125 – A Precious Treasure to Someone! #2
This place was a briefing room unknown to the public.
The codename “Madame” was tense in many ways.
This was because it was predicted that the Chinese black ops team, the Heuksabang, was preparing to enter the massive T-rank fissure in the Pacific.
Huff.
Madame let out a sigh.
“It might have been a blessing that Team A’s operation failed. If they had encountered the Heuksabang guys in there… Ugh, that’s chilling.”
The awakened individuals in China were generally like bombs that could explode at any moment.
In the 5th Industrial Era.
What the billion-strong continent revered was no longer communism or a chairman, but the very logic of power.
Those with power could do anything—which was an ongoing headache for the awakened individuals in China on a global scale.
“If Team A’s leader, Kang Cheol-Min, was there, he would have had a major clash with the Chinese guys. Then international attention would be… Ari, are you listening to me? Why are you staring at your phone like that?”
“No. I don’t think this is the time for that.”
Swish.
At that moment, Yu Ara stood up from her seat.
“Ari, where are you going? There’s going to be a ministerial-level meeting soon!”
“Yuhu, this isn’t the time for this! I have something important to do! I need to go right now, so please take care of the rest!”
“Is there something more important than the Patriot mission? Hey, Yu Ara! Ari!”
The codename “Madame – Mayuhee” was flustered in many ways.
The fact that Yu Ara was about to leave her seat during the chaos caused by Team A, which was led by Kang Cheol-Min after their incident in the fissure, was unthinkable.
But Yu Ara had already disappeared from sight.
Yu Ara was already heading to the factory after receiving a call from Haildo.
‘To think my senior would call on me! It must be a secret and urgent matter! What could it be? Perhaps… Screech…! It can’t be that, but…! Still…!’
Though she had been extremely busy for the past few days, the message from Haildo invigorated her.
However, the moment her mood lifted upon seeing Lee Joon-Hun’s face, it felt like someone had poured mud over her.
“……”
Yu Ara looked at Lee Joon-Hun with narrowed eyes.
Lee Joon-Hun, too, was tense.
The woman Haildo called was none other than Yu Ara.
In that instant, Lee Joon-Hun felt his heart nearly stop at Yu Ara’s gaze, and the surrounding air seemed to freeze.
He desperately moved his gaze from side to side.
Members of the Patriots and anything regarding their secrets were classified information beyond a zero rank, hence the expression of innocence was evident.
As Yu Ara grasped the situation, her heart felt as cold as if liquid nitrogen had been poured inside her.
‘I must keep the fact that I am working with the Patriot team a secret!’
Yu Ara didn’t want to inform her senior Haildo about her being an S Rank awakened individual and an operative for Black Ops.
Yu Ara wanted to be remembered as the high school girl she once was in front of her senior Haildo.
If he were to find out that she was a special operations team member capable of ripping through steel plates with a custom-made blade, their relationship would undoubtedly change.
While that might be acceptable in its own way, Yu Ara’s sentimental side wanted to avoid revealing it like this.
‘And Lee Joon-Hun, I’ll see you when everything is over!’
# # #
“Ari. Everything I’m about to say now must be kept a secret. Until the moment you die. Can you do that? Good. Then I’ll start now—.”
I informed Ari about what we needed to do.
The plan was to enter the largest T-rank fissure ever recorded and rescue Lee Joon-Hun’s precious companion.
However, before I could finish the mission briefing, Lee Joon-Hun trembled.
“Haildo. Wouldn’t it be better to send someone else? It’s true that Yu Ara is skilled, but—she’s just a doctor now, right? She wouldn’t be of any help if she goes.”
Indeed.
It had already been a few years since Ari was noted as a promising talent on par with Seo Ye-rim.
Ari had quickly reached B rank, but due to various circumstances, she had withdrawn from the field and became a civil servant.
It could only be expected that the thought of Ari stepping into such a dangerous and arduous mission would be concerning.
“Lee Joon-Hun, are you saying I’m incompetent right now? Were you slandering me in front of your superior?”
Yu Ara frowned.
As far as I remembered, Ari had more pride than I had initially thought.
Lee Joon-Hun, knowing this, was startled and didn’t know how to respond.
“No! That’s not what I meant! This is something I need to do! Yu Ara, I think you should just rest…”
“No, senior! I’m going too! I heard it’s a mission to rescue a comrade left behind, so I can’t just stand by! A duty team is necessary for any mission! And Lee Joon-Hun, you’ve previously attacked your superior! I’ll keep an eye on you to make sure you don’t do anything foolish!”
That was a valid point.
The survival rate varies drastically depending on whether there is a duty team or not.
While Ari might not be considered an exceptional active member, she was indeed an excellent doctor.
“So, Lee Jin-A, you’ll obviously go too, right?”
I asked Lee Jin-A, who had been quietly listening from the corner with her back against the wall.
Lee Jin-A hadn’t said a word during the conversation between Lee Joon-Hun and me but slowly opened her heavy lips in response to my question.
“You. Are you the conglomerate from the Osa Group?”
She narrowed her thin eyes, scanning Lee Joon-Hun from head to toe.
At that moment, I felt a flashback of an old trauma.
The atmosphere felt as if I might be robbed.
“Are they going to pay generously? To acquire B-rank equipment, a substantial amount of money is needed.”
These days, Lee Jin-A was a rival aiming for A rank, no, even S rank.
For awakened individuals, expensive equipment was life itself.
For Lee Jin-A, who came from common origins, this mission could be a significant opportunity to make a fortune.
“…I don’t have that much money to give! But if we enter the fissure and bring back some ‘ManaHydrolite,’ we won’t have to worry about equipment!”
“What’s ManaHydrolite? If you’re trying to gloss over it with difficult words, I won’t let it slide!”
Lee Jin-A frowned and growled.
In response to her inquiry, Lee Joon-Hun added a brief explanation.
“It’s a room-temperature superconductor that reacts to magical energy. It’s the next-generation power source that’s being used everywhere now! It’s more expensive than gold by weight! If you’re talking about the same weight, there’s nothing like it in the world!”
Is that for real?
I learned about it for the first time.
What an incredible material!
If I could bring back a few pieces and create equipment for Kkungkkungi?
Upgrading Ahn Ahn’s horn and making a small gift for Bang Bang would be possible too.
It would be nice to give a present to Kalilnoi, who, despite being an owl, is a Diamond Max Nymph and loves pretty jewels.
And if there’s a lot left over, I could use it to make my own equipment.
I had been wanting to create a new piece of equipment anyway!
In any case.
That’s how the party was formed.
The front line consisted of me, Haildo, who had been a D-rank for years and now wanted to reach S-rank, and Lee Jin-A, who was a newcomer thought to have great potential.
Yu Ara was a promising talent from the old rookie class as the supporting role.
And the main attacker was the third-generation conglomerate, who was a former S-rank but had lost his energy and dropped to A-rank due to a squirrel allergy.
This combination felt like—
“It’s like a suicide squad.”
Hahaha—Lee Jin-A chuckled.
It was an extreme expression, but well, it wasn’t entirely inaccurate, was it?
With that vibe, we hurriedly got into the car and headed to the well house.
We were getting our equipment ready and leaving, but I asked Inoi since I was home.
“Inoi, do you remember the storm we saw on TV before? The typhoon you said might be where nymphs live. If we go in there, what should we do?”
In my opinion, Inoi was a trustworthy friend.
Inoi thought for a moment and then said.
“Indeed, the master of the house wants to go into the storm…! Then they are asking me to come along…! I, Inoi, wish to contain the storm in this glass jar…!”
Inoi is coming with us?
I couldn’t help but ponder various things, but Inoi looked very confident.
“Just trust me, Inoi…!”
“Are you trying to bring these little nymphs along? This isn’t a picnic for kids!”
However, Lee Joon-Hun was horrified, his hair standing up as if raised by telekinesis.
He seemed unaware of how great Inoi was, mistaking her delicate appearance as weakness.
Soon after, Illinois, who had been visiting our house, frowned at Lee Joon-Hun.
“Who is this disgusting man…? He certainly has a hint of money smell…! And seeing that Illinois’s honey fist is crying, he seems like a guy I want to hit hard…!”
Illinois, shaking with a clenched fist.
They said nymphs can instinctively tell who means them harm and who doesn’t.
It felt similar to how wild animals sense and avoid dangerous beings.
“This Illinois resembles one of my heroes…! But I can’t quite recall who it is…!”
“This Coris thinks it’s ambiguous whether I’m nymph-friendly or nymph-hating, so I want to hit him hard…!”
“Let’s do it…!”
Thud, thud, thud, thud, thud, thud—.
Coris, Illinois, and Inoi began pounding on Lee Joon-Hun.
“Ahh~!”
“What the….”
“Amazing.”
Seeing that, Yu Ara and Lee Jin-A looked quite bewildered, as if witnessing such a beating up close for the first time.
I felt just as surprised every time I saw it.
In any case.
With that vibe, the three nymphs joined our party.
“Muhuhuh, I will contain the storm in this glass jar…! No nymph can contain a storm in a jar and raise it, but I, Inoi, can do it…!”
“This Illinois is interested in the ore inside…!”
“This Coris is happy being with nymph sisters…!”
The party had a seriously desperate feeling reminiscent of a suicide squad.
However, the moment the nymphs joined, that feeling became indescribably bizarre.
“Then let’s hurry and start…!”
