By Zephyria 
Side Story Episode 6.
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S-03
/Experiment based on the genes of X1, X8, and X12.
/Goals were set for high-speed regeneration, survival in extreme environments, and high-level cognitive abilities; however, genetic runaway* occurred before generational stability could be confirmed. Discarded.
Attached Materials
S-07
/Experiment based on the genes of X1, X3, and X12.
/Goals were set for high-speed regeneration, above-average adaptability, and high-level cognitive abilities; despite favorable vital signs immediately following trait manifestation, xenogeneic tissue rejection occurred. Discarded.
Attached Materials
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Is this an experimental report?
Did I understand what I just read correctly?
While Mu-hae could read and hear the language of Solar City to some extent, he wasn’t proficient enough to accurately grasp research reports.
Fortunately, there was one other person who was fluent enough in the local language to understand someone’s last will without difficulty. Mu-hae held out the pad and locked eyes with Joo-oh.
“…….”
“…….”
“Try translating this.”
“……I don’t know.”
There was no way he didn’t know. Then was the language they heard together in front of Olga not the speech of Goryeo City?
For some reason, Joo-oh had been twitching his eyebrows repeatedly since they entered this place. He must be doing it because something felt off, but considering how he had been excitedly wandering around among piles of human bones until a moment ago, it was very difficult to pin down the reason.
Fine. If it had nothing to do with the Starpath, there was no need to struggle further with these squiggly characters.
Mu-hae hurriedly turned his eyes to the next document. Vegetation changes in flora and fauna affected by Blue Energy and recovery methods for mutated chromosomes. Correlation analysis between the creation environments of existing Crystal Zones and cross-verification of variables. There were still enough materials with titles that felt breathless just to read to make one sick of them.
“Not here. This isn’t it either…”
He filtered through and searched countless documents, looking for the Solar City word for Starpath.
Was it an excessive worry? Despite checking most of the materials caught in the index, there wasn’t a speck of evidence of any attempt to improve the flaws of the Starpath.
Then again, with the day the Crystal Zone would form near the city drawing closer and closer, they probably didn’t have the luxury to be distracted by ‘minor’ flaws while the Starpath wasn’t even completed yet.
Sigh. He let out a long, exhausted sigh. Scanning research materials written in another language so quickly and with such focus made his head feel hot.
Considering his level of knowledge, it was practically a superhuman effort. Jin Mu-hae brushed back his falling hair and let the corners of his mouth curl up slightly.
What was gotten into him? For Joo-oh to wait for him for such a long time without any interference, staying alert against potential attacks from beasts or Aberrants.
He should make a few of those things—whatever they were—that Joo-oh had been rambling about earlier, some kind of ‘Seng-geul-chan’ cake. Thinking this, he reached out to his side, but…
“……Joo-oh?”
His hand sliced through empty air. When he whipped his head around, there was no sign of Joo-oh, nor even a human shape.
Jin Mu-hae was left sitting alone in the server room, which was filled with humming white noise.
“Hey, Joo-oh!”
He gripped the pad and rushed out. Just in case he was waiting in the hallway.
But he wasn’t there. There wasn’t even a trace. No matter how many times he called out to Joo-oh, he didn’t pop his head out or appear.
Where on earth did he disappear to? Did I leave him alone for too long?
Ah, a lot of time has passed, so he must be hungry. He probably packed some dry rations in his bag; maybe he was eating somewhere with less dust.
He tried to calm himself down while searching everywhere, but the person he was looking for simply did not appear.
Dammit. Finally, his calm nature gave way, and the feeling that they were screwed surged up.
If he lost him in Goryeo City, he could at least search every place he could think of. But in Solar City, wasn’t this a one-way ticket to becoming an international missing person?
No matter how tireless an Aberrant might be, they could never find their way back from this distance on their own. By the time Joo-oh walked, ran, and swam back to Goryeo City, wrinkles would have carved themselves under Jin Mu-hae’s eyes.
“Come out while I’m still being nice.”
He walked along, threatening in a tone that had no listener.
“We’re leaving before the sun sets! If you’re not here, I’m leaving you behind!”
He shouted the words that would shock Joo-oh the most, but there was no response. His pace quickened out of anxiety. This time, too, it was almost superhuman speed.
“Joo— pant… fuck.”
As he wandered through the sections connected by long hallways, he finally spotted a standing figure.
The fluffy black hair he had been searching for so desperately was standing in the middle of a massive laboratory, staring straight ahead. Jin Mu-hae suppressed the anger that was about to explode and caught his breath.
‘What the hell is he doing…’
Frowning, he shifted his gaze in the direction Joo-oh was facing, and a giant monitor that nearly covered the entire wall came into view.
Seeing the Link Watch he had picked up in Joo-oh’s hand, it seemed the video currently playing was one he had searched for and started.
[S-22] XX/XX/XXXX
A familiar Experiment designation appeared at the top of the screen. It was research data from the past conducted in Solar City.
A shadow that looked like an Experiment was curled up, lying in a corner.
A shadow shimmering like smoke. Two pointed ears, a black body, and a flicking tail…
‘…….’
His heart sank at the sight of the appearance that triggered a sense of déjà vu. Although there were many differences in size and build compared to what he knew, he couldn’t help but feel this overwhelming sense of familiarity.
‘Project… Sigma.’
Mu-hae quietly lifted the pad and opened a document he had previously passed over. S-22. As expected, that was the naming of this experiment.
S-22
/Experiment based on the genes of X1, X12, and S17.
/Goals were set for high-speed regeneration, high-level cognitive abilities, low-temperature adaptation, and a reinforced exoskeleton; survived stably after chromosome transplantation.
/No abnormalities in vital signs, but the individual’s stats did not reach the target criteria—less than 10%—Discarded.
/Planned to be utilized as an element for the stability of subsequent experiments.
Attached Materials
—Krrr-!
When he looked up at the cry he had heard many times before, the Aberrant in the monitor was glaring straight ahead.
Just as the Aberrant’s red eyes flickered and pierced his vision, as if by a lie, another pair of red pupils slowly turned around.
A face pale as a sheet. Eyes shaking in panic upon discovering him.
“Jin Mu-hae…….”
Is that you? The short question couldn’t even pass his throat and got stuck deep inside. Yet, as if he had sensed it, the other person shook his head violently.
“It’s not me.”
“Really?”
“I don’t know. I really don’t know.”
It didn’t seem like a lie, as he too was breathing heavily in surprise. When Mu-hae placed a hand on his hunched shoulder, he could feel the thumping heartbeat.
Krrr. Krrr-! The Aberrant in the video howled again. Just like someone he knew, it had no sense of timing, choosing this exact moment.
Mu-hae tried to push the data he had just read out of his mind and pulled the hesitating Joo-oh along.
“Let’s go… for now.”
“I’m serious.”
The fellow, who had been mumbling explanations, slumped and trudged along.
‘I saw it in Solar City.’
‘You. You said you didn’t remember anything. How do you know what you saw in Solar City?’
‘I just know.’
In 「La Vida Blue」, Solar City was like an imaginary setting that occupied all the stories of the past. It was mentioned everywhere, but it didn’t exist right before one’s eyes.
Whether the location had even been implemented, even Joo-oh, who had played for so long, had never been there. Still, Joo-oh knew vividly what it looked like and what had happened there.
Because its prosperous era remained as cutscenes. Not only that, but the conflicts during the research and the final moments were all seen through cutscenes.
Since he had dug up every document related to Solar City, he thought it was fair to say he knew almost everything about it.
Until the moment he stepped foot on the actual ruins of Solar City…
‘……What is this?’
Didn’t I just possess some random Aberrant?
Did an Aberrant that didn’t even exist in the main story have a narrative?
Claw marks left on the wall. Gouged traces here and there. The faint scent emanating from them was definitely his own.
[PROJECT SIGMA]
Damn this trash game!
From the moment he entered the underground research facility, Joo-oh swallowed hard repeatedly.
He had pretended to be a Solar City Experiment to deceive Jin Mu-hae, but he never imagined it would actually be true.
「La Vida Blue」 was Joo-oh’s territory. 7 years as a player, 15 years as an Aberrant, and 1 year as Joo-oh—a world he had poured a total of 23 years into.
Thanks to that, even after the main story changed due to repeated interventions, he could predict the flow to some extent.
Now that even the crisis of survival had vanished, he intended to spend his leisure time humming, hugging, and idling by Jin Mu-hae’s side.
He thought he would live sweetly, like a Gam-na Basak-Dalkom Quick-Quick Crunch Honeycomb—or in vulgar terms, just coasting on a goldmine…
‘S-22?’
I don’t know. I don’t know about that crap. Joo-oh looked up at the Aberrant in the monitor with a blank face.