124 – A Precious Treasure to Someone! #1
“Haildo, who were you supposed to meet here? Is this really the right place? It looks like a factory out of a ghost story. Was it a pharmaceutical factory of the Osa Group?”
Daldaldaldal-.
I arrived at the meeting place in Lee Jin-Ah’s old truck.
It was a shabby warehouse located in Makcheon City.
It felt like it wouldn’t be strange if suddenly a group of apocalyptic warriors, armed with pipe wrenches and tire armor, jumped out to hit me in the back of the head.
—Kkungkkung…!
Of course, I had no worries.
I had Kkungkkungi, Ahn Ahn, and Bang Bang with me.
“Lee Jin-Ah. You wait here.”
The person who sent me the strange message said not to tell anyone about our meeting.
In that case, I had no choice but to comply.
“I’ll wait for 10 minutes. If you don’t come back or contact me after that, I’ll either reach out to others or go looking for you.”
Hearing Lee Jin-Ah’s words made me feel somewhat reassured.
Duduck, duduck-.
With that feeling, I entered the factory.
Inside the factory, it looked like it hadn’t been touched for quite a long time; there were many items, and boxes of unknown origin and purpose were piled up all around.
“Is anyone here? The person who wanted to see me?”
I held up my phone and reviewed the message again.
“Haildo, please help. It’s urgent. Binnari is in danger. Don’t tell anyone and come to the location I write below. It’s urgent. There’s no time. You’re the only person I can ask for help.”
It was a very suspicious message, but the urgency was palpable.
As I looked around, someone revealed themselves from the second-floor railing.
He was a man in a black hooded combat suit wearing a carnival mask.
—Krrrung…!
Kkungkkungi fluffed up its fur in an instant.
Soon, the man with the carnival mask spoke.
“Get Kkungkkungi away! Cough! Achoo! Cough!”
“This voice is… Lee Joon-Hun? Is that you, Lee Joon-Hun?”
Former S Rank Awakened Lee Joon-Hun.
After fighting me, Lee Joon-Hun had been rumored to be under investigation for various issues with the Osa Group, including drug offenses.
It seemed like there had been a lot of buzz in the news at one point, but now it felt like things had calmed down a bit. I wondered what he was up to, and it seemed he had called me here.
“Could it be you want to challenge me to a revenge match?”
I asked.
Memories of the fight I had with Lee Joon-Hun when I first met Kkungkkungi naturally came to mind.
If Kkungkkungi was with me, my odds against former S Rank Awakened Lee Joon-Hun would be about fifty-fifty.
However, Lee Joon-Hun hurriedly stretched out his hand and shook it intensely.
“No! I’m not here to fight! I sent you a message! Binnari is in danger! We have to save Binnari! Haildo! You’re the only one I can trust to help me! I believe in you! Please help!”
A trap…?
It was quite possible that Lee Joon-Hun bore a grudge against me.
So, it was also true that I found it hard to believe him easily.
But Lee Joon-Hun looked genuinely desperate, and there was something in his demeanor that moved the hearts of those who saw him.
Even if the handsome scion of a conglomerate had fallen from grace, he was still an aristocrat—was that it?
“What happened?”
“It’s a top-secret mission. Haildo, promise me you won’t tell anyone what I say from now on, okay?”
# # #
“I’m currently working with a team affiliated with the government. To put it simply, it was a judicial deal where I contribute my abilities in exchange for a reduced sentence.”
I began to listen to Lee Joon-Hun’s current situation.
He claimed to be working for a government team, and I had heard rumors that the “government was secretly employing capable Awakened Ones to carry out unsavory tasks.”
It felt like one of those urban legends circulating on Awakened SNS.
“Was there really a covert strike team ‘Black Tiger’ under government authority?”
I thought it sounded pretty cool.
They were specialists aiming at the light from the shadows.
Although my path in life diverged from theirs, I thought they had a Batman-like vibe.
“Well, it’s not called ‘Black Tiger,’ but you seem to know absolutely nothing about our team, Haildo. That’s surprising. So, you really haven’t heard anything at all.”
That’s right.
Who would tell me such things?
As my curiosity was rising, Lee Joon-Hun said, “This is not the time for this,” and began looking around nervously.
Then he spoke seriously.
“Our Korean team was the first to enter the newly formed Spacetime Typhoon. Rather than Cha Yura or Seo Ye-rim, it was ‘our team’ that unofficially entered the crevice first.”
“Seriously? Into that gigantic T-rank crevice?”
“Yes! It was a truly terrifying place. Because of that, we had to escape in a hurry, but we left Binnari behind…! If we stay like this, Binnari will die…!”
Binnari.
I wondered what kind of code name it was—she seemed to be a colleague of his.
So, Lee Joon-Hun was reaching out to me to save his colleague.
“The team decided not to save Binnari. The stance is that we can’t sacrifice the many for the few. And Korea has not officially approached the Spacetime Typhoon yet…!”
If the multinational S Rank Awakened team Argonaut later discovered the ‘codenamed: Binnari’ that the Korean government team left behind, Korea would receive intense scrutiny from around the world in various ways.
“Right now, our team leader wants to self-destruct Binnari. To destroy evidence! That cold-blooded guy! How can he….”
Self-destruct…
A solemn feeling settled in my heart in various ways.
Even now, in Korea, there were people fighting and risking their lives without my knowledge.
These were stories that wouldn’t show up even if I searched on the internet.
“But I want to save Binnari. Haildo, you’re the only one I can ask for help.”
Pat-.
Lee Joon-Hun grabbed my hand.
“Please help me! I know that things between us haven’t been great so far! I’m really sorry for everything! Please help me! If we stay like this, Binnari will die!”
The appeals of beautiful people are strong.
I could tell that Lee Joon-Hun truly cared for that Binnari.
“Okay, what do I need to do?”
“…Are you really going to help? Really…!?”
“If I’m going to help, I need to know what I have to do first, right?”
“……!”
Lee Joon-Hun’s face showed shock.
It seemed he hadn’t expected that I’d listen to him after he asked for help.
Slap-.
Lee Joon-Hun soon slapped his own cheeks.
“Haildo, I didn’t think there was much to explain to you. It’s a rescue operation you’ve done a lot. We’re going into the T-rank crevice to bring back Binnari—on the surface, it sounds like a simple mission. The problem is the location isn’t simple.”
Clap-.
Lee Joon-Hun showed me his tablet PC.
“See? Inside the Spacetime Typhoon, there’s this massive tower-shaped structure. That structure itself is essentially a large crevice. You and I need to pierce through the typhoon to get inside.”
“Really?”
Thump-.
My heart raced.
To enter a crevice of the largest scale ever recorded.
I was about to go inside.
Tremble-.
I trembled a little from excitement.
But I couldn’t show it because this was a solemn mission, not an adventure.
With a small sigh, Lee Joon-Hun spoke.
“Yeah, I understand that you’re scared. But not all of this tower is T-rank…! The place we need to go is the lower floors, and it’s typically at the B-rank level…!”
The storm in the Pacific and the tower within it had various layers with different levels at every level.
It was predicted that the place where Lee Joon-Hun’s colleague Binnari lost contact was an area that would be considered an average “B” level.
“If it was just B-rank, did your team really need to come out in a hurry? Lee Joon-Hun, you should be at least A-rank right now.”
Lee Joon-Hun was someone who had experienced an unprecedented situation that dropped his Awakening stage.
Yet, he was of considerable talent and would usually be referred to as an elite A-rank Awakened.
Moreover, this guy had many experiences in the field up to T-rank crevices, just like Seo Ye-rim and Yu Ara, who were second-generation Awakened.
So if it was a team he belonged to, it must have had remarkable individuals as well.
Why did such a team hurry out for a B-rank crevice?
“What was there? Something that warranted running away. What is it?”
“…….”
At my question, Lee Joon-Hun’s expression stiffened slightly.
# # #
Lee Joon-Hun remembered when they entered the tower amidst the storm.
The rich vegetation, environment, and the precious stones collected there called “Manahydrolite.”
The tower was indeed a treasure trove of humanity.
However—.
It was only natural that there would be guardians to protect the treasure.
The guardians were strong, and they had no choice but to retreat.
‘…Haildo, you’re surprisingly quick to notice.’
Lee Joon-Hun observed Haildo’s expression.
If the frightened Haildo decided not to help, then Lee Joon-Hun would truly have no one to turn to.
However, Haildo’s demeanor was quite serious.
“So, there was something there? Tell me what it was. At least I need to know to prepare for it.”
“…Right. There is a dangerous creature. It reacts to strong magical power. We couldn’t confirm the details, but it was terrifying. Haildo, I repeat, you’re the only person I can trust to help.”
“An unidentified demon running amok in a B-rank crevice. I’m going to save a fallen colleague from there—. It reminds me of the old days. Back then, there were indeed many such missions.”
With a swipe-.
Haildo gazed into the distance, seemingly reminiscing about past memories.
His gaze soon returned to Lee Joon-Hun.
“So, if everyone advised against it and you still came to me asking for help, it must mean that your colleague, Binnari, is really amazing and important, huh? Is she your girlfriend?”
“Uh? That’s….”
Lee Joon-Hun pondered.
He didn’t know how Haildo would react if he found out that Binnari was a Squirrel Beast.
—Going back there just to save an AI drone and risking my life? Lee Joon-Hun. Are you crazy?
The moment his team leader Kang Cheol-Min’s scolding flashed through his mind.
What would Haildo think if he found out they were going to save an AI?
“…She’s my precious colleague. Important and precious….”
Lee Joon-Hun couldn’t bring himself to lie and spoke vaguely.
It was true that Binnari was precious.
What if he asked further—Haildo didn’t inquire more about the rescue target and focused on planning their next moves instead.
“So, it’s just the two of us going in? You’ll provide a means to pierce through the typhoon and get into the crevice, right? Are there any other team members aside from me?”
“I can prepare a means of entry—but there are no other colleagues. The fact that I contacted you at all took a great deal of consideration!”
“Seriously, two people are too risky, though. Should I recruit some trustworthy people separately? It’s important to gather people as quickly as possible for a rescue operation since time is of the essence!”
At Haildo’s words, Lee Joon-Hun was taken aback.
“E-senior Seo Ye-rim or Cha Yura can’t come! They would stand out too much! Korea has never officially entered the Spacetime Typhoon. We have to maintain that position!”
“Don’t worry. I’m not that out of touch with the current situation. Since you said it’s B-rank, exactly the right people should be available. Some of them you know, some you don’t. They’re trustworthy.”
Swipe-.
Haildo began typing on his phone, sending a message to someone.
Five minutes later.
“Senior, what’s going on? You called me urgently! Something that needs to be kept confidential and handled urgently! Just what kind of secret work do you plan to do in such a secluded place…!”
Clack, clack-.
The sound of high heels echoed as someone approached.
Yu Ara appeared, brightening her expression upon seeing Haildo.
She soon frowned upon noticing the man next to her, Lee Joon-Hun.
“Lee Joon-Hun. What are you doing here? Why are you together with the senior? More importantly, it’s been a while, hasn’t it?”
Lee Joon-Hun broke into a sweat, feeling like a rat caught in front of a snake.
Of all people, it had to be Yu Ara that Haildo called!
Soon, Haildo stepped in to mediate.
“Ari. Just as I said in the message, what we’re going to do from now on needs to remain a secret until the moment we die. This Lee Joon-Hun here is a government operative. We’re planning to go rescue that colleague.”
