Chapter 27

Episode 27. The Returnee (4)

***

Pat.

A spacetime singularity in the form of a black sphere opened in the Foundation’s basement. Two people in black coats walked out of the singularity.

The woman retracted her outstretched hand.

“Foundation guys, what kind of magic did they use on this facility that I can’t even open a warp gate inside the building? I had a hard time because of that.”

“It opened, so it’s fine.”

“Is this really a good idea? If we get caught by the Foundation, we might be dissected alive.”

“Hmm… If we just do as we’re told, they won’t kill us. But that’s after we get caught.”

The woman frowned.

“Ugh.”

“That’s a conversation for later. Right now, we need to focus on not getting caught. Our target is Miss Ahn Yuri. We’re not sure where she is, so we need to be careful—”

The man stopped in his tracks.

“It’s a can.”

“Do they know we’re here?”

“Don’t know. We destroy unmanned machines first. If we take out that machine, we should be able to reach the target.”

The man pulled out a compass.

“Look, it’s right ahead. So—”

Bang! A silenced pistol aimed at the killing machines. The Steel Spiders exploded shortly after.

“How did you do that?”

“Rune-engraved bullets. I know you’re curious, but we need to move fast.”

“Target, the Returnee seems to be here.”

“Get the thermite out of the bag.”

The man attached a thermite bomb to the isolation room door. The bomb stuck to the door’s lock, and the orange flames of molten metal began to melt the door.

“Shotgun.”

“Yep.”

Bang! The isolation room’s lock was completely shattered and fell off.

The two walked into the isolation room. The woman extended her hand to the Returnee.

“……”

“Nice to meet you, Miss Ahn Yuri. We are the caretakers of the Temple of Knowledge. My name is Cosmos. That man over there is Kairos.”

“What is this—”

The Returnee blinked.

She thought returning to her home world would restore her normal life, but reality was just a series of incomprehensible situations and pain.

“We are from a human rights organization for humanoid supernatural phenomena. We will rescue you from the Foundation’s grasp. Please escape with us.”

The woman extended her hand again, and a black sphere appeared in the corner of the isolation room.

“I can’t keep it open for long.”

“Miss Ahn Yuri. Please come quickly. If you are caught trying to escape, you might get a bomb collar around your neck. You have no choice.”

The Returnee pondered.

“Hmm, okay…”

A sigh from Miss Ahn Yuri.

The sound of Foundation soldiers’ boots filled the corridor. But before they reached the isolation room, the three disappeared through the dimensional gate.

***

The situation is more serious than expected.

A dimensional gate to the Garden has opened, a Reality Adjuster has taken over the museum and killed several civilians, and today someone has abducted a humanoid supernatural phenomenon managed by the Foundation.

It’s a crisis, but if we play our cards right, we might be able to turn the situation in our favor. I licked my lips.

The reception room was silent.

I leaned back in my chair and put my feet up on the desk. Everyone gathered in the reception room was quietly staring at me.

“What’s the situation?”

“I have no idea. What’s going on?”

I let out a sigh.

“On the day we sent negotiators to the management agency, two wizard-type supernatural phenomena attacked the Foundation and abducted our supernatural phenomenon.”

“We have no idea—”

“I take it you’ve declared war on the Foundation. There’s no other way to see it. Miss Nanami, please escort these prisoners to the isolation room.”

I stood up.

“Further discussions will be held directly with the management agency. Like other supernatural phenomena under the Foundation’s management, resistance will result in execution.”

It’s within the expected range anyway.

The Returnee could open dimensional gates and even tore open the isolation room door with bare hands. The possibility of escaping containment is within the expected range.

Nanami took the management agency staff away.

***

“Is the Support Department Head in the command center?”

[Yes.]

“Can you confirm the target’s location?”

[Prepared. We’ve attached 13 tracking devices to the target’s body. We’re tracking the target using 11 available methods.]

This is war.

This is the command center.

The Returnee and the intruders have escaped, and three staff members of the Supernatural Phenomenon Management Agency are locked in the Foundation’s isolation room. All the Foundation executives from Facility 82 are gathered in the command center.

“If we find the enemy’s facility, what options do we have? What can we do?”

“Realistically, we could drop anthrax or sarin gas on the enemy facility.”

I don’t want to call headquarters. A nuclear warhead is still a bit too much.

“Is killing them all the right move?”

“If all the recent incidents are connected to them, killing them all wouldn’t be enough. There’s also intel that something big is coming from behind the scenes.”

“We still don’t know the situation. Let’s wait a bit.”

But everyone gathered here knows.

In the Foundation’s work, things rarely proceed after fully understanding the situation. With supernatural phenomena involved, you can’t control all variables.

“If the target is still within Korea, the Foundation can track and destroy it within 15 minutes. I’ll launch the fighter jets now.”

Even if the information isn’t perfectly clear, we’ll have to make a decision when the moment comes. After all, not making a decision is also a decision.

The inside of the command center was noisy.

Everyone in the command center had their own opinions, and all those opinions were being voiced.

“Give the order. I’ll launch the Foundation’s fighter jets to the field immediately.”

“Launch them. Any objections?”

The Foundation soldiers gathered in the command center. Shortly after, the fighter jets on the runway were ready for takeoff.

“Please confirm Miss Ahn Yuri’s location.”

“Tracking the target. Signal acquired.”

“The fighter jets just took off.”

“Director. The Supernatural Phenomenon Management Agency is contacting us. What should I say?”

It’s chaotic.

“Tell them we’ll return the personnel once the situation is explained. And I’m not the Director.”

The Support Department Head shook his head.

“Now is not the time for that, Director. We need a strong command structure now.”

“Understood.”

The situation is too complicated.

Let’s think calmly for a moment. Killing the hostile entities inside the enemy’s facility won’t be too hard. We have plenty of means at our disposal.

But getting information on the Peace Corps’ involvement and retrieving Miss Ahn Yuri won’t be easy.

“Wait a minute. What weapons are they equipped with? You mentioned sarin gas and anthrax earlier.”

“We’ll deploy Miss Nanami to the combat zone. Due to concerns about civilian casualties in Gyeongju, we haven’t equipped biochemical weapons.”

“Ah.”

“Miss Nanami is the most powerful weapon we can deploy to the field.”

“Target location precisely identified!”

“Where is it?”

“Near the East Sea, near Gyeongju. It’s an abandoned school outside the city. We’ll deploy Miss Nanami now.”

The Foundation’s fighter jets arrived at the scene.

“Shall we exterminate them?”

Now is the moment of decision.

Should we exterminate those who abducted Miss Ahn Yuri, or just show force and return? Or should we kill Miss Ahn Yuri this time and come back?

“Miss Nanami. I’ll make the decision. Retrieve Miss Ahn Yuri. Don’t use biochemical weapons. You can kill those who resist.”

“Deploy.”

***

Being deployed from a fighter jet moving at subsonic speed isn’t exactly a pleasant experience.

But it’s possible.

If the fighter jet is shot down, the pilot is supposed to eject. So Nanami being deployed from the fighter jet and moving to the target location isn’t impossible.

‘……’

—That’s what Nanami thought.

The Returnee escaped 25 minutes ago.

It took 19 minutes for Nanami to prepare her gear and for the fighter jet to take off. 4 minutes for the fighter jet to reach the target. 1 minute to confirm the deployment point.

And 2 minutes to descend.

The Foundation is strong.

Even if it’s a humanoid supernatural phenomenon capable of teleportation, it’s unlikely they can cross the country every 30 minutes. But the Foundation can.

The original Foundation wouldn’t have hesitated to authorize the use of anthrax and sarin gas. But this operation has completely banned it.

Nanami’s parachute deployed. There’s about 1 minute left before landing at the target location.

Nanami checked her gear.

Night vision goggles, helmet, gas mask.

Two Foundation special pistols, a Gauss sniper rifle, an Uncheolseok greatsword. Smoke grenades. Strength-enhancing suit, anthrax canister—won’t be using that this time.

[Miss Nanami. Can you hear me?]

Dr. Kim’s voice came through the radio.

“I hear you.”

[The target is an abandoned school on the outskirts of Gyeongju. The abductors of Miss Ahn Yuri seem to be nearby. Secure the target.]

“Okay.”

[And. It would be good if you could secure evidence of the Peace Corps’ involvement in Miss Ahn Yuri’s abduction. Or evidence that they’re not involved.]

“Got it. Landing now. I’ll connect the body cam, so don’t talk unless necessary.”

Nanami shook off the parachute from her back.

Combat entry.

The night vision goggles covered Nanami’s face, and the safety on the two special pistols was disengaged.

The rooftop door of the abandoned school was locked. But Nanami shot the hinges and kicked the door open. Killing the people inside the building won’t be too hard.

Firing a gun only takes a flick of the finger. What’s important now is securing Miss Ahn Yuri and finding evidence of the Peace Corps’ involvement.

“Then. Let’s go in.”

---