Chapter Three: Hopeless

"Please, embrace the joy of work!"

In the city under the cover of night, floating projection machines suspended in mid-air broadcasted these slogans. On the illusory screens, a woman spoke in a gentle tone:

"We provide you with work of value and a room with a broad perspective. The procedures are incredibly simple."

Immediately, the face of a portly man appeared, speaking in a mechanical, formulaic tone:

"To achieve the goal of zero percent unemployment, new initiatives are underway. The government has established a 57-person research group to address labor and employment issues!"

Look at the people walking through the city; how much they resemble worker ants, desperately creating value just to obtain a pittance of money. Perhaps money truly possesses an immense, irresistible temptation, driving people to trade everything they have for it.

In a dimly lit park, a staggering figure walked along. He clutched a backpack tightly to his chest, his steps weak and unsteady, as if he were so exhausted that he might collapse at any moment.

As if on cue, the cawing of crows echoed through the silent park. The hoarse, oppressive sound rang out, and the man stumbled, his left foot tripping over his right. He fell to the ground, and the backpack he had been holding so tightly spilled open.

Amidst the cawing of the crows, he lay on the ground, unable to pull himself back up.

From the unzipped backpack, bundles of cash spilled out before him. He lifted his head with great difficulty, clutching the bundles of bills with his hands, a look of satisfaction spreading across his face.

Soon, however, that smile froze. He slumped forward onto the ground, his life extinguished.

Footsteps approached. Several social strays looked on in shock, watching his expression freeze and a life slip away.

"Hey, mister, are you alright?"

A young man ran over in a panic, checked the man's breath, and collapsed onto the ground in shock.

"He's... he's dead."

"Money! It's money!!!"

The others, however, upon seeing the bundles of banknotes spilling from the bag, descended into a frenzy.

Suddenly, human life became inconsequential.

They scrambled desperately, stuffing the bills into their own clothes, several of them fighting fiercely for the loot.

Pathetic, and truly lamentable.

"This Friday, at 12:30 AM, in the park west of J2015 in the Delta district, another corpse of a man who died from abnormal brain atrophy was discovered." K tossed the photos onto the table, rubbed his temples, and said with frustration: "Including the previous victims, this is already the thirteenth!"

"The commander-in-chief believes there is a high probability that these mysterious deaths are being orchestrated by aliens, so the two of us must work together again." K habitually propped his feet up on the desk and remarked: "Seriously, why is it that the partners I'm assigned aren't hot, open-minded female agents? I'm always with you; I'm starting to doubt my own sexual orientation!"

Jin smiled, flipping through the photos in his hand, and asked: "Abnormal brain atrophy? What does that mean?"

K gave a strange smile, held up a finger, and said: "Maybe it's unexpectedly pleasant."

Jin asked: "Do you mean they were forced to take some kind of psychoactive drug?"

K shifted into a more comfortable position and said: "The autopsies revealed nothing."

"Besides, such psychoactive drugs would be as expensive as heroin or opium." He scoffed, adding: "How could social strays like these possibly afford something like that?"

He paused, then continued: "Their condition is very strange. It’s as if their brains had been completely hollowed out from within."

Jin asked: "Did you find any needle marks or anything similar on their heads?"

K shook his head and sighed: "That’s exactly why it’s so hard to investigate. We can't even be certain if this is the work of aliens."

"It is precisely because we are uncertain that we must investigate." Jin paused, rubbed his eyes, and asked: "Any leads?"

"None. I’m completely in the dark." K shook his head, then suddenly had a thought, his imagination running wild: "Do you think the ultimate goal is to induce widespread brain atrophy in humans to suppress the Earth!?"

The guy grew more animated the more he thought about it, his eyes almost glowing: "Turning humans into idiots is easier than direct suppression. Therefore, I believe this is just an initial experiment; the end goal is to create a batch of slaves!"

As he spoke, a smile suddenly appeared on his face. He looked at Jin and said: "Could your amnesia be the result of brain atrophy?"

"..."

Jin gave the guy a cold, piercing look.

"Just kidding!" K looked at the stoic Jin, patted him on the shoulder, and said: "Regardless, their goal must be to invade Earth. This is the moment for us DUES agents to step up!"

Jin’s mouth twitched. Had this guy’s IQ dropped in the few months they hadn't seen each other?

From his perspective, it seemed as if the primary occupation of all aliens was invading Earth. Was that a trend among aliens in this era?

"Perhaps it's more than that," Jin stood up and countered helplessly.

"What else could aliens possibly do to our Earth?" K continued.

Seeing that Jin had no intention of continuing the conversation, K shrugged, picked up a photo, and handed it to Jin: "This is the latest victim. Let's go to the scene and take a look."

The park where the incident occurred was not far from their meeting spot, so the two quickly made their way there under the cover of night.

The park at night, dotted with dim lights, was very quiet, with only their footsteps audible.

After walking for a while, Jin stopped. Looking at the familiar scenery, he realized this was the very park where he had met the man named Tamaru.

That man, with his gold-rimmed glasses and a strange, hypocritical smile, who had revealed himself to be a recruiter for "interesting jobs," was truly unforgettable.

And the so-called "social strays" he had spoken of...

"The victim is Yuji Shimazaki, 35 years old, unemployed." K also stopped and introduced the basic information about the victim.

"Guys like him treat this place as their home for sleeping at night."

"If they sleep here, doesn't the government provide housing and work for people like them?" Jin scanned his surroundings, his mind flashing back to the words broadcast by the projection hanging in mid-air.

K clearly understood what kind of work that was, but he smiled and said:

"Those are some unpleasant jobs with no social security."

"These 'hopeless' people, fleeing from reality, live lives of idleness in the park."

"Hopeless?"

"Those without jobs, who have lost hope in life and spend their days idling as social strays—I don't know who coined the term, but they call them 'hopeless'."

K laughed: "That name really suits them, doesn't it?"