Unholy Player-Chapter 41: Mad Scientist

Henry seemed troubled. Adyr's question had clearly put him in a difficult spot.

After a brief internal struggle, he decided the least he could do was give Adyr that much. He turned to the doctors and researchers nearby.

They caught the signal in his eyes and left the room without a word, closing the door behind them.

"Before we begin, I should be honest. I don't actually know much about the game itself either," Henry said as he slowly sat down in the armchair in the corner.

"I'll only tell you what the City Manager told me directly." He shifted into a more comfortable position before continuing.

"According to him, eighteen years ago, a man appeared claiming knowledge of another world, one entirely separate from our own. Naturally, the City Managers didn't believe him at first, but he brought proof. All kinds of it. Most notably, the earliest version of the devices we now use as game pods."

So the game world isn't a game at all. It's a real place. The revelation didn't surprise Adyr as much as it should have.

"In essence," Henry continued, "these devices are portals, tools designed to let us enter the other world without being detected."

"Without being detected?" Adyr raised an eyebrow. ƒгeewёbnovel.com

Henry nodded. "Yes. According to that man, any time a doorway to the other world is opened and someone tries to cross through, something triggers. The world resets itself, and the gate shuts down. They believe this reaction is what caused the last great war and the current state of our world.

Whatever caused that trigger, this man built the devices specifically to hide us from it. To send people across without alerting whatever force is guarding the border." Henry paused, choosing his next words carefully.

"Think of it like a hidden passage into a fortress. And the players are like spies slipping through that passage unnoticed."

"It's more like catapults," Adyr said, amused, remembering how he had first spawned into the other world. Launched through the sky, like he had been fired from one.

"Yeah, I guess that's a more fitting comparison," Henry replied with a small laugh. "Long story short, that's all we know. Which is exactly why the twelve City Managers are taking this project so seriously. They want to gather every possible piece of information about that world—and, if necessary, find a way to survive there."

"But why did you design the devices like a game and let people play it? Don't you already have capable soldiers? You could've used them instead," Adyr asked, voicing one of the most suspicious parts about the station.

For the last ten or so years, the government has been promoting the game, encouraging people to buy helmets and join in. It was obvious this wasn't just some sales strategy to make money.

"I know. That's also something I don't understand," Henry admitted. "But it was that man's request. We don't know why he chose this strategy, but when you're dealing with something completely unknown, the safest thing you can do is follow the one who claims to know what he's doing."

So he said, I'm cooking, and they said, let him cook? What kind of logic is that? Adyr couldn't help but think.

He went quiet, letting the information sink in. He had always suspected the game was hiding something deeper, something real. But this still managed to catch him off guard.

After a moment, he asked, "This man you're talking about... do you know who he is?"

Henry shook his head. "We don't. He never talks about himself. The only thing we know is that he calls himself Mad Scientist."

Adyr gave it a moment of thought, realizing the name meant nothing to him.

"By the way, I saw the thread you opened on the forum. About the language... what was it? Latin?" Henry said suddenly.

"I thought the usernames were supposed to keep players anonymous," Adyr replied with a sigh, though he had expected this. At least now he knew Henry had no knowledge of Latin.

Henry laughed heartily. "They are. Don't worry, it's still anonymous to other players." He continued, "Before I came here, I told one of the research staff about it. A linguist will come by when you're available to gather the necessary information. You'll earn a solid amount of Merit for it, but how much—that'll be up to the department."

Henry stood up, looking ready to leave, but before stepping away, he placed a hand on Adyr's shoulder and spoke with quiet sincerity.

"One last thing before I go. Don't worry about your mother. When I heard about their expedition, I assigned the best team I have to her. She's as safe out there as she would be inside the city."

Adyr responded with a smile. He believed him. As the direct commander of the STF, Henry had the authority to do something like that, and one of his best traits was that he rarely lied.

"Thank you. That'll put my sister at ease," Adyr said.

—

After changing into his university uniform and asking the reception to arrange a car and driver, Adyr headed home and had dinner with his sister.

Their mother's absence had clearly weighed on her again, but when he casually mentioned running into Henry Bates on the university campus, without saying anything about his new job, her mood visibly improved.

After Selena White's promise and now Henry's words, Niva had begun to wonder if her brother was some kind of secret agent working for the city.

She didn't know how Adyr had met Victor, or that he had once saved his life. Naturally, she had no idea why Henry Bates treated him so personally. She had only been seven when it all happened, and if anyone had told her back then, she had probably forgotten. No one had brought it up since.

His connection with Selina White was an even bigger mystery in her eyes.

To Niva, her brother was the most reliable and handsome man in the world. But from another perspective?

He wasn't tall—actually short compared to most men. Not particularly handsome either. Average at best. And above all, poor, with no notable background. The only thing he truly carried was a quiet, mysterious presence. But that was all.

Yet despite all that, Niva found a new kind of admiration forming. Building connections with people like Henry and Selina wasn't something just anyone could do.

All night, Adyr watched his sister stealing glances at him, trying to pry into the parts he kept hidden—and he met her efforts with quiet amusement, knowing she would never see what truly lay beneath.

She didn't need to know what kind of monster he really was or what he was capable of. The only thing that mattered was that her brother was there for her and that he would do whatever it took to keep it that way.