Chapter 86

Episode 86. Abandoned Foundation Facility (2)

***

We searched the abandoned building.

If they withdrew systematically, there should be nothing left. Only a few relatively cheap scientific equipment were scattered around. Microscopes, pipettes, and the like.

The abandoned building didn’t even have a speck of dust.

“Was it a good idea to spare Daemos?”

“I respect your choice, but if it were me, I would’ve killed them all.”

“Really?”

“It’s obvious. Those guys probably have magic cast on their yachts to avoid detection. They’ll hide, minimize exposure, and resupply in remote areas.”

I nodded.

“That makes sense.”

“You know it too. Those Pluto Limited Company guys, hiding on yachts—it’s nearly impossible to catch them on the open sea. No choice, should’ve killed them all when we had the chance.”

“Hmm.”

“Hey, does that make sense? Becoming human and voluntarily living and working on some creepy tycoon’s yacht? No civilian would do that. It’s not like they’re pharaohs or something.”

Who knows? Maybe they were brainwashed, on their side, or just here for the money.

Still, we got one humanoid supernatural phenomenon. To us, it’s just a containment target, but to them, it’s a product worth billions.

It might be useful.

The flashlight illuminated the interior of the facility.

“What were they growing here?”

“Probably something from Project Blue Rose. Look, here’s a discarded file cabinet…”

I kicked the locked file cabinet.

“There’s something written on this scrap of paper. They were growing Blue Rose-12 here. A humanoid supernatural phenomenon made by the Foundation using some weird jellyfish-like creature.”

How do you make a person out of a jellyfish? Never mind. Thinking about it, I don’t even want to know.

“Does it say what it is?”

“No.”

“Its role or anything?”

“It’s burned.”

Nanami handed me a piece of paper she picked up from the floor. Most of the writing was burned and unreadable. Well, we don’t know what it is yet.

“Let’s just move on.”

“Hmm.”

“There are still 13 facilities left.”

Nanami pondered for a moment.

“More importantly, is someone guarding all these sites? Pluto Limited Company was guarding Facility 12, and the others might be too…”

“That’s a possibility.”

Symbolically, each Blue Rose might be tied to a hostile group. Or something similar.

Now the mystery is starting to unravel.

***

We headed to the car.

A mint-colored convertible.

Not vintage, but made to feel like it. It’s a bit of a shame. Such a masterpiece, scratched up for breaking through a fence.

Nanami sat in the driver’s seat.

“Can I drive?”

“No.”

I glanced at the dashboard. Nanami always seemed to drive at the legal speed limit. If there were no cameras, maybe faster.

“Do you know why Admiral Furani won’t meet you? I think I know.”

“Why?”

“Humanoid supernatural phenomena are scary. Or maybe he just hates them. Well, they might be scary. Hiding your head in the sand like an ostrich doesn’t help anyone.”

“Hmm.”

“That idiot. There’s a reason I don’t sleep in those facilities. I don’t want to set foot in Admiral Furani’s building.”

“You went in last time.”

“True.”

“Human trash and a cowardly scoundrel.”

“Is it that bad?”

“That’s what I think. Dr. Kim. Why are these 14 facilities abandoned on tiny Jeju Island? Even facilities an hour away by car aren’t maintained. It’s the pinnacle of incompetence and stupidity.”

That’s Nanami’s opinion.

Honestly, I didn’t feel like insulting someone I hadn’t even properly met. I thought they might have their own reasons.

“From the next stronghold, let’s move with full gear. Who knows what we’ll encounter… someone will probably be waiting at the next stronghold too.”

It was good we left early in the morning.

“Let’s enjoy the drive for now.”

“Have you been to Jeju before, Nanami?”

“Me? No.”

“Ah.”

“I’ve never been outside the Foundation’s reach. Except for missions, I’ve never left Seoul. Even now, this could be considered a mission.”

“Still, it’s nice to be out for a drive.”

“Let’s have something good for lunch.”

“Let’s head to the next stronghold first.”

“Is Admiral Furani a high-ranking person in the Foundation? I’m not sure how high.”

“Think of him as the person managing Jeju Island. In a way, Jeju itself is a military supply base for the Foundation’s navy.”

“But is the management really this bad?”

“That’s what’s strange.”

“Now—”

**BOOM!**

An explosion echoed across the road.

***

It took about a second to assess the situation.

Someone had fired a guided anti-tank missile at our car. The Foundation car’s electronic warfare equipment neutralized the missile.

A metal rod the size of my forearm pierced the car engine at supersonic speed, causing the explosion. Nanami threw me out of the car, then jumped out herself and crouched—

I lifted my head.

“Dr. Kim. Grab the bag and head into the forest.”

I did as Nanami said, dragging the bag and running into the forest as fast as I could. Nanami was panting but calmly looking for a place to hide behind the trees.

“Who do you think did this?”

“Who else? The Foundation.”

“Foundation Headquarters?”

“If it were Headquarters, we’d already be dead. It’s probably Furani’s guys. No, coming to Jeju itself was a mistake.”

“How do we get back to the mainland?”

“Swim if we have to.”

Nanami paused for a moment.

“Let’s talk in that cave.”

No choice. We sat inside the cave, gathered some branches, and lit a small fire. A fire with no flames or smoke.

To make tracking harder?

“Dr. Kim. Sorry to say this, but from now on, can I take command of the operation?”

“Go ahead.”

“The anti-tank missile aimed at us. It’s a Javelin. Judging by the launch angle, it was fired from the front. Probably from behind a hill, out of direct line of sight. We can pinpoint the location.”

“Hmm. That makes sense.”

“First, we kill the soldiers who tried to kill us. Then, we head back to the Foundation Jeju Naval Base and kill the leadership there.”

“Should we ask Foundation Headquarters?”

“It’s pointless. They probably won’t intervene. They’ll side with the winner.”

“…”

She speaks as if she’s experienced it.

“Why?”

“Because they’re fascists. They like to pit underlings against each other. From Headquarters’ perspective, there’s no way to know which side is right or which side helps maintain order.”

We’re almost ready.

“It’s Foundation equipment. That rocket was fired from within a kilometer. Fired from behind a hill, so the enemy doesn’t have many options.”

“Right.”

“Once we cross the hill, we’ll see military trucks. I’ll kill them all, just cover me.”

If the enemy ran away immediately, there’d be no way to catch them on foot. But if they hesitated even a little… we might be able to kill them.

We moved forward.

The plan was simple. Follow the forest, cross the ridge, secure the area, and find the enemy. The rest is up to Nanami.

Thanks to the invisibility cloak, I should be mostly safe. Nanami… I don’t know, but I don’t think she’ll get hurt.

“There. A black military vehicle.”

Those soldiers probably fired the Javelin. We hid behind the trees.

“They’re not looking this way, are they?”

“Doesn’t seem like it yet.”

Nanami drew her greatsword.

***

[This is HQ. Echo-1, report status.]

[Echo-1. Vehicle destruction confirmed.]

[Confirm the targets’ status.]

[Echo-1. Unable to confirm status.]

[Move to the site and confirm their status directly. Eliminate if necessary.]

[Echo-1. With current equipment and personnel, that mission is impossible. We’re withdrawing.]

[That’s an order, Echo-1.]

[This is Echo-1. The order is inherently impossible to execute. Apologies.]

[Echo-1. Continue the order.]

[This is Echo-1. We need to withdraw quickly. Please issue a withdrawal order.]

[Then I’ll change the order, Echo-1. Stay at the site and just confirm the targets’ location.]

[Echo-1. Impossible. We didn’t use an anti-tank missile for no reason. If our location is traced, we have no way to respond—]

***

**SLASH!**

Nanami’s greatsword cleaved the military truck in half.

Javelins are usually fire-and-forget.

Once you fire an anti-tank missile, there’s no real way for infantry to deal with a tank. The situation isn’t much different now.

There’s nothing that can stand against Nanami, who charges like a tank. I emptied my magazine and counted the bodies lying around.

One, two, three… nine.

Everyone in that truck is probably dead. Nanami rummaged through the burning wreckage and found a radio.

“Pray to whatever god you believe in. I’ll send you to meet them before the sun sets today.”

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