episode_0079

79.

Underground laboratory.

A place where the former South Korean government conducted experiments on awakened individuals.

When it was first discovered, everyone just assumed it was because of the special nature of the Great War.

Towards the end of the war, human experimentation was completely halted due to protests from several human rights groups.

The government wanted to continue the experiment.

There were so many protests.

The international community also continued to apply pressure.

Eventually, those involved were brought to trial by the law, and all plans were scrapped.

Now, there are only a few people who remember it.

“… … That’s what it was. At least from what I’ve seen. The government is trying to revive the experiment. Probably somewhere else. ”

“They are truly scary guys. Ugh, it’s a good thing Jinyoung is here.”

“Oh, is that so? Ah, ahaha… … .”

Kang Jin-young followed Lee Seong-han at a leisurely pace, organizing the National Intelligence Service report in a clear and concise manner.

“As expected, he’s crazy.”

Every time I passed by, I saw the corpses that Lee Seong-han had disposed of.

As if it wasn’t a regular thing for nothing, the monsters were being slaughtered.

They say that in a valley without tigers, a rabbit reigns supreme, and it wasn’t a lie. Now that Kang Mi-young is gone, Lee Seong-han is their best fighter.

“By the way, it’s really cool. Hehe.”

Kang Jin-young looked around. Even he, who had seen many rough scenes, felt a little creeped out.

A monster corpse in a test tube.

Several complex mechanisms.

The hallways are filled with cars.

The dark lighting added to the eerie atmosphere. It was like something out of a horror movie.

“Why is he making that expression?”

In particular, it was the health certificate that concerned me the most. It seemed like he was struggling to stay by Lee Seong-han’s side.

“Brother. I’m tired.”

Kang Seo-jin made a sad face.

She’s not really scary. She’s just acting for show.

“Are you scared?”

Lee Seong-han looked back. He stared at Kang Seo-jin’s face and then let out a deep sigh.

“Yes.”

“Stay close. But it’ll be okay until the monsters come out.”

“Okay, brother.”

“Yeah, yeah.”

Kang Seo-jin’s ‘white lie’ was just to get closer to the prince.

Even if he realized it, I had no doubt that the prince would understand.

This place felt so gloomy, unlike the previous area. It gave me goosebumps.

‘But why doesn’t the prince react at all when that woman is flirting next to him?’

Kang Seo-jin glared at Kang Jin-young.

It was very uncomfortable for the two of them to walk while holding hands, but they kept talking to each other to attract my attention.

She was a clever woman, siding with the injury.

‘Damn, you’re so stupid, you don’t know anything. How dare you insult my pure prince.’

Kang Seo-jin chewed her lower lip.

But since she’s my older sister with some blood in her, I said yes and no, but she betrayed my expectations. Instead, she just provoked me.

“What are you looking at? Seonghan is mine.”

‘Shit.’

Kang Seo-jin glared at the ‘thing’ that was attached to Lee Seong-han like a leech.

“I’ll be by Seonghan’s side. I don’t want to be abandoned again… I don’t want to be abandoned again. I don’t want to abandon anyone.”

Kang Jin-young skillfully avoided Kang Seo-jin’s gaze and began acting weakly again. She secretly revealed a faint, bitter smile.

“Hold my hand, Seonghan.”

“Yes.”

There was a reason why Lee Seong-han had no hesitation in holding hands.

It is also for Kang Jin-young’s mental recovery. [Blocking] It is because it must be connected to block this shadow magic.

“By the way, does that mean that Mr. Seonghan can block the circuit?”

Lee Seong-han nodded.

“That’s right. I’m suppressing it with my own ability.”

“I can’t use magic anymore.”

“Yes.”

Kang Jin-young averted her gaze awkwardly. Her face turned red like a drunkard’s.

It was embarrassing. A wizard who couldn’t use magic.

I hope it helps a little, but it’s only a little better than the average person. I had a hard time with this battle too.

All I did was defeat two automatons, Hunter Killer and the other.

If you see someone carrying around something that isn’t important, wouldn’t they be reminded of chicken ribs?

“Let’s not have such thoughts. Jinyoung is doing well. Even if he can’t use magic, he’s good at shooting weapons like crossbows, right?”

“That’s true, but.”

We held hands. Just having Kang Jin-young by my side was a huge help. She was superior in terms of field experience, such as ability.

As the cynical argument and conversation continued, we arrived at the elevator before we knew it.

As I got on the elevator, I saw a button.

Ground floor 0.

There is nowhere higher to go.

Now it was time to go down.

“Do I have to go underground?”

Kang Jin-young asked.

“Yes, the lowest floor. From here, you have to go up about 20 floors. I was able to unlock the security thanks to the key card the agent left behind. ”

Baek Min-ho laughed while scratching his chin.

“I was lucky. Well… …I also took care of my personal desires a little. Well, please bear with it even if it’s narrow. It’s the widest elevator that a 3rd class person can use. ”

As Baek Min-ho added his explanation, Kang Jin-young scratched his lips with a face that said, ““Ssup, should I have brought something higher?””

Since there were four of us riding together, the inside was very crowded.

I don’t like being dragged along by troops, so I don’t ride the Hell Train, but I wondered if this was the right thing to do.

“Let’s go first.”

When Lee Seong-han pressed the button, the door closed and the elevator went down.

There was an awkward silence for several minutes.

Ding.

The elevator door opened with a pleasant ringing sound.

As soon as we got off, darkness greeted us. Lee Seong-han took the lead, holding a flashlight.

“Keeek!”

Several machine-type and demon-type monsters welcomed us.

[Activate ‘Auto Battle’.]

“Mr. Jinyoung!”

“Yes!”

Lee Seonghan quickly moved in. He dug deep into the area with his spear and took out the monsters while the rear guard provided cover.

As if this was the last time, the number of monsters doubled.

It was a fight that was considerably longer than before. Of course, it wasn’t difficult to organize.

“Wow, somehow I managed to organize it. By the way, compared to before… … .”

Kang Jin-young wiped the sweat off his forehead and looked around.

It’s full of test tubes that people can fit into. It’s dark and gloomy.

If the upper floors are well-maintained, high-tech facilities, is this a mad scientist’s laboratory? Or is it like an MMORPG dungeon?

Either way, it wasn’t important to Lee Seong-han.

The bulkhead right in front.

Because Kang Mi-young is there.

‘Barrier. Is this the entrance to the boss room?’

There was a barrier right there on the wall. Once you pass through here, you can no longer return. In other words, it’s a one-way street. You can’t physically destroy it. You have to finish it off from the inside.

“Let’s go in.”

As I entered the barrier, the space changed. It was like a large plaza. I guess you could call it a cathedral.

It was closer to a religious facility than a laboratory.

The dome-shaped top was filled with intense light.

Under that light.

Kang Mi-young was sitting neatly on her knees. Anyone who saw her would think she had fainted, but she was still breathing. Thank goodness.

Arrived right on time.

“Major?”

“······.”

“Major!”

“······.”

I could see the rope here and there.

Kang Mi-young, who was kneeling, slowly looked up at Lee Seong-han. Her eyes were so bloodshot and red that it was hard to tell where her pupils were.

“······.”

He had a knife to his own neck. He was giving off the impression that he would kill anyone who came any closer.

[Kang Mi-young is in a state of being eroded by shadow magic.]

Oh my, I knew this would happen.

***

Kang Mi-young is not dead yet. She just rolls her eyes around as if she is trapped in a fantasy.

It was like being in a vegetative state.

‘Is it a trap?’

My senses are sharp and I stand up straight. First of all, it is impossible to approach Kang Mi-young and physically rescue her.

“Who else is there besides us?”

“Who is better?”

Kang Jin-young looked around with interest.

No matter how much I looked around, there was nothing human-like.

Only the empty sound of the wind circulates through the space.

“You must be an awakened person, right? Right? Oppa?”

“That’s right.”

But Lee Seong-han could feel that there was someone here besides Kang Mi-young.

It’s not a monster.

There was no unique, sharp feeling that is characteristic of monsters.

But there is no sense of familiarity that can be felt from people.

What does the third obligation mean?

There was no one like that except Hong Seo-min.

Maybe a doll… … or something similar.

‘Traitor.’

Lee Seonghan’s mind became clear. I’m talking about traitors who betrayed humanity. If Kang Miyoung was subdued for no other reason, then it doesn’t make sense. Then where could they be hiding?

It might be a physically inaccessible location, but it might exist. A shadow, a shadow······.

What if this is the only place where a shadow remains?

‘Over there.’

He threw the dagger he always used repeatedly. There was only one estimated location. The direction where Kang Mi-young’s shadow was.

chin-

The dagger that was flying smoothly stopped in the center.

‘There you are.’

It was right above Kang Mi-young’s head. The spot where the shadow fell.

A person slowly emerges from the shadows.

She is a very young looking woman.

He looks like a fresh college student.

The rolled-up sleeve shirt and suit pants particularly stood out.

I could feel his half-closed eyes trembling. He had a face that made me wonder, “How did you find that?”

The woman pointed precisely at the opposite sex with her hand.

“You, you. You’re the guy that Topp talked about. I knew you’d come here. Huh. ”

The woman grumbled with an angry face.

She was a woman with a crow-like appearance.

‘Hong Seo-min and I have similar auras.’

The exposed skin was a light pink. There was an elaborate tattoo on her arm.

Lee Seonghan narrowed his eyes. Since he decided to cooperate with Top, he could show off his incredible abilities and skills like Hong Seomin.

If you do that, the fight will become very difficult.

What if we could just finish it from the beginning?

Of course, that’s hard. First, we have to change the personnel arrangement. If even one person gets bitten, it’ll be a very difficult driving game.

“Come behind me.”

“Yes.”

“Mr. Jinyoung too.”

“······Okay, I understand.”

I sent them both behind my back.

“Mr. Jinyoung. Dashboard.”

“Yes!”

Kang Jin-young lowered the door panel. The shutter light at the top turned red. The shutter came down, sealing off the area.

[-Security protocol operation-]

There’s nowhere to run anyway.

He prepared for battle by pulling out useful weapons from his backpack. Then, he pulled Baek Min-ho, who was watching the distant mountains from the side as if saying, ““Hey, you’re doing a good job─”,” forward.

“Uh.”

Baek Min-ho had a very bewildered expression on his face as he was dragged away, his arm held in his hands. It was as if he had not expected this to happen.

“Have you ever met Hong Seo-min?”

Lee Seong-han asked. Of course, most ordinary people do not know Hong Seo-min’s true identity.

“I know the light pattern, but isn’t that a completely different person?!”

“That’s how they originally played together. The patterns and such are probably similar. Well.”

As soon as Baek Min-ho heard the words, he shook his head violently.

What kind of nonsense are you talking about?

“······.”

[The ‘Favorability Quest’ has been updated.]

Well, I guess it’s time to start.