Geocaching #14: The Stitched Director

"Ah, fuck... I died again like this?"

"..."

I quickly pulled myself together and scanned my surroundings. Buildings split diagonally in every direction stretched out around me. Behind me lay the fog of Cheongak Mary Hospital, and beside me stood Jaaldi.

"Grong. Are you all right?"

"Ah, yes. I'm fine."

The regression point, right after Jaaldi and I had emerged from the hospital into the outside world. This wasn't a bad spot at all. Having finished assessing the situation, I discussed the severed buildings with Jaaldi, concluded that Director Lee Do-hyeong had appeared, and thought to myself.

Jaaldi... she must have died. Director Lee Do-hyeong had clearly killed her before immediately coming after me. Even Jaaldi couldn't hold out long in a situation like this. The bitterness in my mouth went beyond that; my chest felt numb. I'd witnessed Jaaldi's death far too many times. I didn't want to let her die again.

Right, let's check things quickly. From here on, it's a race against time. I organized what needed to be done.

1. Avoid Director Lee Do-hyeong.

2. Keep Song Jin-seop alive and recruit him.

3. Ensure Jaaldi survives so we can all escape together.

Nothing else mattered. These three goals were the core. I had to achieve all three no matter what. To do that, I needed to avoid Director Lee Do-hyeong. I already knew his spawn point, and I knew the stitched ones would soon launch a large-scale assault. I could use that to set up the board.

"From now on, we'll search for the Lee Do-hyeong entity. We need to determine his exact condition."

My first response had changed, causing a few minor shifts, but Jaaldi reached the same conclusion. I needed to change the route from here.

"Team Leader, I oppose this. Look at the state of these buildings. If Director Lee Do-hyeong did this, any investigation is pointless. The moment we encounter him, we'll all die."

"You're right. But since we brought the Cube, we should be able to confirm once and then escape."

The Cube. A suppression tool we'd brought before coming here. Of course, Jaaldi said that, but in the previous loop she'd just been killed anyway. Against an ultimate anomaly like Director Lee Do-hyeong, something like the Cube wouldn't help much.

"More than anything, we need to confirm Lee Do-hyeong's current state. We have to take risks here to secure our safety later."

"That's true, but... I think we need to proceed more safely. The Fake Bureau agents came to investigate Director Lee Do-hyeong, didn't they? Let's leave the searching to them and hide instead."

Jaaldi, arms crossed, looked at me.

"Hmm, understood. We'll do that. There's nothing wrong with using whatever we can."

Perfect! This should reduce the risk a bit.

"Then we should find those guys first."

"Yes."

"Follow me."

Doing the same thing twice really did make things more stable. It was a shame to die and waste points, but against an ultimate anomaly like Director Lee Do-hyeong, spending just a few thousand points was practically free. Jaaldi and I moved together.

My plan was this. Carefully tail the Fake Bureau agents. When we got close to encountering Director Lee Do-hyeong, I'd claim my ability was acting up and pull back. Director Lee Do-hyeong didn't seem hostile toward the Fake Bureau agents. The moment our eyes met, he'd ignored everything else and gone straight for Jaaldi. We'd proceed as carefully as possible, observe the contact between Director Lee Do-hyeong and the Fake Bureau from a distance, and see what happened. Of course, if he started rampaging and killing everyone there, this loop would be screwed too. But I didn't think that would happen. The wave of stitched ones had come right after. Maybe Director Lee Do-hyeong had come to deal with that wave, found us, and changed targets?

While thinking that, we moved and spotted the Fake Bureau agents. Lee Do-hyeong Retrieval Team A. They were discussing something related to him, and Jaaldi and I overheard it. Afterward, they retreated as before. Now they'd switch with Team B, which included Song Jin-seop. Everything proceeded the same way.

"Team Leader, Fake Bureau Team B has been deployed."

"These guys are really serious about finding him. I'll tail them."

"Yes."

This was the most important part. Last time I'd tailed them too closely. That's why Director Lee Do-hyeong had spotted me and killed me. With his eyes all stitched up, I had no idea how he saw the world. No, if it was Director Lee Do-hyeong, it was possible. He didn't see the world with his eyes—he was an invincible existence who saw with the world itself. He was dangerous. I needed to keep more distance and warn everyone before the encounter.

"Grong? What are you doing?"

"Now that I think about it, aren't we too close? If Director Lee Do-hyeong suddenly appears, we might get spotted. We should track him from farther away."

"You're being quite cautious today."

Jaaldi stared at me.

"Not a bad judgment for an agent. We're already keeping enough distance, but more won't hurt. Understood."

"Good."

As expected, Jaaldi was easy to talk to. She was starting to feel more and more like a mother. How many times had I left this Jaaldi to die alone? I absolutely couldn't let that happen again.

We moved with even more distance between us. Familiar scenery began to appear. Director Lee Do-hyeong would show up soon.

"Wait a moment."

"What's wrong?"

"I feel something—pop!"

"Your ability? Don't tell me Lee Do-hyeong..."

"Yes. Let's pull back for now."

"Understood."

I had no idea what would've happened if I hadn't used my ability when entering the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠real Bureau. Jaaldi and I retreated far back. We slipped into a collapsed building and peered out the window. The Fake Bureau agents were visible in the distance. And then—he appeared! Director Lee Do-hyeong!

"Team Leader."

"...I'm watching. What an absurd sight."

The vicious twin-tailed man with his eyes and mouth stitched shut appeared, flaunting the suture lines that split half his body. The soaring of a monstrous bird. He leaped from a building and landed. The agents seemed to say something, but we were too far to hear.

—Gulp.

Saliva went down my throat. What would happen now?

"If Lee Do-hyeong obediently follows them, we're in serious trouble. If that happens, we'll retreat immediately ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠and escape. We need to report an emergency to the Bureau."

If that monster fell into the Fake Bureau's hands, it would be a true disaster.

"The thought of facing Director Lee Do-hyeong, now an ultimate anomaly who can even cut through buildings, makes my knees weak. To the point I feel like I'm about to have a fit."

"Hmm... Do you need assistance?"

It was tempting, but I couldn't act spoiled against Jaaldi's chest at such a critical moment.

"I'll overcome it myself!"

"Good. Excellent... Wait. They're making contact."

Director Lee Do-hyeong moved slowly. Just as the agents were about to touch him—

—Flash!

Director Lee Do-hyeong's figure vanished! Had he noticed us? If so, we were screwed!

"Grong. Look."

"Ah...!"

Fortunately, he hadn't. Director Lee Do-hyeong ignored the agents and moved to the left. And on that left side—a massive group of stitched ones was marching forward! The moment Director Lee Do-hyeong charged toward them, I recalled an old memory. The sight of him slaughtering the hospital nurses when I'd called the Gwan-ster Call in the past.

"Oh!"

Director Lee Do-hyeong massacred the stitched ones surging toward him like a tidal wave. With a single swing, countless stitched ones were bisected, and each time he kicked off the ground powerfully, charging forward to slaughter even more. Insane hack-and-slash...! He was truly incredible! He displayed extreme speed and tremendous power. So that was what "terrifying hundred" meant.

"Magnificent. That level of martial prowess... It's power beyond imagination."

"I-if the Fake Bureau gets their hands on that, we're finished."

"Indeed. I don't know if Lee Do-hyeong recognizes them as his own agents, but he hasn't attacked them. Maybe they can communicate with each other."

It did seem that way, somewhat.

"Grong. We need to eliminate the Fake Bureau agents."

Jaaldi said, looking at me.

"Yes?"

"We have to cut off communication between them. That way, we can delay Lee Do-hyeong's return."

"Ah."

That made sense, but... if we did that, Song Jin-seop... No. That was something I could persuade him about. The other two were impossible to let escape anyway.

"Understood. Let's observe a bit more first."

"Right."

We continued watching. Now stitched ones were pouring in from all directions—their numbers were truly enormous. Even a large-scale protest rally wouldn't compare. Yet Director Lee Do-hyeong didn't seem to care about the agents at all. He was rampaging on his own, slaughtering stitched ones. Because of that—

—Rat-tat-tat!

The Fake Bureau agents, including Song Jin-seop, were being chased by stitched ones as they fled. So that's why they'd fallen apart earlier. Even though Director Lee Do-hyeong was slaughtering, he was doing it so freely, and buildings collapsed along his trajectory, making it hard to follow. Naturally, they ended up being chased by stitched ones swarming from all sides.

"This is a good opportunity. The agents have separated from Lee Do-hyeong. We'll use this chance to eliminate them. Then we can figure out our return route."

The route had changed completely, so the progression had shifted entirely. After observing a bit more, the agents ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠scattered, each seeking their own way to survive.

"Pursue them. Eliminate the agents while avoiding Lee Do-hyeong."

"Understood."

I drew my pistol. That familiar weight steadied me more than ever. I'd eliminate the other two agents. It was ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠unfortunate, but unavoidable. If they returned, information about Director Lee Do-hyeong would be passed on. That was dangerous. But Song Jin-seop—I could persuade him.

—Bang!

A precise shot pierced an agent's head.

"Well done, Grong. As expected of a marksman. I heard even Kurosuna isn't very good with pistols."

"I really want to meet that senior soon. I'd love to have a deep discussion about marksmanship."

"Hmm... Well, I get the feeling you two would get along."

"Really?"

"That friend has quite a few strange quirks."

What was that supposed to mean?

"What do you mean?"

"You're quite strange yourself, Grong..."

"If you keep that up, I'm calling you 'Mom'?"

"Y-you little! What are you saying during an operation?!"

Jaaldi shouted in embarrassment.

"You said I was strange first!"

"That wasn't what I meant! Enough. One left now."

"Yes."

We'd eliminated two. Only Song Jin-seop remained.

"Leave him to me. I'll take the lead."

While Jaaldi kept watch for Director Lee Do-hyeong, I moved with my gun to capture the agent. This way, I wouldn't have to worry about Jaaldi suddenly killing Song Jin-seop. We tracked him like that. He came into view.

"Huff, huff!"

The man holding a submachine gun was drenched in sweat, breathing roughly. His sunglasses were gone—maybe sold somewhere—leaving his face bare.

"The last one. After eliminating him, we'll plan our return."

Now then. How should I deceive Jaaldi here and persuade Song Jin-seop?

"..."

My acting skills. That was the most important thing. I had to proceed naturally without contradictory setups. All right. Let's do this.

"Huh?"

"What's wrong?"

"What? That guy... I feel like I've seen him somewhere...?"

I spoke as if genuinely surprised.

"Grong?"

"Team Leader, something's off. That guy looks familiar. Where from? Is he an acquaintance?"

"What are you... There's no way a Fake Bureau agent would be an acquaintance."

"That's true, but... wasn't it proven that those guys are something similar to humans from a parallel world?"

"Well, they don't seem like pure anomalies, at least."

"..."

I spoke as if pondering.

"Hmm... Suspicious."

At that—

"Understood. Cease fire."

Ah.

"Capturing him for investigation wouldn't be bad either."

Yes!