After his colleagues left following a visit, Kroeger was left alone in the ward. He started decrypting encrypted files using the laptop and electronic devices he received from A.
Kroeger predicted that it would take more time than expected due to the complexity and multi-layered encryption. He decided to relax a bit more.
While important, investigations shouldn’t be rushed. The more urgent the situation, the more one needs to remain calm and composed to resolve everything sequentially.
Thinking this, he typed on the keyboard for days. When he regained his senses, it was already Thursday, and Kroeger realized today was the day of the confrontation after checking the date.
“I wonder if those guys will be okay.”
The current state of Team 3 was not good at all. Luche was fit, and many had long service records. However, each had their roles beyond experience, and there was no one in the team right now who could fulfill Kroeger’s role.
One might think that losing one person wouldn’t cause significant problems, but in a group where roles are defined, missing someone performing a specific task is critically detrimental.
Of course, some individuals in the group might possess techniques to compensate for the missing role.
Spacystro Team 3 also had people who could perform Kroeger’s role to some extent even with him missing. For example, Theo and A, who had lived with Kroeger for a long time, could mimic his role to some degree, keeping the team structure intact, though not perfectly.
The problem was that their opponents were not the kind who could be handled by partial performance.
“It would be a relief if they don’t get beaten up too badly.”
Kroeger didn’t pride himself on his abilities, thinking of himself as lacking but not inadequate. Despite this, he visualized how the team would function without him, especially considering Luche’s abilities and the necessity of monitoring the team’s status when she is at the forefront.
“Being defeated isn’t unusual.”
Given their numerous losses against Team HunterKiller, an additional defeat didn’t bother him much. However, if the team’s morale deteriorated, it would become problematic.
When his former teammates were around, despite always losing, the team always maintained a lively atmosphere. This left Kroeger, who was in the hospital and unaware of the team’s mood, feeling uneasy.
“Damn it. I can’t figure it out.”
Sitting and pondering wouldn’t solve anything. His hands stopped moving over the keyboard as he tried to decrypt the code, and he briefly stepped outside the ward for some fresh air.
“They should let me out since I’m healthy.”
Although his condition was good enough to leave, the hospital hadn’t discharged him yet. He assumed it was a measure taken by headquarters to ensure his team leaders could rest sufficiently.
Kroeger had many concerns: codes, confrontations, team morale, etc. But he had one more worry.
‘Who is this person?’
On the day Kroeger awoke, there was a silver-haired woman in his ward who introduced herself as his nurse. She left immediately after Kroeger woke up.
Soon after, a doctor and nurse arrived, and he couldn’t see her again.
‘There are too many odd things.’
The woman was suspicious, and Kroeger knew the hospital was under Spacystro’s jurisdiction. It was disguised as a regular hospital to avoid suspicion, so there were many civilian patients.
But the woman he saw in the ward that day was unfamiliar. He asked A and Theo, but neither knew about the nurse.
A and Theo, who knew Kroeger’s living conditions better than anyone, admitted they didn’t know either. If headquarters had assigned a nurse, A and Theo would have known.
“It feels like I’ve seen her somewhere.”
Her presence in Kroeger’s single room bothered him, and he felt he had seen her before somewhere.
But when he first saw her face in a daze, he couldn’t clearly recall it.
The memory of that moment was hazy, making him doubt whether he had imagined it. He felt frustrated with himself for not fully comprehending the sudden situation.
“Ugh, I’m frustrated.”
As Kroeger stood in front of a vending machine, he sighed and inserted coins to press the button labeled ‘SOL’.
He took out the drink and opened the can. Just as he took a sip, he noticed someone looking at him from beside.
“That’s the first time I’ve seen you drinking that.”
It was the moment when his memory of that day became vivid. She stood next to him.
“Hello.”
Smiling, she greeted him, and Kroeger nodded in return.
“Hello.”
There were resting areas throughout the hospital where patients could rest immediately. Kroeger sat in a chair in one of these areas near the vending machine where he got his drink.
“How are you feeling?”
“Yes, I think I’m well enough to be discharged, but the hospital won’t let me go.”
“The hospital needs to confirm there’s nothing wrong.”
Glancing sideways at the silver-haired woman, Kroeger continued to recall his memories. It was definitely a face he had seen somewhere.
However, having lived on Earth for over 20 years, Kroeger had seen many Earthlings.
“But the nurse said…”
“Oh, sorry. She is the nurse, but I am taking care of someone else.”
“What?”
“She’s like a friend? Or rather, a friend’s boyfriend’s friend. I check in on them sometimes, without telling the hospital…”
Hearing this unexpected story, Kroeger was stunned. It took time to understand that she entered his single room without informing the hospital. He waited for her next words, assuming there must be a reason.
“Speaking of which, it seems there’s no nurse in your room. I just wanted to make sure you were okay…”
She was indeed overstepping boundaries, both in words and actions. Regardless of Kroeger’s condition, it wasn’t her place to interfere. However, Kroeger didn’t consider her actions problematic.
No harm had been done, and few people entered Kroeger’s room, as he knew well from being unconscious.
Due to the need to avoid public attention, Spacystro members rarely visited daily. Usually, family members would visit, but Kroeger had none.
The reason for not assigning a nurse was that the hospital, being under Spacystro, had facilities that didn’t require one.
‘Still, I need to report that outsiders can enter.’
Next, Kroeger’s mind focused on her mention of ‘a friend’s boyfriend’s friend.’ He wasn’t curious about her friend, but he wondered who could be considered the friend’s boyfriend.
Very few people visited Kroeger’s room. Only a handful came to mind, and among them, none had girlfriends.
‘A? No, that doesn’t seem right.’
A was the most likely candidate. Could he have secretly dated Siera? But he dismissed the thought as impossible.
It was hard to imagine A dating Siera, and even harder to believe Siera had Earthling friends.
“But what about the nurse?”
She mentioned someone was nursing her brother. She had introduced herself as a nurse when they met in the ward, so Kroeger asked about her brother.
“You don’t have to tell me if it makes you uncomfortable.”
Realizing it could be impolite, he retracted his question, but the silver-haired woman smiled and shook her head.
“It’s fine. My younger sister is hospitalized on the same floor as Mr. Kroeger.”
“Oh…”
“She’s been lying in bed for five years, showing no signs of improvement.”
Seeing the woman’s bitter smile, Kroeger felt he had said something inappropriate and couldn’t continue.
“I inadvertently said that because I saw a familiar face in the ward…”
“Don’t worry about it. You don’t need to feel bad.”
Though it was inappropriate, Kroeger couldn’t point it out. The atmosphere grew heavy, and he fidgeted with the drink can in his hand.
“At least you’re awake and healthy.”
The sincerity in her voice was palpable, but it also carried weight.
“Those damn bastards!”
Amid the heavy silence, the sound of an elderly man cursing on the TV in the lounge caught their attention. News about the embezzlement scandal exposed by A was airing.
“Those who steal national funds deserve to be punished!”
Watching the old man scold the TV, Kroeger’s gaze slowly moved to the screen. The news was repetitive, and his eyes shifted to the silver-haired woman beside him.
She looked at the TV with a somber expression.
‘Earth Defense Union, embezzlement, hyper-human, Team HunterKiller.’
Next, Kroeger’s thoughts turned to Team SpecialForce, which was not part of Team 3 but handled by Team 1.
‘Silver.’
Kroeger knew her. Though he had seen her face through documents, he had never met her directly. He had fought her several times during team changes but hadn’t paid much attention to her.
Silver of Team SpecialForce.
The moment he realized her identity, unease filled Kroeger’s heart.
To her, Kroeger was a friend’s boyfriend’s friend. If her friend was a hyper-human, then logically, Kroeger could deduce that she was a hyper-human too.
And her boyfriend.
Someone he knew might be dating a hyper-human.
Silver had visited Kroeger’s room. Although he felt her sincerity, he couldn’t fully trust her. What if she approached knowing he was part of Spacystro?
What if someone he knew, suspected to be a hyper-human’s boyfriend, had helped her approach?
“Things seem a bit hectic, don’t they?”
“…Yes.”
Watching Silver smile awkwardly, Kroeger’s expression hardened. His wandering gaze returned to her.
“What happened to your younger sister?”
It was no longer a matter of being polite. Kroeger wanted to gather information to dispel his unease.
“…I’m not sure. I was told she collapsed on the street, and when I came to the hospital, she was already unconscious.”
“I see.”
Hearing her response, he realized her explanation offered no help in alleviating his anxiety. Should he ask about her friend instead?
But asking wouldn’t lead to an answer. Even if he knew her friend, he couldn’t deduce her boyfriend.
‘No, I know her as a friend.’
He had every right to ask.
“May I ask if you know your friend’s boyfriend?”
“I remember seeing them often.”
If she came often, only two people came to mind: A and Theo.
But he didn’t want to suspect them. For Kroeger, without family, A and Theo were his comrades and family.
He didn’t want to suspect them, despite his rational doubts. The conflict between reason and emotion darkened Kroeger’s expression further.
“Are you alright? You look pale.”
“…I guess I’m still dizzy from being out for so long.”
Kroeger stood up to return to his ward. Silver seemed to offer to walk him back, but he waved her off.
“It’s fine. It’s not far from here…”
His voice trailing off, Kroeger added one more sentence.
“Feel free to visit my ward occasionally. It gets lonely being alone.”
Believing that gathering information about her associates could help, Kroeger forced a smile despite his stern expression.
“Really? Thank you.”
Unaware of Kroeger’s intentions, Silver smiled and responded, giving a hand gesture before returning to her own business. Kroeger then went back to his ward.
Sitting on his bed, he stared blankly at the open laptop. Encrypted files were displayed, but his hands refused to move.
Despite his suspicions, he couldn’t ignore the immediate tasks. Slowly, Kroeger placed his hand on the laptop and began searching.
Like someone possessed, he started looking for data from five years ago. Silver’s brother had fallen into a coma five years ago for unknown reasons. Kroeger considered the possibility that her brother might be a hyper-human and searched for related data from that time.
Of course, there was no such data. Five years ago, the current HunterKiller and SpecialForce teams didn’t exist. Team Guerrilla, which had a similar activity period, also didn’t exist back then. Silver herself hadn’t been active as a hyper-human five years ago.
“What’s this?”
Kroeger’s hand paused as he searched for data.
As mentioned earlier, five years ago, neither HunterKiller nor SpecialForce existed. Team Guerrilla, which had a similar activity period, also did not exist.
After examining countless documents to decrypt the code, Kroeger found himself memorizing the identification code of the hyper-human currently active in Seoul. In the data from five years ago, he spotted a familiar identifier.
“Why is this here?”
In the data from five years ago, Kroeger found Gainseboro’s identification code.
However, while the identifier was the same, the name was different. Instead of “Gainseboro,” it read “Baido.”
Focusing on the identifier rather than the name, Kroeger typed on the keyboard. His eyes quickly followed the data appearing on the monitor, and his hands sought related data.
When his hands finally stopped, he stared at the monitor, then picked up his smartphone beside him.
