Chapter 33 : Past Connection
Chapter 33: Past Connection
Swish swish.
“……”
Baek Woohyun wiped blood from the military dagger with an indifferent attitude. The cloth piece torn from the enemy’s clothes quickly turned crimson. Well, it made sense since it absorbed blood left by dozens dying.
Still, perhaps thanks to wiping before blood dried, the blade quickly regained its original color. If more time had passed and blood coagulated and caked, a cloth piece couldn’t have done anything.
Having thrown away the soaked cloth piece, Baek Woohyun’s gaze swept over the military dagger once. It was still clean and ominous black. Just as he’d seen before entering the forest.
‘Good.’
Finally confirming no particular wear occurred, Baek Woohyun sheathed the military dagger.
Because he judged there’d be no need to use weapons for a while. In any case, the guards in the forest were all swept away by him.
Though several presence busily moving were still felt outside the forest, judging from content received through radio, they would be Otherworld Management Bureau personnel.
He walked out of the forest with calm steps and…
“Don’t move! Move and we shoot!”
…immediately encountered a situation with over ten gun barrels aimed at him.
“……”
However, even facing a dangerous situation he’d tried to avoid when dealing with guards, Baek Woohyun had a calm face.
This was a leisure shown because he’d confirmed who aimed the guns. Their outfits were the same as Otherworld Management Bureau special forces agents he’d seen ‘over there.’
Having confirmed they were Otherworld Management Bureau affiliates, there was no reason to fear.
Right now he wasn’t a contract worker with even a warrant out, but in the position of research facility victim, and it was the Otherworld Management Bureau side that called him here.
“Slowly raise your hands!”
“……”
As Baek Woohyun raised both hands according to the demand, soon a man who seemed fairly high rank appeared.
A man with sturdy build and an impressive scar crossing his right cheek, considerable stubbornness oozed from his somewhat furrowed brows and tightly closed lips.
Confirming the man’s face, Baek Woohyun slightly widened his eyes in surprise. Because he knew him.
‘To see Director Kim Cheol here.’
Otherworld Management Bureau Director, Kim Cheol.
A powerhouse who once made a name as Korea’s strongest, and the person commanding government-affiliated awakeners.
Additionally, he was someone with a reasonable connection to Baek Woohyun too. Since they’d clashed several times when he worked as a contract worker.
‘Ah, he’s not a director yet.’
Recalling, Kim Cheol became Otherworld Management Bureau Director around five years after Baek Woohyun escaped the research facility.
Assuming this place was the same research facility as the place ‘over there,’ and escaped at the same time, it meant he’d become director five years later.
Kim Cheol now would still be rolling in the field following higher-ups’ orders. At most, had he become team leader?
“Hmm-”
While Baek Woohyun examined Kim Cheol, Kim Cheol also seemed to examine Baek Woohyun.
A groan flowed from his closed mouth.
In fact, anyone seeing Baek Woohyun now would have shown similar reaction.
The prisoner-like outfit research facility test subjects wore was soaked in blood, and the appearance wearing various weapons wouldn’t be very pleasant.
“Seems you fled from the research facility. Did you pick up a radio we dropped?”
“Not that, but I do have a radio. I received it.”
Hearing Baek Woohyun’s answer, Kim Cheol’s brows twitched.
Because he felt ominousness from words about having a different radio than the deliberately dropped one.
If not separately extracted quantity, there would surely be an owner, but what business would Otherworld Management Bureau personnel have passing their radio to someone else?
Knowing they’d drop public radios where fleeing experiment victims could easily find them anyway.
Yet passing a radio meant encountering a situation where they had no choice. And in a combat area, such situations ultimately meant just one thing.
“Could I check the radio?”
“Here it is.”
Receiving the radio, Kim Cheol checked the serial number written on the back, and realized his premonition was right.
He asked looking at Baek Woohyun.
“Perhaps the radio’s owner—”
“Died.”
“…I see.”
Kim Cheol’s gaze sank heavily.
Making a bitter expression, he exhaled deeply.
“…Fool. I clearly said no need to overdo it…”
Kim Cheol, who had been muttering quietly, soon shook his head dismissing thoughts.
Mourning dead comrades wasn’t too late after all operations ended. Now was time to focus on matters at hand.
If only for the comrade who sent a radio even facing death to save even one innocent victim.
“Until detailed circumstances are confirmed, you’ll need to stay at the Otherworld Management Bureau. It’s an unavoidable measure since research facility related people might escape pretending to be innocent victims.”
“I don’t mind.”
“Thank you for cooperating. Then, this way please. We’ll send you straight to headquarters.”
Following Kim Cheol, a vehicle was prepared.
Since there was no reason to stubbornly refuse boarding here, Baek Woohyun immediately got in the car, and as soon as he boarded, the vehicle started moving.
How long had he been watching outside scenery visible through windows in the car moving at fast speed?
Around when a city across the river far away became visible, surroundings suddenly turned pitch black.
‘Hm?’
When Baek Woohyun raised his head at the unexpected occurrence, the letters ‘Reverse Planet’ were carved in the air cutting through pitch black darkness. Then, the Planet Earth logo too.
It seemed to tell those who finished two tutorial-level missions that the game was now properly starting from now on.
When darkness lifted, Baek Woohyun realized he was sitting somewhere like a counseling room before he knew it. Also that quite many presences were felt around.
“……”
Without panicking at the suddenly changed situation, he examined surroundings. People busily moving visible beyond glass windows appeared. A somehow familiar feeling landscape.
After thinking briefly, he recalled visiting this place several times ‘over there.’
‘Otherworld Management Bureau headquarters.’
When working as a contract worker, Baek Woohyun didn’t always take only dangerous crimes like murder and kidnapping.
Rather, thinking about it, he didn’t take such work very often.
Because that was work even ordinary people who weren’t awakeners could do.
Of course, if awakeners stepped forward, work became easier and simpler with higher success rate. But advantages were only that much.
Since commission costs became several times or even dozens of times higher, hiring awakeners for ordinary murder and kidnapping was tremendous waste.
A choice pulled out only when considering truly extreme means.
For that reason, the proportion of crime side among work Baek Woohyun took wasn’t very high.
Already as his price gradually increased, occasionally so-called rich people like chaebols or whatnot hired him wanting to choose easy and fast paths, that was all.
Then the question arises what commission he mainly took as contract worker, but the answer was simple.
‘Reverse World (Reverse Planet)’ subjugation.
His main commission work was handling aftermath when companies faced danger of rampage failing subjugation, or when problems arose during subjugation.
‘That’s why I often got entangled with the Otherworld Management Bureau too.’
The Otherworld Management Bureau was a government department tasked with confining invaders crossing through dimensional gates in Reverse Worlds, and subjugating them.
Therefore, it was a place inevitably entangled when proceeding with Reverse World subjugation commissions.
In that process, connections formed with Baek Woohyun while mutually hostile or sometimes cooperating, and somehow ended up visiting Otherworld Management Bureau headquarters several times.
That’s why he recognized it was inside Otherworld Management Bureau headquarters just by looking around.
Click.
As he sat waiting calmly, soon the door opened and one woman entered.
With black hair tied tightly back, she wore neat suit attire, and despite having light makeup, she was considerable beauty.
Discovering Baek Woohyun, she greeted with a faint smile tinged with somehow tired air.
“Hello, Baek Woohyun-ssi. I’m Team 1’s agent affiliated with Otherworld Management Bureau, Lee Yujin.”
“Yes. Hello. I’m Baek Woohyun.”
Baek Woohyun looked at the woman, Lee Yujin, with deeply sunken eyes. Because like Kim Cheol, she was a person he’d met ‘over there.’
‘Over there,’ she was affiliated with Kim Cheol’s team, then after Kim Cheol was promoted to director, inherited that position and worked as successor team leader.
Naturally encountering Baek Woohyun, who took Reverse World subjugation commissions, more often, she couldn’t help but be remembered.
However, the reason he remembered her wasn’t only that.
‘Lee Yujin led the raid on the research facility.’
That meant she was a person who played a very large role in Baek Woohyun and comrades escaping.
To the extent she could be called lifesaving benefactor.
Of course, even without Lee Yujin, the Otherworld Management Bureau would have raided the facility, and in that process Baek Woohyun and comrades might have caught opportunity to escape.
But that was only assuming what-ifs,
And the speculation ‘someone would have done it even without her’ didn’t become reason to diminish benefactor.
Since Lee Yujin was the voice’s owner heard beyond speakers during tutorial, one could guess how grateful Baek Woohyun and comrades were to her ‘over there.’
As grateful as that, not only comrades but Baek Woohyun tended to step back yielding when matters involved her.
Perhaps that’s why he got more entangled.
“The research facility, no, I shouldn’t call that place a research facility. You suffered much at that trash facility? How painful it must have been… If Woohyun-ssi is okay with it, I’d like to offer words of comfort.”
“……”
“We’ll take measures through thorough investigation so such things never happen again. Since Management Bureau will step forward officially, you don’t need to worry something bad might happen later.”
Lee Yujin, who had been looking at Baek Woohyun with pitying eyes, put down documents from inside her clothes on the desk. Pitiful was pitiful, but work had to be done anyway.
“Right now Woohyun-ssi has two choices. One is receiving Otherworld Management Bureau protection while living as a civilian.”
Baek Woohyun narrowed his eyes looking at ‘Supernatural Ability Awakener Registration Documents’ placed topmost among documents Lee Yujin put down.
Because he suddenly thought of events ‘over there.’
It was a memory of having a battle with Otherworld Management Bureau that tracked him as an unregistered awakener. Ended with him beating them all down and fleeing.
“However in this case, supernatural ability use is strictly prohibited. This isn’t just Woohyun-ssi, but other majority civilian awakeners are the same.”
Lee Yujin added that excessive supernatural ability use in places other than Reverse Worlds was legally prohibited from the start.
“The other is becoming an Otherworld Management Bureau affiliated agent. Any supernatural ability awakener has qualification to apply to Otherworld Management Bureau.”
“Otherworld Management Bureau affiliated agent…”
“Of course, you won’t immediately work as agent. You’ll be deployed when judged that proper training has been undergone and preparation is complete.”
Hearing he could become Otherworld Management Bureau affiliated agent in any case, Baek Woohyun smiled bitterly.
‘Over there,’ he had frequent conflicts with Otherworld Management Bureau, and in extreme situations even killed some agents with his own hands.
But now becoming Otherworld Management Bureau affiliated agent. He couldn’t even guess how much comrades would laugh if they heard. Surely they’d tease him by pretending to flee shouting “Ahhh! Management Bureau agent came to catch us!”
“Whichever you choose is fine. Please decide as comfortable. If you need time, we can give you time to contemplate.”
“No, I’ll decide immediately.”
“Your personality is very straightforward. Good. Civilian or agent, which will you choose?”
Baek Woohyun grinned.
Because the path he’d choose was practically decided.