“The matter of the West Shelter in Korea is a plan we established in preparation for being discovered by the government. Drawing in CH was also to minimize our side’s losses.”

Listening to the story, Geum Gang-seop began clicking the lid of his gold lighter. To Na Young-gyo, it didn’t sound like a mere lighter, but like the sound of a blade falling on a guillotine. He hurriedly continued,

“Cheon Bum-joon, the eldest son of Chairman Cheon, is still unaware of our involvement. This matter was approached to him solely as ‘Orca.’ Even if he collapses, the damage will be to Orca, not to us. You can rest assured.”

“Is that so?”

“CH’s verification has not yet been completed. Isn’t it our principle to bring them to our table when they are in a position to receive the blacklist?”

“The verification seems to be delayed.”

At the heavy, cold voice, Na Young-gyo looked around with eyes that seemed about to shed tears at any moment. As if something might pop out from the empty air.

Geum Gang-seop stopped making noise with the lighter. His face showed that he knew exactly what the other party feared.

“It’s not here.”

“Yes, yes?”

“The red snake, I mean. It’s not here, so rest assured.”

Na Young-gyo rolled his eyes and nodded blindly.

“How is the matter of the crows progressing?”

As if finally finding something he could speak confidently about, Na Young-gyo tightly clenched and twisted his hands.

“Perfect. This time, we might actually be able to open the rift.”

He stood up from his seat and asked Geum Gang-seop for permission. Upon receiving it, Na Young-gyo opened his mouth with a trembling voice.

“Gaia. Arise from the cradle.”

Opposite the window hung a frame displaying various medals. Soon after, a voice difficult to discern as male or female flowed from beyond the frame.

— Please state the security code.

“Angler of the reef.”

— Professor Na Young-gyo. Welcome.

Na Young-gyo, having authenticated his identity, asked Gaia to connect him to someone else. A kind voice informed him that it would take some time. Geum Gang-seop glanced at Na Young-gyo nervously picking at the hangnail next to his fingernail and then turned his gaze away again.

Na Young-gyo used the communication with Gaia as an excuse to get up from his seat and move closer to the frame. To him, one second felt like an hour. Gaia returned with a clear signal tone.

— In ten seconds, the content entered by the other party will be provided in Gaia’s voice.

The two men simultaneously looked at the square clock hanging on the wall. As the numbers they counted inwardly ended, Gaia spoke again.

— What is the matter?

Soon, the indifferent tone of the man on the other end was heard through Gaia’s voice.

“Tell me how much the mining has progressed.”

Na Young-gyo asked politely.

— We have almost reached the quota.

“It won’t interfere with our plans, will it?”

— No.

At the short answer, Geum Gang-seop’s eyebrows furrowed slightly. He lightly tapped the armrest of the sofa with the edge of the lighter in his hand.

“How is CH’s vice-chairman, Cheon Bum-joon’s, pharmaceutical research progressing? He must be using our team’s chimera.”

— His skills are low, but his ideals are high. No new products will come out. He is using the school’s experimental data, but that was manipulated by you in the first place. It’s meaningless.

“Ahem.”

Clearing his throat, Na Young-gyo turned his body towards Geum Gang-seop and said softly. It was a posture like a servile sewer rat.

“As expected, the vice-chairman’s insight is lower than Chairman Cheon’s. Just as I told you.”

He continued speaking, seemingly a little pleased that his prediction had come true.

“Collect any data from Cheon Bum-joon’s research that could become a weakness later. It will be useful when he tries to deviate from our table.”

— Is that all?

“Ah, well, today is probably...”

The other party hung up even though the conversation wasn’t over. Na Young-gyo awkwardly moved away from the wall. Gaia asked kindly,

— Communication has been disrupted due to the wave patterns near the Green Sea. Angler of the Reef, would you like to try reconnecting?

Na Young-gyo blinked at Geum Gang-seop as if seeking an answer. He shook his head as if to say it was enough.

“Gaia. Return to the cradle.”

Gaia fell silent again. Na Young-gyo carefully returned to his original seat. Mulling over what he had said, checking if there was anything that might have offended Geum Gang-seop. He opened his mouth.

“What about the follow-up investigation on the failures?”

“All recent failures have been incinerated. A very small number of failures that we couldn’t eliminate are currently circulating on the market. However, the most important failure is still under our control.”

The most important failure. The person Na Young-gyo was referring to was clear.

Geum Gang-seop remembered the cry of a certain old professor who rarely got excited. The voice filled with joy, shouting that he could finally create a perfect esper.

Professor Yoon was obsessively fixated on his goal. Geum Gang-seop was one of those who believed that such a near-pathological obsession had killed Yoon Jeong-hoon. A slight tension entered Geum Gang-seop’s strong jaw.

“Failure...”

He still couldn’t forget the mad gleam in the old man’s eyes. He was a man who couldn’t die before seeing a perfect psychic with his own two eyes. There was a time when he thought even death couldn’t stop his obsession.

Snapping out of his thoughts, Geum Gang-seop asked in a light tone,

“Professor Yoon Jeong-hoon, is he dead?”

An old man who had already died and been cremated, now? Na Young-gyo wore an expression that said he couldn’t understand what he was thinking at all. Geum Gang-seop opened and closed the lid of his lighter again. Click. A clear sound rang as the metal parts touched.

Na Young-gyo left the office at the end of Geum Gang-seop’s instructions. Carefully closing the door, he finally sighed.

Even though it was close to evening, sunlight that seemed to scorch the skin poured down onto the building’s round roof. Employees in short sleeves and shorts were lightly jogging along the walking paths. There were also quite a few people sitting on benches, having packed their meals and chatting with colleagues.

Na Young-gyo walked diligently without turning his head towards the pleasant and peaceful scene. Having walked busily, he arrived at the research building hidden in the most secret part of the headquarters.

A faint smell of medicine hung in the air of the underground laboratory. The irritating sound of various monitoring equipment could be heard. Unlike the employees above ground, the employees below ground all had pale complexions.

He verified his identity and passed through several semi-transparent double doors, entering the largest laboratory. A researcher who found Na Young-gyo ran over from somewhere and held out a tablet. She spoke hastily.

“Green Bow Corporation sent the experimental results for WHL-001. They say it showed efficacy in rats, monkeys, and even low-intelligence hominid monsters.”

Na Young-gyo’s eyes finally cleared as he returned to his area of expertise.

“An enhancer made based on school data?”

“Yes. And the president personally asked his secretary to convey that there’s a matter he’d like to discuss with you.”

“What did his secretary’s voice sound like?”

The researcher cautiously added her opinion.

“In my opinion, it sounded like a green light.”

“Is that so.”

Na Young-gyo, having entered his laboratory, didn’t come out for a while. Only occasional cheerful laughter leaked out from beyond the glass door.

*

The night on the field was silent.

Alpha Team arrived at the third point fifteen hours after leaving Acheron’s base camp. Baek Sang-ho was satisfied with the travel time, which was about two hours shorter than expected.

They decided to take a short break in the plains where a small stream flowed. Under Kim Doo-eon’s command, several caravans were parked in a V-formation.

Yoon Tae-ha, who had gotten out of the driver’s seat, stretched. Her back was stiff from driving continuously except for a short break at the second point. It was because the road surface became more bumpy as they got closer to Cocytus, and she had been gripping the steering wheel tightly with tension in her shoulders.

Cheon Geon-young, who had gotten out of the passenger seat, approached her.

“Are you okay?”

“Just a little stiff. This isn’t even in the realm of warm-ups.”

She energetically rotated her shoulders and headed with Cheon Geon-young towards the group of people. Alpha Team was huddled together next to a square artificial light that looked like a portable heater.

“Please take your lunch boxes!”

Kim Doo-eon distributed lunch boxes with Raphael. Raphael personally delivered Yoon Tae-ha and Cheon Geon-young’s lunch boxes. He handed them the warm boxes and said, “Eat gratefully to Kuakua.” After sending a meaningful glance, Raphael just gave them the lunch boxes and went to the other side.

“We’ll depart again in four hours. Those who want to sleep, get your last bit of sleep. I’ll keep watch.”

Baek Sang-ho said that and sat down with Kim Doo-eon on camping chairs near the light. His body was fixed in the field, not hidden by the caravans.

The other espers went into the caravans or climbed onto the roofs of the trailers. Cheon Geon-young and Yoon Tae-ha settled down in the cargo bed of the truck they had come in. This area was inhabited by mole-type monsters, so it was safer to climb onto elevated structures rather than sit directly on the ground.

Thanks to the sleeping bags that had been laid out in advance, the floor was moderately soft. Yoon Tae-ha, having neatly placed her shoes in a corner, sat down on a sleeping bag.

While she diligently massaged her calves, Cheon Geon-young opened the lunch box. Inside were special sandwiches carefully made by Acheron’s chefs and slightly soggy french fries. There was also broccoli soup with steam rising from it.

“Strangely, soup tastes best when eaten outdoors.”

“It doesn’t taste the same when you eat it in the cafeteria.”

“That’s right.”

After a short conversation, they both quietly slurped their soup. Fortunately, they hadn’t encountered any hostile forces on the way here, but they were more tense than usual, so their bodies felt heavy.

Having emptied the container of soup and picked up the french fries, Yoon Tae-ha checked the communication status. As expected, it was dead. She put down her phone with a satisfied smile.

“No communication, right?”

“Yeah. Around the camp, it might work because of the equipment, but there’s nothing like that here.”

Cheon Geon-young also had no complaints about the unresponsive electronic devices.