Chapter 28: I'm Innocent (2)
The victim, Han Mo—better known as the dramatic survivor of the recent illegal gate mining incident—has sparked even greater outrage...
The state of the body is utterly horrific...
Let's dig into the identity of the suspect in this murder case, Kang Ishin. How did a top graduate of Babel Academy turn into such a monster?
This is exactly why awakeners are so dangerous! You never know what they'll do next. And get this—the perp in this case was even wearing a recognition tag. We need stricter controls than just those tags!
I switched off the TV. No matter what channel I flipped to, it was all about me. I was too dumbfounded to even speak. Ever since learning I'd been issued a nationwide warrant, I'd holed up in this rundown inn, desperately scouring for information.
The whole world was buzzing about it, so finding details wasn't hard.
The incident had blown up even more because the victim was the same one from that gate scandal that had dominated the 9 o'clock news just days ago.
The gate mess had barely started dying down when this bigger fire erupted.
Han Jo-hee's body was covered in torture marks, and on her back, someone had carved the words "Punishment for running your mouth" with a knife. It was staged to look like I'd gotten revenge on her for cooperating with the authorities.
The killer had brazenly dumped her back in her original hospital room.
She was found barely alive by a nurse, and with her dying breath, she reportedly uttered my name.
All pointing straight to Kang Ishin as the culprit.
And then she died.
Han Jo-hee had only been missing for half a day.
Somehow, in that time, they'd kidnapped her, tortured her, and returned her. Without an inside job at the hospital, it would've been impossible—which is why they were investigating everyone there...
'No way they left a trail.'
Crazy. As if I'd ever do something like that.
Anyone with half a brain could see I had zero reason to track down Han Jo-hee and mess her up.
The more I dug into the case, the more ridiculous it seemed—I couldn't help but laugh.
'Seol Rokjin's handiwork.'
No one else had the motive or the balls to pull this off right now.
The problem? No way to convince the public.
"Damn, this is so unfair."
As I rolled around on the bed groaning, Ray chimed in.
—Weren't you planning to play the villain anyway?
"That was different. I didn't actually do it."
Han Jo-hee had died horribly because of her connection to me. No risk of my secrets leaking since she knew nothing, but it still hit hard that someone I'd saved ended up like that.
"She wasn't long for this world anyway, but she didn't deserve that kind of suffering."
My hatred for them boiled up again.
"They wanted info on me—or maybe just a warning. And as a bonus, torch my life."
All for that, they'd tortured a dying woman to hell and back.
—You're not mad about the frame job?
I clicked my tongue at Ray's words.
"What choice did she have? They'd have threatened her little brother's life if she didn't talk."
Rubbing my throbbing forehead, I muttered.
"Speaking of... what about the brother?"
Her only family, already living on borrowed time to pay for his internship fees, now brutally murdered. Way too cruel for a kid who was barely high-school age.
—Worry about yourself first. Not the time to fret over others, right? Now the whole world thinks you're the bad guy.
"Ha. No way out, that's the problem."
—Shouldn't have wiped out that gate. Who knows? Maybe there was evidence you could've used.
"How was I supposed to know it'd blow up like this?"
Sighing, I continued.
"No evidence linking to Seol Rokjin in that gate anyway. He's not sloppy enough to leave traces."
Seol Rokjin was meticulous. No loose ends.
"He showed up on that island himself to brainwash Baek Dosan personally. Otherwise, he'd have holed up somewhere safe."
Should've finished him then.
A guy that paranoid about his own safety wouldn't slip up like that again.
If I'd had more prep time, I could've made it work. But no—Geum Doctor dragged me off without warning.
—What's the issue? Grab the chance next time, like this.
"Not that simple. His power's brainwashing. Means I can't fight him with backup."
—Ah, right! That's why you went solo against him this time?
"Yeah. And my firepower's not enough to take him down anyway."
—Ugh.
"Unless I nuke his entire neighborhood, better shelve facing him for my sanity. Put out the fire on my doorstep first."
Whew. Priority one: I'm now a fugitive nationwide because of this mess.
"Just my luck. Was about to get moving."
All my plans? Straight to the trash. Wandering outside now would be begging to get caught.
"Might as well use the time to build a base."
—Base?
"Told you. I'm saving people and turning them into world-savers. Need a place for us all to live."
Childhood dream: my own crew, loyal to me.
"Plenty of time now. Let's go build a house."
The land I'd asked Geum Doctor to snag for me was notorious as a gate hotspot. Over the past decade, it'd spawned three or more gates yearly, scaring off all the locals—who abandoned it entirely.
But in the future I remembered, no gate breaks happened around here. Should be fine.
No one wanted it, so I scored the whole area for peanuts.
After closing the deal, Geum Doctor asked cautiously.
Geum Doctor believed my innocence without me saying a word. Makes sense—we'd been together all day that day. He knew better than anyone I couldn't have done it.
"Frame job, yeah. But what can you do? Evidence is ironclad."
Geum Doctor soothed me.
"It's fine. I was ditching the Kang Ishin identity anyway."
His chuckling voice made me sigh.
"Don't rub it in. This is a real crisis for me."
"What news?"
My ears perked up.
Eccentric guy, sure, but Geum Doctor's skills were legit. If he was crafting for me, I was all for it.
"Why the sudden generosity?"
Didn't love sharing tastes with a mad scientist rocking those goofy round glasses.
Ray burst out laughing at my grimace.
—Haha! Told you it's bad taste!
"Sure."
Reassuring.
That's why connections matter.
With Geum Doctor's help, I bought the land and transferred ownership. Couldn't use Kang Ishin, so a dead guy's name it was.
Geum Doctor chuckled.
So comforting.
Doram Mountain, tucked in a corner of Gwangju Metropolitan City.
Doram Mountain formed after a gate break, its terrain too rugged for civilians. High mana density kept even the government away.
—If it's off-limits, why buy it at all?
'Don't want someone else swooping in later to build.'
Doram Mountain was stunning. High mana meant rich natural energy.
Though newly formed, ancient trees blanketed it like it'd stood for centuries.
—Made it up here fine, but how're you building a base solo? In this wilderness?
Ray had a point: no visitors was great, but doing everything alone sucked.
Still, time was on my side.
Thanks to this mess, I was stuck here anyway.
"Step by step, it'll work. Today, scout a spot for the base."
—Start with the spot?
"Knew it existed, never been inside."
No regressor perks—boots on the ground.
Ray groaned.
"Can't carve a mountainside ledge, even as an awakener. Need flat ground or a cave."
—You're no superhuman.
"Still stronger than a normie."
Chatting with Ray, I luckily found a massive natural cave nearby. Reminded me of Batman's Batcave.
"Caves are peak dark hero base."
Problem: squatters.
Maybe thinking Batman was a jinx. Thousands of bats clung to the ceiling above.