Black Badger

Chapter 115

Choi Yoon was furious.

It was understandable. This wasn't just an affront to me—it was ignoring my mentor's orders. They couldn't have been unaware that my mentor was Choi Yoon, so they must have thought he wouldn't catch wind of this incident.

In any case, this guy wasn't one to let things slide.

Choi Yoon kicked Gale Dawson in the stomach as he tried to stand.

Thud.

"Head to the ground."

If he were a civilian, he would have died.

Even for a badger, it was a blow that could have damaged his organs. In fact, Gale Dawson let out a pained scream and rolled across the floor.

He probably didn't have the presence of mind for that now...

I slowly rose from my seat. At the same time, Choi Yoon shoved someone's head from behind, slamming them to the ground.

"You too, join in."

Who was this guy?

"You thought I wouldn't see?"

Ah.

It was the one who had pushed my back.

The two seniors bashed their heads against the asphalt.

We were in the heart of a ruined city.

In the thick darkness, heavy silhouettes captured our attention. Tall buildings rose high, and the asphalt was cracked and messy. There were overturned SUVs and shopping carts from who knows where.

It must have been a bustling street once.

Now, it just exuded a gloomy, apocalyptic movie vibe. I took a deep breath of the fallen city's air. Faintly, from the street, came a smell like paint.

The seniors bashed their heads on the solid asphalt and clasped their hands behind their backs.

What a pity.

"As you can see with your eyes."

Choi Yoon said in a voice laced with irritation and unresolved anger.

"I'm the squad leader this time."

That's right.

In fact, a squad leader was assigned every time we went on a mission. When I had left the core to avoid Jae-yeon, Richard had been the squad leader. For the colosseum mission, it had been Ricardo.

This time, it was Choi Yoon.

I had seen it displayed on the hologram floating in the portal zone just a few minutes ago. That's probably why my mentor had gotten annoyed at the personnel report.

Choi Yoon continued in a low voice.

"There's just us in zone 14."

He was really pissed.

"The advantage of being outside the core is that there are no eyes on us. Isn't that right?"

The seniors who had bashed their heads didn't move from their spots.

No one would fail to grasp the implication of those words.

Choi Yoon looked down at those who were dead silent with their heads to the ground, then turned his head.

"All of you, prone position forward."

It was a platoon-level punishment.

I bent at the waist following the seniors who dropped to the ground without a word.

But then my mentor grabbed me by the scruff of the neck.

"You stand over there separately."

"Yes?"

That would just make me look worse.

The thought flashed through my mind for a moment, but it was quickly followed by the realization that if I was going to be disliked anyway, what did it matter.

There was also the sentiment that I didn't need to curry favor with these people pulling a typical new recruit hazing.

Without arguing, I moved to the side and stood there.

Choi Yoon whipped his head toward the seniors lying down in a row. Then he began issuing orders in a flat voice. With my hands behind my back, I watched as people lay down forward and backward according to Choi Yoon's commands.

The punishment was quick and intense.

Finally, Choi Yoon kicked the backs of the heads of the two seniors who had committed the insubordination with his combat boot.

"Ah~ I guess I should have stopped that."

The other seniors rose in a group.

Among them, a tall, well-built man approached me while rubbing his neck.

"I didn't know.... Sorry about that. I'm a bit oblivious to this kind of thing."

I stared at him blankly.

He was wearing a helmet with his visor down, so his face wasn't visible. But from his voice, he was a man. His straightforward tone carried no malice or inferiority complex.

I stared intently at the senior standing beside me.

"Ah, you can't see my face?"

The man clicked his visor up.

A pair of bright blue eyes appeared.

"Sorry about that. I forgot that showing your face is basic courtesy."

Even as he said that, the man showed no intention of removing his helmet.

And his eyes blinked unusually little.

Eyes as sharp as my mentor's.

"Senior Leonard?"

"Huh? How did you know?"

As expected.

He seemed like Choi Yoon's type. I smiled faintly at the surprised man who said, "That's amazing, I've never met you before."

Why were there so many people like this around me?

Having gone through Colton and Choi Yoon, I had unfairly developed the ability to spot people with antisocial personality disorders.

Two of them were already overwhelming...

The sociopathic senior greeted me brightly.

"I'll try to stop it if something like this happens again. Sorry about this time."

"No, I'm grateful just for the words."

"Let's move out."

Choi Yoon's voice cut through the conversation.

"Past zone 10 to zone 7. One motorcycle each."

There were several motorcycles lined up at the edge of the road where we had broken off.

They hadn't been left here; they must have been brought through the portal from headquarters. They were the same model I'd seen at the library of beginnings.

As I turned toward the motorcycles, someone suddenly crossed my field of vision.

"Here you go, senior!"

The one who reached the motorcycle faster than anyone else presented one to Choi Yoon.

"Take it!"

Impressive.

I couldn't do that. Admiring the quick-witted courtesy, I headed to a motorcycle.

Then I heard a remark.

"Your movements are sluggish?"

It was the senior who had pushed my back.

His recovery was remarkable.

Not wanting to bother, I replied straightforwardly.

"I'm sorry."

"Hey, newbie! What's with hopping on your own first? Where's your manners?"

The one who had just offered his motorcycle to Choi Yoon turned to me and shouted.

"You bring the seniors' first and take the last one!"

Ah.

So this was the vibe this time. I got off the motorcycle I was about to mount.

Then I handed mine over with a smile to the approaching senior.

Now I understood why Choi Yoon had snapped at the HR director.

"I was short-sighted."

"Don't make the same mistake again."

The guy mounted the motorcycle with a flick and went to Choi Yoon.

My mentor was listening to communications while preparing to depart.

That bootlicking senior must have been confident my mentor wouldn't hear, which was why he nagged me like this. If Choi Yoon had been listening, he would have pretended to be nice to me to look good to him.

In any case, I didn't wipe the smile from my face.

"What an obnoxious guy."

Beside me, the senior who had pointed out my sluggishness muttered as he mounted his motorcycle.

"He doesn't know his place now that others are paying attention to him."

Everyone was mounted on their motorcycles.

Things moved quickly. As soon as my mentor confirmed we were all on, he set off. True to form, there were no additional explanations.

We raced after him through the decaying city.

The broken asphalt, collapsed utility poles, stopped cars blocking the road—it wasn't easy riding.

As expected of B zone, creatures were swarming.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Badgers cleared the creatures blocking the path with gunfire.

Most were just ignored and passed by. Because Choi Yoon, leading the way, moved like that. I quietly admired Choi Yoon as he sped along, killing what he could with his motorcycle.

He really was an exceptional person.

I wondered when I'd be able to cut off that guy's coattails.

The cold night wind slapped my cheeks. The roar of motorcycles covered the ruined roads, vibrating my eardrums. I swerved, bursting a giant snail crawling onto the road.

Following the seniors, I passed between a bus and truck blocking the way.

Then I slammed on the brakes.

Screeech!

"Ugh!"

A senior had fallen on the road.

I braked desperately.

I tilted the motorcycle sideways and barely stopped.

Wow.

A little closer, and I would have hit him.

Too shocked to speak, I felt my heart pounding wildly and looked down at the one at my feet.

He had fallen over.

The wreckage of a smashed motorcycle littered the road.

Panting, I finally managed to say.

"I'm sorry."

I needed to sort this out quickly and catch up.

"Ride behind me."

The senior sprang up and hopped on the back without a word.

I restarted the motorcycle without further comment. Naturally, Choi Yoon wasn't waiting for us. Since we had fallen quite a bit behind, I revved hard to avoid lagging further.

The speed climbed steadily.

I ran over the mangled motorcycle debris.

"Hey, don't gun it so hard!"

I ignored the uneasy words from the senior gripping my waist.

"If you go too fast, even we'll die!"

If we rode slow and fell behind, the result would be the same.

In a place teeming with creatures like this, two of us left alone wouldn't last long.

I didn't voice that thought. Instead, I focused on catching up to the seniors racing down the road, accelerating.

Until I regained the pace and settled appropriately behind Leonard.

We didn't stop until we reached zone 7.

*

Upon arriving at the target point, Choi Yoon dismounted his motorcycle.

My mentor issued a curt order.

"Find a spot suitable for dealing with incoming creatures."

The man gripped his gun in one hand and vanished into the dark city.

"Back in 10 minutes."

He was equally sparse on explanations with everyone.

I let out a small snort as I watched my mentor melt into the darkness and disappear. We were in zone 7 now. I hadn't been told why it was zone 7 instead of zone 5, or exactly what we were supposed to do here.

At least tell me where you're going and what for.

I stared sullenly at the spot where Choi Yoon had vanished into the darkness.

Creatures were everywhere around us.

None were approaching us yet. But I could feel them lurking in the shadows, observing us. There were so many. The number of detected individuals was overwhelming; I didn't even need to heighten my senses.

So even that guy, if he wandered off alone, it would be dangerous.

I stood there grumpily when someone approached.

"Hey."

I turned my head at the tap on my arm.

And faced an annoying person.

"Gray Hair. Didn't you hear the squad leader?"

This guy's recovery was impressive too.

After getting kicked in the gut by Choi Yoon, he still came over to pick a fight. His dedication was admirable.

I looked straight at Gale Dawson's visor.

"I heard."

"Then stop standing there like an idiot and move."

"Yes. I'm sorry."

"But I heard your hair's been gray since you were a kid?"

Gale Dawson chuckled at me.

"So, is the rest down there white too?"

A couple of badgers who overheard the comment burst into laughter.

I replied politely to the laughing seniors.

"Yes. Shall I show you?"

I could see Gale Dawson furrowing his brow even through his visor.

"Cut the filthy talk."

"I'm sorry. I thought you were curious."

"I didn't ask to see it. Ugh. That's hilarious, you psycho."

"This guy's really got no sense."

"What are you gonna show~?"

"Lucia, don't butt in without reading the room!"

"Dawson. Stop harassing the newbie and let's move."

A senior holding his helmet called to Gale Dawson in a gentle tone.

I felt a bit hopeful looking at his kind face. This new face seemed normal. His impression wasn't bad. He didn't seem as off-kilter as Leonard.

Yeah. At least one person should be normal...

"Nice to meet you, newbie. I'm Isaac Lane."

Damn. One of the names my mentor had spat out.

Hiding my mounting disappointment, I shook the hand he extended.

Nine minutes remained until Choi Yoon returned.

In that short time, I was already realizing firsthand how much could happen.