71. INSS Tracking (1)
71. INSS Tracking (1)
Extractor.
INSS.
The bastards I first met at Eunha General Hospital and confirmed the true nature of at the IN Company Cheongju Branch.
The bastards who committed suicide at Future Girls' High School.
They were also the bastards I'd put on the back burner while dealing with various other things since then.
Because my immediate survival was at stake, superpowers had been the top priority.
'Suicide, huh.'
Back then, I just wondered why, but now I know about the Brainwashing ability.
An ability with 98.8 compatibility. An ability higher than mine.
A man named Han Hae-il I met by chance.
He had been disguising people as Sentient Beings in the villa district and gathering Ability Users.
If not for Seo-yoon's Contract, I probably would've become a slave too.
That gives me a thought.
A suspicion that one of the key personnel at IN Company possesses the Brainwashing ability and is using it to control the humans below them.
The INSS suicides. If mental abilities are involved in that, it makes sense.
There's a possibility they were given orders like, 'If you're at risk of leaking information, die.'
'Of course, that's just a guess.'
There's nothing more important than one's own life in this world.
Of course, sometimes people with immense mental fortitude burn their own lives to change something, but they are just a minority.
And I don't think all those special forces members would be like that.
It's much more likely they were hit by a mental ability.
Or they're being controlled by something else.
'I am curious, though.'
In that case, how about I try to find the INSS around here before heading to Jeungpyeong County, Cheonan City, and Nonsan City as the Chief Researcher said?
What if I kidnapped a few of those agents, stopped them from committing suicide, and then just left them there?
Knock them out and bring them to Eun-bin.
They wouldn't be able to commit suicide then, right?
I was too busy to deal with it back then, but now I have some breathing room.
If that works out, I can use Seo-yoon's ability and ask them for relevant information.
'...No, wait.'
Is there really a need to do that?
I can just travel far away now, so shouldn't I just track the places those bastards are moving to?
Well, the question is how to find those things.
Looking at the case of the IN Mart Sejong Branch here, I can tell that a battle took place here recently too.
Infected killed by firearms I didn't use.
Countless bullet holes and shell casings scattered on the floor.
Even the Extractor, with only the Flask missing, beeping away.
Extraction is only possible once per area.
I confirmed this at Future Girls' High School.
The fact that they left the Extractor behind is proof of that.
However, there are traces of a recent extraction here. If they had extracted it back then, those Infected should have already rotted away, but I can see the corpses of recently killed Infected.
Did they find a way, or... is there some kind of preparation period for extraction?
'Or maybe they just came here late and extracted it late.'
Either way, it's a good situation for me.
Whether they found a way, there's a cooldown, or they just did it late, it means the INSS are here.
And it means I can also procure superpowers.
There was no one at the Sejong Branch, so the fact that they sent people all the way here to clear out the Infected and leave an Extractor means an important ability could appear here.
So, how do I find them?
Waiting here blindly is not the answer.
Extraction area, huh...
'Most of them were densely populated areas.'
Eunha General Hospital. Future Girls' High School. And this IN Mart Sejong Branch.
Then, I think I should try searching the densely populated areas of Sejong City.
Before I knew it, it was dawn on May 3rd.
'Shall I go?'
I drove my vehicle toward the densely populated areas.
#
I started scouring Sejong City.
I found two places like that.
Places where there were abandoned Extractors and traces of recent kills.
Saebyeol Elementary School. Hanbit High School.
I thought there might be a few more places if I searched the financial district or other buildings, but it would take too long to search all the way there.
Certainly, since there are no Hunters in the upper Geumgang River area of Sejong, traces of extraction were visible.
'......'
The problem now is the yellow Infected zone near Hanbit High School.
I can just catch those IN Company personnel and ask them about that.
'I'll just have to watch them for a few days.'
If my prediction is correct, a black truck will come here.
#
I returned to I-Pension.
Since the INSS would be guarding the spot for several hours for the extraction anyway, they would have to return during the day to sleep.
However, I heard some not-so-good news.
Seo-yoon approached me and said.
"Um, I saw Walkers and Runners moving in a group."
"Walkers and Runners, you say."
"Yes."
"Whereabouts?"
"Down below. The place coming from Bugang-myeon. The way Oppa always goes."
"......"
It meant a cluster of Sentient Beings moving in a group had been identified while monitoring with the drone.
Previously, Second Lieutenant Kim In-seop's group had dispatched a platoon to eliminate a Sentient Being cluster, but it ended in failure. If those bastards are expanding their influence all the way here, it's quite troublesome.
"How many were there?"
"For now, it was less than 20. But, um, I heard from Tae-jun-ssi that he saw them moving all at once while he was monitoring."
"......"
This makes our base quite dangerous too.
Even if the 32nd Division Logistics Center was destroyed due to internal strife, it was immediately looted by Sentient Beings.
"Were any Balloons or other Infected confirmed?"
"No. Just Walkers and Runners."
This is a bit annoying.
I'll have to keep the Bugang-myeon area in mind for now.
Or I could just take all the kids and clear that area out.
"Is it manageable to block them?"
"Um, for Sentient Beings or things like that, wouldn't it be? We just have to shoot the ones coming down the road. I don't know about the others. Also, I don't know the exact location."
"The kids know, right?"
"Yes."
For now, I don't recall a Sentient Being bringing anything higher than a Walker or Runner.
Maybe a Balloon.
Even if a Balloon burst, Infected higher than Walkers or Runners weren't drawn in.
'This is something I should experiment with, though.'
I'll have to ask.
I told Seo-yoon I understood, said goodbye, and headed to where Tae-jun was.
"Oh, Hyung."
"Um, hello."
I see the siblings, Tae-jun and Yu-rim.
Tae-jun greets me warmly, Yu-rim is a bit awkward.
I asked Tae-jun.
"I heard from Seo-yoon that there were Infected."
"Ah. Yes. I saw them on the drone."
"With whom? With Yu-rim?"
"Yes."
I confirmed the number I heard from Seo-yoon. The number was around 20. She said it wasn't even 30 at most.
"They were just moving, right?"
"Yes. Um, you know the path you take, Hyung? They were going that way. Toward Bugang-myeon."
"No Sentient Being confirmed."
"Yes."
Meaning they went to the logistics center.
Walkers and Runners moving in a group. That would mean a Sentient Being cluster is moving to kill survivors.
"Alright, I got it. If they come into view, just shoot them."
"Yup."
It seemed best to focus on blocking them for now, and then check the vicinity of I-Pension and go out to clear them with the kids later.
'It's really comfortable not having to worry about betrayal.'
Because that's how valuable Seo-yoon's ability is.
'I should pick a day and level up to level 4 too.'
Level 5 is impossible because of the Hunters, but level 4 is fully achievable by catching Flowers.
#
On the night of May 3rd, I quietly headed to Sejong City.
Passing the familiar Sejong Jiphyeon University, I headed to the IN Company Sejong Branch.
Sejong Branch. I took a quick look at the parking lot, the underground parking lot, and the interior.
However, there was nothing there.
Next, I headed to the three places where I had found Extractors. IN Mart, Saebyeol Elementary School, Hanbit High School. However.
'It's not here.'
I guess one day isn't enough.
Or I'm just wasting my time right now.
I spent a few days going back and forth between I-Pension and this place, keeping watch.
And on the 4th day. The night of May 7th.
'......'
I confirmed that the black truck over there was parked inside the IN Mart.
'So they do come.'
My prediction was correct.
Either there's a cooldown until extraction is possible again, or they found a way to extract.
I think I can just ask the bastards inside about that now.
Now, about dealing with them.
'Let's wait.'
However, given the previous suicide incident, if they have abilities like mental users or communication, it would be quite troublesome if information about this place spreads.
I think it's definitely right to follow them and wipe them all out.
It seemed best to wait here, and then follow them at the time they move.
A sigh came out naturally.
'Sigh...'
I don't know how many days I'll have to wait.
But it can't be helped.
There's a very high chance that threats won't work on them, so there's no need to leave the sure thing and do something with low probability.
I missed both the IN Company Cheongju Branch and the IN Company Sejong Branch, so I wanted to catch at least their tail this time.
No, wait, forget the tail, let's just follow them and catch their head this time.
Thus, the endless wait began.
#
I broke into an apartment nearby.
I pried open a home on the 5th floor and waited.
Because of the nature of Sejong Special Self-Governing City, the roads are wide open, so I can see well even from the 5th floor.
The distance between here and that IN Mart is over 100m, and I can see that black truck from here.
ㅡTak
ㅡTak
Back then, good abilities took almost two weeks or more.
That means it's correct that I have to wait here for two weeks or more.
I prepared myself mentally and waited.
'.....?'
However, for some reason, they moved quickly on the dawn of May 7th.
I also quickly went down and flew into the sky.
Because if I miss them, I don't know when the next opportunity will arise.
Was the ability inside not a very good one?
Or did they find another way to install and use the Extractor?
Or did something else happen?
Anyway, it was a good thing for me.
I waited until they came into view, then found a motorcycle nearby and followed them.