Meanwhile, at , a shooting for a traditional Korean drama is in progress. One of the cast, , is in the middle of a stylist dressing him up in a hanbok and a long wig before his turn to shoot his scene.
As he was being styled, Byeong Gyu couldn't help but overhear murmurs among the crew about unusual activity in the sky. Some mentioned seeing strange lights or objects overhead. At first, he dismissed it as just idle chatter or perhaps drone activity related to the filming.
But then, a loud, distant rumble echoed through the park, drawing everyone's attention. The crew members looked up, their eyes wide with shock and confusion. Byeong Gyu, too, glanced up to see what was happening.
Flashing lights, something bright whizzing through the frame too fast for Byeong Gyu to see. The flashing things start to shoot some ball towards the beautiful traditional Korean structure. Byeong Gyu is terrified and stunned when some parts of the building crumble in glowing cubes. The situation was deteriorating rapidly. The cast and crew of the drama shooting scrambled for cover as the unknown assailants wreaked havoc on the traditional structures with bright, whizzing objects. Byeong Gyu watched in horror as parts of the beautiful park crumbled before his eyes.
The crew tried to maintain composure as they evacuated the set, but panic was evident on their faces. Byeong Gyu struggled to comprehend the strange phenomenon, feeling utterly powerless as the alien attack continued.
"병규오빠! 서두르다! 여기서 나가자!(Byeong Gyu! Hurry! Let's get out of here!)" One of the staff yells, snapped Byeong Gyu out of his train of thought. Before he is even able to run, a bright light appears above him. He looks up and screams as his face becomes pixelated, separates into tiny pixels and is lifted into the air. Then the lights went along with the tiny pixels.
Gabby is at her shared house with Eddie, watching the TV where the news is talking about attacks that occurred in Guam and South Korea. Gabby watched intently at the screen until her thoughts were interrupted when she heard the door opening and closing. She turns to see Eddie finally home. Gabby turned off the TV, her mind racing with worry as she heard the door open and close. She got up from her seat and walked to the kitchen to meet Eddie, who had just returned home. His expression was a mix of exhaustion and determination, and she could tell he had been through a lot.
"You finally home." Gabby greeted as she rushed to him, relief washing over her. "You look so tired. Are you alright?" Gabby asked and Eddie instinctively put his arm around her and kissed her head, Eddie embraced her tightly, grateful to be home after the events of the day.
"Sorry for being late. Lots of things been going on," he said, his voice full of affection.
Gabby pulled back slightly to look into his eyes. "It's okay, but what's going on? Did you get a lot of people ordered for your service and got yourself overwhelmed by it?" Gabby asked, worried as she cupped his face in her hands. Eddie sighed and faced Gabby completely.
"Remember the time capsule from the event? The World Championship arcade event?" Gabby nodded. "Some alien found it and misunderstand it as a declaration of war. There's already an attack at Guam and South Korea. Tomorrow, Grant asked us to go the DARPA."
"Us?"
"Me and Gaege. Wanna tag along? You practically good with arcade games too. You don't need to if you gonna be busy tomorrow." Eddie offered.
"Well, taking down real-life aliens with my favourite games? If that's so, I'm in!" Gabby said excitedly.
The next morning, Eddie drives Gabby's car with Gabby and Gaege back in the backseat and follows behind Grant's car. Both cars were surrounded by vans full of armed bodyguards until they arrived at the DARPA.
Once they parked, Eddie helped Gabby and Gaege out of the car, and the group followed Grant into the building. The security presence was high, with guards posted at every entrance and hallway. It was clear that the situation was being taken very seriously. Since Eddie, Gabby and Gaege are just normal civilians, they have to get heavily checked up.
Eddie and Gaege were normally checked with scans and pats on some parts of their body and Gabby was separated from them to get checked by a female guard. After the whole process, they were disinfection in a clean room chamber. This disinfection process involved a gentle misting to sanitize them and their clothes, ensuring they did not bring any contaminants into DARPA's secure facilities. Though unusual, the procedure was a necessary precaution in such a high-security environment.
Once the group was cleared, they followed Grant through a series of security checkpoints. The building's sterile atmosphere and tight security made it clear that they were about to enter a highly classified area. Eddie, Gabby, and Gaege exchanged glances, each of them feeling the weight of the moment.
"So, what now actually?" Eddie asked as they closely followed behind Grant.
"The President of South Korea told us about the attack and obviously, the alien got their trophy again by abducting an actor in the middle of his shooting."
"School shooting?" Gaege interrupted a bit but Grant immediately shut it down.
"Oh god, Gaege. It's shooting a scene for a drama. Not shooting kids." Grant said as he gave Gaege a sharp look, then about to continue with his explanation as they walked through the secure corridors of DARPA but got interrupted by someone coming down the hall to greet him.
"Morning, Mr President. I—" William greeted and was about to inform him about his findings but cut himself off as he was shocked to see three new people in the facility. "Um, Mr President, with all due respect, having civilians with zero security in this facility is—"
"Do not worry, Colonel. These gentlemen and this lady here have a better handle on what's going on right now than anyone in my entire administration. You should be welcoming them. Their clearance has been expedited, and they're here on my direct orders."
William nodded, though he still seemed unsure. "Understood, Mr. President. I'll ensure they receive the support they need while they're here."
"Thank you," Grant replied, satisfied with the colonel's response. "Now, what were you going to inform me about?"
"Yes, sir," William said, regaining his composure. "Right this way." William then leads them through the hallway, into a larger room where various technicians and scientists construct and design prototypes for the latest military weapons.
"Colonel, I hope you have made some progress."
"Oh. We have an enormous progress, sir. We now believe those things that attacked us were made of energy. Intelligent energy to precise." William explained his and his teams' progress of the remnants that the aliens left behind in their attacks. As William is leading them to show something, a cool mecha-animal dog comes bounding down the hall toward them as a scientist follows while taking notes.
As the scientist passes by, Eddie, Gabby, and Gaege see the backside of the scientist's head just to see wires, machinery, and electrodes. The scientist is a robot and Gaege is very ecstatic.
"That guy is a robot!" Gaege excitedly whispered right at Eddie's ear.
"Handle your high, Gaege," Eddie said, actually glad that Gaege finally smiled for the first time after being cold-faced for the entire time.
"I'm already high as soon as we step in here, bro." Eddie and Gabby exchanged amused glances at Gaege's excitement over the robotic scientist. Despite the tension in the air, they couldn't help but appreciate Gaege's ability to find enthusiasm in such an unusual situation. The atmosphere was a mix of high-tech innovation and military discipline, showcasing DARPA's advanced capabilities.
