Chapter 222

Now that I’ve traveled to many planets, there was one commonality among all civilizations, regardless of their history and traditions.

The end and beginning of a season are always very noisy and chaotic.

Earth is no different. When finishing a year and starting a new one, the world becomes a festival atmosphere. Whether it’s good or bad news, stories spread instantly, and people talk about them a little bit.

The Earth Defense Union embezzlement scandal that erupted at the end of the year made the world more boisterous than I had imagined. Since it happened when everything was being wrapped up, even after the new year began, the story didn’t die down. The girlfriends had to continuously deal with reporters from headquarters for a while.

Moreover, due to cooperating with investigators who came to headquarters, everyone spent time at headquarters during the busiest period for dates and together, leaving no time for intimate moments. I also provided necessary information to the girlfriends as needed.

Separate from my girlfriends’ daily routine, two pieces of news came at the end of the year.

Firstly, a new member of team three, ‘Alt’, from Japan came to Korea. Since I was the first to meet him when he arrived at headquarters, we were able to have a few conversations.

“Did you do something in Japan?”

“There were some observations made at the observation base.”

“Observation base?”

Spacystro set up observation bases around Earth to monitor anything coming from space to Earth after settling on the planet. This was also one of the first things they did when invading a planet.

It seemed Alt fought as a regular soldier in Japan while also working at the observation base.

“Is something coming to Earth?”

Feeling uneasy upon hearing that something was discovered at the observation base, I cautiously asked, and Alt shook his head.

“No. It’s not something coming to Earth, but rather something that went out from Earth.”

“Something left Earth?”

The observation bases not only monitor what comes to Earth but also what leaves Earth. After Spacystro came, Earth’s space technology advanced significantly.

Although Earth still doesn’t have the technology to explore other planets, they weren’t greatly concerned when Earthlings launched objects into space, and Spacystro didn’t interfere with Earth’s progress.

“Yes. But it wasn’t a projectile; it was a radio wave.”

“A radio wave? You mean it was sent from inside Earth to space?”

There was nothing particularly strange about this. Sending radio waves to space from Earth was a common occurrence, so it felt odd that Alt stayed longer in Japan because of this.

“Yes. But it’s strange. The launch location isn’t specific, and there’s nothing special about the direction the radio wave was sent.”

The words from Alt sitting next to me raised quite a few questions.

Until now, sending radio waves to space from Earth was often done to understand the characteristics of a particular star when discovered.

The observation bases always monitored everything leaving Earth, and it was always clear what the intentions were, so there was never an issue.

However, finding the location of the radio wave and understanding its intention is somewhat unusual.

“I couldn’t help it since it was already sent. Tried to find the launch location but couldn’t find it. So I decided to wrap things up and come back to Korea.”

Not having a specific location means it wasn’t officially sent from a facility. Finding it becomes extremely difficult in this case.

It implies that the location was intentionally hidden, and finding it would be incredibly complex. Exploring inside a planet is generally like this.

Even with Spacystro’s technology, it’s harder to meticulously examine the inside of Earth than to destroy it. No matter how advanced a civilization is, the inside of a planet can only be understood by looking directly.

“You must be tired from work.”

We decided to proceed with more detailed discussions after Alt made an official report to Luche. Since the embezzlement scandal was openly revealed, verifying information moment by moment took priority over listening to Alt’s story.

The next day, the news was that Klugger had awakened.

Though I wanted to rush to the hospital immediately after hearing he opened his eyes in bed, unlike me who was at the ship’s facilities, Klugger was in the hospital, making visits impossible for a while as he needed rest.

While thinking it wouldn’t be a problem if I went right away, despite it being a hospital operated by Spacystro, it looked like a regular hospital from the outside. I decided to wait until visits were allowed, following the advice to avoid conspicuous actions.

The bustling end of the year led to a bustling start of the year.

“I’m dead.”

Yura and SuA, who came home, lay on the living room sofa simultaneously. Eunha, smiling awkwardly, took their coats and went to the closet, while I fetched drinks from the refrigerator.

“Busy today too?”

“Don’t mention it. Investigators, reporters, and even internet broadcasters. They just keep coming endlessly.”

The aftermath of the embezzlement scandal was even greater than that of the terrorist incident. Although the weight of the event itself was heavier in the terrorist incident, the fact that another major event occurred after one big incident attracted more attention.

“Many suspect him. It’s a headache.”

Seeing Yura and SuA, who seemed to be pouring out their fatigue through words, I worried that Yubin and Hayang, who returned home, might be in a similar state.

Handing out drinks to them with a smile, I met Eunha, who had just put her coat down.

“Brother, is the investigation going well?”

“No. It’s paused for now.”

I originally planned to dive into the investigation recklessly after turning on the chief’s PC. But as before and now, this investigation cannot be carried out alone.

Since it involves searching for data on hyper-humans, the help of my girlfriends is essential, and every time I find data, I need to verify it with them.

But after the embezzlement scandal, my girlfriends are having a hectic daily life.

Although battles were conducted as scheduled, they couldn’t actually fight.

After the incident, many people started paying attention to hyper-humans. As it became known that hyper-humans, who were previously called tax thieves, received money they couldn’t live on, sympathy arose in society.

But since not all hyper-humans don’t receive money, there are opinions that hyper-humans are indeed tax thieves, and conspiracy theories suggesting they are pretending to be victims by receiving money also emerged.

So, even though crowds gathered on the day of the battle to confront each other, they couldn’t actually fight, leading to a decision to conclude without proceeding.

In such a situation, trying to find information on hyper-humans while searching through data would make it hard to exchange information smoothly with my girlfriends. Even if I exchanged information, it would likely add to everyone’s fatigue, so I postponed looking at the data and investigated personal curiosities instead.

Although I desperately wanted to find data on hyper-humans, once I had it, I felt much more relaxed. I’m not indifferent to wanting to know more about hyper-humans, but I concluded that it’s right to finish the current situation and move on to the next task.

Thinking this way, I realized how much the people around me must have been frustrated with my past attempts to handle multiple tasks at once.

Although putting a burden on myself didn’t feel any different, considering the burden my actions might impose on others, I couldn’t feel eager to push forward quickly.

“For now, let’s take it easy. Everyone is busy.”

When I was preoccupied with creating hacking tools and couldn’t spend proper time with my girlfriends, they waited for me and believed in me. No one rushed or nagged me, so I won’t pressure myself to rush the hyper-human investigation until things settle a bit.

That doesn’t mean I’m doing nothing.

Apart from the hyper-human investigation, I had another investigation going on.

“What about Gainesboro? Did you find anything?”

Yura, sitting on the sofa, tilted her head back and met my eyes.

With a sigh, she shook her head, and Yura also showed a reluctant expression.

While my girlfriends were busy with the embezzlement investigation, I personally became curious about Gainesboro’s whereabouts and started an investigation to track him down. I heard that when Team Guerrilla was under police investigation, his whereabouts became unknown, but since I couldn’t determine the exact time, I first aimed to identify when he disappeared.

This was greatly aided by the chief’s PC data.

After the terrorist incident, Team Guerrilla’s list remained in the Seoul Branch for a while. The new team, Endurance, joined only recently, and his name vanished from the list. However, Gainesboro’s name disappeared from the list immediately after the terrorist incident.

There were no ways to trace him, but while searching for things related to Gainesboro, I found numerous encrypted files. Although it will be tough to figure them out immediately, I felt that with time, I might uncover something.

“Could it be related to that?”

The mysterious radio wave transmission Alt mentioned came to mind. While it’s hard to find a connection, investigating something unknown naturally led me to think of other unknown events.

It’s hard to give a clear reason for connecting these thoughts. It’s simply a feeling of unease.

“Geez, I’m exhausted.”

Approaching Yura, who was expressing her fatigue by spreading her arms, I hugged her tightly. Her body still retained the coldness of winter as she had just come in, and we melted each other’s bodies in a hug.

“Hey.”

Sua, sitting beside me, called out to me while I was hugging Yura.

Without adding any words, I could tell her intention from her voice and gaze.

“Alright.”

Hugging Yura with one arm extended, Sua approached me. Embracing both of them at once, I felt their body temperatures and patted their backs to express my appreciation for their hard day.

“It feels great. I want to throw you onto the bed right now.”

Seeing Yura speak normally, I felt relieved that she wasn’t mentally overwhelmed despite being tired.

“……”

After fully hugging them and standing up, I met Eunha’s gaze who was staring at me from behind.

Smiling, I approached her, and Eunha, blushing, signaled for a hug before I could even embrace her, so I held her gently and lightly touched her lips.

“You’ve worked hard too, Eunha.”

“Y-Yes….”

After holding her more tightly and trying to release the hug, did she want to feel more warmth? Eunha didn’t let go of me.

“Eunha?”

“Yes?”

“……Shall we take a walk?”

Considering spending some time alone, I suggested taking a walk. Though the outside was bustling with the hyper-human issue, walking together in the evening shouldn’t be a problem.

“Yes! Let’s go!”

Without hesitation, Eunha agreed to go.

“Then I’ll call Yubin and Hayang for a brief chat.”

“Okay. I’ll wait here.”

Yura and Sua heard that I was going out with Eunha, but they didn’t interfere with our personal time, so they didn’t say they’d join us.

Entering the room, I called Hayang first before calling Yubin. Both had returned home after work, and their voices conveyed fatigue, so I didn’t prolong the calls.

“Yeah, darling. How are you? Not too tired?”

“I’m tired, but hearing your voice makes me feel better.”

“Can I go to Yellow’s house tomorrow?”

“Yeah, I’ll wait for you.”

“Alright, darling. Love you.”

After a natural conversation filled with smiles, I called Yubin. Yubin’s voice clearly indicated more fatigue, probably because she dealt with more people as a leader.

“I miss you too, brother.”

“It’s fine to come over. You can stay overnight if you want.”

“Alright. I’ll think about it.”

After checking on the well-being of the two, I saw Eunha, who was wearing a long down jacket, waiting with my coat.

“Did you wait?”

“No, I just finished the calls.”

“Good. They both sounded very tired, so I kept it short.”

After putting on the coat Eunha handed me, I noticed Sua and Yura still sitting on the sofa.

“I’ll be right back.”

“Okay. Come back soon.”

Waving without looking, I left the apartment and stood in front of the elevator, holding Eunha’s hand.

“Tired?”

“Not really. I missed spending time with you, especially lately.”

“That’s good.”

Although Yura and Eunha moved in with Sua’s family, we haven’t had much time to feel like we’re living together yet.

When they moved in, I was busy making hacking tools, and now, my girlfriends are preoccupied.

On one hand, I feel guilty for not spending enough time together, wishing these busy days would pass quickly.

Though we won’t stay out long, it feels nice to go out together after a while. Walking in the park, feeling the texture and warmth of Eunha’s hand, I felt at ease.