Chapter 31: Safety Zone (1)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 31: Safety Zone (1)
Two days had passed since I received the text from Yura saying she would keep working at the cafe. Thursday arrived, and as usual, we held our weekly duel. The result, as always, was our team’s defeat.
Being repeatedly beaten while hiding my identity every week made me feel like I might awaken to some strange fetish, but I quickly shook off the thought. After returning to headquarters, I didn't head home immediately; instead, I sat down at my office computer.
"What was the password again?"
I had an assigned seat and a computer, but since my primary work was remote and my surveillance duties rarely required me to come into the office, it had been a while since I’d even turned the thing on.
I entered a password I used frequently, and it logged in without a hitch, revealing a clean desktop.
"Let's see."
Muttering to myself, I navigated through the system and accessed the Spacetro private server. My account didn't have many permissions, so the materials I could open were limited, but it was still enough to find what I was looking for.
I wanted information on Superhumans. I had received and reviewed various documents until now, but most of them were related to the Earth Defense Union, not the Superhumans themselves.
Even when I did receive data on Superhumans, it was usually just enough to analyze their armaments or combat power.
Once connected to the server, I began scanning the archives for information on Superhumans. Most of it was stuff I already knew—how Superhumans came to be, the extent of their power, and how they had fought up until now.
To summarize what I knew: Superhumans appeared twenty years ago, after we arrived on Earth. However, they emerged suddenly one day without us knowing how, and the general consensus was that they were humans created through genetic mutation experiments.
"Is there anything unusual?"
I didn't know much about the early days of the Superhumans. Right after arriving on Earth, I had been stationed on the mothership in the Pacific for a long time. Then, one day, I was suddenly reassigned to Seoul.
That was about ten years after our arrival on Earth, meaning I first encountered the existence of Superhumans ten years after the first one appeared. Of course, it wasn't that I was ignorant of them. Since I worked on the mothership, I received plenty of information, and since my job was to report that data to the higher-ups, I couldn't help but know about them.
"The data is..."
I looked through the files, but most of what I could access with my account was related to combat strength. From the perspective of someone who actually fought them, it was great data. In fact, before the current system centered around executives was implemented, I used to access these files often to propose agendas.
However, what I was curious about now wasn't their combat power, but rather public opinion and perception regarding Superhumans.
"In terms of security, combat data should be higher level. Is this a clearance issue?"
As I was stretching and wondering what to do, I locked eyes with Luche as she stepped out of her room. She suddenly looked around as if checking her surroundings, then tilted her head at me.
Wondering why she was acting like that, I tilted my head back at her.
"Not going home?"
"I'm looking for something."
It must have been strange for her to see me sitting at my desk, since I usually either chatted or left immediately after a duel. She began to walk over. Standing beside me, Luche looked at the monitor displaying the data and then turned her gaze to me.
"Looking for stuff on Superhumans?"
"Yeah. But I don't have the clearance for what I need."
"If you're looking for data, why not ask the intel team?"
"I'm not looking for recent stuff; I'm looking for older records."
Responding to Luche, I rested my chin on my hand and continued to scan the screen, scrolling through the documents.
"You should be able to view combat-related data, though?"
"Like I said, that's not what I'm looking for."
Luche watched me for a moment, then pulled over a nearby chair and naturally sat down next to me. I looked at her, wondering if she had something to do, but she just stared intently at the monitor without saying a word to me.
"I'm looking for data on the public perception of Superhumans. There should be old articles or gathered intelligence, but I don't see any of it."
"Is this because of the surveillance mission?"
"Yeah. I just got a bit curious."
Then, it occurred to me that Luche’s account would likely have access to much more data. I turned my head toward her, and feeling my gaze, Luche blinked her round eyes at me.
"Luche, let me borrow your account."
When I got straight to the point, Luche paused for a moment as if processing what she’d just heard, then vigorously shook her head.
"No. Absolutely not."
"Why? I'm just looking at data. I won't look at anything else."
Since each account's archive access allowed for personal storage, they were often filled with private materials. That was why people usually didn't share accounts. I had asked just in case, but the reaction was exactly what I expected.
"Of course not!"
"You probably have something weird saved again."
The moment I let that slip, Luche’s palm smacked my shoulder. A sharp thwack! echoed, followed by a sting of pain.
"I don't have anything weird!"
"Don't you think you're getting a bit too handsy lately?"
"It's because you're talking nonsense! You've got a sturdy body, so you can take a hit for saying something stupid."
"Just because I'm sturdy doesn't mean it doesn't hurt!"
After bickering back and forth, I looked at the monitor again. Since I had no way to access the files right now, my data collection had hit a dead end.
"...By any chance, do you have a girlfriend?"
I was about to take a sip of water from the cup on my desk, but Luche’s sudden question nearly made me spit it out.
"What?!"
"Is it the 4th Team Leader?!"
"Why is she even coming up right now?! And I don't have a girlfriend!"
I'm dating Red, whom I met through the surveillance mission, and I spent a night with Pink.
There was no way I could say that. It felt like I was going around lying to everyone and saying things I wouldn't be able to handle later, but some things simply had to stay secret.
"Just... you've seemed to be in a good mood lately. And the only girl you're close with is the 4th Team Leader, right?"
"We're not close; we've just known each other for a long time."
The 4th Team Leader Luche was talking about. She was in the same class as me and had been a team leader longer than Luche.
Even though I had more seniority than Luche, since I hadn't made it to team leader or executive rank, I was just a subordinate with a lot of years under my belt.
Anyway, back to the point. The 4th Team Leader, whom Luche had briefly suspected, just happened to grow up in the same neighborhood and ended up in the same class as me. There was absolutely nothing romantic between us. Furthermore, until I met Yubin, I had never dated anyone in my life, so it wasn't like I had some secret dating history.
Did Luche ask that just because I seemed to be in a good mood?
"But why are you asking that?"
I wasn't asking because I was feeling guilty. I was just curious why Luche would bring it up.
"Just a hunch."
Was this that 'woman's intuition' I’d heard so much about? Luche called it a hunch, but maybe I was subconsciously letting it show that I had a girlfriend. I needed to be more careful from now on.
"Speaking of the 4th Team Leader, she doesn't really use her account for anything other than viewing data. If you want to borrow an account, ask her."
"The 4th Team Leader?"
To be honest, even though we were old acquaintances and classmates, things were prickly between us. The reason was precisely because we were old acquaintances and classmates. I was still a common soldier, while she was a Team Leader. Our career paths had been completely different.
On top of that, her personality was sharp, making her more uncomfortable to be around as time went on. The last time we spoke was a few months ago, right before I was put on the Red surveillance mission. We had crossed paths while I was heading home after losing a duel. I didn't really remember what we talked about then.
But regardless of the awkwardness, my desire to see the data was strong, so I began to consider it. Having seen firsthand how Yura was treated as a Superhuman, I felt I needed to know the truth—as her friend and as an invader.
"Then I'll be back in a bit."
"Uh, sure."
Once I made up my mind, I stood up. Luche just sat there, watching me walk toward the elevator.
*
Spacetro Seoul Headquarters, 4th Floor.
I rarely visited any floor other than the 3rd, where my team was located, or the basement where the cars were parked. It was unusual for me to be on the 4th floor.
"A? What brings you here?"
A colleague working in the 4th-floor office called out to me.
"I'm here to see your Team Leader. Is she in?"
"No. She went to the roof a bit ago to meet the 1st Team Leader."
"The 1st Team Leader?!"
The situation had become even more uncomfortable. If the 4th Team Leader was someone I felt prickly toward because of our rank difference, the 1st Team Leader was the person I found most difficult to deal with in all of Spacetro. No, let me rephrase that.
The 4th Team Leader was uncomfortable; the 1st Team Leader was... terrifying.
"Yeah. If it's urgent, you should head up."
"...No. I'll come back later."
"Suit yourself. Should I tell her you stopped by?"
If I left word that I was here, she would definitely come find me later with her usual nitpicking attitude. My goal was just to use her account to look at some articles. I didn't want to get into a petty argument with her.
I was a common soldier and she was a Team Leader; even if we were classmates, I didn't want to be seen raising my voice at her in front of her subordinates.
"It's fine. I'll just contact her separately."
"Okay."
I had no intention of contacting her, but saying this would prevent the colleague from reporting my visit even if I told him not to. I was signaling that I’d handle it myself so he didn't have to do extra work.
Returning to the 3rd floor just to stare at files I couldn't open seemed pointless, so I took the elevator down to the 1st floor to get some fresh air.
I left the headquarters and started walking aimlessly. I did have a destination in mind. There was a park about a fifteen-minute walk from the building. It had benches in the shade and a nice atmosphere—perfect for a change of pace.
The only downside was the heat, but this summer hadn't been that humid, so a short walk outside wasn't enough to leave me breathless.
I bought a fruit juice from a convenience store and arrived at the park. I saw children running around and adults exercising in sun visors. Watching the kids play during their summer break reminded me of my own childhood when I used to run around just as hard.
The image of the 4th Team Leader’s face briefly flashed through my mind, but I shook it off immediately.
I decided to think about the data access again.
Luche had firmly refused to lend me her account, which left the 4th Team Leader as the only person I could easily ask. I knew the 1st and 2nd Team Leaders as well, but unlike Luche or the 4th, they were much more senior in both class and rank. I couldn't bring myself to ask them for their login info.
If the 4th Team Leader also refused, I’d have no one left to rely on immediately. I might have to ask other classmates or colleagues in different regions.
I thought I had a decent network thanks to my long military service, but strangely enough, I didn't know anyone on the intel team.
When your thoughts get complicated, you start worrying about things you usually don't notice.
Was it because of what Luche said earlier about me having a girlfriend? I started worrying about how I should maintain my relationship with Yubin moving forward.
The relationship between an invader and an Earthling. The relationship between Spacetro and the Earth Defense Union.
And a relationship where neither of us had clarified our positions to the other.
Was there even a right answer that could resolve this tangled, dizzying mess?
Complicated thoughts lead to stress.
I tried to start something, but it didn't go my way. I went to find someone for help, but they weren't easy to meet. The feeling that everything was going wrong from the start was draining my motivation.
To vent my frustration, I opened the drink in my hand and took a long swig.
My head slumped, and just as I let out a deep sigh from the frustration bubbling up inside me—
"Sigh..."
"Haa..."
I turned my head at the sound of someone sighing at the exact same time as me. The other person also turned their head toward me for the same reason.
The other person was seeing me for the first time, but I knew exactly who she was.
Voluminous green bobbed hair and fresh, light-green eyes that reminded me of a meadow.
By some strange coincidence, I had run into Green of Team Hunter Killer in the park where I’d come to rest.
"Oh, h-hello."
The moment our eyes met, she must have felt it would be awkward to look away, so she offered a greeting. I found myself nodding back, accepting her greeting.
"Hello."