By Zephyria 
For a moment, Mu-hae was flustered but pretended not to notice and stared ahead.
It wasn’t a blatant stare meant to be noticed. As if their gazes had met by chance, they quickly averted their eyes as well.
But after that unsettling presentation title, this shower of attention. Just as he had expected before coming here, it definitely didn’t feel normal or stable.
Mu-hae subtly glanced at Joo-oh sitting next to him. He often wore an anxious and frightened expression in unfamiliar situations.
Fortunately, Joo-oh seemed to be without a care. He wasn’t grinning as if aware he was acting, but his eyes were full of interest, as if he was finding this situation amusing.
“Ancient people worshiped the sun. The overwhelming radiant energy in the form of light and heat that illuminates and nurtures all things. Traces of the sun being depicted as a god appear without fail in every culture in the world. In fact, it is no exaggeration to say that humanity and the ecology of this Earth have been maintained by solar energy, which empowers the climate and sustains life.”
Along with the presenter’s words, images of the sun god, praised in various forms, appeared on the Hologram Window. Traces depicted in paintings, sculptures, and prose were conspicuously displayed one by one on the screen.
The image of all people prostrating and worshiping under a huge, blazing entity was intensely striking and impressive.
“In both hunting and agricultural societies, solar energy was a more important force than anything else. The power to illuminate vast lands and drive away the cold. A mysterious and powerful energy that makes the impossible possible. People called this light source, which is responsible for the survival of mankind, ‘God’ and revered it for quite a long time.”
The presenter kept making eye contact with them for some reason. Mu-hae appropriately deflected her gaze and nodded, pretending to focus on the session.
“Now we know. The sun is not an unknown force watching over us, but a G-type main-sequence star at the center of the solar system. But we cannot deny that solar energy is a mysterious force that sustains human life and an extremely rare force in this universe. People still compare the sun to God, and no one refutes that expression.”
Step. The presenter took another step closer to the Hologram Window.
“And in this century, mankind discovers another mysterious force. A powerful energy that has taken responsibility for human life and begun to create a new ecology.”
Beep. The page, which had been all about the sun, switched to a blue screen. The researchers also focused, as if proper research exchange was finally beginning.
“Blue Energy. A new substance that did not exist on Earth before, or so it was thought, appeared, and the survival clock of mankind, which had been heading towards destruction, began to rewind. Now mankind can fly in the sky more easily, run on the ground, and produce artificial light to replace the sun. A mysterious and divine power like the sun to the ancients. This researcher has focused on the meaning of this Blue Energy and the leap into the future in recent research.”
After an excessively lengthy introduction, the presentation finally got to the main point. After hearing this far, even an ignoramus would feel a chill, realizing something was amiss.
It’s not like Mu-hae knows anything about energy research, but he had skimmed through numerous materials and records and grasped the basics.
He had seen many topics such as the efficiency of Blue Energy use, processing, and loss, but he had never found anyone foolish enough to find meaning in it.
Suddenly, one more thing Teacher Jung had said before coming to Bay City flashed through his mind.
‘Originally, the educated ones are weirder. There was even a rumor like that during my time as a researcher. That there were guys who created a religion around Blue and believed in it.’
It was so absurd that he had dismissed it, but when he thought about it, humans were a species that believed in all sorts of things.
Even just looking at Sakdal, all the gamblers had strange jinxes. Even in Goryeo City, where theology didn’t exist, religion existed.
In Goryeo City, anyone who met certain conditions and received a business permit could provide various paid services to believers.
Other activities were treated as economic petty crimes, and articles with similar templates were periodically published. An unlicensed con man snatched 70 Deal from an eight-year-old child as an offering, or he was caught restricting believers’ drinking and snacking, collecting liquor and food, and reselling it.
As a result, the status of religion in Goryeo City was close to insignificant. Nevertheless, the reason why this business continues to survive is that the more anxious people are, the more desperate they are to believe and worship something.
Or, when the truth they had believed in all their lives was shaken by an undeniable reality, they incorporated the object into their own world and cherished it.
Such human types were found in all kinds of social classes, so Mu-hae had seen and heard all sorts of things while living as a mercenary.
“…Therefore, the ultimate energy that satisfies all these elements is not insufficient to be called ‘God’s substance’ that violates the existing laws…”
In the end, the Society for Natural Phenomenon Studies is closer to a pseudo-religious group than a clue to help the Return flight’s purpose. He had vaguely expected it, but the expectation he had faintly held because of Dmitri’s existence was fading miserably.
If Dmitri was interested in NPS for similar reasons, he would have realized it was a waste of time before long. He was just curious as to why he had become a meaningful member to these guys.
“Look at that.”
Just as Mu-hae was hiding his boredom and thinking about the Return flight’s work, Joo-oh whispered in his ear.
“I think I saw it at the shelter.”
As he said, what appeared at the end of the presentation after going through absurd thoughts was surprisingly useful results that filled the Hologram Window.
‘Exploration of the existence of Aberrant considering the Blue Energy wave equation in a specific state and the Crystal Zone creation hypothesis.’
It was unclear why the Aberrant was becoming part of the ‘miracle’ that Blue Energy showed, but if the suspicious direction was excluded, it was content that was interesting enough.
NPS and Dmitri, although their purposes were different, would have been in sync in the research category.
“I would like to thank all the members who have graced this event today once again. It was a meaningful time, so much so that the next regular meeting feels too far away.”
After a presentation and discussion session lasting three hours, the insane exchange session ended.
For some reason, Hawkins, who was supposed to guide the two to the hotel, didn’t move from the corner of the lounge, so Mu-hae had no choice but to face Dunham alone.
“In fact, regular meetings deal with more detailed and specialized areas. Today, there was a lot of comprehensive content as there were new members.”
“Ah. Is that so.”
“I hope this was a rewarding event for Lee Haemu as well. How was it?”
He admired his great passion. The meaningful exploration was interesting. Mu-hae brought up commonplace impressions and recalled the research he had found at the shelter.
Could these people really be helpful for the Return flight’s purpose? He glanced at Hawkins, wanting to get out of the awkward situation, but he was twisting one corner of his mouth up in a position where he couldn’t hear the voices, as if by chance.
Dunham slowly closed his mouth and took them to the lounge window.
Perhaps because of the building’s good location, the view of the street after sunset was visible at a glance even from the 4th floor.
Unlike what he had expected, the night view of Witz District was not a splendid cityscape. But that’s why it felt more comfortable and organized.
“It’s quite a nice city, isn’t it? I’m not from here, but I also like Bay City. It’s a good place to live, even if it’s not as good as Goryeo City.”
Looking at the darkening scenery, Mu-hae agreed with his words. Perhaps because it was far from the Crystal Zone, there was not even wariness on the faces of the citizens he had seen passing by.
Of course, Bay City must have its own difficulties. Still, the atmosphere permeating among the people was as peaceful as could be.
The tension that had been heightened by the strange meeting subsided a little…
“I don’t have any bad intentions. But there were a couple of studies with ridiculous content mixed in at today’s exchange session.”
“……!”
Mu-hae’s shoulders, which had been relaxing softly, stiffened again at Dunham’s words. Mu-hae’s mind flashed and he came to his senses.
No wonder he had made an absurd schedule and called them. Weren’t all the members who attended the meeting just decoys?
Realizing that he had been suspected from the start, Mu-hae inconspicuously reached inside his cardigan.
But no one took out a weapon and swung it around or aimed at his head from behind. Only the man with the mustache continued to speak calmly.
“It doesn’t matter. We didn’t call you here because we needed new members. Of course, it’s not like we didn’t have any expectations, but since that has collapsed, we have to follow Plan B.”
Click. Dunham took out a glass rod from his inner pocket and put it in his mouth. Mu-hae, who had been gripping the gun without moving, saw the rod emitting smoke and stealthily released his hand.
“As I mentioned in the email, Mr. Sidorov, whom you listed as a reference, is a very meaningful person to our society. But we haven’t been able to reach him since some time ago.”
Still in a combat-ready posture, Mu-hae recalled Buckta’s corpse. His death, which was unknown to anyone as he had cut ties with human society.
“We need Mr. Sidorov’s research data. We’ve searched everywhere, but it’s hard to find even one person who knows him, so for now, Lee Haemu’s help is the only way.”
“Why do you think I would have that guy’s information?”
“If you hand over the data, we will not only give you a small reward in return, but also open up a new life for you. Of course, if the information that you were on leave due to political issues is false, then the latter won’t be necessary…”
Dunham turned his gaze to the night view outside the window. The scenery of Bay City unfolded quietly before his eyes.
A place where no one knows Jin Seong-jo’s criminal history. A city across the sea where even Jin Mu-hae’s identity and past life are unknown.
“One family, about four or five people, will be able to obtain Bay City citizenship. We will also provide housing in a decent area.”
At the unexpected offer, Mu-hae felt as if his mind, which had been filled with all sorts of thoughts, was completely bleached.
He lowered his head slightly, and red eyes were watching them as if they were interesting. Joo-oh often looked at Mu-hae with that kind of face.
“It’s a kind of favor. This city doesn’t accept outsiders easily, so I think it’s a trade of decent value.”
A strange smile spread across his fair face at Dunham’s added remark. Right now, Joo-oh had a similar expression to when he was taking pictures of other people at the Company.