Chapter 107

THUD—!

“……!”

Suddenly pinned down, I froze without knowing what was going on.

But…….

“……?”

Nothing happened in that state.

“Team Leader……?”

When I called Cha Si-eon with my face pressed into the wooden platform, Cha Si-eon slowly took his hand off the back of my head.

Wondering whether I could get up, I awkwardly lifted only my head and checked the surroundings.

On the far side of the yard, they were still playing with fireworks.

Outside this quiet pension, it was dark and black.

The direction of the sea in particular was pitch-dark, so I could only guess the sea’s existence from the sound of waves.

“What is wrong?”

“Did you perhaps not hear a sound?”

“A sound?”

A sound?

What I could hear right now was the kids laughing on the far side of the yard.

The sound of gunpowder burning from the sparklers.

And the sound of waves spread like background noise.

When I looked at him in confusion, Cha Si-eon shook his head again.

“I think I was mistaken.”

“……?”

I had suddenly been subdued and then released, but I could not complain.

Because Cha Si-eon’s appearance had become extremely sensitive.

Following him, I also looked around, then slowly raised myself.

I did not know what it was, but yes. It must have been a mistake.

Because this was not a Special Zone where blood and death ran wild.

The place we were in now was a resort in the Republic of Korea, where public security was good.

---

And the next day.

At a resort in the Republic of Korea, where public security was good, Cha Si-eon said,

“Baek Sa-ra and Han Ji-su are to be shot dead. Ha Yu-ju is to be captured alive.”

“…….”

“…….”

Did he really have to say it like that?

Jae-gyeom and I felt a little awkward, but with no other choice, we nodded.

“But this is not very light. Is it because of the paint rounds?”

Jae-gyeom examined the gun loaded with paint rounds as he spoke.

Then he test-fired it at the wall.

Thud thud thud—!

New fluorescent paint marks were stamped onto the already mottled temporary wall.

“Whoa, look at the rounds curve. I cannot aim well, Team Leader.”

“The firearm condition will be the same for that side anyway. It is a fight won by whoever adapts first, so check the specs.”

“Yes, sir.”

At Cha Si-eon’s words, Jae-gyeom calmly checked the state of the firearm.

After that, the two began firing paint rounds as practice.

Thud thud thud thud—!

Like Special agents, the two took perfect stances and began shooting.

No, you two. Is there really any need to get that serious……?

This place where Cha Si-eon had declared he would shoot Baek Sa-ra and Han Ji-su dead was a survival game field.

The survival game that began at Jae-gyeom’s suggestion was supposed to be a kind of extreme sport where our group shot paint rounds at each other and promoted fellowship…… probably.

For some reason, the two men in front of me had the atmosphere of preparing for war.

Especially Team Leader Cha, who had looked displeased with this schedule just this morning.

“With Yu-ju on their side, unless we win overwhelmingly, it is our loss. Mr. Seo Do-un, focus. Mr. Seo Do-un, you are no longer outside our combat strength.”

But now that it had started, he looked ready to lay down his life.

I should have known from the moment this brat casually put on a Hawaiian shirt at the seaside.

He pretends otherwise, but he is enjoying this more seriously than anyone.

We were divided into Cha Si-eon’s team and Baek Sa-ra’s team to compete.

The rules of the game were simple.

If we merely told these trained agents to wander around and catch the opposing team, it was obvious they would lie in ambush as if dead and hold out for 3 or 4 hours, so we decided on a high-ground battle.

The first team to occupy the high ground at the center of the field would win.

Because the movement routes from each team’s base to the high ground overlapped, there was a high probability that an engagement would occur while moving.

“Then take your positions.”

Following Cha Si-eon’s instructions, the three of us all scattered and headed toward the high ground.

I moved while tense, wondering whether someone might appear from among the thick trees and tall grass.

But was it my imagination?

It felt as if someone was following me…….

So I looked back now and then, but when I actually turned around, no one was there.

I am getting nervous for no reason.

It was when I pushed through the bushes and went forward again.

Thudthudthud—!

Tatatatata—!

The sound of paint rounds being fired came from somewhere.

Had an engagement already begun somewhere else?

I flinched for a moment, then hurried my steps.

But then.

Thwack—!

A paint round passed right in front of my helmet.

“……!”

The moment I stopped in surprise.

Thwack—!

Another paint round flew in.

The second round grazed the back of my helmet and left a stain on the tree beside me.

……What is this?

Paint rounds had grazed past both sides of my head in succession.

Did they miss because I was lucky?

If not…….

Flustered, I looked toward the direction the paint rounds had flown from.

There, wearing a survival suit and a helmet, Baek Sa-ra was aiming her muzzle toward me.

Hahaha. They said these were hard to aim…….

“If you surrender, I will at least let you live.”

Baek Sa-ra tried to capture me alive with a kind voice.

Would it be insubordination to oppose my instructor here?

No, she is an enemy right now.

Besides, I am no longer outside combat strength…….

Thwack—!

A paint round grazed past right above the crown of my head.

“Take your hand off the gun. It is dangerous.”

As expected, they had not missed. They had hit by missing.

Looking at Baek Sa-ra, who gently urged my surrender, I had no choice but to raise both hands.

Team Leader Cha is going to curse at me for this…….

It was then.

Tatatatatata—!

Paint rounds poured like hail onto the helmet of Baek Sa-ra, who had been leisurely aiming at me.

“……!”

It was not one or two shots; nearly 5 or 6 rounds flew in and dyed Baek Sa-ra’s helmet fluorescent.

If those had been live rounds, mm, I do not even want to imagine it.

On top of that, it was not as if paint rounds had no force at all.

So Baek Sa-ra, struck repeatedly in the head, staggered backward.

Then, just before she fell, she barely regained her balance.

Thwack—!

Even though her elimination was already certain.

A paint round flew in deliberately again and struck Baek Sa-ra’s helmet.

What is with this rotten behavior?

Dumbfounded, I turned toward the direction the rounds had flown from.

There was, hah…….

Team Leader Cha, holding his muzzle toward us from behind a discarded tire.

“…….”

Perhaps Baek Sa-ra was dumbfounded too, because she took off her helmet and looked at Cha Si-eon.

But Cha Si-eon paid no attention to the dead and came to me, saying,

“Mr. Seo Do-un, follow me. We are going to support Jae-gyeom’s side.”

I had been under a serious misconception.

The person it would have been disastrous not to bring to the sea was not Kwak Jae-gyeom or Ha Yu-ju, but Cha Si-eon.

---

“Did you follow behind me from the beginning?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“There was also a guard mission before survival, and I thought Baek Sa-ra would secure Mr. Seo Do-un first.”

“…….”

So he had used me as bait to catch Baek Sa-ra.

Perhaps Team Leader Cha had also gotten a nosebleed from Baek Sa-ra in the past while doing this sort of thing?

Thwack thwack—!

Tatatata—!

From beyond the forest path, the sound of paint rounds being fired continued.

Since the engagement was growing fairly long, the one Jae-gyeom was facing seemed to be Han Ji-su.

If we joined in over there and eliminated Han Ji-su as well, the situation would be over.

It would achieve the overwhelming victory Team Leader Cha wanted.

“…….”

But Cha Si-eon, who had been following the sound of paint rounds, suddenly stopped walking.

Then he glanced back in the direction we had come from.

“What is wrong?”

“No, it is nothing.”

I also turned my head after Cha Si-eon, but there was nothing there.

Why have you been doing this since yesterday? You are making me anxious for no reason.

I felt puzzled, then looked ahead again.

But the space in front of me was empty.

“……Team Leader Cha?”

Startled, I looked around.

Cha Si-eon had disappeared.

Without sound or movement, in an instant.

How on earth?

There was only one thing I could think of in this situation.

Could he have been dragged into a Special Zone?

Not me, but Cha Si-eon?

It was an absurd idea, but the situation itself made just as little sense.

“Team Leader! Team Leader Cha Si-eon!”

At the ominous feeling, I raised my voice and called Cha Si-eon.

It was then.

WEE-OOO—!

A siren sound rang out as if tearing my eardrums apart.

At the same time, my vision suddenly grew dim.

Because I had been outdoors under bright sunlight, then abruptly moved indoors.

“……!”

I had been dragged into a Special Zone.

The moment I recognized that, I hurriedly checked the location.

WEE-OOO—!

But before the shape of the space, this sound told me first.

Where this place was.

This was the 「Railway Station Where the Siren Sounds」.

The moment I realized that, I was horrified again.

Why here again?

On top of that, the siren had just sounded.

Someone would be crushed to death.

What do I do?

How do I avoid this?

There was no method of avoidance.

Nothing but hoping it would pass me by.

It was then.

Crrrk—

A chilling sensation felt above the crown of my head.

Crrrrk—

A distinct weight trying to press me down.

CRACK—!

The sign of that crushing began in my helmet first.

CRACK— CREAK—!

I felt my helmet split.

Then came the sensation of the bones in my neck being crushed.

A formless force was driving vertically down from above me.

It was heavy.

It was so heavy I could not move, so heavy I could not breathe.

Ah, so that was why.

That was why everyone had been slowly crushed to death without being able to resist.

After the unwanted realization, fear surged in.

Am I going to die like this?

Truly like this?

It was then.

WHAM—!

Something shoved me hard.

With an impact like being hit by a car, I left the place where I had been standing and was thrown sideways.

CRASH—!

Not even feeling the pain, I checked what had collided with me.

“……Team Leader Cha?”

It was none other than Cha Si-eon.

As if he had pushed me out with his whole body, Cha Si-eon was raising himself up a short distance away.

“Seo Do…….”

It was when Cha Si-eon seemed about to say something to me.

WEE-OOO—!

What, the siren again……?

CRUNCH—!

“……!”

Pressure was felt over my helmet again.

My body once again froze helplessly.

Cha Si-eon grabbed my arm and pulled, as if trying to drag me out of the crushing range.

Pressed down by an incomprehensible force, I was stuck to that spot, then finally dragged toward Cha Si-eon as if being torn free.

When I was pulled out, Cha Si-eon lost his balance as well.

The moment we tangled together like that.

The sight before my eyes changed as if it had been a lie.