Chapter 35
Chapter 35
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 35
Chapter Title: Rescue Mission (1)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Ye-hyeon definitely seemed to know something.
Of course, that didn't mean I had the guts to grab my top boss and demand answers. Especially not when my master had brought such welcome news.
Yoon apparently hadn't expected Ye-hyeon to return. He widened his eyes upon seeing us sitting at the table, eating sashimi.
Then he tried to shoo me away.
"Ye-hyeon, you're back? I told you to give me a heads-up before coming. Hey, it's handled, so head on out now."
"Yes, sir, thank you. I won't forget this kindness."
"Yoon, how could you chase the kid out at this hour?"
Ye-hyeon stopped Yoon, who was flustered and trying to send me packing.
Just as Ami had told me before, Yoon was soft on Ye-hyeon, both personally and professionally. In the end, I got to spend the night there.
We quickly finished dinner. Once the cleanup was done, Ye-hyeon handed me a banana pudding.
In private, his expression was gentle.
"Mullen must've ended up meeting Hilde after all. Did you stop them, Yoon?"
Ye-hyeon shot Yoon a look that said, "What's gotten into you?" mixed with praise. It was the kind of look that suggested he'd been the one handling Yoon's behavior corrections all along.
At the mild compliment, my master replied in a dry voice.
"I figured if I egged him on, he'd end up killing the kid."
Sharp observation.
"Plus, I got the test results from him, so no real loss for me."
I quickly tidied up and holed up in the guest room.
I quietly got ready for bed. After washing up in the small bathroom across the hall, I shut myself back in the room.
I fiddled with my phone a bit before lying down. I needed to head back to the barracks early in the morning.
I fell into a deep sleep. No dreams at all.
***
Then I woke up at dawn.
Beep-beep!
The sound of the door opening, then a heavy thud as it closed. The noise of whoever entered kicking off their shoes woke me from sleep. I lifted my heavy eyelids.
The room was dim and bluish. The light from the entryway seeped through the door crack, dazzling my eyes.
I stared blankly at the ceiling as the situation slowly sank in. Ami must've come back. She'd said she might arrive as early as last night.
I could hear men coming out from deeper in the house to greet her.
"You're back."
My master's low voice fully roused me.
"Good work. What a mess."
Ye-hyeon's quietly whispered voice followed. The house was so eerily quiet that I could hear every word.
I held my breath and stayed still.
Ami spoke.
"There's a ton of them."
The rustle of clothing came through.
"They're swarming outside the Core, all level 5 and up. A wave poured out once, then it quieted a bit, so we rotated out."
"And the teams that pushed into D Zone and beyond?"
"All returning to F Zone."
Ami's tone was clipped, unlike her usual self. All her normal cheer was gone.
Ye-hyeon asked in a businesslike manner.
"What about the Portal Zone?"
"They're not heading there—just piling up around the Core. Train station's sealed off. F Zone supply depot's locked down with full max-defense systems."
"Got it."
A brief silence followed, then Ye-hyeon's calm voice continued.
"Nothing from Etak?"
"Negative. Core status is stable."
Yoon gave a short reply.
The conversation cut off after that. The dawn stillness returned.
In the chilly air, the ticking clock echoed. I strained my ears to catch every sound. Creatures were massing near F Zone, around the barrier that John Mullen had created and Choi Yoon had commercialized.
Was this a regular thing?
Yoon's cold voice provided the answer.
"This is that rookie's fault, right?"
My heart sank.
Ye-hyeon didn't answer right away. A suffocating stretch of time passed, my chest tightening.
Finally, the Supreme Commander slowly broke the silence.
"It's probably what lit the fuse. Something we were bound to face eventually."
"What's Hilde's deal? You know something, don't you?"
Ami asked.
My heart pounded faster, my breath coming short. But I suppressed the sound, not moving a muscle to avoid giving away that I was awake.
I caught the sound of Ye-hyeon sighing.
"We'll need to reassign Core personnel to the outskirts for a while. Yoon, add Hilde and the other rookies to the call-up system. With fewer people inside the Core, brief them on civilian rescue protocols too. We'll have to throw them into regular missions faster than usual."
"Yes, sir. But if the rookie's the cause, shouldn't we pull him aside for special handling instead of regular missions? Running around on rescues and drawing Creatures is a problem."
"It's not like Hilde's drawing every Creature. Just the ones that want him dead."
Huh?
I stared blankly at the pitch-black wall.
That's what it was?
I numbly took in the silence, gazing into the dark like an idiot. In the end, it didn't seem like much difference. Still, I'd thought I was emitting some Creature-attracting pheromone or something.
But that wasn't it.
Ye-hyeon definitely knew something.
Yoon voiced the question I wanted to ask, in a low tone.
"So why's that? You just gonna let it slide?"
"For now. Until it's too hard to keep hiding Hilde."
"Hiding him from what? The Creatures seem to know already."
Ye-hyeon didn't answer.
He probably gave a bitter smile. Or maybe he just lowered his eyes and stayed quiet. Either way, his expression must've said it all. The seniors didn't press further.
The house fell quiet again. I stared at the wall, more unsettled than ever.
Why keep holding onto me? I'd told them to just dispose of me how many times?
I'd said I didn't want to cause trouble, didn't want to burden the people who'd shown me kindness. I'd been desperate enough to call the Supreme Commander's personal number out of the blue and jump on Mullen's offer.
What should I do now?
If the problem keeps growing, I'll have to figure something out on my own...
Ami's voice pulled me from my thoughts.
"Still, I like Hilde."
Her young voice pierced my heart.
"He's warm and solid and kind. He doesn't butt in, but he's not too passive either. He approaches everything cautiously as a stranger, but he doesn't cower excessively. He's a really good junior. I like Hilde."
"Yeah? That's a relief."
I heard Ye-hyeon chuckle in response.
"With you saying that, he really must be a good kid. Seems like he's getting along with Yoon too."
"He's an interesting one."
"Yeah. And Ricardo's totally into Hilde too. He claims it's just because he's a human spat out by a Portal, but he's taking care of him a ton for someone who says that."
Ami burst into clear laughter.
"He says it's annoying how that weak body of his goes charging around everywhere. That's high praise coming from Ricardo, right?"
...How is that praise?
I wanted to ask, but I had to keep pretending to sleep.
I heard Ye-hyeon give a short laugh, and Yoon snort.
The residents' dawn chat continued briefly before my master's dry words wrapped it up.
"Anyway, if that's the decision, I'll make sure the rookies can start regular missions tomorrow."
***
Three days hadn't even passed since that talk.
An earsplitting noise from my phone jolted me awake. It happened while I was heading back to the barracks after training with Yoon.
The buzzing phone blared loudly.
[Call-up Order. Creature sighting in Sector B, Zone 1.]
[Call-up Order. Creature sighting in Sector B, Zone 1.]
[Level 5. Severe casualties expected. All Zone 1 Badgers deploy.]
This was Zone 1.
Where was Sector B?
[Sighting in Sector C, Zone 1.]
[Sighting in Sector C, Zone 1.]
[Estimated Level 6. Species unidentified.]
Why was the level keeps rising?
Should I head to the higher-level one? The moment I thought that, my red-glowing phone screen switched to an incoming call. From my master.
I picked up, and he got straight to it without preamble.
[Head to Sector B. Map'll pop up when you hit the alert.]
"What about Sector C?"
[I'm on it.]
His voice sounded annoyed. Was it my imagination?
[Was gonna have dinner with Ye-hyeon.]
Nope.
[Sector B has heavy foot traffic, so two more are heading out. You just focus on civilian rescues, nice and easy.]
"What if I'm the target this time too?"
[If it seems like they're after you, lure 'em to Sector C.]
His flat voice replied.
I started running down the increasingly chaotic street. Toward the roadside where I might hitch a bus, taxi, or something...
[Ride's coming. Destination's set—autopilot'll take you.]
Screech!
A sleek white car pulled up beside me.
Yoon's latest new ride. How'd he know where I was to send it so fast? Guy's uncanny every time.
I hopped into the driver's seat.
"What if I wreck this one too?"
[Another one's on the way. Don't sweat it.]
I heard the click of him loading a gun through the screen.
[If you need to, ram the Creature with it. What's a car anyway.]
Worried for nothing.
He made me feel relatively deprived without even trying. Grumbling, I buckled up and shut the door.
The pristine sports car roared to life and took off.
***
Sector B.
I got why they said foot traffic was heavy. Classic bustling district. People who'd come out for dates ran in terror, desperate.
The white sports car got stuck in the crowd. People fled in the opposite direction. Felt like I was amid a stampeding herd.
The autopilot gave up advancing. I bailed out of the stopped sports car.
"Move, move!"
"Mommy!"
"Ow! It hurts!"
[Creature sighted at H Tower. Evacuate immediately to nearest shelter. Creature sighted at H Tower. Evacuate immediately to nearest shelter.]
The chaotic city sounds poured in.
I inhaled the fear-soaked air and checked the map. GPS said deeper in.
This is insane.
I pushed through the crowd like swimming upstream. No weapon, but hours ago Yoon said it didn't matter.
"Hey, you there! Don't go that way!"
A uniformed man yelled at me.
"Won't help even if you go! Leave the Creatures to the Badgers and evac!"
"I'm a Badger!"
I shouted back at the cop holding a glowstick in one hand.
"Coming through!"
Eyes turned my way.
People glanced at me as they passed. I ignored the sticky stares. Had to grit my teeth and avoid clipping the fleeing civilians.
Ah, too many people—slowing me down...
Whoosh!
A sharp sound whistled past my ear.
My white hair whipped back in the fierce wind. Something halted near head height.
I whipped my head around, eyes wide.
And spotted a woman riding a board in midair.
Pink-and-yellow two-tone hair.
"Talib?"
The one called Super Diamond looked down at me with expressionless blue eyes.
"H Tower?"
"Yeah."
"'Scuse me."
I answered her abrupt question swiftly, and the bob-cut senior bent at the waist.
She grabbed my sides with both hands and yanked me up.
"Argh!"
Like a claw machine prize, I shot up into the air. My view rose rapidly.
Fleeing civilians slowed, staring up at us.
"What the—"
"Hold tight so you don't fall."
Super kept gaining altitude, issuing husky orders.
Clinging to the tiny senior—who looked even smaller than Ami—I nodded vigorously. Falling here would be a disaster. I'd crash into the civilians below and kill someone for sure...
Swish!
The board shot forward.
"Eeeeek!"
"ETA three minutes."
Super reported flatly from the hoverboard, her voice swept away by the wind.
"With rookie in tow."
I gripped her arm hard, forcing my eyes open.
Scenery blurred past. Wind stung my eyes, bringing physiological tears. Blinking through the burn, I took in the approaching building. Clear glass rushed terrifyingly close.
I loomed larger. A giant silhouette held in a small person's hands...
Crash!
We smashed through the glass into the tower.
"Tower reached."
Super dropped me to the floor and leaped off the board.
"I'll take floors 2 and up."
Someone gave orders over her comms.
After a brief silence, she turned, looking up at me.
"Talib, ground floor. Assist Jonathan Kudo with Creature extermination. Help civilians evac—that's the directive."
"Got it."
"Key thing in Core ops: no civilian casualties from Badgers."
The two-tone senior added her personal take in a level tone.
"You get it. We might not save every civilian, but no Badger kills one while hunting Creatures."
I'd heard the same from Yoon hours ago, so I nodded.
No way I didn't get it.
What the group called Black Badger feared most.
They'd surpassed human limits, conquered aging, escaped death's fate. Naturally superior, but what they feared was exposing that status to the world, imprinting their power on it. Making the whole world remember their danger.
Lest humanity's enemy become not the Creatures outside the Core, but the Black Badgers inside.
"Understood."
Even Ye-hyeon would've given the same order.
That's why the Badgers had survived this long. I nodded again. Leaving the senior who remounted her board and flew up, I dashed down to the first floor.