Episode 12
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12. Pale Face
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"Team Leader. I have something to show you."
A voice called out to Ji-seul. Turning around, she saw Kim Hyeon-gyu, the head of the intelligence team. For some reason, his face was glowing with a sense of pride, much like a father whose child had just won a prize at an academic competition.
Ah, come to think of it, he did once mention that his daughter was a top student.
"I think we've found... Kim Eon-su."
Kim Eon-su? Ah, Kim Eon-su. Ji-seul, who had been reviewing the post-operation report, widened her eyes at the unexpected breakthrough.
"Really? How?"
"Our youngest member pulled it off."
With that, Kim Hyeon-gyu gestured to someone beside him to speak up. At his signal, Cha Eun-ha stepped forward.
She looked slightly flushed, likely nervous about reporting to the senior she usually looked up to.
Her explanation was as follows:
Kim Eon-su was the name Choi Yong-deok had confessed to after a grueling interrogation. He was a man he had met at a police academy alumni gathering a few months prior. He couldn't quite recall the man's name or face, but after sharing a few drinks and reminiscing about their academy days, they had become close quickly.
During their few meetings, Kim Eon-su had made an unexpected proposal. He asked Choi to let him know if he ever heard or saw the name Jeong Doyeong while on the job.
He claimed the guy had run off with his money and seemed to be hiding somewhere near Nowon-gu. In exchange, he promised Choi a sum of cash that was hard to refuse.
However, investigations revealed that no one by the name of Kim Eon-su existed. At least, not on any police academy graduation roster.
The intelligence team deduced that someone had tracked Jeong Doyeong—who was hiding somewhere in Nowon-gu with the Core—and had intentionally approached the head of the traffic management division at the Nowon Police Station.
This much was already known to Ji-seul.
"But I didn't think just anyone could get into a police academy alumni gathering. Especially in this day and age. Plus, he knew way too much about what happened back in their academy days."
Eun-ha continued.
"So, in my opinion, this 'Kim Eon-su' really was a police academy graduate. Or at least, he had someone from the police leadership in his circle and used that person's name. Either way, he used that to get in and then approached Choi Yong-deok using a pseudonym."
"And then?"
Ji-seul listened intently.
"That’s when I remembered that container. The one that held the Pale Skin."
"You tracked that? Was there even a BIC code left on it?"
Every container used in international trade has a unique identification number on its exterior. While this code, which allows for the tracking of the manufacturer and owner, is called a BIC code... she didn't think those bastards would have left such incriminating evidence behind. Ji-seul tilted her head.
In fact, the BIC code on the container that held the Pale Skin had been perfectly erased with white paint.
"Yes. But once it cleared customs in Korea, it must have been scanned at Incheon Port, right? Even if they erased it, they would have done it after that... so... for the past month, I pulled a list of all containers that entered Incheon Port and hadn't been re-exported or transshipped."
Containers that hadn't been re-exported or transshipped. In other words, containers that remained in the Incheon Port yard.
Or, containers that were supposed to remain there according to the paperwork.
"There were 40,000 of them. So, with the cooperation of the Incheon Port staff, I compared the containers actually sitting in the yard one by one against the registry..."
Ji-seul offered a faint smile. So that’s why she hadn't seen her for a few days; she had been at Incheon Port. She made it sound easy, but it must have been an incredible amount of grunt work. To use a metaphor, it wasn't just finding a needle in a haystack; it was the process of removing every single grain of sand until the needle was revealed.
"And so... I found twenty-nine containers that should have been in the yard but weren't."
*Flip.* Eun-ha pulled out two sheets of paper and handed them over.
"And this is one of them."
One was a container registration certificate. The nationality was Colombia. The owner was a small trading company named El Comercio Bolivar. It was a name she had never heard before.
The other sheet was the company's organizational chart. As Ji-seul scanned down from the top, her eyes stopped at one spot.
Vice President. Sergio Bae.
"Sergio Bae?"
"He's a Korean who immigrated ten years ago. His Korean name is Bae Jeong-seop. His younger brother, Bae Yeong-seop... was a police academy classmate of Choi Yong-deok. So, when I showed Choi Yong-deok a photo of Bae Jeong-seop..."
Eun-ha said calmly.
"He called him Kim Eon-su."
Ji-seul glanced over at the intelligence team head, Kim Hyeon-gyu. Kim Hyeon-gyu nodded again with that same fatherly expression.
"Ms. Eun-ha."
"Ye... Yes!"
"This is excellent. Let's contact the South America office immediately."
"Yes!"
Eun-ha tried desperately to maintain her composure, but she couldn't hide the smile spreading from within.
"You worked hard. How long did this take?"
"It took one week!"
"I'll be sure to tell the Team Leader that you were the one who found it."
"Oh, no... it was with the team members... and the Incheon Port staff..."
After soothing Eun-ha, who had begun to ramble in her embarrassment, Ji-seul returned to her desk and sat down. As she began to draft an email to the NIS South America office, something suddenly occurred to her.
One week...
Looking at the calendar beneath the supplementary report on Jeong Doyeong's movements, it had already been a week since Jae-hak left for the Internal Front Command for training. Ji-seul tapped her chin with her pen.
"I wonder if he's doing well."
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"..."
Meanwhile, at that very moment, Jae-hak was trapped in a deep pit somewhere in Gangwon-do. His hands and feet were tightly bound to the wall, and he was struggling to stare into the endless darkness before him.
No, to be precise, he was glaring at what was lurking within that darkness.
*Ah, ah, uh, ah, ah, ah...?*
The first thing he heard was a moan that sounded like a mockery of a human voice. Then, a white face emerged from the darkness. It was a woman's face, twisted into an unnaturally bright expression. The eyes within that chilling smile rolled around, unfocused, before finally settling on Jae-hak. *Creak...* The woman's face slowly twisted to the side. *Grin,* her red mouth stretched all the way to her ears.
"..."
Jae-hak gritted his teeth, refusing to look away. A visceral sense of revulsion broke out in a cold sweat. Until today, Jae-hak had never seen a monster in person in his entire life...
*Ah, uh, ugh, ugh, ugh, uh, uh...*
The woman's upper jaw tore open with a sickening sound. Pale teeth, packed densely together, were revealed under the moonlight. It was a horrific sight, closer to the mandibles of an insect than the teeth of an animal.
"Ugh, ugh, ugh, aaaahhh!!"
"Aaaaaaahhh!!"
Screams erupted from all sides. It meant Jae-hak wasn't the only one tied up in this pit.
*Ah, ah, ugh, ah, kaaaaaaaahhh!!*
Then, the monster lunged. The form of a giant spider, hidden beneath the pale human face, was revealed. Its gaping maw descended upon Jae-hak.
Death encroached.
"..."
Jae-hak bit his lip hard. His body trembled, and sweat poured down like rain. But his eyes remained fixed, staring down the lunging maw until the very end.
Just as the hideous teeth were about to shred him to pieces—
*Whirrrrrr—*
The sound of a heavy motor roared to life. The monster that had been about to sink its fangs into Jae-hak fell backward. The chain collars around the monsters' necks were pulled taut.
*Ah, uh, uh, ugh, uh—*
The monsters clawed at the ground in resistance. But they were no match for the power of the heavy machinery and were helplessly dragged backward, back into the darkness. With the *clack* of steel cage doors closing, bright floodlights flickered on all at once from every direction.
The people tied to the walls, the trainees, gasped for air, their bodies drenched in sweat as they squinted against the light. The instructor in charge of anti-monster combat walked out in front of them.
"Are you... not waking up yet?"
"..."
"What are you? Hunters, aren't you? What do you expect to do if you cower before your prey like that!"
The instructor said, pressing down on them with a fierce expression. His accent was thick with a heavy Gyeongsang-do dialect.
"Look straight! Looking straight is the first step, thinking about how to fight is the second, and fighting is the very last! Whether you have a knife or a gun in your hand, you can't do anything if you can't look straight! Do you understand!"
"Yes!"
"Number 28, 59, and 102."
"Yes!"
The trainees who were suddenly called out answered.
"You're out. Go home!"
"But..."
Number 59, looking as if his soul had left his body, tried to mutter something before suddenly vomiting up what was in his stomach. The instructor shook his head and turned back to the remaining trainees.
"These are monster code INS022CAM. They're nicknamed 'Human-Faced Spiders.' They hide their black bodies in the shadows and stick out their white faces to lure people in. In unpopulated areas, there have been reports of them mimicking deer or wolves."
The instructor continued.
"Their teeth secrete a neurotoxin that induces hallucinations. I've heard that in South America, they dilute this toxin to use as a hallucinogenic drug. Also, while it's easy to instinctively aim for the head, their nervous system is in their torso, so try to shoot for the torso whenever possible. Any questions?"
"No, sir!"
"Good. Again. This time, look straight until the end. Look straight, reflect on the explanation I just gave, and think about how you can kill them. Do you understand?"
"Yes!"
The instructor exited the pit with agile movements, and the floodlights that had illuminated the area turned off.
*Ah, ah, uh, uh, uh...*
And in the deep darkness, the sound of the cage doors opening echoed. The approaching white face wore a smile even more twisted than before...
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"Pit number 3, pull up the self-assessment chart for number 78."
In the training control room overlooking the pits, the instructor, who had come up after finishing the first round, took off his hat and spoke to his assistant.
"Why is that, sir?"
"He never closed his eyes. It's not like he isn't afraid, either..."
Maybe he's someone who has survived a few brushes with death, the instructor muttered as he scanned the printed self-assessment chart.
"Number 78, Lee Do-hyeon. Blanche International... Blanche... Ah... so it's this kid."
"Do you know him, sir?"
"...No, that's not it."
The instructor kept his words brief.
His name was Im Han-gil. His rank was First Lieutenant. He was a peer of Ji-seul and the very person who had gotten Jae-hak into this training course at her request.
Of course, he had only secured the spot; he had never seen the boy's face or heard his name even once.
'Did she say he was an NIS rookie...?'
However, in normal circumstances, new NIS agents are sent to regular military special forces units like the UDT, Special Forces, or SSU for a four-week commissioned training program. There is no precedent for someone being sent alone to undergo the brutal Awakened Combatant Training Course.
What could it be?
"Pull up his first-week results, too."
What was currently underway was the second week of basic anti-monster combat training. The first week had consisted of self-discipline training designed to force the Awakened to accept the limits of their individual abilities and physical stamina.
Run, run, and run again. If they fainted, they were woken up to run; if they vomited, they were made to wipe it up and keep running... If they sprained an ankle, they were given a refill and sent back to run.
In short, they were pushed to the absolute limit.
And Seong Jae-hak’s results for that first week were...
"…That’s strange."
At first, he was 67th out of 100.
Then, 50th out of 98.
Then, 42nd out of 81.
And currently, he is 27th out of 77. No, three people just dropped out, so he is 27th out of 74.
He started in the lower-middle tier, but his ranking climbed with every evaluation. The same went for his mutation rate. When he first arrived, it was 2.7%. But in the last measurement, it had soared to 3.4%.
In that short span, he had risen from Level 7 to Level 6.
'Is it because of his regeneration ability?'
The thought crossed his mind. However, the instructor shook his head. It was true that Awakened with regeneration abilities were at an advantage in long-term training because they recovered from fatigue and muscle strain far better than others.
But the Internal Front Command was not stupid. To prevent such an advantage, they did not provide any trainee with more than their daily required caloric intake during the first week. Therefore, his regeneration ability shouldn't have been able to activate.
If so, what was the cause of this rapid growth? Was he truly enduring through sheer willpower? No... there is a limit to how much the mind can transcend the body. Humans are, at their core, mere bundles of cells and functions. This kind of growth simply because he worked hard did not make sense.
Then, was there some secret hidden somewhere?
Either way...
"An interesting fellow."
The instructor muttered.
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