NOVEL NEXT Chapter 109
Chapter 109: The Chaotic Security Department Office
The Security Department Office was still buzzing with a chaotic atmosphere, but it seemed a little more subdued than before.
Everyone was firmly believing that the heavily fortified iron doors and stone walls would keep the monsters out.
In times of crisis, people want to rely on something, and this time, it was the iron doors and walls.
However, this belief wasn’t entirely unfounded; it was based on the reality that the Special Detention Center’s iron doors and walls were indeed strong defensive structures.
Lee Si-hyun understood the staff’s feelings.
However, he knew he had to speak up.
Approaching the Security Department Head, who was sitting with a serious expression for the first time since the crisis began, he said, “Head.”
“Oh, Section Chief Lee. What is it?”
The Head looked at Si-hyun.
“I think we need to prepare.”
“Prepare? For what?”
The Head gave a puzzled glance.
Nearby employees, who were carefully watching Si-hyun, mirrored the Head’s expression, wondering what he would say next.
“I hesitate to mention this, but…”
Si-hyun paused intentionally before continuing.
“In case the front gate is breached, shouldn’t we arrange personnel accordingly?”
“What do you mean, breached…. What kind of ominous talk is that in this situation?”
“The solid front gate, why would it be breached?”
Before the Head could react, the surrounding staff expressed their disapproval of Si-hyun’s words.
The front gate and stone walls were what the staff depended on amidst their anxiety.
In a fearful situation, people tend to trust more blindly.
Si-hyun anticipated this kind of reaction from the staff.
“This is purely a matter of preparation.”
Ignoring the staff’s glares, Si-hyun focused on the Head.
“Hmm.”
It seemed the Head didn’t fully appreciate Si-hyun’s comment either.
If the front gate were actually breached, everything would be over.
The terrifying reality of death would loom closer.
Thus, people had no choice but to hold onto their faith in the front gate.
Hearing doubts about its safety, the Head felt quite irritated.
“What kind of preparation are you talking about?”
Still suppressing his emotions, the Head asked Si-hyun about his proposed plan.
From a leadership perspective, he had to.
“I would evacuate the ordinary correctional officers to the top floor of the Ward and cut the power to the elevators. This leaves only the stairs as an escape route. The Hunter officers can then stop the monsters from coming up there.”
Si-hyun explained.
The idea was to use the advantages of a narrow terrain.
Since the staircase was narrow, the monsters could only come up one at a time.
This removed the risks of being surrounded or attacked from behind.
Moreover, the enemies are below, while we are positioned higher, giving us a strategic advantage before the fight even starts.
“What about the inmates?”
The Head squinted and asked.
“The inmates would also be evacuated to the top floor…”
“That’s ridiculous.”
One of the Duty Chiefs interrupted, cutting Si-hyun off.
“Are our inmates just regular inmates? They’re all Awakened Beings. If we release those kinds of people from their cells in this situation, it would cause even more chaos. We couldn’t handle it. And the assumption that the front gate would be breached is erroneous in the first place. The front gate will never be breached—never!”
The Duty Chief strongly opposed Si-hyun’s idea.
Especially in reaction to Si-hyun’s suggestion that the front gate could be breached, he insisted vehemently that it was impossible.
Still, his thoughts on the inmates were closer to the truth.
The reason they were high-risk inmates was that they were Awakened Beings.
Releasing them all at once from their cells would be utterly uncontrollable—this was obvious.
Especially since the current situation was already chaotic.
It was only natural to worry about what could happen.
“Are we going to just leave the inmates to die if a fire breaks out? This is an emergency situation akin to a fire. No matter how many crimes they’ve committed and are locked up for, as correctional officers, we have a fundamental duty to protect the inmates’ lives.”
Si-hyun firmly countered.
“Who said we don’t have the duty to protect their lives? I’m just expressing that it’s a more dangerous route. Your suggestion is hazardous in the extreme. And, I reiterate, please stop worrying about the ridiculous idea of the front gate being breached.”
“Chief Park is right.”
“I think so too.”
Others in the office supported the Duty Chief’s words.
If the safety of the front gate was doubted, the employees were even more inclined to believe that there was something wrong with it.
The atmosphere in the group was influencing their responses.
And when people are caught in a crisis, they tend to get swept up by the prevailing mood even more.
Almost everyone, except for Si-hyun, firmly believed in the safety of the front gate.
However, Si-hyun was making statements that contradicted this belief.
So to them, Si-hyun came off as the problematic individual.
“Let me say this again; that’s not a precautionary measure, it’s a path to greater danger.”
The fired-up Duty Chief spoke again.
Si-hyun ignored the comment and directed his attention to the Head.
“Please make the call, Head.”
“Um…”
The Head seemed to be pondering for a moment.
After a short pause, the Head spoke.
“I understand what you’re trying to convey, but it’s true that there’s an issue with your proposal for handling the inmates. If you can address that concern, I might reconsider, but otherwise, I can’t accept your suggestion. Do you understand?”
“…Yes.”
Si-hyun replied in a dry voice.
The staff seemed pleased with the Head’s decision.
Not wanting to argue further, Si-hyun turned and left the Security Department Office.
He realized that there was no point in discussing it any longer.
◈ ◈ ◈
“What should we do?”
The Assistant Duty Officer on the 6th Floor Unit 1 spoke with an anxious expression.
He couldn’t even sit still and was pacing in the Duty Room.
“Ah, just sit down. You’re making everyone more anxious.”
The Duty Chief scowled as he scolded him.
However, even the Duty Chief was shaking his legs unusually, unlike usual.
“Do you think we’ll survive? Right?”
“Ah, you little brat!”
“Can we just hide here? Shouldn’t we go somewhere?”
“This is still the safest place. Where else would we go? Didn’t you hear the TRS earlier? They said to lock the front gate tight and wait for the Hunters to arrive.”
The common network TRS allowed them to hear the radio communication between the front gate personnel and the Security Chief.
“W-Well, right? This is the safest place, right?”
“Yes, it is! If we were outside the front gate, we would have already died a hundred times over.”
“Ugh…”
Just hearing about death made the Assistant Duty Officer go pale and groan.
After a little while, he managed to speak again.
“But where is our Section Chief? He may be young, but he’s reliable…”
“Who knows? He’s like the grim reaper to the inmates, I doubt he’s hiding in the restroom trembling.”
“Huh?”
“What?”
“The Section Chief is coming.”
The Assistant Duty Officer said, looking at the CCTV.
The screen showed Si-hyun attempting to unlock the door to the 6th Floor Unit 1 Ward with his card key.
After unlocking the door, Si-hyun walked straight toward the Duty Room.
However, his demeanor was different than usual.
He looked like he had steeled his resolve.
Seeing Si-hyun approaching, the Assistant Duty Officer hurriedly opened the Duty Room door.
But Si-hyun simply walked past the Duty Room.
The Assistant Duty Officer, who was about to greet him, halted awkwardly in place.
Si-hyun was heading toward Cell 10.
That was where Kim Cheol-hyung was incarcerated.
Cheol-hyung, reading a book, sensed Si-hyun’s presence and closed his book to look outside.
Si-hyun was standing there.
“Section Chief.”
“Is your vibe still off?”
Si-hyun suddenly asked.
“What?”
“I asked if your vibe was still off.”
“Um.”
Cheol-hyung closed his eyes, looking as if he was sensing something.
After a moment, he opened his eyes again.
“It’s still not good. What’s going on?”
Since he was locked up, he didn’t know what was happening in the detention center.
“You’ll find out soon.”
Si-hyun replied and then really started heading for the Duty Room.
The Assistant Duty Officer greeted him with an awkward expression.
“Welcome, Section Chief.”
The Duty Chief also stood up to greet Si-hyun.
“Everyone.”
“Yes, Section Chief.”
“Do you want to live?”
“Huh?”
The sudden question made the Assistant Duty Officer and Duty Chief look at Si-hyun with bewildered expressions.
But they understood he was referring to the current situation.
“Well, of course, we want to live.”
The Assistant Duty Officer answered.
The Duty Chief showed a similar expression of agreement.
“If you want to live…”
Si-hyun paused for a moment before continuing.
“Open all the cell doors immediately.”
“….”
The Assistant Duty Officer and Duty Chief looked at each other, seriously questioning their understanding of what they just heard.
It was an utterly absurd request.
No way… They must have misunderstood.
They were both thinking the same thing.
“Could you repeat that? I must have misheard.”
The Assistant Duty Officer scratched his head and asked.
This time, they really wanted to hear him correctly.
But the answer was the same.
“I said, if you want to live, open all the cell doors.”
Si-hyun’s expression was serious.
There was not a hint of levity in him.
“What? Open the cell doors?”
“No, Section Chief, what are you saying?”
The Assistant Duty Officer and Duty Chief had faces full of disbelief.
Where were they?
The 6th Floor.
This was the Ward where only high-ranking Hunters of grade B or higher were held.
Their abilities were extraordinary.
Naturally, these were inmates that required strict control.
The cell doors should never be opened carelessly unless absolutely necessary.
Yet, here was the Section Chief absurdly stating they should open all the cell doors.
“Open them immediately. This is not a request, this is an order from the Section Chief.”
“No, what do you mean by that? Even if you are the Section Chief, you can’t act unilaterally like this. Have you obtained the Head’s permission?”
The Duty Chief countered incredulously.
Yet, Si-hyun remained unfazed.
He was resolute, as if he wouldn’t flinch no matter what anyone said.
“I did not get permission. But this is an emergency situation. It’s a case where we can act first and report later. I will take full responsibility. Don’t worry about what comes after, just open the doors.”
“N-No… I don’t understand at all, Section Chief. Why are you acting out like this? What you’re doing is not something that will end with minor disciplinary action. Do you want to quit being a correctional officer?”
“It’s not about whether I want to continue being a correctional officer; what matters is how to get through this emergency situation well.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“If we just stand here and the front gate gets breached, we will all die. Correctional officers and inmates alike.”
“That’s just your opinion, isn’t it?”
Si-hyun thought there was no point in arguing any longer, wasting time and energy.
So he used the gaze of an executioner to stare deeply at the Duty Chief.
“Gah…!”
The Duty Chief involuntarily took a step back, lowering his gaze.
The Assistant Duty Officer, watching, also flinched and trembled.
“Enough. I’ll open them all myself. Just stay quiet. I’ll handle everything and take full responsibility.”
Si-hyun approached the intercom.
Designating all rooms from 1 to 10, he unlocked the doors.
Then, he brought the microphone closer.
“I’ve opened the doors, so come out and line up in the hallway. This is an emergency situation.”