The Front (1)
The mission in Tashkent was comparatively easy. They took over the monsters coming out of the gate, and except for a few buildings, the destruction was mild.
Ilhyun got off the plane as they arrived at the headquarters. He was physically drained after the encounter with hundreds of monsters. Team A headed to wash away the grease and dirt that had layered upon them. They had to cleanse their bodies because the Smoke-monster’s poison was so strong that even a small amount could be a threat to the public.
Team members entered the right end of the building. Outside the person concerned, the door with the entrance ticket was opened with a fingerprint recognition device and lifted to the 5th floor.
In the hallway, each private room was lined up.
“Ugh! Whoa, smell. Let’s go in first.”
Ghost stretched out his hand and opened the door, and went inside.
“Everybody wash in 30 minutes. I have the next schedule.”
“The next schedule? Are you going to another gate?”
Ilhyun asked at the end of Lee Soo-yeon’s utterance. He then asked her if she would like to go to work and wash her body, she replied:
“Not that. We’re not just catching monsters. Oh, for reference, your room is right there.”
Lee Soo-yeon smiled and went into the room.
Only the confused Ilhyun was left in the hallway and went to the door; she’d shown him.
Then, like other team members, he put his thumb on the fingerprint reader.
His fingerprint was recognized, and to his surprise, the door opened automatically.
He thought he’d stay in the shower room because he wanted to go into each one separately.
Instead, it was the space that greeted him. It was a well-furnished, luxurious room with a sauna and a bath on one side.
Also, there was a cooling machine to help him recover his condition, a temporary AT sword, and a business card in his name placed on the desk.
He didn’t know if there was anything to write.
“Huh…”
He thought it would be better to live here than to go back home, soon coming back to reality.
“Still, It looks good to practice?”
He observed the ting details of the room before heading towards the bathroom.
The transformation of water that he practiced in a bowl and in the toilets could be enjoyed here.
The water was agglomerated and scattered, creating a shape, and floating up. He was amusing himself with this when a voice came in.
“Sorry. Do a little more. It’s amazing to see. Something with high compatibility with salt power…”
“Ahh!”
Ilhyun was surprised and jumped and the water splashed everywhere.
Someone’s head broke into Ilhyun’s chest and pulled his head out.
It was Ghost.
“Oh, well, it’s hard to see how men look at each other.”
“That’s not the problem!”
Ilhyun managed to calm his chest down.
He got hit when he was utterly vigilant.
Ghost, who was wearing his clothes, floated to the ceiling.
“Are you kidding?
“I have this ability, why would I let it rot? Of course, I have to gain from it. When I was a newbie in the team, I had no clue how to do it, and I tried it with the leader Lee Soo-yeon. At that time, I was caught, and I wasn’t even able to give up after being almost killed.”
Ilhyun let out a genuine laugh at Ghost’s words.
He was undoubtedly a crazy man.
At that time, 19-year-old Ghost, who had been called a genius from when he awoke, succeeded in joining Aegis.
It was Lee Soo-yeon, who brought the first society’s pain to him.
“What are you doing here?”
“I washed myself, but there was nothing to do, so I came. Are you curious? Ask way. Time limit 5 minutes.”
Now Ghost was sitting upside down on the ceiling like a bat, and he sat with his legs.
Ilhyun, who wants to do well, asked him.
“What are you doing here? Do you have any work in the company?”
“It’s not that… It’s like the awakening waiting room.”
“Waiting room?”
“I usually use it when the time between gates is vaguely empty or when there is an empty schedule after running the field. And most of the time, team leaders often come to headquarters, so I end up using it.”
For his common sense, it was too large for a waiting room.
When he first saw this place, he wanted to know how to use all these huge buildings, but the scale was different.
“Last time, the team leader came out and lived here after a couple of fights. I didn’t understand if I was caught up for that ability.”
Ghost chuckled.
Besides, he recommended the type of alcohol for the awakened people in the private room and talked about what other teams were doing right now.
Ilhyun glanced at the clock and saw that there was not much time left.
“Okay, I need to go out first.”
Ghost grumbled through the wall, and Il-hyun washed his body and then put on a bathrobe.
“Maybe… Would it be right to wear it?”
Ilhyun came out and looked at the many clothes in the closet.
He took out his favorite ones and put them on.
They fit as if they were designed for him.
He picked some snacks from the refrigerator, and both of them headed to the hallway.
There was also a man in the hallway wearing a black coat.
“What, why are you two coming out of one room? surely…”
Jung Jin-sung, who was outside first, had a disgusting expression.
“Ah! Don’t say that because you’re chicken. Next time, will you enter the team leader’s room?”
“I was wrong.”
“The two went first. You can go to the conference, room 3,” said an employee.
After hearing that, Ilhyun could guess what the remaining schedule was.
“Interview room?
“Right. This time, the damage was a bit large, and the media was also interested. Of course, there is something I want to ask.”
* * *
“Oh, are you here?”
From the back of the conference room, Lee Soo-yeon and Seok Pil-joon, looked at them as they approached. Ilhuyn noticed that their clothes were changed too.
“When is it starting?” He sounded a tad confused.
“As soon as we go in.”
Lee Soo-yeon, moved her attention to Il-hyun.
“How many times have you seen a press conference? It’s not difficult.”
“Of course, I have seen it. The problem is…” Lee Soo-yeon interrupted, sensing the confusion in Ilhuyn’s voice, “It’s okay. You will get used to it.”
Lee Soo-yeon opened the door and entered the press conference.
The conference room was a big, spacious, and illuminated one. It was crowded with camera-men and reporters. Some of them seemed unfamiliar, and some were Korean.
Jeong Jin-sung and Lee Soo-yeon were right next to each other, but the reporters’ interests and gazes were all toward one side.
Five sat on the long table in front of the conference hall, and a press conference began.
The situation in Irkutsk, Russia, where there was quite a lot of damage, was explained, and the rough damage was reported. Of course, several times smaller than the actual loss.
Soon, reporters started asking a lot of questions, and Jeong Jin-sung answered each one calmly.
“A high-ranked monster that had appeared nine times has appeared again this time. Has anything changed?”
“There has not been much damage. However, the monsters have increased, and havoc is inevitable.”
“The activation time was only 4 minutes, and even though it was a B1 level surprise gate, it responded quickly. Is there a secret?”
“I was able to respond because I was passing by for another operation.”
Jeong Jin-seong replied concisely, and the reporter who asked the question came back.
“Nevertheless, more than 200 casualties would be noticeable damage.”
“Yes. Many people got injured despite the luck that followed us. I know that the cycle is very near and that I need to be careful.”
Monthly events had always been here.
The reporter’s attention diverted to Ilhyun.