96
Ch.96 A-rank Superpower Human
During a brief meal break, Gu Seo-ryong enjoyed some delicious chicken before sprawling on the bed with Sagugu.
I disposed of the leftover trash by manipulating space, tossing it into a nearby trash bin.
“Haah… It’s been a while since I ate something this good.”
“Munch munch munch…”
“It’d be nice if food like this existed in W-City too.”
“Wouldn’t that be hard? Restoring something like this would require Meister to rediscover the recipe, factories to produce the ingredients, coordination to ensure it doesn’t disrupt existing production… And above all, they’d have to scale up production enough for citizens to actually eat it. W-City’s workforce isn’t up to that.”
“Is that so?”
“More than anything, a dish that uses this much oil and an entire chicken is a luxury. It’s fascinating. I’ve heard government officials eat chicken, but to see it available to regular citizens…”
I’m not entirely sure what point she’s trying to make, but in any case, it seems eating chicken in W-City would be difficult.
After eating, Gu Seo-ryong quietly closed her eyes, apparently drowsy.
But only for a moment. Suddenly remembering something, she bolted upright and grilled me again.
“Hey, did you get caught stealing this chicken?”
“I’m not a thief.”
“Then what’s with the government records you accessed? You’ve eaten the chicken now, so just tell me the truth already.”
“Hmm…”
I explained everything that happened today to Gu Seo-ryong.
How a hero stole my hot dog while I was eating it, so I stuffed him into a trash bin.
The Superpower Human Protection Act, the right to remain silent, this law, that law, and the hero who was surprisingly friendly toward me.
And how my abilities were measured, resulting in me being classified as an A-rank superpower human.
“Haaaah…”
“What’s wrong?”
“I told you, if you get chased by Magic Bullet, things will get annoying… No, well, it seems like things worked out in the end… Keep going. Did you have any conversations with villains or heroes? Remember any details?”
After letting out a long sigh, Gu Seo-ryong demanded a detailed account of the exchanges between villains and superpower humans in the investigation room, as well as the conversations among the office workers.
I told her everything I remembered.
After listening, Gu Seo-ryong silently bowed her head, lost in thought, before finally speaking after a long pause.
“A-City is really different from what I knew. Especially how much the humans seem to resent the heroes.”
“They weren’t hostile.”
“That level is hostility. They’d get eaten alive by murderous monsters without heroes, yet they don’t even know how to be grateful—just gnashing their teeth.”
“Isn’t it fair to be angry if fellow humans look down on you?”
“‘Fellow humans’... You’ve really been influenced by W-City, huh? Superpower humans and humans aren’t the same kind of people, you know?”
“Don’t monsters perceive all of us as equally human?”
“Oh, right, that’s true. From a monster’s perspective, we are the same.”
As if realizing something she’d forgotten, Gu Seo-ryong then brought up the human perspective.
“Conversely, to the humans in A-City right now, superpower humans must seem no different from monsters.”
“Heroes and monsters are different.”
“We can feel the difference, but to powerless humans, they’re the same. They don’t distinguish between humans and monsters—only between humans and non-humans. So… Just as they hate monsters, they hate superpower humans too.”
Listening to her, I found Gu Seo-ryong’s argument persuasive.
To humans, superpower humans are monsters they can communicate with, while monsters are monsters they can’t.
But both are non-human monsters.
“You understand the human perspective well?”
“...Observing prey is basic for predators. To a monster, superpower humans are still human—their weaknesses are the same. There’s no harm in learning more about humans.”
“Hmm, I see.”
“Isn’t it interesting? W-City stubbornly insists that superpower humans are still human, but here, they’ve clearly separated superpower humans as something beyond humanity. And as a result, the villains became heroes.”
“What do you mean, villain heroes?”
“Most of the villains I knew are gone. When I asked, I was told they switched sides and became heroes.”
Gu Seo-ryong’s explanation of the situation was quite striking.
Superpower human supremacy—the idea that superpower humans are different from and superior to ordinary humans.
By firmly establishing this distinction and treating ordinary humans as inferior while showering superpower humans with special privileges, countless villains turned to the side of heroes.
“Superpower humans are superior and special, so they deserve more… Honestly, even I think that makes sense. That guy, Kage—I can’t tell if he’s brilliant or just reckless.”
Gu Seo-ryong picked up my superpower human registration card and spun it on her finger.
“With just this one card, he split the villains into two factions. Not only that, he absorbed one faction entirely… The remaining villains, desperate to survive, strengthened their ties with the government, using them as chess pieces to overthrow it… There’ll probably be a lot of side effects, but the man works fast.”
“What do you mean, overthrow the government?”
“Simply put, we weren’t the only ones who saw Meister’s absence as an opportunity.”
“That explanation isn’t enough.”
“Kage wants control of the city, right? While Meister is gone, high-ranking government officials and S-rank heroes are silently waging war in the city’s underbelly.”
I asked for details out of curiosity, but in the end, it didn’t seem like something worth worrying about.
“Is this something we need to know?”
“Oh, well… Not really. Our goal is just to search the research facility. Monsters don’t need to care about changes in human society.”
Agreeing with me, Gu Seo-ryong flicked my superpower human registration card away with her finger.
“Still, we got a lot of useful information. Distrust between humans and superpower humans, a silent political war… The chaos behind the scenes means it’ll be easier for us to move around. And that card… It’s absurdly useful.”
“It’s worth 12 million won.”
“Yeah, an A-rank’s allowance is 12 million. The villains told me. I never thought you’d actually bring back the real thing, though…”
“We can eat a lot of delicious food for a week.”
“Hey, you do remember our goal isn’t a food tour of A-City, right?”
Gu Seo-ryong sighed, stroking Sagugu, who was purring and rolling around, then explained how the card could be used.
“With that card, you can freely enter training centers and schools for superpower humans. You can visit those places and look for Yeo Woon-jae directly. Meanwhile, I’ll search for connections between the research facility and the government.”
“Do you think the research facility belongs to the government?”
“After hearing what you told me, it’s possible. I’ll look into it. To humans, superpower humans and monsters are both just monsters. So wouldn’t they prefer stupid monsters they can control over clever ones that can deceive them?”
Gu Seo-ryong’s theory about why the research facility created monsters was fairly plausible.
But for some reason, I had a gut feeling it wasn’t the right answer.
Gu Seo-ryong, also a test-subject monster, didn’t seem to think the experiments were just about weaponizing monsters either.
“Anyway, thanks to you, the investigation has made ridiculous progress. It’s messy and precarious, but… good job. Just getting a means to approach Yeo Woon-jae directly is a huge advantage.”
“Brother did well? If you praise me, I’ll say thank you!”
“Hmm, thanks.”
“They say Yeo Woon-jae retired as a hero and now teaches students. As an A-rank, they won’t be able to ignore you there.”
“Got it.”
My next task is to visit Yeo Woon-jae as an A-rank superpower human and search for traces of the research facility.
After sharing information and finishing our discussion, Gu Seo-ryong pulled out her phone.
“Alright, let’s leave the research facility talk for now… We should move our hideout.”
“We’re going somewhere else?”
“Obviously? This is just a temporary hideout. It’s not like we’re staying in this filthy place because we like it.”
“Sagugu likes it here?”
“You’d be happy anywhere as long as you can make a mess, right?”
Gu Seo-ryong sighed and glanced around the dark, dirty room.
“Having a superpower human registration card makes money laundering easier too. I can spend my money freely now. Let’s relocate to the best hotel right away. We might even run into government officials, and changing hotels daily will make it harder to track us.”
“Do you have money?”
“More than you.”
Gu Seo-ryong showed me her phone screen.
Displayed on it was around 22 million won—enough for 2,200 bowls of soup.
“Where did this money come from?”
“Among the villains, there are plenty of rich guys who’ll hand over money if you just… Puff them a little.”
Gu Seo-ryong wiggled her fingers and laughed.
The poison at her fingertips—did she intoxicate them with drugs and extort them?
Well, if the targets were villains… I don’t care.
“We can eat a lot of delicious food.”
“Mommy’s so happy! Brother’s great too!”
“Hey, just so we’re clear, we didn’t come here to eat… Ugh, whatever. Fine, let’s move quickly and eat something good at the hotel. But… You’re still hungry after all that chicken?”
“I’m still hungry.”
“Me too!”
“Are you cats or pigs…?”
“How rude.”
“Mommy’s rude!”
Shortly after, three monsters emerged from the underground and blended into the crowd of humans.
Our destination: the hotel. No, the delicious food at the hotel.
Work-life balance is important in all things.
You can’t investigate on an empty stomach.
On the way to the hotel, I realized a few things.
First, the combination of me, Gu Seo-ryong, and Sagugu attracts a lot of attention from humans.
I, being tall, and Gu Seo-ryong and Sagugu, whom humans consider exceptionally beautiful.
The stares grew more intense as we walked, to the point of discomfort.
“Shouldn’t we avoid standing out?”
“This doesn’t matter. The warning is about not looking suspicious, like you.”
“I’ve never been suspected of being suspicious.”
“Suuure, whatever you say, Villain Suspect Park Deun-deun.”
Second realization: A man walking around with two pretty girls invites trouble.
“Hey, man, it’s obvious at a glance. You’re a superpower human, right?”
“We’re superpower humans too. These your whores? This is that kind of district.”
“You don’t look high-ranked. Why not share?”
When three men started picking a fight on the street, the nearby citizens silently scattered, avoiding eye contact.
The superpower humans in front of us flaunted their powers, letting their energy pulse ominously.
Since I didn’t react at all, they must’ve assumed I was a low-level superpower human.
“No hero emblem on your chest.”
“Must be a villain or an unregistered superpower human.”
Watching Gu Seo-ryong prepare to deal with them through Sagugu, I grabbed her shoulder and pushed her toward the men.
“What are you doing?”
“Go on, Gu Seo-ryong.”
“Pfft! Good idea. Hey, come here.”
As the delighted superpower human approached, Gu Seo-ryong smacked away the arm reaching for her and glared up at me.
“Hey, in situations like this, you’re supposed to say, ‘How dare you touch my woman?!’ and chase them off.”
“Why should I?”
“Hey, you—cute little thing, come here.”
“Mreow?”
“Sagugu, didn’t Mommy tell you not to follow strangers?”
While Gu Seo-ryong grumbled, another superpower human beckoned Sagugu.
Gu Seo-ryong, exasperated, grabbed the confused Sagugu before she could wander off, then hesitated before rummaging through my pockets.
“You see this?”
“Huh? A superpower human registration card? Not even a hero registration… Wait, A, A-rank?!”
“Heh, did you think only the guy was a superpower human? I’ve got one too… A-rank!”
“We’re sorry!”
The superpower humans panicked and fled upon seeing my card, while the citizens who’d been watching from a distance buzzed with whispers.
A-rank, A-rank… The crowded night streets emptied in an instant, becoming pleasantly walkable.
“I’m sorry, but our hotel is reserved for special guests only… A, A-rank?!”
Even the hotel staff, who had been haughty at first, bowed deeply the moment they saw the superpower human registration card.
Third realization: In A-City, simply being a superpower human solves a lot of problems.
“Our apologies, madam. We had no idea you were the family of an A-rank superpower human…”
“Oh, it’s fine. How could you have known?”
“What’s madam?”
“It’s a thing. You don’t need to know.”
Fourth realization: Gu Seo-ryong really likes the strange word madam.