CHAPTER 277: PANDEMIC IN THE MAKING

"KID, are you talking to the System?"

Oh.

Yuno blinked slowly before tearing his gaze away from the Status Window, and then he turned to his side to face 17. "The System said something crazy just now, sir."

17 just smiled while looking at Yuno as if he were staring into his soul.

Aigoo.

Yuno couldn’t help but feel conscious.

17-nim can’t tell that I just had sex, right? I took a shower after Hyung and I did it quickly.

"Kid, being with you is fun."

Aigoo.

"Sir, please don’t say stuff that could be easily misunderstood," Yuno said, sighing. "I know you don’t mean that in a romantic sense. But Gayoon Hyung is a jealous man. I barely stopped him from going after your throat earlier. So, please be more careful next time."

"Don’t worry about it, kid. Gayoon can’t kill me easily," 17 said nonchalantly while waving his hand. "Anyway, I decided to stick with you in the meantime. It seems like the System needs you to fight its nemesis, correct? Since you’re the eye of the storm, I’ll get to have so much fun if I stay close to you."

Aigoo.

What a weirdo.

"Sir, are you saying that putting your life at risk fighting off monsters is fun?"

"Yep!" 17 answered cheerfully, his eyes sparkling. "I want to enjoy it while it lasts."

"While it lasts...?"

"Kid, the apocalypse has to end. I have a strong feeling that we’re near the end of this nightmare," 17 said, grinning. "That’s why I want to have as much fun as I can before everything returns to normal."

’Normal,’ huh?

Yuno was just starting to think about what a ’normal’ world was when, all of a sudden, 17 grabbed him by the waist. But the stranger’s hand on his waist didn’t last for long because a familiar hand immediately took him back.

Yeah, it was Ki Gayoon, of course.

His lover appeared out of nowhere and snatched him back from 17, who immediately let him go without a fuss.

To be honest, Yuno thought Ki Gayoon would pick a fight with 17 again.

But he was wrong.

The two strong Espers kept their mouths shut while looking up at the sky as if they were waiting for something to fall.

And something really did fall.

BANG!

Yuno didn’t get to see what exactly had fallen down because Ki Gayoon covered him with his body.

But he could feel the ground shaking hard.

Hence, he hugged his lover’s arm as if his life depended on it while closing his eyes tight. He didn’t want the debris or the dust to get into his eyes, after all.

Fortunately, the shaking didn’t last for long.

"Woah," 17 commented as if he were impressed. "That’s a beautiful, crystal-clear block of ice?"

Block of ice?

Lee Sarang?

Yuno immediately opened his eyes and gently pushed Ki Gayoon aside to see what was in front of them.

And, yep, it was really a beautiful and clear block of ice.

"Yuyu, we need your help," Moon Noa said in an urgent tone. "Can you help Osaki Shohei?"

Osaki Shohei, as in Haru’s Guide?

Yuno was about to ask where Osaki Shohei was, but he noticed that Haru and the rest of Moon Noa’s group (Kwon Hojun, Kim Jaeha, Lee Sarang, and the Gu Twins) were all looking up at the huge block of ice.

There was someone hiding behind Lee Sarang that he didn’t recognize.

But he already got distracted when he realized there were ’people’ inside the block of ice.

No, they actually look like the ’zombies’ we just cured.

And one of those ’zombies’ was...

Yuno let out a gasp. "Osaki Shohei-ssi?"

***

YUNO was reminded why 17 was the current #1 World Ranker when he watched the man help Lee Sarang melt the huge block of ice with his fire ability.

Yep, 17-nim can control all elements.

After the huge block of ice was melted, the Espers retrieved the unconscious ’zombies’ one by one.

There are at least four people this time.

While the Espers were placing the bodies on the tables that Yuno had used earlier, he silently asked the System.

Can they still be saved?

He didn’t ask out loud, but the System still responded.

[I’m sorry, but only Guide Osaki Shohei can be saved. The Artificial Core in his heart has been embedded recently, so the roots haven’t reached his core yet. Moreover, we need to interrogate Guide Osaki Shohei, so please do your best to keep him alive, Guide Noh Yuno.]

Oh.

"Gayoon Hyung..."

Yuno wasn’t done calling his boyfriend yet when he suddenly appeared next to him,

"What do you need me to do?"

I like how Gayoon Hyung already knows what I need.

"The System says only Osaki Shohei-san can be saved. Please make sure the other ’zombies’ won’t be able to hurt anyone."

Ki Gayoon nodded. "Alright. Leave them to me."

"Thank you," Yuno said, and then he started wearing his Surgical Gloves while talking to Moon Noa. "The System says we need to keep Osaki Shohei-san alive, Sajangnim— so, I’ll do my best to save him."

Moon Noa still looked worried, but he nodded. "Let me know if you need my help, Yuyu."

***

OH, THIS is different from the Artificial Cores that I extracted earlier...

Yuno hesitated a bit because the Artificial Cores of the ’zombies’ before were, well, fake.

But Osaki Shohei was a legit Guide with a legit Core.

And the authentic one...

"Half of Osaki Shohei-san’s Core is already corrupted," Yuno whispered to himself in disbelief. "What should I do?"

Actually, he was talking to himself since he was alone in the tent that Lee Woonhak lent to him.

And only Osaki Shohei was his patient there.

So, he was surprised when someone responded to him— someone whose voice didn’t sound familiar.

"Do you want me to help you purify that Core?"

Yuno almost had a heart attack when the voice came to his side.

And when he looked in that direction...

Oh, I know this pretty dude.

"Hello, Mr. Noh," the man greeted him with a smile. "I’m Jericho, 17’s Guide."

Yuno was about to say that he knew Jericho already because he was a worldwide famous Guide, but his Status Window suddenly popped up again.

[Guide Noh Yuno, take Guide Jericho and get out of there— now!]

He didn’t plan to question that urgent instruction.

But before Yuno could even grab Jericho, he heard it— the sound of gas leaking out of Osaki Shohei’s body.

Dammit!

The gas is actually an airborne virus!

***

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