SOG Ch 166

“…”

Chae Seong-hwan couldn’t prevent his mind from reeling as if he’d been struck on the back of the head. He had thought Chairman Go Young-chang was a cold-hearted person, but he hadn’t imagined he could carry out such inhumane acts.

However, the shocking revelations didn’t end there.

“…There was an identical experiment 45 years ago too.”

Seon Jae-chan, who had turned pale, whispered in a cracked voice. Forty-five years ago, in Rust County, part of the American Union, another Esper cultivation experiment had taken place at the same site.

At that time, all but one chosen child had been ‘disposed of.’ Unlike the Espers who grew up with Woo-jin and scattered after gaining citizenship in the Coalition of Five Nations, the others met a different fate.

Chae Seong-hwan and Seon Jae-chan checked the very old ‘disposal list’ with grim expressions. Go Young-min, Go Young-chae, Go Young-lim, Go Young-han, Go Young-un…. The list of survivors from 45 years ago continued for dozens of names. The sole survivor who wasn’t disposed of and was selected by the founder of ‘Daesung’, the predecessor group of J Pharmaceuticals, was a single A-class Esper.

That survivor was none other than Chairman Go Young-chang, the current head of J Pharmaceuticals.

A heavy silence filled the room. The ventilation system barely alleviated the stifling underground air. It was Chae Seong-hwan who eventually broke the silence.

“…It seems there’s a mole in J Pharmaceuticals.”

Given the sensitive nature of the subject regarding Go Woo-jin and Chairman Go Young-chang, Chae Seong-hwan cautiously changed the topic.

“I mean the owner of this research lab. They don’t just know about the Esper cultivation experiments—they seem to know an unusually broad and in-depth amount about J Pharmaceuticals?”

Seon Jae-chan nodded slowly. He agreed. Besides the Esper cultivation experiments, there were confidential J Pharmaceutical details organized throughout that only current executives would know, such as business agreement signings.

Chae Seong-hwan, catching his slightly stifled breath, moved to the far left. He started taking photos with his phone again. Seon Jae-chan reflexively divided the tasks and headed to the right, but then hesitated.

Having discovered something, Seon Jae-chan looked troubled. The sharp-eyed Chae Seong-hwan immediately noticed the strange air, and though Jae-chan tried to casually cover the overview with a file folder in his hand, Chae Seong-hwan was quicker.

“Hey, what is it?”

I can’t stand not knowing what I’m curious about. I don’t even watch dramas until the final episode is out! As Chae Seong-hwan was genuinely serious, Seon Jae-chan had no choice but to tell the truth.

“It’s a submarine blueprint. Will you be okay?”

“…”

Chae Seong-hwan was speechless for a moment but then shrugged.

“I told you, didn’t I? The only thing that scares me is my own pathetic self.”

That aside, what’s a submarine doing here?

As it was a rather unwelcome element, Chae Seong-hwan narrowed his eyes while pulling in his chin. Seon Jae-chan lowered the file folder. The submarine blueprint and operation overview that had only been visible at the tail end were revealed.

“Oh, this is….”

Chae Seong-hwan trailed off. His expression gradually became more serious as he scanned the memo attached to the bottom of the submarine, official documents related to the nuclear reactor cooling tower, and maps of the Namryu River.

“These bastards, they’re planning to escape by submarine.”

It was possible because the Namryu River wasn’t far from the sea and boasted a depth sufficient to supply cooling water for nuclear power generation.

Seeing Lee Yundo’s name listed as the submarine technician, the source of the submarine they obtained was clearly from ‘Snow Leopard’ Ham Myeong-su, who was killed last year during the E-SOF Unit’s assassination operation.

Seon Jae-chan recalled the submarine in the underground bunker he had witnessed when he went to steal the Black Shadow Group’s slush fund. It seems Ham Myeong-su had sold many military weapons to terrorist organizations around the world, and submarines were among them.

“They slip out through the Namryu River, blow up the power plant to disguise it as a suicide bombing… crazy….”

Chae Seong-hwan spat out curses.

Meanwhile, Jae-chan was deep in thought.

“…”

Looking at the materials here, one could guess how long the technician had been preparing for the nuclear power plant explosion. To the extent of forming strong ties with some of the plant workers.

In that case, they must have carefully selected the timing for implementing the plan. But what caused that timing to suddenly be moved up by 2 years?

Was it because they could no longer hide the experiments, as Gyeong Hye-in said? Because they succeeded in creating an artificial windless zone? Hadn’t they done that in the past? If so, what was the variable? Because Won Seong-il died? Because Lee Yundo joined forces with the technician?

“Guide Seon, take a look at this.”

At that moment, Chae Seong-hwan called him. At his urgent gesture, Jae-chan set aside his questions for now and moved over.

“There’s a photo of you here too.”

“…?”

It was true. As Seon Jae-chan approached Chae Seong-hwan’s side, he discovered his own photo fixed with tweezers. Surprisingly, it was the ID photo he had submitted to the Center.

However, there was something even more startling.

“On the right is Guide Seon, and on the left is…”

It looked familiar. Chae Seong-hwan muttered, but Seon Jae-chan barely heard him. This was because next to Jae-chan’s own photo, Nam Hae-sol’s photo was displayed side by side.

Why is Nam Hae-sol here? With his mouth open in shock as if struck by lightning, Jae-chan hurriedly read through the documents.

[A-11’s Vulnerabilities]

(Photo 1): Cultivated weakness

(Photo 2): Abandoned child

Under that title, Nam Hae-sol’s and his own photos were displayed in order. ‘A-11’ referred to the embryo number that the research team had given to Go Woo-jin during artificial insemination 20 years ago. The technician was using this designation instead of the proper name Go Woo-jin.

Next to Nam Hae-sol’s photo it said ‘cultivated weakness’, and next to his own photo it said ‘abandoned child’.

“This is a bit difficult. Does it mean these two people are Woo-jin’s vulnerabilities? And what are these incomprehensible words? …Hmm, the photo on the left seems a bit old.”

Chae Seong-hwan expressed several doubts, but Jae-chan couldn’t answer properly. It was as if a storm was raging in his head, churning everything up. Letters were floating around dizzily. From the moment he discovered Nam Hae-sol’s photo, only one thought had been tearing through his mind.

‘Did the technician regress too?’

Suddenly having Nam Hae-sol’s photo here. It made sense for his own since he was currently dating with Woo-jin, but it was strange to have a photo of Nam Hae-sol, who currently had almost no connection to Woo-jin.

‘No, that’s not it.’

He barely managed to regain his composure. If the technician had really regressed, they would have acted much more cautiously. They wouldn’t have lost Won Seong-il, who could be considered the core driving force of Black Swan. Also, the current nuclear power plant incident was progressing much more roughly than the future incident. It was unlike the technician, who became more cunning and meticulous as time passed.

Then why on earth was Guide Nam Hae-sol’s photo attached here?

Is it because Nam Hae-sol is the guide with the highest matching rate with Woo-jin? If the technician’s underling from J Pharmaceuticals was who he suspected, it wouldn’t be strange if Go Woo-jin and Nam Hae-sol’s matching rate data had been leaked.

‘The photo does look quite old…’

It was as Chae Seong-hwan said. Just as he was closely examining Nam Hae-sol’s full-body photo with the sea in the background, which was of lower quality compared to his own…

Without warning, a broadcast suddenly rang out.

[If you want to get Esper Gu Ji-eun back, come to the underground waste disposal room. I repeat. Come to the waste disposal room.]

Although there were no speakers inside the lab, the voice from the corridor was so loud that it could be clearly heard. It was Seon Eun-soo’s voice. It was obvious who he was talking to.

All the questions and thrills that had filled Seon Jae-chan’s mind drained away like the ebb tide. The space that had suddenly become empty was instantly filled with a sense of reality.

“Esper-nim.”

In the silence that fell like cold water being poured over them, Jae-chan turned to look at Chae Seong-hwan. He met the eyes of the compassionate Esper directly, then removed the magazine from the rifle he was holding and held it out.

“What? …Are you going again?”

Chae Seong-hwan, who had been through a lot, recoiled in dismay.

“I admit we need to save your aunt. But what are you going to do when you get there? Is there any need to needlessly increase the number of victims from one to two? Do you think that’s what your aunt would want?”

“We’ll die anyway if we just stay here.”

Seon Jae-chan nodded towards the dozens of IEDs with flashing red lights that filled the lab.

“If we hide, we die. If we go out together, they’ll try to kill you. But if I go out alone, it might create a brief opening. Make sure you escape before they blow up the building.”

“…”

“Everything Esper-nim said is right. Shouldn’t those who can survive try their best to do so? And I’m going out to try to survive too. I absolutely can’t die like this – it would be such a waste.”

Seon Jae-chan spoke as if making a vow, though he wasn’t sure if he’d be alright, but at least he was confident he wouldn’t die. He pointedly waved his left hand, which had a black watch strap wrapped around it. Of course, Chae Seong-hwan knew who had given him that watch with the GPS installed.

“…”

Chae Seong-hwan’s black-and-white eyes glimmered briefly before they hardened with resolve.  Facing him, Chae Seong-hwan swallowed a lukewarm sigh. He shoved the phone he had been holding into his pocket and reluctantly accepted the magazine Seon Jae-chan handed over.

Suddenly, he thought it was fortunate that it was him here. Even he, who had little connection to Seon Jae-chan, was going crazy – if it had been Woo-jin, he would have completely lost it.

Thinking about Go Woo-jin’s reaction when he eventually faced this situation made everything seem to go dark before his eyes. But he couldn’t resent the young man who had lost his aunt either, so in the end, Chae Seong-hwan just let out the deep sighs he had been holding back.

*

-That psychopath bastard, he finally caught his younger brother

First floor of Research Building 3. The red-haired man advancing alone, turning over corpses strewn across the lobby with his toe, narrowed his eyes at Lee Yundo’s radio transmission that came with a crackling sound. It seemed that Seon Eun-soo had finally made the broadcast. He was such a pain in the ass, as always.