Chapter 72 : Chapter 72
Chapter 72
Outdoor Training Ground No. 3 after the weaponry skills lecture had ended.
Gong Minwu remained on the training ground for quite some time.
Without a word, he stood there blankly as if lost in thought, and Choi Minsang, his right-hand man who had been waiting just below the training ground, watched his mood and urged him along.
“Minwu, should we head to the Hall of Protection soon? Class is about to start…”
When there was no answer, Choi Minsang spoke again.
“If Ji Seokhyeon is getting on your nerves, you can deal with him later. Either way, the result was that you won.”
“…I won?”
“Y-Yes! The spar itself was overwhelming.”
“Overwhelming…?”
Choi Minsang instinctively realized he had said something wrong.
He hurriedly added,
“Of course that bastard used a trick, but the instructor said it clearly, did he not? In the end, it was your victory, Minwu.”
“Hmph. The instructor’s decision means nothing. In the end, the ones who decide the outcome are those who step onto the training ground.”
“Ah, well… that is true, but…”
Gong Minwu had a great deal to say about the spar just now, but he decided not to voice it.
Because the spar with Ji Seokhyeon had, without question, been his defeat.
‘He predicted every attack and avoided it…’
That Ji Seokhyeon, a mere cadet, had displayed movements that even active Hunters could not easily pull off.
Considering that he was a social care beneficiary who had never received proper training, the situation was utterly incomprehensible.
‘Is he some illegitimate child of a prestigious clan…?’
There was a possibility that Ji Seokhyeon, known as powerless, was the abandoned bloodline of a successful Hunter family.
‘Even a few weeks ago, he could not move like that.’
And beyond that, it was suspicious that his swordsmanship had become fairly polished compared to before.
Judging roughly by his level, it was on par with a C-Rank Hunter’s swordsmanship.
Considering that most C-Rank Hunters had at least a decade of experience, Ji Seokhyeon’s growth was far beyond any normal standard.
‘They say he trains every dawn with the training instructor… Is that what formed the foundation? But could those movements even be achieved through training in the first place…?’
No matter what the answer was, it was clear that Ji Seokhyeon was an opponent against whom he had failed to secure a complete victory on the training ground.
Perhaps he was even more irritating than Lee Eunho, the only rival Gong Minwu acknowledged…
“…”
Still lost in thought, Gong Minwu stepped down from the training ground.
Choi Minsang immediately followed and chattered on.
“Oh, did you hear? They are taking the artworks for the exhibition tomorrow morning. The upperclassmen said they are doing a final quality check today. Minwu, should you not check your piece too? Maybe… do you want to go to the annex together later?”
At that question, Gong Minwu stopped and turned to Choi Minsang.
His face was rather cold.
“No.”
***
Thursday afternoon.
After all of the week’s classes had ended, I headed to Seoul’s District 26.
The reason I went to District 26 was that Jeong Harin, the Investigation Instructor for criminal psychology, said she would replace the end-of-month evaluation with an assignment.
The assignment was to form teams of three, experience Dispel’s investigation process in the field, and submit a report.
Whether by coincidence or fate, I ended up on the same team as Do Minyeong and Gwon Chihun, and we had just secretly made contact in a dim alley with Gwon Seongjun, the head of Dispel’s 3rd Branch.
“Haa… It is you three again…”
Gwon Seongjun sighed as he pressed his temple.
To be honest, the team composition displeased all three of us as well.
That was because my relationship with Do Minyeong had become awkward.
From the moment we left the 4th Scholastic District until we arrived in District 26, we had not exchanged a single word.
Except for a few remarks from Gwon Chihun, who had been swaggering along and babbling in the middle.
“Uncle, this time we really are not going to do anything, so do not worry.”
“You expect me to trust you? Tsk. If you were not of the direct line, we would not have been tangled up like this in the first place.”
Gwon Seongjun glanced toward Do Minyeong as if checking her reaction.
Do Minyeong offered an awkward smile, and he continued.
“Well, this investigation is only a stakeout anyway, so you will not cause trouble. …I will brief you quickly. Focus and listen carefully.”
Light radiated from Gwon Seongjun’s smartphone.
The light displayed a detailed map of Seoul’s District 26.
The locations where investigators were staking out were marked in blue, and Gwon Seongjun pointed to a spot some distance away from the key stakeout area.
“This is where you will wait. It is a bit away from the operation zone, but since it is a building with some height, it can serve as an observation post. You might think it is obvious, but I do not expect your help. Do not interfere.”
“Do not worry. Just like you want, Uncle, we will stay out of the way!”
Gwon Chihun’s innocent reply.
Gwon Seongjun sighed again and continued.
“At least watch the investigation process from a distance. Stay alert. The suspect might move in your direction.”
“Sure, leave it to me.”
“….”
For about three minutes, Gwon Seongjun explained the outline of the case.
This operation was a stakeout to apprehend a courier transporting forbidden drugs.
And there was a possibility that it might be connected to the Psychic Mafia.
Normally, District 26 was not within the jurisdiction of the 3rd Branch, but it was fairly common for branches responsible for the outskirts to request cooperation from inner-city branches.
That was because some of the outer districts were frequently obstructed by the Psychic Mafia.
Even so, District 26 was relatively free from their influence because it served as a major transportation route linking Seoul and Gyeonggi-do.
Not only did National Route 1 toward Suwon run through it, but multiple transportation hubs had been built, resulting in a heavy flow of people, and shops open late into the night were easy to spot.
Because of that, it was one of the brightest places in Seoul after sunset, yet from the perspective of a stakeout, it was difficult to identify a suspect.
“Then do not let your guard down. Stay on standby and keep your communications open.”
“Okay.”
“Yes.”
“Understood.”
Soon, Gwon Seongjun moved to his position, and we headed to the rooftop of the building marked on the map.
Naturally, we exchanged no real conversation the entire time.
By the time we reached the stakeout point, the only voice we heard was Gwon Chihun’s.
“So what are you two going to do now?”
Without even checking the surroundings near the rooftop, Gwon Chihun asked the question.
Do Minyeong frowned suspiciously.
“What are you planning this time?”
“I know how things work in investigations, you know? Most stakeouts like this end up being a waste of time. So I am thinking of killing time. There is a famous fighting arena around here, so I was going to have a bit of fun there.”
The fighting arena Gwon Chihun mentioned was one of the combat sports.
Awakened people armed with close-range weapons fought brutally in a ring, while outside the ring people bet money on the results.
Of course it was illegal under the Bureau’s regulations, but on the outskirts of Seoul, such “businesses” flourished in the shadows.
People always did more of what they were told not to do.
“So you are saying you will leave? Do you realize that if the branch chief catches you, the assignment will end without you even being able to submit it?”
“Of course I realize. And I also know I will not get caught. All I have to do is stay on standby and check in now and then, right?”
Mid-sentence, Gwon Chihun sent me a look.
As if asking me to help persuade Do Minyeong.
In a situation where we were not even speaking to each other, what persuasion could I possibly offer, but I still sided with him in a slightly indifferent tone.
“Just let him go. It seems like his mind is already at the arena. It is not like he is the sort to listen even if we try to stop him.”
“…Ji Seokhyeon, you too?”
“Exactly. And it is not like I am going to sit there all night. Who knows? If I get lucky, I might win a big payout. Then I will bring back some late-night food at dawn.”
Leaving those words behind, Gwon Chihun headed down from the rooftop.
Naturally, Do Minyeong’s resentful glare turned toward me, and I forced myself to look out over Seoul’s skyline as I offered an excuse.
“Let it go. He is probably running away because of the two of us.”
“What…?”
“In this awkward silence, staying with us until morning would be miserable for him. And the investigators on stakeout are not going to leave their posts just to keep an eye on us. Either way, this is a real operation.”
“That may be true, but…”
Do Minyeong dragged out the end of her sentence.
She soon crossed her arms and stared over the railing with a sulky expression.
A classic posture of, I do not like it, but I will wait and see.
It seemed my reasoning had worked.
Still, even though I had taken Gwon Chihun’s side, the thought of spending the entire night alone with Do Minyeong was deeply uncomfortable.
Since Do Minyeong, who lived and breathed points, would have stayed on standby even by herself, it might have been better for me to follow Gwon Chihun.
Was that a rather delinquent thought?
While I was killing time with such thoughts…
Do Minyeong turned toward me and spoke in a careful voice.
“…Um.”
With those large eyes fixed on me, Do Minyeong waited for my response.
How should I describe her expression?
Borrowing the original’s description, it was something like “the tension that arises when facing something unfamiliar.”
One thing was certain: a subtle atmosphere had begun to flow between her and me.
I kept myself as calm as possible and parted my lips.
But before I could even speak, an episode suddenly popped up in front of me.
Title: Corrupted Superpower
Characters: Ji Seokhyeon, Do Minyeong
On failure: Stats decrease
A time, a place, and a development that made no sense at all.
But the title alone, Corrupted Superpower, was enough for me to guess the situation.
“Sorry, just a moment…”
“Huh? …Okay.”
I opened the suspect’s clothing information that Gwon Seongjun had sent me on my smartphone and hurriedly scanned the streets below.
Episodes did not simply appear out of nowhere.
They required at least a minimal trigger appropriate to the time and the incident.
In this case, it meant that the courier suspected of transporting forbidden drugs had appeared nearby…
“…!”
Sure enough, a person behaving suspiciously caught my eye.
He matched the clothing description compiled from multiple testimonies, and for reasons unknown, he was moving in a direction completely different from where the stakeout had been set.
“I found the suspect…!”
“Really?”
Do Minyeong quickly stepped beside me and focused on the direction I indicated.
“…His appearance does look right. First, we should tell the branch chief…”
“No. Do not contact him.”
“Why?”
“Gwon Chihun is not here. He cannot have gone far yet, so contacting him comes first. No, before that, we should make him take off that robe.”
Without hesitation, I climbed onto the railing.
“Do you mean we are going to apprehend him by ourselves?”
“Are we supposed to wait until he disappears from sight?”
“That is not what I mean, but…”
“I will go first, so contact that bastard Gwon Chihun.”
“Hey…! Wait…!”
Ignoring her, I jumped down from the railing.
It was a high rooftop, but I fixed the Suspenders of the Brilliant Manager at an appropriate height and landed steadily on the ground.
“Damn it. Did he already vanish into the alley…!”
Even as I dropped down, the suspect slipped into an alley.
I immediately followed after him with quick steps.
Based on the episode’s title, this incident was not simply about apprehending a courier.
It was related to forced awakening, the matter Park Chaeshin had been investigating.
At this point in time, with this sequence of events, corrupted superpower could only mean that.
Forced awakening was a topic the Psychic Mafia Camellia had been secretly researching.
The item that courier carried was likely either a potion used for forced awakening or documents related to its delivery.
The problem was that Park Chaeshin had stolen the research data and disappeared, so Camellia had been unable to complete the drug.
In other words, Camellia intended to distribute an unfinished drug.
Naturally, they were doing it for money.
To recover years of research costs, to add to mafia operating funds, or to invest in some despicable scheme.
Because the drug was incomplete, it would be riddled with side effects, but that would not be a major obstacle to selling it.
The promise of awakening for an unawakened person was a temptation more lethal than anything else.
“…!”
When I entered an empty alley, I caught sight of the suspect’s back.
Drawing my sword, I sprinted toward him.
Only then did the suspect realize I was chasing him and break into a run.
But in that moment I used Bind briefly, and the suspect lost his balance, toppled a trash can, and fell hard.
“Damn it…!”
I immediately closed in, leveled my sword, and flipped back the hood the suspect was wearing.
“Dispel’s 3rd Branch, temporary investigation…”
And then an unexpected face was revealed.
“You…”
“…!”
It was Choi Jaejin.