Chapter 73
Chapter 73
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: Courage Test
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According to Dong-wook, they'd taken measures to ensure no one could enter the abandoned school.
It was true. The moment I stepped onto the playground, I saw several people in police uniforms patrolling around.
"Police line, huh."
A police line blocked the entrance from the get-go.
Any normal person would take one look and back off.
"Eup-cha."
I hopped over the line and went inside. As I crossed the playground, I could sense people patrolling the abandoned school from all directions.
"Foundation folks, probably?"
Sure enough, moments later, they spotted me as an outsider and came over to chase me off.
"Sorry, but this area's under investigation for a missing persons case. No outsiders allowed."
"I see. What kind of missing persons case?"
"Can't disclose that to civilians."
Amid the crowd in police uniforms, I spotted a familiar face.
"Kim Mi-ri?"
"!?"
"Long time no see. You probably don't remember me, though."
"Uh, um?"
While she was flustered, someone flew in from behind.
"What're you doing? Not patrolling? Slacking off without me?"
"Shin Young-mun, long time no see."
"Eek!? Seung-hoon!?"
"Ah, look at me."
I flashed my Foundation ID.
"External Special Consultant, Lee Seung-hoon."
Humans are creatures that produce double the strength through cooperation.
"I've come to help resolve the incident here. Looking forward to working with you."
＊＊＊
"Wow, Seung-hoon, it's really been forever."
"Yes, same here."
"Should I call you Chairman now?"
"Nah, I've left Sarang Mulsan in the experts' hands and just visit occasionally, so Seung-hoon is fine."
"Phew, good. Calling you Chairman feels kinda pressuring."
Shin Young-mun looked just as I remembered her after all this time.
"You still playing mahjong these days?"
"Hehe, I'm hooked on the spirit-body computer the Foundation made me. I've gotten into Sanma lately and realized true mahjong is Sanma. I've already pulled off shunten renhou, kokushi musou 13-orphans wait, and even jiiha!"
"Impressive."
Shin Young-mun was Shin Young-mun, through and through.
"Um, excuse me..."
"Hello."
I also greeted Kim Mi-ri.
I knew her, but I figured she wouldn't know me—turns out she knew me in a different way.
"Ch-Chairman? You know me?"
"Yes, I do. In another worldline, maybe? I saw you fighting there."
"Eek, really?"
"You were active there as an actor for a very long time."
"Actor?"
"Mi-ri does fit with acting. She's still putting on airs right now."
"Airs!? What're you talking about!"
"What'd you say to me again? 'If I can just get into Sarang Mulsan, I'll do anything! You're buddies with the Chairman, right? Hook me up! Then I'll meet him and throw a fit or use my charms or whatever...'"
"Euaaaak! Don't listen!"
Honesty about material desires is truly a sight to behold.
At that moment, a whoosh cut through the air, and I dodged.
A deep crater formed right where I'd been standing.
At least two meters deep and wide—if I'd stayed put, I'd have been obliterated.
"Master!"
"Gal! There you are at last! You demon!"
"Demon!? He's an External Special Consultant!"
"I might not know about the others, but you can't fool these eyes! You're even more horrific than last time! How can a human soul be like this!? Even your body has lost its purity—pure demon!"
"Ugh, seriously! You old coot! Cut it out!"
Another familiar face here, huh.
"Long time no see, Kim Go-deok."
Was he a martial artist who'd always shunned the secular world for cultivation?
Or a creation from the Dial TV before reinforcement? I couldn't tell, but this martial artist eyed me with extreme caution.
"You're no demon?"
"That's right! He's an External Special Consultant!"
"Hmm..."
Fortunately, Kim Mi-ri and Shin Young-mun talked him down.
"Master, remember that story from agent training? How to distinguish humans from entities."
"I do. Humanoid entities are hard to spot, so the iron rule is never judge hastily."
"And there were tons of examples, right?"
"Heard we kidnapped someone we thought was a math-personified entity, but nope."
"Von Neumann. Kidnapping him cost over $100 million in social, material, and human resources, and cleanup was the same."
"Ah, I remember that too. We got future knowledge from a dimension with the same physics as ours, and the guy who wrote it up as a paper—we thought he was an entity from there? Turns out he was just a genius: Einstein."
He'd always been wary of me before, but agent training had taught him well—he dropped his guard quick.
"Sorry 'bout that. Livin' on my mountain all alone, I didn't know the world's hidden truths."
"No worries. As long as you're good now."
"Heh heh, strange mind on ya, but manners are proper."
"Master!"
And so, we patrolled the abandoned school with the Foundation agents.
"My disciple here's a real catch. Wanna meet her proper?"
"M-Master! What're you saying!?"
"Sorry, not thinking about romance yet."
"Oh..."
"Seung-hoon, that's all airs. In a fight, she's a total gorilla. Don't fall for it!"
"Young-mun, you wanna die?"
"See!?"
The patrol went smoothly.
"But Mi-ri, no thoughts on changing your name?"
"Name change? Out of nowhere?"
"It's too confusing. Kim Mi-ri? Kim Ma-ri? Han Mi-ri? Han Ma-ri?"
"Shocking. Ghosts get dementia too."
Nothing special.
"Let's split up for patrol."
"Yeah, sounds good."
"Sure, meet back here later."
"In horror movies, splitting up is how they all die."
"Love, anything hackable or special around here?"
No anomalies detected in the Dukcheon High School branch area.
"Hmm, not easy, huh."
Weekends span Saturday and Sunday—two days.
It's Saturday today, so maybe nothing till Sunday.
"Seung-hoon, mind some advice?"
"Sure, go ahead."
"Women's airs are dangerous."
"Huh?"
Totally unexpected advice.
Hiding one's true nature and emphasizing only positives leads to high discord in marriage or relationships. Marriage without knowing true selves destroys trust, loses sincerity, and amplifies conflicts.
This lowers satisfaction, raises divorce risk, and plants mental trauma. Beware Kim Mi-ri and keep distance.
"I see."
"I get the professional side."
After splitting for a few dozen minutes, we regrouped on the playground with the Foundation agents.
"Nothing weird."
"Phew! No horror movie clichés."
"I found something."
Kim Mi-ri showed her smartphone screen.
[We've read your fortune.]
[Before 30, dating leads to bad outcomes.]
[No promotions at work, bust shrinks one cup, menstrual pain doubles.]
[Skip romance till after 30, focus on work.]
[Ditch love for career luck: frequent promotions, workplace perks.]
[Don't lose societal gains to instincts. Choose wisely.]
"What the heck is this? No sender, and it's fortune-telling out of nowhere!"
"If true, no dating till 30 for Mi-ri?"
"Not sure it's real yet!?"
"Love or promotion—that's the question! Money-lover Mi-ri picks promotion, right?"
"...If I knew what counts as 'dating.' Casual might not count?"
"Gal! Disciple! How can a woman play loose like that!? I'll fetch some guard palace sand soon!"
"What's that!?"
I had a guess who sent it, but kept quiet for Love's sake.
"But no one checked inside, right?"
"Yeah, entities might not be physical—could be phenomena or places. Your tip says physical is likely, but not confirmed, so we're just controlling access outside till weekend's over, then enter."
The Foundation suspected ties to the school.
"We're leaning school ghost stories. Dukcheon High legends or generic ones."
"Entry sounds risky then."
"Well, blocking intruders solves 99%? Foundation sends backup post-weekend. No worries."
Fair point.
But the unease that led me here lingered.
'Just anxiety? Or gut from too many entity cases?'
I popped the dried "Friendship" in my mouth.
'Enhance body.'
Intuition's mine too.
If "Friendship" boosts body and mind, intuition sharpens—reveal the unease.
"Over there."
"Huh? Inside the school?"
"I'll check quick. You all block outsiders here."
I kicked off and dashed.
In seconds, to the main building—pushed open broken glass door, entered.
'This way.'
Reached end of first-floor hall, spotted "Nurse's Office" sign dangling half-off.
'Inside here.'
Something happens in here.
Carefully opened door.
Instantly, right eye activated.
"!?"
Impossible.
Right eye triggers only when targets—mostly humans—do something sparking doom.
'No one's here?'
"Friendship" body boost?
Strengthened right eye too, seeing bigger threats?
'Let's check.'
Calmed, focused on eye's vision.
＊＊＊
Empty nurse's office.
Abandoned Dukcheon High loomed desolate, hollow as ever.
"...nim!"
Then, the 'space' of the nurse's office twisted.
Suddenly, two people were there—like always.
"...sa-nim!"
A woman's voice.
Followed by a boy's voice, pre-puberty.
"Professor!"
"What's wrong, assistant?"
Or a girl's voice.
Matching the androgynous tone, a kid—boy or girl?—in a white coat asked.
"Not begging vacation again? Even MZ assistants can't..."
"Who's begging? Just wondering why you pulled this stunt again. Gotta know why before work!"
Two stitch scars crossing the face.
The over-2m tall woman grumbled but respectfully called the kid "Professor."
"Ah! Assistant doesn't know! Family Zoo's collecting rare animals—making one to submit!"
"Animals? What do animals and school nurse's office have?"
"Nurse's offices birth ghost stories since forever! Mine won't be limited to one..."
The boy—or girl—froze.
Eyes flickered complex equations, graphs, maps—appearing, vanishing.
"Professor?"
"Assistant, remember 'Stalker Tickles Sometimes'?"
"Duh. Anti-peeping device. Skin implant tracks gazes. You over-specced it in excitement—blew a year's budget."
"Good times."
"Yeah, six months of stir-fried bean sprouts. So?"
"Assistant."
The boy—or girl—looked up at empty air.
"Someone's peeping on us."
Beyond, at "Lee Seung-hoon".
"Across space-time."
Snapped fingers.