Black Badger

Regaining my senses, I briefly denied reality.

No way. This couldn't be a real kidnapping.

Maybe this was part of the test? The examiners must have covered my mouth, and now I had to escape from here and get to the test site.

I already knew that finding the test site was part of the exam itself. That's why Yoon had stressed not to be late. The location they'd told me about a few days ago wasn't somewhere I could reach by public transport.

So, I'd brainstormed ways to get there with Tom and Hesi.

Because of that, I knew the exam wouldn't proceed in such a violent manner.

But I could still hold onto a sliver of hope...

"Hey, you awake, you bastard?"

Ah.

"Even the badgers aren't anything special."

Damn.

The moment I heard that snickering, the faint hope I'd harbored shattered.

I lifted my heavy eyelids.

I assessed the situation. Bound limbs. A spinning vision, likely from the drugs. And even through the haze, a phone camera in sharp focus. People wearing bulletproof vests, bizarre masks pulled over their faces, guns dangling from their waists.

The musty smell of mold.

This was bad. It seemed like I'd really been kidnapped.

Their matching outfits and the phone camera thrust forward, as if expecting me to lash out violently, felt all too real.

But at this timing?

I gazed despairingly at the unfamiliar space around me.

"No."

What was this?

"Who are you people?"

Thwack!

A baseball bat struck my abdomen, tied to the chair.

A dull pain made me furrow my brow. But I quickly smoothed my expression and sighed. As expected, they were civilians. They didn't have the power of a badger.

That's why they were using a baseball bat.

The pain, less intense than anticipated, slowly faded. I sighed again and looked at the kidnappers.

Why hadn't I sensed them approaching?

People with this level of skill—I should have noticed if they'd come near.

Hiding my puzzlement, I asked.

"Tell me why."

"You're all talk, rookie."

"You think you're so superior."

The one wearing a mask with a skull emblem spoke.

"You figure flicking a finger at the likes of us would be enough."

What victim complex was this?

I tried to steady my wavering vision, squinting.

"No, I really want to know why..."

The baseball bat rose.

Thud!

Another beating ensued. The kidnappers laid into me with steel pipes and baseball bats.

"Hey, damn it! I'm just asking for a reason!"

I vented my frustration while taking the hits helplessly.

"And stop hitting me! It hurts... ugh!"

A strong electric shock coursed through my body.

I convulsed, bound to the chair.

It was intense enough to kill an ordinary person.

What the hell was this...

Now I was certain. Their malice was real. Not half-hearted, but full-throated hatred.

And the fact that I'd been kidnapped with only a day left before the exam was also real.

The reason was unknown, but the fact that I'd been ambushed so easily...

"That condescending look pisses me off."

One of the masked figures growled.

"You all think of us mortals as fools!"

"Mortals... what?"

"Lab rat bastard!"

They started getting excited again.

"You little rat!"

Thwack!

Multiple cameras whirred busily. Phones on tripods captured me and them from various angles. Amid the humming resonance, they beat me mercilessly.

For a moment, I wondered if they were filming some kind of video.

It hurt.

But the drugs were still too strong; I couldn't resist.

More precisely, I didn't trust myself to control my strength without killing them.

So, waiting for the drug to wear off, I meekly endured the violence. These people, gripped by their strange convictions, excitedly swung away. Bang! The chair toppled. But no one bothered to right it.

They shoved each other while kicking me relentlessly.

Finally, breathing heavily, they stopped.

They stepped back a pace from me.

I spat out the blood pooling in my mouth.

"What time is it?"

I broke the silence with a hoarse voice.

"You can beat me as much as you want, but can you make sure I'm in Zone 1 by 6 a.m.?"

"Hey. The Green Dream we dosed you with is the real deal, right?"

Someone pointed at me accusingly.

Sorry, but that stuff didn't work on me.

"We emptied at least three syringes! Even fakes should have some effect."

"Yeah. It seems to be taking hold, but look—his wounds aren't healing right away."

"But it doesn't seem fully effective either."

They muttered among themselves.

Growing anxious, I spoke up again.

"What time is it exactly?"

"Stick him with more! Damn it, you got us some shitty stuff."

"You go get better ones then!"

"What time is it exactly?"

"When are the others arriving?"

"Bring the drugs!"

"What time is it exactly?"

"9 p.m."

Ah.

Even with the mask, the dull-witted aura was palpable from the one who answered.

Relieved, I gave him a faint smile.

"Thanks. May 31st, 9 p.m.?"

"Of course it's May 31st."

"Hey!"

Someone sharply cut him off.

"Don't say unnecessary things!"

About nine hours left.

I blinked, shaking off the blood droplets clinging to my eyelashes, and racked my brain. I'd been kidnapped around 6:30 p.m. in Zone 1. At most, it would take two and a half hours to get back.

So, if they released me by 3:30 a.m., I could still make the exam.

"The boss is coming soon."

A gloomy voice pulled me from my thoughts.

The kidnappers' heads snapped toward the speaker.

The one standing in the musty corner lifted his head.

"Tie that one down tight."

Finally, I'd meet the mastermind behind this kidnapping.

While the kidnappers bustled about, I lay quietly on the cold floor. They hurriedly prepared to receive someone. Resetting camera angles, checking the ropes binding my limbs, approaching me to inject what I assumed was more Green Dream.

They dosed me with narcotics too.

I'd thought I'd had my fill of this crap back in the Colosseum. Frowning at the oncoming nausea, I gauged the time.

Fifteen minutes passed...

The door opened.

"Boss."

Light poured through the open doorway.

"We've prepared everything."

It was a pair of young man and woman.

I could tell at a glance that they were blood-related—siblings or twins. They resembled each other too closely to mistake.

People I'd never seen before.

A man and woman with beautiful, long, jet-black curly hair.

They approached me slowly.

"The photo in the article looks just like him."

I heard the woman's voice first.

"Good job, everyone."

"Did you get good footage?"

The man scanned the masked figures.

The kidnappers nodded obediently.

The dark-haired man looked satisfied.

"Alright. Check the video on the computer. Pick out the decent ones. We're sending them to Ye-hyeon soon."

"Ye-hyeon?"

I widened my eyes.

Even so, I didn't stop timing. Twenty minutes.

"Why send it to the Supreme Commander?"

Flying glares landed on me.

A silence I couldn't gauge enveloped the room briefly.

The woman broke it.

"Because that's how your monstrous kind will realize their mistake."

"What?"

"Beings that neither age nor die are ruining society."

She said that as she approached me.

The sharp click of high heels echoed clearly.

"When they could just fight the war with regular soldiers."

"In truth, your sins aren't as deep as Ye-hyeon's, newbie."

As the woman knelt to peer at me, the man, presumed to be her twin, also drew near.

He held a smartphone in one hand.

"But understand this. And don't be too sad. You'll become a symbolic figure in your own right. We didn't choose you without reason. We've been preparing this for months."

"What. A kidnapping plan for me?"

For real?

The woman grabbed my hair.

Her grip strength was that of an ordinary person. The drugs kept my body from responding, but my senses hadn't dulled. If I really wanted, I could break free.

I resolved that if these idiots kept this up until 3 a.m., I'd resist somehow and get out.

Thirty minutes.

The man turned away, busily doing something.

As he did, he spoke.

"You, like William Walker, took the exam almost solo and got hired."

Ah.

"We protested back then too. Hiring Black Badgers like this makes the organization even less trustworthy. But the same thing happened again."

"I told you. That arrogant bastard wouldn't listen to us."

The woman yanked my hair, forcing eye contact, and smiled.

A fierce conviction gleamed in her eyes.

"That guy announced a Territory Expansion plan just an hour after getting shot by a hardline environmentalist."

So, I was a target for some group opposing the badgers.

From what I'd gathered so far... They must have seen my face in the article, learned about me, and since I was the most recent hire with a process they deemed irregular, they kidnapped me.

But why this timing?

And who knocked me out?

If it was them, I would have sensed their approach.

Puzzled by the inconsistencies, I pondered while timing.

Until a pain like a scream ripped through my body.

"Ugh!"

An electric shock.

A heavy jolt that would kill a civilian lingered for a bit before stopping. Even after it faded, my body trembled.

I panted, rolling my eyes.

Forty-five minutes.

I saw the man filming a selfie-style video.

"See this?"

He said to the phone.

"This is the result of ignoring our voices."

So, they're making a video letter for Ye-hyeon.

Drenched in sweat, I dazedly listened. The man and woman, apparent leaders of the group, now faced the camera, expounding their beliefs. The Black Badger organization caused societal division. It defied the natural order. It went against God's will. It shouldn't exist. We knew you were enjoying privileges from Augmented Bodies under the pretext of war...

"So, we've decided to kill this newbie as an example."

What?

Me?

"To remind you that you're just human. To show people how perverse your death-defying existence is."

That wouldn't work...

I thought as the kidnappers droned on. If they'd planned to torture and release me, their scheme might have gone smoothly.

But since they'd decided to kill me, their plan was doomed to fail.

Colton wouldn't allow my death.

At least, not until I killed Kyle.

So, probably...

"Realize it when you see the newbie's corpse, Supreme Commander."

...Hold on.

"The sins you've committed."

In that case, Colton would definitely intervene before I died?

The twins (I'd just decided to think of them that way) finished their video letter and lowered the phone.

They glanced at it, then ordered their underlings.

"Send it."

"Yes."

"Looks good?"

I muttered to myself.

Some kidnappers who overheard turned to me. Gazes stabbed down.

I gave a faint smile to the puzzled masked faces.

"You're planning to kill me, right?"

"This guy's still not getting it. Look at that grin."

"No, is he losing it?"

"Please kill me before 3 a.m."

Ignoring the kidnappers' mutters, I said what I needed to.

Probably with a smile that looked mad to them.

"You have five hours, so it's plenty of time."

"What?"

"3 a.m."

I spat blood and cheered them on.

"Your goal is before 3 a.m."

The kidnappers stared at me, speechless.

I smiled faintly at them.

*

10 p.m.

The high command, preparing to leave work, turned pale as they flung open the office door and looked at the secretary.

"Commander!"

Michelle, who rarely panicked, raised her voice.

"There's an email you need to see!"