Miho thought she'll ask next time.
"Is it Junko Yukioka's murder doll?
Kunio whispered in her mouth as she watched Junko and the others leave.