Chapter 501: Cleanup (1)

“Doesn’t look like they’re planning to move?”

Ami dropped sharply down to the ground.

Yun raised an eyebrow as he greeted his younger sister.

Next to Yun, Jack Black was sitting on top of an ammunition crate. The red-haired man seemed absorbed in something; he didn’t spare a single glance for the sharpshooter who had just landed in front of him.

Ami didn’t care.

“But they’re completely spread out. If this keeps up, we’re definitely outnumbered. We should ask them to reinforce our forces before we get hit with the first strike.”

“The Commander-in-Chief is currently denying reality.”

Yun said it indifferently.

“Ska and Yehyeon are both trying to persuade him, but it’s not working.”

“What?!”

The Badger with her hair tied up in a single bundle gasped in shock.

Behind Yun and Jack Black, a pair of men and women who had been checking their weapons lifted their heads.

Sophia Kalak and Carl Dow, narrowing their eyes as they listened to the siblings’ conversation.

Ami grabbed her cheeks with both hands.

“Then what do we do?! It looks like they’ll push in before sunset! And they said there are tons of Creatures that aren’t nocturnal!”

“The best outcome for us is that the battle starts a day later.”

Yun said calmly.

His gaze remained fixed on the massive Core device standing side by side nearby.

“The worst case is that the enemy pushes in immediately. Black, have you summoned all the familiars behind the enemy lines?”

“Yes.”

The man who had been concentrating on something with his eyes lowered answered.

“They’re on standby. However, as Ami said, the monsters on the other side don’t show any signs of moving.”

“When the sun sets, get some sleep.”

Yun ordered in a cold voice.

“If you keep your nerves tense all the time, they’ll wear down when you actually need them.”

Carl walked up from behind and handed a damp handkerchief to the red-haired man.

Jack reflexively took the neatly folded cloth and blinked.

The red-haired driver quickly realized why Carl had given it to him and broke into a long smile.

“Thank you, sunbae.”

Jack lifted his head and greeted him.

“I’ll use it well.”

He immediately closed his eyes and pressed the damp handkerchief against his right eye.

While the driver rested like that, the Badgers who had once been part of the same task force gathered together and began discussing the situation.

They had received word that, avoiding the eyes of the current Commander-in-Chief, preparations were underway to activate a portal device so that additional troops could be deployed instantly if enemy movement was detected.

Hearing the news from headquarters, they began waiting.

A wait with no clear end.

The Black Badgers would not strike first.

As always, the enemy would be the one to announce the start of the war.

***

Together with the seniors, we finished going around the offices where the administrative staff worked.

Each time I looked around an office and slowly waved my hand near the door as I left, people were startled. Still, many of them returned my greeting despite being wrapped in quarantine masks and protective suits.

They watched us with only their eyes moving, and when they saw my gesture, they craned their necks and greeted us back.

I was grateful for that.

I also saw Maya.

She seemed to hold quite a high position.

I didn’t know much about the ranks among the administrative staff, so I couldn’t say exactly what her title was. But she had her own office.

When I stepped into the fifth office and caused a small commotion, she heard it and walked out from the inner room with steady steps.

Unlike the other offices, the staff here didn’t seem to have the leisure to stare at us with curiosity.

Judging by the fragments of conversation about Zone X and something about a nuclear strike, it seemed that the nuke Yekaterina had launched had thrown everything into emergency mode.

Watching them with a faint sense of guilt, I saw Maya approach from inside.

“You came to check whether there are any toxic Creatures?”

She was the only one in the office who remained calm.

Ricardo spoke slowly.

“Yes~... sorry to bother you while you’re busy....”

“Not at all. You always work hard.”

Maya said that and stepped aside so I could enter.

They were far too busy here to greet us properly at the door, but I was glad I got to see Maya last.

Pretending to look around the office interior, I turned my body toward the entrance.

Then I noticed Maya staring straight through me.

“You must be a rookie.”

Her gaze was sharp like a needle.

When I hesitated, Maya slowly stretched the corners of her mouth.

“I can tell from how you’re inspecting the place alone.”

I nodded.

Then I quickly ran back to where the seniors were waiting.

I had no idea how she figured it out, but Maya had clearly recognized me.

No.

I was covered from head to toe.

How did she recognize me?

Sensitive people... honestly.

I hurried back to the seniors and grabbed Ricardo’s arm, telling him we should leave.

At that moment something poked my waist from behind.

“You should at least give me a hint about what’s going on before you go.”

I spun around.

Maya was standing there, grinning as she pressed a pen against my side.

“And isn’t everything already finished? You threw a gigantic bomb at our department. I thought everything had been resolved. So why are you still doing this?”

At that point, I gave up.

I needed to accept that I simply had no talent for acting.

Or maybe there were just too many perceptive people around me.

I sighed and bent forward slightly.

“It’s not completely over yet.”

I whispered quietly.

Maya let out a small sound.

“Ah.”

“It wasn’t cleaned up perfectly, so I’m still like this. So please keep it secret. Be careful.”

“Understood.”

She answered calmly.

Then she turned away as if nothing had happened and said goodbye.

“Take care of yourself. Please come back.”

I smiled, though she couldn’t see it.

For a moment I watched Maya’s back as she issued instructions while receiving reports from subordinates flying in from all directions.

Then I left the corridor with the seniors.

“You must go way back....”

“Yes.”

I answered Ricardo’s quiet question.

“I’m glad I got to say hello. She looked incredibly busy. If the timing had been worse, I might not have seen her face.”

“Well, her rank is extremely high....”

“Is that so?”

I had roughly guessed that from the office layout.

Ricardo and Jonathan stared at me.

...What now?

“I don’t know much about the regular staff Badgers either, but... she’s probably almost at the very top among the administrative employees~?”

“Huh?”

Wow. I had no idea.

“She’s probably part of the political branch~.”

That sounded like Maya.

Well, someone with her ability wouldn’t stay unnoticed.

After finishing the office rounds, we headed toward the medical wing.

As soon as we entered the place filled with medical personnel, the piercing gazes flying toward us suddenly disappeared. Thanks to that, we could move around comfortably.

As I walked through the corridors, whenever I spotted someone I knew who seemed to have a moment of free time, I slowly waved my hand.

Fortunately, no one here recognized me like Maya had.

They smiled and waved back, but none of them stared through me with meaningful eyes.

See? Maya and Ricardo were the unusual ones.

I raised my hand to greet Samuel, who was scratching his head while looking at a tablet.

“Hm?”

The doctor lifted his blue eyes and looked at me.

“Who’s that inside?”

I was sorry I couldn’t answer.

I just stood there silently, lips tightly shut.

Ricardo approached with a drawn-out “Ah~.”

“Have you been well, Doctor?”

“Oh, yeah.”

Fortunately, Samuel’s attention shifted thanks to the senior’s greeting.

“What brings you here? If you two came to the medical wing voluntarily, it probably means you’re not injured.”

Samuel Han, the Black Badgers’ attending physician, was always popular among the Badgers.

Even Jonathan Kudo’s expression softened when he stood in front of Samuel.

I engraved the sight of the second-generation seniors chatting with the doctor into my memory.

He was such a busy person that I thought I might not meet him.

I was lucky again.

I simply stood there quietly until their conversation ended.

When it finished, I waved once more.

Samuel looked at me as if he had just seen something bizarre, then snorted.

“Good luck with the quarantine work.”

The doctor waved his tablet and walked away.

“That must be uncomfortable. Hang in there.”

Next we went to Café Senabi.

During work hours it was usually packed with people.

But since the morning coffee rush had passed and most people had already started their shifts, there weren’t many people when we arrived.

The café had gone through its share of troubles, but it looked much the same as when I had first visited.

The café staff’s faces were familiar too.

They didn’t pay much attention to my protective suit.

Instead, they brightened when they saw Ricardo enter behind me.

“Long time no see.”

“Hello~.”

Ricardo received the greeting comfortably.

“I just need to check something for a moment... excuse us~.”

As soon as he finished speaking, I naturally waved both hands toward the staff.

All three employees working that day smiled and returned my greeting.

The owner wasn’t here today.

That was a little disappointing, but seeing the other staff still made me feel relieved.

Feeling a little more at ease, we headed to the science wing.

It was the easiest area to move around in while wearing a protective suit.

I even secretly called Martin and entered an additional message.

After safely finishing my round of the headquarters and engraving it into my memory, we headed toward the lobby.

The last place Kang Ju had told me to visit.

Ah.

“There are a lot of flowers.”

There were cards with messages on them too.

“And so many letters....”

“Starting to understand the situation now~?”

Ricardo said quietly as I crouched down and picked up a message card.

“You have no idea how chaotic things were back then....”

I had seen glimpses of it in the news.

But I had assumed that the uproar was only because of the shocking nature of it, and that things would soon calm down.

Lowering my head, I crouched in front of the pile of flowers and cards.

San had been here.

I read the child’s message, saying she would never give up hope, while guilt stabbed at my chest.

She seemed to come here almost every day.

Ever since the memorial space was created, the child had probably written me letters without missing a single day.

The closer the cards got to the present day, the more desperate they became.

Reading them made a sharp guilt twist inside me.

You don’t have to cry like this for me.

I wish someone would tell her she doesn’t have to come anymore.

Should I ask someone to pass along that request?

Some flowers had clearly been here for a long time, already withering.

Others looked fresh, as if they had been placed just minutes ago.

Between them lay a heavy stack of messages.

For a moment, I forgot that I was supposed to move.

I had planned to read all the messages here before leaving.

But my chest hurt so much that I was afraid to pick up the next one.

I knew people had been shocked and saddened.

But I hadn’t fully grasped the depth of that grief.

Overwhelmed by the memorial space created for me in the corner of the lobby, I even forgot for a moment that Kyle was waiting.

Black Badger deaths were not rare.

I thought it wouldn’t become something this big.

Even if people were shocked by the way I died, I assumed they would move on quickly—just like they had after other Badgers died.

“Why did you come so early today?”

The familiar voice pulled me back to reality.

“Don’t you have school?”

“Today is the school anniversary.”

The answering voice was familiar too.

I snapped my head around.

The voices were getting closer.

Jason Trevain, wearing combat gear with one hand in his pocket.

Next to him walked San, holding a bouquet and a card, dressed in a sweatshirt.

Behind Trevain were Chen and Gregory, called Ijin-yi and Samjin.

They walked toward us while glancing at their phones indifferently.

They were wearing combat uniforms too.

“Hm?”

Trevain’s gaze ◈ Nоvеlіgһт ◈ (Continue reading) flew toward me.

“What are you guys doing here?”

Ricardo and Jonathan, who had been standing near me, turned their heads.

San and the other four stopped walking.

We stood in the lobby, facing each other.

“Didn’t you hear the aide’s announcement?”

Ricardo began speaking to greet them, but Trevain spoke first.

“Who’s that?”

“Quarantine staff....”

Ricardo answered.

Trevain frowned.

“Why are you two babysitting a quarantine worker? You might have to deploy at any moment.”

“We’ve already finished here~.... Jonathan and I are about to head to the portal standby zone....”

“Why is he wearing a gas mask?”

Gregory suddenly cut into the conversation.

“You shouldn’t need one here.”

Uh.

This conversation is going in a bad direction.

“Take off the gas mask.”

The senior stared at me and spoke in a commanding tone.

“What the hell are you doing in a restricted area? Take it off right now.”

I’m screwed.

Behind the mask, the color drained from my face.