CHAPTER 281: TEST SUBJECT

"WHAT’S WRONG, Yuno?"

Aigoo.

Now Jericho-ssi is addressing me casually.

Actually, Yuno didn’t mind.

"The System is asking me to enter the quarantine area."

His companions all gasped in surprise.

And Yuno had a pretty big group with him. Aside from Jericho, he was with Lee Woonhak, the Gu Twins, Kwon Hojun, and Kim Jaeha.

It’s not like this is the first time I’m being used as a test subject.

The only difference now was that he didn’t mind it. After all, he knew what he was signing up for. Moreover, he was actually pretty curious about the virus.

I’m the one who’s going to deal with that anyway, so it’s better if I know what it is.

"I don’t think the boss will like that, Madam," Lee Woonhak said, frowning. The other nodded eagerly. "As a doctor, I’m also against it. There must be some other way to study what kind of virus it is instead of using a human test subject."

Right?

But what could Yuno do?

The System wants me to do it, and there must be a reason why it should be me.

"This is what happens when you accidentally become important at work," Yuno said, sighing. "Don’t worry too much— the System will protect me."

I hope so.

Anyway, Yuno had to interrogate Osaki Shohei anyway.

Let’s hit two birds with one stone.

***

KI GAYOON had an ominous feeling after Noh Yuno and his group got out of earshot.

Although high-ranking Espers had sharp hearing, even that had limitations if the person he wanted to eavesdrop on was surrounded by other high-ranking Espers.

After all, we have a natural barrier around our bodies.

And that natural barrier was blocking his sharp senses.

"Well, those bastards have always been interested in Yuyu, so I guess we shouldn’t be surprised," Moon Noa said, sighing. "But it seems like they want Yuyu to do something this time. It’s obvious the zombies are just a trap."

Ki Gayoon hated to admit it, but he agreed with the sly fox.

The people from the Lab have always seen Noh Yuno as a ’masterpiece,’ so I’m sure they want him to do something for them.

"Just because we figured out the enemy’s message doesn’t mean the problem is solved. The zombie sightings will soon cause chaos to the Civilians, so we should control the narrative to avoid mass panic," Moon Noa said, getting up from his seat. "I’ll go and meet with President Kwak Hakjae to take care of the urgent matter." The sly fox then turned to Ki Gayoon. "Yoonyoon?"

Ki Gayoon glared at the sly fox. "Don’t call me that."

"Sure, Yoonyoon," Moon Noa said cheerfully, obviously annoying the hell out of him. "This country is under your regime. You haven’t forgotten about that, right? We’re under Esper Law because of you."

Right.

Ki Gayoon avoided Moon Noa’s gaze. "I’m not leaving this place without Noh Yuno."

"I knew you’d say that. And that’s not the reason I asked," Moon Noa said, sighing as if he were already fed up with Ki Gayoon. "Can I act like your representative?"

Oh.

The sly fox is asking if I trust him enough to make major decisions using my name.

"I don’t trust you, but I trust the fact that Noh Yuno is fond of you," Ki Gayoon said, looking at Moon Noa straight in the eye. "Use my name to your heart’s content. But you better produce positive results."

Moon Noa smiled and nodded confidently. "Of course~"

"I’ll come with you, Noa-san," Haru said, immediately getting up. "There are zombie sightings in Japan, too. As our country’s representative, I’d like to cooperate with your country about how to deal with them."

Aigoo.

That’s obviously just an excuse to tail the sly fox like a dog.

"Oh, sure," Moon Noa said, obviously pretending to fall for Haru’s excuse. "I was just about to ask you to come with me anyway, Haru-ssi."

Aigoo.

He’s still calling Haru Hyung that way?

"Gayoon-ah."

Ki Gayoon turned to Kang Dabin— the only person in that room who called him by his name casually. "What is it?"

His ’only and only friend’ (according to Noh Yuno) had his eyes glued to his phone.

"I got a message from Woonhak Hyung," Kang Dabin said nervously before lifting his head and meeting Ki Gayoon’s eyes. "Apparently, the System asked Noh Yuno to enter the quarantine tent and absorb the virus."

Dammit!

Ki Gayoon slammed his hands on the table before getting up from his seat and teleporting.

Does the System want to die by my hands?

***

IT WAS as if there were fireworks in Yuno’s chest.

He wasn’t sure if it was just his imagination or what, but he could hear something explode inside his body ever since he entered the medical tent where Osaki Shohei was confined.

As soon as he set foot in there, his skin crawled.

The texture of the little purple ’clouds’ that attached to his exposed skin was disgusting.

They feel like little bugs with hundreds of hairy feet crawling on your skin.

Moreover, Yuno could also tell that his Core was being attacked by the virus that he had inhaled.

Maybe the ’explosions’ I ’hear’ are the result of my Mana protecting my Core.

"Is that you, Noh Yuno?"

Oh, he recognized me.

Yuno had met Osaki Shohei several times since he would often travel to Japan with Moon Noa before.

And whenever Sajangnim is in Japan, Haru-nim will appear and follow Sajangnim.

As Haru’s Guide, Osaki Shohei would sometimes appear next to Haru.

That’s how we became acquainted.

"Yes, it’s me, Shohei-nim," Yuno answered politely while looking down at Osaki Shohei, who was lying down on the makeshift bed inside the tent. "I’ll get straight to the point. How did your Core get corrupted?"

Osaki Shohei flinched, but his lips formed a thin line as if he had no intention of opening his mouth.

Aigoo, I’m not good at interrogation.

So, Yuno just said whatever entered his mind first.

"You became zombie-like, you know? But, unlike the others who had an Artificial Core implanted on them forcefully, yours was damaged directly—"

"None of us were forced."

Yuno was shocked by two things.

First, he didn’t expect that Osaki Shohei would open his mouth easily after acting like he would shut up forever.

Second, the other Guide’s claim was both surprising and alarming.

"None of you was forced?"

"We were recruited by a Guide who calls himself ’Ni-ki.’"

Yuno’s legs almost collapsed when he heard the familiar name— and he just knew that it was the same ’Ni-ki’ from his past.

That brat is still alive?

"Ni-ki promised to turn Civilians into Guides, and Guides into S-Class Guides," Osaki Shohei said, pausing for a moment before he dropped the bomb: "Most Civilians agreed on the ’transplant’ because Ni-ki claimed that, in the new world, only Awakened People would survive."

Yuno knitted his eyebrows. "A world where only people Awakened People are allowed to survive?"

That sounded like an old story.

Isn’t that exactly the reason why other nations have gone through civil wars?

However, Yuno had a feeling that the situation this time was worse.

***

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