Chapter 87

The second day of the school trip had arrived. In accordance with the teachers’ instructions—allowing free time during the day but requiring some control during the night and morning—the students gathered in their rooms when the announcement came over the intercom, then headed to the cafeteria to eat together. After a brief rest, they regrouped in their teams.

By about 10 p.m., everything was set. While the same number of people from yesterday were supposed to gather, Erica’s already large group surprisingly gained one more member.

“Hello, everyone!”

This new addition wasn’t even a classmate but a junior, a first-year student who, under normal circumstances, wouldn’t have been allowed to join the second-year students’ group. However, the first-year junior had expressed indifference, and Erica, who had mistakenly thought the junior was someone they knew, felt somewhat guilty and asked the group members if they could let her join. Given that many group members were friendly toward Erica, they readily agreed.

And since the money for the trip had already been paid to the school and refunds couldn’t simply send the student home, there was no way to turn her away.

The second-year teachers, unaware of the reasons behind this, could only lament why the first-year teachers had allowed Kana to join and had no choice but to let her join Kim Ha-neul’s group, whose members had all agreed.

Thus, Kim Ha-neul’s group now found themselves in the unusual situation of being larger than the other groups and was currently deep in thought over a pressing matter.

“So, where are we going?”

This school trip required them to prepare a presentation upon return, so it mattered where they went. Although Kana’s participation wouldn’t influence her grades, since they were visiting spots related to the Revolutionary of Busan, this was still necessary.

Kana had said she didn’t mind where they went, but disregarding her entirely when setting their destination would hardly be considerate.

Yet not everyone was deeply pondering. As the report would be graded, it was preferable that those selecting the destinations be strong students academically, and conveniently, this group included three individuals who were among the top performers in the school in certain fields.

To the point that, if judged solely by grades, the other students might call it unfair.

Besides, the group also included a transfer student who hadn’t participated in much research, another transfer student with a somewhat peculiar personality that left them in a semi-outcast state, and Erica, who had been both ignored and ostracized in the past. The general assumption was that group harmony wouldn’t form, and even if it did, the burden of these “dead weight” passengers would lead to poor grades, so other students weren’t complaining.

Given the excellent academic prowess of the aforementioned three, there was no reason not to rely on their decisions, and the others quickly relieved themselves of the burden of choosing.

One of these three, Erica, had her own private agenda.

[Collect the fragments of the Revolutionary of Busan’s power 1/7]

Though not all fragments were yet collected, she planned to gather as many as possible today to get close to completing the task.

With this goal in mind, she wished to visit several locations in the shortest time possible rather than linger at one place. The time spent deliberating was itself a sort of luxury.

“How about Haeundae? I hear the aftermath of the artillery battle still remains.”

Just as Erica was about to suggest heading somewhere first before deciding the next destination, Kim Ha-neul asked her in a gentle voice.

For Erica, whose focus had always been swift movement, it was not a bad suggestion. Nodding in agreement, Haeundae became the group’s destination.

*

The buildings around Haeundae presented a grim sight. Skyscrapers more than 20 stories tall had been sliced clean in half, and the tops of those taller than 10 stories bore broken sections. Entire structures were in ruins, and anyone unfamiliar with Haeundae might think they were witnessing an ongoing war.

Though officially neglected for the sake of preserving the tragic outcome of the revolution as a testament to its severity, other places bore war scars despite attempts at rehabilitation. This was true even in Erica’s eyes.

The most striking evidence was the sea, frozen solid. Unlike other deliberate remnants left by the government or Busan, this was something that, despite immense efforts to erase all traces of the revolutionary’s power, simply remained—a testament to her “ice” abilities.

Erica, recognizing another hint toward the Revolutionary of Busan’s powers, walked onto the frozen sea on her own as though in silent determination.

Even in the early summer heat, the ice’s biting chill permeated her, reminding her of how extraordinary the supernatural phenomena were in this world. She had witnessed many such powers, but none rivaled this sheer force.

A woman’s punch could easily shatter a person, lightning could cut through anything, and abilities that emotionally influenced others were practically omnipotent, yet none compared to Erica’s “protection” in terms of sheer destructive power.

The wisdom of the student council president might be unbeatable, though it operated in a different realm and could not overcome Erica’s protective system.

Of course, systems were prone to errors, as was wisdom. In that sense, systems could even be considered superior.

But Haeundae’s sea was something else. Despite the involvement of others with supernatural abilities in reconstruction efforts, the ice remained undisturbed, convincing Erica that even her “protection” could not surmount this.

“It’s dangerous, so let’s do it later.”

There was a part of her that wanted to touch it, to perhaps obtain a fragment of the revolutionary’s power. The frozen sea here seemed to hold the only trace of the revolutionary’s presence.

However, her attempt was thwarted when the student council president gently took hold of her arm and pulled her back, speaking in the kind of tone one would use to dissuade a child.

Thinking she’d wait until the student council president wasn’t around before returning, Erica silently shook her arm free and the president promptly released her.

“Close, huh.”

“What is it?”

The “Erica” observing the scene made an incomprehensible comment. It was clear the other party regarded her as younger, which wasn’t a sign of equal partnership.

“Did you also treat me like this when you were around?”

“Not really. Since I attempted s*icide obviously, they were treating me like a child, which includes a subtle form of carefulness.”

“So you take responsibility?”

“I never said I didn’t take responsibility. It simply means what I’ve done, you must now shoulder, making it your responsibility as well.”

What did they mean? Speaking in Korean, yet Erica couldn’t comprehend it at all. Her gaze wandered momentarily as she tried to make sense of this.

“Where are the others?”

“They’ve all dispersed. Since we’re set to meet up at around 1 p.m., we’ll just meet up again after eating at functioning establishments.”

Kim Ha-neul had probably gone with an aspiring journalist and a celebrity, the transfer student likely went solo since they didn’t mix well with others, and Yu In-na seemed to be with the former queen.

Where was the junior, then? Though she wasn’t really a child, she still needed watching, else Erica would get reprimanded.

She regretted walking toward the sea absentmindedly. Had she exchanged phone numbers with Kana? Pondering this, Erica reached for her phone and noticed a bizarre message written in red.

[Special Event: Stop the Busan Girl]

[Busan, which has suffered discrimination since the previous revolution, faces a threat. A girl who loves Busan more than anything decided after much deliberation last night.]

[She plans to take hostage a girl even the association’s most powerful figures want to protect, and negotiate with the association.]

[And naturally, that person is you. Do you understand what’s happening? If you don’t want to be used as a hostage, stop the Busan Girl. Failure here risks not only your scenario but derails the world’s main storyline as well.]

[Additionally, the girl will move with some of Busan Association’s ability users and has formed an alliance with a terrorist organization that helped her make this decision last night. I’m sure you understand the implications.]

[Upon successfully thwarting the attack, you’ll receive as a reward: a fragment of the Revolutionary of Busan’s ability — 7/8.]

Was this what passed for a terrorist group? It seemed too tame to be one terrorizing just a single school trip group.

Though Erica had hoped to confront the terrorist group if they were present, her wish was realized but not in the way she’d expected.

Thud. Thud.

A distant stomping sound echoed as a figure towering at almost 2 meters strode toward them, wearing only fur and shorts, the latter strained by his muscular form. His masculine attributes jutted prominently from his trousers.

Even if Erica hadn’t been in female form, she would have found this figure repugnant. The man stopped in front of them and started stroking his gleaming silver goatee with his right hand.

“Hmm… Which one of you is the person the boss wants?”

Pausing momentarily, the man grinned.

“I don’t know! Whoever survives, that’s the person the boss wants!”

[You’ve encountered a member of the Terror Organization No Name. Survive.]

Don’t obstruct my vision, you after-report sc*m.

Raising his arm high as though to strike, the wild boar-like man stood before Erica, at which point she quickly grabbed the student council president’s hand and retreated.