As soon as he got the tablet, he said, âZaira, delete all videos and posts to social networks concerning the situation.â
[All information concerning this situation will be deleted.]
âThe SWAT team has been deployed somewhere. Show me all CCTV footage from the surrounding area,â he continued.
Soon, each camera feed appeared on screen one after another, and Moonki, who was watching said, âYou have a lot of experience.â
âI used to work for Guardiansâ Administrative Department.â
âAre you saying you have experience going up against monsters?â
Junhyuk nodded, and Moonki looked at the monitor.
âIs it even possible to delete all information?â
âThis is only taking place in South Korea in real time, so itâs possible.â
âThatâs very effective.â
They talked, and the CCTV footage showed the SWAT team going into a house by breaking down the door, and the team members getting thrown away like ragdolls. SWAT started shooting, and the infected person appeared all bloodied.
âThereâll be a lot of casualties,â he said.
Moonki nodded heavily.
âThey only killed one, but there were too many losses.â
Meanwhile, the door opened, and people came in. They had stars on their shoulders, and Eunseo walked in with them. They all sat down.
Junhyukâs job was to mediate. He would take Eliseâs place and make suggestions on how to proceed. He also wanted to know of any special symptoms the people infected by the poring could display. While he had seen one of them fighting against the iron soldier, he still wasnât sure about what they could do.
The Army Chief of Staff, Daeil Kim, took a seat and looked at Junhyuk.
âAre you going to explain the situation to us?â
âIâm Junhyuk Lee. Iâll give you a short summary of what is going on.â
By using the tablet, he showed them the footage of how people were infected and of the iron soldier restraining an infected. After the video and the quick explanation, Daeil couldnât hid his scowl.
âHow many officers are on the ground right now?â
Taewoo spoke calmly, âThings looked dire, so we activated the SWAT teams. They are using five helicopters to carry out the mission. Meanwhile, the local police will arrest those infected whose locations weâve pinned down.â
Moonki whispered in Taewooâs ear, and Taewoo looked back at him.
âShow us the SWAT team in action.â
Junhyuk pulled up the CCTV footage of the shooting scene. To kill a single person infected by a poring, some SWAT members were sacrificed. Seeing that, Daeil got up from his seat.
âI have to talk to the president. Excuse me.â Then, he looked at the man sitting next to him and added, âCall Lieutenant General Han to prepare for a quarantine line. Tell Lieutenant General Kim to prepare as well.â
âYes.â
Daeil went out, and the man he spoke to made the calls quickly. The defense command of the countryâs capital was now directly involved, and Junhyuk felt that that was a significant improvement from only having the police involved.
Junhyuk looked back at the list of identified infected. A high school teacher was infected, and that teacher worked at Sarangâs high school.
He looked at Eunseo and said, âI have to go out and make a call.â
She took the tablet from him, and he walked out and called Sarang. The phone rang once, and he soon heard Sarangâs voice from the other end.
âHello?â
âSarang, itâs me.â
âBig brother! Whose number is this?â
âI got a new phone.â
âAh! Why did you call me?â
âDo you have a teacher named Woontak Dong?â
âDo you mean the history teacher?â
âRight.â
âWhat about him?â
Junhyuk remained silent for a moment before saying, âHeâs been infected by a poring, and three hours from now, heâll be able to infect others.â
âWhat should I do?â
âA SWAT team and the cityâs military forces have been deployed. Go home early.â
âWhat about my friends?â
He started worrying. Did she mean to fight for her friends?
âIf you want to fight, take him somewhere nobody can see you. However, Iâm not sure what kind of powers infected people have. It might be better to fight where there are people around.â
Sarang answered a moment later, âEven if I have to summon my armor, I shall take full responsibility for him.â
Junhyuk was a bit worried, but he knew Sarang had the power to fight the infected without much danger to herself. She could kill a person with her lightning bolt.
âWe know a few things. The infected have eyes completely green, and the one who fought against the iron soldier had superhuman speed. So, donât let your guard down.â
âI understand.â
He hung up and went back inside. Daeil also came back and took a seat.
âThis is unofficial, but a kill order has been given. The cityâs military and SWAT teams will carry out the order. The police will establish blockades and quarantine lines.â
When Taewoo heard him, he felt relieved from the heavy responsibility.
âIâll get it done.â
Junhyuk was still worried about Sarang, and Eunseo walked over and asked, âWhat is the matter?â
âItâs nothing.â
He decided to trust Sarang. He had fought alongside her many times, and she had stayed safe. She would be alright.
â
Sarang hung up the phone. She was still in recess, but turned to the person next to her and asked, âDid the history teacher come in today?â
âWho? Mr. Dong?â
âYes.â
The girl shook her head and tapped the back of of the person sitting next to her.
âDo you know if Mr. Dong is here?â
The girl fixed her glasses and said, âI saw him in main office⦠He might have gotten eye surgery. He was wearing a sunglasses.â
Sarang frowned. He ha to be hiding his eyes, which meant he was sentient.
She got up, and her friend said, âRecess is almost over.â
âI have stomach ache, so Iâm gonna see the nurse.â
Once out of the room, she ran to the main office. After passing a few students in the hallway, she went inside. All of the teachers stared at her, so she bowed heavily and asked, âI have a question for Mr. Dong.â
âRight. If you have a question, ask anytime.â
Her grades had gone way up, and her ranking was among the best in country, so the teachers were all supporting her studies enthusiastically. At that moment, the bell rang, and the teachers left. Sarang walked to Mr. Dongâs desk.
He has a book opened in front of him, but he wasnât reading it.
âMr. Dong.â
The teacher didnât turn around, and she was sure of it then. She looked around. The only people in the main office were Mr. Dong, her and the P.E. teacher.
Sarang summoned her orb, held it on her hand and threw a pen toward Mr. Dong. He caught it instinctively, bearing his teeth at her.
She stared at him.
âYou donât remember your name, but you can still think. You came to school after all.â
Mr. Dong snarled, and she said, âFollow me.â
Sarang walked backward slowly, and Mr. Dong got up. He was getting close to her, but Sarang didnât let her guard down, staring at him while going downstair.
Mr. Dong tried to attack her a few times, but Sarang gave off significant pressure.
She took him outside. There was a restroom behind the school building, and that was her destination. Once inside, Mr. Dong attacked her suddenly. He got down on all four, moving much like a spider or a dog. He was really fast. However, Sarang wasnât surprised. She had experienced something similar in the past. To her, after having fought monsters many times over, he wasnât fast enough.
She cast an Electric Blast on him. Those only paralyzed heroes, but it was entirely different matter for humans.
Craaack!
Mr. Dong got hit and stopped suddenly, but he wasnât paralyzed. He was dead and completely charred. She sighed of relief.
âWhew!â
She hadnât been close to Mr. Dong, but she had killed a person, so shock washed over her.
Suddenly, a green blob seeped out of Mr. Dongâs ear. After seeing that, Sarang stared at it and made a call with the cell phone in her hand. The blob tried to enter the sewer, but she kicked it. It hit a wall and splashed down to the ground.
She had called Junhyuk, and when she heard him answer, she said, âBig brother, I have something to ask you.â
âDid you kill him already?â
âHe was already at school. I couldnât wait. However, there is a problem.â
âProblem? What is it?â
âI killed him, but green blob came out of his ear, and itâs alive. Itâs trying to get away.â
Junhyuk sighed.
âIâll send a SWAT team and a gathering team. Just tell them you found him dead already.â
âDo I have to stay here and watch it?â
âWe donât have any answers, so I canât tell you anything.â
Sarang looked around the restroom, found a bucked and placed it over the green blob. She put her foot on top of it when she saw the blob trying to get out.
âSend them quickly.â
âOf course! Right away!â
She wished no one would see what she had done. If other students saw her now, it could become a headache because people had seen her got into the main office.
Sarang continued to kick the green liquid as it attempted to leave the bucket.
â
Junhyuk looked at Eunseo.
âA high school teacher is dead. He had been previously identified, and green liquid came out of his ear. The liquid is attempting to get into the sewer, so we have to send a team out quickly. We canât afford to lose a piece of poring.â
Eunseo whispered to him, âIs it Sarangâs school?â
âYes.â
She nodded.
âIâm deploying three iron soldiers. Send one over to the school. The other two will go to check out those close to him.â
âYou want to get them alive?â
âIf possible. Elise needs more infected subjects.â
âSure.â
By using Zaira, he deployed the iron soldier. It would help Sarang, so that she didnât have to fight any longer.