CHAPTER 279: INFECTED HUMANS

I’M ALREADY weak as an E-Class Guide, but now I feel like I’ve become weaker.

That was Yuno’s thought after waking up.

And he remembered fainting after purifying Osaki Shohei’s corrupted Core.

"Mr. Noh, it’s strange, isn’t it?" Jericho, 17’s Guide, asked with sparkling eyes. "You extracted those Artificial Cores just fine, but you fainted after purifying the corrupted Core."

Yuno wasn’t really a friendly person, but Jericho was too important to ignore.

Plus, only the two of them were in the room at the moment.

Their Espers were there with them earlier, but Moon Noa dragged both Ki Gayoon and 17 out of the room for an emergency meeting.

They say the sick can’t join the meeting, so here we are now.

But everyone was just next door, so they could get there faster if they were ambushed.

Plus, the room had a barrier to keep them safe.

It sometimes helps that Gayoon Hyung is overprotective.

"Mr. Noh?"

"Oh, sorry. I spaced out."

Jericho chuckled while shaking his head. "You shouldn’t be spacing out when someone is talking to you."

"I know, but I can’t help it. I’m sorry for being rude, Jericho-nim."

"Oh, you don’t have to address me so formally."

Yuno belatedly realized this, but...

"You speak Korean fluently, sir."

It was amusing to see someone who looked very Caucasian speak Hangul.

But it wasn’t strange.

I’m already used to Lucca-ssi, after all.

Garam was talking about the green-eyed French Guide known as the Golden Angel.

"My first language is English, and my second is Korean," Jericho explained cheerfully. "My stepmother was Korean, so I learned the language from her."

"Ah, I see."

"I see that you really don’t care."

Yuno couldn’t deny that, so he just changed the subject. "Extracting Artificial Cores is easier than purifying a corrupted Core. After all, I don’t really use Mana when I do the former. But we need Mana when doing the latter."

Jericho looked at Yuno while blinking slowly, and then he suddenly laughed out loud. "This is why geniuses could be frustrating sometimes."

"Excuse me?"

"Mr. Noh, do you think it’s really easy to extract Artificial Cores?"

Oh.

Oh.

"I volunteered to help you because I wanted to see how you do that," Jericho said. "I’m sure that’s something I can’t do for now. But since I’m also an E-Class Guide, I figure it’s something I can do, too."

Ah, right.

"When did you awaken, sir?"

"Can’t you just call me ’hyung?’ I feel old when you address me like that."

"Alright, Hyung-nim."

Jericho seemed satisfied with that. "I awakened two years ago."

Oho?

That’s fairly recent.

Come to think of it, Jericho only rose to fame when 17 ’hard launched’ him as his Guide during last year’s World Rankers Summit.

Something that Korea’s Top 5 Espers skipped.

"I awakened as an E-Class Guide, and it was 17 who discovered me," Jericho continued with his explanation. "But he said E-Class Guides are just a myth, so we decided to keep my real class a secret. He helped me register as an S-Class Guide using AWO’s power and influence."

"17-nim claimed that he had met other E-Class Guides. Have you also met them?"

"Unfortunately, no. 17 met them while he was traveling the world alone. When he brought me to the place where he met the other E-Class Guides, they were already gone."

Yuno frowned when he remembered his deal with 17. "Did 17-nim trick me, then? He said he’d help me find the other E-Class Guides in the world. But your’e saying that 17-nim doesn’t really know their location?"

"Oh, don’t worry about that. Do you know why 17 is the current #1 World Ranker?"

"Because Gayoon Hyung didn’t join the competition."

"Exactly, it’s because 17 is extremely lucky..." Jericho trailed off when he realized that Yuno didn’t answer the way he expected. And then he raised an eyebrow. "Excuse me? Are you saying that my Esper only became the #1 World Ranker because your Esper skipped the competition?"

"Yes, that’s exactly what happened," Yuno said confidently while nodding. "If Gayoon Hyung joined the competition then, he would have been the #1 World Ranker."

"Are you picking a fight with me, Mr. Noh?"

"I’m just telling the truth, Hyung-nim."

"You can’t underestimate 17 like that," Jericho said. Although smiling, it was obvious that he was pissed. "Like I said earlier, 17 is extremely lucky. So, even if 17 and Ki Gayoon are similar in strength, 17 would still win because of his luck. Based on what I’ve heard about your Esper, I don’t think he’s that lucky."

"Yes, Gayoon Hyung wasn’t lucky before— but that was before he met me," Yuno said, scoffing. He didn’t know why he was fighting with Jericho for something stupid, but he couldn’t help it. "Now that I’m with Gayoon Hyung, he just became the luckiest Esper in the world."

Yuno and Jericho ended up glaring at each other.

***

HEH.

Ki Gayoon could clearly hear Noh Yuno and Jericho arguing next door.

Their argument is interesting.

And he wasn’t the only one who could hear the two E-Class Guides ’fighting.’

Everyone in the room— 17, Moon Noa, Haru, Lee Sarang, Kang Dabin, and Lucca— were listening while holding back their laughter.

My Babe Princess will be embarrassed once he finds out we all heard him protecting me.

Ki Gayoon didn’t understand why Noh Yuno had to fight with Jericho just for something trivial, but he appreciated it.

That punk really loves me, huh?

He had to cover his mouth with his hand to hide his stupid grin.

Anyway, it wasn’t just their group that was stuck in the orphanage for now.

The Gu Twins are also here, but they are keeping an eye on Kwon Hojun and Kim Jaeha at the moment.

They didn’t include the kids in the meeting because, well, they were kids.

As long as the adults can handle it, we shouldn’t involve kids in this fight.

Moon Noa cleared his throat loudly as if trying to catch everyone’s attention. "Anyway, it seems like it wasn’t just Sasa’s group that was attacked by what seemed like ’zombies.’"

’Sasa’ would be Lee Sarang.

That’s the sly fox’s stupid nickname for her.

"I was just talking to President Kwak Hakjae on the phone earlier," Moon Noa said in a serious tone. "Apparently, the Esper Association has been receiving several reports about zombie sightings in Seoul."

Tsk.

Ki Gayoon’s head was already aching since it was obvious what was happening.

The zombie apocalypse has begun.

***

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