DB Vol 2 Part 8

Chief Jung had a nice house that anyone would envy, but he actually slept there less than 1/3 of the year. The other 2/3 he slept at the Gye family compound where his office was located. Or rather, he had no choice but to sleep there. For some reason, there was always endless work to be done, rarely allowing him to go home.

So the Gye compound had a separate room set up for Chief Jung’s use. Even though he clearly had a nice three-bedroom house of his own, at some point this small studio apartment had become more comfortable. Of course, he never failed to chastise himself, insisting that his own home was the best.

Especially today, he was more thorough in brainwashing himself. Because he had stayed even though there was no work to do. It’s definitely not because it’s comfortable here. It’s because he feels like something might happen.

After washing up and lying down, Chief Jung felt the coziness of this small room, but deliberately denied it as he closed his eyes. And as if his words became reality, his phone rang loudly before he could even sleep for 30 minutes. The caller was from the Intelligence Team.

“Hello…”

[Chief, a red alert has been issued from a farm affiliated with the East Center.]

Red? That meant a monster too dangerous for Espers to handle had appeared.

“Wasn’t there even a warning? Were there no Espers?”

[No. I believe a few teams from the East Center went. Including Hong Seung-wook, an A-rank Esper.]

And yet it was red? This was serious, but not enough to wake him up. So there must be something more. The reason came in the following explanation.

[And Ji Won-woo is there too.]

“Ah, shit.”

An expletive came out involuntarily. Chief Jung pressed his forehead with his hand as he sat up in bed. Just thinking about the Brute making a fuss gave him a headache already.

“Haa, can you find out the situation there?”

[It’s difficult to contact them due to heavy interference in the farm’s communications.]

“Interference? Why is there… Ah, damn it.”

This time he couldn’t hold back a sigh. A Mega monster appeared too? This is driving me crazy.

“Just confirm Ji Won-woo’s status. The Center will manage to make contact somehow, right?”

[The Center’s informant is not at their post right now, and we can’t get any news through the communication networks we can hack.]

This is driving me crazy.

“Tell the informant to stand by for now.”

After hanging up, Chief Jung recalled the request the Brute had made in the evening. He had asked to connect him to Ji Won-woo’s Center communicator, right? Very fortunately, the connected communicator hadn’t been delivered to Ji Won-woo yet. So the Brute probably didn’t know yet.

That’s a relief, I guess, aish. But he still cursed inwardly. Chief Jung roughly ran his hand through his hair as he got up. He had to keep this secret from the Brute for now. Even if Ji Won-woo died from this incident, it would be better for him to find out later and get angry then. If he decided to break out of that prison as he said he would if necessary, that would be an even bigger problem.

Of course, he’s not doing this out of concern for his nephew… Chief Jung shook his head. No, he had been acting a bit strange lately, caring about Ji Won-woo. He had never cared so much about someone who wasn’t family in his entire life. And of all people, someone from Ji family. So he wondered if it might actually be better if Ji Won-woo died in this opportunity.

If Ji Won-woo died, the Brute would probably go rampage, but if it ended before he got too attached, it shouldn’t be a big problem. So he hurriedly got dressed and was about to go to the intelligence room to check on the situation. That’s when the phone rang again. What now? Chief Jung picked up his phone but was puzzled to see the caller. Why is the research lab calling at this hour?

“Hello?”

[Uh, Chief Jung!]

Hearing the excited voice, Chief Jung checked the caller ID again. The research staff was a colleague as mired in mannerism as Chief Jung himself, so excitement absolutely did not suit him.

“What’s the matter?”

[Th-There is. Ah, is this call secure?]

“Yes. I’m inside the Gye compound now. Go ahead.”

[C-Chief.]

What on earth is it to make his voice tremble like this? What, did monsters appear in the research lab too? As he was wondering, he suddenly realized there was something he had recently requested from the research lab. Wait, I definitely asked them to examine Ji Won-woo’s seed, didn’t I?

[I-It’s an Alpha seed!]

…Huh?

[We have no basis for comparison, but I’ll stake my life on this being an Alpha seed!]

…What?

[C-Chief?]

“…Is it real?”

[Yes!!! It’s an Alpha seed!!!]

The excited researcher’s voice rang in his ears, but it didn’t properly register in the shocked Chief Jung’s mind. What on earth is going on? This can’t be. How can this possibly be real?

Just one Alpha seed is enough to completely win over an Esper family and bring them to the Gye family’s side. That’s how influential an Alpha seed is.

But why put such a precious Alpha seed in a ziplock bag? No, it was Director Hwang who put it in the bag, but… No, that’s not the important thing! How did Ji Won-woo get his hands on it? That guy Ji Won-woo, did he steal… Huh?! Chief Jung’s eyes suddenly widened. Wait. Ji Won-woo’s life is in danger right now!

***

Warning sounds, people shouting, repeated sound of explosions, hazy dust, the smell of ammunition. Won-woo, who was used to combat, found it easier to move in this situation. In peace, he would be nervous about when something would happen. So standing in the middle of a fight felt almost comfortable, like he had finally found his place. If only the smell of blood were added, it might be just like the hell Won-woo had wallowed in for years.

But there were many civilians there. It didn’t matter if Espers bled inside, but no one here should get hurt. Moreover, these people could become valuable witnesses.

Won-woo looked at the collapsed fence, then closed his eyes to concentrate on gathering his energy. If he got too far, he wouldn’t be able to sense the energy of monsters or Espers, but fortunately, what Won-woo was looking for was a Mega Monster, so he could vaguely tell the direction.

Monsters are simple creatures that only know destruction and survival instinct, but they’re incredibly clever when it comes to survival. If things turn unfavorable, they quickly retreat and stop attacking until allies gather to fight together. These creatures have an uncanny ability to find their own kind, which humans sometimes use to lure monsters.

The Espers inside were probably busy blasting monsters, so if he let them know there were allies here, they would come right away. Won-woo touched one of the eggs on a nearby monster tree, nurturing it until it was just about to hatch. The sky had long since darkened completely, but Won-woo could tell from experience that the egg was wobbling without even looking.

And this was enough. Once it gave off the scent of a companion, the Mega Monster would come running. Earlier he had deliberately driven them away, but now it was time to use them. No matter how brilliantly Seona performed inside the farm, it would be useless to try to gain merit among the Espers. She needed to show her skills in front of civilians.

Won-woo leisurely walked towards where the Guides and farm staff were taking shelter, worrying about Seona. Of course, with her abilities, she would probably take care of the monsters well on her own, but the problem was her expression. Surely she wasn’t grinning like a maniac in excitement?

Squelch!

As Seona pulled out the sword that had been stuck in the monster with her own hand, sticky gray blood burst out. Though suddenly covered in monster blood, Seona nonchalantly wiped the blood from her face with her hand and shook it off onto the ground.

The bodily fluids were toxic, but only if ingested, so getting it on her skin wasn’t frightening. Still, being doused in monster blood would be unpleasant for anyone. But Seona bared her teeth between curved lips.

“Ha! You weak little bug, how dare you try to jump me.”

She looked around, eyes gleaming with madness as she grinned. The monsters that had been attacking were now all corpses littering the ground. The only ones left alive were the Espers of Head Team 3, but they were frozen like the monsters, staring at Seona. Yoo Geon-young’s gaze was especially unsettling.

He was shocked that a B-rank Esper had taken down more monsters than him. His pride was quite hurt too. Even if she was a natural Esper, wasn’t she supposed to be unable to use her power properly due to going rampage? She still had five suppressors in her ears like that. But she’s fine after using all her power recklessly? Yoo Geon-young approached Seona with disbelieving eyes.

“Ms. Han Seona, how on earth…”

“Just a moment.”

Seona suddenly raised her hand and glared into empty space as if concentrating. Yoo Geon-young frowned, then flinched as a wind quickly brushed past his face. Was she using her power? He had witnessed how diversely Han Seona used the wind in this fight. He wouldn’t be surprised if she sent winds in all directions to find monsters at the ends of the earth.

“Huh? The Mega Monster is… moving outside the fence? Wait, over there… Shit! He’s in danger!”

Muttering to herself, Seona suddenly turned and started running. Yoo Geon-young tried to call after her, but Seona had already vanished. She had clearly used the wind to increase her speed. Yoo Geon-young gritted his teeth, unable to take his eyes off the space where she had disappeared.

He wanted to chase after her and stop her right away. He didn’t want to see a B-rank Esper showing off anymore. The number of monsters she had eliminated seemed to mock him as a fake. As if to say a fake A-rank made with an Alpha seed had such lousy skills.

“What happened here?”

At the sudden voice, Yoo Geon-young turned his head, then relief spread in his eyes as he recognized the speaker.

“Seung-wook.”

“Did you take care of all this? The communication was down, so I came as fast as I could to help you…”

Looks like I wasn’t needed. Seung-wook looked around with surprised eyes. But his expression hardened again at Yoo Geon-young’s annoyed reply.

“It wasn’t me.”

“Not you?”

If not Yoo Geon-young, was there someone else here skilled enough to take down monsters? Seung-wook looked around at the Head Team 3 members slumped on the ground. When Il-hae’s eyes met Seung-wook’s, he provided the answer.

“Deputy Team Leader Han Seona from the Support Team helped us.”

“Han Seona?”

Seung-wook echoed in disbelief as he recalled her.

“But she can’t receive proper guiding, right? Her power should be unstable with a high risk of going rampage?”

“Not at all. She seemed to be in peak condition, her power stabilized by perfect guiding. That’s how she took down seven monsters by herself.”

Seung-wook’s eyes widened for a moment. Seven? He turned to Yoo Geon-young as if to confirm, who cursed with furrowed brows.

“Fuck, yeah.”

“Was she always that skilled?”

“She’s a natural ability user who uses wind.”

“Ah.”

“Seung-wook.”

Yoo Geon-young grabbed his friend’s arm tightly and whispered lowly.

“Han Seona found traces of the Mega Monster and ran off in that direction just now. Seems it went outside, beyond the farm’s fence. The monster probably went where people are gathered. So hurry. Go save the people before Han Seona gets there. You have to do it. Got it?”

People? Seung-wook turned and started running. He should have thought of his lover Idan first, but strangely, Ji Won-woo’s face came to mind instead.

Though it was night, the Information Team’s office was brightly lit with the night shift still there. Chief Jung paced back and forth anxiously, badgering the exhausted Information Team staff.

“Still no news? Even with the Center’s technology, they should have been able to clear the Mega Monster interference and check the content, no matter how difficult communication is, right?”

“Communication from the farm side has been completely cut off for 20 minutes now. Seems there’s a problem with the communication equipment.”

“Then check the communication content from before those 20 minutes at least.”

The duty staff shook their heads in confusion.

“The Center hasn’t been able to check it…”

“Then we should do it. Clear the interference and recover the content.”

The duty staff gaped for a moment before barely managing to say:

“I’m in charge of records, so…”

Chief Jung held back the curse that was about to slip out. He looked around the room expressionlessly and asked another staff member:

“Is there no one who can remove the interference?”

Everyone just looked at each other with awkward glances, but no one stepped forward. Chief Jung’s mind raced quickly. He had to find a way. Now that Ji Won-woo had brought a real Alpha seed, he had to be kept alive to get information. Damn it, was he even still alive? He needed to know that first, but with no news from the Center…

At that moment, Chief Jung’s eyes narrowed. What if he sent someone directly to the farm? Chief Jung checked the farm’s location on the monitor and realized that the nearby teleportation portal wasn’t exclusive to the Center. Then the chances of getting caught if he sent someone directly from here were low.

The Center would be sending a bunch of people anyway, so that farm would be in chaos. If done well, the internal situation could be easily grasped. No, he just needed to confirm one thing. Whether Ji Won-woo was alive or not. As luck would have it, he had sent Director Hwang to tinker with the Center’s communicator.

He could send a spy disguised as a Center employee, wearing a communicator connected to their side. For that, it would have to be someone who could move quietly like a shadow. Who should he send? A cleaner? Chief Jung took out his phone and instructed the staff:

“Keep monitoring the Center’s communication. Once they catch the Mega Monster, the interference should clear…”

Ding, ding, ding.

Suddenly, an out-of-place chime alarm rang inside. Chief Jung turned pale as soon as he heard the sound. That sound only occurred when one person contacted him. The Brute locked up far away was calling for him.