TTOA Chapter 69

#69

“Major Ma, in your opinion, did that S-rank Mutant seem to be complying with Guiding? You said he already recognized his rank as S-rank. That means he must have had contact with other Espers at least once and knew his rank in the process of Guiding… What do you think? Did Kwon Jae-jin readily respond to your Guiding?”

“…That’s not true. Guiding a Mutant is a crime, so…”

“Hahaha. No, you’ll never understand them. Of course, Mutants can’t understand Espers either. Mutants, whether Esper or Guide, don’t easily try to Guide. The most efficient mucous membrane contact, without impurities, easy and quick Guiding specialized for wartime situations. That… making them follow that isn’t easy.”

“……”

“They are seeds that can’t be taught. It only costs unnecessary expenses and has high risks. Rather, there’s a risk of contaminating even the formally awakened Espers who were trained as pure combatants…”

“Contamination… you say.”

“I’m talking about you, Major Ma Tae-o. I’m talking about you. Do you want to Guide that S-rank Mutant Guide now? You probably do, right? Since you were born an Esper, your instincts can’t help but crave it.”

“……”

“However, you mustn’t. If you get too close to a Mutant Guide, and if you become influenced by the background and ideology of the general society where that Mutant Guide lived… we will have to dispose of you as well.”

Awakened ones receive different sex education from ordinary people from birth and have special senses of chastity.

Awakened ones who end their lives as single entities and combatants without parents, siblings, or lovers,

Those cultivated in a bleak relationship consisting only of superiors, subordinates, and colleagues,

What if they learn about ordinary emotional bonds commonly used in general society, and ordinary sexual contact and pleasure that extends from affection other than Guiding?

The current system will collapse, and humanity will lose the most efficient weapon it has cultivated over a century.

That’s why Mutants are euthanized as soon as they are discovered.

They are the most dangerous beings.

They shake the awakened ones who have been painstakingly brainwashed and controlled,

They eat away at the current system that has been carefully built up from the root and bring it down,

The most helpless yet fatal variant.

“Major Ma. I’ll pick out team members specialized in Tracking Type abilities and form an emergency search team, so you can find that S-rank Mutant Guide yourself and prove it. Proof that we don’t need to dispose of you. Proof that you are not contaminated.”

“……”

“Start the search immediately. He must be expelled from the Special Residential District.”

“……I will follow your orders, Brigadier General Oh.”

*

After that. Kwon Jae-jin and Seo Eui-woo briefly returned to the 3000-pyeong seaside mansion where they originally lived.

Although the living room was burned black, the security system was still intact, so it wasn’t bad as a temporary residence. In the first place, only the living room on the first floor was burned. The second floor was safe, so living upstairs wasn’t a big problem.

Moreover, fortunately, Kwon Jae-jin had previously told Seo Eui-woo that he wanted a new house to avoid Gates, so there was a state-of-the-art luxury mansion currently being newly built from the foundation to suit Jae-jin’s taste.

When that place was completed soon, they were planning to properly move in and use that house as their main home.

Since it was a mansion built by pouring wealth without sparing anything from the design stage, a safe house resembling a fortress would be created when it was completed.

By the way, in the process of that construction, the surprising fact that Seo Eui-woo’s total assets far exceeded the 85 billion that Kwon Jae-jin knew was revealed, thanks to the existence of a pension account.

It turned out that combatants who killed α-creatures and extracted the creatures’ Cores received separate pensions and rewards, and if they chose to receive this in a lump sum payment method rather than a monthly payment method, the amount was enormous. Moreover, these pensions and rewards could be received in duplicate, so Seo Eui-woo, who had a record of hunting several α-creatures, was just… just insanely rich.

After all, awakened ones usually have short lives, and after they die, there are no heirs to leave their inheritance to, so their wealth is immediately returned to the national treasury. Therefore, there was no problem for the country if an awakened individual accumulated so much wealth.

[What are you doing now, Jae-jin?]

A concise message appeared on the black tablet screen.

Seo Eui-woo really devised a means of communication, saying that he would allow messages to be exchanged through the security system notification window, and since then, he has been sending texts from time to time.

Originally, the purpose of that message window was to convey notifications such as, ‘First floor bedroom a-3 window has been manually opened,’ or, ‘A fire has occurred in the living room. Please evacuate quickly through the emergency route,’ but the settings were changed to allow manual operation to enter real-time messages.

[Brushing my teeth.]

Jae-jin brushed his teeth in the wide and clean dry bathroom and tapped the tablet with his left hand to enter a reply.

When Kwon Jae-jin enters text on the tablet, it is linked to Seo Eui-woo’s goggles screen.

Similarly, when Seo Eui-woo enters text on the goggles screen, it is linked to Kwon Jae-jin’s tablet.

Seo Eui-woo’s goggles were not just simple goggles, but a type of head-mounted display (HMD) that applied advanced technology, allowing him to easily enter text hands-free by tracking his gaze.

In actual combat situations, sending voice radio transmissions as a transceiver can lead to dangerous situations such as being detected by creatures, so it is said to be a frequently used method to communicate with unit members without making unnecessary noise. Since they have to hold weapons with both hands, they have no choice but to send texts with their eyes.

Theoretically, it’s understandable, but still, to be able to enter text only with your gaze. That such technology is commercialized. It was a very unfamiliar method to Kwon Jae-jin, who was only familiar with using touch-screen smartphones and tablets.

Anyway, thanks to HMD advanced technology, fortunately, even if Seo Eui-woo and Kwon Jae-jin exchanged texts with each other, there was no risk of being caught by someone.

This was because Seo Eui-woo was just wearing black goggles on the outside, and his actions were not revealed at all. It wasn’t like there was a sound or a body movement that was noticeable, and it was safe because he was contacting by moving only his gaze, which was hidden inside the goggles.

[I’m jealous. I want to brush your teeth too, Jae-jin.]

A reply soon arrived from Seo Eui-woo. Kwon Jae-jin let out a deep sigh inwardly at the very fast reply speed.

Seo Eui-woo was currently on a mission after receiving an emergency call.

That means he is currently in the middle of a battle.

No matter how great Seo Eui-woo is as an S-rank Esper, is it okay for him to be so distracted by texting while fighting creatures?

Isn’t it dangerous?

Moreover, Kwon Jae-jin had already had the experience of directly confronting what kind of creature the creature was. There could be no room for chatting about brushing his teeth while fighting such a terrible thing, and there shouldn’t be.

Kwon Jae-jin, with a toothbrush in his mouth, reluctantly tapped the tablet to enter a reply.

[Don’t talk nonsense and focus on the battle.]

In the first place, the means of communication was necessary for emergencies, not to exchange texts in real time like this.

It wasn’t to distract Seo Eui-woo’s mind in the middle of a shootout with creatures.

[I miss Jae-jin.]

[You can see me to your heart’s content after work.]

[I’m worried right now, so I’m saying this. I’m worried that something might happen again while I’m gone.]

[Nothing’s happening. I’m brushing my teeth.]

[I’m scared.]

The time Kwon Jae-jin took to enter a reply was a little delayed because he was spitting out the toothpaste in his mouth. After cleaning his mouth and finishing brushing his teeth, he checked the tablet and saw that countless text notifications had arrived from Seo Eui-woo.

[I don’t like leaving Jae-jin alone.]

[I’m so scared, I really can’t do it.]

[What if Jae-jin disappears again? What if something happens when I’m not here?]

[Are you okay now?]

[Are you at home?]

[Jae-jin?]

[Are you sure you’re okay?]

[Why don’t you answer]

[whydontyouanswer]

[imcominghomerightnow]

Oh, 씨!

Seo Eui-woo!

Kwon Jae-jin quickly entered a reply with his wet hands. Quickly, before Seo Eui-woo teleports.

[don’tco]

[don’t come]

[wasbrushingteethdidntsee]

Phew, I guess I barely made it. The light didn’t flash everywhere, and the light droplets didn’t spread. Ha.

[replyrightaway]

Seo Eui-woo sent a series of texts as if he was angry.

[I told you I was scared. I’m worried. Why don’t you understand me, Jae-jin?]

[If it’s hard to write sentences, just send one dot.]

[.]

[Like this]

[youcansendevenifitsthingslikethisjustreplytomerightaway]

[okay?]

I’m speechless for a moment. I’m at a loss for words.

Jae-jin moved his stiffened hands and entered a reply on the tablet. It felt like Seo Eui-woo would really teleport if he didn’t send anything.

[.]

He just sent one dot as requested and trudged out of the bathroom.