Chapter 38
Chapter 38
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 038
Chapter Title: Luck and Misfortune
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Luck and misfortune are relative and interconnected. What might seem like an utterly ordinary event to one person could spell fortune or calamity for another. One person's stroke of luck might bring ruin to someone else, or vice versa.
Nothing in this world exists in complete isolation. Everything is woven together in an organic tapestry. No event stands alone; every incident is influenced, great or small, by others.
For instance, Ahn Su-ho's misfortune—his Luck rank dropping because of Ji Ye-won—didn't affect only him. His bad luck could become someone else's good fortune, or conversely, cause misfortune for another.
And so, right now.
Late at night, ten hours after Ahn Su-ho rejected Ji Ye-won's demand—which meant his Luck dropped one rank—Yoo Hyun-ho sat bound to a restraint chair in a safe house bunker underground, captured by Min Chae-ryeong. He stared blankly into the void.
The room he was in hadn't originally been built as a detention facility. But when they decided to lock up the Dawn Corps sniper who had targeted Ji Ye-won, Min Chae-ryeong had foreseen future needs and ordered a massive retrofit.
The full-body restraint chair that intimidated him. Infrared cameras plastered to the ceiling. Each one was equipped with a sentry gun loaded for giant monsters with armored rounds. The moment Yoo Hyun-ho strayed from his designated spot, it was set to unleash a hail of hundreds of bullets.
Every wall and floor was lined with shock-absorbing panels. The firmly sealed iron door had a tripwire linked to the explosives piled up on the left side of the room. Open the door with psychokinesis, and the whole place would go up in flames.
This setup rivaled any superhuman prison. Proving it, this Level 1 designated fugitive hadn't even dreamed of escape since regaining consciousness hours ago. No matter how skilled his psychokinesis, he couldn't block bullets raining from all sides and a room-filling explosion.
But Yoo Hyun-ho didn't give up. He kept twisting his head, scanning relentlessly for any gap in this ironclad security.
A proper prison would have had every flaw spotted and sealed by experts long ago. But this wasn't a standard facility.
'The equipment here lacks uniformity. Definitely not a state or Academy standard detention center. Only that team leader's shown up so far, so it's probably her personal setup.'
The ceiling sentry guns and floor finishes showed sloppy patches everywhere. It must have been a rushed retrofit of a non-prison space, he figured.
'Looks like there was a previous guest, though.'
Yoo Hyun-ho spotted bloodstains on the floor that hadn't been fully cleaned. As he'd guessed, this was the room where the Dawn Corps sniper who attacked Ji Ye-won had been held. Only Min Chae-ryeong knew where that one had gone after Yoo Hyun-ho took his place.
–Whirrr.
At that moment, a mechanical hum started from the sealed iron door.
Yoo Hyun-ho instantly sensed the facility's owner had returned. Locks, including the tripwire, disengaged, and Min Chae-ryeong appeared, shouldering a massive sports bag.
Seeing the nearly human-sized bag, Yoo Hyun-ho sneered.
"Whatever it is, you've packed a lot. Torture tools? What, frustrated I won't talk, so you're forcing it out of me?"
"If that'll make you cooperate nicely, sure."
"Give it up. You won't get a thing from me."
A resolute glint flashed in Yoo Hyun-ho's eyes.
"Pain's nothing new. I've endured all kinds of hell making enemies of the Dawn Corps at my age. No torture you bring will loosen my lips."
"Physical torture's outdated these days. We have mind-reading superhumans, you know? Why bother with the hassle?"
"Heh. Bluffing. How's a team leader like you dragging one of the country's three mind-readers here?"
Even with one arm missing, Yoo Hyun-ho stayed composed. Surprised by his attitude, Min Chae-ryeong raised an eyebrow and jerked her chin.
"Senile in your old age? Forgot? I'm with the Academy Security Force. Of those three mind-readers you mentioned, minus the Dawn Corps one, the other two are state-affiliated. A formal request gets their help easy."
"If I'd been formally arrested. But I wasn't."
"What?"
Yoo Hyun-ho nodded at the ceiling cameras and sentry guns.
"Surveillance cams are standard state issue. But those linked sentry guns? Private security models. Not even the same ones. Probably scraped together in a rush."
"…"
"Sloppy paneling everywhere, locks slapped on haphazardly. A quick look tells you this isn't official. Locking a Level 1 fugitive in a civilian setup? Means I wasn't formally arrested. You snuck me out mid-process for some reason. Right?"
"Seventy points."
Min Chae-ryeong murmured as she set the sports bag on the table.
"Not official, true. I did reroute you on my own. But assuming I can't bring a mind-reader? Wrong. I have personal ties to one abroad."
"Even abroad, rare abilities like that are tightly controlled by states. How's a mere Security Force team leader mobilizing one?"
"Why so surprised? If even a misfit club like the Dawn Corps has one."
His face crumpled at that. She'd just dismissed his lifelong cause as a "misfit club." Unforgivable.
"…Even if you bring a mind-reader, you won't get info from me."
"Why?"
"I'll kill them with psychokinesis the moment they enter my sight."
"You think I'll let that happen? Try anything, and you're dead."
"Doesn't matter."
Yoo Hyun-ho answered flatly, as if his life meant nothing.
"I've lived long enough. Conquered fear of death ages ago. For the Dawn Corps, this neck's yours."
"Loyalist, huh. If life means so little, why not suicide for your cause right now? Limbs tied, but psychokinesis works fine."
"I could discard it anytime. But better used usefully."
Even against her blatant mockery, he fired back calmly.
"No matter how sealed it seems, as long as I'm alive, escape odds aren't zero. You won't kill me, so I'll keep struggling. But as I said, for the organization, this life's disposable."
"Bring your mind-reader. The instant they show, psychokinesis takes them out."
"Kill me to stop it? Fine by me. If you subdue and try reading, I'll end it myself."
"Think I can't? Big mistake. To survive this unjust society, clawing on stubbornly—yet sacrifice for the greater good. That's how one rises in the Dawn Corps. Not like petty crooks. Conviction and resolve? Worlds apart."
Finishing his speech, a sly sneer curled his lips. His resolute confidence rang true—no bluff. Min Chae-ryeong sensed it.
But.
"Pfft."
She found his steadfast sincerity ridiculous.
"Pffft!"
Amusing, this old man gazing down like some enlightened sage, blind to her hand.
"…Why laugh? My words a joke?"
"Nah, just."
Grinning, she placed a hand on the sports bag.
–Twitch.
The bag shuddered briefly, like a spasm.
Unease flickered across Yoo Hyun-ho's face.
"So, bottom line: if things go south, you die. Right?"
Min Chae-ryeong smiled. That serpentine smile from last night in the forest.
"Too bad. Thinking death lets you escape me? That's the real mistake."
–Ziiiip.
The zipper opened, revealing the contents.
Park Ji-hyun, limbs severed, packed inside.
"…Huh."
Yoo Hyun-ho went speechless.
His gaze trembled—clear agitation. Gone was the old man's composure; shock and dismay filled his face.
Park Ji-hyun looked much like last night in the woods. Difference: stumps and forehead wound stitched up.
Seeming treated, but still a corpse. She'd died on the spot from Ahn Su-ho's dagger yesterday.
Ah, showing a comrade's body to rattle me. He assumed.
…Until.
"…Urgh."
A low groan escaped Park Ji-hyun's lips.
"…What... is this?"
"Come on, open your eyes. Your comrade's right here."
Min Chae-ryeong propped up Park Ji-hyun's body. Her sealed eyes cracked open faintly.
"Uh... ah?"
A sleepy, groggy voice leaked out.
Yoo Hyun-ho scanned her remains—torso only, legs gone—but thoroughly.
Half-lidded eyes, cloudy yet fixed on him.
Limp mouth exhaled faint, warm breath.
Shoulders rose and fell shallowly with breath. Skin showed clear color.
He grasped the meaning instantly. Grasped, but accepting was another matter.
"Impossible. She was dead. How...?"
In a world of superpowers, reviving the dead was impossible. That was his knowledge.
"Told you. Can't escape me even in death."
Min Chae-ryeong shattered that truth outright.
"Got capable underlings. Low odds, but fresh corpses can be revived. Tweak the process, and they're puppets obeying me. This one's brain damage made her an idiot, but revival worked. Fixing the brain? Easy. So..."
Her gaze slithered over him like a snake's tongue tasting prey.
"Even if you mush your brain with psychokinesis? Useless. Get it?"
"No way this is possible..."
"It is—look, right here. Still doubting?"
She spoke confidently, but reviving Park Ji-hyun had been a razor-thin gamble even for her.
Reviving the dead was near-impossible. Limited to fresh corpses with intact upper bodies, odds under 10%. Hers, with brain and other damage? Barely 2%.
'Got lucky.'
Pure luck. But was it her luck?
The world connects organically. Events interlink, influencing each other.
Ji's drop in Luck from Ji Ye-won bypassed Ahn Su-ho directly, hitting Min Chae-ryeong with unexpected fortune instead—indirect misfortune for him.
Park Ji-hyun's revival: luck for Min, misfortune for Ahn.
Imperfect, but alive—brain repair possible. She'd be a fine informant and piece. Luck for Min.
For Ahn, her revival resurfaced the inconvenient truth he'd killed to bury. Low risk, but from zero to something? Misfortune enough.
Thus, Ahn's misfortune circled back as Min's luck—and his own woe.
Now, how would this luck and misfortune visit the third party, Yoo Hyun-ho?
"See? No escape."
Watching Min flaunt the mindless Park Ji-hyun, Yoo Hyun-ho's vision darkened.
Torture? He could endure.
Mind-reader? Strike first, evade.
Last resort: suicide.
But this woman made even death irrelevant. Park Ji-hyun's revival hammered cold reality.
"So no more tiring games. Cooperate nicely. Please?"
Pleading words, but pure threat. Yoo Hyun-ho's resolute eyes dulled. He bowed his head weakly.
How Ahn's misfortune, Min's luck would hit him? Pointless question.
From capture, his luck was spent.
"Think it over carefully."
Her silky voice echoed softly in the room.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ A week later.
"I'll give you a chance to make up for last time." At Min Chae-ryeong's summons, Ahn Su-ho headed to her office alone late afternoon, after everyone else clocked out.
Atone for killing Park Ji-hyun.
He could guess what she'd demand. Her lost Dawn Corps informant—now expected of him.
He steadied his tense chest.
Original knowledge gave him secrets no civilian knew, but unwritten parts? Blind.
If she probed unknowns for intel? Sweat-inducing.
But no regrets. Park Ji-hyun had to die then, no matter the cost. Still true after two days.
"Coming in."
Entering, he found the dim office lit by sunset. Min Chae-ryeong waited, backlit.
'Always evenings.'
Same with the succubus call. Dim room, her silhouette against sunset.
Why no lights? Sunset lover? Or her vibe?
Trivial thoughts as she spoke.
"Ahn Su-ho. You promised to atone my way for last time."
"Yes. I did."
"Hope it's sincere. This job's tricky."
He swallowed dryly. "Tricky" from her? No small thing.
What task? Possibilities swirled. Some doable, some baffling.
Tension peaked. Rifling papers, she continued.
"Involves a freshman from this year's intake."
His mind raced. Dig dirt? Guard duty? Dawn Corps spy infiltrator? Original had two or three first-years posing as students.
"Class 1-1. Same as Ryu Tae-hyun."
His nerves sharpened. 1-1 was the story's hotspot—heroines, rivals, future villains. Epicenter.
1-1 related? Plot-relevant. He clenched his fist, watching her pause mysteriously.
"There's this freshman in 1-1, Kang Ha-neul. Yesterday, he submitted this to admin."
She handed him a paper.
Withdrawal form.
"…Withdrawal?"
"Yeah. Student who reported missing homeroom prof on day one. Pops up yesterday, wants out."
His mind reeled.
No 1-1 dropout in original.
Homeroom prof report? Right, Do So-young visited Special Countermeasures admin post-succubus. Also off-script.
And Kang Ha-neul...
'The extra who mouths off to Han Gyeol-won, gets wrecked, turns villain?'
Why quit? Question, but priority first.
"I get he's quitting. But why me—"
"Stop him."
"Pardon?"
"Block Kang Ha-neul's withdrawal. Whatever it takes. Succeed, and I overlook your 'mistake'."
"…Pardon?"
Utterly unexpected. His face froze.
"What? Said you'd do anything."
She just grinned mischievously.