Chapter 32

Episode 32. Someone in Charge, Please

***

“Where is Director Kim?”

Nanami glanced at me for a moment. A man in a black suit held a square bag up to my eye level and opened it. Inside the bag, a pair of blue eyes stared back at me.

What the heck is that?

A Siamese cat raised its head from inside the bag. I immediately got the feeling—that must be its true form.

I’ve gotten too used to weird things to be shocked by this. This is probably another supernatural phenomenon… A talking cat isn’t even close to the most bizarre thing I’ve seen.

“Then you must be Director Kim. I’m Christopher Patreus, the 9th Administrator of the Foundation’s Executive Committee. Sorry for showing up like this.”

“Ah, yes.”

I don’t know why he’s a cat, but I’m sure he has his reasons. The Siamese cat’s blue eyes in the bag stared straight at me.

“Nice to meet you.”

“It’s fine. And I’m not the Director, I’m the Chief Researcher in the Director’s Office—”

The cat administrator cut me off.

“Dr. Kim. Who do the people from Facility 82 go to for approvals or when they need to show something to higher-ups?”

“That would be me.”

“Who gives the final approval for research-related matters?”

“That’s also me.”

“Then you’re the Director. I get that your mind is a mess, but now’s not the time to confuse the chain of command.”

*Hop.*

The Siamese cat jumped out of the bag and climbed onto my arm. I awkwardly held my arms out to catch it. The soldiers who had disembarked from the fighter jets quickly formed a perimeter around me.

“For now, you’ll be carrying me.”

“Ah, yes.”

“And I’ll need to borrow your voice.”

“Why do you need to borrow my voice?”

“I’m a cat. In this form, I can’t speak human language without borrowing someone else’s voice.”

“Sure, go ahead.”

The cat in my arms coughed a few times, as if adjusting its voice.

“Ah, ah, ah. I am Director Kim.”

“……”

This is uncomfortable. In a very unique way.

***

Christopher.

The name Christopher originates from Greek. Roughly translated, it means “bearer of Christ,” or more broadly, “bearer of the chosen one.”

Given that I’m now carrying the Administrator, it’s a fitting name.

Anyway. Right now, I’m being escorted by Special Forces soldiers brought by Christopher, heading to the Director’s Office.

“Explain the situation as you understand it.”

“A city has disappeared. A small city called Yulje-myeon was covered by clouds, and people outside Yulje-myeon seem to have no memory of it.”

“And you?”

“Thanks to the Crystal Clock and LSD, I still remember. I’ve already forgotten a few times, though.”

“Right. Since I’m not using a human brain, I’m less affected by cognitive disasters. Let’s take a look at the map first.”

“I haven’t been able to see it properly. I remember that there’s a city called Yulje-myeon, but specific information about it seems to be pouring out of my head.”

“Really? That’s strange.”

“I knew cognitive disasters existed, but for it to affect so many people on such a large scale—”

I blinked.

“What were we doing just now?”

The cat slapped my face.

“Director Kim. Snap out of it. There’s a cognitive disaster related to Yulje-myeon, and we’re planning to rescue those people. Because of the cognitive disaster, we keep forgetting about Yulje-myeon.”

“Ah, yes. There’s a place called Yulje-myeon.”

“Keep talking.”

“My informants said that hostile groups might summon a god or cause a similar large-scale event during the eclipse.”

“Summon a god, huh? That might be possible. Do you have any evidence? Killing a god requires a lot of preparation.”

“Our facility has recently been attacked by several hostile groups. A supernatural artist who raided the museum, gardeners performing rituals in the forest, returnees, and librarians trying to steal returnees.”

“That’s hard to explain unless it’s something like that. Erasing an entire city isn’t something that can be done with ordinary power. Summoning a god seems likely.”

“Right. Do you remember where Yulje-myeon is?”

I blinked. Where the heck is Yulje-myeon, and why should I know?

“I don’t know.”

Christopher sighed.

“It’s going to be hard to brief like this. Bring in the cognition team and the head of Facility 82’s support department.”

“Sorry.”

“It’s because you’re human. Can’t be helped.”

“Keep muttering so you don’t forget. Yulje-myeon, Yulje-myeon, Yulje-myeon……”

Well, there’s something I need to do first.

I’m going to take down the Precognition Department.

What? They said nothing big would happen during the eclipse? I’ve never messed with anyone at the Foundation before, but today, I’m going all out.

***

*Click, click. Clatter, clatter.*

The sound of a pair of dress shoes and several pairs of military boots moving. The Precognition Department staff perked up their ears.

*Bang!*

The iron door of the Precognition Department opened, and Special Forces members flooded into the building. At their center stood Dr. Kim.

“Where is the Head of the Precognition Department?”

“Ah, here I am.”

Director Kwon pressed his temples. Last time, Dr. Kim had barged into the Precognition Department with Special Forces under the pretext of a laptop issue.

Today, Dr. Kim had brought a different Special Forces team. Given that the facility was on lockdown, it was probably a team from the Foundation Headquarters.

It might even be the Foundation’s elite Royal Guard.

No matter how you look at it, that’s not normal Special Forces equipment. Black armor, faintly glowing blue bayonets, and what looked like laser guns.

“Dr. Kim. What’s going on?”

The Head of the Precognition Department quickly stood up and bowed. Dr. Kim was holding a cat for some reason, but that wasn’t important right now. This was an incident serious enough for the Foundation’s top brass to get involved.

If I say the wrong thing now, I might die.

“Director Kwon.”

“Ah……”

“Director. What did I tell you? That something big might happen during the eclipse, so we should prepare countermeasures, right?”

“That’s—”

“Director Kwon. A city with a population of 40,000 has completely disappeared from the map. Does it make sense that the Precognition Department couldn’t foresee this or even catch a hint of it?”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“That’s the problem, Director Kwon.”

Checkmate.

Director Kwon screamed internally. No matter how well he tried to explain, there was no way to defend against a problem he knew nothing about.

“I’m sorry, Dr. Kim. I don’t know what’s going on—”

“Didn’t I just tell you? A whole city has vanished.”

*Tap, tap, tap.*

Dr. Kim’s shoes impatiently tapped the floor.

“If you’re talking about a cognitive disaster, the information contamination effect could have retroactively influenced the past, making precognition impossible—”

Dr. Kim immediately shook his head. The cat in his arms also shook its head for some reason.

“Why are you telling me this now?”

“Dr. Kim. I’m sorry. I’ll correct it.”

“How are you going to correct it?”

“……”

“Come with me, Director Kwon. You’ll be participating in field command until this incident is resolved.”

“Understood.”

“Select personnel and prepare equipment immediately. The precognition team is coming to the field with me today.”

Dr. Kim left the Precognition Department office with the Special Forces. The Head of the Precognition Department let out a sigh of relief. At least he wasn’t going to die right away.

***

This is the Command Center.

The Siamese cat sat on the communication equipment in the Command Center, staring at me. I scratched my head.

“Good job.”

“I’m not used to fighting.”

“Grab the mic. I’ll give orders to the facility.”

“What should I order?”

“Think about it.”

“I’m not sure. Should I keep the facility on lockdown until the situation is resolved, prepare helicopters, and have Recovery Teams 1 and 2 head to the scene?”

“That’s a bit off.”

“Is it?”

Christopher stood up straight.

“First, we can’t take a helicopter to the center of the cognitive disaster. What if the pilot loses their memory mid-flight?”

“Second, the facility lockdown is because of me. The facility’s functions should be maintained as normally as possible.”

“Third, if the recovery teams could handle it, I wouldn’t have needed to come. It’s not the recovery teams that should move, but the Special Forces.”

All valid points. I nodded.

“But you did well for your first time. Grab the mic, explain the situation to the staff, and give the orders. We’ll need to call our allies later.”

***

[Ah, ah. This is Dr. Kim from the Director’s Office.]

[Code Red has been activated. Something has covered the city of Yulje-myeon in fog and erased it from memory due to a cognitive disaster.]

[Until further orders, please remain armed. Unless there’s a special reason, all Foundation personnel at this facility are advised to be on duty today.]

[Recovery Team 1, Recovery Team 2, and Special Forces personnel, please prepare for immediate deployment. The support department should also prepare a field support team. We’ll depart in one hour.]

[Thank you.]