Chapter 298 - Seoul (6)
Seoul (6)
“…The number of victims from the downtown explosion over Seoul continued to rise around 4 p.m.”
“The exact figures have yet to be determined, and at least 7,000 people have been injured. No deaths have been reported yet.”
“The walls and the interiors of the buildings near Seoul Station have been reduced to dust, resulting in enormous property damage.”
The news displayed the view of a crowded hospital. There were a lot of people in the hospital.
“Why? Tell me, why?”
I asked Kim Min-hyuk, who was looking at me, blankly.
“Hey, that’s all insurance crooks. I’m glad I didn’t hurt people. It’s a little scratch, at best.”
It was true. I had set off an explosion that didn’t let people get hurt. Would I have made such a stupid mistake like that?
“Really? You set off an explosion, and you didn’t hurt people?” Kim Min-hyuk asked again. He seemed like he didn’t believe me.
“Uh… Yes, really.” I was upset at that moment, but I was not bothered enough to where I made an explosion to kill people. I just pushed the dirty air away. Honestly, I was annoyed and angry, but I just let it go.
It was our first day, after all.
“Oi, what are you doing?” asked Hochi, sitting on the sofa reading comic books.
What am I doing?
“Is it because it’s your hometown?” Old Man asked. [1]
It’s not like that.
It’s just that I thought it’d be more annoying if I saw blood on our first day. I wanted things to go smoothly, peacefully, and naturally.
“Well, such mercy will incite the people to look up to you,” Grandma said. [2]
That’s not it either.
Humans on Earth felt threatened and terrified by the explosion that happened earlier and would not think I was merciful.
Grandma and Old Man existed as different beings, and they said so because they ruled over humans.
Kim Min-hyuk looked confused. Unfortunately, no one in this room shared such a mindset.
“Yeah, well, people aren’t dead…”
In the end, Kim Min-hyuk went with that. Just then, the news on the screen changed. The screen turned gray.
Emergency patients were rushed to hospital corridors. Doctors and nurses shouted at each other. Some carried patients away, screaming at the people nearby to the hospital corridor to move aside.
The patient’s condition on the screen couldn’t be identified, but it was easy to guess that he was in critical condition, thanks to the bandages wrapped all over his body and the visible bloodstains.
Kim Min-hyuk stared at me.
“…You said no one was hurt.”
“Except for them.”
I couldn’t just let them go. They said such ridiculous things about me. Just because they were a reporter didn’t mean that they could say anything.
Kim Min-hyuk called someone and ordered them to find out about the critical patients. Then, as if he had given up, he muttered, “Well, a few casualties is fine.”
“But are you sure you’ll be okay? It would have been easier if you had moved on quietly. That’s why I’d been working so hard to keep this silent.”
Kim Min-hyuk used his work as an excuse to express his concern, implying that it might become more of a nuisance. But I didn’t think so.
“What can they do? Do you think they’re gonna put me in jail for vandalism? If so, how?”
It was impossible. After a little more time and a few more blows, people would understand on their own: I’m entirely different from them, just as Old Man and Grandma were different from humans.
* * *
The situation changed according to Lee Ho-jae’s expectations. What happened at Seoul Station attracted many people’s attention.
It was an incident in which a single Awakened attacked some people, which has happened several times before. Previously, an Awakened who couldn’t control their strength caused a disturbance.
People considered this to be a riot of such Awakened. Those who heard the news through the media were angry.
This incident could have been a trigger for those who already held terrible feelings for the Awakened. Park Min felt the same.
He had expected this to happen. Park Min met Lee Ho-jae in the Tutorial and had a close relationship with the Order of Vigilance.
Due to Lee Ho-jae’s personality, he knew that he would try to finish it up right away if anything was bothering him. Of course, he didn’t think he would just explode like that.
It was actually good. Park Min was excited to hear the gossip in the office. As soon as he heard what happened at Seoul Station, he cheered inside.
When he got to know about the portal’s news at Seoul Station, he made a good move. He prepared to dispatch members of the Association at once.
Lee Ho-jae could not be arrested or killed. It was impossible with the association’s power. In the end, they had to compromise.
But he was able to gain the upper hand by using his job. Park Min was confident that he could continue to maintain and widen the gap based on that advantage.
People would now pay more attention to the Awakened’s mental health. They’d find a way to control the Awakened, turning their treatment from celebrities to powerful ticking time-bombs that may explode at any moment.
The method would be through the Association. Park Min himself would see it through. In his head, he made plans to increase the influence of the association.
It was good stress. Once again, all arrangements had been made to take a big step.
Up in front was the data screen of news that calmed Park Min, who was working hard to turn things around. After a while, the horrors of Seoul Station appeared.
A building near Seoul Station was burned to a crisp. Seeing that, Park Min began to question if it was CG in a movie.
The building’s condition was bizarre.
It wasn’t because of the terrible destruction, but the fact that it was still standing there.
If that was possible, the architects who designed the building were God-gifted geniuses, or there was something wrong with the laws of physics.
Seoul had many buildings in that condition.
The trees were all burned down, and the road was a mess as if there had been an earthquake.
“…Didn’t you say there are only a few dead people?”
There was an explosion like that, but people were alive and taken to the hospital? Impossible. How could it be that there were a lot of people, but only half were injured, and very few died?
“Mr. Park, Team 1 is ready. Shall we begin?” Lee Sung-eun, who opened the door, asked.
“No!” Park Min shouted, alarmed.
“Wait, just wait.”
Just in time, the news flashed on the screen. It contained a video of an explosion at Seoul Station from afar.
The video, which began with the words ‘Video uploaded online,’ contained a panoramic view of Seoul.
After a while, there was a scene of an explosion. Like a lightning bolt, a flash of light appeared and disappeared just as fast.
“…Tell them not to start. It’s cancelled.” After answering, Lee Sung-eun hurriedly closed the door and left the room.
Park Min, who became alone again, muttered while watching the same video replay on the news.
“What the hell was that?”
* * * * * *
“Is the accommodation all right?”
I nodded. The accommodation that Kim Min-hyuk had prepared was a mansion in the suburbs of Seoul.
The air was not good enough, and in many ways, there were a lot of things we lacked. But there were advantages. Kim Min-hyuk prepared various things for our stay.
What stood out the most were the novels and comic books for Hochi. He seemed to have moved an entire bookstore, remembering our conversations about Hochi’s hobbies.
There were lots of snacks and food, and several entertainment facilities were available. There were many odd things to explore, so Yong-yong was very happy.
As soon as Hochi came, he sat on the sofa and started reading. Seregia sat next to him, forgetting about her snack.
Perhaps because they were similar in birth, they were similar in behavior as well. Yong-yong was playing alone in his room, collecting oddities.
Old Man and Grandma were whispering something in the corner of the living room. Those two got along well on their own if left alone, so there was no need to worry.
Anyway, I was satisfied as my party liked the accommodation facilities.
“So, speaking of what I said earlier.”
“What, the G-class?”
On our way to the hotel, Kim Min-hyuk talked about the G-class monsters. There was a problem.
I wasn’t paying much attention to the G-class monsters.
Unlike other monsters, the identity of a G-class, which did not stay in one place, was assumed to be the source extractor. Kirikiri had confirmed my speculation.
It could be called a problem, but it was not an urgent one.
“A G-class appeared in Pyongyang.”
“In Pyongyang?”
As far as I remember, there was no G-class in Pyongyang.
“It was recently born,” Kim Min-hyuk added.
The G-class monster, which had appeared unexpectedly, had reached the southern part of Gyeonggi-do, which was why it was being seriously discussed.
“Joon-suk is on guard nearby.”
It was strange. It was not surprising that there was a new G-class since the monsters on Earth were well spread, but why Pyongyang and not Seoul?
I had heard a variety of information about how the dungeon with the extractor operated from Hochi, who’d worked very hard on the 89th floor.
It was too inefficient to build a dungeon in a crowded place. Rather, it was better to settle down at the mountainside. In fact, I heard that most of the G-class on Earth exist in remote areas where few people live.
“Are you sure?”
But in Pyongyang, there was no such dungeon, according to what I knew.
“Yeah. The information was confirmed, Joon-suk had also checked it several times.”
I looked up at Kim Min-hyuk’s words. First of all, I could sense Lee Joon-suk wandering around Pyongyang.
What was wrong with that guy? I ignored Lee Joon-suk, who was much weaker than I’d thought, and continued my search.
There was definitely something weird there.
“You know…there’s probably a Ruler there.”
“Ruler? What?”
“There is one, huh?”
I’ll have to do something.
I thought so, but Yong-yong appeared in a split moment.
“I’ll come!”
“You will?”
He ignored Kim Min-hyuk, who was surprised by Yong-yong’s sudden appearance. Yong-yong nodded as if he was confident.
“Well… You have to be careful.”
“I’ll make sure to be!”
That was reassuring.
“Yes, don’t kill him in one go.”
“Yes!”
I patted Yong-yong’s head as he answered energetically.
“Just in case, go with Seregia. Seregia?”
Seregia, who was sitting on the sofa staring at her chocolate pie, turned and glared at me. She was giving me a look that said, “What’s wrong with you?”
However, I wanted to make sure that Yong-yong was fully prepared since this was the first time I’d let go of him on Earth.
When I didn’t retract my words, Seregia popped the chocolate pie from her hand into her mouth with a look of discontent and turned into a sword.
Seregia-turned-sword rolled down the sofa and dropped to the floor. The sound of metal resounded as the blade hit the marble floor.
If he wanted her to go along, he would have to carry her because she refused to move. It was a very powerful yet lazy will.
I sighed at the sight, and called out Grandma who was talking to Old Man in the corner.
“Grandma, can you go with Yong-yong? Just in case.”
“Huh? Do you need me?” Grandma asked back.
Why are they all so lazy?
“It’s Yong-yong’s first outing, so I’d like you to go with him.”
Yong-yong pouted, as if he was dissatisfied with being treated as a child. This time, Grandma readily accepted.
“I’m coming too!” Old Man shouted out as loudly as ever.
“Yeah, no you aren’t. If you see something you don’t like, you’ll probably smash everything and make a mess.”
I could feel Kim Min-hyuk staring from the side. It was as if I could hear his innermost thoughts saying, “And you don’t?”
I ignored it. Instead, I decided to ask him a favor.
“What do you want?”
“There are a few people I need to find.”
“Who are they? Are they regular people?”
They were Awakeneds. I took a note out of my arms.
One, two, three… seven.
There were a lot of names. I handed the note to Kim Min-hyuk. In fact, I clearly remembered each name. But just in case I forgot one, I wrote them down.
“Jung Won-sik? Who are these people?”
“Oh, they’re the guys I promised to visit as soon as I cleared the Tutorial.”