NOVEL WEB Chapter 16
“Hey there, nice to meet you! I’m Gan Hana… Though you probably heard my voice just now….”
“Oh, yes. Nice to meet you too. I’m Daniel Johnson from the Moonmuwang Battalion. So you’re the researcher I spoke with earlier?”
“Yes, that’s right! Um… By any chance, do you know where we are?”
New FPL researcher Gan Hana was utterly confused by the sudden chaos and felt like her brain was about to explode.
Gan Hana tried retracing the events up to this point.
She had been so captivated by IF-017’s beaming smile that she forgot to even take notes.
It was such an adorable smile that if given the chance, she thought about buying a coloring book set from the stationery store and handing it straight to IF-017.
Gan Hana nodded slightly.
Up until then, everything seemed fine—no issues at all.
Discovering that IF-017 enjoyed drawing so much made this quite a meaningful time for Gan Hana.
But then, out of nowhere, she received instructions that a mobile strike team would be deployed and she was supposed to supervise.
Next thing she knew, IF-017 dashed out through the open entrance.
The emergency door closure button either malfunctioned or was blocked somehow—it moved so slowly it didn’t work properly.
Just as Gan Hana was starting to panic,
security personnel rushed in, restrained both her and the mobile strike team member who’d entered the isolation room…
…and dragged them here.
“Hmph….”
Even after retracing everything from the beginning, Gan Hana couldn’t make sense of what happened and sighed deeply.
‘Is IF-017 okay…? They didn’t get shot by the recontainment team, did they? Please tell me no one got hurt….’
Gan Hana glanced sideways.
She’d asked Daniel where they were quite some time ago, but he hadn’t responded, and she hesitated to ask again.
After all, he was likely in the same boat as her.
This room resembled an interrogation chamber.
Being brought here without reason only fueled her growing unease.
‘The silence outside is probably just because this place has good soundproofing, right? IF-017 is a top-tier unidentified phenomenon, so it must at least be Code Red… Ugh. It’s cute, but couldn’t we just let it go for a walk? Isn’t this reaction a bit excessive?’
Gan Hana hadn’t considered the possibility that the alarm hadn’t sounded at all.
While fidgeting in her seat, Gan Hana waited anxiously.
— Creak.
“Sorry to keep you waiting.”
The door opened, and someone walked in.
It was a woman Gan Hana had never seen before—but upon seeing her, Gan Hana couldn’t help but widen her eyes.
‘Gray coat… huh, Alpha!’
An FPL badge adorned gray coat.
That meant this woman was none other than an Alpha Rank personnel—a rare sight indeed. In fact, since joining the organization, Gan Hana had only ever seen one Alpha Rank person.
This was her second encounter with an Alpha Rank individual.
Gan Hana bowed her head so low it almost touched the table.
“Hello! Beta Rank personnel Gan Hana reporting! Nice to meet you!”
“Haha, hey there, rookie.”
Upon hearing the positive response, Gan Hana slightly raised her head.
However, there was something odd about being greeted so casually by someone they’d just met.
“Uh… how did you know I’m a new hire?”
“Well, seasoned researchers all ignore me… It’s kinda lonely, ya know?”
“Eh? Even though you’re Alpha Rank…?”
At this, Gan Hana looked at the gray-coated woman with confusion.
Speaking of which, Daniel hadn’t even bothered acknowledging the woman’s presence.
Alpha Rank members were the backbone and core personnel of FPL; hostility toward them equated to hostility against FPL itself.
Their authority was immense, which was why Alpha Ranks commanded such respect.
Gan Hana recalled the only Alpha Rank member she knew—the robust and well-respected director of the research institute.
Naturally, this made her current companion seem all the more mysterious.
Right then,
Gan Hana began doubting her own ears.
“You mentioned something about ■■■ ■■…”
A chill ran down Gan Hana’s spine.
“Wha…t?”
Was this a distorted voice? Noise? Emergency alert tones?
Could such sounds come from a human mouth?
Was it a disguised anomalous entity pretending to be Alpha Rank? Surely not!
When Gan Hana glanced at Daniel sitting beside her, he appeared completely unfazed, sitting indifferently as if he hadn’t heard anything.
From that moment on,
Gan Hana’s fingertips started trembling uncontrollably.
Unaware of her actions, the gray-coated woman blinked twice before flashing a sly grin.
“…Hmm? What? Did I say something? Anyway, I gathered you two for a reason…”
“A, ah, yes ma’am!”
Gan Hana struggled to focus amidst the overtly evasive tone.
The gray-coated woman swung her leg over the table and sat casually while gesturing with her hand.
“First off, could you give me a quick summary of what happened today? Honestly, waiting in the director’s office for reports isn’t really my thing. Just give me the gist, please.”
This statement was also hard to overlook.
The sole director Gan Hana had met six months prior was a large, bearded man—not a young-looking woman like this one.
Ordinarily, Gan Hana might have gasped in surprise, but now she barely noticed.
Her mind was already overwhelmed.
‘IF-017 does have an irresistibly cute appearance… but shouldn’t cuteness and touchability be separate things?’
Suddenly, a brusque voice interrupted her thoughts.
It was Daniel, the mobile strike team member Gan Hana had heard moments ago.
“…Following orders from the security supervisor to clean up rubble, I entered IF-017’s containment cell. Afterward, IF-017 acted as if trying to communicate with me, but when I didn’t respond, it escaped through the open entrance. The security supervisor said this was your command.”
“Yes, yes, that’s correct… uh… I was observing from above… IF-017 suddenly started acting all cute and patted Daniel encouragingly… It was definitely adorable, yes, but even so, zoning out like that felt weird…”
Gan Hana’s report was far from coherent—more like rambling nonsense.
“Mhm, I see.”
Despite this, the gray-coated woman nodded approvingly.
Then, crossing her legs, she leaned back and dropped another cryptic remark.
“That doesn’t quite match what I’ve heard. When exactly did IF-017 escape?”
“What? A, umm…?”
“…What nonsense is this? IF-017 escaped less than an hour ago. There are several CCTV cameras along that corridor…”
Ignoring the strike team member’s protest entirely, he fell silent mid-sentence.
“Nope, what you heard is wrong. You must’ve misunderstood. IF-017 is still safely contained. Got it?”
“Huh…”
The gray-coated woman’s meaning was crystal clear.
Though visibly frustrated, Daniel refrained from arguing further, whereas Gan Hana lacked the energy to question it.
Since earlier, Gan Hana hadn’t been feeling well.
Ever since hearing the strange noise from the gray-coated woman, nothing registered anymore.
All she wanted was to leave this place.
‘Why am I worrying about IF-017, whom I’ve only known for six months, instead of fearing for my own life in such a situation? How could I genuinely worry about its safety during recontainment despite being classified as a top-tier anomaly…?’
As if oblivious to Gan Hana’s agitation,
the gray-coated woman continued smiling eerily, deepening Gan Hana’s unease.
“Yes, yes… I understand. Can I leave now…?”
“No need to overthink it. Keep it simple. IF-017 would want that too. Understand?”
With those whispered words,
Gan Hana reflexively nodded obediently.
Merely mentioning IF-017 caused her to comply outwardly—and inwardly—without hesitation.
Though unsure why, her reaction was undeniable.
‘Senior Jiselle… I don’t understand anything. What should I do in situations like this? Please help me.’
“Alrighty, safe travels. The exit’s to the right. I’d love to chat longer, but how about exchanging contact info?”
Surprisingly, the gray-coated woman dismissed Gan Hana promptly.
Though adding an inexplicable comment at the end.
“…No, thank you. That won’t be necessary.”
Gan Hana left the room abruptly, ignoring the gray-coated woman.
A persistent cold sensation lingered near her heart.
Tears welled up in Gan Hana’s eyes.
Passing by the empty IF-017 containment room, Gan Hana headed straight to her bedroom and immediately pulled out her portable mental contamination detector once inside.
‘Something’s off. Something’s definitely wrong… But truly, it was so irresistibly adorable I couldn’t stop myself from wanting to touch it.’
Though detecting precise levels of mental contamination was notoriously difficult, this device could at least determine whether anomalies were present.
Gan Hana checked the screen of the mental contamination detector.
“There’s definitely something strange going on here…”
No contamination was detected.
Everything appeared normal.
“But why…”
Even now, Gan Hana couldn’t bring herself to think of IF-017 as suspicious or dangerous.
Dizziness worsened with each passing moment.
Sitting grew increasingly difficult due to the oppressive feeling in her chest.
Lacking the strength to continue, Gan Hana tossed the detector aside and collapsed onto her bed.
Recently, sleep had become unusually frequent.
Had there not been a lingering emptiness in her heart, she would’ve fallen asleep instantly upon opening her smartphone to check family photos.
However, something unexpected occurred:
“All I see is IF-017…”
Her gallery had long been overrun by images of IF-017.
The family photos she sought were buried deep beneath countless scrolls.
‘How far down was it again…? This is IF-017 sleeping upright… This is IF-017 lying face down… This is IF-017 on its side… This is IF-017 dreaming sweet dreams…’
Amidst this sea of IF-017 pictures, Gan Hana stumbled upon one photo she couldn’t pass.
Her finger froze, unable to move.
‘The first photo of IF-017 opening its eyes.’
And then,
from the depths of Gan Hana’s previously icy chest,
‘Its eyes… they’re like jewels…’
Warmth began to spread.
Enchanted, Gan Hana zoomed into the picture and locked eyes with IF-017 within it.
Family photos were forgotten.
‘To have it look at me like that every day… Too adorable.’
In mere seconds, Gan Hana’s tangled, dark thoughts cleared, leaving behind pure clarity.
Her hands trembled, breathing became heavy, and her heart raced as if witnessing the most adorable thing in the world.
Moments later,
Gan Hana sprang up from her seat.
‘Cuteness defines justice and truth! What’s strange about this? Anyone who thinks such a pinnacle of cuteness could be harmful must be insane. Ah, I can’t wait to see IF-017 again. When will it return?’
All traces of complexity vanished from Gan Hana’s mind.
Only the familiar, cheerful Gan Hana remained, marveling at the beauty of the world.
‘If I get approval for art supplies, maybe IF-017 will like them… Who knows, maybe I’ll hug it again like last time? Heheh. Better finish my backlog of work first!’
Completely revitalized, Gan Hana shook off her drowsiness and approached the towering pile of documents on her desk.
Meanwhile, the portable mental contamination detector discarded in the corner of her bed continued operating silently.
No contamination was detected.