At the sudden crash, both Kim Seong-gyeong and Kim Yong-ha instinctively turned toward the door. Kim Seong-gyeong sprang up from his seat like a coiled spring and quickly approached it.
“…Someone must’ve broken into the research facility. It’s dangerous, Kim Yong-ha-ssi. Please stay here and wait quietly.”
“I want to go too!”
“It’s too dangerous!”
“…But it might be Sunbae! Please, take me with you.”
Time was running out, but Kim Yong-ha stubbornly insisted on going with him. Kim Seong-gyeong tried several times to talk him down, but Yong-ha clung to him like a shadow, unwavering in his resolve. Letting out a long sigh, Kim Seong-gyeong looked at him with a conflicted expression.
“…This really isn’t the time. It might not even be Seol-bin. It could be someone else entirely. If you follow me and something happens, you could get seriously hurt.”
“I’ll be fine. If it gets dangerous, I’ll just hide. And if something really does go wrong… you’ll protect me, won’t you? Isn’t that right?”
Was he fearless, shameless, or just that desperate? Kim Seong-gyeong couldn’t tell.
Even as they argued, the chaos outside grew louder by the second. Kim Seong-gyeong looked down at Yong-ha again. His lips were tightly pressed, eyes firm—he wasn’t backing down. With another frustrated sigh, Kim Seong-gyeong gave in. They didn’t have time to waste on this back-and-forth. If Yong-ha tried to sneak after him on his own, it’d just cause even more trouble. It’d be better to bring him along than risk that.
“Fine. But stay right behind me,” he warned, then dashed out the door.
“…Ugh.”
The hallway beyond was thick with smoke, and the sight made Kim Seong-gyeong freeze for a moment.
What the hell is going on? An invasion— in the middle of the day?!
“What is all this…”
Kim Yong-ha, right behind him, looked around in alarm.
Kim Seong-gyeong’s mind began racing. The first faces to come to mind were Kang Biso and Hwang Seol-bin. But he quickly shook his head. No. There’s no way they could’ve recovered so quickly. It hadn’t even been a few days since he’d infiltrated their hideout and dismantled the Villains. And now they were launching another attack?
They’d have to be completely insane.
That’s why he’d let his guard down a little—he’d believed it would be quiet, at least for a while.
But what if Kang Biso really had gone off the deep end?
…If he’s crazy enough to storm the Guide Center, then sure. This is within the realm of possibility.
And of all days, today was when most of the Espers had gone to the Guide Center for Guiding.
That thought made his chest tighten. He broke into a run, heart pounding. But before long, he felt the presence of Kim Yong-ha lagging behind, gasping for breath, and he had no choice but to slow down.
Annoyed, Kim Seong-gyeong looked back. Yong-ha was a precious S-Rank Guide. If he got hurt, it’d be a disaster. Why couldn’t he have just stayed in the room like he was told?
Watching Yong-ha struggle to keep up with a determined look, Kim Seong-gyeong stopped, and Yong-ha stumbled forward, panting hard.
“Huff… huff… Why’d you stop? We… have to go… faster.”
He wanted to snap—We can’t go faster because of you!—but bit his tongue. There was no point regretting it now. He’d already brought him out of the room. Telling him to go back wouldn’t do any good.
Left with no other choice, Kim Seong-gyeong adjusted his pace, running and stopping in intervals to match Yong-ha’s speed.
This is wasting too much time… I need to get there—fast.
He could see how hard Yong-ha was trying, but the frustration wouldn’t go away.
“Esper Kim Seong-gyeong!”
Just then, a man in a government Esper uniform came rushing over in a panic. Kim Seong-gyeong turned toward him and barked out a question.
“What the hell is going on?!”
“…Villains have broken in! It’s total chaos—they’re ransacking the labs, tearing everything apart looking for the Book of Wishes!”
“And you’re just standing around watching?! Get in there and catch them—now!”
“That’s the problem… We didn’t expect the Villains to recover this fast. Most of the Espers are at the Guide Center for Guiding. There aren’t many people left in the facility.”
“…Damn it.”
Just as he’d feared.
Could the Villains have known in advance? Otherwise, they wouldn’t have chosen this perfect timing to attack.
Shit. Where did the intel leak from? If things kept going like this, they might actually lose the Book of Wishes.
Jaw clenched tight, Kim Seong-gyeong shoved his panic aside and immediately began taking down any Villains he could see.
“Guh!”
“Ack!”
“R-Run—urgh!”
But there were too many. Way too many.
Where the hell did this army of Villains come from?! Were Kang Biso and Hwang Seol-bin with them? Where were they now? Had they already found the Book of Wishes and escaped?
Bracing for the worst, Kim Seong-gyeong frantically scanned the area—and that’s when he saw it: a hallway lined with government Espers collapsed on the floor, knocked out cold like dominos.
He hurried down the hallway and knelt beside the fallen Espers. At a glance, there were no visible injuries. No wounds, no blood.
This ability—it had to be Kang Biso’s. There was no mistaking it. Which meant they were still inside the facility.
A spark of relief crossed Kim Seong-gyeong’s face. Without wasting another second, he took off running in the direction he suspected Kang Biso and Hwang Seol-bin would be.
Where are they? Where—where the hell are they?!
“YAAAH!”
Just then, someone lunged at him from behind.
But Kim Seong-gyeong had already sensed them coming. He twisted out of the way and delivered a swift roundhouse kick to the Villain’s side, sending them crashing into the wall with a dull thud. They slumped to the floor, completely out cold.
At that moment, a loud BOOM echoed from the floor above.
…That’s it!
Without hesitation, Kim Seong-gyeong bolted toward the sound.
***
BOOM! BOOM!
Explosions were going off all around us.
I looked up in the direction of the blast. ZEC was tearing the research facility apart—just like we’d planned. With everyone distracted, this was the perfect moment to find the Book of Wishes.
…Where the hell is it?!
No matter how hard I searched, it was nowhere in sight.
Frustration twisted in my gut as I scanned the room. A chance like this—where the entire facility was caught off guard—was nearly impossible to come by. This time, we had to find it. If we failed now, there might never be another opportunity. No—this could be our only shot.
I still remembered how excited Kang Bijun had been when he told us the Espers had gone to the Guide Center for Guiding. It felt like the heavens were on our side.
But now that we were actually here, tearing through the place… nothing. No sign of the Book. No hint of where it might be hidden.
I was about to lose it. I never thought it would be easy, but this was starting to feel impossible.
One room at a time. If it’s not in this one, we’ll check the next. ZEC is sweeping the other floors—we just have to comb through our section as thoroughly as we can. We’ll find it. We have to. Everyone put everything on the line for this chance.
I grit my teeth and pushed forward.
“…Hyung, did you find it?”
“No. It’s not here. Let’s move to the next room.”
At Kang Biso’s call, I gave one last check of the bottom drawer—nothing but stacks of white paperwork. No sign of the Book. I shook my head. Another empty room.
We rushed into the next one. As we moved, a voice came through the comms in my ear—Kang Bijun.
[“Hurry. Kim Seong-gyeong’s caught on. He could show up any second. They wouldn’t have hidden it too well—they still need to study it, right? It’s probably stashed somewhere easy to reach but not obvious. If anything feels suspicious, search it. That’s our best option right now with no intel.”]
“Got it.”
I nodded instinctively, even though he couldn’t see me.
The only reason we were even pulling this off was thanks to Kang Bijun. After that rough patch between us because of the Book, he’d suddenly come running in, buzzing with excitement over a new plan.
I remembered that day clearly—how his voice practically shook as he laid it all out:
“I’ve got a plan! Let’s pull together everyone we can right now and storm the research facility!”
“…What? Are you insane?”
“No, I’m completely sane. Think about it—right now, the government thinks we’re scattered. They’ll be caught off guard. This is our chance.”
“We are scattered. How the hell are you going to regroup everyone?”
“You think I wouldn’t prepare for that? I’ve already got emergency comms set up. We all go in at once, create chaos, split up the search zones—and find that damn Book.”
“You think that’ll work?”
“We won’t know until we try. Yeah, it’s risky. But there won’t be a better chance. The longer we wait, the tighter security gets. This is it.”
His logic was solid. Both Kang Biso and I agreed. Kang Bijun laid out a detailed plan, step by step, and in the end, we managed to pull together the scattered ZEC forces and launch a successful infiltration.
He wasn’t called the brain of ZEC for nothing. He was quick, sharp, and always thinking two steps ahead. But the problem now… was that despite all that effort, the Book of Wishes still hadn’t shown itself.
We darted into the next room.
“This one is…”
“…A library? Damn. Look at all these books. It’s gonna take forever to search this.”
Kang Biso was right. This room was packed with books—floor to ceiling. We both let out a heavy sigh. Just looking at it was exhausting.
But we didn’t have time to complain.
One by one, we started flipping through the books. There was a chance they’d disguised the Book with a different cover, so we couldn’t afford to skip anything.
Outside, the noise was getting worse. The chaos was intensifying. And my anxiety was creeping higher by the second.
Can we really find it…? The Book of Wishes…
We were working blind. No intel, no clues—just desperation. Everyone was searching, tearing through rooms like mad, but this thing… it was probably buried deep under layers of misdirection. They’d hidden it well.
Just then, a piercing voice ripped through the air like a blade.
“Kang Biso!”
