Master Smith Under Ministry of National Defense

Master Smith Under Ministry of National Defense

190 – Information Fee

[Stabilization process for the experimental subject completed.]

[Telepathic message interpretation system and communication system online.]

[Chemical reaction suppression protocol on standby.]

[Biological signal scanner and biological tissue scanner operating normally.]

[Hazard blocking field for sensor protection active.]

[Thawing process completed. Standing by to awaken the interrogation subject.]

“Senior, can we really communicate with a creature that looks like this?”

Myung-jun spoke as he looked at the numerous system messages displayed on the monitor. In front of him was a large piece of equipment, modified from a medical pod, equipped with a glass tube filled with green liquid.

“It’ll be fine. Remember, when we talked to Banara before, we didn’t use human language either. The multilingual translation implant operates on a telepathic message system rather than vocal communication, so even if I speak in Korean, the other party will feel as if they’re hearing their own language.”

“But this creature doesn’t seem capable of high-level thinking like Banara.”

“You’re right. But it must have some intelligence. To control that many parasites, it must at least have the ability to think. Although it’s puzzling how it can exhibit such abilities with a slug-like appearance…”

Hearing Soo-jeong’s words, Myung-jun turned his head and asked Seung-ho, who was standing next to him.

“It won’t commit suicide during the interrogation, right?”

Seung-ho nodded wearily and replied to Myung-jun.

“Well… it doesn’t have a tongue, so it can’t bite it off to commit suicide. Most physical damage will be healed by the medical pod’s treatment functions. If it tries to commit suicide by spraying acidic fluid like a typical parasite, a neutralizing agent will be immediately injected into it.”

For this interrogation, Seung-ho had developed a new substance that neutralized strong acidic liquids while suppressing the heat reaction caused by chemical reactions. Additionally, he had prepared an agent to neutralize alkaline liquids to prevent any unforeseen issues.

Furthermore, the medical pod was equipped with dozens of drug injectors to detoxify any poisonous substances generated within the body. Seung-ho was confident that the slug-like creature trapped in the test tube would not be able to commit suicide.

“The moment an issue occurs within the body, the target will be instantly frozen to -273 degrees Celsius to buy time. While the target’s biological reactions are halted at near absolute zero, we can identify the internal issue and inject the appropriate drugs.”

“In simple terms, the creature is in a state where it can’t die even if it wants to. That’s sufficient. System? Activate the ‘Truth Thresher.'”

‘Truth Thresher’ was the code name Soo-jeong had given to the machine. It was a device designed to keep the target in a state where it couldn’t die but could only feel pain. This device, which reversed the pain control process of the medical pod, amplified even the smallest stimuli into excruciating pain, making it a truly terrifying piece of equipment.

[Consciousness signal detected. Consciousness translation device activated. Translatable biological signal detected. Please select the output medium.]

“Voice.”

[Confirmed. Replaying the signal in voice form using the artificial synthesis system.]

At that moment, Untwart’s thoughts were translated into a voice similar to the system messages heard earlier.

[Where… is this? Everything is damp…]

Hearing the translated voice, Soo-jeong frowned and shouted into the air.

“Wait a minute, we’re about to start the interrogation, and using this voice makes it feel like we’re torturing the system AI. Change it to a voice that makes us feel less guilty about torturing it.”

The system AI then changed Untwart’s voice to another type. It was a voice that, just by listening to it, made one’s irritation soar—a voice that resembled a human’s but was distinctly not human. It sounded as if there was a large phlegm stuck in its throat or as if it had choked on a potato. The voice induced a feeling of repulsion, but Soo-jeong was satisfied.

Simply changing the type of voice made her feel less averse to the upcoming events. Myung-jun, appreciating Soo-jeong’s consideration, spoke to the creature in the test tube.

“Have you come to your senses?”

[Con…versation…? Human?! How did you, this lowly inferior evolutionary form, manage to do this to me!?]

[Detected intense physicochemical changes within the biological interior. Attempt to alter the substance of the treatment solution in the pod detected.]

“It seems like it’s trying to recreate its main body. Deploy nanobots to suppress it.”

Instantly, sparkling particles poured out inside the pod and rushed towards the Prime monster.

The slug-like creature floating inside the pod began to thrash violently.

[What is this?! Metal?! Get these filthy things away from me!!]

“It won’t go easily. System? Begin the torture. Set the pain intensity to 10.”

“Starting at 10?”

Seung-ho asked, looking at the surprised Soo-jeong.

“How intense is 10?”

“It’s the level of pain that would make a man pass out from a kidney stone.”

Hearing Soo-jeong’s explanation, Seung-ho instinctively covered his groin with his hand.

[Interrogation process initiated. Delivering pain signals at level 10 to the target.]

[AAARGH?! GAH?! KAH?! KAAH!?! STOP?! AAAAAH!! What the?! STOP!!!]

“Even knowing it’s an AI voice, it’s horrifying. It’s really good at acting.”

“It’s writhing like a worm stepped on in the rain. Seems like it’s more sensitive to pain than I thought.”

It’s a synapse creature that has to control subordinate parasites over hundreds of kilometers underground. Its nervous system is probably abnormally developed. That’s why it feels pain more intensely.

Hearing Myung-jun and Soo-jeong’s conversation through the translation system, Untwart was enraged. He couldn’t accept that lower life forms like humans were treating him as an experimental subject right in front of him. However, amidst the ensuing excruciating pain, Untwart couldn’t even think properly. All he could do was writhe in agony, reacting to the pain.

“Pause the interrogation process. Can you hear me?”

[AAARGH!! You insane creatures!? Why are you inflicting pain before even making any demands!?]

Hearing Untwart’s scream echoing through the laboratory, Myung-jun gave another command in an indifferent voice.

“System? Resume the torture. This time, set the pain intensity to 11.”

[Interrogation process initiated. Delivering pain signals at level 11 to the target.]

[AAARGH!! What do you want!!!?? Why are you doing this!?!?]

Myung-jun silently counted to ten before stopping the torture. Ignoring Untwart’s cursing voice, he then initiated the torture again, this time at intensity level 13.

Then 16, then 21.

In the face of the excruciating pain, Untwart tried every possible means to commit suicide, but all attempts were thoroughly thwarted by the suicide prevention processes of the ‘Truth Thresher’ created by Soo-jeong and Seung-ho. Attempts to acidify his bodily fluids to commit suicide were blocked by the neutralizing agent made by Seung-ho, and efforts to burst his body by applying excessive pressure to parts of it were instantly repaired by the nanobots in the medical pod.

In a situation where he couldn’t die even if he wanted to, what awaited Untwart was an endlessly increasing level of pain. The pain level, which had surpassed 30, inflicted such intense agony that an ordinary human wouldn’t survive even a second without dying from shock. However, the regeneration process of the Truth Thresher, modified from the medical pod, continuously regenerated the dying nerves in real-time, making Untwart feel the pain endlessly.

When the pain level surpassed 35, Untwart ultimately screamed that he would tell them everything they wanted to know, even though no demands had been made.

[STOP!! STOP! Please! I’ll tell you anything! Please! Just kill me!!!]

“Why do you think I want to know something?”

[If not, why are you making me suffer!?]

“It could just be simple revenge. You annoyed me first, so I’m annoying you back.”

Myung-jun spoke as if he had no particular interest in extracting information from Untwart, and hearing his tone, Untwart was seized by extreme fear. The worst creature he had ever encountered was speaking as if his sole purpose was to inflict endless pain on him.

To make matters worse, Myung-jun was asking Soo-jeong about the limits of the pain he could inflict.

“Senior, how high can this level go?”

“100? 200? Actually, beyond a certain level, it’s not just simple pain but a kind of phantom pain. There’s a maximum threshold for the pain a biological nervous system can endure. It’s like plugging a 110V appliance into a 220V outlet; the machine burns out. There’s a limit to the signal intensity a living creature’s nervous system can withstand.”

“What happens if it goes beyond that level?”

“Then it attacks the mental system. If the actual pain inflicted on the body is 100, it makes the mind feel like it’s suffering 200, 500, or 1000. Considering such standards, the pain level the Truth Thresher can deliver is virtually infinite.”

She deliberately lied. In reality, the maximum pain level the Truth Thresher could deliver was capped at level 100.

Inflicting pain beyond this level posed a risk of damaging the target’s mind, even with the help of the medical pod. The current level of 35 alone was enough to cause PTSD that would last a lifetime. However, as intended by Soo-jeong, hearing that the pain level was “infinite,” Untwart twisted his body violently and shouted loudly.

[Please! I beg you! I’ll tell you anything I know that might be helpful! Please stop the torture!!!]

After a moment of contemplation, Myung-jun spoke to him.

“Of course, there’s a possibility that the information you provide could be useful to me.”

[Yes… that’s right! I have important information about this invasion!]

“But if I listen to it, I’ll have to consider whether it’s a trap. You could be deceiving me and lying, couldn’t you?”

[No! Why would I lie when I know I’d have to endure this pain again if I did!?]

“So, you want me to believe everything you say from now on?”

[I swear I won’t lie! I’ll tell you everything I know! Just tell me what information you want!]

“That’s for you to decide now.”

[Wha… what?!]

Myung-jun explained that he had to consume an enormous amount of crystal energy to capture Untwart, who was hiding underground. In contrast, he couldn’t obtain any crystals from the bodies of the parasites that had infected the soldiers.

“I’ve killed countless monsters, and sometimes I’ve taken losses, but I’ve never suffered such severe losses as this. Moreover, the crystals obtained from the giant tentacles you left behind when you escaped were far from enough to make up for the losses.”

[…So what do you want me to do?]

“You need to make up for the shortfall with the value of the information. Tell me the most useful information you know. Depending on the amount of crystal energy I recover from the information you provide, I’ll extend your rest periods.”

[Rest… periods…? Does that mean you have no intention of ending this?!]

“That depends on you. If you provide specific locations of the Twelve Heavenly Lords, I might even grant you the freedom to commit suicide.”

Myung-jun thought that Untwart would know well that he had no intention of letting him go. Likewise, Untwart wasn’t asking to be released.

What Untwart desired was solely the freedom to commit suicide. However, Myung-jun couldn’t trust the truthfulness of a confession made under such circumstances, so he proposed an unprecedented “subscription-based” confession system. Based on the grade of the monsters Myung-jun hunted using the information provided by Untwart, the duration of the torture-free period would be extended.

This was Myung-jun’s own strategy, designed to make Untwart voluntarily reveal the hideouts with the most monsters.

[Fine. But I don’t know the location of the Heavenly Lord who sent me here. Just as I don’t leave my location with the parasites I control, that Lord never reveals his plans to his subordinates.]

“Well, then it’s meaningless. System? Let’s jump straight to level 50…”

[But I know the locations of other Heavenly Lords. I’ll tell you that.]

“Other Heavenly Lords? Did you just say other Heavenly Lords?”

Myung-jun spoke in a surprised voice. According to what he knew, the Heavenly Lords never appeared simultaneously before D-DAY. If they had, humanity would have been wiped out by the monsters even before D-DAY arrived.

However, the next words from the bizarre parasite captured by Myung-jun delivered an even greater shock to him.

[It’s not just one. This invasion is a joint operation conducted by three of the Twelve Heavenly Lords. Let’s make a deal. I’ll tell you the location of one of them, so allow me to die.]

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