Seoul Cyberpunk Story-Chapter 80: Resurrection (1)

Deep beneath the Babel Police Department headquarters, the air inside the sealed conference room was cold and still.

A blue-tinted hologram screen hovered above the steel table, streaming lines of complex data in an endless cascade.

Blake stood in front of the hologram, swallowing dryly as he continued the final briefing.

His voice remained calm, but the fatigue on his face was undeniable.

“...Based on all evidence collected so far, it appears that both the Puppet Strings case and the recent incident inside Hexa Core Armory were orchestrated by the same organization.”

The people gathered in the conference room listened to Blake’s explanation in silence.

But among them, actual Babel Police Department personnel were few.

Everyone else appeared to be affiliated with Hexa Core Armory.

Their pristine suits and measured demeanor were a stark contrast to the senior BPD officials Blake was used to dealing with.

The only reason Blake was giving this unusual presentation was because Hexa Core Armory had demanded it.

A few days earlier, after the Hexa Core civil war ended in an unexpected fashion, they realized that Puppet Strings was involved in the incident’s background.

They approached BPD with partial data from the case, demanding related intelligence on Puppet Strings.

Of course, this critical information wasn’t just classified—it was a secret known only to the highest-ranking echelon within BPD.

Even Blake, part of the BPD’s Special Investigations Division, only received access to the material after being ordered to prepare the presentation.

The incident that wiped out the upper ranks of the Reinhardt faction in one stroke—

That shocking event, and the Puppet Strings case Blake had personally resolved, turned out to be rooted in the same core technology.

This revelation rattled Blake deeply.

As Blake concluded his presentation, a few questions were tossed from around the room.

“On what basis does BPD’s Special Investigations Division claim that both incidents were orchestrated by the same organization, despite the difference in ocular implant glow color?”

The question came from a sharp-eyed woman, clearly a Hexa Core Armory operative.

“Understood,” Blake nodded, pulling up several photos onto the hologram.

One showed orange glow bleeding from the eyes of Puppet Strings infectees. Another showed a blue light radiating from the pupils of Hexa Core Armory executives.

The remaining images displayed brain scans and nervous system overlays for comparison.

“As you can see, aside from the ocular glow shifting from orange to blue, the key symptoms and underlying tech in both incidents are nearly identical. Irreversible neural mutations, memory distortion, signs of external control—the patterns match perfectly.”

As he finished, the megacorp employees began murmuring among themselves.

Whether their voices were too quiet, or the anti-surveillance systems were too good, Blake couldn’t catch what they were saying.

But he knew—whatever was being shared, it was intel only a megacorp would circulate, the kind outsiders were never meant to know.

Blake wanted to eavesdrop. But his time in the room had run out.

“Thank you for your time, Detective Blake. You may leave now.”

The Hexa Core security «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» officer’s voice was curt. A command in all but formality.

Blake shrugged, nodding with resignation.

He had hoped to glean something—anything—about the true force behind Puppet Strings from this secretive meeting, but had come away empty-handed.

“At this rate, I’ve got no clue when I’ll ever catch who’s behind all this.”

Blake stepped outside the building and let out a long sigh.

As he turned his back to the hulking structure of BPD HQ, the night air grazed his cheeks with a cool whisper.

Far off in the skyline, hologram ads lit the sky while aerial vehicles carved beams of light across the city.

Loosening his tie, Blake took a deep breath.

The tension from the conference room still clung to his skin.

Just as he was about to descend the steps toward the parking lot, someone tapped his shoulder from behind.

“Blake. You look like hell. How about heading home and getting some real sleep?”

The voice was familiar. Blake turned.

“Oh—Captain.”

It was Edwin Miller, leader of Team 3, Special Investigations.

As always, he was dressed in a crisp suit, his broad frame radiating a quiet sense of security that comforted the rookies under him.

Miller was a rare kind of superior in BPD.

Always the first on-site. Always on the front line when things turned dangerous.

“Just passing by and saw you. You can hand in your report tomorrow. I get how brutal those Hexa Core meetings can be.”

“I’m fine. Just... got a lot on my mind.”

As Blake responded, something flickered in the corner of his vision.

Miller’s pupils suddenly flashed blue.

Unnaturally. Like a glitched hologram.

...!!!

Blake staggered back a step, stunned.

That light—it was just like what he’d seen in the Hexa Core incident victims.

But when he blinked, Miller’s eyes were back to their usual brown.

As if nothing had happened.

“You okay? You’ve gone pale.”

Miller’s face was lined with genuine concern.

Did I... just hallucinate that?

Blake rubbed his temple slowly.

He hadn’t slept in over 36 hours, subsisting on nothing but caffeine.

“Ah... it’s nothing. Just fatigue. You’re right—I’ll head home early tonight.”

He forced a smile, but his thoughts were already spiraling.

“Alright. See you tomorrow. Don’t push yourself too hard.”

Miller gave his shoulder one last reassuring pat before heading back toward the main building.

Blake stood there, silently watching him go.

****

I was buried deep into the couch bed in Seoul Dino Park’s break room, scarfing down the last of the leftover pizza.

Bored, I started poking Agu’s pudgy tail as it watched TV on the floor.

“Kyooooing...”

Agu groaned each time I jabbed its tail, kicking its hind legs in a lazy protest.

The more I poked, the more dramatic its whining got. Which made it even more fun.

Heehee.

On the TV screen, colorful kiwi birds were locked in a kitchen knife duel, each wielding a blade the size of their own bodies.

It was a grim cartoon—the loser would be chopped into pieces and served on a plate.

I wondered who the hell came up with this. Turns out it was a promo animation made by Black Bio Corp to advertise kiwi...

Why would anyone make this?

If anything, it completely killed my appetite for kiwis.

As I lounged aimlessly, I spotted Ember heading somewhere with a grim expression.

“Ember, where you going?”

She turned her head at my voice.

Her face twitched with faint tension, but she quickly softened it with a faint smile.

“An old friend who was supposed to be dead contacted me. Just going to check it out. Probably nothing.”

“!”

Didn’t sound like nothing at all. I tilted my head.

She chuckled.

“Only one of three things it could be. They actually came back to life, it’s a megacorp trap, or they never died to begin with. Either way, I’ve got it covered.”

“Yeah?”

I wasn’t sure how one just dodged a megacorp trap, but if Ember said so, she had her reasons.

“Take care, then.”

I waved lazily from under the blanket. She waved back, then vanished into the shadows.

Almost the moment she disappeared, the break room door burst open and Luna came rushing in, panting hard.

Her face was lit up like she’d just witnessed the most shocking thing in the world.

“Unnie! Unnieee!”

Luna ran straight toward Celine, who was curled up in the corner reading a book.

“Unnie! The Child—there’s more of them! And... they’re acting weird...”

Celine lowered her book onto her lap, her expression caught off guard by Luna’s panic.

“Luna, slow down. What are you talking about?”

I stopped poking Agu’s tail and turned my attention to Luna’s words. 𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢

“Luna, what exactly happened?”

Just then, the sound of footsteps and laughter echoed from the hallway.

Scarlet, Victor, Iris, and Daniel were coming into the break room after finishing their session.

Their faces were filled with curiosity—clearly, they’d heard Luna’s excited outburst.

“What’s going on?” Scarlet asked, holding a glowing hologram tablet in one hand.

“Luna says the number of Children has increased,” Celine explained.

Victor’s eyes widened in surprise. Iris and Daniel exchanged intrigued glances.

“Well, let’s go check it out,” Scarlet declared, and everyone in the break room started getting up at once.

I was interested in the Children multiplying too, so I bounced off the bed and followed the others.

Luna was already standing by the door.

“Hurry! They’re in my room!”

We all rushed after her.

As we moved down the corridor toward Luna’s room, thoughts raced through my head.

The Children multiplying... is it because of me? Or are they replicating naturally?

When we arrived at Luna’s room—just as she’d said—there were now three Children.

The others were fascinated by the fact that the number had increased, but what caught my attention was something else entirely.

The Children looked clearer to me than usual.

I grabbed a mirror from the desk where they were tumbling over each other and reflected it toward them.

And just like that, their forms appeared crisply in the glass.

Even though they weren’t coated!

As I held up the mirror, Scarlet noticed something was off and murmured, “I can see them... Why can we see them?”

I slowly reached out and pinched one of the Child’s chubby cheeks.

A soft, squishy sensation pressed back against my fingertips.

“I can touch them, too...”

At my words, Iris and Luna’s eyes flew wide open.

“!”

Then, as if reacting to some unspoken urge, both Iris and Luna scooped up the remaining Children and began petting them fervently.

[Heehee.]

The Children, thrilled by the fact that they could be touched, grinned with uncontainable joy.

****

Ember stood leaning against a wall in a quiet part of eastern Babel.

This city wasn’t as flashy as the eastern central district where Titan Tech’s branch office was located. But maybe that was why it felt more alive.

She preferred this place.

Honestly, the central city...

With its endless holograms and never-stopping AI hawkers, it never felt like a place humans actually lived in.

Here, food stalls spilled their savory smells into the air.

People from all walks of life moved up and down the streets.

And the pavement—it wasn’t exactly dirty, but it wasn’t overly clean either.

It felt like a street soaked in actual human life—warm, flawed, and real.

Leaning there, Ember was watching a bar tucked away in an alley.

The faded sign above it flickered weakly: Cyber-Antique House.

Back during her Nexus Node days, this bar was where she’d meet informants in secret.

Quiet enough, empty enough.

Perfect for a meeting no one was meant to witness.

She’d already checked the coded message. But she had no plans to go inside.

No matter how she looked at it, it reeked of a trap.

A friend—someone whose death she had confirmed with her own eyes—suddenly returning?

That wasn’t possible.

Who the hell set this up? Nexus Node? No... they didn’t even know the informant existed.

Ember furrowed her brows.

Only a handful of people had known about her and the informant’s private channel at Nexus Node.

And when she left? She made sure every last one of them was dead.

Still, she leaned there like she was waiting for someone.

And someone showed up.

Popped up right beside her, speaking out of nowhere.

“Ember. It’s been a long time.”

A voice that froze the blood in her veins—but was so familiar it made her want to scream.

Ember slowly turned her head, breath caught in her throat.

And there it was.

That face. That face she had watched go cold, years ago.

Her informant. Her... friend.

The one she’d never been able to forget.

...This is impossible.

Ember’s pupils trembled uncontrollably.

The being standing before her now—what was it, really?