Chapter 258: Zoo
"I'm actually kind of looking forward to this!"
Yu Daon, wearing a bulletproof vest, was grinning from ear to ear as she looked at me.
I was also wearing a bulletproof vest, holding a pistol, and staring at the scene before me.
"Hahaha! This really feels like we've gained an army of a thousand soldiers and ten thousand horses!"
Ahn Sang-hyun was sitting in the passenger seat, laughing cheerfully, and the Branch Chief was driving, her hands on the wheel.
How did things end up like this?
*
"Four people?"
"Yes. Four people."
At my words, the Branch Chief nodded.
"Is there really a need to take so few people?"
"Well, we said we were short on personnel, but to be precise, it's that we're short on personnel who meet the conditions."
The Branch Chief shrugged her shoulders as she answered.
"The others wouldn't be able to fulfill their roles properly even if they came in."
"..."
I see. So it's structured in a way that only four people can enter.
"So, we need Mr. Ahn Sang-hyun... and one more person."
"One more person..."
Would it be someone else from the Isolation Team? I didn't know who, but I hoped they wouldn't be as hostile to me as that man with the burn scars from last time.
"Who is it?"
"Ms. Yu Daon."
"...Daon?"
"And the other person is me!"
With a 'ta-da!' sound, the Branch Chief pointed at herself.
"Do you see the commonality?"
Commonality...
"We... don't think much?"
"If I pat Kim Jae-heon's head, I think you might start thinking a bit less too."
"My apologies."
The Branch Chief laughed, raised a fist, and lightly brought it down on me in response to my apology.
"Anyway, as you can see, everyone gathered this time is strong."
"That seems to be the case."
Ahn Sang-hyun, who's invincible while rolling; Yu Daon, who can't die; and just the Branch Chief herself.
But why am I included in this?
"I'm not strong, Branch Chief."
"That's right. That's why the three of us will probably have to take turns looking after you, Mr. Kim Jae-heon."
"If that's the case, wouldn't it be better if I just didn't go?"
Was there really a reason to take me along, using up one precious slot?
"Because we need you, Mr. Kim Jae-heon."
"..."
I think I get it roughly.
They need information-gathering skills, but it's basically a structure where physical threats are a serious concern. So, Yu Daon, Ahn Sang-hyun, and the Branch Chief will go for that, and they're planning to entrust the information-gathering aspect to me and my eyes.
"Yes, I understand."
"It's so convenient that you understand even without a detailed explanation."
The Branch Chief laughed and nodded.
"But I'm not sure if the other team members will just stay put."
If Jang Chae-yeon and Song A-rin heard about this, they'd probably throw a huge fit, insisting on coming along.
"Well, if that's the case, we'll just have to let them come."
The Branch Chief smiled brightly, pushed me on the back telling me to go and tell them, and I had no choice but to return to the HR team and share the story I'd had with the Branch Chief with the others.
Just as I expected, the moment Jang Chae-yeon and Song A-rin heard my story, they stubbornly insisted they were coming too.
"I can't accept this! Who knows what kind of trouble you'll get into going with that girl who's all brawn and no brains!"
"My body is actually very soft! And my head isn't that empty either!"
"What kind of mess are you expecting if you take along someone who can't even understand what people are saying!"
Song A-rin was pointing a finger at Yu Daon, and Jang Chae-yeon was also nodding in agreement.
"The firepower is insufficient. It seems unlikely we'll be able to properly respond to any enemies we encounter."
"I have firepower too!"
"Human fists probably won't be enough."
Neither of them had any intention of listening to me.
Yu Daon was looking at me anxiously, and in the end, I had no choice but to step in.
"The Branch Chief said if you want to come, you can."
"That's more like it."
"That's the right way."
"Wha... really...?"
In contrast to Song A-rin and Jang Chae-yeon, who were nodding with triumphant faces, Yu Daon was looking at me with an expression as if her world had collapsed.
To be fair, the Branch Chief had told me to bring the two of them along if they wanted to come.
"She said we're departing tomorrow morning, so perhaps you should all head home early today."
"I haven't said you can leave work yet, who said you can just come and go as you please?"
"Team Leader, do you want to come too?"
"Rest is important too. Have a safe trip."
*
So, everyone had gathered, but...
"So where are those two, exactly?"
"They're coming separately, so don't worry."
The Branch Chief smiled softly at me through the rearview mirror.
After saying we'd gather and depart in the morning, Song A-rin and Jang Chae-yeon had gotten into a different car and headed off.
Where did those two go?
Since the Branch Chief is involved, I didn't think they'd gone somewhere strange, but still.
"Where are we going?"
"Outside of Seoul."
"Does the Gangseo Branch manage areas outside Seoul too?"
"We've set up four Management Bureaus in this tiny landmass; of course we have to move around."
The Branch Chief looked at me with an expression that asked why I was asking something so obvious.
"Actually, there are only two Management Bureaus on the entire continent of Oceania. Those two bureaus manage all the isolated objects there."
"Oceania..."
I wondered what kind of isolated objects existed in Oceania.
"Haha, curious about Oceania, are you?"
Ahn Sang-hyun, who had been grinning silently until then, finally spoke.
"I've only heard rumors, but they say there are killer kangaroos."
"Killer kangaroos."
"Yes. And koalas that move at the speed of sound, or wallabies that pull guns out of their pouches and shoot."
"..."
It seemed Oceania wasn't exactly a normal place either.
"So, where are we going?"
"We were just talking about animals, so this is perfect timing."
The Branch Chief nodded and stepped on the accelerator.
"We're going to the zoo."
"Wow, I've never been to that zoo before!"
"Hahaha! Never been to a zoo before! My heart is just trembling with excitement!"
In response to Yu Daon's words, Ahn Sang-hyun laughed heartily and nodded.
"Jae-heon, you don't look so good."
"I'm fine."
Being with these people made me feel like my energy was being drained at an incredible rate.
Is this what it feels like to be under the scorching sun without a single patch of shade?
"Shall I play some music?"
The Branch Chief pressed a button in the car, and music began to flow.
<The Dutch village is in full bloom, and the streets are lined with flowers.>
<Well then, my friends, let us go and enjoy the scenic beauty of the mountains and rivers.>
<With a bamboo staff and a straw hat, I enter the thousand-mile landscape; the red and green mountains bloom once a year, proudly displaying their spring colors.>
<All sorts of reds abound, the green pines and bamboos are lush and dense; amidst the riot of beautiful flowers and fragrant plants, the butterfly that slept among the flowers flies away without a trace.>
A song that sounded old to anyone's ears echoed through the car.
"...When is this song from?"
"This? Well, it was popular when I was young."
The Branch Chief shrugged her shoulders as she answered.
So now she's not even trying to hide her age.
"Haha! Such a refined hobby, so fitting for the Branch Chief!"
Ahn Sang-hyun shouted loudly and laughed. The Branch Chief shot him a brief glare but then smiled and looked at me.
I also glanced sideways at Yu Daon, wondering if she'd say something again, but surprisingly, Yu Daon was blankly staring out the window, chin propped on her hand.
"Daon."
"Ah, yes. Jae-heon!"
When I called her, Yu Daon immediately turned her head sharply and looked at me.
"No. I just called your name."
"What is it?"
Yu Daon gave a small laugh and looked out the window again.
And so, listening to the song the Branch Chief had put on, we headed towards the zoo.
*
"It's a closed-down zoo?"
The Branch Chief stopped the car, and Yu Daon, who had been looking outside, muttered with curiosity.
"Yes. It's a place that's been closed down."
The Branch Chief nodded.
"Is it a place where anomalous phenomena occur?"
If so, shouldn't the Response Team be here instead of the Isolation Team?
"It's not a place where anomalous phenomena occur. There's no regularity to it."
Saying that, the Branch Chief opened the car door.
I followed the Branch Chief, opened the door, got out, and looked at the signboard in front of me.
<Sarang Zoo>
The sign, rusted beyond belief, was creaking and shaking as it fluttered in the wind.
"It looks like a zoo that's been around for several decades."
At my muttering, the Branch Chief smiled.
"Right? But it appeared yesterday."
"...What?"
It appeared yesterday?
This old-looking zoo?
The rotting wooden planks and the iron bars covered thickly in rust.
"It appeared yesterday, and I heard that some civilians who went there for a ghost hunt got trapped inside."
"..."
"Of course, even if civilians weren't trapped, we'd still investigate this place, figure out why it appeared, and if there are any problematic objects inside, we'd need to collect them."
The Branch Chief smiled and looked up.
"The reason we brought sturdy people is..."
"Well, we did some preliminary reconnaissance with drones and machinery."
The Branch Chief nodded.
"And it looked like there were some things that seemed a bit dangerous to see."
She walked towards the massive, locked iron gate.
"As a simple example—"
She opened the iron gate.
With a terrible screech, the door opened,
and something enormous appeared.
A bear?
Could you really call that a bear?
It was more accurate to say it was something wearing a bear's skin.
I hurriedly pulled out my pistol, and at the same time, a semi-transparent window appeared.
[Name : Cute Bear Woong-i]
[Age : X]
[Specialty : X]
[Talent : X]
[Background : Cute Bear Woong-i from Sarang Zoo always cries when his mother isn't around.]
[Weakness : -]
"Branch Chief, watch out—!"
I hastily placed my finger on the trigger, and at the same moment, the bear's massive front paw came crashing down towards the Branch Chief's head at an incredible speed.
And then.
The Branch Chief slightly tilted her head to avoid the paw, then tapped its snout as if knocking on a door.
-THUMP!
The thing went flying backwards at an incredible speed and disappeared from our sight.
"See? There are dangerous things like this."
"..."
"It's always amazing to see, I tell you."
"Alright, alright, let's hurry up and go?"
"Wow... I read in a book that strength comes from experience, I didn't understand it then, but I think I get it now!"
The Branch Chief was smiling as she looked at us, who had lost the ability to speak, but at Yu Daon's words, her smile cracked and froze in place.