Chapter 76

Thick dust obscured his vision. All he could see ahead was smoke, and he couldn’t see even an inch in front of him. The acrid smoke made him cough and brought tears to his eyes. Wiping his damp eyes with the back of his hand, Haon cautiously took a step forward.

Bang!

A gunshot rang out not far away. Haon reflexively flinched. He looked in the direction of the gunshot, but he couldn’t see who had fired. Of course, he couldn’t see Cha Yugeon either.

Feeling utterly alone in the thick fog made his heart feel like it was freezing. Haon suppressed his rising fear and tried to move as quietly as possible.

“Ow!”

Pain shot through his left thigh. Haon bit his lip to stifle a cry and looked down at his leg. It was too dark to see clearly, but it seemed he had been hit by a bullet. He barely managed to support his trembling body and took a deep breath, careful not to make a sound that the enemy might hear.

The enemy must have pinpointed Haon’s location when he made noise after being hit. He needed to move away from there quickly. Haon limped forward, dragging his injured left leg.

At that moment, someone grabbed Haon’s arm with a strong grip. He was pulled along helplessly and quickly grabbed his weapon. But he couldn’t attack the person.

“Cha Yugeon…”

His voice came out in relief. Just seeing the person he most wanted to see at that moment filled him with a sense of comfort. Nothing else had changed except for meeting him.

“Are you hurt?”

“…Yeah.”

Cha Yugeon’s brow furrowed. He examined Haon’s leg with a worried expression. Haon felt grateful for his concern but also embarrassed. He turned his head to hide his reddening face. Fortunately, Cha Yugeon seemed too focused on Haon’s leg to notice his blush.

“It’s okay. It’s not that bad.”

“Not that bad? It’s only because the bullet is still in there. Once we take it out, you know the blood will gush out.”

“…”

He was right. The bullet was currently plugging the wound, so only a little blood was seeping out. But once it was removed, the blood would pour out. Keeping the bullet in wasn’t an option, so the situation would get worse soon.

“We need to finish this quickly.”

Cha Yugeon seemed to understand this too. He created a small flame on his fingertip and took a few steps away from Haon.

“Be careful. You know there are civilians around.”

Haon spoke with concern. The reason Cha Yugeon couldn’t use fire was because of the many civilians in the area. The surrounding buildings were filled with non-Awakened people. Moreover, smoke and fire could interact in unpredictable ways. Even if Cha Yugeon used fire, it might not clear the smoke and could make it worse.

“I know. I’ll be careful.”

Cha Yugeon reassured Haon with a short reply and used his telekinesis to soar high into the air. Haon couldn’t see how far Cha Yugeon ascended through the thick smoke, but he guessed Cha Yugeon had flown above the smoke layer.

Haon had no choice but to trust Cha Yugeon. There was nothing he could do, so he had to rely on Cha Yugeon. Anxiously, he stared at the sky, the pain in his leg forgotten.

Suddenly, the smoke parted as if sliced by an invisible blade. Haon looked up in astonishment and saw Cha Yugeon holding something. It was transparent, but he could see the air rippling around the long object in Cha Yugeon’s hand.

As Cha Yugeon swung it again, the smoke cleared further. It looked like he was wielding an invisible sword. Just as Haon was marveling at the sight, Cha Yugeon descended rapidly toward the ground, slashing at the enemy hidden in the fog.

[Mission Complete]

A message appeared in the air simultaneously. Haon removed his sweat-drenched VR headset. The surrounding buildings disappeared, leaving only the VR training ground. Haon glanced at Cha Yugeon, who was also taking off his VR headset.

“Park Haon, is your leg okay?”

Cha Yugeon approached with concern. Haon shrugged. Although it was a VR training session, the program was designed to inflict some physical damage to enhance realism. Hence, Haon’s left thigh was probably injured to some extent, as indicated by the throbbing pain he felt.

“I’m not sure. I’ll have to check.”

His long uniform pants covered his thigh, so he couldn’t assess the injury right then. Even without seeing it, he guessed it wasn’t too severe—probably just a bruise.

Despite the VR training being designed to cause real injuries to heighten alertness, it wasn’t meant to be life-threatening.

Knowing this, Haon wasn’t too worried.

“Let’s go to the hospital immediately.”

But Cha Yugeon seemed to think differently. He was ready to take Haon to the hospital at once. Haon felt it was embarrassing to go to the hospital for an injury sustained during VR training and resisted the idea.

“No need for a hospital. It’s probably just a bruise. I’m not going.”

“What are you talking about? You’re hurt. We need to go to the hospital to check and get treatment.”

Cha Yugeon wasn’t backing down. His unyielding stance was evident, making Haon reconsider. He debated whether to continue arguing or just ignore him.

“Hey! Cha Yugeon!”

Haon’s dilemma didn’t last long as Cha Yugeon suddenly lifted him up. In his arms, Haon’s face turned bright red, and he raised his voice.

“Put me down! Cha Yugeon, put me down!”

“I’m not putting you down. Just stay still.”

Without blinking, Cha Yugeon carried Haon out of the VR training room. The other Awakened ones gathered outside stared wide-eyed at the sight. They even started whispering among themselves.

“Hey, Cha Yugeon! Put me down. Fine, I’ll go to the hospital. Let me walk there myself. Please?”

Haon, completely out of options, pleaded in the most pitiful voice he could muster. But Cha Yugeon, having made up his mind, only held him tighter and didn’t let go.

“You crazy idiot!”

Haon finally cursed and waved his fists, but it had no effect on Cha Yugeon. Instead, it only drew more attention from the others.

The Awakened ones in the hallway turned their heads at Haon’s voice, then widened their eyes when they saw him being carried. Realizing his actions were only attracting more attention, Haon reluctantly quieted down.

Cha Yugeon seemed pleased with Haon’s compliance, smiling broadly. Haon found the smile infuriating but knew causing a scene would only make things worse, so he clenched his fists in frustration.

In any case, Cha Yugeon was his nemesis—a nemesis he met on a narrow bridge, no less.