105
Ch.105 Drunk Gossip
"Ugh, noisy."
"Ugh... Ugh..."
"Ugh... Ugh..."
Grimacing, Gu Seo-ryong flicked her fingers sharply, completely overturning the two women's senses.
Instantly, the women's faces turned pale as nausea surged through them.
"Sweetie? You both seem too drunk. Want me to carry you to the bathroom?"
"Is the conversation over?"
"I think we've heard all we need to hear."
"Sagugu is full."
As I grabbed the nape of the two women's necks and lifted them, Gu Seo-ryong walked ahead and opened the bathroom door.
Tap, tap, tap. After thoroughly scrambling the senses of everyone inside the establishment, Gu Seo-ryong released the women in the bathroom. Both immediately rushed to the toilet and leaned over it.
"Ughhh..."
"Cough, cough..."
"Did you figure anything out from the earlier conversation?"
Curious about what could be gleaned from the conversation so far, I asked. Gu Seo-ryong pulled out her phone, opened a map of A-City, and spoke.
"I think I know where the lab is."
"You figured out the lab's location from that conversation? How?"
"The information in your head and the information I know are vastly different. I've spent four years solely searching for the lab."
"Fascinating."
"Need an explanation?"
"Probably long."
"Huhu, I'll keep it short."
Tap, tap... Gu Seo-ryong, who had been staring at the ceiling and tapping her lips, flicked her fingers with a sharp snap.
"First, Kage's weakness? Judging from what these girls said, Kage's driving force is something like a desire for revenge over what happened in that incident. He doesn't seem to know much about the lab yet, but if it's that kind of incident, he'd consider everyone involved an enemy and try to eliminate them. So, the people connected to the lab must have moved to avoid Kage."
Beep, beep, beep. Gu Seo-ryong marked something on his phone and showed me the screen.
Three locations were marked in the closed-off area outside A-City.
"That guy is thorough when searching... Exclude the targets Kage has already investigated, exclude the places he's checked, exclude related locations. That leaves three places."
"Why outside A-City, not inside?"
"Electress and Baskerville are S-ranks specialized in tracking and detection, right? Both seem to be under Kage. So, facilities inside A-City, which are within the range of their abilities, are excluded for now. We won’t know for sure until we go, but if we’re lucky, we might find the lab hiding in A-City as early as tomorrow. Exciting."
"Meow!"
As Gu Seo-ryong finished explaining and tossed her phone, Sagugu, who had been playing with water from the sink, leaped up and caught it.
The phone, wedged between her palms, disappeared beyond space.
"Now, let's clean up a bit..."
"Huh, hii... Wh-what? Uh, oh...?"
"Ah, ah... Aaaah!"
Gu Seo-ryong lifted one of the women from the toilet, shoved both into a stall, and dug her fingernails into their napes.
Drool dripped from their naturally gaping mouths, their limbs twitching and flailing uncontrollably.
The thick scent of pleasure rose so intensely it threatened to erase even surface-level thoughts, boiling over violently.
"What are you doing?"
"Making them feel good to erase some memories. Bleaching them like this before memory manipulation makes it cleaner."
"Ugh, ah, hah..."
"Haaah..."
Since they’ve said a lot, it seems she’s planning to manipulate their memories to avoid suspicion later.
"Can you take Sagugu ahead? Just in case, I’ll tidy up these girls’ memories and follow."
"Got it."
"These aunties peed?"
Covering Sagugu’s curious eyes, I left the bathroom.
***
"Brother? Sagugu is bored. Sagugu wants to play!"
"Hmm."
Leaving the complicated matters to Gu Seo-ryong, I took Sagugu outside and sniffed the surroundings, arriving at a park.
The current area is where A-City’s upper class resides.
Seeing the vast park, Sagugu transformed into a human shape and ran around on all fours.
"Nomnomnomnomnom!"
"Don’t run into people."
"Oh? Still looks young."
"So fast."
After letting Sagugu loose, I swiped my superpower human ID at a nearby vending machine and grabbed a bunch of snacks and drinks.
The park was filled with kids who seemed to have abilities playing too.
Some floated slightly, gliding through the air, while others played catch with fireballs on flameproof stone pavement.
Though ordinary kids were playing too, the number of superpowered children made Sagugu’s presence unremarkable.
It felt like stepping into a world of superpower humans.
"So, what do you all think? Will they really do it?"
"They will, no doubt."
"Looking at what they’ve done so far, definitely."
Beside the bench, at a small café.
Sitting with a pile of snacks, watching Sagugu, I overheard people whispering nearby.
Those drinking something that looked like coffee (probably parents with their kids) were mostly superpower humans too.
"They say they’re cleaning up villains, but why bother now when most have already been absorbed into Kage’s faction?"
"Most of the ones caught were small fry connected to the government."
"The higher-ups already fled to B-City after hearing Kage was moving."
"Did you hear Meister left the city for a while?"
"Obviously, Meister was exempted because she’s a fellow superpower human."
Their tense chatter about Kage carried mixed emotions—apprehension yet an undercurrent of anticipation, like steam slowly rising.
"It’s not just rumors anymore... Even among citizens, many have noticed."
"Kage is the type to act first and think later if he believes it’s necessary. He’ll definitely do it."
"When will it start? I want to evacuate my family first."
"No idea. Could be today, could be tomorrow..."
What’s this about now?
I ignored the complicated talk and focused on eating my potato chips.
[Sweetie? I’m done. Where are you?]
"The park."
Gulp, gulp. After finishing a bottle of cola, I answered Gu Seo-ryong, who had finished memory manipulation.
Tap, tap, tap. A cat emerged from the shadows at my feet and answered as Gu Seo-ryong.
[Meowmeowmeow.]
[Adorable, but I can’t understand you when you say it like that. Can you guide me as a cat?]
[Mew.]
I directed the cat toward the park, then stood up from the bench and brushed off the remaining potato chips.
Sagugu was nowhere to be seen—must’ve wandered off somewhere.
Given the quietness, she probably wasn’t rampaging.
Passing by the café while searching for Sagugu, I overheard more superpower human talk.
"There’ll be a lot of backlash. The shock will be huge."
"Who cares? In the age of monsters, humans are obsolete anyway."
"The era of new humans like us is coming."
Kage, monster experiments, Yeo Ryeong, Yeo Woon-jae...
I came to A-City just because the lab might be here, but things seem complicated.
Are human affairs always this tangled?
Looking at this knotted mess, I just want to swat it away with my paw.
Smashing everything would be simpler.
I just hope Gu Seo-ryong finds the lab soon.
I don’t want to deal with the process.
"Sagugu."
Sagugu was in a sandpit at the corner of the field, playing with kids.
Even when I called, Sagugu didn’t answer—just her tail sticking out between her legs.
The tail swayed slowly. What was she so focused on? Circling around, I saw younger kids playing with dolls.
"Hello, I’m Bbabakung!"
"I’m Yuikung."
"Who is Sagugu?"
"Aunty is Nanakung!"
A Pipi-kung game?
I’ve been forcibly dragged into this dollplay at the Black Cat Park in W-City too.
Kids with Pipi-kung toy dolls all play this.
Come to think of it, Gu Seo-ryong told me not to teach Sagugu about Pipi-kung.
Since I never taught her, it should be fine.
I grabbed Sagugu by the scruff.
"Sagugu... Isn’t Nanakung...? Sagugu is..."
"Sagugu, get up. Gu Seo-ryong is calling..."
Then, as I lifted her and our eyes met—
I froze at the expression on Sagugu’s face, one I’d never seen before.
"Who... Is Sagugu...?"
A look of confusion, emotions in turmoil.
Like ripples spreading under a sheet of paper, Sagugu’s inner self shook unstably.
At that moment, part of my core moved on its own.
A faint wavelength—through the skin of my hand and her neck, our heartbeats resonated.
Blinking, Sagugu’s eyes returned to their usual sparkling, vacant gaze, and she grinned at me.
"Brother! Brother!"
"Yeah."
Sagugu clung to me, waving the doll in her hand in front of my face.
"Brother! This is Nanakung! That’s Pipikung! Pipikung is Nanakung’s friend!"
"No! This is Pipikung Magical Princess Form!"
"This is Bbabakung Sapphire Prince Form! Sapphire is blue!"
"My shoes are shiny."
Amid the noisy chatter, I awkwardly peeled Sagugu off me.
"...Sagugu, Gu Seo-ryong is calling."
"Mom... Mom?"
Tilting her head in confusion, Sagugu blinked several times before focusing her gaze and widening her eyes.
"Mom!"
"Huh? Wait, slow down— Kyaaak!"
Thud! Kicking off me, Sagugu sprinted toward Gu Seo-ryong in the distance and lunged.
Wham! Hit by Sagugu’s full-speed headbutt to the stomach, Gu Seo-ryong flew back and slid across the grass.
"Brother! Mom!"
"Oww... Why’s she acting like this again all of a sudden?"
Sagugu, now on top of Gu Seo-ryong, pressed down with both hands before shoving something into Gu Seo-ryong’s face.
Arriving beside them, I silently watched.
"And this is Nanakung!"
"Did you charge at me just because you want this?"
"Sagugu wants Nanakung Luxury Palace!"
"Oh, I see... Sweetie? Aren’t you gonna say something?"
Seeing Sagugu’s usual self, I stayed silent.
"But, Sagugu? Between Nanakung and dakgalbi, which do you like more?"
"Sagugu wants Pipikung Princess Palace too!"
"You can’t eat Pipikung Princess Palace! But you can eat beef! Sagugu likes beef, right? Want me to buy you beef?"
"Sagugu wants Bbabakung Prince Carriage too!"
"Sigh... How many did you see in that short time? Sweetie, this is too much."
"Sagugu figured it out on his own."
Still, Gu Seo-ryong’s complaint felt unfair, so I retorted.
***
"Nyaaaa! No! No! Want it!"
"Gu Seo-ryong, just buy it."
"Fine, fine! I’ll buy it!"
"Meow."
The next morning, at the hotel.
Sagugu, now completely obsessed with Pipikung, threw a tantrum upon waking up, demanding one.
After a night of torment, Gu Seo-ryong finally gave in and agreed to buy it. Sagugu, who had been flailing on the floor, sprang up like nothing happened and yanked Gu Seo-ryong’s arm.
"Where did you learn to throw tantrums like this?"
"Kids at the park taught me!"
"Don’t play with those bad kids again. If you do, I won’t buy you anything."
"Have a safe trip."
"Sigh... We’re supposed to be looking for the lab..."
After enduring Sagugu all night, I stayed behind at the hotel and slept.
When I woke up, the sun had already set.
Still not back? Focusing on the cat I’d left with Gu Seo-ryong, I heard their voices.
[Pipikung broke...]
[It hasn’t even been a day since I bought it! Mom told you not to play rough with it!]
[New Pipikung! Want it!]
[This is why I didn’t want to buy it...!]
[Want it! Want it!]
[Fine, fine! Help Mom first, okay? If you stay quiet, I’ll buy you another after work. Be good?]
[Sagugu is a good kid!]
[Sigh... I hope this is the right place this time...]
After calming Sagugu and tucking her into the shadows, Gu Seo-ryong quietly walked between moss-covered buildings.
Seems they’ve checked other places and are now searching the next spot.
I’ll leave them be and join when called.
Well-rested, I left the hotel.
Destination: a hot dog stand nearby. Confidently pulling out my superpower human ID, I placed my order.
"500 hot dogs."
"Eek... Huh? Card? Th-thank you? But 500 is... Impossible..."
"100."
"Eeek."
The shop owner made an indescribable face—somewhere between joy and sorrow—as he frantically grilled hot dogs.
As I devoured them one by one, I paused at a strange wavelength spreading through the air.
An ability’s pulse covering the entire city.
The scent of a monster—the ability’s owner seemed to be searching for something.
"Huh?"
"Eeek! Magic Bullet!"
At that moment, a bullet the thickness of an index finger whizzed past me.
Baskerville’s ability. The Magic Bullet, circling me, landed beside the hot dogs and beeped.
[Hey, prospect. Got a minute to talk?]
"What’s this?"
[Let’s move somewhere private. Preferably with walls.]
Must’ve embedded a tiny communicator inside the bullet. Intrigued, I picked it up as Baskerville made an odd request.
Grabbing the remaining hot dogs between my fingers, I stood.
"Give the rest to hungry people."
Entering a nearby alley, the Magic Bullet wriggled free and embedded itself into the wall.
Beep. Light shot from the bullet’s rear, projecting a screen onto the dark surface.
[Can’t talk long—might be bugged. Whatever happens, stay out of this area. If you have family, evacuate them.]