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Ripped apart flesh.

The body made of insects had become so unrecognizable that even its shape was hard to find, and the suit that the bugs wore to mimic a human had turned to dust.

It was as if it had been thrown into a blender, so Park Jinseong’s avatar had mixed in with other humans and melted into a handful of blood, and to confirm his presence here, one would have to exhaustively sift through that blood for any signs of insects to declare, “Ah, a shaman was here.”

However, one thing could be confirmed without much effort: the shaman was still alive.

By whatever grotesque means was used, the shaman had surely managed to save his life.

Especially if that body was an avatar, it was even more likely.

Twisting.

Twisting.

Flesh is like clothes; why cling to it?

If it gets torn, you mend it, and if it becomes ragged, you just wear it again.

Putting on new clothes is easy, so what’s hard about recreating matter?

Park Jinseong’s avatar reappeared.

However, it was located a bit far from where the wizard had once been.

It was at the hotel where Chaine was staying.

You might wonder why that location… because it had become a point of reference.

Reference.

More specifically, the bugs planted inside Chaine’s body.

They served as a focal point, gathering the bugs that would be used as material for the body, and acted as a remote control for them.

Indeed.

Just being in China was already proving extremely useful for Chaine.

It wasn’t just trivial that she had been sent off to China under the orders of Yasaki Tokitaka, the head of the entertainment agency she belonged to.

“It should have served more purpose than this originally.”

Of course, Chaine wasn’t sent just to establish a focal point.

Yasaki Tokitaka had arranged for not only Chaine but all those accompanying her to have divine objects sent or parasites planted, and he had ensured that any communication with him would automatically relay that information to Park Jinseong.

If everything had gone according to Park Jinseong’s plan, Chaine would have excellently infiltrated China and relayed information.

She would help by checking the current situation inside China, determining potential locations for rituals of magic, and identifying possible research institute locations.

Moreover, by meeting various people and sowing bugs or parasites into some of the useful ones, she could create additional hosts. This way, reaching important figures would allow Park Jinseong to not only gather information but also take advantage of those figures for various purposes.

Carrier.

Chaine’s role was, fittingly, nothing less than that of a ‘pathogen carrier.’

Yes.

That was how it should have been…

But…

“There were variables.”

There was indeed an unexpected variable that popped up at a rather inconvenient timing.

Who on earth did she make contact with?

The bugs within Chaine’s body had all vanished.

The bugs that had been clinging to her were dead, and everything harmful and foreign inside her had entirely disappeared. Even the divine object that Chaine had been adorned with was affected; perhaps since it had been made weak to avoid detection in China, not a single intact piece remained.

“Tsk. They weren’t that bad after all…”

For both Park Jinseong and Chaine, this was not a good situation.

It wasn’t that bugs or divine objects were distasteful; their effects were beneficial.

If something related to luck had been tucked inside to prevent potential mishaps in China, possessing that would have possibly helped avoid the worst-case scenario where everything went awry. Although weak, that alone would have provided considerable help.

Additionally, measures had been taken against extreme fans or irritable rich men making moves on Chaine.

But all of it had vanished due to some variable.

“Pierre…”

Park Jinseong recalled the name of the variable that was likely the most probable point of contact with Chaine.

There had certainly been traces of other shamans left within Chaine’s flesh. Unlike other ability users who used one or two energies at most, there were clear remnants of what could be called ‘the traces of a shaman,’ as she had utilized several energies and sometimes even combined them…

Thus, the sorcerer Park Jinseong had likely encountered—Pierre Martin—had to be the master behind it all.

Ah, of course, there was a possibility that Pierre Martin was not the culprit.

But in that case…

“Huh. In this city alone, three shamans and one sorcerer are entangled? That sounds troublesome.”

…not something he particularly wanted to imagine, and even if he did, there would be no way to handle it.

Right now, just with one sorcerer and one shaman causing chaos, one city was already on the brink of collapse, and another addition? Who knows what could happen?

They might take advantage of the confusion to fulfill their own objectives, or perhaps, they could remain uninterested, quietly going about their own matters.

“Objectives.”

Shamans tend not to show much interest unless it pertains to their own objectives. So while their actions can be easy to read if you know their aims… if one does not know their objectives, predicting what might occur or what they could do becomes impossible.

It’s not wise to cling to variables that cannot be predicted and when predicted, cannot be countered.

Is there a more foolish action than holding onto fading worries and suffering?

The wise thing to do is simply to do what you can, as much as possible, and live your best life…

“But still, isn’t it fortunate? Although Chaine’s possessions were ruined, the manager’s were not.”

And although variables had intervened, it wasn’t the worst possible outcome.

The manager acting as insurance had worked splendidly.

Thinking about such things, the world is indeed unpredictable.

Though all the efforts put into attaching various things to Chaine were destroyed, the parasite skillfully embedded to just keep her life force resilient remained alive, continuing to offer her help.

This too…

“One might say it’s a variable.”

Yes.

The present and the future are just that.

Things intertwined originating from the past create variables, generating an unknown future.

And so, the future is not fixed, and even when a prophet claims to have witnessed something directly, it occurs in very few cases.

Thus, the saying that one can glean the entirety of the world from merely a grain of sand is but a metaphor.

Even transcendent beings may find it impossible.

Therefore, we can only harbor desires and advance with an obsession.

“I might struggle more here than I expected…”

* * *

Near the People’s Republic of China, in the Guangdong sea, where a beautiful ocean nestles, tourist attractions flourished.

The azure waters gently smiled at people, allowing them to swim and enticing tourists soaking in the views with the salty air to share their thoughts about the spot.

Birds soared through the sky, occasionally swooping down to snatch food from the hands of unsuspecting visitors.

A peaceful scene.

An attractive place detached from civilization.

Perhaps due to underdevelopment, people worn out by life in civilization flock there seeking healing in nature.

Yet… even in this idyllic location with breathtaking natural scenery, civilization had undeniably seeped in.

And not just any civilization; it was an establishment that could rival the most cutting-edge facilities.

‘Ao Run’

Named after the dragon king from Chinese legends, it was a data center.

And not just any data center—it was a large-scale data center that had undergone continuous expansions, large enough to fill the waters near Guangdong, the size of multiple football fields.

Whether it aimed to create a dragon palace with the name of the Southern Dragon Ao Run, or simply trying to suck the funding allotted by the party for a so-called ‘IT rise’ dry, it remained unclear.

But one thing was certain: this vast data center filled with countless cylinders could hardly be described as anything less than marvelous.

Adding to that, one could also commend the fact that the heat emitted from the data center was destroying the local marine ecosystem in Guangdong without a care.

Beeeee–!

Wooooooow-!

A buzzing vibration.

At times, high-frequency sounds soared just out of human hearing.

Cylinders packed full of servers.

If some terrorist causing chaos on land caught sight of this environmental destruction, it wouldn’t be surprising if they made this place a target for their spells.

Yet, the probability remained exceedingly low.

< Variable ‘Polluter’ has been detected as active. Currently destroying the city. >

< Variable ‘Sorcerer’ confirmed to have accessed the intranet of ‘Research Institute No. 3451’. >

< Activating temporary code ‘Bug Sorcerer’.

…

…

Q. Is there a chance it’s Samael?

A. Unknown at this stage.

…

…

…continuing analysis. >

Within this data center, there was indeed someone responsible for summoning the polluter to China.

 

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