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Psst! We're moving!
She wore a top and bottom that wouldn't interfere with her movements, knee pads, and then a lightweight bulletproof vest with more than three layers of different special materials. The operation included regular soldiers, so she would be running around the aquatic city where bullets would be flying.
Because Espers who teleport move so erratically, it was not uncommon for them to get hurt by friendly fire. Therefore, Yoon Tae-ha had to check that the bulletproof plates were properly protecting her lungs and heart and that they were not sagging.
Next, she put on a holster on her thigh, inserted a spare handgun, and took a military-style dagger. The area around Nautilus City was basically high in ether concentration. But because she didn't know how Kal would react, she had to take a classic lethal weapon as well. Just like when she was on her first mission, she didn't neglect a single step.
Only after the long and careful inspection was over did Yoon Tae-ha pick up the ring box in the middle of the desk. When she opened the lid, a black ring twisted once in the middle like a Möbius strip appeared.
She couldn't put it on right away and go find the Chancellor. That would expose her as not being the Chimera immediately. Instead, she put the ring in a small pocket inside her vest and zipped it up. It felt a little empty without the other ring, but once she received the Blade of Cheltan, she would feel secure as if she had never felt that way.
She looked in the mirror and took in her outfit, then took a short, deep breath. The familiar and somewhat nostalgic Ark agent stood in the mirror with a tense face. Without a moment to spare, she heard a hurried knock and went out of the room.
“I'm all dressed.”
“Oh, really? You have to wear your wrist guards too.”
Seo Do-jin handed her a wrist guard made of a thick material. A member of the support team was standing behind him.
“I will remove the communicator on your tooth. That device doesn't allow the field user to specify who they want to talk to, which will be inconvenient in future situations.”
“That's true.”
Yoon Tae-ha hesitated and went back into the room and sat down obediently on the sofa as she was told. Seo Do-jin stood next to the sofa and watched in amazement as the agent removed the device with thin tweezers. Soon, the agent, who had removed the small, cap-like device that was on her tooth, offered her an ear piece that went in her ear and a watch that was linked to it.
“This is the same model that the Titans are currently using. The ear piece is easily damaged during combat, so I will put a spare in your pouch.”
“Thank you for your consideration.”
“I wish you would be half as polite to me as you are to others.”
Yoon Tae-ha glared at the sarcastic Seo Do-jin and also took the belt pouch with the ear piece in it.
“There was a necklace next to the ring, too?”
“Yoon Jung-hoon might recognize it. Mom said he didn't know about the necklace's existence, but you never know. I won't wear it until the battle is confirmed.”
She also thought that it was not yet the time to use her mother's keepsake, so she carefully touched the outside of the pendant and put it in the pocket close to her heart. The thought that if another Chimera that looked like her appeared, this necklace might serve as an ID card, made her stomach churn.
Soon, Seo Do-jin and Yoon Tae-ha went to the monitor room where they could see what was happening in the conference room. While moving, she checked her phone multiple times. The Chancellor had not made any special contact since the text message asking her to get Blackwood's key.
“The level of the security team next to Blackwood is on par with the Alpha Team of the National Office. It would look suspicious if you got it in an hour.”
“It might give the wrong impression that Noah Blackwood and the Chimera are in collusion.”
“Then things will get strangely twisted. Hold on a little longer until a hurried call comes. If we get impatient, we'll be dragged along.”
Seo Do-jin said in a low voice. They soon arrived at the monitor room where the oval wall was completely covered with screens. As if they had set up a temporary control room here, people with ear pieces in their ears were busily relaying real-time information from the field to the outside.
Yoon Tae-ha rolled her eyes to the screens on the wall and first looked for Cheon Geon-young.
“There he is.”
At that moment, Seo Do-jin pointed to the screen on the right. Yoon Tae-ha's gaze followed his finger. Cheon Geon-young was standing in the very center of a particularly large screen. Yoon Tae-ha bit her lip when she saw the sleeve of his shirt, which was stained with blood.
Around Cheon Geon-young, the Chancellor’s collaborators were sitting. They had faces that perfectly understood the current situation, and they looked as anxious as animals trapped on a plain where a predator was standing guard. There was also a man who was glancing at the surveillance camera and asking for help. He had probably done so with a glimmer of hope, even after hearing Cheon Geon-young's words.
“It seems the cookie set that foreigner, no, your father, brought from the cookie factory is quite effective.”
Seo Do-jin changed his title for Cheltan with quick wit. The cookie set was what was on the plates distributed to the collaborators. It contained replicated body parts such as eyeballs and thumbs. Seo Do-jin narrowed his eyes and said in an eerie tone.
“These people definitely need to know, too. That Geum Gang-seop has no intention of sharing his portion. You haven’t seen the video shot inside the cookie factory yet, have you?”
“No.”
“Don't watch it alone at night. It's disgusting.”
After that, they watched as the collaborators, who were indignant at Geum Gang-seop, tried to persuade Cheon Geon-young not to misunderstand their intentions. Cheon Geon-young responded calmly without getting excited for even a second.
Before long, Cheon Geon-young looked directly at the surveillance camera that was filming him and nodded his head. Soon after, an agent who had been listening to the sounds from the conference room jumped up from his seat and approached Yoon Tae-ha and Seo Do-jin.
“The withdrawal of a number of large and medium-sized guilds that collaborated with Geum Gang-seop, such as Altair, Rigel, Vega, and Carina, has been confirmed.”
“Then where will the Espers they brought go?”
Yoon Tae-ha asked.
“They will be divided and sent up to the national alliance's air carriers. The fact that they participated in a terrorist attack hasn't changed, so they are currently criminals, but if they provide valuable information, their contribution as informants will be recognized later.”
“The higher-ups are so generous. Taking care of the contributions of guys who agreed to blow up a city.”
Seo Do-jin, who had his arms crossed, clicked his tongue in disapproval.
“It was a decision made under the judgment that the best thing to do is to reduce the number of enemies, even if it's just one.”
“If we send a picture of Cheon Geon-young and those people together, they would be eliminated by the Titans anyway. Does it mean that you have to be sane enough to make a deal in a dead end to become a guild leader?”
Even in Yoon Tae-ha’s eyes, the people gathered in the conference room were by no means regretting their past decisions. A couple of them seemed to regret not having killed the Chancellor earlier, but that was it.
“I'm satisfied that the number of enemies has decreased.”
Seo Do-jin frowned when he heard her words. The agent continued the explanation of the matters decided in the conference room.
“The guild leaders of Carina and Rigel said they would stay in the city and help punish Geum Gang-seop, but the alliance's control room rejected them. They will not ask them for help unless there is a special situation.”
Yoon Tae-ha agreed with the agent’s words.
“That’s better. It would be a waste to have separate personnel to monitor whether a traitor will come out of there or not.”
The agent concluded his explanation by saying that they had also finished contacting the guilds participating in the guild competition, and that the evacuation of civilians from the candidate sites where a regular fissure would open was also secretly underway.
Just then, Cheon Geon-young, who was caught on the surveillance camera, was seen opening the conference room door and coming out. Seeing that, Yoon Tae-ha ran out of the monitor room without even knowing the exact way and crossed the hallway. Luckily, she was able to run into Cheon Geon-young after turning two corners.
“Are you hurt?”
She asked immediately, and Cheon Geon-young hugged her tightly instead of answering. She tried to touch his damp sleeve, but he moved his arm to avoid her hand.
“It's not mine. Don't touch it, it's dirty.”
Yoon Tae-ha let out a sigh of relief and hugged his waist. Conflicting scents wafted from his arms. The smell of blood and the smell of soap. The contrasting natures of the two scents crossed dizzily, stimulating her senses.
Cheon Geon-young gently stroked her waist and back, then put his hand on the border of her neck and chin, and pulled away from Yoon Tae-ha. He carefully checked her face like a doctor examining a patient.
“Did you meet Moon So-eun?”
“I did. But I was fine. I didn't let anyone find out that I'm a human, and my concentration wasn't broken by the crazy things that woman was saying.”
Yoon Tae-ha listed the events at AMC like a machine gun to reassure him. When she got to the part where she had destroyed the immature Chimeras and escaped safely, Cheon Geon-young brought his warm lips to her eyes. His body was frighteningly firm from excitement and euphoria, but the movement of his lips was softer than ever. Feeling that Cheon Geon-young’s body temperature was higher than usual, Yoon Tae-ha put the back of her hand on his neck worriedly.
“You have a fever? Didn’t you use your abilities too much? Your body temperature isn't usually high.”
“My constitution must have changed.”
“Even so, it’s too high. Let's go see a doctor for a moment. We don't know what will happen after we take the key from the Chancellor.”
He also kissed her cheek, then stopped all movement for a moment, looked down at Yoon Tae-ha blankly, then grabbed her wrist and headed somewhere. For Yoon Tae-ha, who knew how often her body ached and her nerves became weak in the early stages of her abilities manifesting, it was frustrating.
“Don't keep trying to use your powers without a weapon. An Esper who has just manifested their abilities should use them through a medium. If you get into the habit of attacking without a weapon because it’s convenient, you might get a sudden mental breakdown later.”
Yoon Tae-ha complained while being obediently dragged along.
“I know.”
“You know, and you’re still doing this? Where are we going right now?”
Soon, Cheon Geon-young pushed Yoon Tae-ha into a small supply room at the end of the hallway.
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