Chapter 159

Episode 159. The Returnee (1)

****

Foundation Support Department, ‘Surveillance Division.’

“Tachyon reaction! It’s a Type 2 time traveler. Contact the Director’s Office to organize a response team.”

Somewhere in the Seoul Metropolitan Library, the ‘Librarians.’

“A new traveler has arrived in our dimension. We must save them before the cops catch them.”

Enlightenment Group, Research Utilization Division 8.

“A spacetime anomaly. Is this worth researching? A time traveler, huh…”

Church of Darkness, Seoul. The ‘Black Priests.’

“Kiiiiik! Krrrrruk. Warurr Kik.”

The Returnee.

To some, a dangerous element to be controlled. To others, a person to be protected. To some, a money-making opportunity. And to something else… who knows?

Anyway, just by returning, the Returnee has become a target for those who rule the world behind the scenes. Even though they’ve done nothing wrong.

****

I am an ordinary young man, Kim Suho.

I was definitely lying in a car, lighting a coal fire. But when my eyes, which should never open again, opened, I saw a completely different scene from what I had seen before falling asleep. A completely changed Seoul.

‘What is this?’

I frantically checked the time. The phone, a model from 10 years ago, was indeed pointing to a time 10 years in the past.

I thought it might be some bizarre joke, but the sight of Seoul from 10 years ago around me couldn’t be something someone manipulated, right?

There was only one conclusion.

No, maybe two. Either I really returned to the past 10 years ago, or I’m seeing some ridiculous hallucination. The former makes more sense.

If it’s just a normal brain, a normal brain with future knowledge is better, right? No, the possibility of it being a normal brain always exists.

I can’t rule out the possibility that everything around me is just a normal brain. This possibility existed even before the regression.

No, that’s not important right now.

‘A second chance has been given.’

This time, I don’t need to repeat the mistakes of my past life. If I gain money or power, I can create a better world than the dystopia I remember from my past life.

Good. I can do anything.

‘Starting tomorrow.’

First, I need to adjust to the time difference. I should get a good night’s sleep today. Whether it’s the shock or the regression, my head feels like it’s about to split.

First, I’ll get a good night’s sleep, wake up, and prepare to use my future knowledge to buy stocks or find a part-time job.

It’s been 10 years. I can fall asleep with hope for tomorrow. When I open my eyes, a future I can live awaits.

****

The Returnee.

Response manual for Type 2 time travelers.

“How do you usually respond?”

“The previous Director killed them on sight. Shot them from afar with Predator drones.”

I looked at Nanami.

It doesn’t seem like a joke, is it serious?

“Why?”

“They’re dangerous and unpleasant.”

“Hmm. Should we kill them?”

Supernatural phenomena involving time are rare.

People from the future are rare too. Literally, they have the power to shake the entire world. It’s natural that they could be dangerous if left alone.

“I don’t know. What would you do if you caught them?”

“We’ll decide after seeing them.”

“It’s probably more efficient to just kill them.”

I could probably kill one or two dangerous people. Curiosity outweighed ethical concerns. A time traveler, how fascinating.

What kind of future did they see?

“I get what you’re thinking. It’s not that convenient of an ability. The fact that a time traveler has returned proves the nonlinearity and discontinuity of that timeline. You get what I mean?”

I tilted my head.

Is that so?

Time is nonlinear and discontinuous. A timeline where time travel is allowed would be even more so. The Foundation doesn’t have a time machine either…

“Well. Let’s go catch them first.”

“If that’s what you want.”

Nanami nodded.

There’s no time. The target is a time traveler. We don’t know how much time they can use.

“Then. Dispatch agents to the scene, deploy a helicopter to control the situation. We have no idea what kind of supernatural phenomena or abilities might be near the Returnee.”

****

Support Department Head Lee Hwa was busily moving around with a tablet. I was walking towards the helipad with the Support Department Head.

“The target is Kim Suho. A 21-year-old male college student, lives in a one-room apartment, no known illnesses. As far as we know, he has no interaction with supernatural phenomena and no contact with any problematic hostile groups.”

“Okay.”

“Currently, the target hasn’t left the low-rise building in the one-room village. Landing a helicopter on the building is impossible, and it seems difficult to eliminate him without collateral damage.”

This is tough.

“What about deploying a sniper?”

“Uh, no good angle.”

There’s a bit of a problem.

Landing a helicopter on a low-rise building or the ground is a bit tricky. We shouldn’t create a situation where people can walk up to the helicopter.

“Let’s send agents to make contact. Get as close as possible, provide close support on the scene.”

“Who?”

“Nanami. Since we don’t know what abilities the Returnee has, we’ll push forward with maximum firepower to ensure safety.”

The problem is this.

We can’t have someone walking around the city center in full bulletproof gear with a gas mask. Besides Nanami, there’s no one else we can trust to deploy.

“Ah. Then we’ll deploy Nanami and place three plainclothes agents around the area.”

“Hurry up. It’s already been a while.”

****

Nanami. Plainclothes version.

A dark blue hoodie and jeans.

Under the hoodie, she hid a pistol, and the larger equipment was in a guitar case.

You can’t walk around the city center with a sniper rifle or a greatsword.

Actually, we have them, but it doesn’t seem like the right stage to use them yet. The aftermath would be troublesome.

“Let’s start. You know where he is, right?”

“Deploying.”

Nanami disappeared into the city with parkour.

No, she’s supposed to stay out of sight.

And how are the plainclothes agents supposed to keep up with her flying around like that?

Anyway. A few minutes passed.

I was looking at the screen through the command helicopter.

[This is Nanami.]

“Okay.”

[Target spotted through the window. The target is just sitting there. Tachyon reaction confirmed.]

“He’ll probably come out soon, right?”

[Well, maybe he’ll come out to eat.]

“Let’s just wait.”

On the other end of the radio,

Nanami let out a small sigh.

[I’ll go in. I can just break the window.]

“Wait until sunset.”

[Why?]

“We’re monitoring the target through Wi-Fi signals. The target is lying down, looking at his phone… Is there really a need to break in?”

[You can see people through Wi-Fi signals?]

“Yes. I can see their form.”

[Wow.]

“Currently tracking the target’s internet usage. He’s just looking at his phone, sleeping, scratching his stomach. He’s not doing anything.”

[So. Wait?]

“Yes.”

[I’ll just break the window, kill him, and come out. It’ll take about a minute. If I kill him, I can clock out.]

That’s tempting, but I can see Nanami getting frustrated. She can cut through a warship with a single sword.

It must be frustrating to struggle with just one person. But there’s no other way. He’s a time traveler, after all.

In a way, he might be more dangerous than a hero.

“Let’s go in at sunset. We’ll only have to wait about an hour.”

[Hmm. Got it.]

Nanami cut the radio.

Now we wait.

I was looking at the target through the screen.

Even after looking again, he’s just a person. When you get down to it, isn’t he just an ordinary person with no abilities? Except for the regression.

Then it might get a bit boring.

We’ll have to disable the surrounding CCTV too.

****

“Hey, Dr. Kim. The sun has set.”

Nanami took out the greatsword from the guitar case, climbed the wall of the low-rise building, and grabbed the window where the target was.

“This is the 3rd floor, right?”

[Yes. Monitoring the situation.]

The window was broken.

Nanami looked around the inside of the house with her sword. It was an ordinary house. Maybe a bit messy. Nanami doesn’t have much personal stuff, so it’s hard to compare.

“Where are you?”

[Hiding in the kitchen. Holding a frying pan.]

“Hmm. Might be a trick to catch us off guard.”

[He’s right in front of you.]

Nanami made eye contact with the target.

No, since all the lights were off, maybe only Nanami could see him in the dark.

He looked surprisingly ordinary. Holding a frying pan, his expression seemed anxious. Nanami sighed and lowered her sword.

“Hey. What are you?”

“Huh?”

“I’m asking what you are.”

“I’m just a person…”

Nanami thought for a moment.

Normally, she would have killed him, but the current Director might find some use in the Returnee. There’s also an ethical issue with killing someone who hasn’t done anything wrong yet.

Not that it matters.

“Time traveler. Right?”

Nanami took out the Tachyon Detector from her pocket. The Tachyon Detector made a crackling sound, just like a Geiger Counter.

“You’re the Returnee. If you come quietly, you won’t be killed—”

Nanami turned her head. The front door was wide open. A white mass of something swept past, taking the Returnee with it.

Nanami prepared her stance for a technique.

But using a technique here could cause too much collateral damage. Nanami gave up for now, attached a silencer to her pistol, and started chasing the Returnee who had disappeared somewhere.

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