Chapter 261
Chapter 261
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: 261. The Siren Who Sings Well
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Yoo Daon crawled out of the hole, her face beaming with a smile.
Naturally, her body didn't have a single scratch.
There was blood on her face, and her clothes were a bit torn, but aside from that, no visible injuries could be seen.
Her bulletproof vest, however, had been reduced to complete tatters.
"Any injuries?"
"Of course not for me!"
At my question, Yoo Daon raised both arms to flex her biceps, grinning as if wondering what kind of question that was.
"That's a relief."
"Ahaha!"
Yoo Daon laughed merrily, and the branch manager, watching her, tilted her head and looked at Yoo Daon.
"Now that I think about it, I have one question, Ms. Yoo Daon."
"Yes, Branch Manager."
"That outfit—it's from the research team, right?"
"Yep."
Yoo Daon nodded, and the branch manager hummed, resting her hand on her chin before smiling.
"You must fight really well."
"Pardon?"
"From what I know, that suit is good quality and all, but it does tear against sharp things."
The branch manager stared straight at Yoo Daon.
"You fought while protecting the suit?"
"...Ahaha..."
Yoo Daon scratched her cheek with a laugh, and the branch manager said nothing more.
"...Anyway, I've taken care of everything inside!"
Then, as if it were no big deal, Yoo Daon shouted and turned to me.
"Got it. Shall we clear it out a bit, then?"
I started clearing the debris alongside Yoo Daon, and soon enough, we'd made a hole big enough for one person to pass through.
The branch manager still stood there with her arms crossed, not helping.
I knew it was for the test, but it still pissed me off somehow.
Yoo Daon went into the hole first, I followed behind her, and the branch manager came last, slowly restacking the debris as we went.
"You're stacking it all back up?"
"There might be another test."
The branch manager said as she quickly piled it back up.
The debris blocked the path, and soon darkness fell.
After walking who knows how long in the dark, something sticky clung to the bottom of my shoe, so I looked down.
Bright red blood was flowing out, and at its end lay a corpse that looked like a mashup of human and animal, riddled with holes all over its body.
I could indirectly tell just how fierce the fight had been.
As I stared at the corpse, Yoo Daon covered my eyes from behind.
"It's too gruesome for you to see, Jaeheon!"
"You know I'm older than you, right, Daon?"
"Still no!"
What could I do if she said no? I didn't particularly want to fight over something like this. I didn't even want to look.
I shrugged and kept walking.
Soon, the foul smell faded.
"How did you find out about this place?"
"It wasn't like I 'found out' or anything."
The branch manager answered my question slowly.
"It's similar to a wedge point."
"A wedge?"
Like a localized apocalypse button?
"It's a place that requires constant management from the Management Bureau's side. There used to be personnel stationed here permanently. Now it's just used by the Bureau for management and tests."
The branch manager shrugged.
"So what do we have to do?"
"Luckily, it's not that hard."
"Not hard by your standards, right, Branch Manager?"
"Oh, no."
The branch manager chuckled softly.
"You just have to tour the whole zoo."
"Just tour it?"
"How does a zoo make money?"
"Well... by showing animals and charging admission."
"Right, so it needs visitors."
"And we're the visitors?"
"Correct."
I understood what the branch manager meant. But there was one thing bothering me.
"We didn't pay anything to get in, though."
"We already paid just by entering here."
"..."
That actually made me uneasy.
But since the branch manager wasn't saying anything, it was probably fine.
After passing through an area thick with humid air, a wide-open space appeared before us again.
"This kind of test might be easy!"
"Don't say that so casually."
I hurriedly covered Yoo Daon's mouth and looked around.
Problems always cropped up whenever Yoo Daon said stuff like that.
What was this place?
It was shrouded in thick fog.
A lake stretched out before us, with a single swaying bridge in the middle.
No matter how I looked at it, we had to cross that bridge.
I glanced back at the branch manager, but she just gazed at me with a kindly smile.
Fine. Figure it out myself.
I clicked my tongue softly and resumed walking with Yoo Daon.
*
"What are they doing?"
Jang Chaeyeon frowned in confusion at the CCTV feed, and Song Arin, who had been staring blankly elsewhere, lifted her head to look at the screen.
"..."
The man was leading Yoo Daon by the hand across a lake shining with bright sunlight.
The amazing part was how cautious he remained, even under such bright water.
"Are they seeing something different?"
"But she has a mental barrier."
At Jang Chaeyeon's mutter, Song Arin peered at the CCTV too.
"So it's someone else's issue?"
"The black-haired one?"
Song Arin's gaze shifted to Yoo Daon.
The sight of her clinging tightly to the man's arm with an entranced expression was honestly nauseating, but she couldn't voice it.
"Yeah."
Soon, Song Arin nodded.
To her eyes, the black-haired girl looked off too.
Normally, hanging on a guy's arm like that meant you were wary of something or happily giggling—but neither. Just a blank expression.
If I were there, it'd be different.
If it were me, I'd analyze the situation and...
"...What are you doing?"
"Turn off the mic."
Song Arin shook her head sharply, and Jang Chaeyeon looked at her curiously.
"..."
Her gaze turned to the man and woman.
Fine, just ask.
"Mister."
"What."
Song Arin looked at the sunglasses-wearing man, who looked back at her.
"Can I talk to a containment object?"
"...Which one."
"Extremist Leader."
"..."
The man in sunglasses sighed deeply, and Jang Chaeyeon stared at Song Arin.
"Are you insane?"
"I'm perfectly sane."
She replied calmly and turned back to the screen.
The woman was still walking with the man.
*
A song drifted in.
A melody that wrapped around my ears.
Listening to it made my head feel like it would split open—I knew it without looking.
I grabbed both of Yoo Daon's arms.
"Daon, stay still."
"I-I am staying still?"
"More still."
"More...?"
Yoo Daon hesitated at my words, then fully leaned against me.
"L-Like this?"
"...Yeah. Maybe that's better."
With that, I started dragging Yoo Daon along.
Soon, she lifted her head.
"A song. I hear a song?"
"Yeah. Ignore it."
"But it's so beautiful..."
"Ignore it."
"If Jaeheon says to ignore it, I will..."
Yoo Daon glanced around before squeezing her eyes shut.
"Th-This..."
"Yeah."
"I'm acting weird, right...?"
Yoo Daon twisted her body as she looked at me.
"I really, really want to go right now..."
"Hang in there a bit longer."
Holding Yoo Daon firmly with both arms, I kept walking.
Yoo Daon clenched her eyes shut and bit her lip until blood trickled from it.
"Ugh, urgh..."
The headache worsened, and Yoo Daon kept struggling to slip from my grip as if losing consciousness, then stopping, over and over.
I looked at the branch manager, but she just smiled.
Was she really human? She didn't seem like it.
As I thought that, Yoo Daon dropped to her knees.
"Agh... I have to... go..."
"Daon! Just a little more...!"
Yoo Daon had always been weak to mental attacks.
As I led her like that, splashing sounds came from somewhere.
Then, Yoo Daon's body suddenly grew heavy.
Heavy?
I quickly looked down to see webbed hands gripping her legs.
Yoo Daon, eyes squeezed shut and biting her lip, couldn't even control her own body.
I had no choice.
I hastily drew my pistol with one hand, and a translucent spear rose from the webbed hand.
[Name: The Siren Who Sings Well]
[Age: X]
[Specialty: Singing]
[Talent: Singing]
[Background: The Siren Who Sings Well always loves drawing people's attention with her songs.]
[Weakness: Just keep her from singing.]
Not the time for that.
I aimed precisely at the webbed hand and pulled the trigger. Blood spurted from it, and with a scream, it vanished into the water.
The song stopped for a moment.
"Ugh..."
Yoo Daon cautiously opened her eyes and looked up at me.
"Jaeheon..."
"Can you run?"
"...Yes."
Yoo Daon slipped from my arm.
"No time. Let's run now."
"O-Okay."
"You lead, Daon."
"...Yes."
Yoo Daon ran ahead, and I followed behind.
Pistol at the ready, eyes fixed forward—how far did we run across the shaking bridge?
The singing resumed.
Faster than expected.
The moment I thought that, Yoo Daon's foot caught.
She pulled out a needle and stabbed it into her thigh; blood gushed out.
The source of the song. Where?
I scanned around, but saw nothing.
"Achilles tendon!"
While I looked around, Yoo Daon shouted.
"Shoot, Jaeheon!"
She gritted her teeth and walked toward the railing.
"...Hurry!"
-Bang!
No hesitation.
I immediately shot Yoo Daon's Achilles tendon, and she collapsed flat.
"Branch Manager."
"Yes?"
"Hold Daon down, please."
"That much I can do."
The branch manager sat on Yoo Daon, who let out a yelp.
"You're heavy...!"
"Shh."
Confirming the branch manager had subdued her, I gathered my thoughts.
The bridge was long, the branch manager wasn't listening, and Yoo Daon would fall into the water like this.
What I had to do in this test...
My role on the team was always the same.
Break through situations with quick judgment.
Without hesitation, I vaulted over the railing.
Splash—my vision blurred, and through water-clogged ears, I could've sworn I heard Yoo Daon's scream.
Would this gun fire underwater?
As I pondered with pistol in hand, the singing grew clearer.
Direction: right.
I had to hurry.