Chapter 12: A Mouse Meeting a Cat

"I have also been investigating this incident in secret. All the victims were turned into mummies, their bodies withered as if they had been air-dried mummies preserved through some special method."

S placed a series of documents she had gathered onto the table and began:

"Based on my investigation over this period, these are the credit card transaction records of the victims that I managed to collect."

"I found that they share a common trait: every single one of them had purchased Shiner 5."

"This—this Shiner 5, what on earth is it?"

K clearly hadn't recovered yet. He arched his back slightly as he voiced his question.

"Jin, do you know anything about this stuff?"

Jin shook his head. "This case was simply entrusted to me by a friend. I don't personally know much about it. Everything I know is contained within these files, and my investigation isn't as thorough as S's."

S, exuding the regal aura of a queen, tapped her fingers on the table and said, "I knew men couldn't be relied upon. I have already investigated the specific circumstances very thoroughly, and I've even temporarily locked onto the target."

"Shiner 5 is a functional chemical drug under the Heedil category that has become extremely popular recently."

As she spoke, S habitually pulled out a tin box, took out a piece of chocolate, and began chewing on it.

"Heedil possesses the effects of restoring eyesight and treating mild cognitive impairment, while Shiner 5 is a functional chemical drug independently developed by the life sciences institution Nnyberteh three months ago. Its principle is to expand the activity functions of the human brain."

"This substance is odorless. Families often make it into ice cubes and drop it into their drinking water, where it turns a pale orange-yellow. However, Shiner 5 is a mail-order-only product. It gained immense popularity the moment it hit the market, and now it requires a two-month advance reservation."

Jin looked at S and asked, "Is this so-called 'expanding brain activity function' just a promotional slogan? What are the actual effects?"

S gave a light smile, shook her head, and said, "The actual results are unexpectedly good."

"I once spent a long time investigating people who took Shiner 5 and found that ordinary college students who took it immediately published advanced economic papers, while ordinary corporate employees and group managers, and even ordinary housewives, all transformed into shrewd businesspeople."

Taking another piece of chocolate and putting it into her mouth, S continued, "You could say that every ordinary person who takes Shiner 5 is completely reborn. Now, the enterprise producing this drug has completed a new round of financing and is undergoing massive expansion. If you just walk down the street, you are guaranteed to see advertisements playing on the floating screens in the sky."

With that, S got up and pulled open the curtains. True enough, a massive floating screen drifting past at that very moment projected the corresponding promotional slogan.

"Recommending a powerful partner for your life—Shiner 5, developed by us at Nnyberteh, is the Heedil that guides your life toward success."

K looked in astonishment at the advertisement replaying on the screen and exclaimed, "Could it really have such an extraordinary transformation? If I were to take just one pill..."

S sneered, cutting off K's daydreaming. "If you want to turn into a mummified corpse, then by all means, go ahead and try."

"Uh..."

K expressed his submission.

S walked over to the table, set down a pill wrapped in a small transparent plastic box, and said, "To investigate the connection, I specially asked my dad to buy this Shiner 5. Analysis shows it's composed of ordinary substances, and no abnormalities have been discovered so far."

Pausing for a moment, she added, "However, I feel that this thing must be strange. It's possible that Shiner 5 only reacts after entering the human body; we won't know the specific details unless we drink it."

K curiously picked up the Shiner 5, held it up to the light to inspect it, and said, "It looks very ordinary, light pink. I wonder what it tastes like."

"Hmm... Let me keep this for safekeeping for now."

S shrugged indifferently and said, "As you like."

As she spoke, S pulled out another piece of chocolate and shoved it into her mouth. Seeing her continuously eating chocolate, K looked somewhat curious: "Why are you eating so much chocolate?"

As if provoked, S shot K a peculiar look.

"That's still better than you, Mr. Fancy Pudding."

K indicated that he would swallow this grievance.

"What does that have to do with anything? I just like pudding!"

An exceptionally aggrieved K fled in a panic.

The next day, at the headquarters of the life sciences institution Nnyberteh.

"If possible, it would probably be better to bring S along for an undercover investigation. After all, she's a professional undercover agent."

Having shed his black trench coat and dressed in a suit, Jin looked at K beside him.

"No, no, no! That woman who worships violence—if she comes, I'll feel entirely uncomfortable all over."

At the mere thought of S, K felt a sharp pain in his crotch and hurriedly shook his head, rejecting Jin's suggestion.

Donning a pair of glasses, K looked quite dapper in his reporter disguise.

"Let's go! To the enemy's stronghold!"

Jin helplessly shook his head and had no choice but to follow in the footsteps of this comedic goofball.

Stepping into the Nnyberteh headquarters, the lobby appeared very busy with staff constantly moving back and forth. The enterprise exuded an upward trajectory, and it was clear that the employees inside were full of drive.

"Mail delivery—"

A young guy carrying a messenger bag greeted the receptionist before walking into the company.

Meanwhile, Jin and K stood cautiously near the entrance, observing the situation in the lobby.

"I am Secretary Yamane. You must be the ones here for the scheduled interview?"

A middle-aged man approached Jin to welcome them.

Jin bowed slightly and said, "Yes, please treat us well."

"This way, please."

Following the middle-aged man, Jin and K arrived at the president's office, where they met Tazaki, the president of Nnyberteh.

"You want to know the secret behind the immense popularity of Shiner 5, right?"

"Yes."

As Jin spoke, he fished out a pen and paper from the messenger bag at his side, playing the part of a reporter to perfection.

"We want to understand the popularity and secrets of Shiner 5..."

"There's also the question..."

President Tazaki's expression shifted slightly, but he quickly masked it.

"A question? What possible issues could our Shiner 5 have? Could it be that our users are becoming too outstanding and causing social disputes? Haha!"

Jin smiled faintly, cutting off President Tazaki's hearty laughter, and said seriously:

"For instance, is turning humans into mummies caused by the drug spoiling?"

"Haha!"

President Tazaki looked as though he had just heard some hilarious joke, pushed up his glasses, and said:

"Under the premise of guaranteeing health, we at Nnyberteh provide our clients with a powerful life assistant. Therefore, the very first thing we consider is never letting our clients turn into mummies."

"Knock, knock."

However, two knocks sounded on the door, and a somewhat familiar, gentle female voice drifted in immediately.

"Excuse me."

Seeing the female secretary enter, President Tazaki nodded slightly and then looked at Jin and K.

"Please have some tea."

The female secretary placed the teacups on the table in front of Jin, casting an intentional or unintentional glance at his way.

"Please partake."

Jin raised his head slightly, preparing to express his gratitude, but froze instead.

S!

Jin nudged K—who was currently drinking his tea—with his elbow, signaling him to look.

K raised his head, froze for a split second, and then nearly spat out the tea in his mouth. He hurriedly set the cup down, using one hand to cover his mouth while the other instinctively shielded his groin.

"What's wrong?" President Tazaki looked at K with a puzzled expression.

Seeing K's miserable, mouse-meeting-a-cat predicament, Jin smiled inwardly with a touch of dark humor while keeping a completely deadpan expression on the outside, merely apologizing:

"Sorry, he drank too fast and choked a bit."