Chapter Twenty: The Legendary Agent

“What kind of person is R, really?”

Hearing this, K narrowed his eyes, a trace of lingering fear crossing his face as he spoke, “R… is actually a legendary agent.”

K smiled slightly. “I only worked with R once.”

“It happened during a mission to wipe out the extraterrestrials. We engaged in a firefight with them inside an abandoned factory.”

K shifted to a more comfortable position and began to recall, “To be honest, he’s the most reckless person I’ve ever met.”

K looked up at JIN. “I don’t know if you’ll believe it, but he acts as if he cares nothing for his own life. The enemy outnumbered us by far, yet he refused to take cover, standing there like a warrior, as though his own life was the last thing on his mind.”

“I couldn’t even make it through the first volley—I had to hide. But he stood firm. I even saw a laser graze his scalp. From that moment, I thought: this is a terrifying man.”

“People who disregard their own lives can never be judged by ordinary logic.”

Meeting JIN’s gaze, K made a gesture as if firing a gun. “But his marksmanship is extraordinary. In that dim factory, nearly every shot hit its mark, and he moved with incredible speed. In contrast, the extraterrestrials weren’t nearly as formidable—he single-handedly took down almost all of them!”

“He once told me, ‘This world is filled with prescriptions for people’s mental happiness. To provide everyone with standardized happiness, these prescriptions are constantly delivered to people through airborne displays.’”

K mimicked R’s tone, adding a hint of mocking coldness, “And those who feel nothing towards the happiness shown on the screens are like people with incurable diseases.”

“He doesn’t seem very hopeful about this world… So why does he fight so desperately to protect it?” JIN asked.

“I don’t know… Maybe it’s because he truly doesn’t care about his own life. The way he was then—it was as if he’d let go completely. Life and death were no longer issues for him. I think he genuinely wanted to die, to fall in battle…”

After a pause, K continued, “I drew this conclusion because I heard later, after the firefight, that his wife had died not long before. Still, I owe him my life—I wanted to thank him…”

“But unfortunately… When I finally decided to act on that thought, he had already disappeared.”

Silence followed. The two men sat quietly in the darkness.

After a while, K suddenly remembered something and spoke, “JIN… The missing people called that UFO ‘the ship.’ I can’t fathom what thoughts drive someone to willingly board such a vessel…”

JIN listened quietly, saying nothing. They must be a pitiful group… People so filled with despair for this world, who risk the unknown to take the ship.

“Beep beep…”

“The suspicious signal is transmitting again!”

Hearing the message from DEUS Headquarters through the portable smart computer, both men exchanged a glance, immediately stood, and quickly turned on the television.

But the screen showed nothing but static.

“As expected, nothing!” K struck his thigh in frustration, his expression grim.

“It’s subconscious…” JIN suddenly recalled the white note R had left him. His brain, enhanced by the energy of light, always delivered the most accurate judgment at crucial moments.

“The TV static directly stimulates the victims’ subconscious!”

“Because… deep within, they have a powerful urge to leave this world!”

JIN quickly turned to K; their eyes met, and they sprang into action again.

“According to Headquarters, this time the signal’s origin point is right here!”

As soon as the car stopped, they threw open the doors and rushed toward the factory ahead.

With a clatter, K pulled open the door, and JIN, laser gun in hand, charged in first, followed closely by K.

After passing through a narrow corridor, they entered a room cluttered with factory equipment, the air tinged with paint fumes. The dim lighting revealed no sign of life.

After searching, they confirmed it:

This place was still empty, save for a working computer on the table—proof that R had sent the signal from here, but had already departed before their arrival.

How does he always sense their approach?

K was furious. He’d endured too much, toyed with by the enemy like a cat playing with a mouse, and he could barely restrain his urge to explode.

His hand trembled on the laser gun, his face twitching with rage as he glared at the running computer, shouting, “Fine! If I blow this damn thing up now, the information won’t be sent anymore!”

JIN quickly grabbed his weapon hand, stopping him.

“We still need information from here—the value of keeping it is obviously greater!”

“We need to know when and where the ship will next abduct people. By analyzing the principle behind the signal stimulating the subconscious, we can uncover all the content contained within!”

As he spoke, he glanced down, noticing the still-warm cup on the table, and K saw it too. It could only mean one thing. With a suppressed fury in his gaze, K said, “R must still be nearby!”

Almost without hesitation, JIN dashed out to search for R, while K stayed to analyze the signal. It was the best arrangement—JIN didn’t know how to handle this equipment, so their division of labor was clear.

“Damn it!” K cursed, clearly frustrated both by R’s repeated taunting and his own inability to pursue this detestable man himself.

All he could do was grumble, but he eventually sat down and began working on the computer.

JIN had a hunch—R was waiting for him.

Perhaps it was Li Keiko’s request, or maybe R himself wanted to lead him out of this world. Perhaps… JIN was already inclined to leave, though he hadn't made up his mind yet.

And R wanted to persuade him through a conversation.

That intuition was proven right soon after he left the factory.

On the rooftop of a nearby building, someone was watching JIN.

Meanwhile, in the factory’s shabby room, K, adept at computer operations, quickly decoded the crucial information.

“Three o’clock in the morning…”

“At Shintian Kuma Square… The ship will come!”