Chapter 131 - - Contacting The World (Part 2)
"Sir…"
Seeing the small smile on his face, the scientists were taken aback. This man had saved their lives and killed the person who inflicted all that suffering on them. Yet, he didn't even seem like he really cared that much about it.
All he asked for was something that everyone wanted to do anyway. It wasn't a personal, selfish request like they expected he would've wanted.
'What a kind soul…'
Meanwhile, Hyun-Jae simply shook her head with a sigh. She already expected such a response from Talon considering his personality. She was sure that the only thing he was thinking of at that moment was how to find his family. Saving people or doing acts of kindness weren't things he really sought after.
'Dummy…' She thought to herself.
"In any case, I think we should get things started and get out of here as soon as possible. The group can't remain alone for long." Talon said as he clapped his hands. "Can you guys move?"
"Y-Yes! We can!"
"Ok, lead the way then."
Then, the group walked inside the building and headed toward the fifth floor. Even as they walked, the smell of blood filled their senses and made them frown hard. Just being there made them feel as if they were surrounded by death.
Talon looked around him silently before he asked. "... How many died here?"
The scientists went silent for a few seconds before one of them finally answered. "... We were… 30 scientists… She abducted us and forced us inside this building…"
"30… Wait… There are only 3 left?" Chin-Hwa asked as he squinted his eyes.
"Yes… 27… They're all gone…" The female scientist replied with a difficult tone as she held herself from crying
The trio could vividly remember what happened during the past few weeks as if it happened yesterday. It was the most traumatizing experience they ever went through and it will probably never be erased from their minds for as long as they could live.
"What did she do?" Hyun-Jae asked.
"She brought us here… Locked us inside one of the rooms… Each room had a group of 3 people and we were tasked with working on taking control of the satellite above South Korea."
"What? For what reason did she do that?"
"... We… Don't know. She just said that she was looking to locate something in the world. But, she never told us what it is."
'Locate something?' Talon squinted his eyes hearing those words. 'Does it have something to do with her goal? Or the piece of paper in my hand?'
It was still a mystery to him what Terren wanted to do in his world. He was unable to ask her about it due to the risk that came along with it. But, he was certain that whatever she handed him was going to give him a hint or even the entire answer he was looking for.
"Then, what happened?"
"In the first few days, many tried to escape. They couldn't handle staying there… They thought that even if she captured them she would put them back in the room since they assumed she needed all of us to do this job. But… They were wrong… Very wrong…"
The atmosphere turned even more solemn. Talon, Hyun-Jae, and Chin-Hwa could only frown. It was clear how it ended up purely from the massacre they could see around them.
"We tried to warn them… It was a bad idea… But, many didn't listen. They wanted to go back to their families. But, they all faced the same fate. It was as if she knew when and how they were going to escape and she would be there, waiting."
"*Sob*..." Just hearing those details again, the female scientist could only sob silently. Seeing her friends being murdered one by one was brutal to her consciousness.
"I'm sorry to hear that…" Hyun-Jae said in a sad tone.
"It's fine… We're saved now… We can't be any more grateful than that. Thank you again for saving us, truly."
"It's fine." Talon shook his head. "You guys went through a lot."
***
Slowly, the group made their way to the highest floor till they reached the highest floor. There, they walked inside one of the rooms… The same one the scientists have been in for the past few weeks.
Just being here again made their hearts race and their bodies shudder. But, they still swallowed their fear and sat down in front of the computers.
"So, how do we go about doing this?" Talon asked as he sat down too.
"Mmm, the energy generators aren't working anymore, leaving only some reserved energy for emergencies. But, we won't be able to have access to the full functionality of the satellite." One of them replied as he started tapping on the keyboard.
"So, what is the solution to that?"
"We will have to try and pinpoint any signal from another party somewhere in the country. If another group is searching for us as we are doing right now, catching that signal will be far easier than before. But… We will need luck…"
"A lot of it…" Another added.
"Luck, huh… Well, if there is one thing I have a lot of, it's luck." Talon shrugged.
Then, the trio went straight to work, tapping away on their keyboards as fast as they could. Incomprehensible pop-offs appeared and disappeared for a while as Talon and his two companions waited tensely.
This was it, the moment they had been working for. They did the hard part and what was left was simply a little bit of luck so that they could finally get a signal. Just a little bit of luck.
Minutes passed, one by one. The scientists didn't speak a word the entire time. It made Talon even more tense since he didn't know if they were getting results or not. But, he tried to stay optimistic.
'Please be safe… Mom, dad…' He thought to himself as he felt his heart race.
"Oh…"
Suddenly, one of the scientists made a sound, catching the rest of the group's attention. "I think I have gotten a signal."
"You did? Where?" Hyun-Jae asked.
"It's coming from the south… Hmm, around… 600 or 700 kilometers from here… Near Gwangju…"
"Gwangju? That's really far…" Talon raised an eyebrow.
'It's not that far away from my hometown… Could it be…'
"So, what kind of signal is it?"
"It's really weak so I can't really hear what it says. Wait, Narae, can you help me find another wave length… I think we can get a clearer message if we find the correct signal."
"Wait a moment," Narae replied as she took a look at his screen and then started tapping quickly at her keyboard.
"Come on… It should be there…" She murmured. "Here! I found it!"
"Send it to me."
After that, the two continued working on it before eventually, they turned around with wide, excited smiles on their faces. "We found it!"
"Wow… That was quicker than I expected…" Talon murmured. "Let us hear it then."
So, Narae clicked on the keyboard as a very loud ringing sound echoed in the room. Then, it turned into the noises of a radio signal.
"Hello… *Gibberish*... Is there anyone out there?"
The voice that appeared through the noises belonged to a man and it was very clear and audible.
"From the… *Gibberish*... The new human society in Gwangju… *Gibberish*... Are there any human survivors?"
"The new human society?" Chin-Hwa murmured.
"Shh…"
"If anyone is out there and received this message… *Gibberish*... Head to our location… The government had set up the safest place in the entire country and we need as many survivors as we can… I repeat… If you hear this message… Head straight to Gwangju…"
Then, the message kept repeating itself again and again so Narae stopped it.
"That was the entire message…" She said.
"..."
Silence took over the room for a few seconds.
"A government-made base in Gwangju, huh…" Hyun-Jae murmured with a frown. "Aren't those the same people that threw bombs over our heads?" She asked.
"Yeah… And now, they are looking for survivors… How does that make any sense?" Chin-Hwa shook his head.
They have already been targeted by the government before so hearing that they are now trying to build a new society out of nowhere didn't sit well with them.
"But, they still said that they have built a base. They could've not done that without a huge number of survivors… It could be the truth…" The cold prince commented.
"... It could be. Most survivors would've probably migrated to that area from the surrounding cities. What do you think, Talon?"
This entire time, Talon had been silent as he seemed really deep in thought. His mind was analyzing all the possibilities that could come out of this situation.
'If my parents are anywhere… They should be there… The new human society in Gwangju…' He squinted before he stood up.
"I guess we have no other choice but to go there. Whether it turns out to be a big trap… Then I will make sure they regret that heavily."
A//N: Don't forget to support the book if you enjoyed reading ??