OLD-WORLD EXTRA-Chapter 522: Pa Pa Pa Pah~ II

The loop continued, dragging me through the same hellish sequence again and again.

Every time I woke up, there I was-pulled by my legs, my head bouncing off the tiles, pain thundering in my skull.

Each time, I'd hear that distorted jingle droning on in the background:

"Pa Pa Pa Pah~ We care about your nutrition! Fresh from our farms to your table!"

The cheerful, sing-song tone burrowed into my brain like a drill, making my teeth clench with each round. But I learned to push this pain aside, to focus on the little details that got ever so slightly clearer with each loop.

I, again, had focused on what my target saw-the things he noticed in the background of this grim stage.

Every piece mattered, like breadcrumbs laid out in the dark.

It would form the key that would get out of here.

First, to get the obvious out of the way and make the main structure of the 'key,' it had to be acknowledged that this wasn't just some random barn; it was a prime location used to erase targets, a place valuable enough to keep hidden right under the noses of the people.

A corpse buried in plain sight, wrapped in corporate plastic.

Why use a subsidiary's property?

Obviously to avoid the main company's trace, keep things underground.

But still, this was Stellar's hand at work.

Second thing, I noticed something else-a label stamped on the side of a livestock pen, a small metal plaque tarnished and scratched.

{Property of AgroTech #91241.}

A confirmation of the specific barn where this murder took place in.

I didn't know where it was exactly, but I was sure that Amon could get that information ASAP.

Not all the loops were useful, rather, most brought me nothing but pain.

Each time, I felt the cold blade slice into me, hoisting me up onto that cursed hook, my body dangling as blood seeped from me in waves... I forced myself to look.

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But, as I had no motor function left in my body, all I could see was the wall on the right.

There, a smear-dark red, dried blood-curving like a handprint dragged down the length of the steel panel.

A previous target had tried to escape, to claw his way out, but he was dragged back in, made an example.

"Pa Pa Pa Pah~ We care about your nutrition! Fresh from our farms to your table!"

The jingle looped, the song blaring in an endless, mind-numbing cycle.

After hearing it a couple of more times, I was sure that nothing was left for me to find out... 'Nothing except the farm owner that is.'

With that thought, I focused on studying the man who dragged me.

He was no common thug; that was for sure, there was precision in his work.

Though I could barely see him through the cycle, three interactions made it possible to make out a few things about him.

First, at the very beginning of the cycle, before my vision would get worse, I could see the back of his head as my own bounced off the tiles.

It was hazy, as was everything else, but after uncountable repetitions, I was sure of the characteristics.

Short, wiry hair, slightly gray, probably from the chemicals in the air here.

Second, was when the dragging stopped, and he moved to lift me under my armpits.

At that moment, his face was close, close enough that I could see his cheek stubble, even smell the metallic tang that clung to his skin.

His jaw was sharp, a scar running down the left side, and as he angled me toward that hook, after many thousands of attempts, I caught the barest hint of an old tattoo, something faded, twisted into the skin beneath his eyes.

From the faint lines, I could see that it was a tear-the kind used by Corpo bastards.

He was probably a former Fixer, someone who'd done this kind of work for years and still did

it now, just instead of many corporations, it was for one, earning him a more above-board title.

The third was a bit harder to get, if that was even conceivable.

It was in my final moments, just before my eyes closed shut, as my neck twisted further to the side, and my eyes landed on a metallic wall.

There, I caught a reflection, a faint outline where I could barely make out his full form.

He was tall, muscular but lean, though that wasn't what I was after.

I made this out long ago.

I was more interested in a unique characteristic that would make him easy to identify.

And thankfully... I had found it.

Both his feet had no shoes, they didn't need any, they were fully cybernetic.

If Amon had eyes here, this would be more than enough to track him down immediately.

This was the final clue and the nightmare told me that, as by the next blink, I felt an obvious shift.

"Pa Pa Pa Pah~ We care about your nutrition! Fresh from our farms to your table!"

While I could still hear that damned song, and it was still really annoying, I simply felt

lighter, weightless almost.

My mind endured no pain, as I was simply an observer, watching the scene for the last time.

It was only then that I noticed another difference.

The man's appearance was no longer blurred, I could fully see him without issue, and it

wasn't only him, the other clues I had found were obvious as well.

Now, I was even more sure, I had succeeded.

I was lifted and felt the hook dig in again, slicing into me, the familiar thud of my body as it

hung there, waiting for death.

But even then, pain didn't visit me, it was washed away, muted.

A quietness settled over me, and I could feel my mind settling too, as though every piece had

fallen into place.

"They won't eat you alive."

And then, after I heard those words... silence.

I had found all there was to find. There were no secrets left.

Closing my eyes, I let myself go, and offered no resistance, letting my life draining out of me.

Death claimed me, and for the first time in an unfathomably long time, there was no restart,

no new loop.

Just the empty void.

I floated there, feeling the cold weightlessness of death settle.

It was like slipping into the quiet beyond, a strange calm after the storm.

All the pain, all the struggle, all the repetition-it faded.

Then, breaking through that darkness, I hear a voice-deep, familiar.

"Are you alright, son?"

Amon.