“There’s a quarantined person named Park Wiyeol from the Jeju Island Quarantine Center who died in an accident recently. He was a Transcendent who had been hiding even after his ability manifested, and was transferred to the Jeju Island Quarantine Center around last year. When this man was in society, he acted like a cult leader and gathered followers to create an organization. Earth was the group Park Wiyeol created. But then Park Wiyeol suddenly died in an accident at the quarantine center.”
“What were the circumstances of his death?”
“At the Jeju Island Quarantine Center, quarantined people who break the rules must undergo separate isolation and education. Park Wiyeol broke the center’s rules several times, and while receiving education accordingly, he suffered a heart attack and died.”
“Suddenly?”
“Park Wiyeol, who was dissatisfied with the education content, protested to the instructor and there was a small altercation. During that process, when the instructor, feeling threatened, responded somewhat forcefully, Park Wiyeol suddenly had a heart attack.”
Was that really a somewhat forceful level of response? But no one questioned the circumstances of Park Wiyeol’s death. Even the advisor who asked the question closed his mouth. The officer’s words continued.
“In any case, after Park Wiyeol’s death, Earth seems to have suddenly transformed into a radical group with rebel tendencies.”
“What’s the scale of those bastards?”
This time, NSP Vice Minister Hwang Insu asked a question.
“Nothing has been revealed about Earth. However, most of the Transcendents in the country were probably Park Wiyeol’s followers. It’s natural for the same kind to band together. There might be other unknown collective residences like ‘New Peace Town.'”
“What’s New Peace Town?”
“It was a Transcendent village created by Park Wiyeol. Around last year, we obtained secret information and entered the town to capture Park Wiyeol and all the Transcendents.”
“They did all sorts of things. Like vermin.”
“The biggest problem isn’t the scale of their forces, but that they’re Transcendents in an uncontrollable state who’ve escaped the government’s surveillance system. No one can predict what they’ll do or when and where they’ll appear. If they put their minds to it, they could reduce Seoul to ashes in a couple of hours.”
Groans and sighs erupted from here and there.
“The bigger problem is Seo Haeju, who escaped from the Seoul Quarantine Center a few days ago. Currently, Seo Haeju’s whereabouts are unknown, but Earth must be looking for him too. We must prevent Earth from making contact with Seo Haeju. If Seo Haeju is recruited by Earth, our forces won’t be able to handle them.”
When Seo Haeju was mentioned, Yeojin’s eyes widened. His mind, which had been languidly drooping from the painkiller’s effects, snapped to attention.
“I heard roughly about the incident from five days ago, but what kind of guy is Seo Haeju that his escape is such a big deal?”
At Vice Minister Hwang’s question, the officer displayed Seo Haeju’s photo on the large monitor. A photo of Seo Haeju in tacky quarantine clothes with a blank face appeared prominently on the monitor.
“Seo Haeju’s birthday recently passed, so he just became a legal adult. He’s someone who was classified as a Potential Transcendent, Zero Grade, through ability grade testing and detailed examination at the temporary quarantine center. Five days ago, Major Park Mingyu and soldiers visited the Seoul Center to transfer the quarantined people there to Iryeongdo according to the changed government policy, and they seem to have been harmed when they went to Seo Haeju first.”
“Is there no video?”
“The CCTV in Seo Haeju’s room happened to be broken, so there’s no related footage.”
“Hey, Director Im! What were you doing without even fixing the CCTV?”
This time the fire spread to Director Im. Vice Minister Hwang turned his head and shouted at Director Im Suhyang while spitting. Director Im stood up abruptly and bowed her head to the vice minister in apology.
“I apologize.”
“Can’t do your job properly?”
“I’ll correct it immediately.”
The vice minister clicked his tongue loudly and turned his head back to the front. As Director Im sat down, Yeojin clearly heard her quietly grumbling, “At least allocate the budget properly.”
“We secured CCTV footage from the quarantine building hallway at the time of the accident.”
The officer spoke and displayed the CCTV footage on the monitor.
From Room 13 where Haeju had been staying, dozens of crows suddenly flew out and filled the hallway. The hallway echoed with the cawing of crows and the fluttering of wings. The emergency bell rang in the hallway and quarantined people could be seen rushing out of their rooms. The crows flying through the hallway and the panicking quarantined people fleeing became entangled, turning the quarantine building into pandemonium.
Mixed among the crows fiercely flapping their wings and flying around, a man could be seen running. Yeojin could recognize who the man was at a glance.
It was Haeju.
The crows surrounded Haeju and blocked the view so the boy could escape safely. It was like a security detail made of birds. The flock of crows, Haeju, and the quarantined people became entangled together and ran down the stairs. Soon, one crow flew toward the hallway CCTV and immediately the video cut off with a popping sound.
The people staring at the monitor began murmuring the moment the video cut off. A small disturbance arose in the audience. That was understandable since it was footage that was hard to believe was real. Even during the incident itself, Yeojin had felt it, but even though he’d seen countless Transcendents, this was the first time he’d seen such a scene.
A sudden flock of crows. No matter how you looked at it, those birds clearly appeared to protect Seo Haeju. Everyone here would think so.
“Afterwards, the quarantine building exploded. It appears to have been done by someone among the quarantined people, not Seo Haeju. Fortunately, it was after we had rescued the soldiers and personnel inside. As for who blew up the quarantine building…”
“No, wait a minute.”
Vice Minister Hwang cut off the officer’s words. He pointed at the monitor showing only a black screen with the footage cut off and asked.
“Is that even possible?”
“As you saw, that situation is an actual situation.”
“What are those birds?”
“Those birds appear to be a kind of bodyguard protecting Seo Haeju.”
“So you’re saying Seo Haeju is like a trainer who commands those birds?”
“Yes. That’s how it’s interpreted.”
“Don’t the quarantined people at Seoul and Jeju quarantine centers all have ability control chips inserted?”
“Yes. We definitely inserted a control chip in Seo Haeju as well.”
“But he did that? You’re saying he used his ability? Even with the chip in his body?”
“Yes. That’s correct.”
The vice minister scoffed “Ha!” and silence fell over the audience. After a brief silence, the officer continued speaking.
“Seo Haeju is a completely different type from other quarantined people. Until now, there hasn’t been a Transcendent with complex abilities like Seo Haeju. Seo Haeju is the first Transcendent to possess two or more abilities—a superpower with physical destructive force and the ability to command animals simultaneously. Until now, this kind of case didn’t exist, so we can’t even divide him into a grade.”
“Good grief. An absurd monster has been born.”
Vice Minister Hwang let out a groan, and sighs leaked out from here and there.
“Among our SP Special Task Force guys, there’s really no one with abilities like that?”
“No. There isn’t.”
The audience stirred greatly. Every single one of them had serious faces as they talked among themselves. Next to Yeojin, Director Im also let out a sigh.
“We had such a monster with us for four months.”
But until now, Haeju was very docile. Yeojin was about to say that but stopped. If he said it, he’d surely be told off again for defending Seo Haeju.
“I understand Seo Haeju shows symptoms of infantile regression from the shock of the accident.”
“The detailed story will be told by Dr. Min Yeojin from the Seoul Quarantine Center, who is Seo Haeju’s attending physician.”
The audience’s gazes focused on Yeojin. The officer gestured for Yeojin to come forward. Director Im grabbed and pulled on Yeojin’s clothes as he stood up awkwardly while receiving everyone’s gazes, and whispered softly.
“Watch your mouth. Got it?”
Yeojin ignored her words and strode forward. After Yeojin greeted them and finished a brief self-introduction, the officer who had been moderating until just before spoke to him.
“I understand Dr. Min was also at the scene of Seo Haeju’s family vehicle accident in early December.”
“Yes, that’s correct. I was returning to Seoul after taking care of business in the provinces when I encountered the accident scene. The overturned vehicle seemed about to explode, so with the help of surrounding drivers, I assisted in Seo Haeju’s rescue.”
“According to witnesses, Seo Haeju directly smashed the car door and escaped.”
“Yes. The car door crumpled and fell off like a piece of paper. Since it was absolutely impossible with human strength, he was classified as a Transcendent and immediately transferred to our Seoul Center for treatment. Fortunately, the injuries weren’t serious, so help from external medical institutions wasn’t necessary. However, the psychological shock was severe, and Seo Haeju showed symptoms of temporary amnesia and infantile regression.”
“During the four months of quarantine, were there any particular abnormalities with Seo Haeju?”
“No. His abilities didn’t manifest and his personality was docile, so there were no major problems.”
“However, while quarantined, Seo Haeju had no interaction whatsoever with other quarantined people, and he often showed hostile and simultaneously aggressive attitudes toward center staff.”
That’s nonsense.
Rather, if the center staff were aggressive toward Haeju, they were aggressive—Haeju was busy being afraid of them and avoiding them. It was no different from scaring an animal first, then pointing fingers saying it has aggressive tendencies when the terrified animal growls.
