22 – A Gift Just for Her (2)
A familiar black van stopped in front of our house 30 minutes later.
I stepped out of the main entrance with Ruina in my arms.
And before, I kept caressing her until her mood lifted.
Not being able to have a deeper kiss is regrettable in many ways….
But with us having to go out soon, if I engage in such erotic activity, I felt as if an erotic switch would be turned on, so I gritted my teeth and held back.
Anyway, back to now.
“Get in.”
Despite the sight of him arrogantly holding his girlfriend in his arms, the black suit who came to meet him showed no change in expression, not even by 1 mm.
Just as expected of the handpicked subordinates of Team Leader Lee Tae-seok…
It made one wonder what kind of training they received normally, to retain such a wooden disposition.
“Go in first.”
“Yup~”
After getting Ruina on board first,
I similarly hoisted myself into the van.
How many times has this been? This act of thrusting my body into this dark void.
“It’s been a few days since our last in-person meeting, handler. Ruina.”
On the opposite side of us, not in a suit but dressed casually in a light shirt, was Team Leader Lee Tae-seok as a passenger.
His trademark sunglasses were also absent now.
Thanks to that, his sharp eyes were relentlessly peering at us.
“Oh, yes.”
“And why are you bothering us?”
“Bothering? That couldn’t be farther from the truth.”
Whether Team Leader Lee Tae-seok knew this or not, it was enough for Ruina to call it an interference.
After all, he tried to stage a spectacle, but his plan was disrupted at just the right time.
“Seeing is believing. You will find out when we arrive.”
“Oh, yes….”
I’d rather just tell you than to bother saying that proverb….
When I see those eyes that seem as if they could kill someone, even if I try to say those words, they just go back down my throat.
Beside me, Luina seems completely uninterested in what Team Leader Itaeseok is saying.
She reached out and pulled on the curtain that the black suit had hung and looked outside.
“…. Please try not to touch the curtain if possible.”
Perhaps the black suit’s mindset towards Luina seemed similar to mine.
The only difference is that she somehow managed to say what she wanted to say outside of her throat.
She truly possesses the bravery of an elite agent.
“Hmph.”
And of course.
Luina cleanly ignored the black suit’s request.
* * *
The vehicle continued to drive for quite a long time.
By the feeling alone, it seemed to be going even further than the forest where Luina was previously confined.
“Um…. Where exactly are we going?”
As I gently stroked Luina’s hair, who had fallen asleep on my shoulder.
No matter how sharp those eyes are right in front of me.
Now, I had no choice but to speak.
“Now you’re finally asking.”
“Yes?”
“I thought you would certainly ask,”
“Ha…”
So there was someone other than Luina who could see through my thoughts?
I should also learn how to maintain a poker face.
“We are now heading to the secret base of a hero.”
“Hero? Secret base?”
Which hero?
Where’s the secret base?
Asking these questions only compounded my confusion.
My curiosity only grew exponentially.
“Ahem. I apologize for being cryptic due to the nature of my job.”
Team Leader Lee Tae-seok seemed to read my thoughts from my expression again.
With a simple cough and a quick look away, he conveyed a small apology.
“So where are we going and who’s the hero?”
“The hero you should know very well. Ex Machina, the one who knows everything.”
“Ex Machina…? That Ex Machina!?”
“That’s right, Ex Machina.”
Unlike the composed Team Leader Lee Tae-seok, my heart started pounding uncontrollably.
Omniscience.
The pinnacle of the non-combat heroes who know everything, and an incredibly famous hero.
No one knew whether it was a man or a woman, like Louisna, and no one had ever seen their face.
It was safe to assert that there was absolutely no prospect of them coming out and being active.
The reason such a mysterious hero was so popular to the public?
That would be due to their unique way of dealing with villains.
From Noble mtl dot com
Modern humans can’t live without electronic devices.
Starting from mobile phones, which cause withdrawal symptoms if they’re not available,
even in cars, it’s commonplace for electronic components to be included.
Ex Machina took advantage of this, placing all electronic devices around the villain under their control, and cut down the villain without lifting a finger.
Overheating and exploding a mobile phone.
Preventing an escape by damaging a car’s components.
Even devising a method to disable what is called a ‘Smart Gun’, a firearm equipped with electronic components.
The deity of machinery in every sense of the term.
Ex Machina, as the name suggests, was the one who possessed omnipotent cyber power.
Thanks to that, they were always demonstrating their strength by ranking within the top three in the unofficial hero popularity poll conducted by an online community every month.
On a side note, my academy peer Hansi Eun, Blaze of Sumhwa, is in the last seat of the TOP 10.
“The Ex Machina, who even the lofty members of the Hero Committee haven’t met…”
For me, who was once a hero enthusiast and an aspiring one, this was an enormous stroke of luck.
The interferences I was complaining about earlier are instantly canceled.
I feel a bit sorry for Louisna, but there’s no doubt that today’s holiday will be the best day for me.
“So, so, we’re going to the secret base where that Ex Machina is!?”
“Yes, the Ex Machina is currently in the safe room at the Gangwon-do coast, so we still have a ways to go.”
“Heh, I knew we were going far…”
However, this was to meet the Ex Machina.
It wouldn’t have mattered if we were going to not Gangwon-do, but Ulleungdo.
I wouldn’t miss the opportunity to get an autograph, a handshake, and even a photo.
Ah, maybe they’ll decline a photo due to their mysterious concept?
“Hmm, hmm-hmm…”
An involuntary wicked laugh kept slipping out.
Whether it was Team Leader Itaeseok, or the agents of the National Intelligence Service.
Everyone’s poker faces at this time just felt so appreciative.
***
Without even stopping by the rest area, we traveled for 4 hours and arrived at our destination.
Just as Team Leader Itaeseok had said, it was the farthest eastern tip of the peninsula, with the sparkling East Sea before our eyes.
“Woah…”
Louina and I, with our arms crossed,
were fascinatingly looking over the vast sea spread beyond the horizon.
“Is this your first time seeing the sea?”
“Yes. Its the first time I see it in real life. It really smells of seaweed from here. hahahaha.”
What a stroke of luck.
Even though it wasn’t planned, I was able to show Louina the sea.
There, I could meet Ex Machina.
“Over here.”
Team Leader Lee Tae-seok, who had followed us down, gestured politely.
The place he pointed to was in the opposite direction of the sea.
It was a small rural village beyond the wide stretching white sand beach.
“I don’t see any buildings here worthy of the grand name ‘Safe Room’…”
“That’s why it’s the Safe Room.”
Team Leader Lee Tae-seok responded to my mumbled solo remark.
“A Safe Room is supposed to have an ordinary exterior that doesn’t attract anyone’s attention.”
“Aha.”
I was immediately convinced.
Of course, a building advertising “I’m a Safe Room” wouldn’t be safe at all.
Especially in these times, when villains are lurking everywhere.
The coastal rural village we soon entered was extremely quiet, despite it was a holiday.
The only people we could see were respectable old men, appearing intermittently.
The elderly with simple looks were greeting us, and Luina was cheerfully waving back to them.
But then…
A sudden thought entered my mind.
There are only old people here.
Could it be that the Ex Machina hidden here is an old person as well?
Assuming he is older, it makes sense that he doesn’t want to be in the forefront.
“Yet, it’s not like it’s a big deal to meet up. hehehe.”
“Huh? What is~?”
“No big deal. Just anticipating something special prepared by the hero, for you.”
“Prepared for me. I see there are thoughtful heroes too.”
From the hero’s perspective, helping a notorious villain could be seen as odd.
“Here we are. Please go in first.”
The place which the leading Team Leader Itaeseok guided us to was simply an ordinary, old-looking house.
The already ancient-looking exterior was perhaps heavily afflicted by the sea breeze, with sections made from iron visibly rusted to a reddish hue.
“Uggh, it has a weird smell here.”
“Y-You think so too…”
As we entered, a musty smell as if no one had lived there for over a decade overcame us.
Was the hero of Transmission really in a place like this?
“Well, let’s get down there.”
The words from Team Leader Itaeseok who had followed us in.
The direction he pointed was indeed right beneath our feet as just stated.
And before we could object.
The floor began to sink dramatically.
“An elevator!?”
I thought this was just an old, creaky house.
In reality, the ground we were standing on was an elevator.
Only now could I see the stereotypical safe room I knew.
The four walls were all strong-looking iron structures in silver.
The musky smell earlier had been replaced with a fresh, breezy scent from the state-of-the-art ventilation.
After the electronic sliding door, which one might only see in a science fiction movie, smoothly opened,
The person who revealed themselves to us while spinning around in a great swivel chair was….
“You must be tired from the long journey. It’s Ex Machina.”
“A… a girl…?”
Along with the startled voice, she was a young girl who seemed to be no more than a primary school student.