Chapter 161

Chapter 161

As she walked home after completing her work for the day, Eunhye saw a black Mercedes stop in front of her. The windows were blacked out, so she couldn’t see who or what was inside. One of the side windows slowly rolled down.

“Are you Miss Oh Eunhye?”

“You’re late.”

“… Please, get in.”

The Mercedes let out a low rumble as it sped away with Eunhye inside. As she sat there, Eunhye closed her eyes and went over what she was planning to say. Since she’d expected this situation, Eunhye wasn’t flustered, and as they saw her confident demeanor, the agents were at a loss for words.

After driving to the city center, the Mercedes entered a high-rise building’s basement-level garage and pulled into a car elevator. Officially, the building was said to have five sublevels, but the car elevator descended thirteen floors.

“I’d like to know who requested me. A researcher?”

“The director of research and the head of the institute.”

Eunhye had been taken to the main building of the secret US organization code-named Machine. The head of the institute was a prominent figure who essentially led the organization, so it wasn’t easy to meet him.

“It seems they’ve read my report and are interested in it.”

When Eunhye spoke in such a matter-of-fact way, the suited agent’s expression changed for the first time.

“Ha. I’ve never seen the director bounce off the walls so much.”

As Eunhye walked through the office, she felt various gazes staring at her. Eunhye was tall, athletic, and had the unique Asian trait of looking younger than her age. In other words, she was physically appealing to both eastern and westerners. It seemed that news of her had traveled around the office beforehand. All of this attention was due to a single-page report that she had officially filed.

“Is it that girl?”

“I think so.”

“But… she’s so young?”

“She doesn’t look like a secretary. In fact, her appearance is so much better than I expected that I don’t know what to think anymore.”

“Is she like one of those savant geniuses in movies?”

Regardless of the murmuring around her, Eunhye followed the suited agent’s guidance and entered a corner office. Inside was a mid-forties man and an old man whose age was hard to estimate.

“Here she is.”

“Oh, finally, she’s here!”

The old man had been peering down at a report when he jumped from his seat to greet her.

“I already saw you in some photos, but you truly are young. This report, are you truly the author?”

“Yes.”

“Unbelievable! You… who are you? Are you a once-in-a-century genius? No, even a genius couldn’t come up with this! Are you an otherworldly being? Did you come from the future?”

When the old man spoke with excited fervor, the middle-aged man soon cut in.

“Relax, director.”

“How can I relax?! The content of this report is at least a hundred years beyond our current society; it’s from a far more advanced civilization! With our current understanding, the science backing this report can’t even be imagined, in theory, or tech….”

“Please, have a seat.”

When the middle-aged man made a stern expression, the old man flinched. Realizing that he had reacted a bit too excitedly, he slowly sat back down.

“I apologize for the late introductions. My name is Edgar Hoover.”

“And I’m Bill Nelson.”

“My name is Oh Eunhye.”

After seeing Eunhye give a respectful bow, Edgar glanced at the agent who had escorted Eunhye into the office, signaling them to leave. As the agent made his way outside the office, Eunhye sat at a seat prepared for her. Some parts of her report were strewn across the table before her.

“Since the report and data were uploaded to the research center with a confidential code, I thought it was the work of a young, energetic individual who wanted to enter the center’s laboratory, but after seeing the surprised reactions of the other researchers and director, I decided to call you in.”

With that said, Edgar started sifting through the report material. He wasn’t knowledgeable enough to truly understand what was written in Eunhye’s report. All he knew was that its contents were like something that would come out of a Sci-Fi movie. The bipedal mech weapon itself seemed like utter nonsense; however, the researchers who read the report exclaimed in surprise. Unlike a movie, the report was well substantiated with pertinent information and evidence.

“Let me ask you something first. Did you come up with these concepts, or is this the result of another organization?”

“Edgar! Don’t you understand? The tech described in this report isn’t something that can be recreated with modern civilization’s tech-”

“Director.”

Once Edgar cut Bill off and shot him a chilling look, Bill fell quiet.

“Fine. I’ll calm down and listen.”

Then, Eunhye began to speak.

“Do you know the game DIO?”

“Of course, I know of that mysterious virtual reality game. Every scientist in the world is up in arms, trying to figure out the tech behind the game. Though there are many safety concerns… I couldn’t help but play myself. If I sleep twelve hours a day, I experience six days. This sort of conversion and opportunity isn’t something that I could easily pass up.”

All kinds of cultures were bursting into the virtual world. Spending six days in virtual reality for every real day meant that an individual could spend more time living in the virtual world than in the real world. No matter what someone thought of the game or how talented they were, they couldn’t help but play DIO. Moreover, the convenience of being able to access the game with only a CD player and earphones made it relatively easy to play, regardless of where one lived.

Although the current number of users was only 500 million, that number was deemed low because some countries prevented their citizens from accessing the game due to its incomprehensible technology. Obviously, no other online game or service would laugh at this monstrous number. Many experts predicted that more than half of the world would be playing the game within a year’s time.

“The data and content of my report stem from some observations I made within the game. At first, I didn’t think it was anything serious, but after review, I found that the theoretical applications could be applied in reality.”

Edgar’s eyebrows started twitching. When Eunhye first brought up DIO, he thought that she was connected to DIO’s producers. In truth, virtual reality wasn’t reality, so it didn’t really mirror the foundational principles of reality, but Eunhye was saying that the futuristic tech in her report came from a virtual game.

“I don’t understand. We’re also collecting information regarding the virtual reality game. It seems awash with fantastical storylines and advanced civilizations, but in terms of science….”

“The content isn’t available to everyone. The only people who have encountered this info are the top five users,” Eunhye explained.

Edgar narrowed his eyes.

“That means that you’re one of those top five users, right?”

“I’m a Level 10 user. I’m popularly referred to as a Master.”

At those words, Edgar had no choice but to see Eunhye in a different light. A Master in DIO was a completely different concept from the master levels in other games. DIO’s system only allowed users to level up after ‘testing’ their abilities. So, those who did not have the requisite skills couldn’t raise their level, no matter how long they played.

“I didn’t expect to see such a talented person here in the United States of America. Even the world’s leading scholars say that they’re struggling at Level 9.”

“Talent isn’t just a theoretical concept, but it also falls under the realm of senses and art. Those scholars just haven’t gotten used to the system yet. It’s not that I’m all that special.”

Eunhye spoke with a calm expression. Despite being in front of someone who was near the top of their organization, she did not come off as shy or intimidated. This composure was a trait that Edgar rarely came across.

“Very unusual. Stating that it’s not science fiction… that the in-game technology can be realized in reality….”

“However, it’s true that the virtual reality game’s background is still shrouded in uncertainty. It’s the work of an organization that proudly uses over-technology (technology that cannot be realized with modern technology) to the extent that it can’t be helped but feel strange to anyone who plays it.”

After Bill explained and nodded, Edgar asked.

“Then, director, is there any means to utilize the product of a civilization a hundred years more advanced than ours?”

“Edgar, that would be equivalent to using a smartphone during World War II. Undoubtedly, if we possessed the product, we’d be able to use it immediately, but the technology and advanced civilization’s knowledge contained in the tech isn’t something that can be obtained instantly. Of course, since we have this report, our theoretical knowledge and technology will advance at a dazzlingly fast pace….”

“We need some tangible results, director. Those ‘above’ do not have the same excitement about knowledge or science and technology as you, director. Moreover, to convince them of this absurd story that the theory in the game can be applied to reality, I require a fairly strong argument.”

Edgar frowned as if he was feeling the onset of a migraine. However, since they were discussing a topic that couldn’t be easily concluded, Edgar summarized the key points.

“Let’s start with research. Those ‘above’ will be notified after you find a topic that can be applied to some extent among the theories received, so you should investigate the samples in the virtual world. Regarding Eunhye….”

Edgar pulled out an ID and a card he had prepared in advance to talk about Eunhye’s compensation and position. Even though she didn’t invent the tech, she was the one who had found it and who was skilled enough to give it to them. Edgar felt that her skill set would certainly bring a huge advantage to them.

Of course, the fact that a game was the source of information meant that anyone could obtain these same findings, so it was difficult to monopolize, but Eunhye’s status and ability as a Master user were valuable. After considering various circumstances, Edgar decided on a compensation package and position for Eunhye, but before these considerations were handed over, Eunhye spoke up.

“I can recreate it.”

“What do you mean?”

“I can bring you the results.”

After saying this, Eunhye took out an external hard drive, connected it to a nearby computer, and transferred a file. After reading the title of the file, the director’s eyes grew round in surprise.

“T-this…?!”

“This is the most critical component of the tech that makes a bipedal mech possible.”

In a calm demeanor, Eunhye spoke.

“It’s an antigravity device.”