NAPE - 99

★.Side Story 10

Bibi and his group emerged from the thicket after a brief pause. An old building with a pallet roof appeared. Its walls were so heavily covered with all sorts of bushes and tropical trees that, if one didn’t look closely, they might easily mistake it for part of the forest. The hunting dogs had probably gone inside.

“It looks like a cheap noodle factory... If something like this is in a forest like this... is it drugs? Wait, I’m smelling something strange...”

Nam-won wrinkled his nose, brushing off seeds clinging to his shoulder. Bibi also sniffed, frowning. It was a sour, rotting stench.

“The stuff they were carrying earlier, it was corpses, right? Maybe they buried them?”

“If you bury corpses in a place like this, they decompose well, so they wouldn’t smell this much.”

When Bibi offered his guess, Nam-won shook his head.

“Both of you, try to remember clearly. Haven’t you smelled this somewhere before?”

Doyoon, who had been observing the building with his arms crossed, looked at Bibi and Nam-won with a meaningful expression and asked. Bibi inhaled deeply, concentrating on the foul odor. He was sure he had smelled it somewhere before. This was definitely...

“It’s similar to the smell I encountered at Sir Sauer’s arboretum.”

“Oh, right. I remember now too.”

Nam-won agreed with Bibi. The two looked at Doyoon, their eyes asking what was going on.

“The source of this foul odor is Amorphophallus titanum, a mutated variant of the corpse flower. It’s extremely rare. Humans don’t even know it exists and should continue to remain ignorant. It’s a plant that only grows in the Ratanakiri Arboretum.”

Bibi was very surprised to hear a familiar place name mentioned unexpectedly.

“Why is something that should be in the Ratanakiri Arboretum here? How is this related to our investigation?”

Bibi had come here to investigate the hunting dogs that were under the trainer’s control and the pureblood-killing drug. But now, his father’s former Ratanakiri Arboretum was being mentioned. What was the connection to all of this?

Could it be related to Sir Sauer being unreachable? He tried to ignore the ominous feeling.

“Let’s confirm first. It seems there are no guards... I don’t know how many people are inside, but given its size, it can accommodate about fifteen people. Someone just needs to cause a disturbance outside.”

“I’ll do it. Senior and Bibi can check the inside.”

“Are you sure? Nam-won, you’re weak.”

As their roles were being precisely defined, Bibi expressed a slight concern.

“Oh, really? I may not know about other things, but I’ve done this dozens of times.”

Nam-won replied confidently.

“No, let me...”

“Bibi. Stay still.”

Doyoon curtly cut him off. He gestured with his chin to Nam-won, indicating for him to begin his task. Nam-won, without hesitation, jumped up and headed towards the building. What was he planning to do? Was he going to yell? Bibi watched him with a mix of worry and curiosity.

Standing in front of a palm tree, Nam-won boldly pulled out something resembling a long stick. It was one of the things Bibi feared most: a smoke bomb and fireworks. Smoke, loud noises, and sparks flying in all directions... It sent shivers down his spine.

“Don’t scream.”

Doyoon, noticing his unease, strictly warned him. Bibi nodded, buried his head into Doyoon’s side, and forcefully covered his mouth with both hands.

Soon after, a sharp tearing sound cut through the air, followed by the deafening sound of fireworks. Bibi flinched and jolted slightly. Thankfully, no high-pitched scream escaped his mouth. It was the result of yesterday’s special training.

As glittering fireworks, like confetti, cascaded through the air, the startled hunting dogs shouted and burst out of the building. They soon spotted Nam-won and bared their teeth.

“Ah, I’m just a lost tourist over there... I set off the fireworks to ask for help, you know?”

Nam-won feigned a frightened expression and backed away. The hunting dogs pouring out of the building made no effort to understand what Nam-won was saying and showed their hostility.

“Ahem, ahem! Well, I guess I’ll have to run away! I’ll have to run all the way to the lodge!”

Uttering words that implied they should meet back at the lodge, Nam-won pulled out a smoke bomb and began running towards the back of the palm tree.

“Kyahh!”

“Kya-oh!”

Roaring sharply, the hunting dogs pursued him like zombies. Nam-won’s appearance was so sudden that they all ran out, not even thinking about guarding the building.

“Let’s go.”

Seizing the opportunity, Doyoon and Bibi moved swiftly. They lowered themselves, broke the lock on a building window, and quickly slipped inside.

As soon as their feet touched the floor after passing through the window, the first thing that greeted them was a severe stench. Bibi covered his nose and looked around the interior. The building, which the hunting dogs had been guarding, was divided into sections by tables.

One table was full of glass flasks, another was piled with plant nutrients, and in one corner, there were rows of large, unidentified wooden barrels. At first glance, it resembled a tedious laboratory, but there was one unique feature.

In the center of the building, under LED lights, sat a large pot containing a plant. Its petals, extended haphazardly like a deformed lizard, were almost as tall as Bibi.

“It’s true. A corpse flower.”

Doyoon approached the flower. His expression visibly darkened.

“What exactly is this flower that it’s causing such a reaction?”

Bibi became frustrated. If Doyoon was reacting this strongly, it must be serious, but he had no way of guessing what it was.

“Bibi. Do you know what the raw material for silver bullets is?”

“...The raw material for silver bullets?”

“The silver bullets that even pureblood vampires fear aren’t simply silver. They should be considered a crystallized poison mixed with a special substance.”

Bibi tilted his head at this new information.

“And?”

“That special substance is called Mortanum. If processed well, it can create a destructive substance that demolishes vampire regenerative cells. If processed extremely well, it can even annihilate purebloods... Most vampires don’t know this fact and should never know it in the future. It’s better if as few people as possible know.”

Doyoon slowly approached the corpse flower and aimed his gun. Then he pulled the trigger, aiming at its roots. The glass shattered, and the plant was brutally torn apart.

“Mortanum can only be extracted from the corpse flower, and the Extircold family has been secretly producing it and handing it over to the Elder Council. The Elder Council uses it to create silver bullets and consistently provides them to hunter associations worldwide. After the Executor disappeared, I believe Sir Sauer took over that role.”

“...Why is such an important plant here?”

“Do you remember when the trainer sent Jack’s head? He found a way to kill vampires. It’s highly probable he used this plant.”

“So this is... the trainer’s lab? When did he steal it, anyway?”

The more he heard the explanation, the more things Bibi couldn’t understand grew. The confusion accelerated.

“The state of the flower is too good to be a trace left by the trainer. It looks like it hasn’t been in bloom for long. It’s clear that it was consistently fed corpses to grow, which would be impossible if someone hadn’t had the hunting dogs manage it. I suspect there was a collaborator.”

Bibi’s brow furrowed. It shouldn’t be, but... a strong suspect kept emerging. The person in the family who knew about the corpse flower. The only person who knew how to cultivate it was... one person. He desperately looked at Doyoon, hoping it wasn’t true.

“One thing is certain: we have to assume Sir Sauer handed over the seeds and cultivation methods.”

But the name of the person he so desperately hoped it wouldn’t be came out of Doyoon’s mouth.

“That can’t be...”

“You said that person was unreachable, right? I checked through Isabella, and she said he left the country a month ago for Vietnam. And then he completely vanished without a trace. It’s highly probable he fled.”

“Are you saying Sir Sauer betrayed the Extircold family... betrayed me?”

Doyoon didn’t answer, but that was enough of an answer. It was so humid... yet his heart felt cold from the shock.

On their way back to the lodging after leaving the Hiya Snake Forest, they met Nam-won. He was gulping down water, looking exhausted. Bibi scrutinized him from head to toe. He had a wound on his elbow, but it wasn’t serious and was almost healed, so Bibi was relieved.

“Did you check it, Senior?”

“Yeah.”

“What was that building?”

“A silver bullet raw material manufacturing plant. For now, we’ve disposed of all the plants and seeds that were on-site.”

Nam-won quickly put two and two together, connecting the flower at the Ratanakiri Arboretum to the silver bullet manufacturing plant.

“Silver bullet raw material? So that comes from a plant. Wait, if that was at Sir Sauer’s arboretum... what happened? Betrayal, you mean?”

“It’s too early to jump to conclusions.”

Doyoon glanced at Bibi and equivocated. Bibi was silent, as if he had lost his ability to speak.

“...Hmm. What are you going to tell the association?”

“We’ll say in the report that it was nothing.”

“And in reality?”

“We’re going to actively find the owner of the factory.”

“Right. If we find the owner, we’ll know for sure.

“Hmm... But I doubt that’s the only factory. I think we need to investigate more. I have a feeling there might be more hunting dog factories.”

“We’ll have to go undercover. Let’s find the owner quickly. I want to ask him how he got his hands on the plant seeds, if this is all of them, or if he stole them from Sir Sauer. But isn’t it too much for just the three of us to move around? Since the raw materials have been dealt with anyway, why don’t we ask for support from the association or your senior’s family?”

At Nam-won’s question, Doyoon sharply shook his head.