Bad Born Blood Chapter 319

319
Lazarus, a specialized hospital for extreme treatment, is a special treatment company located in Border City.

As the name suggests, Lazarus experimentally treats patients who would normally be beyond resuscitation and treatment.

Border City is the melting pot of the planet Novas, and is a mixture of technologies developed from different lines. Furthermore, it is a free city with virtually no legal regulations or restrictions.

‘In Border City, even unethical treatments that border on human experimentation are tolerated.’

That’s why Lazarus Hospital is in Border City.

My memory was cut off in the stormy Akbaran and then continued to the Lazarus Hospital in Border City. It was like jumping through 12 years in an instant.

‘Lazarus succeeded in curing me. It was a great achievement and a gamble.’

There would have been a high chance of failure or of not waking up completely.

‘But if it weren’t for Lazarus, there would be no one who could heal me.’

Because I can’t leave it to a national medical institution.

I went out onto the street and took a taxi.

Wheeing.

In the taxi, I pulled up all the information about Lazarus Hospital from the network and absorbed it into my mind.

‘Lazarus Hospital under Newzen.’

Newzen is a company specializing in biotechnology and was a leading bio-industry company in the Bellato Federation.

‘Newzen is not easily touched even by the federal government.’

The Empire and the Federation have different governmental powers.

The Bellato Federation, a republic, does not allow the government to unilaterally suppress businesses.

There are various groups and forces within the federal government, and they check and balance each other according to their interests. Even if you look at Deputy Minister Ismail Ra, he was being checked by other officials.

The imperial family monopolized power and could, if they wanted to, destroy certain businesses and families by making up ‘far-fetched excuses’.

‘The Federation cannot do anything it wants without a solid cause, not even the government or the leader. The principles of diversity, separation of powers, and checks and balances are at work.’

That’s why people of various races and talents gather in the Bellato Federation and Border City. They don’t want their achievements and results to be taken away in vain.

If it were an empire, hiding someone in a hospital would get you caught. But the Bellato Federation was different. Even the government couldn’t arbitrarily look into the company’s internal information.

‘Giselle hid me in the Lazarus Hospital. And herself… … .’

Everything is a gamble with uncertainty.

There is no such thing as a perfect plan. Minor mistakes and insignificant variables can cause everything to go wrong.

‘There has already been a major change in Giselle’s plans.’

I woke up earlier than scheduled. Giselle’s plan was to keep me in cryosleep and finish my treatment at the right time with ‘Barbara’s intervention’.

‘But Kinuan intervened. He drew the hatred out of Jafar, the excellent Tajirun businessman, and made him seek me out and awaken me.’

The Tajirun Information House can only be contacted by Tajirun. And only if they are very wealthy. Even if they are Kinuan, there is no way to contact the Tajirun Information House.

The insurance Giselle had prepared in case I woke up early was Jupe. Even Barbara probably didn’t know that Jupe was Giselle’s insurance.

‘My head is clear. External information comes in cleanly and is stuck in my brain as if it were its original place.’

I’ve never felt this good in a while. I guess the hormones that make my brain soft are gushing out.

‘A visible clue has finally emerged.’

Giselle’s message clearly referred to the Lazarus Hospital.

Lazarus Hospital divides patients into classes based on their financial status and the amount of deposits they have. ‘Poor patients’ are actually subjected to human experiments under the guise of treatment, while ‘rich patients’ are able to receive proper treatment.

‘The terminally ill or seriously injured poor people throw their bodies into Lazarus’ guinea pigs so that they have a slightly better chance of survival.’

It’s clear that the hospital is far from ethics and morals. It’s not a good fit for Border City.

The taxi slowed down and stopped. The road narrowed and became a de facto sidewalk. It’s not uncommon for roads to suddenly turn into sidewalks in Border City.

“Sir, this is too much for the vehicle… … .”

“That’s enough. You’ve worked hard. I don’t need change.”

I took out any credit chip I could find from my pocket and threw it. No matter what I threw, it would be more than enough for taxi fare. If the driver was lucky, he would get enough credit chips to buy a new taxi.

“Hey, huh!”

Looks like you’re having good luck today.

I got out of the car, leaving the taxi driver in shock.

Beep, beep.

As I walked, I checked the latest article about Lazarus on my retina display.

Towering.

As I was reading the article, I stopped walking. There were many people passing by me as I was in the crowd.

-Lazarus Hospital, attacked by mob… … .

Lazarus is a hospital that has incurred much resentment from the locals for various reasons. As retribution for this, it was attacked when Border City was in chaos.

-……closing.

This is difficult.

* * *

Arriving in front of Lazarus Hospital, I frowned. I suppressed the urge to scream.

Knock, knock.

I wanted to tear apart the limbs of all the pedestrians who bumped into my shoulder. You’re holding back well, Luca.

The Lazarus Hospital was reduced to rubble by fire. The interior was empty.

‘What happened to the patients who were here?’

I entered the abandoned building. I saw burned and broken facilities and equipment. Even the nameplates were so charred that I couldn’t even read the letters.

‘There is no body.’

There were signs of tidying up in the ruins. I suppressed my emotions and deduced the situation.

Don’t worry, Luca. Don’t get excited. If you lose your senses, you won’t get the answer. Absorb the information, analyze it, and think about it.

Lazarus also treats the wealthy. He would never have left his wealthy patients to be killed by the mob.

‘It wasn’t destroyed by the mob, it was closed. There were many patients who had difficulty moving, so they closed it and moved it just in case.’

My thoughts have come to a conclusion.

I need to know where Lazarus transferred the patient. There is no more information on the network with my access rights.

The Lazarus Hospital has been out of sight in Border City since its closure.

If you want to find out more information, you will need help from someone else.

‘Jafar? Ishmael? Or Michael?’

There must be someone who has access to advanced information.

Clank, clank.

I turned around at the sound of a rustling noise.

There was a transport android standing on the streets of Border City. Since Border City has many areas where vehicle traffic is difficult, androids were also in charge of logistics.

I wonder if a transport android would ever end up inside an abandoned building.

I squinted my eyes and looked at the android.

“Barbara.”

At my words, the Android’s eyes turned red.

-Did you find Giselle?

“Reveal your body. I have no intention of talking to androids.”

-I went into hiding from the world. Everything was ruined because of you.

Let’s not show weakness here.

Barbara is a woman who defies common sense, and is the daughter of Mushir al-Kashra. A daughter who resembles him genetically.

“If you don’t reveal your true identity, the conversation is over.”

I grabbed the android by the scruff of its neck and pushed it against the wall. The metal of the android in my grip was denting.

Ugh, ugh.

A current shot from the Android’s neck. I showed no outward expression of emotion.

-… … Okay. Come to these coordinates.

The android scratched the wall with his finger and wrote. I entered the coordinates into the terminal.

Dismissed!

After checking the coordinates, I slammed the android’s head against the wall and blew it up.

‘It’s no coincidence that Barbara came to me in this situation.’

This is the first time I’ve met Barbara since killing Mushir al-Kashra.

‘Barbara said she would go into hiding until the day Giselle promised would come.’

Barbara must have been watching my movements to see if I would find Giselle before the promised day came.

The worst thing that could happen to Barbara would be for Giselle and me to just come into contact and disappear.

“… … This is really annoying.”

I squinted my eyes as I checked the location of the coordinates. It was a daycare center run by the Japa Scholarship Foundation.

* * *

The Jafar Scholarship Foundation has invested heavily in Border City’s welfare in many ways.

Corporate social contribution is an ethical act, but… … it is rare for a company to give back to society for purely moral reasons. Usually, it is a cover to hide their own bad smell.

But for whatever reason, the orphanage is the last resort for the orphans of Border City.

I too am from an orphanage and was able to survive thanks to the orphanage fence. Orphanages are the only social safety net for children who are powerless to protect themselves.

I met the director of the daycare center in the reception room.

“What brings you here?”

“Looking for a child to adopt.”

The director of the daycare looked at me blankly. My mood probably wasn’t all that healthy.

I didn’t want to sell Jafar’s name here, and I didn’t want to spread the word that I had visited the orphanage.

Chorus.

I took out my bag of jewels and poured them out onto the director’s desk.

Before I came here, I used my credit chips from Japa’s boss to buy gems and gold trinkets that I could use as cash. I got ripped off quite a bit, but it didn’t matter because it wasn’t my money.

“… …Do you want a girl?”

Disgusting words came out of the mouth of the orphanage director who had taken the jewels. It seemed like he had done a lot of human trafficking.

Even Japara couldn’t possibly manage each and every orphanage under the Foundation. Or, like a businessman, he either knew it and turned a blind eye to it.

I suppressed the feeling of nausea. I wanted to put a gun to the orphanage director’s head and pull the trigger.

“After looking into it.”

I followed the director’s instructions without showing any emotion.

‘It’s a clean-looking daycare center. The facilities are also well managed.’

It looked ten times better than the daycare I was at. However, the children’s faces when they saw the director looked worried.

I looked around at the children playing among themselves. Barbara must be among them.

‘Orange hair.’

Barbara wasn’t hard to find. She was a girl with orange hair who looked to be about six or seven years old.

I had a gut feeling that that girl was Barbara.

‘… … living body.’

Barbara had her brain transplanted into the body of a child who resembled her.

‘A witch who inserts her brain into another person’s living body and operates.’

The area under my eyes twitched with physiological disgust.

‘The original owner of the body Barbara uses is… … .’

… … Barbara took the child’s life for her own hiding.

‘It’ll be hard to find Barbara since she’s hiding in a living body like this.’

I stared at the child who was presumed to be Barbara. The daycare director felt my gaze and opened her mouth as if explaining a product.

“That child suffered a head injury in an accident. Because of that, he speaks awkwardly and acts strangely. He’s just like an idiot.”

“I want to talk to that kid.”

I said briefly. The director of the daycare chuckled.

“I will let you be alone together.”

The director of the daycare brought in a girl with orange hair and led us into a sealed room.

Squeak, thud.

The director of the daycare pushed me and the girl into a room. It had a bed and a shower.

“… … This is a sealed room. Not even a sound can escape outside.”

‘Barbara’ immediately revealed her true colors and sat down on the sofa. She crossed her legs and gave a short ‘huhu’ laugh.

An evil expression appeared on her face that made it hard to believe she was a child of six or seven years old.

“Did you take the child’s body this time?”

“Hehehe, that’s a good-boy question. He’s a kid who was brain dead in an accident.”

I was annoyed. The child’s appearance was too similar to Barbara’s to be a coincidence.

‘To maintain your ego, you must be as similar to yourself as possible.’

Barbara has an alien mind, but she is not a monster like Mushir Al-Kashra. For a short-term seclusion, she may be able to use a living body similar to herself.

… … I wanted to ask questions and inquire about the circumstances and process by which that child came to have a body.

But I am also one of those wicked people who are stricken by the world. Finding Giselle is my priority. This is truly a damn thing.

“I wouldn’t do anything that Giselle would dislike.”

Barbara spoke as if she had read my mind. She knew my personality too.

“It’s hard to believe, considering our days at the Krachia Academy. You’re the one who inflicted Giselle with nightmare-like trauma.”

“I was young back then, so I made mistakes. It’s hard for me to understand other people’s minds. My mind is structured differently from yours.”

“Do you understand now?”

“Through experience and reason, I am learning universal sentiments in my own way. Whether you believe it or not. Isn’t there something more important to talk about? You found Giselle, right? Shall we make a deal? I have information that might interest you.”

I didn’t answer right away. The thoughts multiplied and exploded until my forehead was hot.

“Throw away the deal, Barbara. If you truly care about Giselle, cooperate with me.”

Barbara tilted her head.

“I can’t trust you without a deal.”

“You may have made a deal with Giselle. But you can’t win her heart with a deal. To Giselle, you’re not a friend, you’re just an unpleasant business partner.”

“… … That can’t be. You promised me friendship.”

Barbara frowned. Her face was so wrinkled that it was hard to believe she was a child.

“If Giselle really thought of you as her friend, she would have told you where she was. Learn to trust people, Barbara.”

Barbara’s lips and hands trembled. She forced herself to smile, pushing the corners of her mouth with her index finger. Cold sweat dripped down her chin.

“… … Heh, heh heh, okay. Let’s trust you, Luca.”