“…Mister…”
My head spun.
My body felt heavy.
Through the haze of my fading consciousness, I followed the voice calling out to me and moved my eyes.
There, pure white threads fluttered and tempted me.
Wouldn’t it feel soft if I buried my face in them?
“…Mister, are you awake?”
“…Where is this?”
“It’s the garage.”
The back of my head rested on something soft, and my vision was dark.
I couldn’t grasp what was going on.
I frowned at the pain I felt with each breath and tried to lift my body.
But my movement came to a halt as a shadow loomed closer to my face.
“I get that much… but what’s the situation?”
Had things…been taken care of?
“We gathered the research materials from the lab and moved them to the garage. But you collapsed with the head guard, so… I’ve been tending to you.”
“Thank you.”
“…I only did what was natural.”
Though I couldn’t see her face, I imagined she must be feeling embarrassed.
Having nothing else to do, I let my mind wander aimlessly and turned my head to watch the people taking cars out from the garage, one by one.
“…Escaping was the easy part. What are we supposed to do now?”
I had no home to return to.
This world was, to me, both entirely unknown and a place scattered with uncertain information.
Was the world beyond what I could see truly the one from the Hero Project I knew?
Or was it a world that simply bore an uncanny resemblance to Hero Project?
And… if it were the former, what would the future of this world look like?
One thing I couldn’t figure out was whether I was walking the same path as Quaker.
Quaker’s past hadn’t been revealed until the second half of the story, and just as the clues were about to unfold, I found myself in this situation.
So, I had no choice but to survive by distinguishing between the few pieces of reliable information I had and the knowledge whose validity I couldn’t confirm.
Of course, I had no intention of following the same path as Quaker.
To walk the same path as that guy would mean becoming a villain who could cause thousands to get caught in acts of terror without batting an eye.
However, the fact that circumstances might force me down a path close to that of a villain was a troubling prospect.
After all, the first thing I did after ending up in this body was antagonize a secret government lab and even break out of prison, so it was obvious what the higher-ups would say about me.
They’d claim that there was a large-scale prison break, pin me as the ringleader, and accuse me of being some dangerous criminal. No doubt about it.
So, rising to the surface and clearing my name? That wouldn’t be possible anytime soon.
Of course, it also depended on when exactly this point in the story was.
Judging by my appearance now, I looked young.
I looked to be roughly in my early twenties.
It wouldn’t be strange to think of this as the younger version of Quaker, who was assumed to be at least in his forties. But then, what about Mina who was right in front of me?
Judging by her current appearance, she didn’t seem to differ much from the original story. She was maybe a year or two younger at most.
Once her youthful look faded and her features turned colder, she would likely resemble the Seeker I knew.
Because of that, it raised questions about the timeline not aligning properly.
Of course, it was possible to think Quaker looked young without his beard, making it harder to tell, but… that didn’t seem to be the case.
Quaker had been an active villain for over ten years and was famous as a high-profile figure.
“…I don’t know. I just need to survive first.”
Either way, I could figure out the answers by going outside and checking the news articles.
If Quaker was still active out there, then it would confirm that I wasn’t him.
“You’re awake, I see.”
“Oh… Are things progressing well?”
“We’re matching all the keys now. Once we’re done, you should be able to leave.”
“Where are we going?”
“Well… Some will return to their families, while others have decided to set off in search of new lives. Like you know, many here don’t have anyone to go back to.”
People without ties, huh.
Well, it would certainly make them easier to abduct.
I turned to the man from the next room, who now had some life back in his eyes, and asked him a question.
“Are you going to look for your family?”
“I have to. Like you said… whether the outcome is good or bad, I need to see it through. My business is mine to finish…”
There was an unmistakable tremor in his voice.
Was his family alive or dead?
Like Schrödinger’s cat, the answer was uncertain, and it was only natural to feel uneasy while searching for it.
“Just keep resting. I’ll let you know once the car is ready.”
“Ah, yes.”
Moving was still difficult, so for now… I might as well rest.
I decided to indulge in this small luxury.
“…Hey, idiot mister. Where are you planning to go?”
“I don’t know.”
“…Don’t you have a family?”
“No.”
Quaker’s family… whether they existed or not, they weren’t my family.
If they were related to a villain to begin with, they might be villains themselves.
As someone who simply wanted to live quietly in this world, I needed to avoid any involvement with the original Quaker as much as possible.
Of course, there was always the chance the world wouldn’t let me, but wasn’t it worth trying first?
“…So you started a rebellion without even thinking about that?”
“Crises are meant to be tackled head-on.”
Rather than hesitating and delaying with half-hearted decisions, it was better to act decisively. If we had waited any longer… the chances of failure would have only increased.
The more time we spent waiting, the greater the likelihood of a betrayal or of someone accidentally overhearing our plans.
“You really are an idiot, mister.”
“Idiots have an easier time getting by in this world.”
“…That’s true.”
Mina giggled softly as if something amused her.
It was the first laughter I had heard since coming to this place.
However, from my position, her prominent chest obstructed her face, so I couldn’t see it.
I wanted to see her face just once.
Unlike the original story, where she never smiled, wasn’t she now wearing a gentle smile?
“What are you planning to do?”
“I’m an orphan too.”
“Really?”
“…I’ll just pretend they don’t exist.”
I didn’t know much about Mina’s past, so I couldn’t make any judgments, but seeing her trapped in a place like this, it didn’t seem like she’d had a privileged childhood.
She would figure out her own path.
“It’ll be hard on your own.”
She didn’t seem old enough to be an adult yet, and the world was far too harsh for a girl to survive alone.
It was a mess of a world where even blatant criminal activity thrived because the powerful openly turned a blind eye.
“…I can just stick with you, mister.”
“With me?”
“Yes.”
“You’ll have a hard time…”
“Would it be worse than here?”
“…That’s true.”
It had to be better than staying here, trapped like cattle in a slaughterhouse.
“Hey, you! Where do you plan to go?”
The question was thrown at me abruptly.
But it was also a question that required an immediate answer.
After a moment of thought, I pulled out the first place that came to mind.
“I’m thinking of heading to Hanam.”
“That place… Well, it’s not my place to say anything. Knowing you, you’ll manage just fine there. There happens to be someone heading that way, so I’ll make arrangements for you.”
“…Mister, isn’t that place a lawless zone?”
“We can’t go anywhere respectable anyway.”
While Mina might somehow manage, I had no idea what would happen to me if I got caught.
“What are you planning to do there?”
“Maybe start a business or something.”
Even if it wasn’t a fully thought-out plan, I figured I could find at least one way to make a living.
Thinking back on the original story’s knowledge stored in my mind, I smiled.
If nothing else, this kind of information should come in handy.
“You! The car’s ready, so come this way!”
“Mina, could you help me up?”
“…Okay.”
With Mina’s support, I managed to climb into the jeep with some difficulty. As soon as I got in, four or five people turned their eyes toward me.
“Are you heading that way too, boss?”
“It’s the best place to start a new life.”
“Well, if it’s you, you’ll do just fine anywhere.”
I hoped they were right.
Letting the unfamiliar vibrations of the jeep run through my body, I watched the garage door slowly open.
The air felt nice.
Much better than the stifling lab, anyway.
“Alright, we’re taking off, so fasten your seatbelts tight.”
“I’ll do it for you.”
So, this is really the beginning.
I felt like a protagonist stepping out of the tutorial stage as I stared at the cars in front of us starting to move.
***
“…Are you really going to let them go like this?”
“Mist. Isn’t it fascinating?”
The special-grade villain Mist looked up at the boss she served.
The middle-aged man with brown skin continued speaking as if to answer her questioning gaze.
“When the hero attacked the secret lab and the test subject escaped, I thought it would die soon enough. Even more so when it was captured by the cleanup units while trying to flee. But… things didn’t go the way I expected. The one created with my genes managed to steal the research materials and successfully escape.”
“The fact that you couldn’t destroy it yourself, does that bother you?”
“It would be a lie to say it doesn’t. But… more than that, I’m quite interested.”
He watched the departing jeep for a moment before turning away. His business here was done, and it was time to return to the hideout.
“I hope it proves useful for my revenge…”
The two of them disappeared into the darkness, where even the moon refused to show itself.
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