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The filming team on the other side, Team 2, must arrive at the base camp before the main filming team, Team 1, can leave the island.

However, Team 2 left behind desperate screams before their communication was cut off.

Jeong Gyeoul wanted to fly over and find Team 2 immediately, but she couldn’t.

“…If I go to find Team 2, what about the base camp?”

It would be absurd to endanger the majority to save a minority.

Unless the majority had a sense of duty like heroes to save civilians, but right now, the majority of Team 1, except for the guard team and Jeong Gyeoul, are civilians.

If they don’t move from the base camp, Team 2 will be wiped out without a doubt.

But what if they don’t save Team 2?

There’s no telling if Team 1 can leave the island.

It’s a headache-inducing situation, similar to the trolley dilemma.

‘This is messed up.’

In the end, Jeong Gyeoul sent an emergency signal to the Association using her watch.

However…

“What’s this!”

If the Association received an emergency signal, a small notification should appear on the watch.

But the watch showed no response.

Unless the response team is on vacation or the Association has closed its doors, this shouldn’t be possible.

If it were any other time, they might have waited for Jeong Ha-yul.

But since they knew she would be away for a month due to the uninhabited island filming, there’s no way she would come looking for them for at least a month.

They’re effectively trapped on an uninhabited island with no way to communicate for a month.

‘No… If the ship outside was destroyed by a sea monster, the British Navy would come looking for us, and if it was just a communication error, that ship would find us.’

Even trying to stay positive, the anxiety didn’t go away.

“PD Choi, please gather everyone. We need a meeting.”

“Yes. I’ll get everyone right away.”

PD Choi, Writer Wang, the team leaders of each staff team, and the cast all gathered in one place.

“You all know the situation, right? The other filming team has lost contact.”

“Couldn’t it just be a communication device malfunction?”

“The last communication was a scream.”

“…”

After seeing Jeong Gyeoul’s presence, Winter and Yuna, who thought even a monster boar wouldn’t be a problem, started trembling.

“…Don’t worry, kids. No matter what happens, we’ll prioritize the cast.”

Writer Wang stepped forward to comfort Winter and Yuna.

Even with their long experience in the entertainment industry, they’re still just kids.

In such a situation, they needed adult care.

“Don’t we need Team 2 to leave the island?”

“That’s right. The B-Class hero from that team needs to come and protect the camp before I can move.”

“What if Hero Jeong Gyeoul goes to find Team 2…”

“If that were possible, we would have already left the island. The reason I can’t move is to protect the base camp and the main filming team’s safety, so going to find Team 2 is the same.”

Jeong Gyeoul was frustrated with PD Choi’s foolish question, but he’s just a civilian.

In such a situation, if he were to make cold, rational decisions, that would be even stranger.

While everyone was silent, the guard team leader stepped forward.

“How about I take the guard team and go check it out?”

“…Are you sure? Even with a B-Class hero, Team 2 ran into trouble.”

“Our entire team is former Marine Recon. We may lack the strength of a hero, but we’re skilled in infiltration, intelligence gathering, and reconnaissance. If we can’t handle the enemy, we just won’t.”

The guard team leader looked back, and all the guard team members nodded.

Not a single one looked unsure.

Just as people were admiring their confidence, Winter said something that amplified the anxiety.

“What if you go and don’t come back…”

Writer Wang quickly covered her mouth, but she had already said enough to be understood.

However, the guard team leader, without a hint of hesitation, looked at Jeong Gyeoul and continued.

“Given the current situation, we believe moving is the best option.”

“That’s right. I can’t move from here, and I can’t take the entire main team with me. Without Team 2, we can’t leave the island. Putting that aside, we can’t just leave people in danger.”

Jeong Gyeoul nodded in agreement.

She secretly hoped the guard team would step up.

They’re the only team here that can be classified as combatants.

The only ones who can move when she can’t.

However, they’re already soldiers who have risked their lives serving their country.

It’s not easy to ask them to risk their lives again to save people.

Whether they sensed Jeong Gyeoul’s feelings or their thoughts aligned, the guard team leader stepped forward.

“Once a Marine, always a Marine. A Marine is a national service member even after discharge. Don’t worry.”

“Please, don’t engage in unnecessary combat. Focus on search and reconnaissance. Once you locate them, I’ll move.”

“Yes. Understood.”

If they can locate the missing members, Jeong Gyeoul can rescue them in the blink of an eye.

The only reason she couldn’t move was because she had to search the entire island for Team 2 without magic detection.

Once their location is pinpointed, rescuing them won’t be a problem.

The guard team checked their equipment again, and others moved to inform their team members of the meeting results.

They could have controlled the information to prevent panic, but with a small number of people in a confined space, it’s hard to hide, and the risk of leaks is high.

That would lead to distrust in the leadership.

In a situation where unity is already hard to maintain, it would only lead to the worst outcome.

“Glock, I’m here to return it.”

“Thank you.”

“It’s originally the team leader’s, so why thank me? Just lend it to me again when you come back.”

“Yes. Next time, I’ll give it to you as a gift.”

“That’s kind, but… isn’t gun possession illegal in Korea?”

“You can possess one if you have a Hero Certification.”

“Wow, I’ve never heard of that.”

“…It’s basic knowledge? Haha.”

As Jeong Gyeoul and the guard team leader chatted cheerfully, the team members’ faces lit up with mischief.

“Team leader, are you hitting on a middle school girl? You’ll get arrested!”

“Hey, you crazy guy, your thoughts are impure! Are you possessed by Satan?”

“I don’t know about Satan, but it seems like a lewd spirit has possessed the team leader!”

It could have been an offensive remark, but Jeong Gyeoul didn’t mind.

She knew it was just a way to relieve tension before a potentially life-threatening mission.

In fact, their joking made her trust them even more.

“I’m not interested, but… should I introduce you to my friend?”

“Even the Hero…”

Seeing the guard team leader’s betrayed expression, the team members laughed even louder.

“It’s a mood! I’ll set up the entire guard team on blind dates!”

“…Maybe the team leader, but middle school girls are a bit much for us!”

“That’s a crime!”

“Who said anything about middle school girls? I have plenty of older sisters.”

The “older sisters” she knows are Jo Se-hee, Jeong Ha-yul, and Park Seol-hwa.

There’s no way people like that would go on blind dates… Jeong Gyeoul made promises she couldn’t keep.

“Woooooah!”

“Wait, older sisters? Are you talking about Hero Jeong Ha-yul or Hero Park Seol-hwa?”

“…Uh, yeah?”

“Woooooah!”

“I think I’ll excuse myself…”

Jeong Gyeoul awkwardly laughed and stepped back after boosting the team’s morale with her lies.

***

“Min-cheol, take the rear. Gyeong-ho and Sang-min, the sides. I’ll take the front. Yu-min, stay in the middle.”

The guard team formed a formation based on their specialties and moved cautiously, maintaining strict perimeter security.

The interior of the island, as the sun set, was filled with a gloom incomparable to the daytime when the cast was moving.

“Here, we found torn clothing. It’s not from an animal but seems to have been caught on something.”

“There’s a discarded shoe here too.”

Not long after they started moving, they found traces of Team 2.

It wasn’t far from the base camp.

“Everyone, halt. Examine the traces.”

“…How could we not hear anything if something happened here?”

“Looking at the bloodstains, they weren’t killed instantly. They moved after being attacked.”

If they weren’t killed instantly, they would have screamed.

But neither they nor Jeong Gyeoul heard anything.

“…This is practically a pool of blood. At this point, it’s almost certain they’re all dead.”

“We’ll at least find Team 2’s bodies. If we can identify the killer in the process, even better.”

Enough blood to form a pool.

Along with other traces, but no bodies from Team 2.

“Here are bloodstains moving this way! At least five people!”

They estimated the number from the blood-soaked footprints.

Handprints and smears of blood added credibility.

“Follow the trail. We’ll pick up the pace, so don’t get lost like a missing child.”

“Don’t worry. We’re not kids.”

The bloodstains, presumably from survivors, seemed to have lost their sense of direction and kept heading deeper into the island.

After chasing for about five minutes, Yu-min, the sniper in the middle of the formation, felt something was off.

‘…Even if they were panicking, does it make sense to head towards darker areas?’

Survivors would instinctively seek brighter areas, even if they couldn’t head in the direction Team 2 had gone, but the trail kept pointing deeper into the island.

 

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