Genius Wizard Takes Medicine Chapter 4

Confusion

Having already wandered through the factory to learn its layout, Lenoch had a rough idea of where the supervisors’ quarters were.

After confirming through the window that numerous trucks were busily entering the factory grounds, he lowered his head slightly and moved quickly.

His steps were much lighter and faster than before.

He ran into other supervisors in the hallway, but after confirming that Lenoch was not one of their workers, they lost interest in him.

On any other day, they would have used the opportunity to harass a worker over some pointless fault.

But today, they were far too busy for that.

The supervisors were already struggling to deal with the union members who had come to inspect and collect the products made in the factory.

All throughout the factory, people wearing blue vests were pushing the supervisors around.

“The product count doesn’t match. Was I expecting too much?”

“…No, sir.”

“Who do you think is allowing you to run this factory so conveniently?”

“I’m sorry!”

“The workers here could have been reported to the Human Rights Committee long ago, but we’ve been understanding of your circumstances. You should show a little sincerity in return.”

The conversations alone were enough to make one’s neck stiffen.

The supervisors, who acted like demons in front of the workers, were now busy bowing like reeds in the wind.

Among them, one particularly older union member threw down the documents an supervisor had brought him and shouted in irritation.

“Enough! Judging from this ledger, you’ve been skimming quite a bit. I’ll personally check the warehouse and confirm the missing materials. If the shortage isn’t made up by the time we leave today, you’d better be prepared.”

At the union member’s threat, the surrounding supervisors reluctantly nodded.

However, their expressions were filled with relief.

The fact that he had targeted the materials warehouse meant the first punching bag had already been chosen.

Once the union member vented his anger there, he would most likely propose a more reasonable compromise afterward.

Of course, the supervisor in charge of the materials warehouse would suffer for it, but there was no sense of camaraderie among the supervisors strong enough to cover for such a trivial matter.

Lenoch picked up a random box lying nearby and began loitering around.

Before long, one of the nearby supervisors noticed him and approached.

The supervisor looked down at Lenoch’s work clothes with disdain and asked,

“Why is a worker here?”

“Well… I was sent on an errand. I have business in the supervisors’ quarters…”

“What errand?”

“That, you know… the thing you smoke.”

As he said that, Lenoch pretended to gather smoke in his mouth and exhale it.

If one worker had managed to steal cigarettes from a supervisor’s bed, it was likely that the other supervisors openly enjoyed similar vices as well.

As expected, the supervisor understood immediately. He glanced around, then grabbed Lenoch by the collar and dragged him along.

He grumbled irritably as he walked down the corridor with practiced steps.

“I told them not to send it openly by courier, but those crazy bastards still had it delivered on a day like this. Damn it…”

After turning several corners, they arrived at a hallway far cleaner than the shabby workroom where the workers stayed.

In front of a door painted with white paint, the supervisor rummaged through his pocket. Before long, he found a ring with two or three keys tied together and held it in his hand.

When he unlocked the padlock and opened the door, a small bedroom appeared inside.

Compared to the rooms Lenoch remembered from his old life, it was still cramped. Even so, it was far better than the shabby room where he had been eating and sleeping for the past week.

Now that he had made it this far, he no longer had any use for the supervisor.

Lenoch gathered his mana and brought the thumb and index finger of his right hand together.

He imagined a powerful electric current, strongly recalling the effect of a stun gun as he guided his mana.

“…Volt.”

Crackle!

As he softly chanted the incantation, a small arc of electricity sparked between Lenoch’s fingers.

Even though magic was being used right behind him, the supervisor did not notice at all. The instant the man turned around and looked down at him, Lenoch immediately jabbed his two fingers beneath the supervisor’s jaw.

“Now, hand over the goods—Ggggh!”

The supervisor’s eyes, which had been gleaming with greed, rolled back, and a strange scream escaped his mouth.

His massive body convulsed violently before collapsing in front of the half-open door, pushing it wide open and revealing the bedroom beyond.

Lenoch grabbed the supervisor by the shoulders and struggled to drag his huge body into the room.

Leaving him outside could cause trouble if someone else found him.

Ideally, he would have lifted the unconscious man onto the bed to hide him properly, but Lenoch gave up after a few attempts.

With his weakened strength, moving such a heavy body that far was impossible.

After dragging the supervisor inside and closing the door, Lenoch let out a sigh of relief and sat down on the bed.

“Phew…”

Thanks to the effects of the cigarette, he felt somewhat tired, but there was no crushing sense of weakness or fatigue.

However, he could not afford to misunderstand.

The unknown vitality currently circulating through his body was not removing his pain or fatigue. It was merely making him forget them for a short while.

The backlash that would come after the drug wore off would be far more intense than the fatigue Lenoch usually felt.

He did not have much time to rest either.

If he wanted to escape the factory, he had to hurry.

Since he had come to the supervisor’s bedroom, which had not been part of the original plan, it was important to leave as soon as he obtained what he wanted.

Lenoch first took the key ring from the fallen supervisor’s hand, then immediately began searching through the bedroom.

If it was a favored item commonly used among the supervisors, there was a high chance it had been carefully hidden somewhere.

After lifting the entire mattress, Lenoch finally found his answer.

“You hid quite a lot.”

Lenoch clicked his tongue when he saw the neatly arranged pile of cigarettes hidden beneath the mattress.

Even at a rough estimate, there were more than enough to fill a carton.

Taking the cigarette case from the supervisor’s pocket, Lenoch swept as many cigarettes as he could from under the mattress into it. Once the case was full, he stopped without hesitation.

There was no way for him to carry them all anyway.

The case the supervisor used was just the right size to fit in his pocket, and it even had a built-in ignition function, making it extremely convenient to carry.

Although he wanted to smoke one immediately and experience that earlier sensation again, Lenoch forced himself to resist and continued searching for anything else that might be useful.

As he rummaged through an old drawer, Lenoch paused when his fingertips brushed against something hard and metallic.

“……”

It was his first time touching one in reality, but there was no mistaking its shape.

Lenoch pulled an old pistol from the drawer and stared at it with a complicated expression.

The details were different, but the overall silhouette was painfully familiar.

The magazine loaded beneath the pistol held eight bullets, but there were no spare magazines in the drawer.

It seemed to be the kind of weapon that could be fired simply by pulling the slide, with little regard for safety features.

Lenoch stared at the pistol for a moment, lost in thought.

But he soon realized that even hesitation was a luxury.

If he wanted to survive, he had to act without wavering, using whatever means were available to him.

Lenoch tucked the pistol into his pocket and immediately left the supervisor’s room.

Now that he had obtained the cigarettes, he needed to move quickly. Even so, Lenoch paused briefly to examine the keyring he had taken from the supervisor’s hand.

There were only three keys, but each one had a sticker indicating its purpose.

The characters were unfamiliar, yet strangely enough, he could understand what they meant.

It seemed the former Lenoch had not been completely illiterate.

One was for the bedroom.

One was for the assembly room… It seemed this supervisor had been in charge of the assembly room.

And when Lenoch confirmed that the final key was labeled “break room,” he immediately began moving in the direction of the break room.

“It’s a little different from the original plan… but this might actually be more effective.”

Lenoch’s original plan had been to escape the factory through the underground parking lot.

Although he had discovered several possible routes while exploring the factory, he was confident that the parking lot was the safest option.

Since he had to avoid the supervisors’ eyes while moving through the factory, there was no way for him to know what kind of security was waiting outside.

If he chose an overland route carelessly, he would be helpless if he encountered unexpected guards or defences.

The parking lot, which was mainly used by vehicles rather than people, was likely to have looser security.

He had been prepared to take the risk of moving through the parking lot on foot.

But if he could make use of the supervisors’ break room, the situation changed.

The break room was located in the corridor between the supervisors’ quarters and the workshop.

Lenoch pressed his ear against the door and listened carefully.

There was no sound from inside.

He immediately unlocked the door with the key.

As expected, the supervisors were busy dealing with the union members, leaving the break room empty.

The room was littered with snacks, liquor bottles, and clothes the supervisors had left behind.

It was obvious they drank while on duty.

But in a shabby factory like this, anyone with a diligent attitude toward work would never have ended up here in the first place.

And people like that would not find it strange to leave important belongings mixed in with their clothes.

“…Found it.”

After thoroughly searching the pockets of the clothes scattered around the break room, Lenoch managed to find an old pair of sunglasses, an empty wallet, and two keyrings.

Most of them were keys for various rooms or locked doors, similar to the ones he had taken from the unconscious supervisor.

However, one key had a code on it that appeared to be a vehicle serial number.

Although he had no way of knowing what kind of license plates vehicles used in this world, simply obtaining another key was a gain.

Thud! Thud!

A faint vibration echoed from beyond the wall of the break room.

It was a loud, distant noise, as if something were being struck repeatedly.

It seemed the union members were causing a commotion as they moved around the factory.

Using the chaos to his advantage, Lenoch sat down and immediately lit another cigarette, placing it between his lips.

He had never smoked in his old world, but Lenoch quickly grew accustomed to it.

Just like before, the smoke seeped through his body, making him forget his fatigue and pain.

At the same time, his sharpened mind began to loosen, easing the tension that had been holding him together.

Forgetting his physical exhaustion was useful.

But relaxing mentally was not helpful in his current situation.

After inhaling a moderate amount of smoke, Lenoch consciously removed the cigarette from his mouth.

‘They said it was mixed with psychoactive plants. If I take in too much, even my thinking speed might slow down.’