KEG 93

“Please compile a list of visitors and patients!”

“Anyone experiencing symptoms of contamination, such as vomiting, chills, or fever, please gather over here!”

“If there are any Awakener among you, please speak up!”

The administrative and clerical staff were also compiling lists while checking the remaining supplies of medicine and food. Judging by the fact that the voice making the announcements was mixed in with the other voices, even staff from the broadcast room had come down to help assess the situation.

“Where is the leader of the security team?”

I asked Agent Won.

“He’s over there. Look, the one holding the box of mana potions.”

I turned towards where Agent Won was pointing and saw stolen content a person holding a box of potions and smiling. He was definitely smiling, but the veins in his neck were bulging, and his face was bright red. He didn’t look too good, even at a glance.

“You call yourself security?! My kid is out there!”

“Even if that’s true, how am I supposed to open the shutter right now….”

“Your job is to protect people! Are you not even treating my child like a human being right now?!”

“Hahaha… That’s not what I meant at all…”

One of the visitors was demanding that the shutter be opened because they had family waiting outside. But the leader held back his temper and simply refused.

“Hey!! Open it!!”

Thud!

“Ugh!”

The visitor pushed the team leader. His body lurched to one side, and then…

Thud! Crash!

He fell and took the box of medicine he was holding with him. The floor was a mess of broken medicine containers and spilled liquid.

Each bottle of that stuff must cost hundreds of thousands of won. Tens of millions of won just went down the drain.

“S-so… open it while I’m still asking nicely…!”

“What do you think you’re doing?!”

Another security guard who had been watching jumped in and pushed the visitor away from the fallen team leader without causing any injury. The team leader blankly stared at the broken vials, before coming to his senses. He smiled and said,

“Hahaha, yeah, I know! Family! It’s important! Yes! I’m so~oo~ sorry~!”

His face didn’t look the least bit sorry. I’d bet he was a hothead.

Judging by how his fiery temper flared up even when he was trying to hold it in.

“But what are we supposed to do? Huh? What? I can’t open it! If I open it, everyone here will die!”

“B-but my child will die too…”

“Huh? The people here, and I, we’re all someone’s precious children, aren’t we? Huh? Huh?!”

“T-Team Leader, please calm down…”

Both the security guard trying to break up the fight and the agitated visitor looked flustered. They were even more at a loss than when they’d seen the flower monster rampaging outside.

I suppose so. Anyone would be stunned if unauthorized copythe person they thought would protect them turned out to have such a terrible temper.

“Is that person really the team leader?”

“Oh my… haa…”

I turned to Agent Won, and asked if the person on the verge of exploding was really the team leader. Agent Won trailed off,

“It’s embarrassing to admit, but that person is our team leader…”

It seemed this wasn’t a one-off occurrence.

“Is the team leader the A-class Esper?”

“No, a C-class Buffer. A supporter.”

Becoming team leader as a C-class supporter meant he was much more seasoned and had strong [unauthorized copy]leadership skills. I thought about how to talk to the team leader in this situation that was turning into a free-for-all.

First, I had to calm down the hot-headed team leader, who was getting worked up in this noisy environment.

“Does the team leader have a walkie-talkie on him too?”

In response to my question, Agent Won replied that all security personnel were equipped with walkie-talkies.

With that, I turned on my walkie-talkie.

“–This is Black Panther One. All units in the area, listen up.”

As the transmission came through, all the security personnel in the cafeteria froze in their tracks.

“Confirm that the main entrance and first-floor exits of the main building are now sealed. An attempted external intrusion has been detected, but the perimeter is secure. Do not cause panic among visitors or medical staff. I repeat: do not cause panic. Copy?”

When I said “Copy,” the team leader and security guards raised their unauthorized copy radios. Then, in unison, they shouted:

“Lobby team, copy.”

“Mobile Team, copy.”

They were divided into a lobby security team and a mobile response team. The security team, organized and well-trained, quickly regained their composure.

Then, the team leader turned his head and looked in my direction.

“Ah! Aren’t you the janitor from the 6th floor!”

The team leader approached me with a friendly greeting.

He was so delighted to see me when we’d never even spoken before. I suppose this is what they call one-sided familiarity.

I really should open up another channel of communication from now on.

“It’s the first time I’ve seen you up close like this, after only ever seeing you from afar!”

“Yes, I’ve heard the general situation. Are there any areas that need extra staff?”

I cut off the small talk before it could continue. I understood he was happy to see me, but now wasn’t the time for that kind of conversation.

Of course, even if I had the time, I didn’t really want to hear it.

It’s a hassle.

“Excuse me, is there a security guard who could come up to the upper floors with me?”

While I was talking to the team leader, an ER doctor approached me. He looked desperate, and his hands were covered in blood.

“There’s a pregnant woman in the corner right now, she’s hemorrhaging. Just to the operating room on the second floor… please take me just to the second floor. If we have the equipment there, we can save her.”

The team leader frowned. He looked troubled.

“We only have five security guards. If two or three of them leave to provide cover, the dozens of civilians in the cafeteria will be left completely defenseless.”

“Just to the entrance, please…!”

The doctor and the team leader argued for a moment.

The team leader mentioned the risk that the smell of blood might provoke the monsters, potentially causing them to breach the fire shutters that were barely holding them back, while the doctor argued that two lives would be lost if the surgery wasn’t performed there.

“Team Leader.”

I watched the situation unfold and called out to the team leader. Both the team leader and the doctor turned to look at me at the same time.

“Are you a military veteran?”

The team leader, wearing half-gloves, had an old commission ring on his finger. When I mentioned “Black Panther,” he immediately realized I was a military veteran. If he was a battle-hardened C-class, there was a high probability he was someone like me, someone who had served in the military before entering civilian life.

“Yes, I am.”

“Then, do you know what this is?”

“Whoa?! Ah, Ho-hyung~!”

I pulled Lee Yuksam’s turtleneck taut to reveal the collar he was wearing.

Lee Yuksam let out a startled cry but didn’t budge an inch. Esper bastards are just tough and annoying.

“DEF-666-S LEE? Is this guy a North Korean defector? S-class?”

He recognized it, as expected.

The team leader was a former military officer. It was a code that anyone who’d handled internal documents a few times, like me, could easily recognize.

Defector No. 666, S-class.

Military slang is always this intuitive and straightforward.

“He’s an Esper who listens well. He won’t bite as long as you feed him properly.”

“I’ve never bitten anyone on our side!”

Lee Yuksam beamed with pride. I stepped on the top of his foot to tell him to shut up, then finished speaking to the team leader.

“So, what do you say? Want to give him a try?”

“Hmm… Well…”

The team leader’s narrowed eyes betrayed his suspicion. It seemed he couldn’t easily trust him, likely because of his status as a North Korean defector and the fact that someone like him was here.

“Team Leader. I’m a former warrant officer.”

I revealed my former rank to the team leader. In such an urgent situation, there was no time for a long verbal persuasion. I had to make him understand quickly using what I had.

“As a soldier, I keep my word.”

“Yes, and so?”

The team leader, his face still set in stubbornness, demanded I get to the point. The fact that Lee Yuksam was an S-class Esper and I was a military veteran hadn’t swayed him.

In that case, I had to play my last card. My most valuable bargaining chip.

“If this guy causes trouble, take my head.”

I staked my neck on Lee Yuksam.

“…Is there a reason you’re going that far?”

The team leader asked me for a reason.

I have to prove Lee Yuksam’s competence to open the shutter. I have to open the shutter to clear away the flower monster vines outside.

Only then can I go home.

“Does an action need a grand reason?”

I’ll pocket a decent amount of overtime pay and make my exit.

Work just enough and head home early.

After all, the reason I work is ultimately to go home.

Whether he knew what I was thinking or not, a strange gleam flashed in the team leader’s eyes.

“…Yeah. You’re right. We aren’t doing this for some grand reason….”

The team leader looked like he’d been moved by something. I had no clue what it was, but he seemed to mistake me for some kind of hero.

It didn’t matter, I was just relieved that he looked convinced.

“I really will cut off your head. I’m not joking.”

The team leader’s eyes flashed menacingly. I met his gaze, then turned to Lee Yuksam and said,

“Your best friend’s life depends on your actions. Do you want me to live a long life?”

Lee Yuksam looked at me with an expression I’d never seen before. Without hesitation, he replied in a serious tone.

“Ho-hyung can’t die before me.”

The deal was done.

Let’s get to work.