19
Chapter 19
"Kreeeee!"
"Kaaaaah!"
Crash-thump-clatter—
The two Anomalies, tangled in the net, tumbled down the mountain path with the same momentum they had while charging. They slid across the ground and bounced off trees, their silhouettes eventually vanishing down the slope beyond the fog.
"...What?"
It was completely unexpected. Staring blankly into the mist, Lee Yeon-woo turned his head to look at the sky where the net had come from.
Four large drones were hovering there, silent and still. Two of them turned back toward the foot of the mountain, while the other two flew swiftly, gliding down the slope in pursuit of the Anomaly Entities.
At the same time, a loud noise began to echo from the sky where the drones had been.
Rat-tat-tat-tat—
In the foggy early evening sky, a firefighting helicopter cast a dark shadow as it flew toward the scene of the fire.
Rumble—
A group of people emerged from the fog, sprinting up the mountain path.
Six people, fully geared up in combat uniforms and augmented reality helmets. They didn't even glance at Lee Yeon-woo as they rushed straight toward the path where the Anomaly Entities had fallen.
"The targets are caught in the net! Continuing pursuit!"
"Confirmed!"
In an instant, the Combat Squad vanished into the fog.
Lee Yeon-woo blinked stupidly.
'What... did the company actually send support just in time? Am I hallucinating before I die?'
It wasn't a hallucination.
Voices drifted from a distance.
"Yeon-woo! Where are you? You're alive, right!"
"Mister, say something! Where are you!"
"Uh, huh? Here. I'm over here."
As he answered in a dazed voice, he saw Choi Jae-min and Yu Ji-yu returning up the mountain path, accompanied by several other people.
The sight of a Medic wearing an armband with a red heart pattern was particularly welcoming. A smile naturally formed on his face out of sheer relief. A similar smile appeared on Yu Ji-yu's face as she spotted Lee Yeon-woo.
"Ah! Found him! Quick, please give him first aid!"
"Yes, move aside."
The Medic knelt beside Lee Yeon-woo, setting down a red first aid kit and a stretcher, and began administering first aid with skilled hands.
He tore away the clothing from the wound, sprayed disinfectant to wash away the dirt, and applied pressure with a clean bandage. The pain was immense.
Faced with such extreme agony, not even a long scream could escape. Only a single, sharp groan leaked from his constricted throat.
"Ugh!"
"Oh boy. You're badly hurt. You've lost a lot of blood too. You might need a transfusion."
"Ugh..."
As he writhed in pain, he was suddenly lifted onto a long stretcher.
"Heave-ho! Let's head down!"
He felt himself swaying, the world tilting up and down. The leaves and the sky blurred, alternating between distant and close as they flowed in one direction.
Suddenly, Lee Yeon-woo let out a faint chuckle. Even pain was something he could only feel because he was alive.
'Haha. I'm alive. I really thought I was dead.'
"Wait, what? Are you okay? Why are you laughing? I think this is dangerous. Hey, shine a light in his eyes."
"We're out of batteries—"
"There's a flashlight in my front pocket, so take that and—"
"We just need to get down quickly—"
Cradled by the chaotic movements of the rescuers, Lee Yeon-woo lay on the stretcher, purely joyful at the fact that he had survived.
***
The parking lot was packed.
Several pitch-black vans, the kind seen in spy movies, were lined up, along with two ambulances. People hurried between them, their voices filled with orders and reports.
"Wildfire suppression complete!"
"Reporting on the status of the two captured Anomaly Entities. They have burns, but they aren't severe."
"Maritime Response Company, 1st Platoon, all clear!"
"We'll begin wrapping up the emergency operation caused by the fire."
In contrast, the ambulance where Lee Yeon-woo, Choi Jae-min, and Yu Ji-yu were resting was relatively quiet.
Choi Jae-min sat on the edge of the ambulance, dangling his legs, and asked.
"Mister, are you okay?"
"I'm fine. I survived, didn't I?"
Lee Yeon-woo, receiving a transfusion, nodded slowly. His eyes, tracing the blood pack above him, looked as if they would close at any moment.
Yu Ji-yu also leaned against the wall of the ambulance, her head nodding off. Perhaps because the job was over, exhaustion was hitting her hard.
But in the next moment, they snapped awake and looked outside the ambulance.
Step, step—
People who clearly held high rank were approaching. A middle-aged man in a decorated combat uniform led the way. Towering over them, he looked down at the investigators with a twisted sneer.
"You crazy bastards. First, you set the mountain on fire, then you destroy a critical Anomaly Entity. You're just tossing around whatever the hell you want just to save your own skins."
Harsh words. His tired brain took a moment to process the meaning.
"Then are you telling us we should have just died!"
Choi Jae-min shouted, jumping up to glare straight at the middle-aged man. There was no worse insult to give someone who had just barely escaped death.
However, the middle-aged man simply nodded.
"Then you should have died. Huh? You should have died quietly. It'd be different if the Anomaly Entity you killed could only save ten or a hundred people. But this was an entity that could have saved ten thousand, maybe a hundred thousand. And yet you set its habitat on fire and even destroyed one?"
The middle-aged man strode forward, looking down at Choi Jae-min.
Before Choi Jae-min could even flinch back, the man reached out with both hands, grabbed him by the collar, and yanked him forward.
"You little brat. You're the one who said it, right? That these things have males and females, and that they breed. If we had just bred them, we'd have a sufficient supply of Memory Erasers. Think of how many people we could save and how many problems we could solve with that. Do you still think your own pathetic lives are more important?"
The night was dark, and his eyes, caught in the glare of the car headlights, burned like fire.
The atmosphere was so tense that it wouldn't have been surprising if he had swung a punch right then and there.
"Company Commander. The parent entity is still fine, and the wildfire has been put out. I think that's enough. Besides, this kid is still a student."
A combatant standing nearby intervened. The man called the Company Commander glared at Choi Jae-min for a moment before abruptly letting go of his collar.
"I just can't stand these investigator bastards. All they care about is their own survival."
Choi Jae-min stumbled backward, his face flushing red. He stared into the air with distorted eyes, and just as he opened his mouth to scream a profane insult...
"Your faaaa— Mmmph!"
"Stay still! Just stay still!"
Yu Ji-yu clamped her palm over his mouth and nose, dragging him back into the ambulance. Choi Jae-min shook his head in protest, but when Yu Ji-yu let out an exaggeratedly pained shriek, he sat down quietly inside.
The Company Commander stopped mid-turn and looked back at them.
"What? You got something to say?"
"Haha. No. Please, go ahead."
"Company Commander... acting like this toward a student is a bit..."
"In a world like this, there's no such thing as students and adults. Forget it, let's go."
He took a few steps away, only to turn around again. Yu Ji-yu, who had just let out a sigh of relief, immediately tensed up and covered Choi Jae-min's mouth once more.
The Company Commander looked at them with a pathetic gaze and tilted his chin.
"You, over there."
"Excuse me, this child is—"
"Not the brat. The guy lying down."
Lee Yeon-woo managed to push himself up. His arms trembled violently, causing the red IV drip connected to his needle to shake wildly. The combatant stepped forward with a flustered gesture.
"Company Commander. What's gotten into you today? Why are you doing this to a patient?"
"I'm not 'doing' anything, kid. Right, you. If you want to change your affiliation, tell me now."
"My affiliation?"
Lee Yeon-woo asked back, sounding puzzled. The Company Commander gave a single nod.
"My people live together and die together. Unlike these bastards, we don't run away first just to save our own skins."
He seemed to be referring to the fact that Lee Yeon-woo had sent the other two down first.
With a brain clouded by exhaustion, Lee Yeon-woo thought for a moment and quickly reached a conclusion.
An investigation team deployed to cases suspected of being Anomalies VS a Special Task Force dispatched only when an Anomaly is confirmed.
An investigator who might or might not encounter Anomaly Entities VS a Special Forces Operator who unconditionally faces and fights them.
And to top it off, that Company Commander was his superior? No sane person would do it.
"I'm alright. My stamina isn't great, and—"
"Fine then."
The Company Commander didn't ask a second time and headed straight for the van. The combatant assisting him gave the investigators a polite bow before scurrying after the commander.
"...."
"...."
An awkward silence lingered in the space he left behind. Choi Jae-min and Yu Ji-yu stole glances at Lee Yeon-woo, appearing uneasy about leaving him behind.
Lee Yeon-woo slowly lay back down. He spoke in a low voice.
"It's okay. I told you two to go."
It wasn't as if the two of them had caused a crisis on purpose or tried to kill him. Everyone had done their best; the results had simply been poor.
He didn't really mind.
After hesitating for a moment, Choi Jae-min slapped Yu Ji-yu's palm, which was still covering his mouth.
Smack, smack—
"Ah! You were still holding on."
"Pfft. I thought I was going to suffocate. Why'd you keep me from talking!"
"Because you were about to insult his parents again."
"That's true, but... that guy's way of talking is so irritating!"
Choi Jae-min huffed, glaring at the spot where the Company Commander had disappeared. Then, glancing at Yu Ji-yu, he spoke in a timid, trailing voice.
"I just wanted to ask him something."
"What."
"Since his parents are all dead, I wanted to ask if yours died trying to save other people too. I wonder how many they saved."
"I heard you say 'your' loud and clear!"
Whack!
Yu Ji-yu swung her palm cheerfully, hitting the back of his head. Choi Jae-min let out a shriek.
"Stop hitting me!"
Whack!
"You deserve more. You'll probably work in the investigation team after graduation anyway, so it's fine if you get a bit stupider."
"I won't! I'm not doing it!"
"Don't! Just go get dragged off to a laboratory!"
"How can you say something so mean—"
The sound of their bickering drifted in like a lullaby. Lee Yeon-woo closed his eyes, letting his body surrender to the languid sensation. His vision gradually dimmed, and the voices faded. His mind felt at peace.
And so, Lee Yeon-woo's chaotic first assignment came to an end.