Chapter 383: Endless Standby (2)

Do we really have to wear gas masks too?

Seeing the gas masks laid out neatly on the floor, my face stiffened.

I wasn’t the only one. The seniors’ expressions hardened as well, immediately grasping how serious things were the moment we got back.

Yun bent at the waist first.

“Looks like the incubation period is long.”

After putting his mask on with practiced ease, our mentor spoke again.

“They’re probably assuming we might’ve gone to Antarctica while already infected.”

What the hell is going on?

I pulled the straps tight and put the mask on. Once it was sealed snugly against my skin, I frowned.

I sharpened my senses and took stock of the situation.

The Portal Zone looked no different than usual.

The ceiling was still high, there were still no people, and the conveyor belts for placing weapons to be disinfected were still there.

There were booths for changing clothes. Each of us had a set of clothes waiting.

But there were no people.

Normally, people didn’t come in here anyway, but still....

[Please enter the booths and change!]

After changing as instructed and coming out, we were told to go through scanners.

There was usually no body scanner step.

One by one, as we finished changing, we passed through the body scanners. No alarms went off. We’d placed all our weapons on the disinfection belts too, but oddly enough, this time they didn’t return them.

I looked up at the control room and protested.

“I’d like my sword back.”

The staff member looked troubled.

[All belongings of those returning through portals are to be sterilized and stored in a sterile chamber for two weeks as a rule....]

“We went to Antarctica, where there are no bacteria. And you’ve already sterilized them. Wouldn’t that be enough?”

Two weeks in a sterile chamber?

I didn’t even know where that was. I didn’t want to hand my sword over to someone else, and I didn’t want it locked away somewhere unknown.

If it came down to it, I’d rather stay in the sterile chamber with my sword for two weeks.

As I was about to press the issue with that resolve, Yun stepped in.

“We should be fine. Report it upstairs and check.”

He spoke in a cool voice.

“Ask the leadership directly under my name.”

[Ah.... I’m sorry, but in that case it’ll take quite a while to get a response.]

The staff member replied.

The tone wasn’t overbearing—more flustered.

[You may not be aware, but HQ is basically half-paralyzed right now.]

“Did the leadership get hit too?”

[The Personnel Director has been bedridden for two days now.]

“What about the Supreme Commander and the aides?”

[Uh....]

The hesitation was audible.

Other Badgers gathered around Yun and us in a rush.

The wavering came through the speaker.

They were probably unsure how much they were allowed to say.

Yun helped them make the call.

“Choi Ami and I live in the same house as the Supreme Commander. There’s no security leak here. If anyone gets reprimanded for it, I’ll take responsibility. So tell us exactly how things stand.”

[Both aides are handling official duties separately.]

“Yehyeon?”

The name slipped out of my mouth before I could stop it.

Fortunately, the staff member didn’t seem to find it strange.

[As of this morning, there were no abnormalities. But about an hour ago, he reported symptoms and went in for testing.]

Ah.

[As far as we know, he hasn’t returned yet.]

“Any fatalities?”

Ricardo asked, shoving one hand into his pocket.

[Yes.]

The answer came back heavy.

[Three so far.]

My god.

I was struck speechless.

Silence fell over the Portal Zone. No one moved or spoke for a while. I was no exception, frozen in place by the shock.

It had been exactly one week since we first heard about the epidemic.

And in that time, three people with enhanced bodies had died?

Not the elderly. Members of a special force that fought Creatures.

“Get permission from Aide Ska.”

Yun broke the silence.

“Ask if Hildebert’s sword can be returned to Hildebert. It won’t take long for an answer.”

And it didn’t.

Ska gave permission almost immediately—so quickly that the staff member in the control room couldn’t hide their surprise. The person who had reluctantly said they’d inquire came back moments later and relayed Ska’s orders in a voice full of astonishment.

Hildebert’s sword and Ricardo’s form-shifting weapon were to be returned.

After retrieving our weapons, the entire TF was to wash, complete personal maintenance, and then report to where Ska was stationed.

Ska Owen was currently on the floor with the leadership lounge.

Working out of one of the meeting rooms there.

[He asked that you wash up and come wearing your masks properly.]

After saying that, the staff member hesitated briefly, then added,

[And.... Hildebert and Jack Black may remove their masks, but since there will be people watching, he’d prefer you keep them on if possible.]

So we don’t get infected.

I understood the moment I heard it.

I exchanged glances with Kairos. My kin, dressed in the black Black Badger windbreakers and black pants they’d prepared for us.

Yoow came to mind.

He’d been working closely with the leadership in the Black Badger building lately.

Yoow hadn’t fallen ill—someone else had.

“Let’s go.”

I was thinking I should check my phone as soon as we got out of here when Yun spoke.

“Fifteen minutes. Shower, then assemble in front of the elevator.”

I took a proper shower for the first time in a while.

Afterward, I put on the clothes they issued again. I barely dried my hair before heading to the elevator and waiting for the others.

Once everyone had arrived, we boarded the elevator in silence.

To reach the floor with the leadership lounge, we had to change elevators midway.

The route was, of course, restricted. We were told not to exit into the lobby—get off on the second floor, walk down the corridor, then take the leadership-only elevator.

Kairos pressed the second-floor button, which was covered in plastic.

The elevator slid open on the second floor.

“Whoa.”

HQ’s second floor spread out before us.

“There’s no one....”

There really was no one.

No sign of life anywhere on the floor. The wide space lay empty. Normally, the central HQ building was always packed. Every floor except the areas reserved for leadership teemed with regular staff, part-timers, and specialized Badgers.

But now, as if all that had been a dream, there was no one here.

White fluorescent lights illuminated nothing but empty corridors.

The air was cold—bordering on eerie.

It felt like seeing a city where all the people had vanished, the kind you sometimes encounter in dreams.

“Eighty-three Badgers currently infected and isolated....”

Ricardo murmured while looking at his phone.

“There are those whose symptoms have eased, but no one’s fully recovered....”

One disaster stacked atop another.

We crossed the corridor in silence. In the chilly space, only our footsteps echoed bleakly.

No one spoke until we rode the elevator up to the floor with the leadership lounge.

Everyone kept their heads down, looking at their phones.

[Rose: Captain. Looks like we’re not infected. That’s such a relief!]

[Yoow: We’re screwed. Everything’s tangled up. Badgers are dropping like flies right now.]

[Yoow: Whether this is a deliberate biochemical attack or an epidemic that hit us at the worst possible timing, it can’t reach Kyle’s ears. But that’s already blown—we still haven’t caught the mole inside the Core. And we can’t keep the epidemic secret forever if we want to request antibiotic development!]

[Igor: I checked on the strategist’s orders. Looks like we really don’t get it. I contacted our kin one by one—none of them are sick.]

[Deltei: I tried. Holy power doesn’t work. It’s definitely not a curse-type phenomenon. Feels like a real virus.]

[San: Hilde!! Are you okay?!]

After replying to San, I got off the elevator.

We passed through the empty lobby and entered the inner meeting room.

Yun led the way and knocked. From inside came Ska’s voice, telling us to come in.

We pushed open the translucent door and went inside.

The man sitting at the desk, looking at his laptop, lifted his head.

The meeting room was divided by a transparent wall. Like an immigration counter, there was a small opening where documents could be passed through. Ska had been working behind that wall.

It looked like a makeshift quarantine booth.

Wearing a regular mask, the man looked at the Badgers lining up and smiled with his eyes.

“I heard you recovered safely. Congratulations.”

“Thank you.”

I bowed politely.

“I apologize for leaving Center Core over a personal matter during such a busy time.”

“That’s exactly why it worked out.”

Ska slid the laptop aside.

Then he swept his gaze over the Badgers standing neatly along the wall.

“You’re one of our core combat assets. Thanks to being in Antarctica, there’s almost no chance you were infected.”

Our superior gave us a concise rundown of the situation.

We listened quietly.

It was worse than we’d thought. It was suspected to spread via droplets, but even those who wore masks were getting sick. Some Badgers who hadn’t had contact with infected individuals fell ill, and some developed symptoms while outside the Core.

Manpower was critically short.

Land-reclamation operations were effectively suspended.

“This isn’t the time to go outside.”

Ska said grimly.

“We’ve reassigned all Badgers to patrol duty. The patrol partner system has been abolished. Patrol zones have been subdivided further, and now one person is responsible for each zone.”

“Are we being assigned to patrol as well?”

“Starting tomorrow.”

I see.

“I’m sorry I can’t give you proper days off. We just don’t have the manpower.”

In an emergency like this, it couldn’t be helped.

Ska distributed assignments. Apologizing repeatedly, he sent Ami, Sophia, and Carl to the outskirts of the Core. He wanted them to depart for the train station at dawn—apparently, the number of incoming Creatures had increased, as if news had leaked outside.

“Yun, I want you to stay at HQ and help the doctors with their research when you can. I know medicine isn’t your specialty, but we don’t know where a breakthrough for antibiotics might come from.”

“Understood.”

“Ricardo, help Jonathan with Center Core patrols. The area he’s covering alone is too large right now.”

“Yes~.”

“Lastly, Hilde and Jack.”

The summoner and I answered at the same time, hands clasped behind our backs.

Ska studied us briefly.

What followed was heavy.

“I’m sorry, but I’ll need to ask more of you.”

“Yes.”

“Jack, I want you handling transport for patients arriving from outside the Core. Hilde, I want you eliminating Creatures that appear in areas not covered by patrols.”

Since even minor symptoms led to immediate isolation, the official patient count was in the eighties—but far more Badgers were effectively sidelined.

That left gaps all over Center Core.

If a Creature appeared in one of those gaps, he wanted me to respond.

“Stay on standby at HQ. When a high-risk Creature emerges, take a portal and deal with it.”

For the first time, fatigue showed on the aide’s face.

The composure in his eyes cracked for a moment, and the heavy weight of sleep seeped through.

“Being on constant standby is exhausting. I’m sorry to give you an assignment like this. ❀ Nоvеlігht ❀ (Don’t copy, read here) I don’t want to keep Badgers stationed at HQ if I can help it, and you’re the only one who can reliably neutralize every Creature that appears....”

“It’s fine.”

It wasn’t a difficult assignment at all.

Meeting Ska’s gaze, I answered easily,

“I’ll change clothes and wait on standby at HQ.”

“Thank you.”

The aide let out a sigh.

“If you want, you can use the sleeping quarters here. I’m using Room 1, so pick any other room you like.”

I was about to say I would—

Knock, knock.

A knock on the closed meeting-room door drew everyone’s attention.

Heads turned.

Kairos, standing by the door, looked to Ska, asking with his eyes if he should open it.

Ska looked like he knew who it was.

“An external guest I’m scheduled to meet soon. Good timing. Go on in and get some rest, all of you.”

“Yes.”

“And it’s a civilian outside, so feel free to open the door.”

Kairos nodded and pulled the meeting-room door open.

A man in a perfectly tailored suit stood outside.

He gave Kairos a brief bow and stepped inside.

As I prepared to leave, I glanced at the newcomer without much thought.

Half my mind was elsewhere—I was worrying about Yehyeon and the others I knew.

So it took me a beat to recognize who had entered.

Impeccable attire.

A familiar face.

“Heath?!”

I blurted it out.

“Why are you here?!”

Heath Clair looked at me with a sullen expression.