Chapter 147: The Poppi Rescue Team

One look was enough to be sure.

Jaeyul recognized her instantly too.

Seeing our Poppi through the screen makes my teeth grind.

She got kidnapped, bullied… beaten, starved—

…or so I thought.

“Did she just lick X’s hand…?”

“And what’s with that face?

That bastard looks all plump and greasy.

What has she been eating?”

Her fur was glossy like silk, and she’d clearly put on weight, making her body look even bigger.

She looked like a large dog raised with excessive care in a rich household.

No matter how you looked at it, her face was full of happiness, and she was even wagging her tail while acting cute toward X.

“…Hyung, if we take her back now, won’t it look like we’re the kidnappers?”

“Yeah.

But it kind of feels like X brought Poppi out on purpose for us to see.”

“Like he’s asking when we’re coming to get her?”

“Probably.

Showing that she’s perfectly fine, telling us to hurry up and come.”

I know.

Poppi would never betray me and choose that bastard.

She’s a crafty little thing—this is probably just a survival tactic.

Seeing Poppi through the screen makes my heart rush again.

I want to bring her back as soon as possible.

Still, it’s a relief to know she’s safe.

“But hyung, um… X is really going all out.

Does he actually plan to wipe everything out?”

Jaeyul, who I thought was just chatting to distract himself like me, was staring at another screen.

Looks like he can listen to the briefing even while talking.

At his words, I set my thoughts about Poppi aside and studied the map showing areas bombarded by X and regions overrun by monsters.

“Is that so.

Hmm… something feels off.”

The more I looked, the stranger it felt.

I couldn’t pinpoint it exactly, but something kept bothering me.

“What’s off?”

“I don’t get why he’s rushing like this.

Before, X used to tighten the noose like it was a game.

Toying with people, giving them just enough hope to think they might win.

But now he’s just brutally smashing everything….”

Even considering X’s personality, this style of attack didn’t suit him.

A guy who destroyed one Earth and crossed over here out of boredom—

Would he really wipe everything out this crudely?

If I were X, I’d use every method possible to toy with humanity.

“Really?

Isn’t this better for us though?

If he’s rushing, we’ll get more chances to save Poppi.”

“That’s true, but….”

There was one more thing that bothered me.

X’s attacks and the monsters’ movements almost felt—

No.

That can’t be.

I quickly shook the thought from my head.

Even thinking it sounded ridiculous, and I felt embarrassed to mention it to Jaeyul.

That X might be deliberately avoiding areas with high civilian casualties while still drawing attention—

Yeah.

That’s nonsense.

It has to be coincidence.

“So we’re a team, right?”

“Yeah.

It’s more efficient to move with people who work well together.”

There wasn’t much of a strategy to prepare, so the suppression force didn’t take long to assemble.

If ‘strategy’ meant mindlessly pouring firepower into the monsters and X until something worked, then sure.

With espers from other countries included, nearly a thousand attackers were gathered.

Even counting my previous life, I’d never seen a suppression force this large.

High-ranking espers would focus on X, while the rest handled surrounding monsters.

And then there were the team members Jaeyul personally selected.

Park Bomyeong already looked excited.

Does he even understand how dangerous this situation is?

A kind but clueless friend….

“So in the end, you need my help, huh?

Go on, say it—

‘Hyung, please help us!’”

Song Jihan and Eden were there too, still bristling at Jaeyul.

All of Special Team 1 had gathered.

And then—

“I’m the Director now, and you dare order me around?

This is why you shouldn’t take in animals with black hair.”

Team Leader Oh Seonggyu—

No, Director Oh Seonggyu.

Apparently, all the team leaders of the Second Center had refused the director position, so it fell to him.

Taking on such a role at a time like this…

This guy really is something else.

“We’ll move as a mobile unit.

The mission details are strictly classified.”

“Hey!

Are you ignoring me?!”

Jaeyul handled Director Oh surprisingly well.

As if he couldn’t hear the man’s complaints at all, he calmly began explaining our objective.

Once something important came up, Director Oh finally went quiet.

“A mobile unit?

Are you ambushing X Mask or something?”

“We are going to ambush him, but the objective’s a bit different.”

To be honest, even I wasn’t entirely sure what Jaeyul was planning.

Seeing him call in all our team members made me uneasy.

Our goal was to get as close to X as possible.

That meant dragging everyone else into extreme danger.

Honestly… I wasn’t thrilled about it.

“So we’re not taking down that fake Seon Jaeyul?

Then what?”

They spoke lightly, but in reality, everyone was tense.

This attack represented humanity throwing everything it had left.

If it failed, extinction was guaranteed.

Being assigned a classified mission in such a battle weighed heavily on everyone.

It might even mean sacrificing their lives.

A grim resolve settled over their faces.

All eyes turned to Jaeyul.

“We’re rescuing Poppi.”

“…P-poppi?”

The team members looked at one another, as if checking whether they’d heard him correctly.

“We’re rescuing Poppi.”

“What’s that?”

“Our dog.”

“…Why are we rescuing her?”

“She was taken.”

Eden seemed especially irritated by how calmly Jaeyul answered.

For the first time, he activated his ability with a visibly angry expression.

Honestly, I understood him.

Even to me, Jaeyul was being… a little irritating.

That calm, unbothered face of his.

“So right now… you want us to rescue your dog that got kidnapped….”

“She’s not just a dog.

She’s a puppy.”

“Fine, a puppy.

You’re telling us to rescue her?”

“That’s right.

But it won’t be an easy mission.

Poppi is currently with X Mask.”

I didn’t expect him to be that upfront about it.

If someone chose to refuse and leave right now, it wouldn’t be an overreaction.

In a battle where the world itself was on the brink of collapse, being asked to risk your life to save someone else’s dog—

And one guarded by X, no less.

I couldn’t bring myself to ask them to help.

Poppi is precious only to Jaeyul and me.

It wasn’t something we could force on them.

“I won’t force anyone.

If you don’t want to do this, you can transfer to another team right now.”

Jaeyul left the choice to them.

“I’ll do it.

We’re fighting anyway—might as well save a puppy too.”

“Haa… you idiot….

Then I guess I have to go too….”

Park Bomyeong agreed first, and his best friend Eden reluctantly followed.

“Gotta help my friend.

Not Seon Jaeyul—our Sehyun.”

Song Jihan joined in, oddly enough.

Finally, everyone looked at Director Oh.

“Honestly, I don’t understand this at all….”

“Then that makes everyone.

Get properly prepared before we move.”

“Hey!

Why aren’t you asking my opinion?!”

Jaeyul didn’t even listen to Director Oh’s response.

To be honest, I already knew what his answer would be.

He’s not the kind of man who would ever ignore a request for help.

“Thank you, everyone.”

I thanked them belatedly.

It’s a relief to have teammates who step up like it’s their own problem whenever something happens.

Meeting even one person like this in life is rare—

And I’ve met several.

This life really does seem to be going far better than the last.

“No need for thanks.

Just buy us a ton of drinks later.”

If the day ever comes when we can all raise a glass together, I’ll gladly do it.

“Then let’s name ourselves!”

Park Bomyeong suddenly said something strange.

“A name?

You mean our team?”

“It’s an amazing mission, so we need a team name!

I just thought of a really good one!”

Judging by how excited he was, we were definitely going to be stuck with whatever name he picked.

Honestly, no one besides him cared about the name anyway.

Still, out of courtesy, I asked.

“What is it?”

“The Poppi Rescue Team!”

“…….”

“Isn’t it awesome?

Let’s go with Poppi Rescue Team!”

…And just like that,

the P-Poppi Rescue Team was born.

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