Chapter 11: The Jockey’s Powers

“What about other functions? You wouldn’t give it such a grand name as ‘jockey’ just for that.”

“That’s right. The name jockey was created because of its body enhancement function.”

“Body enhancement, huh.”

Transport Soldier 1199 stroked his chin and tilted his head.
Researcher 38, as if he had been waiting, turned on the electronic screen.
Then, a simulation of a player with a jockey tattooed on them appeared.

It was a scene where a player running on the racetrack slipped while crossing contaminated water.
To avoid being poisoned, he had to grab a branch.
But as time went on, the poison seeped in, and his mind blurred.

At this moment, the ‘jockey’ implanted in his body moved to one of his arms.
Outwardly, it looked like the swirling tattoo on his back faded and then reappeared vividly on his forearm.

However, this was a process where the ‘jockey’ rearranged itself to the body part the player needed.
It was similar to how blood flowed more to specific organs as needed.

“Amazing! The jockey moved to his arm, and his arm muscles were strengthened. And yet, there was no external change.”

Transport Soldier 1199 lightly clapped his hands.
The player’s arm looked exactly the same as before.
However, with the transfer of the tattoo, he exerted incomparable strength.

Rumor had it that the Special Star Army was supplied with similar weapons, and the fact that this would soon be used in the Human Run was simply enviable.

“With this, the ‘handicap’ system will be reformed. It’s been quite cumbersome until now, hasn’t it?”

“Indeed. They used to carry sandbags, after all.”

Researcher 38 nodded.
In the Human Run, to compensate for weight class differences, heavier horses wore so-called ‘handicap’ sandbags.

They didn’t actually wear bags of sand but used a device called a shackle, which was equally unsightly.

Considering aesthetics, it should have been hidden from view, but the ‘jockey,’ implanted into the human’s back like a tattoo, solved this problem.

Now, whether their weight class was large or small, this jockey would minimize their physical differences.

“Ha, Juseong’s technology is truly amazing, isn’t it?”

Walking around the desk, Transport Soldier 1199 sighed with renewed wonder.
Researcher 38 also agreed with a smile.

“Former Earthlings from the colonies probably couldn’t even imagine it.”

“Even if they are our ancestors, sometimes I wonder if they weren’t just cows or chickens.”

He had never seen pigs, cows, or chickens, but Transport Soldier 1199 shrugged again, as if boasting his historical knowledge.

Compared to Juseong, the past Earth was indeed nothing more than a livestock pen.

“Well, then, I’ll see you in a month.”

“You’ve worked hard.”

Researcher 38 sighed and returned to his desk after Transport Soldier 1199 left.
In front of the glass box was the research log he had been engrossed in until dawn yesterday.

He took out one of the Human Run recordings transported today from the front compartment of the case.
A moment later, the device recognized the recording and played the Human Run broadcast that aired on April 1st.

He pulled out jerky from a drawer for breakfast and leaned forward, focusing on the screen.

Bang! The race began with a blank shot fired into the air.

The camera first showed ‘Number 3,’ being devoured by a monster from the start.
The close-up of its eyeball, which popped out from the pressure of its head being bitten off, was truly…

“Disgusting.”

And yet, Researcher 38 put three pieces of jerky into his mouth at once.
A satisfied smile spread across his face, as if his hunger was sated.

The broadcast was just a broadcast.
And one that was already a month old.
The rigid, flat electronic screen made even the most horrific parts feel like mere scenes in a play.

‘No! Quan!’

‘Ugh… I can’t, I don’t think I can anymore.’

‘Get up. You can do it. I’ll support you…!’

‘It’s hard. I can’t do it…’

“Numbers 6 and 7 are allies again this time.”

They had stuck together in the last race too, and this time, they held hands again.
Last time, they had taken 1st and 2nd place respectively, by a single stride, but what about this time?

Unfortunately, the condition of Number 7 on screen didn’t look so good.
If Number 6 didn’t abandon him, he would likely become the monster’s target too.

‘Ah! There’s a door there!’

‘Ugh… ugh, blood…’

‘Just a little more, Quan. Just a little more.’

Number 6, who had found an exit somewhere, supported the injured Number 7 and came out into an open space.
The landscape of the destroyed city was always desolate, but this time, there were no scattered steel frames to block the monsters.

And yet, Number 6 successfully led Number 7 to the entrance of a ruined building.
Watching the screen, Researcher 38 picked up a pen.

[Add function to make it easier for monsters to locate players.]

Currently, the General Human Resources Office was monitoring and adjusting the monsters’ positions, but this was causing complaints about wasted manpower.

Therefore, if the jockey gained a location notification function, the monsters would hunt humans even without direct control from the General Human Resources Office.

‘But if it happens too often, the racehorses will lose their motivation.’

In that case, it would be better for the jockey to alert the monsters to the racehorse’s location under specific conditions.
The concrete conditions would be discussed with everyone at the research facility meeting tomorrow.

Researcher 38 refocused on the screen.

‘Ugh, damn it! My arm…!’

Just then, the camera focused on horse Number 9.
Number 9 was climbing a building that had no stairs or elevator, just a gaping hole in the ceiling, relying solely on a single rope.

The posture of wrapping the rope around his legs and climbing up was quite stable.
The problem was that he had not managed his stamina due to his eagerness.

Horse Number 9 couldn’t go halfway up and couldn’t climb any higher.
The hand gripping the rope trembled as if holding a blade.
The camera zoomed in on his bleeding palm.

The blood dripping drip-drip all the way to the first floor below was quite a sight to behold.
But… Researcher 38, twirling his pen, grimaced.

‘The monster is on the upper floor. It would be interesting if he could somehow get up there.’

But horse Number 9 was just dangling in the air, unable to go up or down.

‘The limits of human strength are indeed…’

Researcher 38 sighed.
Though inferior to monsters, sometimes a player who could break through their limits would appear, which would increase viewership.

But since the Human Run began, how many such players had appeared?
Fortunately, the jockey’s body enhancement function would compensate for this.

‘Aaaaaargh!’

Oh no. Researcher 38 grimaced, watching horse Number 9, who finally lost his grip on the rope and plunged to the ground.

Having fallen helplessly from approximately the seventh floor, he seemed to have broken his neck.

‘Damn it, the rope must be slipperier than I thought. We need to find another way.’

‘First, check his bag for food.’

Just then, Number 1 and Number 10, who had formed an alliance, appeared from behind the building.
They seemed to have been watching Number 9 climb the rope and contemplating their own direction.

Number 1 rummaged through the bag of Number 9, who had died instantly.
Unfortunately, all that was there was a water bottle, more than half empty.
He seemed to feel no pity for Number 9, spat on the corpse’s head, and left the spot.

“Boring.”

Today, too, the racehorses’ actions did not deviate from expectations.
Those who temporarily formed alliances, those who plundered the dead without even mourning, and idiots who hastened their deaths with rash actions.

‘If only I could add more functions to the jockey.’

Researcher 38 clicked his tongue.
Obedience test, location function, body enhancement function.
If only he could perform even more precise manipulations in addition to these.

However, thinking that far, Researcher 38 shook his head.
Even the famous Special Star Army, which was said to have surpassed human limitations, was just a mere human military unit and thus received limited weapons.

Juseong would not permit humans, the colonized natives, many technologies.

“Humans are…”

As Transport Soldier 1199 had said, if the former Earthlings were cows or chickens, what kind of beings were humans now?
A question suddenly arose, and Researcher 38 answered it himself.

“Livestock.”

Researcher 38 felt no regret that they were nothing more or less than that.
He had never understood what was wrong with such a designation in the first place.

Hello. Would you like to register as a user?

Researcher 38, checking the electronic screen connected to the jockey, pressed his temple.
It was that message again.

This was already the 294th attempt.

However, because that message appeared every time, he couldn’t utilize the hidden code within the jockey.

“Even when I ask the administrator, the only answer I get is that they don’t know. This is truly…”

Researcher 38 glanced at the administrator’s reply paper placed in the corner of his desk.
The text, printed in black ink, read ‘Unable to answer.’

Yet, if a challenging spirit arose, was it too presumptuous for him, a mere human?
Despite the dark circles under his eyes, Researcher 38’s eyes held a spark of life.