Waiting For Your Reincarnation Chapter 136

Upon discovering the den, Ryu Won stopped using his abilities and stepped back for a moment. 

 

Scanning his surroundings, he made his way to a giant tree.

 

As Ryu Won stared at the tree with a grim face, one by one, the uprooted trees floated high into the sky.

 

One, two, three. Only when he was sure the third tree was well up in the air did he withdraw his power. That seemed to be the cue for Zhaolin to speak.

 

“Ms. Yeon-young, are you ready?”

 

“Yes.”

 

Yeon-young nodded reverently. Ryu Won lifted all the water in the lake and poured it out over the forest. The hot water filled the air with smoke.

 

Ryu Won approached the entrance to the den at a leisurely pace. Contrary to his expectation that they had to build a new bridge, they were able to enter the den unobstructed.

 

They fell down the not-so-deep hole one after the other. Yeon-young walked along, clinging tightly to his back.

 

“This is…”

 

“This place looks familiar.”

 

Yeon-young’s eyes widened as she nervously scanned the walls of the cave. The cave connected to the bottom of the lake was none other than the cave-like place connected to the center’s emergency exit.

 

“How many entrances does Jung Jaeho have?”

 

She wondered if he was trying to hide something. Yeon-young thought back to the first time she and Jaeho had been here.

 

It had a strange, sinister aura about it, but nothing out of the ordinary for a Negro headquarters.

 

He wondered why Jaeho had connected this cave to the bottom of the lake.

 

“Has Yeon-young been here before?”

 

“Yes…, somehow.”

 

“You’ve been on a lot of dates with strange men without me knowing?”

 

“…It’s not like that.”

 

Not wanting to leave, they ventured a little further into the depths of the cave, only to find that it was an endless straight passage like a long tunnel.

 

Looking around, she wondered if they were trapped in a maze.

 

“We can find a way out later, right?”

 

“As long as the core of my ability isn’t broken, I can get out.”

 

Saying this in a languid voice, Ryu Won suddenly stopped walking. He decided that it was pointless to go any further.

 

Yeon-young also paused, thinking: judging by the reaction of the White Sly in her arms, there was something here, but she didn’t know how to find it.

 

Ryu Won raised his hands, palms facing the ceiling, and closed his eyes for a moment. His soft hair and the hem of his robe swayed in the faint breeze. He suspected that there was something more to this den.

 

The cool air that had filled the cave dissipated, and Ryu Won’s windblown hair settled back into place.

 

“I can find the way out, but I can’t feel any other gaps. Perhaps this cave itself is a smoke screen and a maze.”

 

“I thought it was strange when we were able to enter so easily.”

 

‘I wonder if we should go back.’

 

Yeon-young thought as she touched the dripping wall.

 

‘Should I leave? Should I start over and think again?’

 

Leaving Yeon-young to ponder, the White Sly leapt to the ground. It bounced all over the ground and crawled toward somewhere.

 

Yeon-young exchanged a questioning glance with Ryu Won and followed after the White Sly.

 

Standing in front of a wall, the White Sly suddenly began to slam his body against it with all his might. The faint white light turned transparent as he threw himself at it with such force.

 

Yeon-young grabbed the Sly and tried to stop him, but the Sly kept hitting the spot like a fire moth. As if to say, “Don’t give up,” it kept coming back.

 

Watching the Sly’s behavior, Ryu Won scrutinized the wall.

 

“I think there’s something here, but I don’t know how to get in. It’s not like there’s a gap… the Sly’s intuition is too strong to ignore.”

 

As she mulled over his words, Yeon-young suddenly remembered the moment she and Jaeho had gotten out of this place. Unable to find the exit on her own like Ryu Won, she had to rely solely on Jaeho.

 

With a mischievous grin on his face, he told her that if she wanted to get out, she should ask the cave.

 

“Alright, I’ll tell you how to get out. Just beg the cave.”

 

“Do you really want to tease me that much?”

 

“Why? There are many other ways I can make fun of you, including helping you from the bottom of my heart.”

 

Jaeho’s words of sincere help prompted Yeon-young to shout out that she wanted to leave, and she did indeed find her way to his lab. The cave was unmistakably the same one Yeon-young had been to before, albeit with a more murky aura.

 

Perhaps if she begged hard enough this time, the cave would give her an entrance.

 

It was a ridiculous conclusion, even for Yeon-young. After all, they’d come all the way to the enemy’s headquarters, and all they had to do was ask the cave.

 

‘Still, isn’t it better to do something than to retreat like this?’

 

Somehow, she felt strongly that this was the right direction. Yeon-young took a deep breath and held her palms up in front of the wall the Sly had hit.

 

“Take me to where Jung Jaeho is. Open the gate.”

 

Yeon-young whispered, her voice filled with desperation. Ryu Won watched her in silence, surprised at her impulsive behavior.

 

There was silence in the den. Even the White Sly, who had been throwing himself against the wall, calmed down and approached her. Looking at the unresponsive wall, she couldn’t hide her disappointment.

 

“Maybe this isn’t the way to go.”

 

“You’re trying everything, good job.”

 

With a sigh of disappointment, she removed her hand from the cave and turned her back. 

 

Negro’s sigil on the wall glowed blackly.

 

Yeon-young scooped the Sly into her arms, and Ryu Won hid them behind his back.

 

As the brightness of the light gradually faded, they heard a loud thud. In the place where the Negro sigil had disappeared, a door made of solid iron had appeared.

 

“Ryu Won, there’s a door… There’s a door…!”

 

“Ms. Yeon-young’s method was right, though I didn’t think it would work.”

 

Following Jaeho’s trail only raised more questions. On the surface, he’d hidden his headquarters well, but if you paid close attention to his conversations, the clues were all there.

 

‘Why would Jaeho offer his flesh to Yeon-young?’

 

‘What the hell is Jung Jaeho?’

 

“Yeon-young, are you ready?”

 

“Yes, let’s go in.”

 

“If there’s any danger…”

 

“Don’t ask me to run away first, because if you disappear, I’ll disappear with you. Take care of your body.”

 

On this point, Yeon-young couldn’t concede to him. Ryu Won raised the corner of his mouth slightly, indicating that he would have to be careful. He seemed to already know what her answer would be.

 

Ryu Won lightly touched the iron door, and it slid open as if it had been waiting for them. At the same time, the stale air that had filled the room so tightly inside leaked out.

 

“Ouch.”

 

Feeling her eyes sting, Yeon-young shielded her face with her arm and stepped inside.

 

Through the door, she saw a long, dark hallway. On either side of the aisle were oval capsules containing bizarre specimens.

 

As she examined its contents, she realized that the bodies of souls had been horribly separated and stored inside.

 

It was a sight so cruel and horrific that she was speechless, and she forced herself to look away and stare at the dirty floor.

 

After what seemed like an eternity, the aisle came to an end. At the end of the passage was a laboratory the size of the Center’s lobby.

 

“Ha… Sly…”

 

The first thing that caught her eye were the two capsules at the very back of the lab.

 

One was filled with black water, similar to the color of snarls, while the other contained white slys crammed tightly together with no room to breathe. Each capsule was connected through a clear glass tube.

 

Even without knowing the details, it was clear that Negro’s experiment was coming to a close.

 

At the front of the capsule, a white-robed Jaeho waited for them with a relaxed smile. His sky-blue eyes were dark as the night itself.

 

“I was going to run into you anyway, so you hid like a rat.”

 

Ryu Won grasped Yeon-young’s wrist and spoke with a smirk. The place was supposed to be a battlefield, but Daeheon Lee was nowhere to be found.

 

Perhaps Jaeho had already evacuated with Daeheon somewhere else.

 

Yeon-young swallowed dryly and stood beside Ryu Won, the white Sly in her arms whimpering at the sight of his friends.

 

Jaeho’s gaze traveled past the White Sly to Yeon-young. His eyes were like chewing gum on the ground, sticky and slimy. His eyes were filled with hatred for her alone.

 

“I was actually hoping you wouldn’t find this place.”

 

Yeon-young’s fingertips trembled at the sound of Jaeho’s voice. She brought her hands to her ears to check something. Ryu Won also listened to his voice, his brow furrowing slightly.

 

Jaeho shrugged his shoulders lightly and slowly stepped forward.

 

“The fact that you’re here means that Jung Jaeho really did betray me for a woman.”

 

She hadn’t misheard. The voice of Daeheon Lee, the voice that Branch 1 had been searching for, was coming from Jaeho.