Chapter 158

EP.158 Bottom Life #2

“Where are we going?”

My bewildered question as I was packing my bags at the hotel.

Dr. Jennifer Cash spoke again.

“Mississippi. Let’s go sightseeing there.”

“Mississippi? There’s nothing to do there but gamble. Do you want to gamble, unnie? Have you ever been to a casino?”

“I went a few times when I was younger.”

I stared at her with my eyes wide open.

Dr. Cash avoided my gaze and slightly lowered her head.

She’s clearly hiding something.

I let out a small laugh and asked.

“There’s another reason, right?”

“…..”

“It’s fine, just tell me.”

“Well… actually… I got information that future technology was leaked there. It might be our lab’s technology… There’s a high possibility.”

Ah, she’s hooked.

I pretended not to understand.

“What are you talking about? Why would our lab’s technology be leaked in Mississippi?”

“Haah…”

Dr. Cash let out a long sigh and confessed.

“Here’s what happened…”

The World Union detected suspicious activity in Biloxi, Mississippi.

A weapon resembling a cluster bomb was found in a criminal organization being monitored by U.S. intelligence.

Upon secret investigation, it turned out to be something that came from Japan, and the World Union, in collaboration with the U.S., is preparing to send field agents.

She told me all this false information.

Watching my expression change, Dr. Cash continued.

“As I predicted… remember the tiger demon that appeared at Mount Fuji? Leona used a lot of cluster bombs to deal with its offspring. Apparently, one of them was a dud. The yakuza got their hands on it, and now there’s a rumor that a criminal organization in Mississippi is analyzing it…”

Her prediction is spot on. Well done, Marcella.

I raised my index finger to cut her off.

“So, you’ve been investigating behind my back?”

“W-well…”

“Answer me straight. Since when have you been looking into this?”

After hesitating, Dr. Cash finally confessed.

“I’ve been checking the World Union’s data every morning…”

“Why? We only need to worry about demons, and right now, no demons are appearing… Why would you care about their business?”

“I’ve been feeling guilty just sitting around, so I wanted to help the Earth in some way… Jihyuk, don’t be mad…”

“Do I look like I’m not mad? You didn’t even plan to tell me? Don’t tell me you were planning to check it out alone?”

“No! I thought about checking it out, but… I didn’t plan to hide it from you.”

“Then why did you suggest going to Mississippi for sightseeing? You said that because you wanted to hide it from me. If you didn’t plan to hide it, you would’ve been honest and suggested we look into it together.”

Dr. Cash hung her head low.

She had nothing to say. Honestly, I completely understood her feelings.

I had infiltrated Syria relying on a single piece of information, and I acted as if I had emotional scars from killing humans conducting human experiments.

Dr. Cash must have been afraid that my trauma would resurface, so she tried to hide this.

I slowly walked towards her.

And then I hugged her tightly.

“Thank you, unnie.”

In a situation where she expected to be scolded, my sudden gratitude left her flustered.

“What…? What are you thanking me for…?”

“For not telling me because you were worried about me. You didn’t want me to get hurt like in Syria.”

“…..”

“But I’m fine now. Thanks to you, I’ve forgotten all about it.”

At those words, Dr. Cash wrapped her arms around my waist and buried her face in my chest.

Her faint breathing was filled with joy. She’s truly moved.

As I gently stroked her back, I said.

“From now on, we’ll do everything together. This time, and in the future.”

“Okay… I’m sorry…”

This incident is your own doing.

You could’ve just left it to the World Union, but you had to meddle and now I’m getting dragged into it.

Instead of just getting caught, I should involve some higher-ups.

Corrupt authority figures would be enough to shake Dr. Cash’s mentality.

‘I’ll have to tell Marcella.’

@@

Biloxi, a coastal city in Mississippi, in the suite of a luxury resort.

“Ugh…”

Dr. Cash opened her eyes in the dark room and fumbled around.

It was an instinctive action to find Jihyuk, but all she felt was the soft touch of the bed.

Feeling an inexplicable anxiety, she reached for the headboard and turned on the bedroom light.

With a click, the bedroom lit up, and Dr. Cash, frowning as she looked for Jihyuk, rolled her eyes when she realized he wasn’t there.

‘Is he in the living room…?’

With that thought, she got out of bed.

Turning on the living room light, she tilted her head in confusion when she saw the large sofa table was clean.

She had been working on a multi-use reconnaissance drone to scout the criminal organization for the past two days… but it was gone.

With a puzzled expression, she noticed a folded white paper on the table and picked it up to read it.

As her eyes moved left and right while reading the letter, her hands began to tremble.

[I’m sorry, unnie. I was too worried about you, so I decided to check it out alone.

I’ll take a look and come back, so if you wake up, don’t look for me and just rest.

I love you.]

“You…!”

The first emotion Dr. Cash felt was betrayal.

Before coming to Mississippi, at the hotel in San Francisco, Jihyuk had clearly said.

From now on, let’s do everything together.

If he had just said something, she wouldn’t have been this angry, but acting like they’d do it together and then trying to solve the important matter alone… it was strange not to be furious.

The next emotion she felt was worry.

What if… what if something happened to him.

She was afraid he might have been captured by the criminal organization and was being tortured.

Having been captured in Syria before, she was even more anxious.

Wide awake, Dr. Cash went back to the bedroom and grabbed her phone.

Turning on the location tracker, she saw the red dot indicating Jihyuk’s location in a dangerous area and clenched her phone so tightly it might break.

If he comes back safely, I’ll send him to the afterlife myself.

At that moment,

BOOM!

A loud explosion was heard.

The high-rise hotel she was in shook violently.

Running to the window and pulling back the curtains, she saw flames and a mushroom cloud rising from a distant island.

With that level of explosion and the earlier noise…

‘The lab’s cluster bomb…’

It was definitely the cluster bomb Leona had used, the one she had developed.

But why and how did the lab’s cluster bomb end up exploding there?

No matter how much she thought about it, she couldn’t figure it out. Deciding that contacting Jihyuk was the priority, she tried to call him.

But if Jihyuk was currently infiltrating the criminal organization, she was afraid of disturbing him.

In the end, Dr. Cash could only bite her nails and watch the red dot indicating Jihyuk’s location on her phone.

After staring at her phone for a while, she let out a sigh of relief.

“Ha…”

Because Jihyuk’s red dot was heading back to the resort.

He must have gotten into a car, as the speed was very fast.

He must have heard the explosion and was coming back.

Maybe he was the one who caused the explosion.

No, it was highly likely.

Praising Jihyuk in her heart, Dr. Cash considered going out to meet him but decided against it.

She was furious right now.

She wouldn’t speak to him until she calmed down.

Having made that decision, Dr. Cash observed the chaotic night scene by the coast.

Since the explosion wasn’t nearby, there were almost no people fleeing.

Tourists were too busy filming the burning island.

Confident that nothing major would happen, Dr. Cash sat on the bed.

‘Just come back… seriously…’

The more she thought about it, the more ridiculous it felt.

Leaving her behind and running off like that.

It’s a good thing things turned out well, but if they hadn’t… ugh, just thinking about it was horrifying.

As she thought about how to scold Jihyuk, she heard the sound of a card key at the door and frowned deeply.

She didn’t forget to cross her legs and fold her arms.

Clunk!

Jihyuk opened the door and came in.

Seeing his face, Dr. Cash shouted.

“Hey! Song Jihyuk! You said we’d move together, and now… gasp!”

As she was about to berate him, Dr. Cash was startled and covered her mouth.

Jihyuk’s clothes were extremely dirty.

And completely soaked with sweat.

Not only that, but his breathing was rough, and his expression wasn’t good.

Something must have happened. Dr. Cash changed her tone and asked.

“Jihyuk… did something happen?”

“Unnie, we don’t have much time, so I’ll explain briefly. Listen carefully.”

Jihyuk looked extremely urgent.

Like someone was chasing him.

Dr. Cash swallowed hard and nodded.

“O-okay.”

“You heard the explosion, right? That was our cluster bomb. Your prediction was correct. I saw it with my own eyes and used the reconnaissance drone to take it to an uninhabited island and detonated it. But…”

“But…?”

“Someone tracked me down and found me. And it wasn’t just the criminal organization researching our technology. There was another force.”

“Another force?”

“There’s involvement from the Mississippi state government. Not just that, but the governors of five states are involved. No, there might be more. America is in danger.”

The words coming out of Jihyuk’s mouth were something Dr. Cash couldn’t quickly comprehend.

Her mind went blank, and her mouth slowly opened.

Jihyuk quickly approached her and grabbed her arms tightly.

“Get a grip.”

“Ah, okay…!”

“I’m being chased by the state police right now. I overheard their radio, and they’ve framed me. I’ll go out and divert their attention, so you need to leave here immediately. Go to a safe place and investigate what happened today in detail.”

At those words, Dr. Cash jumped up from the bed and panicked.

“You’re being chased…? Then it’s a big deal! L-let’s get out of here together. I’ll contact the World Union and explain everything. Or should I call Sehwa or Yuria for help?”

“We’re here unofficially. The World Union doesn’t know it’s our cluster bomb, and they must never know. That’s why I went out of my way to detonate it. This incident must not be linked to the lab. And calling Sehwa or Yuria is also out of the question.”

“But, but you’re in trouble. I can’t just stand by and…”

Jihyuk hit his chest in frustration.

“Think straight! There are many people in the World Union who don’t like us. If the Beast Slayer appears and saves me while I’m being chased, it’s over. They’ll pin everything on the cluster bomb, and they’ll spread rumors that we tried to destroy America!”

“Jihyuk…! What should I do? Tell me…!”

“You need to clear my name as quickly as possible. Can you do it?”

Dr. Cash’s breathing became rapid.

She couldn’t even breathe properly.

Jihyuk asked again with desperate eyes.

“Can you do it?”

Snapping out of it, Dr. Cash nodded hurriedly.

“O-okay!”

“The police will come to investigate, and the hotel will be sealed off. So leave before that. I’m leaving now too. I love you, unnie. I’ll only trust you.”

After saying that, Jihyuk kissed her deeply before she could say anything and rushed out the door.

Dr. Cash, terrified and out of her mind, had one thought stuck in her head.

‘I should’ve just gone where Jihyuk wanted to go…’

Her meddling had turned him into a fugitive.

After a moment of blankness, Dr. Cash recalled Jihyuk’s words and quickly moved.

There was no time to regret now.

First, she needed to escape to a safe place and investigate the incident to clear Jihyuk’s name.

To be continued―――――――――――――――――――――

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