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A man obsessed with money and survival lay in a hospital room.

It was peaceful.

Even the souls that were meant to depart for the afterlife were held back by the essence of science and technology, and only a few with guaranteed identities passed through to provide treatment.

People whose origins were unknown came with strange machines, saying things like “We need to analyze the brain waves,” and “This is a prototype developed by our company. If we use this, we can restore consciousness,” or “By giving electrical stimuli to the brain, we can provide a much better environment for patients than the darkness they currently experience. Would you like to try it?” They rejected such suspicious proposals. Meanwhile, capable persons tried to climb the slick walls for a photo, or were caught trying to sneak into the hospital through the windows with some unknown movement.

Sometimes someone who appeared dangerous attempted to enter the room, only to be shot and subdued, dragged away by what seemed to be agents.

The scene was urgent yet peaceful.

And within such a landscape, Park Jinseong was able to discover something closely resembling the “hint” that Ashtosh Singh had mentioned.

Beep—

Beep—

Beep—

It was neither the countless machines stuck to Lucas’s body, nor organizations or capable individuals scheming to obtain something he possessed, nor was it related to the U.S. government managing Lucas after taking first dibs.

It was something very trivial.

No, perhaps it was something important, but it wasn’t easily noticeable.

Medicine.

Specifically, the therapeutic infusion.

The very drug that was attached to Lucas’s blood vessels, dripping steadily into his body at regular intervals, caught Park Jinseong’s eye.

『 Gift 』

The emblem of a world-renowned pharmaceutical company, “Gift Corporation,” appeared to be glowing from within a box that looked like a gift.

A pharmaceutical company known for a few genetic disease treatments and therapeutic infusions.

Every time the top ten pharmaceutical companies were listed, this giant never failed to make the cut.

To ordinary people, it might just seem like an average well-known company.

But Park Jinseong knew.

He knew the darkness of the pharmaceutical company, Gift Corporation.

“Right. Gift Corporation. That was around. Ugh, I don’t visit hospitals often…”

This pharmaceutical company, seemingly ordinary at first glance, was established after World War II.

But those in the know understood.

They knew it was made up of scientists from Nazi Germany.

After winning World War II, America brought back a lot from Germany.

Science and technology, facilities, money… and even talents.

Those intellectuals in Nazi Germany, who were on the brink of execution as war criminals, were thrilled with America’s offer: “If you cooperate actively, we will help you wash your identities clean.”

And so they devoted their utmost efforts to contribute to America’s advancement, across various fields from weaponry to medicine.

And thus, some received identity makeovers by being recognized for their “contributions.”

This pharmaceutical company formed by those who had acquired new identities was none other than the “Gift Corporation.”

Isn’t it strange?

Gift, meaning present or talent.

But it also had the meaning of “poison”…

Truly, a name full of significance for a company founded by members of the extreme poison that swept across the world.

Thus, those who had undergone identity makeovers began to expand their company rapidly, based on the results obtained from their experiments in Nazi Germany and their cooperation with the United States.

Of course, the rapid growth was partly aided by “a little favor” shown by the U.S. to its collaborators, but it was undeniable that the data acquired through biological experiments was the major factor.

Thus, Gift Corporation succeeded in establishing a powerful stronghold.

They managed to squeeze in between other pharmaceutical companies supported by the U.S., those growing with money and talent poured in at the national level, and the traditional titans filled with trust, conquering—at least in the therapeutic infusion sector—with overwhelming victories.

However, in the domain of pharmaceuticals, conditions can change at any given moment.

Isn’t it foolish to discuss safety with merely therapeutic infusions, while worrying about even erectile dysfunction medications being overtaken by late entrants?

Therefore, Gift Corporation, like others, invested the money earned from therapeutic infusions back into research.

They had to run.

They had to advance, or they would fall behind.

Though it seemed they maintained their position while running in place, akin to the Red Queen’s Hypothesis—

If they didn’t run, they would fall far behind, unable to even stand on the same ground as others.

Thus, Gift Corporation ran.

Carrying on the spirit of those who established the company.

“Though the problem lies in that this spirit is based on eugenics.”

It was unavoidable.

The founders of the company were scientists and medical researchers who sprung from Nazi Germany, who helped with biological experiments and obtained data from both Nazi Germany and the U.S., who even had access to the biological experimentation records from the Japanese Empire brought by the U.S.

How could a company formed by such people be clean?

They even became war criminals due to their abilities, facing censure and execution, just shy of leaving their names in history to be cursed by generations.

So it was hardly surprising that these people weren’t in a proper mental state.

The founders of Gift Corporation, even when witnessing the collapse of Nazi Germany, did not completely abandon their beliefs.

Remarkably so.

Though they discarded the ideology of Aryan superiority, Germanness being the best…

Sadly, that was about it.

These individuals, steeped in eugenics, couldn’t escape the phantoms of a “superior race,” and the environment of America, filled with all manner of talented individuals, only served to make their vague delusions clearer.

Especially since the time they existed saw an unprecedented number of geniuses in human history, perhaps this made them mistake their illusions for the truth.

Thus, they thought.

Superior humans exist, transcending race.

And this plainly connected to the eugenics that they had learned and internalized as common sense, with the answer lying in genes.

So they began to cling to genetics.

Selling drugs, making money, yet, strangely, like mad scientists obsessed with research…

And their efforts bore fruit.

They succeeded in developing technology to simply edit and manipulate genes.

Their name, true to the name “Gift Corporation”, found clues that could dramatically advance their sluggish research, ultimately succeeding in creating the first designer baby and opening a new era.

A brilliant mind.

An attractive appearance.

Without any congenital disabilities in sight, armed with powerful immunity against diseases, a child embodying the genius nonetheless touched by Gift Corporation’s hand.

With this genius child as a seed, they announced that humanity had stepped into a new realm, that a new human race had been born.

“Though it was merely part of madness.”

But this celebration of a new era would be short-lived.

There was a tremendous flaw in their gene manipulation technology.

That flaw was a lack of empathy.

The designer babies they created exhibited severely diminished ability to empathize, resembling what people commonly refer to as ‘psychopaths’ or ‘sociopaths’. Some were so devoid of emotion they might as well have been machines.

The public expressed concern upon witnessing these children, but Gift Corporation celebrated these side effects instead, claiming they were born with the very conditions they so desired for the Übermensch.

And… naturally, after time passed, problems began to arise.

It was obvious what would happen when exceptionally talented children with almost no ability for empathy were exposed to the madness of a world embroiled in a third world war.

But surprisingly, these designed “new humans” didn’t make a significant impact on the world.

…Because the entire world had gone mad.

In a world filled with madness, how could mere “talented children lacking empathy” leave substantial footprints?

Madness existed beyond talent.

The commotion caused by the new humans ended as a mere commotion.

A fleeting commotion, swallowed by a greater madness.

 

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