Black Badger - Chapter 396



Only Noblemtl

396. Antibiotics

Before explaining the advertisement, Jonathan explained the situation.

First of all, he woke up after almost four days.

He said he woke up every now and then, but he couldn’t remember that. He said he was in terrible pain.

“Because Scar was so insistent that he came and saw it.”

The quiet motive explained.

“Hildebert slept here most of the time.”

Fortunately, Scar hasn’t contracted the disease yet.

And the shutdown was still ongoing, because there were no antibiotics yet. Most of the Badgers were still sick, and some were said to be in worse condition after the series of events.

But it wasn’t all gloomy.

There was an article that said John Mullen, who was conducting research with Heath, had found a clue to antibiotics.

With so many samples available, it seems like we’re not far from developing an antibiotic.

I haven’t heard how varied the samples are, since Jonathan, like Ricardo, has been hospitalized the whole time.

Other news came from Scar on the other end of the phone.

Scar’s voice reads with deep fatigue.

“You will have to be the one hospitalized~….”

[I’m so upset that Ye-Hyeon brought up the topic of retirement. If she really tries to retire, I’ll be hospitalized.]

The aide said he was still living at headquarters.

[Fortunately, when I asked him seriously how he could say something like that, he looked embarrassed and apologized.]

“Is it because of the building collapse?”

[I guess.]

Scar said it was fortunate there were no casualties.

It seemed that there was definitely some public opinion against it. In any case, he said that the creature infiltration incident was being concluded well. Judging from the way he quickly changed the subject, it seemed that Scar had no intention of explaining the matter further.

The quick-witted motive was always wary of giving Ricardo and Jonathan too much information.

The worst-case scenario: a creature outbreak that was averted.

The collapse of two buildings was a painful blow.

The shutdown was still ongoing….

[I thought there would definitely be casualties. Thank goodness it ended with the building collapsing.]

“Is this Hildebert’s doing~?”

[Thanks to Hilde.]

When he asked, leaning back, Scar politely corrected him.

[And yes. To be exact, thanks to Hilde and her people, there were no casualties. You must have enjoyed seeing it too. Everyone’s skills were amazing.]

“I had a rough idea when we ran missions together~….”

“…Your voice is nice.”

Jonathan joined the conversation as I was recalling Hildebert’s rampage, which was not a pleasant memory.

Ricardo blinked.

“what?”

Have you got a fever?

Scar let out a small laugh as he heard Jonathan’s words.

Jonathan said calmly.

“Hilde is good at singing.”

“… Oh really~?”

As I responded to the out-of-context remark, Scar’s muffled laughter continued.

What do you mean?

Did Hildebert sing an aria while I was out of my mind?

As I looked at the motive while being dumbfounded, further explanation followed.

Of course, it was the explanation that Scar gave.

[There was a creature that could respond with divine power, so the saint and Hilde sang a hymn. It’s a shame I couldn’t hear it. I heard she was in the choir before her voice changed.]

“choir…?”

[The place where he grew up was a temple embedded in the imperial province, and he was active in the choir, so he would sometimes go to the city’s temple to sing and come back.]

What is this…?

[Ami was sad and hit the ground, saying that she couldn’t do this because she didn’t hear it.]

“Where’s ARMY~?”

[I got caught late and am hospitalized nearby. It’s a big deal because the power keeps going down.]

Now that I think about it, where am I now?

They say the hospital building collapsed.

Scar must have sensed my confusion, so he gave me a clear explanation. It was inside a temporary isolation ward. The Black Badger headquarters building was intact, but the headquarters site was completely destroyed, so I heard that they had pushed away the General Affairs Department containers behind it and set up a temporary ward.

It looks like he’s trying to hide it, but it looks like it’s really hit hard.

Besides, it seemed like there were a lot of things weighing on his mind.

Ricardo poked Scar moderately and heard some of his inner thoughts.

[I keep feeling like it’s not over.]

My friend spoke softly.

[But the damage is severe. We are short on power and supplies. If the enemy regroups and pushes forward in this situation, it will be really difficult. You struck and retreated quite wisely.]

“What is an advertisement…?”

Ricardo, who had roughly grasped the situation, changed the subject.

I still can’t believe it.

The green-eyed man furrowed his brow as he recalled the ‘Black Badger public service announcements’ he had seen throughout his tenure as a Black Badger.

You didn’t really go there to film a public service announcement, did you?

[It’s nothing.]

Scar said nonchalantly, frowning.

[I heard they’re filming a short commercial for Lexiq Noodles?]

Ricardo’s head suddenly turned white.

What ad?

Rex… .

That damn franchise?

“It’s ruined, right?”

[They’re reopening.]

“Something like that?”

[Hey, don’t say that.]

A good person’s motivation made him smile.

[He loves that shit. And Jonathan got it wrong. He’s not filming right now, he’s filming after the shutdown is over. Right now, he’s probably just going to pick up his Rexic Noodles.]

The corrected information was also absurd.

Why on earth did you agree to take that picture?

As I was pressing my thumb between my eyebrows at the information that was giving me a headache, the ward tent opened with perfect timing.

Golden eyes that capture the eye.

Full of worry and relief.

“Rick!”

“Hilde… .”

Ricardo smiled with his eyes wide open.

“Does it look good?”

Hildebert was keenly aware of the murderous tone in the voice.

Ricardo immediately looked at Hildebert, who was looking at him with fear.

The reckless successor who obviously came running after hearing that I woke up.

He rolled his eyes and assessed the situation.

Then he muttered in a crawling voice.

“Why are you angry…?”

That question was the trigger for my phone call with Ska.

And Ricardo began to harass Hildebert to his heart’s content for eating Lexic.

***

I looked at the floor sullenly.

That doesn’t mean I agreed to filming without thinking about it.

Okazaki’s proposal to reopen Lexic Noodles was right on target. Okazaki inherited the franchise from Georges. The young president is quick to adapt to trends and knows how to smell money, so he sent me a message as soon as the chaos at headquarters was resolved.

[Okazaki: If you could film an advertisement, it would be a great help in reopening Lexic Noodles.]

I heard that I’ve recently become a famous person within Center Core.

In the process, interest in Lexic Noodles also grew.

The noodles, which were no longer available due to the closure, gradually became a fantasy food and gained explosive popularity. Okazaki explained that he couldn’t count how many requests he received to reopen.

[Okazaki: But this is also likely to be a one-time popularity. To increase the buzz even a little, I would like to film a 20-second commercial. Very modestly.]

Since my exploits during this creature outbreak were known, and it was known that I was hospitalized as a result, I thought it would create even greater synergy if we filmed it more.

I was honestly a little bit taken aback.

But I really had no intention of taking a picture.

Until I heard You’s words.

“Good idea.”

“ok?”

“We can’t hide from the public eye now.”

The subordinate said.

The man who was more upset than anyone else by the appearance of the Archmage and got angry at Badger who said, ‘But we did our best!’ looked at me.

“We need to imprint it with a completely positive image.”

“Why so much? Isn’t the reputation already good enough because Rose selects and publishes articles?”

“Aren’t you going to hit the raccoons?”

The bookseller looked straight at me.

“The moment you put a knife to his throat, he will use every means at his disposal to bury you.”

It was Colton’s story.

After understanding what You said, I let out a heavy sigh.

“Did you see the Commander-in-Chief getting beaten up by the press this time?”

“Yeah. That’s why I was going in and out of Yoon and Ye-Hyeon’s hospital tent all day yesterday.”

“I was beaten more fiercely than usual. It means that the elders did not mediate the press.”

You, who had lived in Centercore for about 50 years while I was away, was sensitive to public opinion in Centercore.

It was not for nothing that he became the emperor’s adviser at such a young age.

He showed me several articles while flipping through the screen of his cell phone.

“I’m saying that the Mongmong spin-off has already noticed. There’s no way he wouldn’t know. Anyway, something is about to start.”

“It was something that would happen someday.”

“Yes. We can’t just sit back and let it happen. We’ve built up a positive reputation through a series of incidents, so let’s solidify it. A simple advertisement to appeal to the harmlessness of the situation will be quite helpful later on.”

He said it would be a good idea to shoot it as soon as the shutdown is over.

It’s not that the logic was incomprehensible.

I also wish Lexiq Noodles would reopen….

I went to see the head of personnel and the commander-in-chief and asked about the advertising shoot.

Then, surprisingly, both of them readily agreed.

He laughed and even said this.

“We also film public service announcements sometimes. You don’t want to film those kinds of advertisements, do you?”

“Yes. I guess that’s a bit…”

“It’s a shame. At least take some nice pictures of the noodle commercial!”

The head of the personnel department said that fortunately, he had overcome the dangerous crisis.

“As long as the advertisement isn’t too politically charged or too provocative, it’s fine.”

Yehyun also smiled faintly and gave permission.

A child who collapsed like a doll with its strings cut as soon as all eight space teleportation gates were blocked.

Yoon lost consciousness after throwing the unconscious Ye-Hyeon into an ambulance waiting outside the core.

Then, they both fell terribly ill for two days.

On the third day, I regained some of my energy.

The child who had scared me laughed a little after hearing the commercial story.

“Jack Black still has a commercial contract left… In principle, there is no problem. He can film it.”

“… Thank you. I’ll report back when I take the picture.”

“okay.”

“and….”

“No patrols yet. Stay in the ward until Walker calls for reinforcements.”

Yehyun quickly blocked the suggestion I was about to make.

“If you really lose your hand, I’ll push you out of the way. Not just you, but Black too.”

“…All right.”

Currently, Walker and his successors are on patrol.

To be exact, Luke Lyle and Nana Dole. They were training in the mountains when the epidemic broke out, so they were not infected.

Meanwhile, Kairos and I were ordered to take sick leave after inhaling poisonous gas during the battle.

So Kairos and I were locked in the isolation ward with our seniors.

We have been living here ever since that day. Deltey, You, and Igor hardly ever left the isolation ward. They took care of me and Kairos, and also took care of the Badgers.

After the creature incident, the subordinates suddenly became friendly with their seniors.

“But I’m feeling much better now, so I think I’ll be able to be discharged tomorrow or the day after.”

He said this while looking at Ricardo, who frowned sharply when the topic of toxic gas came up.

“Actually, I’m still completely fine. Honestly, if it were up to me, I’d like to go out and do some patrols…”

“Stop talking nonsense.”

“yes.”

If I say more, I feel like my throat will be cut off.

I answered quickly and shut my mouth straight.

And then I quietly looked at the senior’s face.

The other person raised an eyebrow as if he was looking at me too closely.

Ricardo’s frown widened.

“What are you looking at so intently~?”

“…Ricardo.”

I let out a sigh of relief.

“It’s a shape-shifting weapon… .”