Chapter 147

“As I have said repeatedly, our first priority is zero accidents. The mission does not have to succeed on the first attempt. We have also assumed retreat and reentry scenarios, so carry out the operation safely according to the internal situation.”

Cha Si-eon spoke in the quiet waiting hall of Yongsan Station.

Before him stood about 30 people.

All of them were Bureau employees.

We had temporarily rented Yongsan Station in the dead of night under the pretext of special forces simulation training.

It was true that we belonged to the government, true that most of them were from special forces, and true that this was simulation training, so it probably was not exactly a lie.

“The attack team will scan the space with the Control Team and determine the drone movement routes.”

At Cha Si-eon’s instruction, about a dozen people moved.

Hard footsteps rang out like a shower, but Yongsan Station at 3 a.m. remained quiet.

The 「Railway Station」 Special Zone I remembered had exactly this atmosphere too.

A place that should have been full of people was empty, and every store was closed and locked, so that silence had even made me feel as if I were left alone in the world after its end.

But in 3 or 4 hours, this place would be full of people again.

And without knowing a thing about the fact that we had been here, they would go about their ordinary daily lives.

“The advance team will also move to the designated location, discuss response methods, and proceed with simulation training.”

By advance team, that meant me.

And the 2 agents who would support me.

“Advance team, let’s go too!”

At the order to move, a man stepped forward as if going on a picnic.

It was Jeong Jin-u of Exploration Team 2.

Jeong Jin-u was a young man with large eyes that had no double eyelids and lips with a healthy flush.

When I first saw him, I thought he was around my age, but seeing as Cha Si-eon treated him as a senior, he seemed to be in his early to mid-30s.

As befitted someone from the Exploration Team, he was slender but hid compressed muscle, and he gave off the atmosphere of a neat working adult.

And this person had originally been in the attack team, but because he said, “I don’t want to be in the same team as that one,” he ended up coming to the advance team where I was.

“…….”

And the shadow, or perhaps wall, standing behind him was Han Seung-yo of Response Team 6.

He was a man in his early to mid-30s with a physique no less than Cha Si-eon’s, and very few words.

With sun-browned skin and short-cropped hair, he was unmistakably from a Response Team.

Me, Jeong Jin-u, and Han Seung-yo.

The three of us were scheduled to be deployed first during the 「Railway Station」 special operation as the advance team.

The reason I had 2 supporters was that there was a possibility 「Crow」 would send me somewhere else.

If that happened, my supporters would be left isolated in 「Railway Station」 and die.

So 2 had been assigned in preparation for emergencies.

If I disappeared from 「Railway Station」 during the main operation, the 2 of them would have to diligently save each other from the siren sound until the escape team arrived.

Conversely, if I continued to stay inside 「Railway Station」, and if, as we expected, the siren sound focused only on me, then keeping me alive would be the responsibility of these 2.

Either way, it was a situation where they would have to face off against the siren until they could barely breathe.

“I’m a little nervous. It’s been so long since I entered 「Railway Station」.”

But Jeong Jin-u still had the air of someone who had come out to play, light and carefree.

There was no particular need to demand seriousness from him.

The fact that he had been included among these members meant his skill was guaranteed.

“Getting tackled every 20 seconds is no ordinary thing. Are you going to be all right, Agent Do-un?”

Jeong Jin-u suddenly looked at me and spoke.

At that, I nodded.

“For now, I plan to wear protective gear.”

“Come on, will that be enough? It is not as if you are falling down alone. You are being hit by another person and sent flying.”

Jeong Jin-u shook his head and gestured toward Han Seung-yo with his eyes.

As if warning me, “From now on, that door-like guy is going to hit you.”

……Certainly, once I entered here, I would keep getting hit and rolling around.

Like a rugby player, until the attack team stopped the siren sound of 「Giant Siren」.

Even in 「Railway Station」, where I had been dragged during the summer vacation, Cha Si-eon had pulled and shoved me twice, and when I looked later, my arms and knees were bruised.

But what could I do? This was not a situation where I could spare my body.

I had already accepted my role, but Jeong Jin-u began pondering something on his own.

Then he suddenly snapped his fingers and said cheerfully,

“Should we ride around on a bike?”

“Here?”

“Yeah!”

He wants to put me on a bike and ride through here?

So that the siren’s pressure does not even have time to crush me?

At Jeong Jin-u’s bold claim, Han Seung-yo opened his mouth for the first time.

“「Railway Police」.”

“Ah, will the police come and go, ‘You there!’?”

Right, there was 「Railway Police」 here.

「Railway Police」 appeared if one failed to observe public etiquette within the station building.

However, the standard for that public etiquette was extremely skewed.

Killing a person and putting them into a storage locker was not guilty.

Threatening the ticket office employee was guilty.

Smashing a person with a fire extinguisher was not guilty.

Breaking a shop window was guilty.

It meant they did not care what humans did to one another, and only wanted people not to touch their facilities and employees…….

Then how would they judge the act of racing through the waiting hall on a bike?

At least, no matter who saw it, it would look like the action of a lunatic.

“But Sa-ra will catch that anyway, won’t she?”

Jeong Jin-u said this while looking toward Cha Si-eon and Baek Sa-ra on the far side of the waiting hall.

Then he immediately hopped lightly toward them.

Jeong Jin-u said something to Cha Si-eon and Baek Sa-ra.

Then he hopped back toward us again.

But even after he returned, he did not say whether it was yes or no, so I asked.

“What did they say?”

“They told me not to make useless work.”

“Ah…….”

As expected, merciless.

Regardless of whether we rode a bike or not, the 「Railway Police」 in this place was scheduled to be eliminated.

By Baek Sa-ra, who belonged to the crisis response team together with Cha Si-eon.

Our target was 「Giant Siren」 outside this building.

So fighting the 「Railway Police」 was inevitable.

Because to send drones outside, we first had to break through this building’s glass ceiling.

Moreover, there was also a possibility that mercenary entities would appear.

No, everyone was prepared for the likelihood that they would appear.

So in preparation for the appearance of 「Railway Police」 or mercenary entities, the crisis response team was composed of 5 people, including Cha Si-eon and Baek Sa-ra.

“But if we break the ceiling glass, who will 「Railway Police」 attack?”

A little distance away, I heard the people from the attack team talking.

The attack team currently had 3 people, but the 2 members of the escape team were also scheduled to join in controlling the drones after purchasing Tickets.

“The guy who brought the drone.”

“The guy who launched it.”

“The guy who controlled it.”

“The drone.”

But even before they had started anything, their opinions were splitting enormously.

“Bike.”

And Jeong Jin-u, perhaps still unable to let go of his attachment to the bike, subtly tossed his spoon in too.

Mr. Jeong Jin-u seemed to be the type who had to do what he wanted to do.

Meanwhile, the attack team failed to reach a conclusion regarding Schrödinger’s 「Railway Police」 and approached a moderate compromise.

“Let’s just trust Teresa.”

“Trust Teresa.”

“Give Teresa a blade.”

So Ms. Baek Sa-ra really is called Teresa in the field…….

The agents who had come for reconnaissance were running simulations according to their respective roles.

The solemnity of risking their lives was still nowhere to be seen.

Rather, they looked glad.

Glad that they were finally getting to do the work that was theirs.

So I did not feel particularly nervous either.

I could not be optimistic yet, but still, I thought things might somehow work out.

Bzzzz—

At that moment, something made a whirring sound.

When I looked to the side, the attack team was testing a drone.

They had said one sample drone had arrived.

It seemed they were test-running it.

The drone rose stably, drawing a spiral.

Oh, they are good.

They are good.

They are good, but why is it not stopping…….

CRASH—!

The drone struck the glass ceiling and exploded as it was.

SHATTER—!

Naturally, the tempered glass that made up the ceiling broke, and the fragments rained brightly onto the floor.

“…….”

Everyone lost their words and looked at the drone operator.

As people’s gazes gathered, the drone operator spoke calmly.

“Practice like it is the real thing.”

“…….”

In the deepening silence, I seemed to hear Cha Si-eon’s blood pressure rising.

But there was no need for the crisis response team to step forward personally.

The members of the attack team were already beating the drone operator on their own.

Even if they punished him like that, the gaping hole in the ceiling would not be patched back together.

Cha Si-eon called somewhere and busily began handling the situation.

If someone reported it and the police or fire trucks came, the matter would grow bigger.

People had to be completely unaware that we had been here.

But far from being unaware, we had gifted people’s ordinary daily lives with a ceiling that had a gaping hole in it…….

I suddenly began to feel nervous.

Will we really be all right?

“As expected, I made the right choice changing teams.”

In the meantime, Jeong Jin-u was nodding and smiling to himself.

---

The next day.

Since I had stopped by the research building, I visited Director Go Hong-sang, who was still in quarantine.

Director Go was dressed in the gray tracksuit issued by the Bureau.

The moment Director Go saw me, it seemed he thought several things at once.

He was somewhat glad, but wanted to preserve his dignity, and for some reason seemed a little offended too, so Director Go showed the twisted heart of a middle-aged man by going “hmph” and pretending indifference.

Fortunately, he looked healthy.

So after only greeting him, I passed by Director Go, who looked at me wistfully, and went to find Oh Tae-o.

In Oh Tae-o’s laboratory, Ms. Kim Ji-an, whose quarantine had been lifted, was there too.

However, Ms. Kim Ji-an was still under the status of suspected contaminated person, so she too wore that gray tracksuit.

“Hello, Teacher Seo Do-un.”

“Hello, Ms. Kim Ji-an. Are you feeling a little better?”

“Yes, fortunately, my values keep falling, so I think I will be able to go home soon.”

It was rare good news.

At that moment, Oh Tae-o, who sat beside her, asked Kim Ji-an,

“Are you going back to the company you used to work at……?”

“I already left the company…….”

“Why?”

“Sunbae…… There are not many companies in society that will give you a week of sick leave. Especially on the humanities side.”

Kim Ji-an answered wistfully to Oh Tae-o, who asked why with an innocent face.

“The humanities side?”

When I was surprised by those words, Kim Ji-an looked at me in confusion instead.

“I heard you were a researcher.”

“Humanities people…… do research too…….”

“Ah, of course. I am a humanities person too.”

“I was in charge of the mythology and religion part.”

Mythology and religion?

“You need to know mythology and religion to interpret Type 3 Special Zones.”

“Ah…….”

I finally understood.

They had said Type 3 Special Zones looked very different from Type 1 Special Zones.

So they had created a team of experts in mythology and religion.

“But now our part no longer exists in the Bureau.”

That seemed to be the case.

The researchers I had seen during my time here were mostly the kind who suited Oh Tae-o’s field and looked good in white coats.

“So the illusion Teacher Seo Do-un saw in 「National Theater」 was just recorded and left there. This overlaps meaningfully with the notes you received in 「Hotel」 this time.”

Teacher Kim Ji-an, who had lost her current job after getting caught up in the affairs of her former workplace.

Still, she was a good-hearted person, so she had stepped forward first to examine the materials she could see.

This was why she had called me today.

But before getting to the main point, Kim Ji-an asked me,

“Before that, Teacher Seo Do-un, have you perhaps met me somewhere before?”