HLSEBT - 85

“This wasn’t part of the plan!”

Yoon Taeha exclaimed loudly, feigning ignorance. Only Cheon Geonyoung could detect the faint awkwardness in her tone.

Her acting was painfully obvious.

He scrutinized the spot where the target had disappeared. The thorn showed no signs of reappearing.

She quickly approached him.

As they drew closer to each other, the floor trembled. The walls vibrated. A sound like something twisting echoed around them. Then, all the protrusions vanished into the walls at once.

Cut communication?

Standing close to him, Yoon Taeha silently mouthed the words. As soon as he nodded, she removed her communicator. He followed suit, severing the connection with headquarters.

Simultaneously, Yoon Taeha sent a few feathers soaring toward the ceiling.

Expensive cameras met their demise.

________________________________________

Watching the events unfold in the node, the principal abruptly stood up as the screen went black.

His clenched jaw betrayed his tension.

“Huh? Camera 231 is down? So is 232.”

One of the staff members immediately noticed and commented:

“It’s the room with the transfer students from Class G. That one struggles with telekinesis control. Probably an accident.”

“Did you hear what they said last? Something seems to have happened.”

An oblivious employee dialed the number to contact the safety officer for the affected area.

All it took was pressing the green connect button. But a thick finger suddenly blocked it. The employee looked up quizzically.

The principal stood above him, smiling.

“…Teacher?”

“I’ll go myself.”

The employee who had been about to request assistance hesitated.

“There are safety officers still stationed in the area. There’s no need for you to—”

Meanwhile, another staff member loyal to the principal hastily moved his fingers. Co-conspirators subtly distracted those nearby.

With more accomplices in the control room, this maneuver was possible.

Once the manipulation was complete, screams erupted from the neighboring testing grounds of the room whose camera had just gone dark.

“What’s going on? Did the settings malfunction?”

“The difficulty level of the puppets suddenly jumped to maximum!”

“Lower it quickly! These kids are only C-rank!”

“Where do we adjust the settings again…?”

“Get your act together!”

Amidst the chaos, the employee hesitantly withdrew his finger from the green button under the principal’s watchful gaze.

“It seems real monsters were deployed in that simulated dungeon! Send safety officers to this area immediately!”

One of the principal’s accomplices shouted loudly.

A bigger incident had occurred next to the room whose camera had just gone out. The principal, now visibly concerned, briefly gripped the employee’s shoulder before letting go.

“Send all safety officers in this sector to Zone 5 on Basement Level 1.”

“…”

“Zone 4—I’ll handle it personally.”

“Yes, understood. Rescue teams will be dispatched to Zones 5 and 6 first.”

The principal even redirected the footage of Kang Jin-ho to the students in Zone 6.

With the solemn face of an educator, he straightened his posture.

“No student should be injured.”

The weight of his command made everyone tense.

Crossing the room, he exchanged glances with his accomplices. Some bowed their heads in fear, while others bravely awaited further instructions.

They were prepared to do whatever it took to cover up this incident.

It seemed they hoped for Cheon Geonyoung’s elimination.

“I will monitor the situation and issue additional instructions as needed.”

After confirming their fervent loyalty, he puffed up his chest and exited the control room.

________________________________________

Striding through the hallway, the principal thought to himself:

Still such a waste.

But I must escape now. An opportunity like this won’t come again.

He had to extricate himself from this dense web as naturally as possible.

After much deliberation, the best option was to mimic Kwon Min-gi’s escape.

However, he couldn’t be the one causing the rampage.

No, he had to appear as someone trying to calm a rampaging student but ended up getting caught in the chaos.

That way, he could leave the hospital without suspicion.

“Principal, hello!”

“Have a great day!”

Young Espers who recognized him on the path greeted him brightly. Ignoring them as if he didn’t have the mental capacity to respond, he walked past.

“S-Sir, your face looks so scary…”

“Why didn’t you return our greeting?”

His mind raced incessantly.

Head to the hospital. From there, lose the crows and hide…

He felt the thin cigarette case he always carried in his jacket’s inner pocket.

Inside was a drug that could fully unlock an Esper’s senses with minimal dosage.

How many students had been provoked into rampages by this very substance?

Cheon Geonyoung’s partner would meet the same fate.

If only he could directly kill Cheon Geonyoung during the rampage!

What better luck could there be?

Jeon Seong-ha, the Esper known for his inability to control himself, would lose control and either kill or severely injure his own partner.

The perfect conditions were already set. With teleportation abilities, avoiding detection at the right moment would be child’s play.

He believed he could escape safely.

The principal’s lips twitched unnaturally as he teleported toward the building where the problem had arisen.

________________________________________

“It seems Jin-ho tampered with the valve.”

Having eliminated all means of external observation, Yoon Taeha tapped her glasses reassuringly.

“Or maybe the control room did. Or both.”

Her tone implied neither mattered.

“Jet will record the evidence.”

“If both the thorns and the guardian disappeared entirely…”

He watched as Yoon Taeha removed the cracked golden ring.

The black ring shimmered contentedly, having monopolized its beautiful owner’s hand.

“It means water will fill this place.”

Putting the ring away, Yoon Taeha nodded.

“And it also means we can’t return the way we came.”

As soon as her words left her lips, water began pouring in through the entrance they had used.

Watching the rapidly rising water, Yoon Taeha murmured softly:

“I thought Jin-ho might come himself to blow us away.”

“That would’ve been cleaner.”

“In fact, nothing beats solid evidence. I even tied my hair low to expose the back of my head nicely.”

Cheon Geonyoung shook his head slightly at her idle chatter.

“Either way, this is how they’ve been rigging first-place finishes. Manipulating things here and there…”

Her voice carried a hint of skepticism.

Observing her, Cheon Geonyoung spoke calmly.

“Even if Kang Jin-ho escapes from the upper node, the door probably won’t open.”

Under normal circumstances, when one team cleared their objective, the opposite node’s door would automatically unlock.

“But they’ll likely keep controlling it from the control room until the oxygen tanks run out.”

“Would they really do that, knowing you’re undercover? The principal knows who you are.”

“They might want to take care of everything at once. If I die, the investigation shifts, buying them time.”

“Unless they have some serious confidence…”

Yoon Taeha fell into deep thought, gazing at the rising water. She walked a short distance away and asked Jet something quietly.

Meanwhile, Cheon Geonyoung took two underwater breathing apparatuses from the bag and prepared them. Unable to use the gun anymore, he retrieved a dagger and secured it in his thigh holster.

Finished with her thoughts, Yoon Taeha spoke to him.

By now, the water had risen to knee level.

“There’s a first escape method.”

“The one we all know.”

“I just smash everything and leave.”

“Doesn’t that appeal to you?”

Yoon Taeha sighed exaggeratedly.

“We’re taught not to let emotions interfere in situations like this.”

“But…”

“I’m upset.”

She smiled like a siren luring sailors to their watery graves. Cheon Geonyoung stared unblinking, committing the sight to memory.

“Let’s return this water.”

Her sweet voice hinted at her desire to share this with him.

He gently questioned the siren.

“Aren’t you supposed to be a mature veteran?”

“Even veterans get their feelings hurt sometimes.”

Her pouty lips seemed to ask if he’d join her without realizing her own expression.

Had any Guide ever resisted her allure?

Suddenly, he wondered about the Guides who had passed through her.

Were they still alive somewhere beneath the sea?

“Your call, Veteran.”

“You agree?”

“You already got your answer.”

Yoon Taeha surveyed the dome-like space. Teleportation seemed impossible for now since there was nowhere to stand. She asked him a question as if expecting an easy response.

“What’s the name of this dungeon again?”

“The Heart of the White Whale.”

“Do whales dive?”

“To eat krill shrimp, they do.”

He frowned again at the mention of shrimp. Yoon Taeha hurriedly clarified:

“No shrimp reappear.”

“That’s what I wanted to hear.”

Smiling mischievously, she continued in a clear voice:

“If you hit a certain part of the node, the entire dungeon flips over like an hourglass.”

Cheon Geonyoung looked intrigued.

“That wasn’t in our data.”

She added apologetically:

“Sometimes, while working in the field, you save little tidbits like this for retirement. Call it insurance.”

The excuse sounded convincingly veteran-like to Cheon Geonyoung.

Yoon Taeha pointed to the ceiling, which the water hadn’t yet reached.

“When the water reaches the ceiling, a section will glow like phosphorescent material.”

“Does it change color when touched by water?”

“Yes. The entire node needs to be submerged.”

“What then?”

“If you attack the glowing area forcefully, the water filling the lower node will rush to the upper node instantly.”

“Like a reverse flow.”

“Exactly.”

By the time they finished their conversation, the water had risen to waist level.

The two people, speaking calmly as if immune to the fear humans should feel, finally picked up their breathing apparatuses.

Yoon Taeha checked the functionality of her device and said:

“When the water drains completely, the thorns will reappear. We’ll deal with them and leave. This way, my identity remains hidden, and we win. It’s probably better to stay concealed until we catch the principal.”

Cheon Geonyoung, agreeing with her reasoning, asked:

“Has Kang Jin-ho ever been eliminated in the first round?”

“Not to my knowledge.”

Yoon Taeha added in a voice that retained at least a shred of mercy:

“When we leave, the exit will open automatically. They won’t die.”

Cheon Geonyoung had no interest in their survival.

But he appreciated that Yoon Taeha seemed to care at least a little.

Now, their bodies began floating upward.

He double-checked that the dagger was securely in place on his thigh, mentally mapping out their movements once the room filled with water.

Receiving a message from Jet, Yoon Taeha said:

“The principal has moved.”