Chapter 136
Chapter 136
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 136
Chapter Title: Official Announcement (3)
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The Master turned the screen and switched on the TV, then adjusted the bed to prop up my upper body at my request.
I swallowed my pain and murmured my thanks.
As the screen lit up, a live broadcast began to play. Countless cameras were already positioned in front of the podium. Just as many reporters were waiting for Ye-hyeon.
I stared blankly at it for a moment before speaking.
“How big an impact will this announcement have?”
“On par with election night coverage.”
The Master replied indifferently as he sat down in the chair.
“You’ll see how many lobbyists swarm in once the announcement hits.”
That made sense.
Countless interests were tangled up in it. No matter which zone was chosen for reclamation, complaints were bound to erupt. There were endless social issues to resolve, and the land to reclaim was far too vast.
Maybe I should check the records of territorial reclamations so far later.
Lost in a daze, I watched as Ye-hyeon stepped into the frame.
Flashes exploded in a frenzy.
“He’s doing it himself.”
“It’s the most important announcement.”
Yoon answered.
He shrugged, then added dryly.
“And he’s pretty good at speaking.”
That was true.
The announcement was crisp. The boss didn’t blink amid the barrage of flashes. Gripping the podium with both hands, he delivered his message concisely. He first announced the reclamation site (the moment he did, an explosion of camera shutters rang out), then neatly explained the reasons for choosing it and the reclamation plans for that zone.
The justification for selecting the reclamation zone was so convincing that it almost made me forget the elders’ influence in the decision-making process.
I was so absorbed in the press conference that I even forgot my pain.
This year’s reclamation zone was the area between Center Core and the nearby Core 24.
In other words, they were merging Center Core and Core 24.
Whether that was an unusual choice or not, as soon as Q&A began, questions poured in on the topic.
[Core 37 is also near Center Core. Is there a reason you chose to merge with 24 instead of 37?]
[Core 24 is no small core. Have you fully considered the socioeconomic issues that will arise from merging with it?]
[Did you consult the residents on the outskirts of the core?]
[That area won’t help with the food shortage. Don’t you think zones that can solve the food problem should take priority?]
It was chaos.
I watched the screen in stunned silence.
Then I said.
“Is the head of Black Badger the president now?”
“That’s why he keeps saying it’s a decision made in consultation with the government.”
Yoon nodded toward the screen.
I nodded. In fact, Ye-hyeon was responding that way. He repeatedly emphasized that it was a matter already agreed upon with the government. Responses about consensus with Core 24’s local authorities. Answers about the urgent need for rare earth supplies.
He assured that various ministries had prepared extensively for the core merger and would continue their diligent efforts.
His clear pronunciation made the responses feel all the more credible.
But….
“It’s not really a government decision, is it.”
“Nope.”
Yoon agreed readily.
“It’s the result of power struggles among the elders. With Ye-hyeon’s input thrown in.”
“Does the president have any real power?”
“Practically none. The elders just propped up someone who knows how to keep the balance without crossing lines.”
“What a beautiful society.”
“Tell me something I don’t know.”
Yoon replied in a bored tone.
I let out a chuckle and fixed my gaze on the TV. The Q&A was still going strong. Watching the boss field a barrage of questions without missing a beat filled me with admiration.
He’s still going to get a ton of hate, though.
Anything tangled in vested interests is always exhausting.
As I thought about the flood of articles that would pour out after the conference, Yoon murmured lowly.
“Core 24 is a zone where Suhoi’s faction holds strong sway.”
I see.
“There’ll be fierce infighting between Falcon and Suhoi’s forces for a while. Meaning they won’t have eyes on your problem anytime soon.”
“Ah. Good.”
I really didn’t want to get tangled up in their mess.
I didn’t care what logic Ye-hyeon used to decide the reclamation zone. I had no interest in learning the details about the elders. It would only make life more tiring.
“Jaeyeon and Lee Seung-hyun are going to be busy.”
“Yeah.”
A faint note of satisfaction colored Yoon’s voice.
“It’d be nice if they killed each other off.”
His low mutter was sincere.
I smiled quietly. I could understand, to some extent.
Neither of them was easy.
I was relieved myself at the thought of not seeing Jaeyeon’s face for a while.
That said, I had a ton of questions. Things were changing so fast that my unresolved curiosities were piling up.
I noted the date set for the territorial reclamation and asked.
“By the way, what did the elders say about the kidnapping?”
“Want to start with that, then.”
Yoon seemed to have plenty to say on the topic.
I tucked away the reporter’s question in my mind—“Is there a special reason for reclaiming territory on the meaningful date of Closed Heaven Festival?”—and turned my head.
The neat man hadn’t taken his eyes off the screen.
The situation unfolded plainly.
“The renegade Badgers were all captured. Except for the rookie who joined six months ago.”
“No.”
I’d missed the key point.
“That mystery rookie went to ground. Fake name, fake background—everything. Not a single photo.”
“There must be some clues, though?”
“Spitfire’s on it as a side project, and they’ll probably track him down eventually….”
The Master paused, then added grimly.
“But for now, he’s in the wind. And the ones we caught don’t have any useful info.”
“Not even on nearby CCTV?”
“He snatched you in a blind spot like a ghost. Pretty skilled.”
To get praise like that from Yoon.
Kinda jealous….
As I thought what an idiot I was being, the conversation continued.
“The fact that he hasn’t been nabbed yet, even with Spitfire looking? That’s suspicious in itself.”
True.
Even without Colton and Yekaterina joining the manhunt, it was odd. Eric Airhart wasn’t some amateur. He might seem like a handsome pervert with weird tastes at first glance, but in reality, he was sharp and ruthless.
And he commanded a force that couldn’t be ignored.
Yet they hadn’t caught him right away.
The twins had mocked me relentlessly, but my instincts were right after all.
Whoever planned my kidnapping wasn’t ordinary.
“Another elder’s doing this time too?”
I watched Ye-hyeon wrap up the press conference.
“Like with the Colosseum.”
“Could be. Or not.”
The Master’s voice turned thoughtful.
Meanwhile, Ye-hyeon vanished from the screen. A roar of cameras and applause echoed into the hospital room. There’d be controversy, sure, but the announcement itself was flawless. The message came through clearly.
Yoon turned off the TV.
The screen went black. With nothing to focus on, the forgotten pain surged back.
I shifted position in a futile attempt to ease it even a little.
“Anyway, you’re clearly a target for some unknown bastard, so keep your wits about you for a while.”
“Yes. When can I get discharged?”
“Third-degree burns take time.”
Yoon rolled his eyes to meet mine.
“Even longer since you didn’t get treated right away. Your own fault.”
“I know.”
I smiled wryly.
“Sorry for the hassle.”
Yoon nodded and fell silent.
He was straightforward. I liked this matter-of-factness. Even if I caused a huge mess, he’d probably just click his tongue and stay calm….
Bang bang bang!
What was that?
My head snapped toward the door.
Yoon’s cold eyes narrowed.
“Yes.”
The Master rose lazily and walked to the door.
“Who is it.”
“Yoon!”
Ah.
It was the HR Director.
“Open the door, please!”
Yoon sighed and rolled his eyes.
His standard reaction every time he faced Joo. The Master’s response to the HR Director was always amusing.
The man pulled open the door with a tired expression.
Reporters’ voices flooded in. No wonder the hallway buzz had been growing. The area turned chaotic in an instant.
I watched the people trying desperately to push inside, daunted.
“What do you think of the Supreme Commander’s decision!”
“Are you technically prepared to merge two cores?”
“I heard you’ve become a Master. Any comments!”
“What’s Etak’s stance on the expansion issue!”
Yoon yanked the HR Director out from amid the reporters.
The reporters tried to slip in through the gap. But Yoon and Joo were pros. The HR Director, who successfully entered, deftly shoved the reporters back (Watch out! Don’t get hurt!) and closed the hospital room door.
Smoothly and elegantly.
His movements spoke of experience.
“Seriously~. It’s absolute madness on announcement day.”
Click! The man who locked the door turned with a grin.
The HR Director’s bright eyes landed on me.
“Thanks for the help, Yoon. And long time no see, Hilde. You don’t look so hot.”
“It’s bearable.”
“Sweating like that and still putting on a front.”
Yoon snorted as he sat in the chair.
Kang Joo smiled gently.
I replied coolly.
“The room’s a bit warm, yeah.”
The HR Director let out a helpless sigh.
That shifted the topic. He’d heard from the secretary’s office that I’d woken up. While worrying about my condition, he wanted to wrap up business quickly.
Naturally, he already knew all about me. He had to screen the Task Force members.
He had to head out soon anyway, and I didn’t look well, so he’d make it quick and go.
He dragged a chair over and sat where I could easily see him. He set the tablet he’d been holding on his lap.
A hologram popped up from the tablet screen.
“You saw this one coming?”
I grinned at Ami’s photo.
The only one I’d predicted. The one I’d hoped would be on the Task Force list.
I nodded, and Joo’s eyes curved into crescents.
“Ami knows her boundaries and keeps her mouth shut.”
Yoon snorted at the HR Director’s explanation.
Joo, with his affable expression, swiped the tablet screen.
“She was the first Badger on the list. That’s when my headache started.”
“Pardon?”
“We can’t skew all our firepower toward the Task Force.”
When I asked puzzled, the HR Director explained gently.
His finger swiped the screen again. The hologram now displayed a list instead of photos.
I scanned the list of familiar names.
“This is supposed to be secret, but it’s Black Badger’s combat power rankings, updated often by HR.”
Wow.
“Everyone’s strengths are so varied that rankings shift depending on the criteria, but the top 15 stay pretty consistent.”
I read the list intently.
Lee Ye-hyeon
Richard Green
Choi Yoon
William Walker
Jason Tvein
Choi Ami
Ska Owen
Ricardo Sordi
Luta Iyer
Aki Nagel / Rand
Jonathan Kudo
Ro Giacomo (variable)
Yoshika Shastel
.
.
.
Ye-hyeon at the top?
Well-rounded in civil and military? But he doesn’t run missions. Isn’t this a huge waste of talent?
Stunned, I asked if the Commander was really the best, and Joo tapped Ye-hyeon’s name.
Lee Ye-hyeon’s file opened, showing assorted analyses and a hexagonal chart.
His stats formed a near-perfect hexagon.
“He lags in raw strength, but the balance is impeccable.”
Blood will tell.
“If you weight all categories equally, this is the ranking. Prioritize strength, and Ye-hyeon drops while Will takes top; mobility, and Ami leads.”
Ah.
I got why he showed me the list. Couldn’t put Ami, Richard Green, and Jason Tvein on the same team.
So who else?
I furrowed my brow, and Joo smiled.
“Kal Dow for starters.”
Heshi’s Master.
The silent Badger with blue eyes and a gravelly voice. Come to think of it, he was one of the Badgers who’d watched my arrival.
“Sophia Kallak.”
“Ah.”
“Still alive, huh?”
A name I’d heard in the subway long ago.
The Badger Jin Silver mentioned, who’d lost her lover and pointed a gun at Ye-hyeon. The memory hit me the instant I heard it, and Yoon muttered darkly.
The killing intent in his voice was vivid.
“Pity.”
“She’s been model since that day.”
Joo smiled soothingly at Yoon.
“Her lips are sealed tighter than her blade.”
Yoon snorted.
The murderous glint in his cold black eyes didn’t fade. But Joo, true to form, ignored the hostile vibe.
The HR Director smiled at me as I breathed through the pain.
“And lastly, Ricardo Sordi.”
“Pardon?”
No skewing firepower?
“You’d be a walking bomb outside the core.”
Joo threw a straight pitch at my surprise.
A bitter laugh escaped at his blunt words.
Fair enough. The lineup from when I’d gone outside the core was even more terrifying. Richard Green, Jason Tvein, Aki, William, Ami—all together. No wonder Lee Ho had freaked out at the members.
Ye-hyeon had really meant business sending them out.
As I recalled that day, I heard the HR Director wrap up.
It was a team only for outside-core ops, so I wouldn’t always run missions with them. And Yoon could join if needed.
“That’s all the updates! Any questions?”
“No. Thanks for passing it on. Uh…. The members already know about me, right?”
“Hm? No.”
Huh?
Joo and I stared at each other, baffled.
Why are you baffled?
I’d assumed the list was finalized because they’d heard my story and agreed to join.
Why say no here?
We eyed each other for a moment.
Joo spoke.
“Sophia aside, you’ll have to tell the other three yourself.”
Me?
“I can’t just casually spill your past. They’ll want to hear it straight from you.”
I doubt it.
And where’s that kind of thing?
Where?
So you’re saying I have to personally confess this bombshell to Ricardo, setting aside Ami and Kal?