I Became the Cute One in the Troubleshooter Squad
Chapter 169: Of the Black Raven and the Snow-White Ghost (7)

How long had we walked down the hidden corridor, seamlessly tucked into the hallway?

Raven and I soon arrived at a space distinctly different from what we’d seen so far.

If the previous areas were sterile white, like some obsessive-compulsive’s dream, this place instead insisted on gloomy black, almost depressingly so.

Encasing the white sector with black walls, it featured glass panels like magic mirrors, letting you see into every corner.

I didn’t have any technical knowledge, but a specific image popped into my head right away.

“Hm. I was wondering why it felt familiar... This is basically a prison.”

“...!”

Yes—that’s exactly what I was thinking.

There were no visible bars, but it completely gave off the impression of two separated zones, like a confinement facility.

I nodded in agreement, glancing around with firm certainty in my eyes.

Come to think of it, this setup wasn’t all that strange.

This was the place I saw in that dream—and the place I woke up in and escaped from.

Most likely... this facility had been used to create psychic-powered individuals through experimentation.

That would explain the intentionally confusing white sector—meant to make escape near-impossible.

In fact, if I hadn’t shoved myself into that ventilation shaft and come up with the idea of using telekinesis to force my way out...

I probably wouldn’t have escaped at all.

‘...Thinking back, I really was lucky. With the {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} output I had back then, there’s no way I could’ve gone around breaking doors open like now.’

If I hadn’t gotten out in time, I might’ve just starved to death inside, quietly and pointlessly.

A small shiver ran through me as I thought back on how close it had been.

Sticking close behind Raven, I kept scanning our surroundings without pause.

As nerve-wracking as it all was, I’d never actually been to a place like this before.

The kind of secret lab you’d only see in movies or games—everything about it was strange and fascinating.

‘Well... maybe they cleaned up all the traces already. All that’s left are scraps and junk.’

Kind of disappointing, really. It looked like they’d cleared out anything even remotely interesting long ago....

Still, a brand-new place—especially one like this—was intriguing just by existing.

Honestly, I didn’t even mind looking around a little longer.

Maybe Raven picked up on that from my expression or my gaze.

Without turning around, he spoke casually while shining the flashlight ahead.

“You doing okay?”

“...?”

“...We’ll head out soon, so just hang in there a bit longer.”

His vague words left me confused about what exactly he meant.

If he’s worried about something, can’t he just say it more clearly?

I quietly watched Raven’s back, trying to decipher his meaning.

And then I realized—his coat still sat heavily on my shoulders.

‘Did he think I was cold or something? Hmm... well, it is a little chilly.’

Now that I noticed, the coat that had been warm earlier had cooled off without me realizing.

We were deep underground—no cold wind, but the ambient temperature was definitely low.

Maybe Raven was worried I’d catch a cold.

How does someone this perceptive notice things even I didn’t realize about myself?

I gave a small internal sigh of admiration, then tugged lightly on the hem of the coat to signal I was okay.

Let’s just finish this up quickly and go home.

That was the gist of it. Hopefully, the message got across.

“...Right. Looks like that’s the end over there—let’s go.”

After walking for what felt like forever, we finally reached a section with an unusually high ceiling.

If the previous areas were functional work zones, then this felt more like a central control room, full of screens.

While Raven swept his flashlight in wide arcs across the space,

I turned my head and suddenly froze, eyes going wide with recognition.

‘Wait... this place—this is where the old man and the young man were talking in that dream.’

That was it.

The one scene I clearly remembered from that colorless, hazy dream.

And I’d only had the dream a few hours ago. There was no mistaking it.

So it wasn’t a dream—it was an actual memory from the past?

While I was still dazed, stuck between dream and reality, Raven stepped into the room and scowled grimly.

“Just as I thought... it’s completely gutted. Looks like it was abandoned ages ago.”

“...!”

Abandoned a long time ago...?

Still trying to process that, I quickened my pace to catch up and stood beside him.

And right away, I understood what he meant.

The flashlight revealed an absurdly empty interior.

Where the computers should’ve been, there was nothing—like a mouth missing all its teeth.

No documents, no photos, not even a single scrap of meaningful paper.

It was so spotless, you’d think it had been cleared out for renovations.

Only the severed bundles of cables hanging limply in the air proved anything had ever been here.

‘If even the main control room is this empty... then the rest of the facility is probably the same.’

Maybe we were too late to find any real information.

...Actually, odds are, it was already like this even back when I woke up here.

They wiped out everything meaningful, abandoned the lab, and left the electricity running.

Then sometime after I escaped, the power finally went out too.

So what had we gained today?

At best, we’d secured a few girls who might be test subjects.

And if they weren’t useful as evidence, they’d probably been left behind for that exact reason.

The odds of this all being a waste of time were climbing fast.

No wonder—even the all-powerful Fixer Association, active across the globe, was being toyed with.

Even if Raven had insisted on coming here, it was hard not to feel crushed by the result.

“Hm... Should we look around more carefully? No, if they’re that meticulous, they wouldn’t have left anything behind... I guess we’ll have to turn this over to the experts next.”

“....”

“Don’t look so down. Thanks to you, we found this place at all. Chin up, you little rascal.”

Yeah, but... I am disappointed. And quit messing up my hair, it’s ticklish.

I squirmed around, trying to escape from Raven’s hand as he casually tousled my head.

But escaping his skilled fingers without telekinesis was almost impossible.

After a long struggle, I finally broke free and swung a few weak punches at him for revenge.

Of course, my pathetic fists were more like a gentle massage.

He just tapped his shoulder like he wanted me to hit there too.

Should I just use telekinesis and fold him like a sandwich?

As I glared sharply at him, Raven finally shrugged with a grin, saying it was just a joke.

“....”

“Alright, alright. Sorry. Let’s check just a little more, then head back. That sound good?”

...Fine. Just a little more. I’ll help too.

A bit drained, I nodded weakly.

I really was starting to want to go home and rest.

Halfheartedly motivated, I spread my telekinesis through the floor.

Visibly, there were no clues—

But I figured I might as well check beneath the floors and walls, just in case.

‘Huh? This feeling... there’s something there.’

But as I absentmindedly spread my power, I felt something strange in one section of the floor.

It felt hollow underneath—clearly a hidden space.

So there was something concealed here after all.

In a daze, I hurried over and poked Raven’s back.

He was currently tearing a desk from the floor using only his arms.

Still gripping the warped hunk of metal, he turned toward me, curious.

No way he’d expect me to have found something in that short time.

Grinning behind my mask, I waved both hands urgently—this wasn’t the time for casual chit-chat.

“What, did you find something?”

“...!”

“Whoa, nice work. Show me.”

I led Raven to the far corner of the large room.

A place where heavy objects had been stored—an area people wouldn’t usually touch.

I bounced in place like “Here, here!”

Then thrust out my palm and yanked the hidden object up from beneath the floor.

“This is... a box?”

“...?”

Crushing the unusually thin metal panel, what emerged was a black box.

It was square, elegant, the kind you could imagine holding jewelry without looking out of place.

Raven picked it up easily with one hand, then glanced at me like asking permission.

When I gave an enthusiastic nod, he used brute strength to snap the lock open.

And inside was... a jagged shard, like it had broken off a larger stone.

Too rough and ugly to be a gemstone—

Raven, who had been deadly serious until now, looked down at it with confusion.

But I knew instantly, the moment I sensed the chaotic aura erupting from inside the box.

‘This is... an Invader shard?!’

It was the same as the one that had burst out of a rift once before.

And just as I realized it—

I was caught in the wave of power erupting from the shard.

Like being sucked into a violent current, my consciousness plunged into some deep, faraway place.

And what emerged next—was the profile of someone I didn’t recognize.

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