Chapter 107: The Incinerator’s Fall and a New Hope

Kang Tae-han patted Sa-yoon’s back, extending a mask he had prepared. Only then did Sa-yoon recall that their face was bare, without a mask.

They had failed to heed the warnings—neither to use their abilities nor to carry a mask. Despite coming here to help others, Sa-yoon felt profoundly inadequate, their steps heavy with a helpless sense of self-reproach.

From a distance, the bustling sounds of the Esper unit members echoed.

“Catch them immediately! Who dares to destroy our team leader’s work?!”

The enraged voice boomed from underground, a powerful shout that promised to tear the culprit apart on sight. The distinct voice pierced Sa-yoon’s ears, making them glance back momentarily.

‘Team leader’ must mean Jin Sa-yoon. So, even the person who built such a horrific structure was revered and called ‘team leader.’

“Seol-won.”

At Kang Tae-han’s voice, Sa-yoon snapped back to reality, pushing power into their legs and leaving the scene. They hurried towards where the other villagers were, before a swarm of Espers could appear in the settling dust.

The CCTV camera mounted on a tree coldly captured their retreating figures.

“What in the world happened here?”

Kang Ah-jun roared, pacing angrily around the site. He had rushed here after hearing that a spy planted in Busan had made a move, only to find the incinerator, perfectly intact yesterday, now crumbling.

Arriving at dawn, Kang Ah-jun was frantic to identify the culprit. He had been told that most combat-capable Air Rains had been apprehended, so his first priority was to determine where this new formidable force had emerged from.

This was unforgivable. The incinerator in Busan was one of the few remaining vestiges of Team Leader Sa-yoon’s legacy. To destroy it in an instant… he vowed to kill the perpetrator upon meeting them. With that resolve, he repeatedly played the CCTV footage recovered from the ground.

Captured in the pre-dawn hours, only silhouettes were visible. Even after rewinding dozens of videos countless times, little information could be gleaned. He could barely discern that the culprit was a tall man.

The man stumbled towards the incinerator, head bowed, panting. As soon as he touched the incinerator, the thick concrete wall cracked.

What he had done, what ability he possessed, was utterly beyond inference.

The most plausible ability was psychokinesis, yet the man’s surroundings remained eerily still. While completely demolishing the incinerator, the man didn’t even stir a single tree branch nearby.

Such precise control over psychokinesis seemed impossible. It was an event that occurred without any prior indication, much like when Team Leader Sa-yoon manipulated coordinates.

‘…Get a grip, Kang Ah-jun.’

Thoughts of Team Leader Sa-yoon resurfaced, making Kang Ah-jun despondent again. He called out his own name to steady himself, then refocused on the video. It was clear that a new individual had entered Korea.

Now, Team Leader Sa-yoon, who used to apprehend foreign encroachers, was gone. Kim Chae-jun had also left the country, following Han Do-hoon. Left alone, Kang Ah-jun remained as the leader of Esper Team 3, the position Sa-yoon once held, protecting Korea.

As a copy ability user, he had last replicated Sa-yoon’s power and had not changed it to anyone else’s since. It was his personal resolve to protect Korea with Team Leader Sa-yoon’s strength, in his way.

“Team Leader Kang Ah-jun, please look at this.”

Called by a team member reviewing other CCTV footage, Kang Ah-jun rushed to their laptop. He saw the faint black-and-white screen slowly brighten.

As dawn broke and the rising sunlight filtered through the tree branches, the indistinct silhouette of the man began to reveal his facial features. The quality was still poor, but it illuminated the culprit more clearly than other screens.

A tall, somewhat lean physique, a nose bridge caught obliquely by the morning sun, and sharp eyes peeking through his bowed hair.

“Huh?”

Kang Ah-jun pushed aside the team member sitting in front of the laptop and took the chair. He pressed his face so close to the screen it almost touched, adjusting the playback speed.

He manipulated the keyboard to pinpoint the brief moment the culprit was exposed to the sun, just before his bowed head was obscured by a mask. Then, he paused the screen at the clearest image of the culprit’s face.

Staring at the black-and-white image, as if unable to believe it, Kang Ah-jun’s lips trembled. It was a side profile, turned halfway away. Looking at the blurry image, which made identification impossible for anyone else, Kang Ah-jun was certain. He had finally found them.

“Send this file to me. And delete it.”

“Pardon?”

“Did you not understand me? No, I’ll take this laptop. Don’t say anything. Keep what you saw here a secret. That’s an order.”

Kang Ah-jun carried the laptop containing the CCTV footage directly to his private quarters. The culprit’s profile remained on the screen. After confirming he was completely cut off from others, Kang Ah-jun turned on his phone. It had been a long time since he’d made a call.

As the phone rang several times, Kang Ah-jun restlessly tapped his foot.

“Hey. Do you know what time it is here? You call me after all this time without any manners…”

“Kim Chae-jun, why didn’t you tell me, you bastard?”

“Why are you making a fuss again?”

Frustrated by Kim Chae-jun’s puzzled tone over the phone, Kang Ah-jun shouted.

“Team Leader Sa-yoon! The team leader is back!”

“What nonsense are you talking about? Are you still half-asleep?”

At Kim Chae-jun’s usual cold words, Kang Ah-jun stomped his foot and beat his chest.

“I’m sending you the video file right now, so open those blurry eyes and look properly!”

Kang Ah-jun hung up and sent the CCTV footage from the laptop. A moment later, Kim Chae-jun responded.

“That’s a back view. I can’t even properly see the side profile, what are you talking about? Besides, the quality is terrible.”

“You usually act like you’d rip out your heart for the team leader, but you can’t recognize this?”

“Calm down. I know you’re going through a tough time, but what am I supposed to say if you just look at the back of someone’s head and say that? Plus, the hair color is indistinct. Isn’t it a foreigner?”

Kang Ah-jun pounded his chest with his hand, yelling at Kim Chae-jun.

“You can sit on your ass in that fancy headquarters and keep longing for the team leader. I’m going to meet them myself!”

“Hey, Kang Ah-jun.”

“Handle my leave or discharge however you want!”

Sa-yoon pondered the candy in their hand. A child they’d met that morning had given it to them to eat. Kang Tae-han, passing by, lightly tapped their shoulder and approached.

“Did someone give you something again?”

“Yes.”

“If you received it, eat it. Staring at it like that will just melt the candy.”

Upon peeling back the wrapper, a round, white candy was revealed. This was far from the first time they had received such an unprompted gift. Each time, Sa-yoon felt awkward under the excessive attention.

“Can I really eat this?”

“Why bother with such useless thoughts? If you’re not going to eat it, I will.”

At Kang Tae-han’s gesture, as if to take the candy, Sa-yoon quickly popped it into their mouth. An exaggeratedly sweet taste spread across their tongue.

“Everyone’s just trying to show their gratitude to you, so just eat it comfortably.”

“Still, it’s a bit… excessive.”

“It’s not excessive at all. If it’s too much, should I tell them to stop?”

“It’s not… that bad.”

The words were muffled as they spoke around the candy. Kang Tae-han mimicked their speech, teasing Sa-yoon. As the two bantered, Min Da-hyun opened the door from outside and peeked in.

“You two were here? They’re calling everyone for a meal.”

“Great. Is it meat side dishes again today?”

“Of course. It’s high-quality Korean beef. Meat for breakfast—this is truly a wonderful place.”

After their escape, Sa-yoon and the Air Rains had moved to a new refuge, where they were being treated with utmost care. The new sanctuary was a converted training center, abandoned in the mountains, prepared in advance. It was a secluded spot with narrow roads, ensuring it had remained undiscovered for a long time.

Sa-yoon recalled the moment they left the vicinity of the incinerator and arrived here.

The people who had watched the incinerator collapse had immediately crumpled to the ground and wept upon reaching a safe place. They had clasped Sa-yoon’s hand, repeatedly expressing their heartfelt thanks.

In the early hours, as the incinerator crumbled and the Esper unit searched for the culprit, the village chief and his companions, who had been arrested, managed to escape from within, seizing the chaos. Perhaps due to their trust in the incinerator’s security, the underground entrance was heavily guarded, but the ground level was open, making their escape possible.

Ultimately, Sa-yoon’s actions had achieved both the rescue and the disposal of the incinerator simultaneously.

The atmosphere in the village had transformed. The bereaved families, who had clung to the incinerator site, abandoning their livelihoods, now picked themselves up and moved actively within the new village. Those who had been disheartened after losing their chief also regained their vitality. The desperate, pleading gazes they had given when Sa-yoon first arrived as support on the battlefield now sparkled with hope.

Though still overwhelmed by such reactions, Sa-yoon didn’t feel bad about it. At first, they had chastised themselves for disrupting the plan, but now, Sa-yoon was gradually feeling a sense of pride.

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