Ji-woo quietly closed the door to the barracks and closed it with a click. Only then did she hang her shoulders and sigh.

It's not surprising that Mai finally fainted after crying for nearly ten minutes. How quiet the girl behaved throughout the process. Mai didn't make any sound except for snorting, and she began to tremble, tears flowing uncontrollably. It's as if Mai is more afraid of letting people see her cry.

It's a miracle that Ji-woo was able to get Mai's permission to bandage the girl's calf afterwards.

The poor girl broke down, which could be a good sign that she was going through an ordeal. Still, the way she broke down was a wake-up call, which kept ringing in Ji-woo's mind as she spent more and more time with the girl. She jumps in the shadows, and all she sees is Mai dealing with the existential trauma she has to face.

Sergeant Marcus was already waiting for her in the room. The command center is a roughly rectangular room, with a table on the far wall, facing dozens of computer screens, and a long conference table and chairs arranged above it. Marcus sat in front of the console at the far end, typing on the keyboard as he frowned at one of the screens, and when she came in, he glanced back and nodded lightly at her. And she herself didn't waste time, she directly pulled out a chair from the conference table and plunged into it.

Marcus flicked a few more buttons, tapped on one of the screens, and slowly spun his chair to look at Ji-woo. Seeing her leaning back in her chair with her eyes closed, he frowned sympathetically.

"So bad?" His voice was rough and hoarse.

"No...... Exactly," Ji-woo sighed, rubbing his face. "Although I did make her cry, so...... I thought, go for it. ”

"The little girl endured great pain," Marcus said as he shrugged, smiling. "Most people can't cope with life-or-death situations, and no one is really prepared. It's a good thing to make them cry and at least open their hearts. ”

"I know." Ji-woo shouted, his voice full of frustration. "But that's not the part that worries me."

Marcus frowned and leaned back in his chair. Ji-woo took a moment to gather his thoughts, then turned to face her sergeant.

Mai was calm throughout, except for the last moment. It wasn't until I told her how amazing it was that she was able to do it here, let alone with a little kid, that she broke down. What worries me is that as soon as she started crying, she started apologizing to me over and over again. Then when I reached out to hug her, she flinched. Then she just said 'I'm sorry' over and over again. ”

Marcus scratched his chin and pondered for a moment.

"You think she's just ...... Well, if the boy she brought back was to be believed, he avoided physical contact after confronting a cursed person head-to-head with just an axe? ”

"I ......" Ji-woo just spoke, but he held back, forcing himself to consider this possibility.

She thinks it's possible, and even seems to be the most likely explanation. But that doesn't explain all the other little things that plague Ji-woo. Just like with a staplactor and later bandaging Mai's legs, she realizes how skinny the girl is. There is also the way Mai behaves when interacting with people, always looking down at the floor and apologizing for the slightest mistake. When Ji Yu asked her if she could see her bruises, she suddenly felt complete fear. Even when Ji-woo first meets her, the girl looks ready to run away or fight at the slightest provocation, like she's some kind of desperate animal.

But much of this can be explained by the fact that Mai had just had a traumatic experience and could have been shocked. She has every reason to be on the verge of triggering, and it's no surprise that she's defensive and quiet, especially if she does run into a curser.

"I don't know, Marcus," she finally shook her head. "I just don't know...... However, I did give her my card. ”

Marcus jerked his head up, his eyes narrowing. Marcus is one of the few people Ji-woo can count on to understand this. Police officers usually carry a courtesy card with their name and precinct number written on it, but Ji-woo also carries a courtesy card with his own personal phone number. It's something she's learned from Marcus, and like him, she'll only give this card to people she's willing to give up everything to help.

In a way, that's part of her guidelines, and if she's going to help personally, she's really committed to doing so.

Ji-woo has a feeling that Mai needs all the help she can get, no matter what.

The silence in the conference room lasted for a moment

"Well, then you've done your best, and she'll be the best you can take care of."

Ji-woo smiled appreciatively at him, even though her cheeks flushed slightly. Her former trainer always seemed to know what to say, and Ji Yu felt that her worries had lost their edge.

For a while, neither of them spoke,

"And what about you?" Ji-woo finally asked, his voice low. "Did we get anything back?"

"No," Marcus growled. "Jace was screaming at me to go and interrogate the girl to find out what was going on outside."

Ji-woo was creepy, and her usually warm chocolate-colored eyes instantly turned cold. They were lucky that one of the mall's owners happened to be on the ground floor when the alarm went off. Ever since the usurpation began, Jace has been an absolute nightmare, acting as if he has some kind of authority to make decisions in the Vault

”

Seeing Marcus' annoyed expression, Ji-woo's eyes softened.

"Except for a little fun," Marcus crosses his arms. "I haven't really had a chance to hear what the boy said from Millie until now."

It's rare to see things that really make Marcus angry.

"Obviously," he almost growled. "When the alarm sounded, the boy left his family and was alone. It was then that the girl met his sister and came to him. Of course, that's when the power went out and everything was in trouble. ”

Marcus glanced at Ji-woo, almost as if he was thinking carefully about his next sentence.

"It was chaos then, but it sounded like the girl had repelled some kind of giant dog with the axe she was carrying, and the two of them snuck to the shelter."

Ji-woo nodded. It makes a lot of sense. Still, even as they sneaked as quietly as possible, it took them almost a full hour to reach the shelter. That doesn't take into account how scared Brian must have been, though.

"That's what they did," Marcus interrupted, his voice untouched. "They snuck all the way to the shelter. On the third floor. ”

Marcus's eyes were also full of sadness.

"So we at least know that the computer is not malfunctioning," he said bitterly, and Ji Yu held back the anger that welled up in his heart.

The shelter they are in is not only a large shelter, but also a "ground floor" shelter attached to the building, which houses a command center with various equipment to monitor the status of other shelters in the building.

That's how Marcus discovered that the vault had activated its emergency shield.

The nightmare scene, Ji-woo clenched his fists. She could well imagine Mai and Brian running through the dark halls of the mall, their hopes slowly growing with each turn they made, but when they finally reached the vault and saw the glowing shield on the door, it was all shattered.

If Ji-woo finds the idiot who is responsible......

"I mean, think of the entrance to this sanctuary. It was right in the middle of the first floor, and the room was so big and open that I could hardly believe it wasn't crawling with spells. ”

"So what?" Ji-woo asked with a frown. "What do you think Brian is hiding?"

"I know he is," Marcus shrugged. "He's just at a loss for the second half of the story, it's really scary to be alone, but he manages to be as brave as a rouge Red Crusade."

Marcus chuckled, and Ji Yu felt a smile rise on the corner of his mouth.

"As far as I can guess," Marcus continued. "The girl may have done something, lured the spell away from the entrance, then folded back, grabbed the child, and went straight to the shelter. Her leg was still bleeding and she was injured from the fight. ”

It hadn't fully solidified yet, which meant that the injury wouldn't have happened too long before she arrived.

Marcus shrugged. If you take into account that it has been almost forty minutes since these two men arrived, I am afraid that this means that the management team has failed. ”

Ji-woo felt the bottom of his stomach fall and his face turned pale.

"That's it?" She asked, her voice faint. "Are we going to give up on them?"

His voice gradually weakened, and when Ji Yu realized what he meant, she felt every muscle in her body tense.

"What about Guardian Command? We couldn't contact them again and ask if they were of any help? ”

"When we first contacted them, they were very clear about the situation, and Price's security card itself didn't provide enough permission," he muttered. "Nope. We can't count on any help anymore. I'm afraid we're on our own. ”

There was silence in the command center, and both of them sat in their chairs. For a moment, neither officer spoke, and did not even dare to look at each other. It was a desperate plan, and Price made this plan, and she was only willing to bring volunteers. Despite this, every security guard in the vault stepped up their operations, so Price brought eight other people with him, two of whom were once magical soldiers like her. This leaves shelters understaffed and security forces at an absolute minimum, but there are not many options in this matter.

It's not a good plan, but it's better than doing nothing.

"I never thought something like this would happen in Arcadia," Jiwoo said softly. "I don't think it's possible, this should be a refuge. Of course, the occasional usurpation may break through the island's myriad barriers, but it will always be contained and dealt with. Gosh, someone will get hurt in the usurpation, won't they? ”

"However, if the magical guardian we contacted is to be believed, then the situation is already in our own hands. It just takes some time for them to regain control. ”

"No...... No, it's not ......" Marcus looked up at Ji-woo with a determined look in his eyes. "Zhiyu, in four hours, if nothing changes, I will carry out the backup plan. But...... If successful, I will need all the information I can get. It means waking up the girl and learning as much as you can from her about what she's seeing. ”

"I know, believe me, I know, but if she gets the chance to provide any information that could help me survive, I need it. However, I do understand what she went through, so I hope you can be there as well. Your relationship with her looks good, and I'm not going to push it too hard. ”

Ji-woo slowly closed his mouth, then nodded reluctantly. Her heart quickens when she thinks Marcus seems to think things are simple. She wondered if he really realized how dangerous it was for what he planned to do, or if he just saw it as his duty and moved on.

After a moment, she glanced at Marcus.

"How much time do they have left?" Ji-woo asked, and Marcus turned his chair to check the control station.

"The system estimates that it will take about eight hours." Marcus shook his head. "That's where it becomes crucial for them."

That is, unless they can create more miracles from their magic bags.

"If we don't bring the generators online, they really don't have a chance, do they?" Ji-woo asked,

Marcus shook his head coldly, then looked up at the ceiling as if looking directly at the person in charge.

"Those stupid bastards who locked Mai and Brian out won't even realize that they're killing everyone in the vault the moment they activated their shields."