Chapter 269
Clad in comfortable clothes, Chelsea kept pressing the buttons on the remote from the sofa . News, drama, art channels, movies, documentaries, etc, all kinds of programs and channels appeared on TV, but none caught Chelsea’s eyes .
In the end, she settled on one channel and placed the remote down . Then she picked up the potato chips and cola on the desk in front of her . Right now, Chelsea was the quintessential single person in a house .
As the dust from the chips settled on her fingertips, she sucked on them and took a swig of cola . All this time, her eyes kept glancing at the front door, which remained shut .
‘When will they be back?’
She became disinterested in watching the TV, so she tossed and turned on the sofa . Her eyes once again swept past the door .
“Hoo-ooh~!”
She let out deep sighs as if it were the end of the world .
‘I hate times like this . ’
Ten days had passed since Sungyoon had left Armstrong city . It was not an uncommon thing as whenever Sungyoon raided the Great Labyrinth, he would be gone for a longer time .
‘This was a special mission handed down by the Mayor himself . ’
After Sungyoon became a Connector, he had been swept up into many dangerous situations . Chelsea was well aware of it . Labyrinths were full of unexpected variables, but the dangers to Connectors plummeted if Connectors acted within their limits . However, Sungyoon had a track record of getting himself into trouble, and Chelsea worried it might happen again .
‘There are so many other Connectors he could have hired . Why did it have to be Mr . Sungyoon . . . ’
Chelsea bit down hard on the potato chip while imagining it to be the Mayor .
The price of goods on the Moon was high, so she didn’t like wasting food; she did this even when Sungyoon didn’t mind her eating all the food in the house . However, right now, she wanted to eat to relieve her stress .
‘This is why I never wanted to fall in love with a Connector!’
As a researcher, Chelsea had a good idea about how the Connectors lived . At the very least, she knew she couldn’t sleep in peace at night if she became a Connector's wife . She had hardened her heart to not fall for a Connector, but her heart had a mind of its own .
As the worry ate away at her heart, she heard a sound .
Bul-kuhk!
The front door opened .
Bul-kuhk!
Chelsea jumped up from the sofa . She wiped away the chip dust around her lips as she looked at the front door .
“Mr . Sungyoon!”
The worries in her heart dispersed . Finally, Sungyoon was here . She even forgot to put on her slippers as she approached Sungyoon .
“Welcome!”
With a bright smile, Chelsea checked if Sungyoon was hurt anywhere, and in the process, realized he was carrying someone on his back .
“Who’s that?”
“We rescued her on the way back . She was lying face down on the Moon's surface . ”
“On the Moon's surface?”
Sungyoon's words meant that the woman on his back had been abandoned in space .
“Is . . . is she ok?”
“Since she is a Connector, she's alive . Moreover, Ms . Emily healed all her wounds . ”
Tim trudged into the house and explained in place of Sungyoon .
“We plan on protecting her until she regains consciousness . I’m sorry to ask this of you, but could you prepare one of the guest rooms?”
“Please wait a moment . ”
As soon as she received Sungyoon’s request, Chelsea darted into the nearest empty room . Sungyoon carefully followed her to avoid unnecessarily harming the woman on his back .
Chelsea didn’t have to do much . She just brushed away some of the dust on the bed and folded back the blanket . When everything was ready, Sungyoon placed Plu-El on top of the bed .
“Shouldn’t we call a doctor?”
Emily spoke . She had healed the woman's body with her magic, but the woman might have suffered other damages that couldn’t be healed with magic .
“That’s a good idea . I’ll call one . ”
Grace exited the room, and soon, the others heard her talk through the phone in the living room .
‘With her stature, Ms . Grace can get a couple of good doctors in Armstrong that she can trust . ’
“We should rest for now . We didn’t do much, but it was still tiring . ”
“Let’s do that . Since we finished another mission, we should celebrate with food and alcohol . ”
Tim enthusiastically agreed with Sungyoon’s words . He wanted to go out right now to get as much beer and vodka as he could carry .
Sungyoon let out a chuckle .
“Beer sounds good . However, I won’t be able to help with the preparations for the drinking party . Let me apologize beforehand . ”
“Where are you going?”
Emily looked at Sungyoon as she pulled the blanket up to Plu-El’s shoulders .
“I’m thinking about reporting to the Mayor right now . Also, I want to know which company this woman is affiliated with . I’m sure her comrades must be worried about her . ”
“That’s a good idea . ”
That wasn't all Sungyoon intended to do . As Sungyoon glanced down at Plu-El, a memory replayed in his mind .
‘In our last meeting, she reacted oddly when she met Mr . Hyunwoo . ’
Hyunwoo had said that the two of them were friends in the past, but the woman's reaction had told a completely different story . Of course, Hyunwoo might have been telling the truth, and their relationship might have experienced a fallout because of something .
‘What could cause such deterioration in relationships between close friends?’
Back then, this woman had looked at Hyunwoo as if he was her mortal enemy .
‘I don’t like getting in between other people’s business, but… . ’
‘She might have information about Mr . Hyunwoo . ’
A suspicion about Hyunwoo had recently sprouted in Sungyoon's heart, and this suspicion was deepening as if it were a freight train with no brakes .
‘I must find out this information for her . ’
The image of his wife, Jimin, appeared in his mind as he left the house .
***
Voices rang out in an almost empty city . It looked like the city had been squeezed into this space, and the city abruptly ended in a couple of locations . Even though it had fallen apart in many places, the city had still preserved its look of an ancient city .
The expressions of worry and exhaustion on the owner of these voices suggested that they had run away from a catastrophe . A small group of these people had gathered on the side .
“What should we do now?”
A man asked as he lay on a broken wall from exhaustion . His question wasn't directed at anyone in the group in particular; he was just lamenting about the fact that he couldn’t see a forward path for his people .
When one started speaking, others opened their mouths too .
“What happened to Plu-El? Do you think she is dead?”
“Don’t put that evil on us!”
“There's no way she got out of there alive . We have to take inventory of our fighting force for the future . . . ”
“Future? There is no future! This is it! We lost!”
Unpleasant emotions started to boil up . Rage, confusion, despair, and denial swirled inside these people's hearts . They cussed each other out of frustration . They blamed the heavens . They blamed themselves .
However, one of them kept silent despite the emotions raging around him . He slowly touched his Device .
‘Aruwen . ’
Even now, he could hear her words in his mind .
‘You're the only one left now . You will lead our people from now on . ’
Their relationship had deteriorated over the years, so it had been a long time since Aruwen had seen Plu-El smile toward him . When he saw that smile again, she had been powerless against her enemies .
Clench!
Strength entered into the hand that was touching the Device .
“Aruwen!”
Someone yelled out his name while running toward him . All the others in the group, who were about to trade blows with each other, came to a stop .
Aruwen slowly raised his head as he asked .
“What’s wrong?”
The one who had called him out was a spy he had sent to Armstrong city as soon as his people had arrived here . Even in the midst of the chaos, Aruwen wanted to keep track of Sung Hyunwoo and Fabion . It was a half measure that he didn’t expect much of .
However, the information brought to Aruwen was huge and important .
“I saw Plu-El!”
Bul-duhk!
Aruwen stood up . Everyone else became surprised . A small light of hope appeared in their dead eyes .
“Where?”
Aruwen immediately asked .
“You know that guy we ambushed before? Woo Sungyoon! I saw him with Plu-El on his back!”
Aruwen’s face hardened, and the crowd became agitated .
“Woo Sungyoon? The one who awakened the Royal Gem? Isn’t he friends with that son of a bitch Hyunwoo?”
“Doesn’t that mean Plu-El in danger?”
They were all happy that Plu-El was alive, but their faces darkened again when they realized she had been captured by Sung Hyunwoo’s friend . All of them looked like a group of goats that had lost their leader, and they argued with each other on everything . Watching them, Aruwen silently came to a decision .
***
“Then I’ll be on my way . ”
After saying goodbye, Sungyoon exited the Mayor’s office .
‘This ends my work for the day . ’
He had reported what had happened, then asked the Mayor to find the comrades of Soyoung’s mother . The Mayor had readily agreed to his request .
‘We were given a couple of days off, so we should relax today . ’
His party members would've already prepared delicious food and alcohol in his house . Since he had to maintain constant vigilance in the labyrinth earlier, Sungyoon was exhausted . Being in a safe place now, he wanted to relax and get a bit drunk .
‘I’ll have to call Shinhae before I do that . ’
Sungyoon could speak to Shinhae any time he wanted to through the communication device . It was the one perk Sungyoon loved about having a lot of money .
‘Jimin… I should talk to her too . ’
Sungyoon still felt a bit awkward, but she was his wife and a part of his responsibility now . So he would call her often to get rid of that awkwardness . His feet became light at the thought of talking to his family . However, that feeling didn't last long .
“I knew I would find you here . ”
Sungyoon’s footsteps had been so light that he would have flown off into the sky if he were a little careless, and these footsteps came to a stop . He was familiar with this voice .
“Mr . Hyunwoo . ”
Sungyoon turned around to see Hyunwoo approaching him with a bright smile on his face . Sungyoon did his best to keep his expression under control as he asked .
“Do you have business with the Mayor too, Mr . Hyunwoo?”
“We’ve been summoned, and we can’t refuse it . It has to do with what you guys witnessed . ”
Hyunwoo pointed backward where several people were entering the lobby . They were probably related to Fabion .
“Is your business done here?”
“Yes . I’ve finished all the urgent tasks . ”
“That’s great . Do you mind if I talk to you for a minute?”
Sungyoon narrowed his eyes .