Chapter 2420 – 2420. Eternal Eden
The coup forces easily surrounded the Blue House. Jung Woo-hyun was trapped inside, unable to escape. This meant the coup was practically half successful. Support troops for Jung Woo-hyun? The South Korean military couldn’t move recklessly because of North Korea. Even if support troops were to come, it would take hours for them to arrive, and by then, the situation would be over.
I arrived at the Blue House belatedly. As a behind-the-scenes power player, I couldn’t reveal myself at the scene, so I wore a different design of combat helmet and bulletproof vest. Still, those who knew me would recognize me.
I met Jin Su-hak separately. He was frowning deeply.
“Is there a problem?”
“Yes. This coup is practically a success, but Jung Woo-hyun hasn’t given up and is holed up in the Blue House.”
“Looks like he’s got something else he’s relying on. Is there a general he’s close to?”
“There are a few generals who associated with Jung Woo-hyun… but their loyalty can’t be that strong. They’re not stupid, they know this is a losing battle, so they’ll stay quiet.”
“Then what is that bastard relying on?”
“It seems he’s relying on the presidential security team.”
“That’s all? It would be more believable if the Japanese special forces were coming to rescue him.”
Unless Japan was crazy, that wouldn’t happen.
“The presidential security team is entirely made up of Awakened, so it’s not easy to break through.”
“Bombarding them with artillery… that won’t work. If the president dies, it’s over.”
We could revive the president. However, to do that, no one else could see the president die. Besides, it would be difficult to find the president’s body in the ruins of the Blue House.
“Let’s urge the security team to surrender. They’re not idiots, they know their lives are about to go to shit.”
It was giving them a chance to cut ties with Jung Woo-hyun.
If it were me, I would have cut ties with Jung Woo-hyun immediately. He was falling from grace, not just to the ground, but into the abyss.
The fact that the security team were Awakened was also a reason. Awakened had value depending on their abilities. A well-trained combat-type Awakened could even take on a Variant alone.
“We’ve urged them to surrender several times, but they don’t listen at all. They don’t even answer. When we tried to force our way in, they attacked first. They have no intention of surrendering.”
“Those morons are the type to lick Jung Woo-hyun’s ass.”
“…My subordinates said their eyes looked strange.”
“How strange?”
“Usually, people who are prepared to die have fierce eyes. But their eyes weren’t like that. Their eyes were hazy. Like they were dozing off. Yet, they attack immediately when our soldiers approach… isn’t that strange?”
“…Is there a psychic-type Awakened?”
I hadn’t paid much attention to it until now, but it was strange that Awakened were pushed into the security team. If I were the president, could I fully trust the security team? I could be assassinated by some unknown ability.
‘More than anything, the Awakened in the security team were forcibly dragged in by the NIS and work in the security team against their will. They must have complaints.’
If it were me, I would rather send the Awakened outside. I would form the security team with people I could trust, even if they lacked ability.
‘They pushed the Awakened into the security team because there was a psychic-type Awakened. And the reason they tried to capture me by force… it must be because they trusted the psychic-type Awakened.’
They would have controlled me with psychic abilities and used me as they pleased.
Honestly, if I were in Jung Woo-hyun’s position, I would have been very tempted by me. Once I was kidnapped, they could control my mind with psychic abilities and have a reverse aging machine.
‘Well, I brought the Absolute Mind for times like this. Psychic abilities are no threat to me.’
I shook off my thoughts and asked Jin Su-hak.
“Are you sure there isn’t a space-type Awakened among them? Jung Woo-hyun absolutely cannot escape.”
“You’re worried about space teleportation. According to our investigation, there isn’t one. If there was, he would have already escaped. Space teleportation isn’t common, so rest assured.”
Jin Su-hak looked at me with his eyes, asking what I was going to do now. To make a decision quickly.
In this respect, Jin Su-hak was reliable. He knew his place.
“Break through the Blue House walls with artillery and enter. Be careful not to collapse the building. It would be good to capture the Awakened alive, but… it can’t be helped. It’s better than our troops getting hurt. Of course, I’ll enter with you.”
“There’s no need for you to go personally. We’re enough.”
“I’ll take Jung Woo-hyun’s head myself. I’ve already decided that.”
Before starting the entry operation, I received a call from Sungak Elementary School. I thought it was Na Chae-young, but it was Yoo Seo-jung.
“Did someone else attack Sungak Elementary School?”
-No. It’s not that… I unlocked the Xenode and found out its exact effects.
“At this hour? You should be sleeping?”
-I couldn’t sleep.
Well, it hadn’t been long since the attack.
“Is it important enough to report now?”
-Yes. Xenode is a drug that stimulates human cells and slowly causes mutations. In the process, metabolism becomes active and you mistakenly think your fatigue is recovered. The side effect of erectile dysfunction occurs because the hormone balance is disrupted during the mutation process. Also, emotional fluctuations become greater.
“That’s unsettling. The claim that it’s a nutritional supplement was a lie.”
-It is a nutritional supplement. It actually contains all the nutrients.
“The president takes this every day, right?”
-Every day. If he takes one pill a day, he won’t become a Variant right away. What’s more concerning is Bionics, who made this drug. The fact that they didn’t reveal the side effects… no, the real effects, means they intended to turn the president into a Variant.
“That reminds me of something I heard from Dr. Na before.”
-Dr. Na?
“He said he happened to see the government forcibly taking players. I don’t know what happened, and neither does Dr. Na… but it’s highly likely that the Bionics working for the government now is one of the players who was taken. They probably weren’t treated well after being taken… maybe they were trying to get revenge in their own way.”
Jung Woo-hyun failed at managing people.
Perhaps Bionics was also being controlled by a psychic-type Awakened. Then, Bionics regained their sanity and created the drug Xenode, pretending it was a fatigue recovery supplement and giving it to the president.
‘Mind control isn’t omnipotent. You can suddenly regain your sanity even while being mind-controlled.’
According to Na Chae-young, there are various reasons. Receiving a major mental shock. Taking certain drugs and increasing mental resistance, or obtaining an item that suppresses psychic abilities. Psychic abilities also have limitations.
‘For example, there’s Antispur, a drug that temporarily increases mental resistance and protects the mind when taken.’
If psychic abilities were that overpowered, all players would have chosen Esper and gained psychic superpowers.
“Thanks for letting me know. Go get some sleep.”
-Yes. And please be careful.
I ended the short conversation with Yoo Seo-jung.
Bionics, who created Xenode. I need to think about what to do with this bastard. There’s something unsettling about trusting him and using him right under me.
“Jin Su-hak. Start the operation.”
I commanded. The K2 Black Panther tank spewed fire and smoke.
KWA-KWA-KWANG!
The Blue House wall crumbled. The prepared soldiers began entering the Blue House. The Awakened began to resist with hazy eyes. I entered from the side, not the front. The closest place to the president’s office.
I entered through the collapsed wall. There, I encountered an unexpected person.
A man with a parted hairstyle wearing a suit. Shin Young-soo, the first deputy director of the NIS. Unlike usual, he wasn’t wearing rimless glasses and was dusting off the dirt on his head and body.
“Even if you hide your appearance, you can’t hide your aura. It’s been a while since we’ve met like this, Sung Yoo-jin.”
“…You were here too. Were you that loyal to Jung Woo-hyun? If you had any brains, you’d know that Jung Woo-hyun is finished.”
“I know. I know very well. Everything went wrong because of you! Jung Woo-hyun? I don’t like that bastard either. But what can I do? We’re already in the same boat! But there’s still a chance! Sung Yoo-jin! You! If I just catch you! I can fix it! With your power, it’s possible!”
Shin Young-soo’s voice grew louder. I saw that he was deliberately fueling his anger. At the same time, his body grew larger and blade-like bones protruded from his hands.
“Haa, haa… They say Awakened don’t die easily, right? From now on, I’ll cut off your limbs. So please, don’t die.”
“You weren’t an Awakened. To say you Awakened in the meantime… ah, I see. It’s the evolution serum.”
“Yes. Jung Woo-hyun, that bastard, told me to choose as the price of failure. Whether to inject the evolution serum or die by his hand. I decided to inject the evolution serum, which had a chance of survival. The result is this form. I succeeded in evolving. Bullets are just tickles, and I can tear apart humans like paper!”
Shin Young-soo charged.
A charge that only relied on his physical strength. I sneered at him.
‘Even a beast wouldn’t charge so recklessly.’
Instead of dodging, I walked forward.
Thunder Sky Style (雷天流) – Azure Stream (碧溪).
I used footwork to create an optical illusion for the enemy. The illusion soon blurred his sense of distance.
Shin Young-soo passed by my side, and I slashed his neck. The blade didn’t cut his neck.
‘The claim that bullets are tickles wasn’t a bluff.’
“UAAAAAAAH!”
Shin Young-soo charged again.
What a joke. The first deputy director of the NIS has no intention of using martial arts. Could it be that he became the first deputy director of the NIS without learning any martial arts? He wasn’t a field agent?
Thunder Sky Style (雷天流) – Azure Stream (碧溪).
I used Azure Stream again. Shin Young-soo was fooled again this time. I took out a dagger from my waist and stabbed it into his right eye.
“KUUAAAAAAAH!”
A scream as he collapsed. The eye wasn’t as hard as the skin.
I pulled the pin on a Na Chae-young special shock-enhanced grenade and put it in his open mouth.
BOOM!
Shin Young-soo’s head exploded and his body fell to the floor. I left his corpse behind and headed for the office.
