Genius Warlock-Episode 78
cleaning season.
It was said to be an unofficial event that comes to Randa regularly..
As the name suggests, it is cleaning, but of course it was not cleaning with a broom and mop..
"Where are you cleaning specifically??”
“This is a contaminated area in Zone F..”
"It's a polluted area.?”
"Yes, it is a closed area within Zone F of Landa, but it is blocked off by the city. Dangerous polluted creatures and swarms of zombies appear periodically..”
Area F was the hub where many of Landa's laboratories were gathered, and area G, which was densely located with area F, was the residential area where the upper class lived..
I was just curious as to how a dangerous place called a contaminated area could exist in a place like this..
"Cleaning means going in every time the risk of a contaminated area increases and dealing with rampaging zombies, contaminated organisms, and mutants. We also provide manpower according to a secret agreement between the broker union and the city..”
Oliver nodded..
Then I looked around at the solvers around me..
Everyone's expressions weren't so good, but Oliver was quick to ask a question..
"By any chance, is that cleaning a personal choice??”
Al closed his eyes and slowly shook his head..
"Not this time.”
***
After Miss Coco came out and several other solvers came and left, it was finally Oliver's turn..
As I entered the president's office inside the restaurant, I saw Forrest with his collar undone, as if he was tired..
As soon as he saw Oliver, he immediately adjusted his clothes and returned to his usual appearance..
"hello? Forrest.”
"It's been a while, Dave. Nice to meet you.”
What he said was half sincere, but half false..
For some reason, he had some difficulty saying something to Oliver..
“.…Did you hear anything outside??”
"yes. I asked what was going on, and Al told me. About contaminated areas and cleaning season. Could you please tell me more details??”
"of course. Please sit down.”
Oliver sat down as Forrest suggested..
Forrest poured me a drink as usual and gave me a drink..
"Yeah, I heard about contaminated areas and cleaning season.?”
"Yes, I heard it's infested with zombies and pollutants..”
"It's also a place where criminals and dangerous warlocks who run away from society hide out..”
"Is that so?”
"Yes, in addition to that, it is also a dump site where bodies that are difficult to dispose of… . Why do hordes of zombies appear regularly??"
"But Al said that place is closed by the city.?”
"It might be above ground, but not down here..”
Forrest pointed down to the ground..
I remembered Cant's words that beneath Landa there was another city made up of sewers and tunnels..
"Even if the city blocks it, any powerful organization can use the back door by giving pocket money to the city defense force that regularly guards contaminated areas..”
"How did such a dangerous place happen to be in Area F??”
"That's a good question. There are a lot of rumors, such as the aftermath of magic experiments or traces of disaster that could not be removed during the apocalypse, but in fact, no one knows the exact reason..”
"Is that so?”
"That's right. That's Randa's normal menstruation. Even if something big and terrible happens, they spread a lot of lies and crush them like dough. Most people are too busy making a living and soon lose interest, which makes the truth more valuable and more dangerous in this city..”
“….You've always been kind, but you're even kinder today..”
Forrest smiled bitterly..
"I have a favor to ask of you..”
"Is it about cleaning up contaminated areas??”
"Yes, I don't know why, but the city said they would designate personnel for this cleanup. During the last cleaning, they only sent incompetent people and the cleaning wasn't done properly..”
Oliver asked the question calmly, as if he were talking about someone else..
"Is it really so??”
"About half? It is true that most talented friends do not want to let go. I can't send a talented friend to a job that doesn't make money and is even dangerous... But half of it is a lie.”
"It's a lie?”
"Yes, I do care about my talented friends, but I clean up properly. The minimum level is. If you don't, you'll have to suffer from city officials for a while. I cleaned the last time as well as usual. But all of a sudden, they made this very unreasonable request. We have no choice but to accept.”
Forrest's feelings were slightly resentful and helpless..
In the relationship between the city and the brokers' union, it seemed that the brokers' union was being pushed out a lot..
Forrest spoke again..
"And the city official asked me for you.”
"Me?”
"Yes, I think I heard a rumor that you defeated a wizard. It's almost like a rumor, but it's enough to get noticed... .. I originally didn't plan on letting you go for something like this, but now that the situation is like this, I'm begging you. Please come clean this time... .. I'm sorry..”
Forrest meant what he said..
He felt sorry for Oliver and guilty..
It was strange.
I don't think it's impossible for Forrest to say that the rules are like this..
Oliver also didn't feel any dissatisfaction. Because everyone does it.
Above all, I was intrigued by the fact that it was a contaminated area..
‘Warlocks live in hiding…….'
But that's it. What I'm curious about is what I'm curious about. She asked a question just in case..
"What happens if I refuse? It's called cleaning..”
"For violating the secret agreement with the city, I will either have to pay a huge fine that will bankrupt me, or I will lose my brokerage license. You will become a lawbreaker. To set an example, the police department will decide to kill you..”
"Ah, then I guess I should do it..”
"Thank you for your wise decision. Well then, I assume you accepted and can I explain the work to you??”
Forrest asked, pulling out a folder. It seemed like he had no intention of letting Oliver go..
"of course. Please.”
"Okay, let's get one thing nailed down first. This cleaning season has a lot of suspicious corners..”
"It's a suspicious corner.?”
"Yes, it's strange to ask for the number of participants directly, but it's also too early. Originally, it was supposed to be 4 months later, but they suddenly announced that they would be cleaning it. The number of rampaging entities in the contaminated area has increased..”
"Is it true??”
"Yes, that's true. The same goes for Miss Coco, and I also requested it from Heimdall, and the number of rampaging zombies has increased exponentially in just one month..”
"Is there a world tree in a polluted area??”
"Of course there is… .. Did I tell you about the World Tree??”
"I studied.”
"what?”
"I studied… . What's the problem??”
"No, that's not true, but how... .? No, I quit. Anyway, the World Tree is also in the contaminated area. They say it's true that the number of zombies has increased in the contaminated area. Well, I can guess three reasons..”
"Three reasons?”
"Yes, there were a lot of people who died this first year, so the bodies were dumped in large quantities in the contaminated area. Surprisingly, something like this is a rare disaster... . Second, a black plague spread and infected a large number of people hiding in contaminated areas..”
black plague.
I read it once in a book by Dominic Family..
It was a natural infectious disease caused by a mixture of large numbers of corpses, germs, and black magic, turning people into zombies..
It is said to be more severe and fatal than common diseases, causing uncontrollable, catastrophic damage in severe cases..
"What about the third??”
"It's a case of a dangerous warlock suddenly forming a nest..”
"A warlock.?”
"Okay, I don't mean to belittle you, but for a warlock who doesn't have even the slightest legal constraints, there's no better place than a contaminated zone. In fact, among the many reasons why the contaminated area cannot be recovered, the dangerous family of warlocks who nest there is also one of them..”
ah..… . Oliver nodded his head. I understood..
The contaminated area is a closed area. In other words, it was a kind of free zone where laws and city rules did not apply..
Are there a lot of corpses there? It could have been a comfortable place for a warlock if only the power were allowed..
Even Oliver now sympathized with this and was wondering if there was a way to benefit from it..
"Hey, are you okay??”
"yes? Ah, yes. it's okay.”
“……Anyway, my current guess is that the number of zombies has increased due to these factors. It's dangerous. It's as dangerous as Area Y and Z.."
In fact, it is a place as dangerous as Y and Z, which are lawless areas.…..
".…Forrest. If you don't mind, may I ask you a question??”
“Something?”
"If it's such a dangerous place, shouldn't we do something about it, even if it means overdoing it? Areas Y and Z are okay because they are located in a corner, but the contaminated area is in the core area of Landa... .. Isn’t it dangerous??”
"That's a good thing. According to common sense, that is correct. However, common sense is sometimes vain. It was noisy when the contaminated area was first created, but now it feels like it's not that bad..”
"...?"
"First of all, it's well controlled, and the lab can get decent samples there... .. Above all, it is good to throw away the illegal test subjects from the laboratory..”
Oliver understood what Forrest said..
The contaminated area is now not simply a contaminated area..
It was a kind of field for securing experimental specimen samples from Area F, and at the same time, it was also a convenient dump site for hiding illegal activities..
The contaminated area was left untouched due to its convenience..
“…In addition, although this is purely the realm of rumor, there is also a story that the contaminated area and Area F entered into an unspoken agreement. As long as you don't go in too deep, it will never cause any harm..”
"Who made that agreement??”
Forrest answered with a grin..
"No one knows. So it's a rumor. Oh, look at my mind. Should I get this?.”
Forrest handed over a dozen documents..
"This is the minimum amount of work that one person must do when cleaning a contaminated area and the corresponding compensation. It's the price of a dog, but it's still better to get it.”
it was true.
On the first page of the document Forrest gave me, there was written the minimum amount that one solver should catch..
Catching only zombies, catching zombies and contaminated organisms, etc. were categorized in detail, and it was said that only when the quota was met could one receive additional compensation in addition to the basic salary..
I was told that I had to bring my head as evidence to receive the performance bonus, and that they would also provide a magic bag for this..
For reference, there was a warning written to be careful because the magic bag costs tens of millions of rand..
If you lose or break it, you have to ask for it, and there are looters lurking around looking for the magic bag..
"huh? What is the item that says capture here??”
"Literally. They say they will give you money if you capture them and bring them back alive..”
"I don't understand? It's cleaning, so why are you asking me to capture it??”
"They want to use it as a sample for a magic lab. It is an indirect request from Magic Tower through poetry. That's why the price is four or five times higher.."
ah..… . Oliver nodded his head..
I always had that feeling, but the status of wizards here in Landa definitely seemed special..
So much so that I made a request indirectly through the city..
Oliver continued flipping through the papers..
There was a document with an unidentifiable map and a black-and-white photo attached to the back..
"This.…?”
"A brief map of the contaminated area and dangerous places and groups within the contaminated area are indicated..”
"Does the city provide something like this??”
"No, it was created by a few brokers, including me, working together. They ask me to do ridiculous things, but I feel like I have to do at least that much..”
".… You're amazing..”
"Thanks for noticing... .. Do you see the skull mark on the map??”
Oliver confirmed..
"yes."
"This is where the most zombies appear, as well as dangerous warlocks and marauders. It is the most dangerous place in the dangerous polluted area. Be sure to note and avoid.”
Oliver checked the number written in the area marked with a skull against other documents..
As Forrest said, there was the phrase “zombie-infested area” and the words “black magic family” and “predators.”.
I thought there would be no people at all because it was a polluted area, but there were people living in this harsh environment as well..
Forrest said, as if he had penetrated that heart..
"Isn’t it amazing to be human? There are people who live in places like that. But they're not the only ones at risk.”
"Is that so?”
"Yes, in addition to the fixers, I heard that a large number of mercenary groups that have weaknesses in the city are also participating this time. Be careful with them too.”
"A mercenary?”
"Solvers are also careful. It's not common, but there are some vicious guys sometimes..”
A faint worry shone through Forrest's emotions. The probability was low, but it could be dangerous..
Oliver nodded and asked.
"How much does the solver participate??”
"I will send nine solvers, including you, as well as solvers from areas B, H, and N. There must be almost a hundred people."
"So, when do we start cleaning??”
"5 days from today.”
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