232. Hostile Takeover 7

The two's gazes met at a single point. The woman's pale, haggard face, which had once drawn the line for a child's world, slowly distorted. Yoon Tae-ha straightened her back and sighed, filled with sorrow and disgust.

“You haven’t changed.”

Moon So-eun's confused mouth slowly opened.

“Maybe you were like this from the start.”

Yoon Tae-ha said calmly and adjusted the capsule so that the sound inside was almost inaudible from the outside. Then Moon So-eun, who had not been able to properly accept the reality in front of her, made a face as if she had been hit hard on the head.

“…Tae-ha?”

She was silent, but Moon So-eun made her own conclusion and began to push against the capsule’s glass lid with her hands.

“Tae-ha! You were alive. I knew it. Let me out of here. I’ll explain everything.”

Moon So-eun's face looked incredibly inhuman because of the blue light that began to emanate from both sides of the medical capsule.

“Why, why aren’t you answering? Did you meet someone? How did you get here? Who helped you? You should have contacted me right away! It’s dangerous.”

She still seemed to think of herself as Yoon Tae-ha’s guardian and attending physician.

“It’s dangerous here. If you don’t escape now, the Titans will come to kill you. Or Lee Hae-kyung might kill you. Don't you know that both sides are desperate to get rid of you?”

“You have a long tongue.”

Yoon Tae-ha’s flat voice made Moon So-eun even more terrified. With a look of dismay, she stopped pushing the lid so hard that her fingerprints were visible and froze.

Yoon Tae-ha placed her hand over Moon So-eun's palm. The capsule was so cold it felt like a glass coffin.

“Tae-ha, do you… know everything?”

Yoon Tae-ha brushed her hair back, waiting for Hong Eun-soo's communication. She was certain that whatever the imprisoned woman said, it would not leave a single scratch on her soul. The only one who hadn't realized that was Moon So-eun, who was still stuck in the past.

“You heard everything. The story about your mother. Then you must know who you met. Was it Jeon Ye-rim? Tae-ha. The people you call your parents were all delusional and out of their minds. Jeon Ye-rim approached you with the intention of holding a grudge against Professor Yoon and slandering him. Why do you think a woman who ran away to a place no one knew would risk danger to find you? This is revenge.”

To see the core so accurately even while completely insane. Yoon Tae-ha, who briefly admired her, took her hand off the capsule lid. It was not something she could keep her hand on for a long time.

“Professor Yoon Jung-hoon is your grandfather! Your grandfather harmed his own daughter to use his granddaughter? Is that a plausible story? You shouldn't entrust your future to a woman who believes in such conspiracy theories.”

“When will this be over.”

“Do you really think Seo-hyeon didn’t recognize you? She knew everything. Even though she knew, she couldn't handle you, and because you were born from a man she didn't even love, she turned away from her daughter.”

Yoon Tae-ha, who had not been swayed by the persistent persuasion, only ended the matter by sending a sleep-inducing gas into the capsule after hearing the communication that she was ready. Moon So-eun screamed, telling her not to abandon her like this.

“I'm the only one who genuinely cares about you!”

But a few seconds later, she lost consciousness. Yoon Tae-ha securely locked the capsule and checked again that there was no one around.

— First, stand in front of the nearest control panel and press the buttons as I tell you.

Yoon Tae-ha, who had hidden the capsule with Moon So-eun in it among the other capsules, quickly followed Hong Eun-soo’s instructions in front of a nearby computer. Then, the letters gathered in the center of the screen, and the AI that managed the facility reconfirmed the command she had given.

<Do you want to destroy all the bio-weapons in this facility? Once destroyed, the bio-weapons cannot be restored.>

Yoon Tae-ha pressed the execute button. Soon, the sound of liquid draining from the nearby capsules filled with culture medium began. The sound grew louder. At that moment, a young researcher suddenly popped out from between the capsules.

“A-are you really going to destroy all these test subjects?”

The researcher, who discovered that it was Yoon Tae-ha, not Moon So-eun, who had given the order to destroy the test subjects, flinched greatly.

“Are you not going to follow the Chancellor’s orders?”

“That’s not it! But the ones here could become great weapons with just a little work…”

If she didn't threaten them, researchers blinded by research results might take dangerous items out without permission. Yoon Tae-ha, who had reached that thought, intentionally threatened them in a menacing way.

“Tell the other researchers. If they take even one arm of a test subject out of here, they will live a life of being eternally hunted by Titans.”

“O-okay.”

Yoon Tae-ha, who was watching the researcher hurriedly disappear from her sight, asked Hong Eun-soo.

“Send someone here. There's a woman in the capsule I marked, and she might be useful later.”

— You’re going to use her to catch Yoon Jung-hoon, right?

“The bait seems a bit too small to catch that man, but it doesn’t hurt to be prepared. She’s a woman who knows a lot.”

— Got it. First, confirm with your own eyes that the Chimeras have been destroyed, then move to the coordinates I tell you. Cheon Geon-young also took Blackwood's key and went that way.

The researchers on the other side began to destroy important devices. In the capsules containing the immature Chimeras, the liquid swirled, and the sound of water flowing into the sewer could be heard. It was the sound of manipulated peace leaving.

After arriving at the location Hong Eun-soo told her, Yoon Tae-ha met an anxious-looking Seo Do-jin for the first time in a while. He quickly confirmed that Yoon Tae-ha was alright, then visibly sighed in relief.

“A while ago, the Chancellor summoned his collaborators to a bunker. He seems to be trying to move up the time to open the fissure. He's probably trying to gather the people who will help him rebuild the world in a safe place.”

“If all those people go into the bunker, it will be difficult for us to persuade them.”

“So I took them out.”

“You kidnapped them?”

“I hacked the system of the electric cars he sent to pick up the collaborators and changed the cars’ routes. The people who seem like they can be persuaded or threatened and have a weak link with Geum Gang-seop are in this building now. It’s convenient in many ways because the AI is on our side.”

Seo Do-jin shrugged as he moved to the back of the building. Espers with weapons were thoroughly guarding the area around the building.

The two of them went inside through the stairs on the outside of the building. Yoon Tae-ha, who had been unable to shake off her anxious feeling ever since she heard the news of the team that was supposed to get the Chancellor's key dying, asked quietly.

“Where’s Cheon Geon-young?”

“He arrived a long time before you and went into the conference room. We need someone to present the evidence from the cookie factory, and right now, Cheon Geon-young is the most effective messenger. The new humanity with multiple abilities works well.”

“He didn’t go in there alone with a bunch of Espers, did he?”

“Of course not. And he's the kid who even melted Hae-kyung's ice in the green sea. Who are you worried about, right now?”

“What about Chairman Cheon Seong-beom?”

“He's under surveillance. You remember that he has the ability to wear the skin of a dead person and walk around, right? We can't approach him rashly because of that. From now on, every single agent's combat power is valuable. If an important agent falls into Kal's hands, there's a possibility that the whole thing could be in danger. But we can't keep our distance forever.”

“The priority will be to separate him from where civilians are staying.”

Seo Do-jin nodded maturely.

“We decided to transfer him to a module as far away from matter as possible and detain him there. The strangers are now working on a spell to break Kal's magic and return Cheon Seong-beom's soul. It's a difficult magic, so it's taking time. But they're trying to do it somehow. If Yoon Jung-hoon extended his lifespan with that absurd act, there's no guarantee that there won't be a next victim.”

The nuance was that they would experiment on Chairman Cheon Seong-beom's body in preparation for the next victim.

“What if Chairman Cheon Seong-beom’s body gets damaged in the process? Has it been decided what to do in that case?”

“Chairman Cheon’s third son and Cheon Geon-young have finished signing a document stating that they will not hold us accountable. It will be a mission that prioritizes the complete elimination of Yoon Jung-hoon.”

Yoon Tae-ha, who was walking down the hallway, suddenly stopped. Seo Do-jin, who was walking ahead, approached her with a worried look.

“Why? You didn't forget something, did you? This time, I don't even have time to bring you the supplies by car.”

Yoon Tae-ha hesitated for a moment, then revealed her true feelings.

“Will things end well?”

Seo Do-jin raised an eyebrow crookedly.

“No.”

He gave a concise, negative opinion. It was also the last thing Yoon Tae-ha, who had just managed to express a sliver of her worry after meeting a familiar person, wanted to hear.

“Even if we get all the keys and somehow dismantle the Chancellor’s forces, there won't be a good ending as long as Kal remains. Soon, the monsters that were stuck in the deep sea will flock here. Giant squid, octopus, scallops, eels, whatever, something big will come.”

“Is it a seafood market?”

“Didn't you know? This time, we're the prey. The monster friends will decide whether to boil us or slice us up raw. I've been eating squid diligently recently, and I can feel in my bones that it's time for karma to come back.”

“Don't joke at a moment like this.”

“I’m not joking.”

Seo Do-jin said with a serious face and nudged her arm with his elbow. They started walking again.

“So you should also set your priorities in advance. Moments of choice don’t come with a warning. If you don't think it through beforehand, you'll hesitate at a critical moment.”

“Priorities…”

She chewed on the word.

“The dead agents were able to hand over the enemy’s information to us in their final moments because they had set that.”

Seo Do-jin’s tone was light, but the meaning behind it was not.

“You sound like Lee Hae-kyung today.”

When Yoon Tae-ha muttered with a tired face, Seo Do-jin smiled wryly, rubbed the top of her head with his palm, and took it away. Her flyaway hair was a mess, and Yoon Tae-ha combed it back in annoyance.

“Was I a bit similar to hyung?”

“Don't be so happy. Your face isn't similar.”

“Wow, look at her. I’m quite in demand, too.”

A little later, Seo Do-jin led Yoon Tae-ha into a small room where useful equipment and clothes were prepared for the field.

“Before you go to the Chancellor with the key, get your clothes and weapons first. I also brought the necklace and ring you asked for. I got them myself, you know?”

Seo Do-jin, who was emphasizing his own contribution, left the room with the words "hurry up." Yoon Tae-ha began to change into the clothes neatly placed on the desk.