Ch.162Intelligence Operation (2)

I moved to a desert.

Looking around, I suddenly realized a problem.

“Excuse me, Robin. We can still understand each other, right?”

“Yes. The translation meme’s effect is still active. But soon we won’t be able to communicate again.”

“No! You don’t need to worry about that!”

Riko proudly pulled something out to show us.

It looked like a small speaker with a transparent exterior that revealed the circuits inside.

A red LED light was blinking within it.

“I’ve stored the translation meme in here. It works within a 1km radius, so we’ll be able to keep communicating.”

“Wow. Is this also Foundation communication technology?”

“Yes. I did well, right?”

Riko clutched the device tightly, waiting for praise.

“Yes. You did well, Riko.”

“Hehe. I’m useful, right? Don’t throw me away. I’m useful. I won’t talk back… Don’t throw me away.”

“Riko?”

I used anomaly observation, but Riko was in a normal state.

Of course, “normal” only means her mind wasn’t affected by external anomalies.

It must be trauma from nearly dying after being abandoned by the “Professor.”

“I won’t throw you away. To see this through properly, we definitely need you too, Riko.”

“…”

Seeming somewhat calmer, Riko let out a deep sigh.

“I’m sorry. I got scared for a moment. Ahaha, what’s wrong with me?”

“Should we rest a bit before continuing?”

“No. I’m fine.”

Riko insists she’s fine, but we have plenty of time anyway.

I shifted my gaze past Riko’s shoulder.

Robin was staring intently at empty space, wrestling with something.

After a moment, Robin reached out into the void and tapped something.

“Done.”

“Is it ready?”

“Yes. Everyone be careful from now on.”

“…Of what?”

“What’s beneath your feet.”

You could have said that sooner.

As soon as Robin finished speaking, the sand split in half.

Below was an endless abyss.

“Robin! Is this really okay?”

“It’s fine, stay calm!”

Yebin was precariously balanced on a sand dune on the opposite side.

“Dabin! Is it really okay if we fall?”

Robin answered instead.

“It’s fine! We’re going to enter from below now, so don’t be too scared!”

The sand was gradually being pulled downward.

The sound of wind grew louder.

Robin raised her voice.

“When I count, we all jump on three. If our timing is off, we might get separated, so we need to do it together!”

“You could have told us this earlier!”

My words were drowned out by the wind.

I could only hear Robin counting.

“One. Two. Three!”

I threw myself into the abyss beneath the sand.

I could see the others descending as well.

“Ahhh! Ahhh!”

On the opposite side, Milli was tumbling down.

Choi Yoon was sliding down like he was riding a snowboard, even maintaining his balance.

“Dabin!”

I heard Serim calling from beside me.

When I turned my head, I saw her holding Yebin tightly.

“I’ll take care of Yebin, you keep going down!”

“Yes, noona!”

After a period of darkness, light shone through again.

It was blindingly bright.

When I got up, only Robin and Riko were beside me.

“Are you okay?”

“This is the Foundation’s data center. Their goal is to record and analyze everything in the world.”

Collecting all the world’s information.

I thought Robin’s words might not be impossible.

Endless walls of surveillance monitors were arranged in infinite rows.

Each screen showed different parts of the world.

As I raised my head to look at the wall, Riko rushed over, frantically waving her arms.

“Don’t look!”

“What?”

“It’s too much information for a human to handle. Your head could literally explode.”

“Oh…”

I quickly closed my eyes and lowered my head.

“I’m keeping my eyes closed too. Dabin, you mustn’t open yours.”

“Okay. I won’t. What about you, Robin?”

“Same for me. But doesn’t Riko need to keep her eyes open?”

“What? That’s scary.”

“The listening device. You need to install it.”

“Ah… right.”

I heard rustling sounds.

Probably Riko installing the device.

“I’ll finish quickly, so be careful.”

The sound of a switch being flipped.

I also heard a metallic click as some device was attached.

After a while.

Riko announced she was done.

“It’s ready. Now we’ll be able to track the Foundation’s major movements.”

We all opened our eyes, still keeping our gaze toward the floor.

Robin asked in a calm voice.

“So can you filter the information? It can’t be easy to extract only important information.”

“Yes. Of course I can.”

“That’s impressive. I wonder why such a talented person ended up with the Professor.”

“Ugh.”

Riko flinched at the mention of the Professor.

Then she grabbed Robin’s wrist tightly with pitiful eyes.

“Robin, you won’t abandon me, right?”

“That depends on the situation. But I have no plans to do so anytime soon.”

An ambiguous answer.

Riko slowly shifted her position toward me.

“Dabin…”

“Yes. I will never abandon you.”

“Yes. Hehe… that’s a relief…”

I hadn’t realized it before, but she seems to need even more care than Yebin.

After reassuring Riko, I prepared to leave.

“Now let’s find the others.”

The Foundation’s information facility was vast and expansive.

I felt we needed to move quickly to find the others.

“Oppa! Over here!”

Fortunately, we weren’t too late and could easily find our companions.

Yoon Daju, Serim, and Yebin.

The three of them were gathered in one place.

The problem was that we weren’t the only ones who had found them.

In the narrow corridor.

Rough breathing sounds echoed.

Huff-

Huff-

Soldiers wearing gas masks were closing in on the three.

Robin drew a gun.

“These are the Foundation’s automated security guards. Grab your weapons.”

I took out my gun too.

It was identical to Robin’s.

A silenced assassination pistol stolen from the Foundation.

With extremely reduced firing sound, it’s ideal for covert operations like this.

The problem was my shooting skills.

Our companions were between us and the security guards.

If I made a mistake, I could hit an ally.

While I hesitated, Robin quickly took down all the guards.

The guards collapsed onto the corridor.

Thud.

Until I heard that sound, I hadn’t even realized Robin had fired.

The true power of a silenced pistol, and excellent assassination.

Riiiiiiing-!

However, we couldn’t prevent the facility-wide alarm from going off.

Meanwhile, the three people joined us.

Robin looked around at everyone and explained the situation.

“Now that we’ve been detected, more guards will keep coming.”

“Then we should find the rest of our people while avoiding fights as much as possible.”

“Yes. But what worries me… is whether ‘we can trust Milli.'”

“What?”

“As you know, Milli is the only one who can teleport here. Our position depends entirely on Milli.”

I immediately understood what Robin was saying.

“She won’t run away alone. She probably has someone else with her.”

“You mean Choi Yoon? What about the possibility of them escaping together?”

“…That would never happen.”

At that firm voice, both Robin and I turned our heads.

It was Serim.

“I know him. Choi Yoon.”

Serim took a trembling breath, then said with slightly angry eyes.

“He’s my father.”

“Oh.”

Robin, embarrassed, rubbed her hands together.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t know.”

“So, they definitely won’t run away by themselves.”

The alarm continued to blare.

We walked cautiously through the corridor.

Robin looked around with a tense face.

Daju fiddled with her shotgun.

After walking for some time.

We heard faint sounds from quite far away.

Boom!

Ratatatatata!

A mix of explosions and gunfire.

I looked around at everyone.

“That sound. Can anyone tell which direction it’s coming from?”

Daju listened for a moment, then pointed to the left of the corridor.

“That way!”

But she didn’t stop there.

Daju picked up her shotgun and aimed it at the corridor wall.

Boom!

With a thunderous sound, the wall collapsed.

Behind it was another long corridor.

“Hurry!!!”

Daju shouted, leading the way with her shotgun.

Daju is too reckless sometimes, but occasionally, like now, she’s incredibly helpful.

“This way! Quickly!”

Bang!

The guards had no time to react. Daju’s response was much faster.

By the time the guards noticed us, the shotgun trigger had already been pulled.

Boom!

True to their name as automated security guards, pieces of their mechanical bodies fell apart.

Daju pushed forward through the corridor like a destructive tank.

To be heard over the noise, I shouted at the top of my lungs.

“Choi Yoon! Milli! Over here!”

“Yes! Coming right away!”

Choi Yoon’s reply came through the gunfire.

While I was catching my breath, Serim suddenly rushed forward and shouted.

“Is Milli there too?!”

“Yes! She is!”

“Then why are you running? Idiot!”

“Ah.”

Whoosh-

Soon after, Milli used her ability.

Choi Yoon and Milli teleported directly to where we were.

Then everyone held hands, and another teleportation activated.

Robin’s memorized coordinates of the Pan-Cosmic Occult Association headquarters.

Serim’s ability to share thoughts.

And Milli’s teleportation ability.

With these three combined, we could all instantly return to the Association.

The Association’s cabin.

Almost the only safe place left in this universe.

After confirming the surroundings were safe, Serim plopped down on the floor and started chattering.

“It was within visual range, why did you run? Really.”

“You’re right. That was stupid of me.”

“Why take the risk when there’s a teleporter right next to you.”

Serim, who had been complaining, suddenly seemed to realize something and shut her mouth.

“…”

“…”

Young Choi Yoon and grown-up Choi Serim.

An awkward atmosphere briefly flowed between them.

“But what about Choi Serim?”

“I’ll just say it myself.”

Choi Serim let out a deep sigh.

“Choi Yoon. In the future, you become a father. I’m your daughter.”

“Uh… really? Me?”

“Yes. You marry Sim Jihee.”

“That’s impossible. I don’t like Sim Jihee.”

“Well, I guess you made a mistake then.”

Serim turned her head sharply.

Though I thought I knew her well, this was a side of her I’d never seen.

“But.”

Serim suddenly hugged the still-confused Choi Yoon.

“But… I missed you. So much.”

Choi Yoon soon smiled and wrapped his arms around Serim.

“I guess I’m just meeting you a bit early, that’s all.”

“Yes. Very early.”

“My future daughter… feels really strange.”

Serim was crying.

“This time, don’t die.”

“Okay. I won’t die.”

“Don’t leave me alone when I’m young and die!”

“…”

“Always doing dangerous things! That’s how you died! You know?”

As Serim’s emotions intensified, I could see the air around us trembling.

I focused my mind a bit more.

Thoughts flowed from Serim to Choi Yoon.

“Yes. I won’t die this time.”

Choi Yoon’s arms tightened around Serim.

“I won’t do dangerous things either.”

“Mm-hmm.”

“And I won’t leave you alone.”

“…Mm-hmm.”

It was quite a while before Serim left Choi Yoon’s embrace.

After being lost in the moment, Choi Yoon suddenly spoke up as if remembering something.

“Oh right. Haven’t you all noticed something different?”

“What do you mean?”

Everyone looked puzzled, while only Choi Yoon smiled triumphantly.

If anyone else seemed to know something, it was only Milli.

Tap tap.

Choi Yoon raised his hand and tapped his earlobe.

“The strange radio waves the Foundation was broadcasting. They haven’t been heard at all.”

A shiver ran down my spine.

I found myself nodding involuntarily.

“Yes. Since the Foundation facility is outside the Association, we should have heard it. But we didn’t hear anything.”

The strange radio waves that drove people insane and ultimately to suicide.

The waves that had us wearing earplugs for a while had stopped at some point.

To be precise, since shortly after we started the espionage operation.

Choi Yoon grinned at us.

“That? I eliminated it. Milli and I together.”

Choi Yoon pulled Milli close with one arm, speaking proudly.

Seeing that, another shiver ran through me.

A non-powered person among numerous ability users.

That was the magic possessed by the man called Choi Yoon.