Episode 182

Whirring.

The wind blew across the harbor.

The young man, clad in a black suit, stood quietly on the deck, his gaze fixed on the tablet screen.

“Even if damage occurred in Korea, they are Russians. They shouldn’t be tried in Korea.”

“If you think about it, isn’t it Sejong Academy’s fault for failing to manage the students? They shouldn’t have turned the students into demons in the first place. What kind of education was that?”

“I doubt the existence of Duoexini. A Korean goblin, you say? It’s a weapon created by the Korean government, a conspiracy to produce demons, even harming their own citizens…”

“Damn it.”

The young man involuntarily cursed.

“They say he lost all his abilities, but who knows if that’s true. Even if he became a demon, he’s my brother. I will save my brother and return home.”

“If he’s become a normal person, hasn’t he already paid for his sins? He lost his abilities. Then we should treat him not as a normal person but as a disabled person. The Korean government is oppressing the disabled.”

Most of the videos and sounds he encountered were criticisms, condemnations, and slanders from various governments about the Duoexini incident.

He didn’t need to sift through the trash, but the young man felt compelled to verify their claims.

He needed to understand the mindset of the ‘enemies’ he might face in the future.

“Here you are, brother?”

“…You came?”

The woman in a suit, who addressed the young man as brother, approached him with a can of coffee.

“What are you watching now?”

“Foreign reactions.”

“Why watch that? Just deal with them. Those who illegally enter our land to take our prisoners are all villains, bad guys.”

“Yeah. But have you ever thought about why they would do such a thing?”

The young man accepted the can of coffee with a somewhat complex expression.

“Some of them genuinely believe their families are suffering unjust harm.”

“Geez. You worry about everything. You’re not a nobleman, brother. Why care about that? You’re not even part of the World Alliance.”

“Hey.”

“My name isn’t ‘Hey.’ It’s Kim Yoon-ji. Or at least call me by my alias.”

“Naejae.”

“……Ah, brother, you’re so annoying.”

S-class hero, [Naejae] Kim Yoon-ji, gathered lightning at her toes, ready to swing at the young man.

“Do you want to taste my Thunder Kick?”

“Stop it, it hurts.”

“You haven’t even been hit yet.”

“Even if I don’t get hit, launching lightning and spinning kicks at someone is not polite.”

The young man, [Tushin] Lee Jun-young, waved his hand sideways to create distance.

“Save your energy. If the intelligence is correct, we might have to face at least five S-class heroes.”

“Do you really think they’ll come? It takes so long to get from Busan to Sejong Island.”

“S-class can attack even in that short time. What if they suddenly open the air and jump out?”

“Wouldn’t she be on our side?”

Kim Yoon-ji casually shrugged her shoulders.

She seemed carefree, but her eyes, shining bright blue, overflowed with confidence.

“She seemed like a good kid. At least she wouldn’t help those who come from abroad to kidnap prisoners. Right?”

“…Sigh.”

Lee Jun-young turned off the tablet and put it down on the side table.

“I don’t trust Solar Platina.”

“Oh, why? She protected the mainland while we were deployed to Jeju Island. She even turned all the demons into Zenros.”

“If she’s truly a hero for Korea, she should first take off her mask.”

“Ah, so heroes should reveal their identities? The Spider-Man in New York would be sad.”

“It’s different from comics… Sigh. Anyway, I don’t trust people who hide their identities and only show up when it’s convenient. It’s too selfish to lay out the board like this and then only appear when it’s comfortable…”

“Again, again. You sound like someone who’s been brainwashed with patriotic education. Do you know what people call someone like you? A serious and stuffy old-fashioned scholar.”

“…Isn’t being a scholar a good thing?”

“Hah.”

Kim Yoon-ji let out an incredulous laugh.

“People who’ve been indoctrinated with nationalistic education since they were young…”

“Don’t speak carelessly. Even if you’ve lived abroad, there’s such a thing as universal justice.”

“I don’t want to discuss hero beliefs or justice in complexity, brother. I just want to think simply.”

Kim Yoon-ji lightly tapped the floor with her shoe.

“The prisoners under this deck, we’ll transport them safely to Sejong Island. Not a single one missing. Done!”

“You’re so simple, it’s nice.”

“You’re the one who makes things unnecessarily complicated. Oh right. That’s what I came to say.”

Kim Yoon-ji pointed behind her with a mischievous face.

“The person in charge from Sejong Academy seemed interested in you, brother?”

“…Who?”

“You know, the one with brown hair. Professor Lisa La Lakshmi.”

“……Ahem.”

Lee Jun-young coughed and picked up his tablet.

“Where are you now?”

The calm before the storm.

At this moment, both entering and leaving Sejong Island were controlled.

“Space travel is so convenient. You, Yumir, right? How about becoming my exclusive secretary? I just need you for space travel. I’ll pay you 5,000 a week.”

Due to the difficulty of entering the island, Gunggi finally entered Ulleungdo through the Yumir Gate.

“5,000 a week…?”

“Yeah. What do you think?”

“I heard Doul charges ten million won per use.”

“What? Doul, you…”

“Nyahah.”

Doul, casually eating ice cream, waved at Gunggi.

“Is that true?”

“Considering the time for a flight and space travel, ten million won per time doesn’t seem too much, does it?”

“Still…!”

“An executive arrives and immediately starts undermining unity. Truly a fearsome hero, Solar Platina.”

I naturally admired Yumir’s rhetoric, which subtly instigated a rift among the executives.

“It’s not an association that would crumble just like that.”

“Association? We decided not to make a move as an association this time.”

“…What’s this conversation about?”

“That’s how it turned out.”

Gunggi, having just arrived in Ulleungdo, was unaware of certain information.

I informed her of the plan, which had been confirmed with Yumir, Doul, and Brewer, who were gathering information on Sejong Island.

“What about the Goblin’s plan?”

“That goes on as planned. Yumir’s plan assumes an outright attack.”

My plan takes priority initially, but if the worst happens, we’ll follow Yumir’s suggestion.

“It’s a battle involving three executive-level members of the association, but the association itself isn’t making a move.”

“What about the chairman?”

“She approved. Depending on how well the intern’s plan succeeds, she agreed to provide support for the intern.”

“Good to know she’s understanding.”

The Chief was more favorable to Yumir than I had initially thought.

“If this goes well, we agreed to launch a cyber-propaganda campaign about Solar Platina at an association level.”

“Success is certain; it’s about how decisively it’s handled! That’s my goal. Hehe. Maybe it’s because I sent that photo of you involved in a scandalous affair?”

“…….”

“Sending a video along, the Chief seemed really nice.”

Well, that’s how it went.

“Let’s go over the plan now.”

I displayed two profile pictures.

“Among the Zenros, there were demons who didn’t cause human casualties. Both were D-class demons, just 15-year-old middle school students.”

They were still children with baby fat on their faces, but Duoexini had planted the seeds of demons in such kids too.

“Gunggi, how’s the contact with the families?”

“Everything is ready. Once we get them out and send them off, they’ll immediately leave for a foreign country. We’ll put them in a private jet’s cargo at Yangyang Airport, and everything will be over.”

The families of the students we’re going to ‘switch’ have already been persuaded.

Although not financially wealthy, they were not the kind to treat their children, who lost their abilities, as lost lottery tickets.

“The parents of the two said this: ‘Kids get hurt growing up, ending up in hospitals, but our kids enjoyed everything they could until 15. It’s a blessing they came back alive.’”

“Sounds like parents unlike those of ability users.”

“Even so, among almost thirty Zenros, it’s only fair that at least two sets of parents are like this.”

Not all parents were monsters.

Even if they lost their abilities, living with love and under the support of the association, the situation Yumir worried about wouldn’t happen.

“Gunggi, Doul. Transform into those kids. Yumir and I will sneak in and monitor the situation around you. There might be others doing similar switches.”

We planned to switch people.

But if Wijeong Cheoksa intervened, they might be up to something on the ship too.

“Whether they switch the whole container, put innocent people in it and send them to Sejong Island, or directly attack the ship. They will surely target the Zenros.”

“Not just foreign ability users, but Pandemonium too?”

“Yes. Duoexini is dead, but there could be others. If Wijeong Cheoksa appears… we’ll smash them to pieces.”

I made a motion of swinging a baseball bat, conveying my firm resolve.

“My plan is infiltration, reconnaissance, and execution. If all the Zenros enter Sejong Island and are confined in the facility listed in the government’s document, the operation is over.”

“But if even one goes to a strange place…”

“We’ll attack and annihilate them.”

We’ll eliminate them immediately if they slip up.

“Fine. I know about the Goblin’s plan. What about the intern?”

“Now that Red has arrived, it’s perfect. Red. Blonde Blue-eye. Green. And like this… transform!”

Yumir stretched her hands upwards, and her body began to shimmer and shrink.

“Ta-da!”

“…When did you…”

“I studied it after seeing you transform. Hehe.”

In front of me stood Yumir Lily.

Dressed in a snug striped dress, complete with white stockings and shoes, she formed a V with her fingers towards me.

“Just follow me, and we won’t get caught by the association. Now, transform like me!”

“…You want me to do this… now?”

“Hehehe. It’s fun, right? Why? Embarrassed? We won’t be recognized anyway.”

“No, sigh. What is this even?”

“What is it? It’s called…”

Yumir declared.

“Jammin Puff Girl!”

She hailed from Canada.

“I’ll teach you space travel skills if you match me.”

“…….”

“Ah. Of course, the leader is Red, right?”

“…….”

Sometimes…

Humans needed to compromise with reality for their desires.