Chapter 20

The Hidden Truth (1)

“Uh, huh. Okay, I’ll call you back later!”

Il-hyun hung up the phone he was holding.

His face was plastered all over the place, and for the past three days, he had endured so many calls from people from different places. He got calls from parents, relatives, friends, colleagues, and even two ex-girlfriends who broke up with him two years ago! In particular, Kim Byung-cheol and Kwon Se-hyeong, who had watched him at the go-git. They had known him since middle school and were aware of his betrayal then, but they chose not to be angry with him anymore.

Lee Byung-cheol, who was very interested in the Awakening world, was eager to learn more and hang out with the team members’ and get their stories one by one, apart from that, every time he went outside, he had to change his face with instinct power.

He walked to the convenience store in front of his house, dragging his slippers while being almost swept away by those who noticed him.

When an unknown man entered the Aegis, it was a vast topic. His neighbors also said that they thought that he was an ordinary office worker and never knew that he was an Awakener.

The public interest in his story stayed on three days later, to the extent that it was said that he was a secret government agent.

He hadn’t shown what he could do yet, and being in Aegis, he was worried about how much he might suffer in the future.

Because of the reporters who fiercely looked for him near his house, he planned to go a little earlier.

He remembered the tremendous amount of money that came into his account the previous day. Of course it was expected, but he had to pinch himself in the balls for reality to sink in.

“I thought I would wear a mask like Ghost”, Il-hyun, standing at the helipad of a vacant lot near his house, said, swiping his face.

A class B2 gate appeared in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, and Team A, which was waiting in Korea, took over.

Within an hour, he sent a helicopter from Aegis to a place near the house and moved to Seoul. He felt like a Hollywood superstar.

A black copter with the Aegis logo drew closer with a loud noise and landed on the vacant land. Il-hyun approached reflexively.

“Sir, you can’t ride here!” The pilot warned the stranger who was trying to get on the helicopter.

“Oh, it’s me,” Il-hyun said. He had forgotten to change back his face.

When Il-hyun’s face returned to its original state, they greeted each other and sat down in the seat.

The helicopter’s door was closed, and it soared gently into the lush city sky.

* * *

Il-hyun got off the helicopter as they arrived at their destination.

At one corner of the Aegis headquarters, a plane was waiting, away from the busy crowds’ nad vehicles.

He had arrived early, and Ghost or Lee Soo-yeon hadn’t arrived yet. Instead, a familiar person standing there. It was Jeong Jin-sung, the co-team leader of the Aegis A team. He was a very handsome, young man.

Lee Soo-yeon and Jeong Jin-sung, were the heads of Aegis’ face-to-face roles, and they had excellent looks.

There was another person present. He had a crushed face on his slightly turned head.

“Please forgive me. This is Kang Il-hyun,” he introduced them.

“Oh, nice to meet you. I told Soo-yeon about your abilities.”

Jeong Jin-sung smiled and shook hands.

The weather got colder, and they could see the breath coming out of each other’s mouths. The two of them folded their arms around their bodies and chatted while waiting for other team members.

“Is this officially the second operation? Ulsan did better than expected,” Jeong Jin-sung offered.

“I don’t know your definition of ‘doing well’ but I almost died and survived,” Il-hyun said.

“That was an unexpected situation, so I can’t help it. This time the analysis error was quite long. If a dangerous situation arises during the operation, do not overdo it. Just step back. There are plenty of people right now, and there is no reason to be overwhelmed by pride or doubt. The safety of the Team is a priority.”

“I will keep that in mind,” Il-hyun muttered.

The two exchanged conversations without difficulty.

Later on, another team member arrived.

Seok Pil-jun was the first to arrive. The expression on his face wasn’t a happy one and for some reason, as he approached, he didn’t look at Il-hyun. Seok Pil-jun greeted Il-hyun made awkwardly and stood there in silence.

To Il-hyun, that wasn’t a big deal at all because it wasn’t going to be the first time that he worked with someone he disliked and as uncomfortable as it was, not talking to him was the best solution.

Soon Ghost and Lee Soo-yeon disembarked from the helicopter. Ghost wore equipment that was issued under the tent, such as the transceiver and a defense coat.

“You must be pretty busy these days?”

“When my turn came, things broke out one after another. You would have played comfortably in Korea.”

“Haha, yes…”

Lee Soo-yeon, who spoke with Jeong Jin-sung laughed, but when she saw Ghost and Il-hyun’s coats, she paused.

“Well? Wait a minute. Why are you wearing those? I haven’t received them yet.”

Originally, the core was used as a material made for the Defense Coat that had a maximum B rank rank.

If more ether output were pushed in to obtain stronger protection, the risk of malfunction would be high due to overload.

However, with the Aegis Research Team’s groundbreaking discovery, they succeeded in making the latest Defense Coat that was A rank core.

Il-hyun and Ghost wore the coats. They had earned them. Ghost won a bet, and Il-hyun handed over the core fragments and received it in exchange for cooperating with the Research Team.

Il-hyun suddenly jumped for no reason and fortunately, an arrow evaded him.

“And you ask why? Huh?”

“Ugh, Ugh!” Lee Soo-yeon exclaimed as she approached Ghost and placed her finger on the coat.

Ghost could not move. He looked back and hesitated.

“I don’t know what kind of roasting the Research Team did, but I give it to your heart’s content.”

“Ah It’s not possible! I won it be fair and square!”

“What? Did you ever bet again?”

Team A was paid for the equipment pretty quickly, but Lee Soo-yeon was still using the original material, saying that she could not give it to the two teams right away.

Even as the Defensive Coat was an important piece of equipment, it was only an insurance level, and many Awakened people like her often did not care.

Meanwhile, Jeong Jin-sung stared at his watch.

“Now there’s not much time left. Let’s stop playing and leave,” he informed them.

“What, are you not on my side?”

“Well, I already have one.” Jeong Jin-sung answered as he shook his shoulders.

Then Lee Soo-yeon burst into laughter and everyone got on the plane.

* * *

The one-carrier transporter flew at high speed, and several large-sized kinds of transport followed. They were the carriers of the Aegis Backup Team stationed at another base.

Since not all countries and regions responded like Korea’s special forces, Aegis even had a backup team to control and rescue a separate site.

“Wait!”

The two heads of the team suddenly grabbed the transceiver earpiece into their ears and concentrated.

Then Soo-yeon Lee, who became serious, said to the pilot quickly, “turn towards Irkutsk. Emergency turn.”

“Ah, yes. Okay,” the Pilot responded.

All of the planes were carrying them, as well as the aircraft from the backup team that followed, headed north.

“What happened?”

Seok Pil-jun asked when he noticed the urgency and her change of mood.

“In the middle of a Russian city, a sudden gate with an activation time of 4 minutes exploded. It is also B1. The closest aid is us.”

“Damn, it’s starting again,” Ghost grumbled.

“Then how do you get to the original destination?”

“The Uzbek side still has room. You can leave it to another team, or you can finish it after. You look bad from the first day you got abroad.”

Lee Soo-yeon looked at Il-hyun and said, “Isn’t it good?”

“I will know when you do. Maybe you’re glad you were born in Korea.”

Il-hyun’s confusion heightened as the planes carrying them quickly veered into the target city.

Jeong Jin-sung opened the door of the aircraft; it had reduced its speed. They were now overlooking the city below.

Il-hyun’s eyes also turned to him. They were all astonished!

Below them, it was hell! There were scenes of burning cities, screams, countless collapsed buildings, and peoples’ bodies scattered everywhere!

The four Awakeners, except Il-hyun, were looking down at the scene with terrified expressions. It’s nothing like anyone had ever seen.

It’s like it’s not something you’re going through once or twice.