Chapter 128
Chapter 128
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 128
Chapter Title: Let's Keep the Schedule! (3)
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"I'll file a report with the police."
The first to snap out of it was Ska.
Ye-hyeon couldn't tear his eyes away from the looping video—the one showing Hilde writhing in agony from the electric shocks—and simply nodded.
"The Elders must already know, right?"
Gilbert pulled out his work phone, his face ashen.
The Supreme Commander nodded again. But he didn't stop Gilbert from contacting the Elders just to confirm.
He stayed pale, staring at the video for a long time.
Until Ska and Gilbert finished their calls and turned back.
"Honestly, they probably wanted to capture me."
Ye-hyeon muttered to himself.
"But that was impossible.... When did they kidnap Hilde?"
"There's a record of him using the shooting range until 6 p.m. today."
Gilbert peered at his screen.
"He might've been taken on his way home. I'll check with Yoon."
"Yeah. Tell him to come to the office."
Yoon arrived quickly.
While Ye-hyeon responded to a message from the Elders and called his father—who should be resting on the holiday—he wrapped up his native-language call and showed Yoon the video.
Yoon watched in silence.
As soon as it ended, he spoke.
"It looks like he was kidnapped after his schedule wrapped up. But those guys didn't act alone."
Ye-hyeon finally tore his eyes from the endlessly looping video.
Ska and Gilbert watched the Rookie's Master intently. Yoon met the Command Staff's heavy gazes—thick with worry and guilt—with cold indifference.
"There's no way he didn't notice some stranger approaching with that much malice."
"I think so too. But that's not important right now."
Ye-hyeon spoke in a weary voice.
"Let's find him fast."
"They won't kill him."
"I know. But he's suffering."
The Supreme Commander brushed his face with a pale hand.
"He's in pain. So...."
His words trailed off briefly before continuing.
"He's someone who doesn't deserve to go through this...."
Everyone in the office understood Ye-hyeon's quiet murmur.
Ska and Gilbert's eyes mirrored the Supreme Commander's guilt. They knew the organization's real target was them.
Those bastards probably wanted to capture and kill the three of them. He could guess which group. The most radical among those opposing Black Badger's existence. The ones who launched physical attacks whenever they faded from memory—they wanted the Command Staff.
But instead, they'd grabbed the Rookie.
Not as young as outsiders thought, but still undeniably a Rookie. Hilde hadn't run a solo mission yet, hadn't passed the periodic fitness checks, and didn't have free access to operate Green Dream.
In a word, a complete newbie.
If Hilde were young or sensitive, this incident might've made him quit Black Badger.
But Yoon wasn't worried about that.
"The biggest problem is his exam tomorrow."
Ye-hyeon lifted his head from his hands.
The aides' eyes widened.
"Tomorrow?"
"Yes."
Yoon nodded at Gilbert's question.
"Starts at 9:30 a.m. tomorrow."
"What kind of timing is that?"
Ska gasped.
"If he doesn't make it before the exam starts, he'll fail, right?"
"Yeah. That rule's never been broken before."
"There hasn't been an exception like this, though."
Ye-hyeon muttered with hollow eyes.
"We should rescue him as fast as possible."
"They'll have the helicopter and shooting gear all set up, right?"
"Yes. The exam schedule can't be changed."
"What rotten luck that guy's got."
Gilbert muttered in disbelief.
"Of all times, the day before his promotion exam...."
"Call whichever of Walker or Asil has free hands."
Ye-hyeon's sharp voice cut through the conversation.
The men's heads turned. Toward their boss, frowning faintly as he stared at his phone.
The office air turned frigid.
The Supreme Commander stood and issued a curt order.
"I'll contact my police and intel contacts."
He headed inside to make calls.
The others followed his orders without question.
***
I'm hungry.
I'd been kidnapped on my way to grab dinner, so my stomach was killing me. I lay on the cold floor, staring blankly at the kidnappers rustling around.
Looked like they were heating something up.
Next up: burns? I blinked indifferently.
My stomach growled loudly.
"I'm hungry."
The watchers staring at my gut heard me declare boldly.
"Got any dinner?"
Thud.
They kicked my stomach.
But unfortunately, it barely hurt.... Partly because they were civilians, but mostly because the guy just sucked at kicking.
I let out a deep sigh.
"You could at least give me a last supper."
"Shut up."
The masked one whispered through gritted teeth.
The guy next to him chimed in: Yeah, shut up.
Then he suddenly got excited.
"Shut your mouth!"
Punch.
I stared ahead boredly while taking the hits. As the agitated guards wasted their futile attacks, I checked on the twins. Looked like they were sizzling something.
Definitely planning to press it against my body.
Part of me hoped they'd burn a non-lethal spot, while another hoped for a vital area so Colton would intervene faster.
But did they really send that video of me to Ye-hyeon?
I thought about it while watching the glowing red thing. The surroundings were still dark and cold. They kept up the random violence until nearly midnight. It hurt, but it was bearable.
That seemed to grate on their nerves.
Oh, and repeating the same questions over and over probably pissed them off more.
Even while twitching from the electric shock aftershocks, I'd stubbornly kept asking.
"How'd you kidnap me?"
They pressed the stun gun to me repeatedly with rubber gloves, but I didn't budge.
"Who'd you hire?"
Zap!
After that kept happening, they eventually tossed the stun gun aside.
Now they were prepping something new. They'd completely lost it. I got why they opposed the immortal-with-fire group, but why put this much effort into killing me?
No point explaining logically—they wouldn't listen.
Time was passing.
"Hildebert."
Just past midnight, the male twin turned to me.
I sighed at the long branding iron in his hand.
That's big.
The glowing brand drew closer.
"Time to stamp you."
"Wow."
The overflowing madness was suffocating.
I scanned the mark on the red-hot metal stamp.
Below a round circle, there were letters.
Not hard to make out.
'Lab Rat.'
"Why am I the lab rat?"
"You know who got the first Enhanced Body implants?"
The female twin clacked over in her heels.
I looked up at her elegantly brushing back her flowing curls.
I dredged up memories and gave half the truth.
"No."
"Death row inmates."
Her low voice echoed in the quiet space.
"They tested on death row inmates first. Once the experiments succeeded, the ones running them started implanting Enhanced Bodies in themselves one by one."
"Surprising. How'd you learn all this?"
Didn't sound wrong.
Probably what happened. Eve wouldn't have known, of course—she was naive enough for Kyle to mock. But she wasn't the only one who met us portal-crossers. And I'd never expected the world to run beautifully.
They must've used Eve's results for live tests on death row inmates.
The woman had a point.
But their baseless guess had probably hit the truth by coincidence.
"We dug fiercely into the past and finally faced the truth."
Oh, okay.
"You wouldn't know, but there are power holders in this world with Enhanced Bodies who aren't Black Badger."
I know. You're about to meet the one at the very top.
"We're going to tear down this rotten society. It's a shame you have to be sacrificed in the process."
"You wreck everything and then call it a shame?"
"I'll make your death beautiful."
"Saying that while holding a branding iron...."
And they're still filming.
I sighed at the growing heat.
The male twin knelt on one knee in front of me. I felt my clothes rustle and burn as I whispered.
"At least stamp somewhere hidden."
They pinned my limbs and rolled up my shirt.
Heat enveloped my body.
Sizzle!
A muffled sound burst out.
I twisted in agony, flinging the civilians holding me off. They tumbled back with screams.
Thick curses assaulted my ears.
But I had no attention for that.
Ah....
It hurt so much. Pain clean enough to make me forget my exam tomorrow for a moment. I writhed, scraping my skin on the cold floor.
It hurts.
When the hell is that jerk coming....
"Looks beautifully branded."
The woman peered at my abdomen and smiled in satisfaction.
"You'll all come to fear this mark."
No voice came out.
My heightened senses registered the pain sharply. Sharp senses had advantages, but disadvantages too. Far more sensitive than normal humans, they picked up the kidnappers heating another iron, the air shimmering from heat, the pain pounding my whole body.
As I panted and gathered my wits, the man knelt by my head.
A different brand glowed above me.
"The one on your stomach won't show under clothes."
He grinned and brushed aside the white hair on my forehead.
"Wouldn't want it hidden."
"End this madness with me."
I mumbled through pain-clogged throat.
I felt deep relief that I was their first Black Badger capture. I'd thought they'd just shoot me a few times. But these guys were way off the rails.
"No. We'll make it end with you."
The one who seemed least guilty—I'd planned to ask Colton to save him.
But as the brand approached, I scrapped that thought.
Sizzle!
My body twisted.
I'd arched my back in agony, but now curled into a ball. The stomach pain hadn't faded, and now forehead pain crashed in—my mind nearly flew away.
Ah.
Lucky I'm the one without Green Dream who got kidnapped.
I writhed in pain but felt relief.
Not Tom or Hessi. Not Sugar. If it were them, they never would've survived here. If things went wrong and they kidnapped Tom or Hessi instead. If my Recruits died like this, I might've quit Black Badger to hunt them down.
Excessive pain brought up stomach acid.
Blech—I vomited.
"Video came out great too!"
Her voice mixed into the tinnitus from pain.
"Send this one too!"
Crazy bastards.
And idiots. Sending videos would reveal their location.
But whether they sent it or not, the Elders would track them anyway—so maybe it didn't matter. Clutching my face with bound hands, I started drifting off.
Gotta sleep a bit.
From the looks of things, Colton would arrive before 3 a.m. for sure.
Close my eyes and rest a moment.
Blurring vision, ringing ears.
Dull pain spreading through my body, the stench of burning flesh stinging my nose.
Amid those sensations, trusting my hated rival, I slowly fell asleep.
***
The Command Staff got word from the Elders.
Yekaterina contacted first.
[Location identified.]
He'd just sighed in relief when Eric messaged.
[Ah. What an intriguing one! I'm trembling all over. Heading there now.]
Finally, Colton—who'd surely pinpointed it first but waited on the others—messaged last.
Surprisingly, to his personal number.
[Transfer directly to exam site.]
The Command Staff and Yoon were certain Hilde would make his exam.
With Colton saying that, the situation was essentially over. The police and intel agents Ye-hyeon had mobilized were no longer needed. The unique white-haired Rookie would arrive at the exam site before 9:30 a.m., no matter what.
They sighed in relief and sank into chairs.
Until Michelle burst in sobbing.
"Commander."
She called to him rising unsteadily.
"Second email—they sent another email—."
The Command Staff watched the second video and fell silent.
Ye-hyeon buried his face in one hand and stayed that way a long time. Ska kept his head down, unmoving. Gilbert stared pale-faced, unable to look away.
Only Yoon watched coldly.
He scrutinized every pixel keenly, then broke the silence.
"If those old fogeys leave us some scraps."
His voice was even icier than usual.
"I'll take the rest."
Normally, Ye-hyeon would've recoiled in horror—even if it was a joke—and smacked his head.
Normally, Ska and Gilbert would've tsked a warning.
But not this time. No one reacted.
Finally, after a long moment, Ye-hyeon rasped back.
"Yeah."
His voice laced with quiet fury.
"Do that."