Shinwoo, entering, tilted his head, overhearing their conversation.
"What are you talking about? Why are you suddenly calling out Wei and Rick?"
Lillian answered simultaneously.
"I was betting with Jang Man-soo! On who would find whom first."
"So Jang Man-soo is Rick, and Lillian is Wei? Based on what?"
He asked, genuinely curious.
Jang Man-soo spoke up first.
"Rick is a total Lee Doo-heon fanatic. He always followed the boss around. Even in the helicopter before he died, he struggled to get to the boss. So he must be looking for the boss without just waiting for the contact network to be established."
Back when he was an FA Mercenary, Shinwoo had saved Rick's life on a mission, forming a bond.
Moreover, Rick was the youngest in terms of age and experience in Tryad Eye. Shinwoo taught him many things, and he became a colleague he thought of as a younger brother.
"Then what about Wei?"
This time, it was Lillian's turn.
"Wei is surprisingly sociable. He probably wasn't as isolated as Rick or Hector. He'd be the first to hear about the boss and contact him. Honestly, it might be faster than setting up the contact network."
It was a possibility that had been raised before.
But even though Shinwoo's articles had been out for a while, he still hadn't been found.
"Will they come looking just by re-establishing the contact network? Is that something to argue about?"
"That Man-soo keeps insisting!"
It was always a sigh-inducing scene.
"More than that, I think I need to go to China."
"China? Why there all of a sudden?"
"But because of Lee Doo-heon's UAD history, he can't leave the country for at least two years, right?"
Jang Man-soo knew about that.
"Apparently, it's been resolved somehow. Probably Myung Joong-hwan."
"Your grandfather? Does he know about the UAD?"
Shinwoo frowned slightly.
"...Even if it's because of MH Tech, he'd have connections with the Ministry of National Defense, so he'd know somehow. Well, it doesn't matter anyway."
All UAD-related personnel and missions were top secret. Even if an enemy country found out about it, it wouldn't be easily disclosed unless it was for the purpose of inciting conflict.
Of course, that was also why all the mission data had been destroyed.
"So why is Lee Doo-heon going to China?"
"I didn't hear exactly from Im Hee-yeon. I'll find out when I get there."
"You're going with Im Hee-yeon?"
Shinwoo narrowed his eyes and stared intently at Jang Man-soo.
"Are you going to keep doing this?"
"Why? She is Im Hee-yeon. Should I call her 'Mother' then?"
Even knowing it was a joke, a sigh escaped him.
"Anyway, that's how it is. The trip should take about two to three days at most."
"Well, the only important thing right now is the IBDN8334 Aperture Antenna for Military Satellites on the contact network."
"MH Tech has the KITE headquarters, so there shouldn't be any security issues, but just in case, stick close to Lillian."
"What? Why!"
"What?!"
Jang Man-soo and Lillian looked genuinely displeased.
"You've been exposed because of the MH Tech technology partnership. No matter how careful we are with security, people will try to contact you."
Of course, Jang Man-soo had anticipated such a situation.
"Just assign me a bodyguard instead."
"Lillian can take down ten grown men on her own. Where else can you find a better bodyguard?"
"I can protect myself, you know?"
"What if the 666th unit shows up? In some ways, your brain is the core of our Tryad Eye right now."
Jang Man-soo, having returned to the past, held information about events happening all over the world, including South Korea, in his head. In a way, it was thanks to being abandoned by the National Intelligence Service and going through difficult experiences traveling the world.
If Jang Man-soo's identity were to be revealed, the whole world would be after him.
"Tch—!"
"Lillian will do well on her own, but I'm asking you to."
"Alright!"
Shinwoo felt a little more relieved after hearing her answer.
"But you know, Jang Man-soo."
"What?"
"Find a building that can serve as both a home and a hideout."
"Are you moving?"
"I should start thinking about it. Find a good place where you can even make your secret room or secret closet."
Jang Man-soo was taken aback.
"Are you saying I should live with you too?!"
"Isn't that obvious?"
"Then what about me?"
Lillian pointed to herself from the side.
"Isn't Lee Doo-heon enough with me and Man-soo? Lillian hasn't moved in that long ago."
"What if the others come later?"
"Putting aside finding them, would they even want to live in Korea?"
Even when they were in Tryad Eye, they all lived in different places. They might gather this time, but they only needed to move together when necessary; there was no need for them all to come to Korea.
"You never know."
"Let's think about that when the time comes. Oh, and I've made sure Myung Joong-hwan won't bring up the executive issue again."
"Oh! So there won't be any unnecessary interference anymore?"
"That's a relief."
Shinwoo also thought it was fortunate at Jang Man-soo's exclamation.
With that, the important conversation came to an end.
* * *
A few days later.
While Shinwoo was on a business trip to China, Jang Man-soo and Lillian were on their way to the MH Tech headquarters in Incheon.
There were also security vehicles that Shinwoo had assigned in front of and behind their car.
Although safety was ensured as much as possible, Lillian, who was driving, had a deeply furrowed expression.
"Haa—! Are you really going to do this?"
"What?"
"The clothes! And why are you even more flamboyant than usual today? Is this the savanna? Or are you going to a party?"
Today, Jang Man-soo's suit theme was zebra. However, the zebra stripes were not the usual (?) black but hot pink. On a bright red background...
Earlier, Lillian had wanted to run away when she saw Jang Man-soo coming from afar while waiting in the parked car. And now, she was regretting why she hadn't run away.
"What's wrong with it? It looks cool."
"...Are your eyes even working properly?"
"What? Why are you picking a fight again!"
"You started the fight first with your clothes!"
Lillian seemed genuinely angry and raised her hand, which had been gripping the gear stick.
"Hey! Watch the road! The road!"
He had no choice but to stop at those words.
"Aish! I can't even hit you because of Lee Doo-heon."
"Try it!"
The two continued to bicker as they headed to the MH Tech headquarters in Incheon, arriving about 30 minutes later.
Park Kyung-seok, the managing director of MH Tech, was standing in front of the building's main entrance.
Park Kyung-seok was very excited because he was curious about the person who created the R2ED that the expert researchers had recently reviewed. And when Jang Man-soo got out of the car, Park Kyung-seok's jaw dropped.
"..."
A true red and pink zebra fashion.
His anticipation vanished somewhere, replaced by a mind-blowing sight.
"Hello. I'm Jang Man-soo, the head of MH Future Security."
"...Ah, I'm Park Kyung-seok, the managing director of MH Tech."
Like KITE, MH Tech had a system where Myung Joong-hwan also served as the CEO, with the managing director in charge of practical affairs.
Meanwhile, Lillian turned off the engine, got out, and approached. The special security team members under Lee Doo-heon, who had come along, also joined them.
"I'm Lillian Foster, here for this research collaboration."
"Director Foster, you've come as well."
"It's an important matter, so I decided to attend. Is the lab all set up?"
Lillian took the lead in the practical work.
"Everything is ready. Shall we go inside right away?"
"Let's do that. Director Jang Man-soo, follow quietly."
She said it formally, considering they were outside.
Jang Man-soo knew that well, so he had no choice but to listen to Lillian, the director, unlike usual.
"Understood, Director."
At the entrance of MH Tech, they underwent thorough identification and physical examinations, as it was a place that handled military equipment, weapons, and systems.
However, the inside of the company was quite quiet, as it mainly consisted of researchers besides the management team.
They took the elevator to the third floor and entered the prepared lab.
"Ooh—!"
Jang Man-soo seemed to like the equipment installed throughout the lab and began to wander around every corner.
Park Kyung-seok looked at Lillian, who was standing still, and said,
"The computers are set up to run even high-performance simulation programs. In addition, the 3D printers and inspection devices you requested are also the latest models."
"That's good. Oh, is it impossible to check other departments' projects here?"
"Of course. Although we share the server, it's impossible because only the chief and lead researchers in charge of project inspection have access."
"That's a relief."
Meanwhile, Jang Man-soo turned on the computer and began to play with it.
Lillian watched the scene from the entrance and turned to Park Kyung-seok.
"Are you not busy, Managing Director?"
"Excuse me? Ah, I'm fine right now."
"Director Jang Man-soo doesn't like having a lot of people around when he's focused on research. I'll share the R2ED simulation results as soon as they come out."
She was giving him a hint to leave.
Park Kyung-seok seemed to notice that and looked a little embarrassed.
"I'll do that then."
He left, and the door closed.
At the same time, Lillian signaled to Jang Man-soo.
"Secure the CCTV first."
"I was already starting."
Jang Man-soo took out an unauthorized USB hidden in his shoe heel and plugged it in.
The screen quickly changed, and familiar content appeared.
[LEUCO Operating System Access]
[Log－in]
From then on, Jang Man-soo's fingers began to tap rapidly on the keyboard.
Tap tap tap tap— tap tap—
"Hey, you're not playing a game, are you?"
"Do you want to die?"
"Real hackers don't seem to type that fast."
"Think of it as the difference between automatic and stick shift. I'm controlling everything one by one. Securing CCTV and security programs."
Jang Man-soo took control of MH Tech's security system first. The next target was the project management server, where the IBDN8334 data might be located.
"How long will it take?"
"I'm accessing and filtering now. There are quite a few military equipment projects. Many have been scrapped due to lack of practicality..."
"Is that IBM? Anyway, does that antenna exist?"
"Why are you rushing me so much when we have time?"
After all, Jang Man-soo was there with official MH Tech research collaboration credentials.
Lillian suddenly remembered that and nodded.
"Ah... right. I was mistaken because it felt like we were on a mission back in the day."
"Seriously... that espionage addict."
Even while chatting, Jang Man-soo's eyes and hands were focused on the task. As time passed, the number of projects being excluded increased.
"Found it."
Lillian walked from the entrance towards the computer and approached Jang Man-soo.
"Is it there?"
"But it's still under development."
"Is it difficult to manufacture right away?"
"Even if they make it here, it's the initial model. The model I used was much more improved. So, to make it myself, I need to extract the design drawings and parts list first."
Jang Man-soo transferred the IBDN8334 antenna data to the LEUCO server.
"At this rate, we'll all grow old and die before we find it."
"Are you going to keep being noisy?"