Chapter 24: Returnee (１)

****

“Chief Researcher! We have an emergency!”

Aide An burst through my office door. No emergency-code siren was sounding, so it didn’t seem to be a wartime or similar situation.

But this was the first time Aide An had come running in person. When there was something that required running, it was Administrator Lee, who was twenty years younger than Aide An, who did the running.

Something serious must be going on, then.

I rose from my seat.

“I’ll head over right away. What’s going on?”

“No, Doctor. You should at least hear what it is before deciding whether to go.”

“Ah, right.”

I pretended to think for a moment.

“What’s going on?”

“We’ve picked up spacetime distortion and tachyon reactions. But the location is in downtown Seoul, so if things go wrong, the cleanup will get quite difficult.”

“Understood. What do I need to do?”

“A team is already moving at the scene.”

There’s a team at the scene. It doesn’t look like I’ll need to go in person this time, but I do need to check what’s happening on-site.

“I’ll listen in on the way to somewhere with comms.”

“The command room is ready.”

I hurried to the command room. Aide An was struggling to keep up with me.

Please bear with me a little, elder.

****

A moment later.

I sat down in the command room.

Aide An stood waiting beside me, and an engineer from the Mechanical Division was standing by to check the communications equipment.

“This is Dr. Geum from the Director’s Office. Sorry for the delay. Who is the on-site commander?”

“Section Chief Kang Cheon of the Humanoid Division.”

“Thank you. Can you brief me?”

“We’re monitoring the target. The target is inside an apartment, and there are a lot of people in the vicinity, so our options are limited.”

“What exactly is the target?”

“The current target is a humanoid anomaly that crossed over from another world. We’re confirming which dimension it came from, and it hasn’t shown any hostile behavior.”

I thought for a moment.

“What are our current options?”

“A hunter-killer drone is observing the target. But if we open fire, we can’t guarantee no one in the apartment gets hurt. The recovery team is on standby for entry.”

“Why not go in?”

“We can’t guarantee safety. If a firefight breaks out with the recovery team, we could see casualties among them along with collateral damage.”

“One last question, Section Chief. Of course, as the on-site commander, the decision authority is yours right now. Are you asking for my decision?”

“No. I’ll take responsibility. That will be—”

He seemed to want to cut the comms.

“Section Chief. I know you’re not the type to stall in a situation like this. You have a way to talk to the target, don’t you?”

The target was a humanoid anomaly, which was why the Humanoid Division was commanding the scene.

The fact that the Humanoid Division was stalling meant there was room to resolve this without problems.

“That’s correct… The target has already conveyed its intentions to us. It doesn’t seem to fully understand its own situation, but it’s asking us to bring the highest-ranking person we can. We were just preparing to neutralize it on sight—”

I shook my head.

There was no need to go that far yet.

“I won’t waste any more time. Send me all the files related to this incident. I’ll arrive at the scene within ten minutes.”

“No intention of changing your mind? There’s no need to negotiate with a terrorist. We’ll handle the collateral damage.”

“I’m getting my protective gear on right now, Section Chief.”

“Understood. Cutting comms.”

Section Chief Kang cut the comms.

****

Unfortunately, no matter how many times I heard it, the sound of helicopter rotors never got familiar. It gives me a headache.

I opened up the files.

The target was a humanoid anomaly, and reportedly presumed to be Korean. It was thought to have visited another world and returned through some means.

The target was human, but it had the power to coordinate the apartment’s floor level and open a spacetime singularity. Its abilities were considered quite formidable.

The target was reportedly already aware that it was being watched. The target appeared to be holding a powerful weapon.

I don’t know how far negotiations with the Foundation had progressed, but today’s target was holding an entire apartment building hostage, staging a protest in front of the Foundation.

This was a situation requiring negotiation.

At least, that was Section Chief Kang’s assessment.

I pulled the Crystal Clock from my pocket.

[What’s the situation this time?]

“The target is a Returnee from another world. They’re holed up in a densely populated area, demanding to speak with the highest-ranking person in the Foundation.”

[You don’t negotiate with terrorists.]

“This isn’t a negotiation. I’m simply considering the best course of action for threat neutralization.”

[Is it definitely a hostage situation? Or are we treating it as one because it’s in a densely populated area?]

“The latter. They called for us, but they don’t seem to have grasped their own situation. They haven’t directly threatened to kill anyone either.”

The Crystal Clock ticked a little more.

[A sight I see almost every day. A mentally unstable anomalous human, arrogant enough to believe they can smash their way through any incident with their own ability.]

“Do you think neutralizing them outright is the right call?”

[Yes.]

“Well… whether we send in a task force to fight or proceed while accepting collateral damage, I’d like to try talking to them first before we do.”

[That’s too dangerous.]

“Don’t worry. I’m strong.”

I tapped the gas canister I’d brought from the lab with the stock of my submachine gun. I could handle one humanoid anomaly.

****

Most Korean apartment buildings have facilities on the rooftop for helicopter landings. Of course, a helicopter almost never actually lands there.

“Chief Researcher from the Director’s Office has arrived!”

The helicopter touched down on the roof. The recovery team ran over the moment they saw me. Science Officer Min, whom I’d seen at the Garden last time, was waiting on site.

“We don’t have time to waste. When can we breach the target’s location?”

“You’re going in yourself?”

“I’ll be going in alone.”

“Um, why?”

I tilted my head.

“The other party wants to negotiate with the Foundation, don’t they? I’ll sort things out as best I can.”

Science Officer Min let out a sigh.

“The target is carrying a powerful anomalous weapon. Given that they opened a dimensional rift, destroying a single apartment building would be trivial for them.”

“The negotiation specialist team is on standby in the command room. I’ll be entering the field myself.”

“You can enter right away. The target is on the 16th floor, and the roof is the 30th. If you want to go down yourself, you’ll need to rappel.”

“…”

I might develop a fear of heights I never had before.

“Still going alone?”

****

*Sssss.* I gripped the rope and descended along the building’s exterior. The target was on the 16th floor, they said. One window, two windows, three…

I reached the target point. I braced my feet against the window ledge, then raised the glass breaker—

“Eek!”

I made eye contact with an innocent bystander.

“Ah. Sorry about that.”

The 14th window from the roof was the 17th floor. I gestured an apology to the civilian, then grabbed the rope and descended one more floor.

My apologies, civilian.

*CRACK!*

I shattered the 16th-floor window and breached the target area. The target was nowhere in sight. First thing to do was check my own status.

I shook the glass shards out of my combat boots.

Let’s see.

Following the protocol for individuals who’ve crossed over from another dimension, I’d come wearing protective gear. Disinfectant canister, input container, submachine gun, radio and headset.

All functioning normally.

[Dr. Geum. Can you hear me?]

“Loud and clear.”

[This is insane.]

“If I do my part well, maybe the recovery team and the apartment residents can all go home alive. Isn’t that enough?”

[Find the target for now. I’ll reconnect once you begin speaking with them.]

“The target. They’re Korean, right?”

[Yes, they’re Korean. If you’d like, I can look up everything from that person’s past internet search history to their kindergarten records. Though there is a gap in the timeline from when they were in the other world.]

“Understood.”

[Should I send it now?]

“I’ll review it once we’re back at the facility.”

Somewhere in the house, a crying sound drifted out. I carefully opened the closed door.

There was someone inside—

“Is someone in there?”

“Go back. I’ll actually kill you.”

A trembling voice.

Part of me felt a little sorry for them. But given the situation, I figured I could afford to push a bit harder.

I leaned against the doorframe.

Our target, the Returnee, was sitting in the corner of the room clutching a sword. Aside from the sword, they just looked like an ordinary high school girl.

“Miss. Please calm down and listen to me. We’re here to help you.”

“Who the hell are you?”

“I’m the highest-ranking person who can come before you in person. Dr. Geum, Director of the Foundation. Tell me what you want.”

The Returnee stared at me. I’d been a bit scared before meeting them, but as I’d seen earlier, they didn’t seem to have a grasp on the situation.

“What I want?”