Chapter 222
[Shouldnt you contact her right now?]
Shes probably on the plane right now. How can I?
[You said you have a skill that allows you to communicate remotely with other contractors. Use that!]
I cant. You think that skill is omnipotent, but it doesnt work if were too far apart.
[What?]
It only works within the range of my librarys authority. I mainly operate in Korea, so I can call anywhere in Korea, but if I go overseas, I cant because it conflicts with the authority of other tellers.
Kwon Jia left early in the morning, so by now she must be crossing the border between China and Russia.
If I wanted to call her right now, I would have to contact a teller in charge of that area and connect the line.
I didnt know any tellers overseas.
As a result, there was practically no way to contact Kwon Jia until she arrived at her destination, except for using an international phone call with her cell phone.
I told her to contact me when she arrives safely, so it wont be too late to talk to her then.
[Hmm. Well, I guess theres no choice then. I hope everything works out well.]
Lets hope so.
Baek Ryeon felt frustrated by the unexpected situation, but he didnt show it.
He knew that Yu-hyun was more worried than him, even though he pretended not to be.
Yu-hyun came from the future and used his knowledge of regression to gain a lot of benefits and grow quickly.
He didnt just stop at his own growth, but he also changed the flow of this world itself.
He knew how much effort he had put into it.
He was always by his side, closer than anyone else.
He must be worried a lot, even though he doesnt show it.
The world changing meant that a completely different future unfolded than what Yu-hyun knew.
His knowledge of the future was practically useless.
It wasnt all like that, but losing an overwhelming advantage was a painful loss.
Who could empathize and understand that loss if not him?
I hope everything goes well from now on.
He felt uneasy for some reason.
It wasnt just a hunch as a swords ego.
Dream.
Baek Ryeon suddenly felt like he had a dream in the past.
He was a sword, but she had lost him in the past.
He didnt remember how he was made or why he became like this.
The only thing he knew was that he was desperately looking for someone.
He hadnt slept since he woke up with Yu-hyuns help, but strangely enough, he felt like he had slept this time.
Was it a mistake or did he see meaningless illusions without knowing it?
He couldnt find a clear answer.
The memory was faint and elusive as if it would slip away from his grasp.
There was only one thing she remembered.
Someone was crying next to me.
Who was that?
The image was too blurry to recall, but he remembered feeling sad when he saw it.
Was that person the one he had been looking for?
Was it related to the memory that had disappeared now?
She didnt know.
The more she knew, the more he felt like sinking into a swamp.
Baek Ryeon couldnt find an answer no matter how hard he thought, but he didnt want to worry Yu-hyun so she kept his mouth shut.
***
Shamath was locked in a disposal box and bowed his head low as a lowly mongrel.
It didnt seem like he could escape by leaving him alone.
The disposal box was designed to be impossible to open from the inside unless someone opened it from the outside.
It wasnt impossible to break the disposal box from the inside. But Shamath lacked the strength.
He wasnt a low-ranking employee at Celestial Corporation, but his position as a manager wasnt enviable either. He had no say in being called just a manager.
Tsk. How long do I have to stay here? Its boring.
Tell me about it.
Two tellers from the surveillance department who were guarding the disposal box couldnt stand their boredom and chatted.
Do we really need to guard this place? Hes already locked in the disposal box.
Thats what Im saying. I really dont get it. Why do we have to waste our time here?
We cant just skip out either. Chief Utata ordered us personally.
Thats why were here. If it wasnt for that, we would have left long ago.
Thats true.
The two tellers didnt understand why Utata kept ordering them to guard this place from time to time. But they did as they were told since they were ordered to do so. However, they didnt hide their complaints either.
In a place where there is no king, people even curse the king, let alone their boss.
But the two tellers didnt cross the line. Chief Utata of the surveillance department was originally a good-natured person and good at handling work, so he was trusted by his subordinates.
Yawn. I wish we could just dispose of this guy and move on.
We cant help it. Even if he committed a capital crime, we have to go through a complicated process to start the disposal work. If we kill him with brute force, it will cause trouble.
I know, I know. Cant I complain a bit?
Still, its about time for the results to come out. This boring guard duty is finally over.
As the two tellers were chatting, the door to the disposal room opened and another teller came in.
The tellers who were gossiping straightened their backs as soon as they saw the newcomer.
U-Utata, sir!
Good day, sir!
Oh, hi.
The teller with a shiny white sphere for a head, Utata, waved his hand casually at the two tellers and told them not to be nervous.
Well, youve been guarding diligently. Good job.
Yes! Of course, sir! But, sir, did you come here because the disposal results are out?
No, not yet. It seems like it will take a bit more time.
Oh, man.
I came here because there are some more things to scan while we wait. Can you step aside for a moment?
Huh? Oh, well
The teller who usually grumbled was about to nod his head when the other teller intervened.
But, sir. Why did you come alone today? What about the other department staff?
They have some other things to deal with, so they left their posts for a while. Why do you ask?
Hmm.
The subordinate teller looked at Utata with a slightly suspicious expression.
His colleague who was guarding with him nudged him and whispered in a low voice.
Hey. What are you doing? Are you crazy? How can you talk to the boss like that?
No, its not that
Haha. Sir. I think this guy is a bit tired from working too much lately.
Huh? Oh, is that so? Thats not good. You shouldnt work too hard these days. So, can you step aside for a moment?
Sir.
The teller who had been silent until then stepped forward and asked.
I was ordered to guard this place no matter what. You were the one who gave me that order, sir. Im sure you remember.
Thats right.
But now youre telling me to leave my post, and I find that very questionable. Didnt you usually conduct your interrogation without caring if we were here or not? Did something happen all of a sudden?
Huh? Now that you mention it
Even the colleague next to him seemed to realize something was off and looked at Utata with a strange gaze.
Utata felt their distrustful emotions but remained still.
Sir. Please answer me. Are you really our boss?
The atmosphere became heavy in an instant.
The two tellers tensed up.
They were ready to use force as soon as they saw any suspicious signs from their opponent.
Until then, Utata had just stood still and shook his head.
Well. It seems like I made you guys too wary of me.
You know very well.
I understand that. Yeah. I was the one who gave you that order. So it might seem suspicious that Im saying something different now. But look at this.
Utata said that and held out a piece of paper.
Its a document from the central office. It says to handle the matter quietly and by myself as much as possible. Youll see that its not a fake when you read it.
Youre right. It has the seal of an executive teller, after all.
Thats why. This is a top-secret mission. We dont want any witnesses.
That was true even for the subordinates from the same department.
The two tellers finally relaxed their guard at Utatas words.
The one who had doubted him first bowed his head.
Im sorry. I was rude to you without knowing anything.
No. Dont worry about it. You did a great job with your assigned task. I feel more secure because of you. If you keep doing your work like this, Ill be more grateful.
Yes, sir. Then well wait outside the entrance.
No need for that. I already sent away the two tellers who were waiting at the entrance.
Oh. I see. Then well wait at the designated point.
Do that.
Utata nodded and spoke at that moment.
The two tellers suddenly thrust their light spears toward Utata.
They were arrest spears given to the surveillance tellers to eliminate any potential threats.
Whoosh!
Hmm?
Utata, who was pierced by the arrest spears, couldnt understand what was going on.
What are you doing?
What are we doing? Thats what we want to ask you. Utata, sir. No, something thats wearing his disguise. Did you think we were so easy to fool?
Huh. Did you go crazy? This is absurd.
Absurd? No way. Were doing the right thing.
Really.
Utata sighed as if he couldnt believe it.
And then, his voice changed.
How did you find out?
A cold and dreadful voice of something else.
The two tellers turned pale at the sound.
You underestimated us too much. How dare you imitate Utatas appearance and try to deceive us and get that traitor out?
Oh. Is that so? There was a secret code among the surveillance tellers in the keyword I said in the middle. Does that mean that the word I used without knowing was designated point?
We dont have to answer you.
The surveillance teller felt a chill down his spine as he realized that the fake Utata had figured out their code in an instant.
This guy, he didnt just take on the appearance of Utata.
He didnt seem to care about being hit by the arrest spears, and his insight to see through their code in a flash was
Whatever happened, were going to arrest you here. You tried to fool us and get that traitor out, so you shouldnt have any complaints. Just think of it as bad luck.
Thats why I dont like smart guys.
The fake Utata said that and moved his feet to get up.
Stupid! You think our arrest spears are just
The teller who was about to shout that couldnt help but widen his eyes.
Crackle!
Huh?
The binding spear that had pierced through the fake Utatas body and pinned him to the ground began to crack.
What, what is?
A binding spear that can restrain a chief-level?!
Before their questions could end.
Clang!
The binding spear shattered and scattered fragments in all directions.
The two tellers immediately tried to prepare for the next response.
Thats when the fake Utatas hands moved.
His gloved hands twisted strangely, and from inside his palms, countless black tentacles poured out like a waterfall and wrapped around the two tellers.
Resistance was futile.
The countless thread-like tentacles exerted force.
Crunch!
With a chilling sound, the two tellers flesh was horribly destroyed and collapsed.
The two tellers died without making a sound.
Did you try to resist with your body, trusting in your protection? How foolish.
The fake Utatas appearance had changed completely into a different being.
A black hood over his head and a baggy black outfit.
The countless tentacles were retracted back into his wide sleeves.
How nice it would have been if you just fell for it stupidly? You wasted time by thinking too much, when it could have ended quickly.
The intruder muttered as he stepped over the two tellers corpses that turned into dust and scattered.
He approached the disposal bin.
Shamath, who had been watching this situation from before, trembled as he saw the black being coming towards him.
Wh-who are you?
Come out. Manager Shamath.
Two red glows flowed out from inside the black hood.
They were curved like crescents, as if there were two red new moons floating in the space.
Its liberation.