223 – Perhaps, Haildo, Deserted Island #1
“I think it might be better to cancel the shoot.”
After checking all the USBs left by PD Kim Chang-jo, I came up with one hypothesis.
There was a certain ‘organization’ in Korea that was terrorizing or targeting people.
According to the broadcast footage that did not air, they were the ‘License to Kill’ initiation members.
They were like special agents managed on a national level.
In other words, they were a special operations unit primarily engaging in black operations. To maintain secrecy, they likely selected and operated capable individuals in small groups.
Such people stormed into TTS Corporation, stealing data and incapacitating individuals.
If that’s the case, then the woman with a bird beak monitoring me could also be some kind of state secret agent?
“Why are they monitoring me?”
Did I do something to get on the government’s bad side?
I’ve been paying taxes diligently and fulfilling my national defense duties.
Perhaps….
“Is it because of Cha Yura…?”
Cha Yura was an S Rank Awakened in Korea, a huge celebrity akin to Seo Ye-rim, and the president’s daughter. I occasionally forged connections with her and the Nymphs.
I heard that Cha Yura was honored as an honorary Nymph and was even invited to the Nymphs’ group chat.
She still contacts the Nymphs from time to time and attends their regular gatherings.
If I were being monitored or controlled by the government, it seemed most likely to be because of Cha Yura.
If it wasn’t that, it would probably be Seo Ye-rim.
Seo Ye-rim was an S Rank Awakened and a princess in a family that transcended national law due to their enormous Megacorp.
From the government’s standpoint, she would certainly be a target for protection and surveillance.
Given that I’ve been frequently entangled with Seo Ye-rim lately, it wouldn’t be surprising if I’ve become a subject of government scrutiny.
“Or maybe it’s because of Lee Joon-Hun?”
I was the one who used Squirrel Beast allergies to take down S Rank Lee Joon-Hun.
Was I marked as an anti-government figure for that?
Now that I think about it, I heard that Lee Joon-Hun was involved in some team whose affiliation he couldn’t disclose. Perhaps my current investigation was related to that team.
The simplest thing would be to directly ask Lee Joon-Hun, but that would definitely put him in a difficult position.
For now, I decided to call Seo Ye-rim.
“Hey, it’s me. This shoot seems to be getting more complicated and dangerous than I expected. Ah—it’s just that the probability of disrupting the filming itself seems quite high.”
I kept replaying the videos on the USB that PD Kim Chang-jo left. I watched the scene where a mechanical arm burst forth from the darkness and smashed the CCTV several times.
According to the investigation by this broadcasting company, the “Iron Fist” seemed to be involved in raiding transportation vehicles of various corporations, stealing goods, and even kidnapping employees and executives.
If we were to regard this as an operation, they had never failed even once, and they were skilled enough that their existence had not been revealed to the world.
And they specialized in attacking corporations—
There were few individuals among the awakened I knew who had been active for an extended period like this. As for someone skillfully handling mechanical arms, I could think of only one person as a sample.
So it was a question.
That guy was dead.
I visited the cemetery not long ago.
But what if he wasn’t dead?
# # #
“Haildo, calling suddenly to say it’s dangerous or something.”
Seo Ye-rim grumbled at the disconnected phone.
It was especially annoying because she had just received the call while busy catching up on commercial filming that had piled up, and then she was hit with such a bizarre story.
Yet, Haildo’s words couldn’t be written off as baseless. It was possible that someone was deliberately interrupting the filming of the entertainment program or putting it at risk.
‘Yu Ara, if it’s that guy, he would definitely do something like that.’
Seo Ye-rim knew well by now that Yu Ara was an S Rank Awakened hiding her identity. It was crazy that she lied about retiring from being an B Rank and living as a doctor.
A commoner like Yu Ara couldn’t orchestrate a national lie by herself; it was evident that government individuals were most likely involved.
So, Seo Ye-rim had her people look into what was going on. Telos was a gigantic corporation that grew through IT.
If they spent money, they could gather all the information they needed.
Based on what they uncovered, Seo Ye-rim learned about “Team Patriot.”
That they acted as a direct agency under the president.
It seemed they were dealing with matters that could become problematic if exposed to the media.
It was a thoroughly reasonable explanation.
‘The world doesn’t just flow romantically. Someone has to handle the dirty work.’
Seo Ye-rim was part of a family of corporation heads.
She knew well how much friction and issues arise as the amount of money and people increases. Some of those problems couldn’t easily solve under the system of ‘law.’
Even if not to the extent of Osa Group, Telos had grown in size through any means necessary, which meant they had employees who specialized in ‘dirty work.’
Seo Ye-rim didn’t pay much attention to their existence, but she was aware of the fact that such people also existed within Telos.
“Team Patriot” was probably composed of people doing such work on a national level. It would be odd if the government and state did not operate such units.
‘But the problem is, how did Haildo find out about those guys? Honestly, it’s not a good situation. Given his personality, he’d likely dig deeper. Then there’ll certainly be clashes.’
Seo Ye-rim didn’t relish the idea of Haildo finding out about Yu Ara’s identity.
It wasn’t so much about worrying a problem would arise; it was just that she disliked it.
‘Yu Ara, even if that girl is quiet now, who knows what she might do if her identity is exposed? She’s completely crazy…!’
# # #
“This Inoi is exceptionally happy about being on a boat…! In fact, Nymphs originally would prefer to sing to sink the boat rather than ride it…!”
“Of course…! The Sea Nymphs, known as Sirens or Mermaids, would enchant sailors with their song and sink their ships to steal all the treasures and sugar on board…!”
“This Coris doesn’t quite understand what’s going on, but simply being with the Nymph sisters is delightful…! However, I want to comment that the hotdog I ordered earlier still hasn’t arrived…!”
Boo-oo-oo-oo-.
The large cruise ship, sounding its horn, advanced.
This cruise ship was our means of transport that would take us to the deserted island where the rift was open.
Caw, caw, caw-.
I watched seagulls flying above the sea.
Squirrel Beast Kkungkkungi barked at the seagulls from my shoulder.
– Caw caw…!
Was he barking because he was envious of the seagulls flying freely? No, having been a Squirrel Beast for a brief moment, I understood that this was just a meaningless bark expressing a desire to bark for no reason.
– Caw caw…!
Squirrel Beast Kkungkkungi simply enjoyed barking.
It wasn’t of any significance.
People also like to hum or sing to themselves for no particular reason sometimes, right?
It was just like that.
Kkungkkungi was an upbeat creature that could be likened to a person humming a tune or dancing alone.
What a cute squirrel.
Pat-!
Just then, Kkungkkungi jumped off my shoulder and scampered toward someone.
It was Lee Jin-A.
Lee Jin-A caught Kkungkkungi, who had climbed onto her shoulder, and pulled its tail.
“Hey, Haildo. Look at this. A mustache.”
Swipe.
Lee Jin-A held Kkungkkungi’s furry tail up to her nose, making it look like a mustache. It was a really funny sight, and I burst out laughing.
“Puhaha, ha haha, a mustache─. That’s just hilarious…! A mustache…!”
I didn’t even know why it was funny, but it was just extremely amusing.
Lee Jin-A was surprisingly good at making jokes as a friend?
Of course, Seo Ye-rim, who was crossing her arms next to me, frowned.
“Haildo, I’ve felt this way for a while, but your sense of humor is really strange. Is that funny?”
Is it?
I thought my sense of humor was just normal.
As I tried to calm my chest and stop laughing, Lee Jin-A spoke.
“But still, you seemed serious these past few days, so it’s nice to see you laughing. What’s so serious? So far, there haven’t been any problems, right? Once we reach the island, the filming for the entertainment program should go smoothly.”
That’s true.
We were currently heading to an island in the Pacific Ocean to shoot the entertainment program “I Survived Alone.”
Somewhere in the middle of the Pacific.
That fact made me uneasy and anxious.
“If I were to target Seo Ye-rim, the daughter of a conglomerate, I would ambush her on this ship. Even if she gained fame as an S Rank, she would be an unguarded and vulnerable person on the boat.”
If I were to attack Seo Ye-rim, I would blow up the ship or puncture it.
Though it would be difficult to harm Seo Ye-rim in a fight, puncturing or sinking the ship would be quite easy.
If it were Steel Min, who I know, he would definitely do something like that.
Soon, Seo Ye-rim shuddered, as if panicked.
“Wh…!? Haildo, you’re saying you would target me…!? Ambush me on a boat…!? You beast…! You’re finally revealing your true colors…! Trying to take advantage of me becoming sentimental as I gaze at the sea…!”
“No, I meant that terrorists would probably think that way.”
Seo Ye-rim and the broadcasting company proceeded with filming that might foresee dangers.
That was something I couldn’t do anything about, and I suggested choosing a cruise ship that carried a lot of people as a means of transport.
It was a ship filled with regular citizens, tourists, and Nymphs.
If “Iron Fist” were indeed Steel Min, there was no way he would lay a hand on this ship full of harmless and innocent civilians.
Of course, there’s no such thing as absolute safety in this world.
“Ari, if people get hurt, you should take good care of them. We don’t know how the terrorists might act.”
I didn’t elaborate on the fact that government black operatives might target people to Yu Ara, Lee Jin-A, and Seo Ye-rim.
Getting entangled in unnecessary issues could lead to complications.
It was better to just inform them of terrorists.
Gritting her fists tightly, Ari trembled, perhaps feeling uneasy about the existence of a terrorist.
“Terrorists… They must be targeting our honorable senior who has been gaining a lot of attention these days…! Our righteous senior could become a significant enemy in the future…! I’ll take responsibility and protect you, senior…!”
# # #
Swipe-.
Yu Ara went down to the cabin.
On the lower deck, Morales peered over the corner, hiding in the corridor.
“What are you doing there?”
“The Nymph sisters are trying to hit Morales again…! Morales needs to watch where the Nymph sisters are…!”
The mud Nymph Morales was hiding in the cabin to avoid the Nymph sisters. Yu Ara asked her.
“So, did you find out anything about the terrorists? Senior is worried about the terror. Did you check if there are people targeting this ship?”
The mud Nymph Morales was a Nymph skilled at causing trouble. Conversely, she had the ability to identify and detect those causing disturbances.
It could be said that she was sensitive to malice.
Morales replied.
“I don’t know…!”
“Really? Looks like I have no choice but to investigate personally…. Yuhee, how’s it on the deck? Any suspicious people? Mijin, please keep a close watch on the cargo hold.”
Yu Ara called her team, Patriot Team B, to protect Haildo. She needed to place team members around this large cruise ship to keep watch.
Using a team to protect Haildo.
This could clearly be seen as an abuse of public power, but in order to protect Haildo, Yu Ara was willing to resort to all sorts of illegal acts.
Her colleague and friend, “Madame – Mayuhee,” spoke through the receiver.
– Ari, I don’t see any suspicious people. The A-team also said there’s nothing particularly suspicious.
“Really? Still, continue to keep watch until we arrive at the island… Wait, A-team people? You brought A-team members for this operation? Are the A-team members on this ship?”
Yu Ara asked while on a phone call from the corner.
Soon, Mayuhee replied over the receiver.
– What? You didn’t call A-team, did you?
Yu Ara had not explained this operation to A-team, nor invited them. The truth was that not everyone from A-team would be available to come.
‘Wait a minute, could it be that the terrorists might be hiding on the ship….’
“Who’s hiding and whispering? You there! Put your hands up! Drop your weapons!”
Just then, someone shouted toward Yu Ara, who was inside a cargo box talking with her colleague. It was Haildo’s voice.
