“Whether you understood the preliminary training before joining or not, there is more discarded plastic than fish in the North Pacific Ocean. Rather than drinking North Pacific seawater contaminated by radiation and containing a handful of plastic, you would be far safer drinking an equivalent amount of detergent. For the health of the staff, we should stop all ocean-related activities, but what can you do when you live on the seabed or an island? We have no choice but to live accepting the sea with our whole bodies.”
Michael tapped the table with his fingertips and spoke irritably.
“The sea isn't the only problem. On sunny days, temperatures exceeding 50 degrees Celsius are commonplace. Collapsing from heatstroke is a frequent occurrence, and even on this tiny island, storms, tidal waves, and hurricanes strike incessantly. In this environment, the choices available to us are either to enter a decent air-raid shelter and spend our entire lives there, or to find another utopia. The past must be a better world than here. No matter where you go.”
Well. If you knew how dental treatment was done in the old days, you wouldn't even want to go to the past. Unless you're an unusual person like Kanu, it seems most of those who joined the Muhan Church would want to go to the near past.
Michael Loaker is a healthy white man, so no matter which past he goes to, his life wouldn't be so bad. But people like me, whose bodies are a collection of cutting-edge medical technology, would have a hard time surviving in any past. Distracted by focusing on the person standing outside the door, I blurted out the first thing that came to mind.
“What about abandoning the unrealistic goal of going to the past and focusing on living the present well starting now? There are many people who do their best in their fields. The researchers and engineers at this underwater base are the same.”
“...The Savior sees human greed far too lightly. Perhaps it is because you have so little.”
I had long known that the Muhan Church bastards regarded the Savior as trash, but at this point, I truly had nothing to say. ...But come to think of it, I also regard the Muhan Church believers as trash. The Savior and the followers are truly a perfect match.
“Through you, the Savior, we will go to the past.”
“Will it be that easy? It's not like I ended up in this situation because I wanted to.”
Michael smiled slightly and said,
“The Muhan Church would likely agree. They put forth three candidates. To think someone not even among the candidates would be the one caught.”
Michael added something about having no luck. It was then. Suddenly, the door opened, and a figure wearing a black hat and black clothes entered while quickly sweeping the interior with a gun. The short man in black had a terrible mask covering almost his entire face, depicting a red skull and drops of blood dripping down.
After confirming Michael, who had been sipping alcohol, and me standing near the door, he slightly lowered his gun muzzle and spoke.
“Let's go. Savior.”
It was English. Furthermore, it was a man's voice. Michael looked at that employee indifferently and spoke to me, who had frozen like a statue.
“They've come for you. I'll head down without delay as well.”
Barely hearing Michael's words, I exited the room. Is that really Baek Ae-yeong? Judging by the voice, it was a man's voice. I couldn't see any hair, as though it had been tucked inside the hat. With the face almost entirely hidden by the mask and multiple layers of clothing, at a glance the physique didn't seem like Baek Ae-yeong's at all.
However, the posture holding the gun, the manner of entering and searching the room, and that confident attitude reminded me of Baek Ae-yeong. Was it really not someone I knew?
“Is that you, Ms. Ae-yeong?”
I threw the question at the figure's back with a doubtful mind. The figure paused for a moment, then lifted the mask—which had been pulled down to the neck—to reveal the face. Baek Ae-yeong's jaw, lips, and nose bridge were revealed. I was so overjoyed that it felt like my heart would leap out of my mouth. Having been with Michael, seeing Baek Ae-yeong felt like meeting an angel.
“What happened to your voice?”
Baek Ae-yeong spoke in a man's voice.
“If you speak while scratching your voice as much as possible and lowering the tone, that's all it takes. Then you get a man's voice that's roughly past puberty. The more you train, the smoother it comes out.”
“I see.”
While I was briefly admiring her technique, Baek Ae-yeong put the mask back on and pressed fiercely.
“Where on earth have you been wandering! I told you to stay safely in the warehouse! I thought you'd been dragged away!”
“It was all my fault! I should have stayed in the warehouse as you said! I'm sorry!”
When I immediately confessed and apologized, Baek Ae-yeong seemed flustered by the unexpected reaction.
“Uh... if you know you were wrong, that's fine. Is there anywhere else hurt besides your finger?”
“No. ...How did you find out I was here?”
“By the smell of blood.”
Baek Ae-yeong answered as if it were obvious, but I only accumulated more doubts upon hearing that.
“How did you track me with that?”
“How could I not know when there's a smell?”
I lifted my clothes and my left hand to sniff, but I could hardly smell any blood at all.
“Does it smell from my body?”
“There is a smell of blood, but it's not severe. Unless you're a trained person like me, it's almost impossible to notice...”
Baek Ae-yeong closed her mouth.
Could even one's sense of smell be trained? To the point of tracking and chasing people? I suddenly thought of Sin Hae-ryang, who had said I smelled like a beast. Baek Ae-yeong placed me behind her and quickly descended the stairs. She descended the stairs almost soundlessly, as if flying, then glanced at me, who couldn't keep up, and waited in place. It wasn't easy to descend stairs quickly while minimizing footfall noise.
Baek Ae-yeong explained in a small voice.
“Scent lingers for a long time in places you've stayed. Wind blows and the scent disperses. It disappears in water too. The path toward the auditorium and the path up the stairs had split into two scents, but the smell of blood remained stronger on the stairs, so I came up that way.”
“Wow. I've heard that some people have a good sense of smell, but you're the first person like you I've seen. Amazing.”
“I'm really not that great.”
“It seems like it would be incredibly useful for telling when food has gone bad.”
There was a time when I ate something with an ambiguous expiration date and got a stomachache, but I couldn't tell if it had spoiled by smell alone. Baek Ae-yeong, who had been descending the stairs ahead while listening to my praise, answered.
“There's no advantage besides that. And in terms of ability, a trained dog is a hundred times better than me. Much better cost-effectiveness too. I have a high chance of being wrong and get confused often.”
“But I'm just so glad you came to get me, Ms. Ae-yeong.”
It seemed she had lingered in front of the door for a moment because she couldn't be sure. Baek Ae-yeong, descending the stairs, looked at me expressionlessly, then turned her head forward.
“It's really nothing. There's more bad than good. Sometimes I vomit when the smell is too foul. How did you end up with that Loaker bastard?”
“While running away from the Muhan Church followers, I jumped into a room where he happened to be. He had stolen alcohol belonging to Anne Arnedal, the head of headquarters operations, and was talking nonsense, high on injections. What about that outfit?”
“I took down two guys and stripped them. The smell on the clothes and mask is no joke. I don't even want to breathe.”
Baek Ae-yeong grumbled—a rare occurrence—and moved her feet.
We descended two more floors and headed toward the opposite building. Baek Ae-yeong quickly exited the corridor and slipped into an empty conference room, then after confirming there was no one inside, hid her body in the darkness.
“There was something I really wanted to ask you when I saw you, Ms. Ae-yeong.”
“Yes.”
“The Muhan Church took people hostage and threatened them—did you happen to hear the broadcast?”
“Yes. That's why I came.”
“If I go, can the people survive?”
“No.”
Baek Ae-yeong spoke with a rigid face.
“You can't go. That kind of threat is nothing less than an endless cycle of evil. Once they start threatening, they can't stop. I don't think they'll keep the hostages alive just because Muhyeon goes.”
My guess and Baek Ae-yeong's answer are similar.
“I see. What if Elizabeth starts executing people?”
“The terrorists can kill the hostages anytime, whether Muhyeon goes or not. Don't be swayed by such threats.”
“...Is there anything I can do for the people in headquarters or the hostages captured inside the underwater base?”
“No.”
Hearing that firm voice, I felt slight relief and confusion simultaneously. Baek Ae-yeong looked at my injured hand and said.
“You did really well simply not getting caught and dragged away by the terrorists. Muhyeon, your goal is to hide well in the location where I stashed you and be found and protected by the special forces or military who will storm in later. In my opinion, the US military will likely arrive first.”
Baek Ae-yeong said she had come with the intention of moving me to a more difficult-to-find location because I had been hiding in too obvious a spot. Does she think I'm a golden calf?
“What about you?”
“I'm planning to take them out bit by bit, one or two at a time. I did check the auditorium area, but among the Engineer Ga Team people, there didn't seem to be anyone taken hostage.”
Even if Baek Ae-yeong is capable, dodging CCTV while moving around and continuously taking out Muhan Church followers?
“Wouldn't it be better to hide safely with me?”
Baek Ae-yeong stared at my backpack containing the gold bars for a moment as time passed. After about a minute, Baek Ae-yeong answered.
“If it were normal times, I would have been thinking of escaping this island alone. Or hiding as you suggested. Mercenaries are extremely sensitive when it comes to issues directly connected to their own survival. You have to look after your own life. Mercenaries have loyalty to each other, but not much loyalty when it comes to money and lives. However, I quite liked this team.”
Baek Ae-yeong let out a large sigh and opened the door to the pantry connected to the conference room. Then, looking at the sink installed in the pantry, she opened the lower cabinet. Inside the lower cabinet, there were only two wet towels. Surely she wasn't telling me to hide here?
“They said this sink leaks. They told me to remove all the items from the lower cabinet because they'll repair it later. You can hide here. No one will know from the outside.”
Somehow, the places I had to hide kept getting worse and worse. After showing me the hiding spot, Baek Ae-yeong tried to leave without any lingering attachment.
“If I die, you take half the gold bars, Muhyeon. And divide the remaining half among the Engineer Ga Team people as you see fit. Anyone except that bastard Jung Sang-hyeon can have however much. Take care.”
“What? I absolutely can't let you go!”