Chapter 119

“If I were to officially sign a contract with the TRA…”

“Did you sign a contract?”

“Not yet, but I intend to.”

“…Did the Director say something to you?”

“No, it was my own decision.”

When he was talking with Han Goyo on the rooftop before Cell-X’s meteor fell…

Kwak Hanmuk had a hunch.

That Han Goyo had been pressured by Director Jang Seokyun in some form.

He knew Jang Seokyun all too well.

Jang Seokyun was a man perfectly suited for the position of head of a state agency.

Jang Seokyun was someone who believed that individual sacrifice for the nation, and the misfortune of the Adaptees to handle trials, was inevitable.

He was more than capable of committing such despicable acts against Han Goyo.

He knew it even better because he had experienced it himself.

After all, Kwak Hanmuk remained at the TRA because of Jang Seokyun.

Of course, the choice was his own, but it was a fact that Jang Seokyun had a profound influence.

If he had pulled that stunt on Han Goyo as well…

‘Fuck.’

Kwak Hanmuk swallowed his deep irritation.

He was still only twenty-four.

He had even heard that he had been holed up at home for four years immediately after becoming an adult.

His "social life" would have amounted to nothing more than one year as a pro gamer while he was a minor.

There was no way a kid like that could handle Jang Seokyun, who had been through it all.

If it weren’t for Cell-X, he would have grabbed Han Goyo and interrogated him…

Clearing the trial was the priority right now, so he held back for the time being.

While suppressing the rising irritation, Kwak Hanmuk had another thought.

“Um, Captain Kwak. If I enlist in the TRA… could you… keep being on the same team as me?”

At that moment, he almost lost his composure.

From the moment they first met, he had been strangely drawn to Han Goyo.

He paid even more attention to him after being "registered" at Clean3 and being veiled in a golden veil.

Han Goyo played a significant role in why he hadn’t kicked away the shackles of the "Special Mission Team" that Jang Seokyun had imposed on him sooner.

What was that longing he felt the moment he put on the veil?

It was absolutely not an emotion forcibly manipulated by others.

He put on the veil for the second time at Sla2Plate, and felt the same longing once again.

Kwak Hanmuk even went so far as to thoroughly investigate whether, just in case—just in case—he might have had any connection with Han Goyo in the past.

Of course, there was nothing of the sort. Had it not been for the TRA, they would never have even crossed paths by chance.

In the end, he entered Cell-X without his doubts being resolved.

For now, Kwak Hanmuk moved diligently according to Han Goyo’s plan.

Moving Creature No. 1, gathering intelligence among the prison guards, tampering with the CCTVs, and so on.

After working his ass off, he went to see Won Taebeom.

It was to ask if he knew anything about Je Hyun-oh’s whereabouts.

However, he ended up discovering a different fact.

It was what Jang Seokyun had done to force Han Goyo into a contract.

“…To a trainee?”

He had heard it clearly, but couldn’t believe it, so he asked again.

Won Taebeom replied with a face that remained expressionless.

“Yes.”

“Ha, fuck.”

Kwak Hanmuk, who had been sitting crookedly on a pew in the prayer room, immediately spat out a curse.

He roughly ran his hand through his hair, but his anger would not subside.

Mo Haein’s condition was a secret of the Trial Response Agency.

Won Taebeom knew about it only because he served as the acting team leader of Field Team 2 in Mo Haein’s absence; aside from that, it was a secret known only to the executives.

To think they showed something like that to a trainee.

The blatant ploy made him feel nauseous.

“Our Director Jang… you’re still the same.”

He muttered this softly, clenching his teeth, when Won Taebeom, standing across from him, asked a question.

“Are you going to dissuade Trainee Han from signing the contract?”

“Of course I will.”

A contract shouldn’t be made like this.

Since Han Goyo is an adult, he had intended to stay quiet so as not to feel like he was interfering too much, but he felt he simply couldn’t let it go.

If he left him alone, he would likely just snap and sign something like a lifetime contract for the TRA.

“The TRA needs Trainee Han.”

Kwak Hanmuk, who had been thinking about taking on Jang Seokyun, paused for a moment at the words he had heard. He slowly shifted his gaze toward Won Taebeom.

And he stared at him silently.

Won Taebeom did not avert his eyes. Looking him straight in the eye, he spoke again.

“Please allow Trainee Han to sign a contract with the TRA.”

Kwak Hanmuk asked expressionlessly.

“You’re saying bullshit?”

“Trainee Han is currently the only one capable of closing the trial. If such a being were to join a private company instead of the state…”

“Lieutenant Won.”

“…Various problems would arise. Furthermore, the place where Trainee Han can maximize his capabilities is the TRA. I cannot say that Director Jang’s method is right, but..”

Won Taebeom had finally crossed the line.

“I believe it is a necessary action.”

Crash!

Kwak Hanmuk sprang to his feet. The bench he was sitting on tipped over backwards with a loud crash.

Bang!

Won Taebeom’s head snapped back at the solid punch.

“Fuck, keep blabbering, do you want to keep at it?”

“…….”

Won Taebeom slowly straightened his head. He glared at Kwak Hanmuk.

“This is official duty, Captain Kwak. Please set aside personal feelings.”

“Set aside? You can’t fucking set them aside, can you?”

He let out a hollow laugh and was about to swing his fist again when…

“Captain Kwak!!”

At the shout, Kwak Hanmuk stopped abruptly.

He saw Han Goyo, who had flung open the door to the prayer room.

Startled, his already large eyes widened even further.

Of all people, to get caught punching a junior.

Kwak Hanmuk cursed inwardly, then spread his clenched fist wide open and laughed.

“Here comes Chestnut-ie.”

I’ve seen Kwak Hanmuk beat up NPCs or monsters in trials many times, but this was the first time I’d seen him hit someone from the TRA.

He didn’t stop at just one hit; he was about to hit him again immediately.

“Captain Kwak!!”

Fortunately, at my shout, Kwak Hanmuk stopped his hand and greeted me with a grin, as if nothing had happened.

I hurriedly approached them.

“What is wrong? Why are you hitting Lieutenant Won?”

One side of Won Taebeom’s cheek was swollen and bright red.

His lip was also slightly torn, to the point where I was worried he might have knocked out a tooth.

As I stared wide-eyed, Won Taebeom spoke first.

“It’s nothing.”

Is getting punched once in the army usually not a big deal?

His tone was so nonchalant that I momentarily had that thought.

I glanced at Kwak Hanmuk.

Kwak Hanmuk, sitting haphazardly on a bench that had tipped over backward, spoke nonchalantly.

“Oops, my hand slipped? Maybe it’s because it’s humid by the seaside.”

“…….”

Still, Kwak Hanmuk wasn’t the type to hit a subordinate without a reason.

It did seem like Won Taebeom had made a serious mistake…

‘But Lieutenant Won isn’t the type to pick a fight first.’

Even with all my speculation, I couldn’t come up with an answer.

As I just moved my eyes between the two, Won Taebeom spoke first again.

“I have been informed of the current situation by the Captain. I do not know the location of the Lieutenant Colonel.”

…Doesn’t it hurt?

I couldn’t bring myself to ask him, but I wondered inwardly.

I wanted to ask why such a one-sided punching incident had occurred.

However, neither Kwak Hanmuk nor Won Taebeom were the type to give an easy answer.

I just gave up and brought up the topic of the strategy.

“Lieutenant Won. Were there any additional unusual occurrences while performing your duties as a cleric? I would appreciate it if you could let me know anything related to that wooden octopus leg piece.”

“Do you know the religious broadcast that plays on the TV in the prisoner’s quarters?”

“I know it.”

I had watched it once when I took on the role of a prisoner in a game.

The religious broadcast was the only channel available on the black-and-white TV.

Even that wasn’t played every day; I could only watch it once every few days.

Although it clearly bore a cross symbol, the content of the religious broadcast was extremely strange.

The broadcast went like this:

A steamboat, navigating through a sea of ​​crashing black waves, suddenly encounters a turbulent current and sinks into the deep sea.

Following this, a massive eyeball, appearing not to be human, appears in a close-up and fills the screen.

Music that sounds like it is coming from a crumpled pipe organ plays in the background, and a hymn proceeds amidst a humming sound that resembles dozens of people muttering underwater.

These were words I couldn’t understand.

However, they were bizarre enough that I could immediately tell they weren’t ordinary religious broadcasts.

When the broadcast turned on, the prisoners would all stare at the TV as if entranced.

Meanwhile, I was just sitting there, staring blankly.

“Prisoners who watch that broadcast become well-behaved for about a day.”

“Ah, that broadcast?”

Kwak Hanmuk chimed in.

“The prisoners work hard on the days they watch that.”

This implies that productivity during work hours increases noticeably.

Is some kind of brainwashing taking place through this broadcast?

If that were the case, I wondered why they didn’t play it every day.

‘It overloads the brain…’

Could it be for the same reason?

After all, it is an act that causes mental damage.

Later, I obtained information about the prison guards from Kwak Hanmuk and also heard stories about CEO Cha.

He seemed to have succeeded in completely dominating the guards.

‘The Chief of Security isn’t the type to sit idly by.’

I still shuddered at how terribly the Chief of Security had acted when I played as the Warden; it was sickening.

After gathering various pieces of information, I had to… leave the prayer room…

“…….”

Neither Kwak Hanmuk nor Won Taebeom had finished today’s mission yet.

I had to find Je Hyun-oh alone, and I wasn’t sure if it was okay to leave them behind.

I worried that if I wasn’t there, they might start fighting again.

Kwak Hanmuk, having read my thoughts from my perspective, spoke immediately.

“I’ve thrown enough hits today.”

“Yes… If possible, please try to talk it out…”

Even as I left the prayer room, I glanced back anxiously.

Then, Kwak Hanmuk approached me with a playful grin.

“You want me see you off?”

I didn’t say anything like that at all.

But I just replied, “Yes.”

After walking side by side down the hallway for a while, Kwak Hanmuk said to me abruptly.

“It’s nothing serious, so don’t worry about it Chestnut-ie.”

However, the status displayed on his status screen still showed annoyance.

‘It would be nice if he let me know, too.’

I wanted to ask, but since I wasn’t even a team member, I felt I shouldn’t pry.

I just said, thinking I should get him some snacks later.

“Captain Kwak, please don’t overexert yourself.”

At that, Kwak Hanmuk chuckled and patted my back.

“Contact me if you find Lieutenant Colonel Je.”

“Yes.”

I said goodbye to him and set off in earnest to search for Je Hyun-oh.

Although it was a remote island, the prison was quite spacious and had a complex structure.

Trying to find Je Hyun-oh in a place like this without any clues already felt daunting.

I checked Je Hyun-oh’s status screen, but his current status was still marked as “Frustrated.”

I scolded the System Window in my mind.

‘Do something.’

‘No, not that. Just tell me the direction where Lieutenant Colonel Je is.’

It seems that as I grow as a god, I could learn the current location of my subordinates, but that was something for the future.

I needed help right now.

The System Window remained silent. Just as I thought I hadn’t expected anything, a square window popped up.

At the same time, a golden arrow appeared in front of me.

It was an arrow that looked like it was guiding a beginner in a game.

‘It’s useful. Good job.’

After giving it a moderate compliment, I started moving according to where the arrow pointed.

I had to wander around trying to find my way because I was blocked by walls here and there, but having the direction indicator made it much easier.

As I got closer to Je Hyun-oh, my anxiety grew little by little.

It was because the state of despair kept weighing on my mind.

And finally, I found him.

A dark figure stood at the edge of the coastal cliff.

There wasn’t even the slightest movement, so at first glance, it looked like a statue erected at the edge of the cliff.

Posted in a precarious spot that looked as if it could fall at any moment, Je Hyun-oh was gazing at the sky.

I approached him cautiously.

He must have sensed my presence, yet he did not move.

His goggles were also pitch black.

I realized belatedly that he was soaked in seawater.

He looked as if he had just escaped the sea.

What on earth was he doing…?

Feeling a hint of frustration, I called out to him.

"Lieutenant Colonel Je."

But Je Hyun-oh did not turn to look at me.

For some reason, I felt as though I knew what I needed to do for him.

‘Divine Protection.’

I placed a golden veil over him.

Only then did Je Hyun-oh slowly turn his head toward me.

He called out to me from under a golden protection.

“Goyo.”

“Yes…”

Just as I was vowing to accept whatever he said.

Je Hyun-oh asked me in a whisper.

“You’re a god, aren’t you?”