Beyond the Walls
"You smoke?"
"No, sir. I don't."
"Me neither."
"?"
Adam and I left the institute. I'd gone to the incinerator plenty of times to burn bodies, but this was the first time I'd actually stepped outside the facility itself. I'd thought I'd never see the world beyond these walls until the day I died. Then again, you never really know how things will turn out.
The landscape around the institute had changed drastically before and after the Wormhole incident. What had once been a sleek, modern facility nestled among lush greenery now looked grim and foreboding. Dead trees crowded the perimeter, and crows occasionally cawed as they picked at corpses. It had become the kind of place where the protagonists of a horror movie would meet their end.
"Why are we out here all of a sudden…?"
"It's a pain to clean up bodies inside the institute."
Adam started trembling. It had been half a joke, but if he was going to get that scared over something so minor, how was he supposed to survive in this harsh world? Of course, it hadn't been entirely a joke. From here on out, I planned to ask him all sorts of questions. If any of his answers rubbed me the wrong way, I wouldn't hesitate to pull the trigger.
"Why do you need it?"
Adam tilted his head.
"You said you came to the institute because you needed money. So why?"
Adam fell silent. Silence wasn't going to get him out of this.
"Stop playing games and answer me."
I leveled the gun at him. Guns were excellent conversation starters. Adam's mouth opened quickly, like Naram noona when someone brought up her favorite anime.
"M-my little sister. I need money to save my sister…"
Adam's face was desperate, but I wasn't moved.
"M-my sister is trapped in the arena. She's fighting as a gladiator. She's held out so far, but this time her opponent is someone she can't possibly beat. If I had enough gold, I could buy her freedom. So I wanted to earn money somehow and save her…"
"Th-that's why I came here. I thought if this was some kind of building I'd never seen before, there might be treasure inside…"
He was nothing like the Sword Saint, who had charged in shouting about slaying demons. Adam had his reasons. I didn't know the details, but it sounded rough.
"Doesn't seem like he's lying."
The sparrow drone was watching Adam closely. Naram noona had always been good at telling truth from lies. She had an eye for reading people. I'd tried bullshitting her a few times myself, and she'd caught me every single time like some kind of ghost. If she said he was telling the truth, it was probably safe to believe him.
I crossed my arms.
"Why did you attack me?"
"I thought you were the master of this place, Lord Suho. If I dealt with you, I could take all the valuable treasures here for myself… That's what I thought. It was incredibly foolish of me. I'm sorry."
Adam spoke honestly. I didn't dislike honest people. The problem was that he still struck me as dangerous. If I let him go now, he might come back with his friends and raid the institute in force. Adam's guiding principle was simple: I need to save my sister. Therefore, I need money. And that goal hadn't been achieved yet. To him, the Supernatural Research Institute was a tiger's den full of treasure. There was no guarantee he wouldn't return just because he'd failed once. Humans had a habit of repeating the same mistakes even when they knew the risks.
Maybe I should just kill him. Pulling the trigger would make all these annoying problems disappear in an instant. No need to complicate things.
But—
"Suho, what are you going to do?"
Naram noona spoke up carefully.
"What do you think, noona?"
"Attacking you out of nowhere makes me angry too, honestly…"
"You seemed pretty excited when you were greeting him earlier."
"Th-that was just because I was excited to meet someone from another world as a scientist and a hardcore otaku… A-anyway, I'm a little conflicted too. What should we do…?"
Naram noona didn't seem to want Adam dead. Besides, I needed a guide in this unfamiliar world. Someone to provide information about this strange land and show me the way. Adam was perfect for that role. And I could probably provide him with what he needed in return.
I stayed silent, organizing my thoughts. Once I'd finished, I spoke.
"Hey. Kneel down and put your hands up."
"Huh?"
"I said kneel and keep your hands up."
"Y-yes…"
Once Adam had moved away, I got to the main point—the part I wanted Naram noona to hear.
"Noona."
"Yeah?"
"Listen to what I'm about to say."
"O-okay."
"We've been transported to another world."
"Right."
"Director Jeong Yongjin is gone. Senior Researcher Eighteen—Kwak Dupal—has disappeared too. And with people like Adam and that crazy Sword Saint running around, otherworlders might start targeting the institute. But the biggest problem is—"
"The contained Hwanjong have vanished…"
Seeing H-I-01 wandering the corridors had made it clear that the Hwanjong had also been transported here. There was no way to predict what kind of impact they'd have on this world going forward. Honestly, it wasn't my concern. My only interest was in Naram noona and myself.
"Noona, you don't plan on staying trapped in there forever, do you?"
"O-of course not. That's why I've been going through all the institute's classified files whenever I have time. W-wait, I'm not going to get in trouble for that later, am I…?"
Naram noona might have been timid and prone to worrying, but she was incredibly capable. Before joining the institute on Director Jeong Yongjin's recommendation, she'd worked as a security consultant for N Company. She was using every resource available to her to find a way out of the emergency shelter. No matter how strong someone was, being trapped in a sealed space with no sunlight for long periods took a heavy mental toll. She didn't show it, but she had to be struggling. I didn't want her to suffer either.
"You're trapped, this is a strange world completely cut off from Korea, and the situation is worse than being stranded on a desert island."
"Yeah…"
"If we want to improve this worst-case scenario, our only option is to find the Wormhole that's disappeared somewhere and return to Korea."
I'd already reviewed the R-1 entry Naram noona had sent me earlier.
▶ R-1 – Emergency Evacuation Procedures
Classification: Level 3
▼ Evacuation Protocol
※ Efforts must be made to prepare for escaped Hwanjong and prevent physical and mental harm.
① Assess the damage and proceed immediately to the emergency shelter in Zone 0.
② Carry evacuation supplies and move to the shelter for protection.
③ Do not attempt to exit the facility under any circumstances.
▼ Evacuation Route Image
▼ Shelter Facilities
-The interior is the safest. After the door closes, do not respond to any sounds from outside.
-The shelter is stocked with enough food and water for 100 personnel to survive 150 days.
-Negative conversations and thoughts are prohibited inside the shelter.
-Meditation accompanied by calm music is recommended every hour.
-Keys are held by Level 2 agents. If you hear a scream loud enough to tear your ears, do not panic. That is the sound of the door opening.
A door with a lock right in the center of our heads. An insurmountable obstacle standing between Naram noona and me. The key to unlocking it was held by Level 2 personnel. And Level 2 agents operated outside the Supernatural Research Institute. Which meant they hadn't been transported here like us.
"I'm going to search for the Wormhole from now on."
Just like the other Hwanjong, the Wormhole's containment chamber had been empty. It had to be hiding somewhere in this world. The worst-case scenario would be if the Wormhole had vanished from this world entirely, but I refused to consider that possibility. I didn't want to be pessimistic about the one sliver of hope I had left.
"I'm going to return to Korea with you, noona. So from now on, trust me."
"I'll figure something out, no matter what."
Then—
"Okay."
I heard that warm voice that never failed to bring a smile to my face.
"Hearing you say that makes me feel so reassured."
I could picture Naram noona's expression. She was probably smiling gently, like sunlight on a spring day. Sometimes she seemed strong, sometimes fragile, but she was relying on me. It made me genuinely happy that I could help the noona who'd always been the one helping me at the institute.
"But, Suho."
"Yeah?"
"I've always trusted you, you know. Hehe."
"……"
She got me again. When it came to leaving people speechless, Naram noona was second to none.
"Aagh! Wh-why are you kicking me…?"
I kicked Adam, who was still kneeling with his hands up. It was necessary to calm myself down. Of course, I didn't kick him hard. So take it like a man.
"Pfft…"
Damn it. It felt like Naram noona was playing me again. Not that I minded.