OMH Chapter 38

38. Hooligan (2)

“Are you feeling unwell?” Just as I was starting to worry, Jang Hana asked another question.

“Wow, immediate execution is awesome. That’s terrifying. So, are we going to beat up hooligans this weekend, Senior?”

Today too, Jang Hana was spouting belligerent and extreme nonsense.

I wanted to check on Woojin’s condition, but my job was to educate these kids, so I had to give them the right answer.

“No. What we’re going to do is observe the hooligans’ movements. We probably won’t even encounter them directly, maybe.”

Hooligan-related tasks are broadly classified into three types: ‘observation’ of hooligans, ‘infiltration’ into the hooligan ecosystem, and ‘suppression’ of hooligans.

There’s a reason why hooligan missions are divided into three types.

In a world overrun with monsters, it’s difficult to survive alone.

Isn’t the fact that humans are social animals a way of life created for survival?

For that reason, no hooligans live alone.

They always try to form a gang and act as the leader.

The larger the group they belong to, the more advantageous it is for survival, so they often gather many people.

There might be people who agree with those hooligans and join them, but they can’t increase their numbers in that gentle way.

So, hooligans increase their numbers by kidnapping survivors.

How do you think those kidnappers treat the people they kidnap? They use them as slaves to build their lives.

If we let these hooligans run rampant, people who might become Association members could end up living as abused slaves before disappearing from the world.

The EGA Association, already desperate for the resurgence of humanity, can’t let that happen.

The EGA Association branded the hooligans as a corrupt force in human society and argued that they should be dealt with like monsters.

Thanks to the hooligans’ victims we rescued agreeing with this, the EGA Association was able to push this propaganda easily.

However, putting this into practice had some problems.

Hooligans, Espers who live outside, are still human beings, so we can’t treat them the same way as monsters.

Due to these issues, the EGA Association decided to select and eliminate hooligans who were judged to be causing as much damage to humans as monsters.

And the process and mission of confirming how much damage each hooligan is causing is ‘observation’ and ‘infiltration’.

The mission we’re going to do is ‘hooligan observation’.

It’s the least dangerous mission, so it’s good to take rookies with us.

However, it can’t be said that the hooligan observation mission is completely safe.

We could encounter and clash with hooligans, or we could encounter monsters during the observation.

So, it’s good for all team members to be prepared for a crisis.

I finished explaining to the students and told them to get up.

I’ve finished the basic lecture, so now I had to teach them to be able to perform at least the minimum functions as field team members.

It’s not much different from what I’ve been doing so far.

The reason for this class is to create personnel who can carry out field missions in the first place, and all of this is possible with physical strength.

So, as usual, I made them do physical exercises for 90 minutes.

“Haa… haa…”

Woojin was too exhausted after only finishing basic physical training for just 90 minutes.

Woojin was still not in good condition, so instead of giving him the same training, I decided to let him and Wooreen walk inside room 172 while the others trained.

It was a big problem that he was struggling even though I made him walk slowly like a stroll.

‘Am I going to have to carry Woojin around throughout the mission?’ As I was racking my brain on how to take Woojin, who is weaker than a 6-year-old child, to the field, Jang Hana spoke to me.

“Senior. I did everything you told me to do.”

I turned my head to where the voice came from, and I saw the kids who had already caught their breath and were sprawled out on the floor.

I was worried about Woojin, who was walking as if he was about to collapse, but I couldn’t just let the kids play.

I brought the large bag I had prepared for the class and dumped the contents in front of the kids.

It was a gun I had brought for shooting practice.

Even in a world where all kinds of abilities run rampant, guns are still good weapons that exert powerful physical force.

If you learn how to handle them, they will always be helpful in times of emergency. They are also essential self-defense items.

Shooting training must be included in combat training.

To demonstrate to the kids, I first picked up a gun and hit the target.

Each gun had a silencer attached, so the sound of the gun wasn’t loud.

After six gunshots, the result of my shooting was revealed on the target.

Not a single shot missed the target, but the kids booed as they looked at my target.

“Hey, what’s that. Not a single shot hit the center.”

“I thought you were good at handling all weapons, but I guess that was a lie.”

I saw Ham Soyoung nodding in agreement with the nonsense, so I decided that I didn’t need to demonstrate anymore.

They’ll realize their own level once they try it themselves.

I had the kids put on protective gear and taught them the basics of handling a gun before letting them do it themselves.

As expected, the teenagers who recklessly laughed at others couldn’t even hit the edge of the target properly.

While the kids were showing off their terrible shooting skills, Woojin came over.

It was a relief that his complexion was better than before, probably because he had rested enough.

Still, Woojin might suddenly collapse or become exhausted, so I gave Woojin water and an emergency glucose candy.

And I was worried that Woojin might overdo it, so I urged him to get enough rest.

Woojin listened to my worries and turned his gaze to the kids who were practicing shooting.

Now that I think about it, Woojin also needs to practice shooting.

‘Can weak Woojin handle the weight of the gun and the recoil when shooting? Should I just make him practice with BB guns?’

But guns are the best for self-defense. I can’t make him carry BB guns in the field.

While I was racking my brain, Woojin picked up a gun for shooting practice and slowly examined it.

The sight of him looked like a sacred god of hunting, so I couldn’t take my eyes off him.

Woojin, with his divine face, said to me.

“Can I try it too?”

Woojin was supposed to do it anyway, so of course he could.

After hearing my answer, Woojin stood in front of the target without learning the basics of shooting, pulled out the safety pin, and aimed the gun.

Six shots rang out, muffled by the silencer, and six holes were left in the bullseye of the target.

Woojin wasn’t just good-looking; he was a real god of hunting.

“Wow!”

As Woojin showed off his shooting skills, applause burst out from all directions.

It was only the sound of four people clapping, but it was enough to reverberate through the vast room 172.

Wooreen didn’t know what was going on, but she clapped along because we were clapping.

Woojin, who was applauded by everyone in the same space, looked around at us with a slightly flushed face and a bewildered expression.

“Wow, you’re really good at shooting! Shouldn’t the Guide be teaching Senior?”

“That’s right, you’re like a shooting athlete!”

As the kids rushed at him with reasonable words, Woojin’s ears turned red.

Woojin, who even had the virtue of humility, pushed the kids away and even said that he would help if there was anything he could do.

Woojin, as beautiful as an angel in a painting, also had the heart of an angel.

Kind Woojin handed a gun to his younger sister, Cha Wooreen, who was pouting that she wanted to do it too.

Then, he stood behind Cha Wooreen, who was holding the gun, and wrapped his arms around her before removing the safety.

Woojin, who aimed at the target as if he was hugging his younger sister, fired.

This time too, the bullet passed through the center of the target.

To have such accuracy even in that uncomfortable position, Woojin is really amazing.

Even though it wasn’t her who hit the target, Cha Wooreen was strutting around and excited as if she had hit it herself.

Like Cha Wooreen, I also felt happy about something that wasn’t my achievement.

‘I never knew Woojin was such a sharpshooter.’

Maybe this mission will be much easier than I thought. Director Kim would be happy to know about Woojin’s shooting skills, right? It would be strange to dislike Woojin, who is perfect in every way, but still.

*

Thanks to Woojin’s competence, preparations for the mission went smoothly.

Woojin only needed to steadily prepare to increase his stamina, and the kids had already established a framework for physical training to some extent, so I mainly taught them how to shoot and handle basic weapons and tools.

It was tight to teach them everything within a week, but they were at a level where they could be sent out on a hooligan mission.

In fact, Woojin’s stamina was the biggest problem more than the kids’ skills.

I steadily stayed with Woojin every evening and watched his physical training, but in a week, I was only able to raise his stamina from being worse than a six-year-old to being about the same as a six-year-old.

As time passed with the training of the team members, the day of the field mission dawned.

Today, we gathered at the Central Center three hours earlier than usual.

This is because we have to confirm the dispatch team before heading out on the mission.

The main counter at the Central Center is always open because of this kind of work.

Seunghwan, who works here, also works at this time if he’s on duty.

‘Seunghwan isn’t on duty today.’

The person on duty now is probably named Kwon Seokhyun. I think he was a C-grade Esper. Kwon Seokhyun recognized me and pretended to know me.

“Gang Crazy! I heard you’re going to the field as a team leader. You’ve made it big. You’ve got a fancy title and a Guide by your side, that’s great!”

Kwon Seokhyun pretended to know me and started a fight.

Kwon Seokhyun is a bit older than me, so I think he’s a little jealous of me going to the field as a team leader.

Jo Seunghwan, who is a deputy team leader and a 9-year A-grade Esper, couldn’t say anything, but I guess I’m easy to deal with because I’m a B-grade. I’ve been here for 12 years.

While Kwon Seokhyun, a 5-year Esper, was talking nonsense to me with a sense of familiarity, my students arrived.

All the team members have been checked by the administrative staff, so we can leave.

I led the team members out of the EGA Association building.

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