SOG Ch 154

In the awkward atmosphere, Yu-ram cautiously spoke up.

“You’re Guide Seo Hye-in and Esper Chae Seong-hwan, right? Sorry for the late introduction.”

In Chae Seong-hwan’s case, his face was quite well-known at the Center, and Yu-ram had become familiar with him through frequent eye contact whenever she ran into Jae-chan these past few days. Yu-ram sniffled and muttered quietly.

“At least our water problem is solved…”

Chae Seong-hwan, who was suddenly being treated like a water dispenser, let out a small laugh.

“Of course. On a normal day, I could even provide hot water. But not right now.”

“…Pardon?”

“I forgot to mention, but I can’t use my ability at the moment.”

As if casually mentioning that he would be receiving guiding later in the evening, Chae Seong-hwan nonchalantly wrinkled his nose. Due to his casual tone, everyone took a moment to understand.

“Hey, you can’t use your ability either?”

Gyeong Hye-in pressed Gu Ji-young. She had asked after seeing her Esper outfit. Gu Ji-young pursed her lips in displeasure but slowly nodded.

“This is insane! That’s why I said we should get out of here quickly!”

Gyeong Hye-in lashed out at Chae Seong-hwan. Gu Ji-young, turning his back to her, mouthed ‘You too?’ to his son. Seon Jae-chan, with widened eyes, answered with a short nod. He had no intention of revealing himself as an Esper to Gyeong Hye-in.

‘Could it be that all the Espers in the vicinity have lost their powers?’

Seon Jae-chan’s thoughts deepened. They needed more samples, but the fact that the three Espers here were simultaneously unable to use their abilities pointed to one possibility.

A windless zone.

Energy nullification phenomenon.

Suddenly, it felt like a stone was lodged in his lungs. His breath tightened. Though his Esper rank was low, he had always been confident that he could survive any situation because of the uniqueness of his abilities. The moment he had faced death was when he encountered a windless zone for the first and only time in his life.

“What about the bodyguards?”

Seon Jae-chan asked Gyeong Hye-in, trying to take a deep breath. Her private bodyguards were Espers. With more samples, they could confirm if this was indeed a dead zone.

“I don’t know. Seems like I had hired a bunch of worthless trash!”

Gyeong Hye-in snapped. Jae-chan silently mourned for the innocent bodyguards treated as trash. He understood well, as he too had Chae Seong-hwan tagging along like a bodyguard.

Unlike other areas, the Center in District 5 was tightly controlled from the entrance. Even Chae Seong-hwan had to go through identity verification procedures every day, so Gyeong Hye-in’s bodyguards probably didn’t follow her in and out daily as usual. Most likely, the majority waited outside the Center, with one or a few rotating for guard duty. Considering it took Chae Seong-hwan, an A-class Esper, several hours to find Seon Jae-chan, they were by no means incompetent.

“Anyway, let’s get out quickly. You said we’d leave once we found him!”

Gyeong Hye-in pointed at Seon Jae-chan. Chae Seong-hwan expressed reluctance.

“That was when our abilities were intact. Besides, even under normal circumstances, I can’t take this many people. Realistically, we should wait for the situation to be contained.”

“I must survive and get out of here.”

Gyeong Hye-in spoke through gritted teeth. But despite her intensity, Chae Seong-hwan remained firm, though his eyebrows furrowed.

“Everyone here has to get out alive, and we all share that determination. That’s why we need to wait.”

Chae Seong-hwan showed no intention of moving. Gyeong Hye-in was about to burst with anger but, upon seeing the unwavering resolve in his eyes, she changed her target.

“Hey, let’s talk.”

Suddenly, Seon Jae-chan was the one being addressed. Startled, he followed Gyeong Hye-in into the supply closet inside the morgue.

“Do you think the GPS interference was caused by the terrorists?”

That was what Gyeong Hye-in said as soon as she closed the door and pulled Seon Jae-chan deep into the dimly lit room. Rows of brown medicine bottles on the shelves reflected the faint light streaming through a small window.

“No, the military blocked the GPS signals.”

Gyeong Hye-in moved close to Seon Jae-chan’s face and lowered her voice.

“It’s proof that they have no intention of rescuing us.”

Her eyes flashed in the darkness, as if delivering a final verdict. Seon Jae-chan frowned slightly and pulled his head back.

“How can you be so sure about that?”

“You know a bit about this District 5, don’t you? Go Woo-jin must have whispered a few things to you about me and the old man.”

“Are you talking about the drug factory? Or maybe the bomb storage?”

Gyeong Hye-in was inwardly exasperated by Seon Jae-chan’s nonchalant muttering. That bastard Go Woo-jin, he spilled everything to his lover. She should have known when he started acting like an naive adolescent boy, so uncharacteristically. It seemed he was the type to give his heart and soul when deeply in love.

“You know quite a lot. But there’s more.”

What Gyeong Hye-in was about to say was something even Go Woo-jin didn’t know in detail. But since Seon Jae-chan seemed to know so much because of Go Woo-jin, she figured adding one more thing wouldn’t hurt. The important thing was to persuade Seon Jae-chan to sweet-talk the unyielding Chae Seong-hwan.

“The military has been researching windless zones for decades. The goal of the research was to artificially create windless zones to neutralize Espers.”

It all started 30 years ago when they acquired research materials while eliminating the rebel leader Hong Eun-je and his forces on Mentosa Island. Gyeong Hye-in briefly explained this background.

“This District 5 has long been the base for that. I came here because the relationship between the military and researchers has soured in recent years…”

“…”

“Looking at the current situation, it seems the research that had been stagnant for 30 years has finally succeeded.”

Listening blankly to her words, Seon Jae-chan felt his breath tighten again. Gyeong Hye-in was saying that the situation now was the same as the moment his abilities had completely paralyzed before—the same situation as when he had met his death during the infiltration of the Black Swan’s underground base.

If that windless zone, the energy nullification phenomenon, had also been artificially created by them back then…

They had walked right into a terrible trap. The thoughts he had been avoiding now came flooding in.

He had returned to the past, but what had happened to those who remained after his death? What about his juniors? His colleagues in the Intelligence Bureau? Guide Nam Hae-sol?

And Woo-jin?

Had he managed to escape from that meticulously laid trap with its deadly fangs? His heart pounded anxiously, and his fingertips tingled as a cold sensation settled deep in his stomach.

“Are you saying the researchers here were persuaded by the terrorists?”

He finally managed to speak. More important than the past was safely escaping from the trap they now faced again. Gyeong Hye-in continued:

“It could be a simple collusion. Or the research Espers might even be the leadership of the terrorist organization.”

“Why did the military and researchers fall out?”

“I heard they were dissatisfied because the military wouldn’t provide Espers for their experiments. But that’s just an excuse. If you look at the scale of what these guys are pulling off, it’s clear they’ve been preparing for a long time, whoever’s behind it.”

Gyeong Hye-in’s thin eyebrows twitched. There had been signs for a while—like key researchers maintaining close relationships with Espers specializing in mental abilities, or signs of indoctrination during seminars within the Center.

That damned windless zone experiment… If only the old man had given up on it.

“Don’t tell me… the Espers found as corpses were used in experiments?”

Seon Jae-chan asked.

“Yes, that’s what I think. I was wondering why these bastards chose to act now, but after hearing Mr. Chae say abilities don’t work and seeing that pile of bodies, it makes sense. They’ve succeeded in their experiments and gained confidence, and with so many deaths, they can no longer hide the situation.”

It was a strategy to bury the victims of the experiment under the broader narrative of terrorism. Just like how, in the past, smaller incidents were ignored when Black Swan was carrying out indiscriminate massacres.

“Even if they’re researchers, they’re still Espers. How could they fall victim so easily?”

“They’re also research Espers. Ones who’ve gone mad after being cooped up for 30 years. The victims probably didn’t even realize they were being experimented on.”

“…Most of the terrorists were Espers from District 5, why did they become rebels?”

Seon Jae-chan couldn’t understand how they could easily choose such an inhumane path, abandoning stable jobs and futures.

“It looks like there were preemptive activities like brainwashing, suggestion, and group meetings within the district. But even I didn’t realize how thoroughly these bastards had taken over District 5.””

If she had known, she would never have come in person. Gyeong Hye-in frowned, clicking her tongue at the belated regret.

“They’ve probably contacted broadcasters or negotiators. They’re likely pretending it’s a hostage situation to divert attention. But in reality, they’re killing indiscriminately. From what we’re seeing, there’s no room for negotiation with the government.”

“But would they kill all those people?”

“From their perspective, it’s not ‘murder,’ but ‘rebellion’ and ‘revolution against the system,’ something like that.”

Gyeong Hye-in’s words were accurate. In the past, Black Swan had also massacred countless people under similar slogans.

Jae-chan’s face grew more serious. The more he thought about it, the more convinced he became that the terrorists in District 5 were deeply connected to Black Swan.