Chapter 6

Episode 6. Supernatural Space – Garden (1)

***

I thought I didn’t get motion sickness.

Until I got on a helicopter.

Whether it’s the noise, the swaying, the vibrations, or the rapid changes in altitude and position, I don’t know, but…

It’s pretty dizzying.

The sound of the helicopter’s rotors echoed in my head, and the steel of the submachine gun vibrated in sync with the helicopter’s rhythm. The weight of the murder weapon was felt in my fingertips.

Even if I opened my mouth now, the person next to me wouldn’t hear me. I checked the mission briefing through the terminal.

How did I end up in a real battle on the first day?

A recently discovered supernatural phenomenon, temporarily named Eyeball Candy.

It’s not moving right now, but since it’s unclear when it might cause trouble, Recovery Team 1 suggested a preemptive strike.

That much was fine.

But the problem was agreeing to Recovery Team 1’s requested operation and then saying “show me” when they mentioned showing what Eyeball Candy was.

In the end, I ended up on a helicopter heading to the site of the supernatural phenomenon. Of course, I didn’t come completely unprepared.

I brought a gun, protective gear, a helmet, night vision goggles, a gas mask, joint protectors, and even a bulletproof vest. I also brought some scientific equipment.

What’s going to happen…?

[Are you nervous?]

“Yes.”

[Just follow the manual. The Foundation soldiers know well how irrational it is to face and fight supernatural phenomena. I’m not expecting heroic tales from you. Just don’t be a burden.]

I nodded.

“Have you seen something like this before? A supernatural space, I mean.”

[Supernatural space? I’ve seen plenty. I haven’t seen this type of supernatural phenomenon directly, though. But since they brought you along, it probably isn’t too dangerous.]

“Understood.”

[Go down and take a look around. There might be similarities to the supernatural spaces I’ve seen before. Strange vegetation is common, though.]

I couldn’t close my eyes. The noise from the helicopter made me feel like I’d get tinnitus if I did.

***

We seemed to have arrived at the target.

The helicopter carrying Recovery Team 1 began to descend. Once the helicopter landed, I’d probably get some explanations from these people—

Wait a minute. Why isn’t this helicopter landing? I waited for quite a while, but the helicopter we were on didn’t land. It just adjusted its altitude.

11 meters above ground.

The helicopter door opened in mid-air, and a rope began to descend toward the ground. Ah, f***. I started to feel like I was screwed.

“Alpha Team, commencing the operation.”

The soldiers began to descend one by one on the rope.

Wait, shouldn’t rappelling have some kind of safety gear like hooks? Is just wearing thick gloves and sliding down the rope really the best option?

I clenched my eyes shut. No, I shouldn’t close them. Even with my eyes wide open, I’m not sure if I’ll survive the landing. I took a deep breath.

People were already looking up from below.

“Dr. Kim! Come down now!”

Now I really had to go down. I had no choice but to grab the rope and slide down.

The fear of falling filled my head, and the air mixed with the helicopter’s roar slammed into my ears. But I was descending.

And—

Thud.

I successfully survived the descent from the helicopter.

While the Foundation soldiers checked the personnel and equipment, I tried to control my dizziness and nausea on my own.

“Nice to meet you. I’m Min Taeseok, the Science Officer of Alpha Team, Recovery Team 1.”

“Nice to meet you.”

I roughly understood the structure of the recovery team.

Each department of the recovery team seems to consist of multiple teams. Team 1 also has Alpha, Bravo, Charlie teams, and so on.

“I heard you’ve served in the military, but it seems you haven’t had fast-rope training. Still, it’s good you made it down safely.”

I forced a nod. Do I look like a special forces soldier to you? Would I have had fast-rope training? Common sense, would I?

“Thank you.”

I brushed the dust off my clothes.

***

This place was an empty mountain located in a remote part of Gyeonggi Province. At least until a few days ago.

About a week ago, the Foundation’s seismographs detected a small earthquake in this area.

The Foundation’s sensors confirmed radio interference in this area, and soon after, abnormal gravitational responses were detected.

Within 24 hours, the Foundation evacuated people from the area and restricted civilian access.

The Foundation attempted to survey the area using various means, but drone-based surveys failed due to electromagnetic interference.

However, a few days later.

A supernatural creature was captured on the Foundation’s cameras, and eventually, a manned investigation into the supernatural phenomenon “Eyeball Candy” was approved. That’s why I’m here now.

Think, think. Thinking is the only way to survive.

When entering a supernatural space, what’s the first thing to check? A supernatural space is ultimately a flaw in the real space. There must be traces left.

What traces are left in reality when a supernatural space forms? There must be visible traces, and there must be simple experiments to confirm them.

First, look up at the sky. The sky was no different from what I saw before entering the supernatural space. That’s a positive sign.

I heard the voices of the Foundation soldiers nearby.

“So, where do we go?”

“First, let’s survey the area without splitting up. We don’t know how dangerous this supernatural space is.”

The Science Officer was talking to someone who seemed to be the team leader. When he raised his hand, the soldiers’ gazes instantly turned to me.

“Please wait a moment.”

The team leader looked at me.

“Lead Researcher. What’s the matter?”

“According to the supernatural space entry manual, there are a few essential things to check. The simplest is electromagnetic interference. We’ve already confirmed that compasses don’t work inside this supernatural space…”

I lowered my gas mask and moistened my lips. Quite a few eyes were on me.

“Simply put, the Geiger counter is pointing that way. The further we go in that direction, the more intense the supernatural phenomenon will likely become.”

This time, the soldiers’ gazes turned to the direction my Geiger counter was pointing.

“What do you suggest?”

The Alpha Team leader looked north.

“The further we go, the more dangerous it gets… We have no choice. But we still have to go, don’t we? Our goal is to confirm the supernatural phenomenon.”

***

We slowly walked forward.

The Foundation’s opinion was that the supernatural space was about 1 square kilometer in size. Of course, that’s from the outside. There’s no way to know for sure how large the interior is.

The interior of the supernatural space was an ordinary Korean deciduous forest. At least in appearance, though there might be other anomalies.

The only notable thing was that the radiation levels were 2-3 times higher than normal. Of course, it’s not dangerous to stay for a day or so.

But I couldn’t shake off the unease.

“Don’t you feel something strange?”

The Science Officer, Min Taeseok, shook his head.

“I don’t know. Please explain.”

“The colors are different. Korean deciduous forests aren’t this colorful in spring. It’s not even warm enough yet, but the sound of insects is unusually loud. Also, isn’t it strangely warm here for early spring?”

“The temperature has already been recorded.”

“The air inside the supernatural space isn’t isolated from the outside. Warm high-pressure air must be coming in from somewhere.”

“You suspect a subspace.”

“I think there’s a subspace open somewhere in the forest. Following the Geiger counter might lead us to a rift in reality.”

As we walked, the area began to grow more vibrant, and the forest’s vegetation became increasingly unfamiliar.

Beneath my feet, a patch of blue azaleas spread out, and a purple-feathered wood pigeon flew over my head. I collected a sample of the blue azalea and put it in a vial.

Then.

“Take cover. Hostile entity.”

The team leader gave a hand signal, and the soldiers moved in unison. I grabbed my submachine gun and hid behind a tree.

A hostile entity, a hostile entity… What could it be?

As I hid, gunfire came from the front. It wasn’t the familiar sound of a K2 rifle from my military days.

Peeking out, I saw that the soldiers in front were carrying semi-automatic shotguns instead of rifles. They must have thought that was the most suitable weapon for the mission.

The gunfire didn’t last long. I peeked out toward the soldiers. They turned their gazes to me.

“Lead Researcher? You might want to come take a closer look at this.”

I was already planning to. With one soldier escorting me, I moved to the front of the formation, still holding my submachine gun.

“That’s…”

It was a creature I’d never seen before.