Chapter 114
Chapter 114
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 114
Chapter Title: Emergency Assembly (2)
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[Assembly order. All Black Badger HQ personnel deploy to Portal Zone.]
[Assembly order. All Black Badger HQ personnel deploy to Portal Zone.]
Portal?
I raised my head, widening my eyes.
There had been several assembly orders so far, but this was the first time we'd been told to gather at the Portal Zone.
"Let's go."
Yoon walked out calmly.
"You know where the lockers are now, right?"
"Yes."
HQ had personal lockers for Black Badger agents.
They were for storing combat gear and personal weapons. I and the other recruits who hadn't taken the promotion exam yet hadn't been issued personal weapons.
We'd grab the shared weapons from the locker room.
When I hurried to the lockers, several seniors were already there.
After greeting them with a nod, I changed.
Unlike usual, we had to wear helmets that resembled gas masks. The black combat suits were thicker and sturdier than normal. They seemed covered in unknown functions, but Yoon had stuffed me into mine in an instant, so I couldn't ask what was what.
I flailed my limbs, dazed by his rough handling.
"Ugh!"
My hair got caught!
"My hair!"
Yoon yanked out the hair caught in the helmet or zipper.
Several people nearby watched us with amusement.
"Why can't you dress yourself properly?"
"It's a rookie."
When Yoon muttered puzzledly, a senior watching from the side chuckled.
"Aren't you dressing them too roughly?"
After changing, I followed Yoon.
Everyone wore the same outfit, but spotting my master was easy. Among those gathered in the locker room, he moved the most silently and efficiently.
We were the last to leave the locker room.
"Remember where the Portal Zone is?"
"No."
I had been too out of it back then.
I couldn't even recall what it looked like.
Yoon just nodded, unsurprised.
"Basement."
Basement?
The basement?
I followed silently behind my master in shock.
Black Badger agents in helmets moved in perfect unison ahead of my master. Heavy footsteps echoed through the corridor. I raised my visor to secure my vision and stuck close to my senior.
People parted from the walls like the Red Sea.
Focusing only on my master's back as I ran, suddenly those ahead stopped.
I halted too and looked up.
A gray door filled my view. Clank, clank. The massive locks disengaged with a loud racket.
The locks released slowly.
The huge door swung inward heavily.
The smell changed.
Air sucked inward.
Feeling my view open up, I drew in a breath.
Portal Zone.
The familiar sight choked me for a moment.
Chilly light bathed my eyes. It was still vast enough for several cargo trucks. And shockingly pale. Just seeing the colors sent chills down my spine.
In that expansive space stood two unidentified devices.
People who looked like scientists peered at pads next to the machines.
The HR Director was at the entrance.
"You're here."
The HR Director, who had been looking at his pad, turned.
"Check the roster?"
He pointed to a display in the air as incoming Black Badger agents glanced over.
"Those assigned to B-5 Zone, head inside. Those for B-14 Zone, line up in front of the device by the entrance!"
The majority assigned to Zone 5 moved in a group. The few seniors for Zone 14 headed silently to the device.
They crossed the vast space, weapons in hand.
Only Yoon didn't move.
The HR Director and I turned to him puzzled.
Yoon stood still, then raised his visor.
"Why is the team like this?"
"Pardon?"
Joo tilted his head.
He met my master's gaze and widened his eyes.
His kind eyes curved perfectly. A smile that could melt hearts.
It didn't work on Choi Yoon.
If anything, it backfired. My master furrowed his brow, brushing off the HR Director's smile. Even with only his eyes visible through the helmet, his expression was clear.
Like he'd seen something he shouldn't have.
Irritation laced his voice.
"Do I have to spell it out?"
As electricity hummed into the portal device for B-5 Zone, Yoon growled.
"Why bunch all the dogshit into Zone 14?"
"Because of Sylvia and Leonard?"
Joo brushed off Yoon's murderous glare effortlessly.
The HR Director grinned.
"I know you have in-group bias, but bear with it a little. They're both highly skilled, right?"
"You know it's not just them. Jerry Jones, Lucia Kwon, Gail Dawson, Isaac Lane... Should I list more to cool your temper?"
"I'll pass that along to Yoon."
The HR Director dropped the pretense.
The daisy flowers that always hovered like hallucinations behind him vanished in an instant.
I swallowed hard at his changed smile.
"Most of our key personnel need to concentrate on B-5 Zone."
"Then put everyone in Zone 5."
"We need bait."
Joo's voice was low enough for only us to hear.
"Something to draw attention away from the Black Badgers surrounded in Zone 5. They say Zone 14 needs a presence for that."
Ah.
That was me.
It clicked. Black Badgers in B Zone were surrounded by Creatures. To rescue them, we'd portal to B Zone, but they needed a unit in Zone 5 to scatter the Creatures there.
That's why Yoon and I were assigned to Zone 14.
My kin would sense me and swarm my location.
Smart assignment. I nodded, showing I understood.
But Yoon kept staring at the HR Director sullenly.
My master glared at his boss, who smiled like daisies might bloom again, then muttered.
"You mean handle it discreetly."
"Love for your juniors!"
Joo cut Yoon off abruptly.
"The kid can hear you!"
What?
I blinked, not following the conversation. Why did the HR Director respond to Yoon's mutter with "love for your juniors," and what did Yoon mean by "handle it discreetly"?
But then the HR Director said, "Ye-hyeon will chew you out big time," and the truth hit.
I stared at Yoon in shock.
"You're not saying you'll kill them, right?"
"Quick on the uptake, as rumored."
Joo laughed, amused, studying me.
"Almost no one catches Yoon's implications right away."
But this wasn't the time for his sunny smile...
Of course people didn't get it. It was beyond common sense. If I hadn't spent months under this man, I wouldn't have figured it out either.
He's rotten to the core.
Yoon ignored me shaking my head and pulled down his visor, turning away.
The sociopath master walked into the Portal Zone.
"If it's urgent, send them first."
He meant the Black Badgers lined up at the Zone 14 portal.
"The rookie's portal compatibility isn't checked yet, so we'll test and then send."
"Ah, got it."
I still didn't fully get Yoon's words this time.
But seeing the HR Director nod easily, it seemed sensible.
The HR Director lowered his pad and smiled.
"That makes sense in sequence. Check and then move."
Yoon headed to the scientists without replying.
The HR Director smiled brightly.
I bowed politely to him, then followed my master.
***
My master left me at the Zone 14 portal.
Said he'd fetch the device to test portal compatibility and stepped away.
I was left amid seniors ready to portal out.
I quietly moved to stand behind the crowd, lips sealed.
Eyes poured in.
Even with most visors down, the stares stung. Seniors for Zone 5 had already vanished into the portal. The vast Portal Zone held only Black Badgers waiting for the Zone 14 portal to form.
They observed me while waiting.
Too much pressure.
As I lowered my head with the stares, someone nudged me.
"Rookie."
I turned toward the voice.
"Yes."
"What were you dawdling about next to the HR Director?"
I couldn't see the speaker's face through the helmet.
But by voice and build, it seemed male.
Long rifle in hand.
He leaned in, helmeted face forward.
"Don't you know it's an emergency?"
"Sorry."
Better to apologize than argue.
Thanks to the helmet, no need to manage expressions.
I replied neutrally.
"My master said I haven't done the portal compatibility test yet."
"Compatibility test."
He snorted like no words were funnier.
"That test even slackers pass. You're holding us up for that?"
"Yes. I don't know the details, but my master said he'd bring the tester."
"Such a fuss."
He crossed his arms, sneering.
Condescending gesture.
"All this hassle for that crap."
"Sorry."
"If compatibility fails, just quit being a Black Badger. Right?"
"Qualified personnel, move out in 30 seconds."
A scientist by the device shouted.
I blinked at the bluish ripple forming in the device's center. The Zone 14 portal was ready too. A circular ripple in the center grew, opening an alien space.
"Prepare to move. Countdown from 10 seconds."
"You too."
The crossed-arms Black Badger nodded at me.
"It's an emergency."
"I was told to stay."
"Who's higher up?"
Crackle, crackle.
The portal grew. Seniors turned away one by one, approaching the portal.
No one intervened.
Countdown began. I frowned faintly at the senior grabbing my arm.
"10."
"Hey, not coming? Don't you know this is a direct order from the Supreme Commander?"
"I'll go as soon as my master returns."
"9."
"It's an emergency!"
The senior yelled.
"Your precious master matters more than the assembly order!"
Not refusing the order.
Just delaying slightly, per my master's judgment.
I tried to say that, but too late.
The instigating senior yanked hard, the countdown-started portal pulled strongly, I expected his strength but not the portal's, and another watcher nearby shoved my back toward it.
Numbers dwindling.
At 3 seconds left, my body lurched into the portal.
"3."
"Huh? Really dragging the kid?"
"2."
Someone outside reached in panic.
But I'd lost balance, bright light swallowed my vision.
"1."
Sucked in.
Familiar sensation.
One I never got used to, no matter how many times.
Feeling it, I was pulled into the portal.
***
Thud!
Before regaining senses, a heavy impact hit my ears.
Boom! A body crashed at my feet with a racket.
Recognizing my grabber senior, my jaw dropped.
"Dawson."
Yoon's following voice made me tremble.
"Insurbordination?"