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“What is the meaning of this?”
Cheon Geon-young, who had neatly fixed his sleeves, spoke in a low voice. For an Esper whose important moment had been interrupted, it was a remarkably gentle question, but his expression was so fierce that no one dared to answer. Meanwhile, Yoon Tae-ha glared contemptuously at the silent agents on the Chancellor’s side.
“Did you all get glue on your mouths? He’s asking why you came in without knocking.”
The manager bravely stepped forward and pointed directly at the main instigator of the incident.
“These people were urgently looking for you, sirs.”
Cheon Geon-young's gaze followed the manager's outstretched palm and landed on Eom Byeong-wook. Eom Byeong-wook, feeling his neck stiffen with fear, recited the excuse he had prepared.
“A threatening letter arrived, timed to a guild competition, threatening to terrorize the city.”
“Is this a threat from Orca?”
“Yes. They are claiming that Ark has stolen their valuable assets. This clearly refers to the Ark agent who is here.”
“So you came here to urgently check on this woman’s safety.”
“We apologize for the rudeness. But this was a matter concerning the life of an agent protected by Ark.”
The agent from the Special Operations Department, who was holding a small terminal, looked for his moment to act. The terminal in his hand was a machine that could verify the authenticity of the chip implanted by Ark. Eom Byeong-wook took the terminal from his subordinate.
“As you know, masks that can precisely replicate the faces of others have recently been circulating on the black market…”
“You’re saying you want to check the chip in my body, right?”
Yoon Tae-ha interrupted in a fed-up tone, tilting her chin provocatively.
“Let’s do it now. Should I take off my clothes too?”
“There’s no need for that.”
The verification was simple. The terminal concluded that the object in Yoon Tae-ha's body was an Ark chip.
“Are you done checking?”
“…Yes. Thank you for your cooperation.”
The Special Operations Department had to retreat after only confirming that the woman next to Cheon Geon-young was their own subordinate. The manager did not leave with them, as he was busy talking to Cheon Geon-young about how he would compensate for today’s mistake.
The agents who were practically chased out into the hallway all had bad expressions.
“If we interfered with a guiding attempt on the subject, the Chancellor will not be happy.”
The agent who had been holding the terminal expressed his thoughts. He was a Special Operations Department agent who had guarded the Chimera at the Busan hotel. He was certain that the Chimera he had observed and the woman in the dressing room were the same person.
“It’s not good for them to know that the Special Operations Department and Yoon Tae-ha have a separate relationship. For now, lie low.”
Eom Byeong-wook also frowned in dismay, turning away from the closed door.
After the uninvited guests disappeared, the department store returned to its original relaxed and peaceful atmosphere. The complaints that suspicious men were disturbing customers also fortunately subsided quickly.
Meanwhile, the VIP who had suffered the most significant damage from the uninvited guests was leaving the main island on a yacht with his companion. The pink sunset was beginning. It was dusk, with only one black bird leisurely flying across the sky.
As the main island grew distant, Yoon Tae-ha took off her sunglasses and enjoyed the wind. The unpleasant sensation of falling into the belly of a giant machine was washed away by the sea breeze. Cheon Geon-young sat at a distance from her and kept his mouth shut until they arrived at the villa.
Upon arriving at the villa, the two of them, as a routine, checked the security devices left by their allies. After confirming that there were no issues, they decided to have a simple dinner with groceries they had bought at the department store. Even going to a restaurant felt too bothersome.
Yoon Tae-ha tried to grab a pan to cook, but Cheon Geon-young chased her out of the kitchen with a stern expression.
“Do you want to make a good impression on me?”
She hugged the bag of pasta noodles and nodded seriously at the absurd question.
“Yes, I want to make a good impression for several reasons.”
“Then lie on the sofa as lazily as you can. If you lose any more weight, I think our plan will be exposed.”
Saying that, Cheon Geon-young took the bag away. In the end, she obediently lay on the sofa as ordered, ate dinner, and then went out to the outdoor deck for a short rest.
As she lay down on the hammock at the boundary between the pool and the sea, the darkened sky came into view. A cluster of stars, twinkling like sugar cubes, decorated the sky diagonally.
Yoon Tae-ha put her hands together on her chest and became lost in thought. The green light of the access device, which had slowly lit up at the end, kept coming to mind.
Could Changcheon really expose Geum Gang-seop’s schemes one by one through Gaia?
Apart from trusting them, she couldn’t imagine the tall, sturdy surveillance tower she had seen throughout her life collapsing. Instead of her heart pounding with joy, her stomach was churning as if she had indigestion.
She hadn’t felt this way when she attacked the Green Hive. At that time, she knew that attacking the research center wasn't the end. But now, it was different. She had a strong feeling that this was the final destination. That's why her nerves were so on edge. Because if they failed here, there would be no next time.
She looked at the night sky and estimated the scope of the information that could be extracted from Gaia. A little while later, she heard a sound from near her head.
“Come in. Let’s have dessert.”
Cheon Geon-young called her. Having dessert was a signal that they would be communicating with Changcheon. Yoon Tae-ha quickly got up from the hammock and followed him into the bedroom.
He closed the curtains, sat her on the plush bed, and took a seat on the chair next to the side table. He opened the laptop, connected to Changcheon, and then handed Yoon Tae-ha one side of the communicator. She took it and put it on, accustomed to the routine.
A black window soon appeared in the center of the screen, filled with unreadable numbers for a moment, and then Kwon Hyuk appeared. He got straight to the point without any formal greetings.
“I think it’s best to first organize the information that has come to us.”
He had a tired face, but his voice was full of energy.
“The foreigner Yoon Tae-ha introduced to us faithfully carried out the work assigned to him. I’m talking about Knox. The green feathers he possessed were divided into small units and safely delivered to agents of other national agencies.”
“Was there any friction along the way?”
“We were also worried about his change of heart, knowing the origin of the green feathers, but surprisingly, there was no conflict. The foreigner actively shared his knowledge and made a significant contribution to creating the formula that can close the fissures.”
Unlike Kwon Hyuk, Yoon Tae-ha was not surprised that Knox had helped the people here with a cooperative attitude. As long as his brother was resting peacefully under the red roof, Knox would not betray her.
“Currently, operation teams have been dispatched to all candidate sites where general fissures are expected to occur. In the case of Korea, which is the most certain candidate site, the Ark team led by Center Director Lee Hae-kyung will actively defend.”
When the topic of the people she was worried about came up, Yoon Tae-ha’s expression momentarily became troubled. Kwon Hyuk, noticing her mood, added kindly.
— The Changcheon who remained in our country will support the Center Director.
“…Please take good care of them.”
Kwon Hyuk nodded reassuringly at her cautious words. He then went on to explain how carefully Changcheon was approaching this matter.
— Let’s stop talking about the general fissures here. I have some news that will make Yoon Tae-ha happy.
Cheon Geon-young, who had been silently watching the screen, suddenly turned up the volume of the communication one notch.
— Chertan had a pretty good harvest at the snack factory. They are on their way here now.
“Was the Chancellor stamping out his collaborators’ thumbs with a mold?”
Cheon Geon-young asked sarcastically.
— Fingers, eyeballs, hair, and other body parts… The place was like a car production factory. Several frozen bodies of agents who had been reported missing for the past 10 years and a few imperfect Chimeras modeled after them were discovered.
“What do you mean by imperfect?”
Yoon Tae-ha asked.
— They have a head, arms, and legs, and can stand on two feet, but they are hollow in places. You can think of it as a body where a human soul cannot find rest.
“You didn’t completely destroy them, did you? If you did, the Chancellor would notice that his plan has gone wrong.”
Yoon Tae-ha knew that Chertan and Changcheon would not handle things so clumsily, but she asked for confirmation.
— The facility has fallen into our hands, but on the surface, it is no different from when the Chancellor controlled it. The reporting lines to the Chancellor are also being maintained as before.
Although he was delivering a terrible truth, Kwon Hyuk’s voice was somewhat excited. He must have been very satisfied with the evidence Chertan had collected.
— Attempts to clone the leaders of the two guilds, called the Chancellor’s two arms, were also found there. Their fingers and eyeballs will be arriving here soon.
“That’s not surprising news. Geum Gang-seop wouldn’t leave the leaders of a militant group that threatens his influence alone.”
Yoon Tae-ha said, frowning slightly.
— We are currently thinking about how to effectively convey this and persuade them. One of our goals is to reduce the number of superhumans who will block our path when we enter the island. But let’s talk about that a little later.
Kwon Hyuk on the screen suddenly pulled out a bundle of papers from beside him and read them. He seemed to be reviewing the contents once more before bringing up an important topic.
— We also have news for Agent Cheon Geon-young. It’s also news brought by Chertan, who explored the area around Pollux.
She turned her head to look at Cheon Geon-young. Cheon Geon-young, on the other hand, just stared silently at Kwon Hyuk on the screen. He looked like he would cut off the communication the moment the other person said something he didn't want to hear.
— The book that was brought out of Pollux has been deciphered.
“Was there anything special written in it? Something that would be helpful for our operation?”
Yoon Tae-ha hurriedly asked on Cheon Geon-young’s behalf.
— In a very lucky scenario, it might be possible to remove Yoon Jung-hoon from Chairman Cheon Seong-beom’s body.
It was an unbelievably positive prediction. However, Cheon Geon-young’s reaction was not great. He pressed the corner of his eyes with the back of his hand, suppressing his emotions.
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