Chapter 39

Episode 39. Police Officer

***

Giant spiders, puppies, and cats—it’s like a zoo out here. Anyway, I pointed at the monster outside the window. The Popos followed my finger with their eyes.

No need for long explanations.

“Go tear it apart.”

The Popos charged at the monster, and I raised my gun. I’m a Foundation scientist. Disgusting spider gods are just research subjects.

The Popos are fragments of gods raised by the Foundation. Despite their small size, they tore into the monster like hunting dogs taking down a wild boar.

“Kieeeeeek!”

A monstrous scream.

I emptied my magazine into the monster’s body.

Black blood soaked the streets. The insect monster stopped moving shortly after.

Situation resolved.

***

I lowered my gun and walked toward the police station across the street. Just a little more, and we’ll reach our destination.

“It’s not a police station, it’s a substation.”

“What’s the difference?”

The cat tilted its head.

“The police station is bigger.”

As we approached the substation, the familiar sound of police sirens echoed. Seems like there are quite a few survivors.

I let out a sigh of relief.

“The police are still alive. Some died, but they managed to secure the area around the substation.”

I took a closer look at the substation.

Around the substation, about ten police officers’ bodies were lying around, and at least ten more were watching the streets from nearby.

On the rooftops of surrounding buildings, at least ten more were lying down. Several police cars were parked around the substation, forming a barricade. The police… there are a lot of them alive.

That can’t be right.

“This is strange.”

The siren grew louder. The police officers must have spotted us and sent a patrol car.

I frowned.

“A patrol car is coming this way. Good, now we can talk to the survivors—”

*Click.*

I attached a grenade launcher to the underside of my rifle.

“Director Kim?”

The trigger was heavy.

The trigger was pulled, and the rifle’s heavy stock slammed into my shoulder.

*Kiiiiik!*

The patrol car, hit directly by the grenade, lost control and crashed into a utility pole. The car’s alarm blared, sparks flew, and then… it exploded.

***

The cat was horrified.

“What the, what are you doing?!”

I calmly took cover behind nearby objects.

“I get that you’re tense, but executing innocent civilians is still—”

The grenade launcher.

The firepower is good, but I didn’t bring many grenades. I loaded one more into the launcher.

“Dr. Kim! Can’t you hear me?”

I can hear you.

“Administrator. How many police officers do you think work at a typical rural substation?”

“How should I know?”

“In Yulje-myeon, it was 15.”

Before coming here, I checked how many officers were at the Yulje-myeon substation, thinking they might assist in the operation.

The number of officers at the Yulje-myeon substation was 15. But just now, there were over 15 police officer bodies lying on the street.

“There are at least 40 police officers near the substation that I saw with my own eyes. There are also damaged patrol cars all over the city. Those things… they’re not human.”

“What do you mean…”

From behind the cover, I heard the sound of people—or things that looked like people—moving busily. The cat peeked out from the cover.

“Administrator. What are they doing?”

“The police… they’re gathering. At least dozens of them, most armed with handguns.”

“How far?”

“About 50 meters.”

If we start shooting now, we might gain the upper hand. That distance is outside handgun range but within rifle range.

But I don’t have many bullets left. If we’re going to fight, we need to start shooting now.

“Hehehe…”

I set my bag down.

“Anyway, those handguns can’t penetrate the Foundation-made bulletproof vests. If we don’t run and fight, it’ll be fine.”

The cat sighed.

“Fine. Do as you please.”

I pulled out another sarin grenade from my bag. This is the last one.

*Pop.*

The grenade began releasing gas.

I stood up with my gun. I fired a grenade at the gathering police officers and immediately started shooting with my rifle.

The Popos joined the fray.

It wasn’t a fair fight. The handguns the police officers used couldn’t penetrate my bulletproof gear, and rapid fire was difficult. They were also out of handgun range.

*Sigh.*

The sound of gunfire, screams, and the Popos’ footsteps continued. By the time I emptied my second magazine, the situation was over.

Dozens of bodies that looked like police officers littered the streets. I spent some time confirming kills with my bayonet.

The sound of skulls being crushed was extremely unpleasant.

Seeing these police-like entities up close, it was clear they weren’t human. Uncanny valley, I guess. They resemble humans but aren’t human.

Disgusting.

Anyway, the situation is resolved.

I clapped my hands, and the Popos disappeared somewhere. According to protocol, they probably teleported back to their containment rooms.

“What the…”

The Administrator was still staring at me.

“It’s the gear. God-Killing Hunting Dogs, neurotoxic grenades, Foundation-made bulletproof vests, Foundation-made rifles… With all this, this much is expected.”

“You. What exactly do you do?”

“You already know everything, so why ask?”

I ignored the Administrator’s question. Anyone who’s tried it knows hitting a human-sized target within 100 meters isn’t that hard.

“Let’s head to the substation now.”

“Okay.”

We killed all the police-like monsters, but there might still be hostile entities nearby. I moved along the wall toward the substation.

“Uh, Dr. Kim.”

My radio started crackling.

This is the first response I’ve gotten since the armored vehicle was torn in half. I hid behind the building’s debris and quickly grabbed the radio.

“What’s going on?”

[Director Kim. This is the sniper from the Administrator’s Royal Guard. Are you still alive? We found the command vehicle exploded and assumed you were dead.]

“I’m alive.”

[Please move to a safe location and wait. We’re heading to your position now.]

“Do you know my location?”

[Yes. We’re moving there now.]

***

The Administrator’s Royal Guard reached my side in the blink of an eye. I adjusted my radio and headset to communicate with the Royal Guard.

We hid in the underground parking lot of a building, and the Royal Guard secured a safe zone.

A doll-like object was placed at the entrance, with chalk lines drawn around it. I don’t know exactly, but I think it’s some kind of magical barrier.

[It’s safe.]

I leaned against the wall.

“Is there a Science Officer with the Royal Guard right now? If so, report what you’ve seen.”

[Ah, yes. I’m the Science Officer.]

I turned my head toward the direction of the voice… then realized. This is a headset.

The Royal Guard’s Science Officer appeared in my field of view. He was equipped with various scientific instruments and wore something like a cyberpunk helmet on his face.

Looks interesting.

This must be Overtech too.

“Nice to meet you. Report.”

[Ah, yes. As per the Director’s orders, all units proceeded with the operation as planned, regardless of the Director’s absence. The Royal Guard also carried out the mission to rescue the Director.]

“Understood.”

[The operation is proceeding smoothly.]

[But we need to move cautiously now. Three Divine-Class Entities and over a hundred Humanoid Supernatural Phenomena have been found dead in this area.]

[The dead Divine-Class Entities include one regenerating reptile monster, one nature spirit-like monster, and one spider god.]

[Additionally, dozens of police officers were found dead around the city’s police station. A top-tier predator among the Divine-Class Entities is roaming nearby. We’re considering countermeasures.]

“…”

Reptile, nature spirit, spider. Fake police officers.

All killed by me.

“Understood. Any investigative results?”

[We found a few Black Altars. The city is littered with the bodies of people sacrificed for rituals.]

[The Divine-Class Entities roaming the city primarily hunt humans, but they also kill each other when they encounter one another.]

“Is there a solution?”

[Ah, we haven’t found a specific solution yet. But even Divine-Class Entities can be killed with various methods. We’re doing our best to eliminate them.]

“That’s a small mercy.”

I stood up, using my gun as a cane.

“Good work, everyone. Let’s move to a location with high-output communication equipment for now. I’ll check how many Divine-Class Entities are currently in the operation area and how many have been killed.”

[Understood.]

“Uh, the command vehicle is destroyed. Where can we find communication equipment?”

[One moment.]

The Royal Guard’s Science Officer pulled out a long antenna from his bag. I’m not sure how it works.

[Any building rooftop will do. The communication is a bit unstable now, but this should allow communication across all of Yulje-myeon.]

***

It was tough getting here, but…

We made it to the rooftop of a church without issues. The Royal Guard’s Science Officer held up the portable antenna I saw earlier.

Other Special Forces members secured the area.

“Just speak into it, right?”

[Just speak into it.]

I cleared my throat.

“Ah, ah. This is Director Kim from Facility 82. To all Foundation staff listening to this communication…”

---