SYNO Chapter 12

Ssangryeong, who had been walking quietly down the hallway, stopped abruptly in frustration. He frowned and looked down at the tape covering his mouth.

“Mmm mmm mmm? Mmm mmm mmm, mmm. (Shouldn’t you take this off now? I’m going crazy from suffocation, damn it.)”

Fredrick blinked slowly.

“What’s he saying?”

He couldn’t understand at all. Pienne waved his hand dismissively at Frederick.

“Go away.”

“Me? Go where? If I leave, who will escort Ssangryeong?”

“Then stay.”

Saying this indifferently, Pienne suddenly tried to rip off the blue tape covering Ssangryeong’s mouth.

“Aaaargh! No!”

Fredrick, startled, covered his ears and ran down the opposite hallway.

He didn’t want to hear whatever Name codes might erupt from Ssangryeong’s cursed mouth.

It was unexpected that the Commander would remove the tape from his mouth. Ssangryeong, momentarily enjoying his newfound freedom of speech, soon found himself voluntarily closing his mouth again.

The man began dragging him somewhere.

Holding his arm in a very strong grip.

“Ugh…”

The gripped area stung like hell.

Ssangnyeong glanced back and forth between the man’s broad back and his aching arm with alert eyes.

‘The more I try to resist, the tighter he’ll grip.’

That’s what the Commander would definitely do.

Having experienced numerous fights, both big and small, Ssangryeong could assess the balance of power with a single glance.

‘I can’t beat this guy with brute force.’

Moreover, the Dependent Nation was this man’s world.

He didn’t want to offer even a feeble resistance, like the flap of a fly’s wings, simply out of pride.

He knew it was wiser to shut up and just follow.

‘Where is he taking me?’

As the tall and well-built man strode forward at his own pace, Ssangryeong was practically dragged along at a half-run.

That in itself was irritating. It made him feel like a child with no choices.

He could see the end of the hallway in the distance. Ssangryeong squinted against the sunlight streaming through the large windows and spotted a man who looked like an official standing there.

As if he’d received prior instructions, the official was opening a large door at the end of the hallway.

‘Is that the destination?’

Just as he was making that assumption, a sharp pain, stronger than before, shot through his arm.

“Ah, shit.”

Ssangryeong glared and tried to stop walking. However, Pienne continued forward, unfazed

Unable to bear it any longer, Ssangryeong frowned and spoke.

“Hey, Commander. Are you trying to break my arm?”

He had intended to keep his mouth shut and follow, but he felt like his arm was about to be crushed.

Despite his complaint, Pienne ignored him, only showing his imposing back.

“Are you listening? I said it hurts like hell!”

He tensed his arm, not to try and break free, but to express his pain. Pienne finally spoke in a low voice,

“You’d better watch your mouth.”

“What?”

“With a few words from you, I might have to execute that official up ahead.”

Ssangryeong’s gaze snapped towards the official at the end of the hallway. His eyebrows shot up reflexively.

He finally understood.

That Pienne’s tightened grip had been a warning to watch his mouth.

‘Is he afraid I’ll start rambling off Name codes again?’

Ssangryeong chuckled dryly. It wasn’t an entirely unfounded concern.

According to the law, if he uttered even a single high-ranking official’s Name code, the man opening the door would be executed.

“Isn’t it unfortunate? To meet such a fate because of someone like you.”

“…….”

“And I wouldn’t be free from responsibility either. Since I was the one who removed the tape from your mouth.”

Ssangryeong’s ears felt itchy at the softly spoken words.

‘He’s acting all high and mighty because he’s the Commander.’

Come to think of it, Pienne seemed to value the lives of his officials.

He brought death row inmates, not officials, tto the drug deal where he set the trap, and he had personally conducted the examination when Ssangryeong started spouting Name codes.

‘This guy, who seems to have a heart of ice…’

It was ridiculous how he was pretending to be a saint. He was just another power-hungry man from the Home Nation. Ssangryeong was well aware of the masks of hypocrisy they habitually wore.

Ssangryeong scoffed and pursed his lips.

“If you’re so worried about your officials, why don’t you just tape my mouth shut again?”

“No. I’ll need that mouth soon enough.”

“…What?”

Ssangryeong’s lips twitched involuntarily. It seemed like the trauma of the Commander’s huge hand invading his throat had resurfaced.

“You’re dismissed.”

“Yes, Commander!”

The official, having completed his task, saluted smartly and walked past them. Ssangryeong felt the official’s curious gaze sweep over him, but he endured it.

If he reacted, he felt like his throat would be ripped open or his arm broken.

Upon reaching the door, Pienne shoved him inside. Finally free from the man’s grip, Ssangryeong winced.

A dark, bluish bruise, the color of the night sky, adorned his arm.

“No wonder it hurt so damn much.”

“Sit down.”

The man gestured with his chin, taking out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket. Ssangryeong held out his bruised arm.

“Ow, ow, it hurts too much to sit down.”

“Should I break your legs so you can sit?”

“You fucker…”

That’s how he responed, while lighting a cigarette and offering it to him. Ssangryeong glared, fuming. He needed to figure out where he had been brought.

‘What is this place?’

As soon as he took in his surroundings, Ssangryeong gasped and immediately frowned.

The room, which he had assumed would be a quiet reception room, unexpectedly resembled a laboratory that a scientist would use.

A white desk, white chairs, multiple monitors, and strange machines of unknown purpose.

The most unpleasant thing was the pungent, acrid smell. The inconsiderate scent of machine parts mingled with the chilling odor of chemicals.

‘What is he planning to do to me?’

Ssangryeong looked at the man with apprehensive eyes.

Pienne was sitting with his legs crossed, casually exhaling gray smoke.

His eyes, slowly sweeping over Ssangryeong from head to toe, was like that of someone observing a lab rat.

‘He said earlier that he’d need my mouth soon.’

Ssangryeong nibbled on the inside of his lip.

This wasn’t good.

His sharp senses, honed by years of being a fugitive, were blaring red alarms in his head.

‘Where can I escape?’

Perhaps this was a good opportunity. He and the Commander were the only ones in this room.

If he could just get past this man, no, if he could just escape while the man’s hands were occupied with his cigarette…

‘Whatever happens, it’s better than suffering something worse.’

His deliberation was short.

Ssangryeong quickly lunged towards the laboratory window, throwing his whole body against it. From what he could see earlier; it was only the 4th floor at most. If he landed well, he would only break a few ribs.

Clang!

But with a strange sound, neither shattering nor crashing, Ssangryeong’s body bounced right back.

“Ugh!”

As he glared at the treacherous window with a betrayed look,

“Stop your futile attempts, Ssangryeong.”

The man, tilting his head and rolling his eyes, warned him in a low voice.

“You can throw yourself at it all day, but only that scrawny body of yours will break.”

“Reinforced glass?”

“Does it look that simple to you?”

The man chuckled, as if he’d heard something ridiculous.

“You might have heard of her.”

Pienne, exhaling a cloud of smoke, continued in a low voice.

“Dr. Sirius Whistler.”

Ssangryeong’s expression hardened at the familiar name.

Anyone who had spent even a day in the Home Nation would know that woman’s name.

The worst kind of genius, creating any forbidden object as long as it piqued her interest.

She was the creator of all the strange inventions in the Home Nation. In fact, even on ordinary streets, one could often find objects bearing the inscription ‘Sirius Whistler.’

“Are you talking about the mad scientist?”

“That’s what people call her.”

“It’s not just a rumor…! That woman is truly insane.”

A chill ran down Ssangryeong’s spine, and he tensed his bound arms.

‘I don’t even want to think about it.’

He knew that damn woman all too well.

When he was comfortably escaping in the Home Nation, it was ‘Sirius Whistler’ who had discovered that he was an illegal resident and an information thief.

She was truly a mad woman.

She had chased him, creating all sorts of strange weapons to catch him.

The gleam in her eyes, sparkling with interest, even haunted his dreams.

Well, he had heard that she suddenly disappeared from the Home Nation one day.

‘But why… did he suddenly mention her name?’

Ssangryeong swallowed dryly, feeling a chill on the back of his neck.

Could it be that this strange window was her creation…?

“Oh my, Mr. Ssangryeong. Did you disliked me that much?”

Ssangryeong’s eyes widened at the whisper near his ear.

A faint chuckle and a high-pitched voice.

This was definitely Sirius Whistler.

That woman…is here, in this room.

“Fancy meeting you here? I’ve been looking for you for a while.”

The figure of the woman, who hadn’t been there a moment ago, slowly materialized. A shimmering purple jacket was in Dr. Sirius’s hand.

She smiled sweetly.

“Hello, Mr. Ssangryeong?”

The moment he saw her red-rimmed glasses, a familiar wave of nausea, like a trauma he had carried since escaping the Home Nation, rose to his throat.

“…You crazy…!”