Waiting For Your Reincarnation Chapter 111

The next day, as soon as Yeon-young arrived at the center, she was immediately called to see Zhaolin. She crossed her arms stiffly and jerked toward her. She wanted her to tell her what she found.

 

“Um…, I don’t think so.”

 

“You think? I asked you to investigate, and what have you been doing all day?”

 

“He’s definitely not a spy, I succeeded in reading his memory. Of course, I think the chairman and Mr. Ryu Won has known that Jung Jaeho is a spy for quite some time and has been preparing for it…”

 

As Yeon-young trailed off, Zhaolin raised one eyebrow slightly. It seemed like a surprising piece of information to her.

 

“What do you mean, the chairman already knew about it?”

 

“I think the chairman and Mr. Ryu Won were already aware of Negro’s existence, and that’s why they were investigating separately to catch them.”

 

“Why don’t you stop prying from Ms. Yeon-young and ask me directly?”

 

Just then, the conference room door opened, and Ryu Won casually entered the conversation. 

 

He leaned back in his chair with a relaxed gesture and crossed his legs.

 

In his hand was a stack of papers that looked too big to hold with one hand.

 

As she took a seat across from Ryu Won, he asked pointedly.

 

“So, how do you feel about leaving Branch 2 behind?”

 

“It was an honor to protect my world.”

 

“Hah…, that’s enough. What did the youngest say?”

 

“Just take it as it is.”

 

Ryu Won said that if she stood where the line was, he would gladly go there. As if his words weren’t empty, he set the stack of papers he carried down on the table.

 

Yeon-young exchanged a puzzled glance with Zhaoin. She didn’t seem to understand Ryu Won’s intentions either.

 

Yeon-young picked up one of the papers on the table and read it.

 

“Mr. Ryu Won…, what is this?”

 

“It’s a summary of the materials I’ve been personally researching.”

 

The papers contained detailed logs of experiments on brainwashing that the lab hadn’t yet discovered.

 

Zhaolin silently checked the contents and closed the file.

 

“I understand you’re not a spy, Mr. Ryu Won,” she said.

 

“I’m glad we’ve cleared up that misunderstanding.”

 

“But why didn’t you say anything while you were investigating this far?”

 

“Let’s just say the timing wasn’t right. You weren’t at the center in the first place.”

 

Yeon-young thought back to when she had just joined the Center. She’d heard about Zhaolin through the spirits, but it hadn’t been until much later that she’d actually greeted her in person.

 

She let out a long sigh, as if remembering that fact as well.

 

“In the future, please share everything. It only takes one experience to make you suspicious of your teammates.”

 

“I will.”

 

Her words were a low rumble, and for the first time, Ryu Won nodded obediently.

 

Watching their conversation, Yeon-young smiled faintly. It felt as if the three of them had rebuilt a tower of trust that had been crumbling under the weight of doubt.

 

Seeing her smile, Ryu Won smiled back with satisfaction. Zhaolin pulled the cube out of her coat pocket.

 

The cube contained the materials they had found in Jaeho’s lab.

 

“I’ve been organizing it, too. Here’s the most important part of the lab materials.”

 

Zhaolin ran her finger over a painting on the wall of the lab. The only thing that could be interpreted from the picture was the Center building. Ryu Won studied the picture carefully.

 

“It’s a picture, a date, and the materials of a successful project.”

 

“I’ve never heard of the date before.”

 

“It says 9/18, so I’m guessing they had a date in mind for the break-in, but it’s possible they changed it if they realized the location of the lab was discovered.”

 

“We’ll have to do a little more research on this.”

 

Zhaolin and Ryu Won exchanged looks as they pored over the data, while Yeon-young focused on the files she’d compiled on the anomalies of the spirits.

 

After the Snarl invasion, some of the spirits had become strange. They suddenly changed, as if they had been brainwashed, and became imbued with Snarl energy.

 

It had happened in other branches, but they’d never seen it like this before.

 

It was unclear exactly what was causing the phantoms to become Snarls.

 

Yeon-young read aloud from the handout.

 

“The power of water, brainwashing, and pure Sly powder. Brainwashing… Brainwashing is Lee Daeheon?”

 

“Water and brainwashing most likely refers to Jung Jaeho and Lee Daeheon. From my research, yes. I think water is the medium for brainwashing.”

 

Yeon-young raised one eyebrow, thinking about Jaeho’s abilities.

 

“It’s hard enough to turn souls into Snarls one by one, but if the brainwashing is done through a medium, that’s a different story. Water is everywhere.”

 

“That makes sense.”

 

Listening to Ryu Won’s explanation, Yeon-young remembered the moment when Daeheon handled the spirits. If this was all part of Daeheon’s brainwashing, it made sense.

 

She frowned as she remembered Jaeho, who was deeper into Negro than she’d thought. It felt like he was slipping away irrevocably.

 

“But Sly’s powder, the location of his headquarters, and this painting, I think we need to investigate further.”

 

“Well, that’s a lot of interpretation for now. We’ll have to reschedule a cadre meeting soon, and I’ll pass what I’ve gathered on to the other center officers via comms first.”

 

Yeon-young nodded as she studied the U-shaped drawing below the center. She gathered the papers Ryu Won had handed her and organized them. Then she took them.

 

Holding the papers, he looked up and stared straight at Yeon-young. His eyes were filled with questions, and she flinched.

 

She craned her neck to see if she could see the marks Ryu Won had left on it. Ryu Won, noticing the gesture, raised the corner of his mouth slightly.

 

“By the way, how did you evacuate all those souls in the emergency room?”

 

At Zhaolin’s question, Yeon-young blinked slowly. She was referring to the day Ryu Won had been attacked by the Snarl.

 

Before the Snarl attacked that day, Yeon-young had looked around the stabilization room, but it was empty. In other words, there was nothing to evacuate.

 

She shakes her head slightly.

 

“There was only one soul I helped evacuate from the ER, and that was the one I moved to the emergency exit first.”

 

“And no one else? That seems unlikely, because I’ve seen a lot of souls evacuated from the ER.”

 

“Not me, it was empty when I was there.”

 

“Hmm…”

 

After hearing Yeon-young’s explanation, Zhaolin was troubled. Someone must have guided the spirits to the shelter before Yeon-young went to the emergency room.

 

She wondered, though, if someone other than the special team had done it in the midst of the snarl invasion.

 

She racked her brain for the urgency of the situation.

 

The eerily quiet emergency room, the missing souls, and the messy blowing dust.

 

“Dirt?”

 

Yeon-young thought of light brown, dried dirt. Now that she thought about it, she wondered why there was so much dirt in the ER.

 

She thought of all the souls who could use dirt, souls who could manipulate it freely. The ability to move that many souls into shelter.

 

Saeri was the only one in the Center who could.

 

After a long moment of silence, she looked up.

 

“Wasn’t the chairman in the stabilization room at the time, too?”

 

“That’s right, and by the way, the shelter has…”

 

At Yeon-young’s question, Zhaolin began to fumble with her memory, as if she felt strange. She knew what she was trying to say.

 

There was no Saeri at the shelter.

 

Nor was she to be found in the emergency room.

 

“When I went to the emergency room, there was dirt on the floor. Do you think the chairman evacuated the spirits?”

 

“That’s impossible. The last report I got was that she never regained consciousness, and if she used her powers in that state…, she’d be gone in a few days.”

 

Hearing Zhaolin’s words, Yeon-young tapped her index finger on her knee. The assumptions she had buried deep in her heart rose to the surface.

 

Ryu Won stared at her in silence, willing to help her in any way he could.

 

“I don’t know why, but what if you opened up your abilities in light of the annihilation?”

 

“A rookie?”

 

Ryu Won answered Yeon-young’s question for her. It wasn’t that his answer didn’t make sense, since Saeri was one of those who believed in the sacrifice of a soul for the greater good. It was hard to believe that she would go so far as to sacrifice herself.

 

But Yeon-young’s heart sank.

 

“You are the most beautiful soul I’ve ever seen.”

 

“That’s why I can’t stand to look at you.”

 

“Because now I want to get a closer look.”

 

Saeri’s low murmur continued to echo in her ears. Somehow, she didn’t look the same as she remembered.

 

She looked Zhaolin in the eye and asked,

 

“Do you know where the chairman might be? I think I should pay her a visit.”

 

She had to find Saeri.