Chapter 95
Chapter 95
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 95
Chapter Title: Simultaneous Incidents (10)
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In the middle of the trashed studio apartment.
Under Ahn Su-ho's right hand, where the talisman's light swirled in a green vortex, Stephanie lay pinned—her transformation undone.
Stephanie was a B-rank superhuman. Her physical abilities outclassed Ahn Su-ho's. If she really wanted to, shaking off his restraint would be a piece of cake.
However.
"Move, and you die."
Ahn Su-ho's chilling voice struck her ear. At the same time, pitch-black smoke began to waft up from his right hand pressing down on the nape of her neck.
Move, and you die.
There wasn't a shred of exaggeration in his words. The moment she showed any sign of resistance, Ahn Su-ho would kill her without hesitation. Even if he didn't go all the way, he'd at least blast her with that smoke full-force, with every intention of ending her.
"......"
And Stephanie clearly recognized that resolve.
"I'll ask one more time."
How had things spiraled like this?
"Where's Ha-neul?"
It all started six hours ago.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ "Customer Ahn Su-ho! The investigation on Kang Ha-neul is finally complete!"
Inside the Greenhouse Academy grounds. Mystery Novel Research Club room.
In the silent sub-room where not a single club member was in sight as usual, Iliana Faust shouted in high spirits.
"Took quite a while."
"There were good reasons for the delay! Student Kang Ha-neul! So mysterious! We've uncovered some seriously suspicious circumstances!"
"Suspicious circumstances...?"
Could it be related to the Dawn Legion?
Ahn Su-ho thought so, but the truth was a bit different.
"No birth records...?"
"No no! To be precise, the birth records were fabricated later! Based on the traces, Student Kang Ha-neul's birth registry was created when she was four years old! And in a super suspicious manner!"
"What do you mean by suspicious manner?"
"In simple terms, the records were illegally overlaid? Added? Appended? Something like that!"
South Korea has a highly organized birth reporting and resident registration system. Cases where a four-year-old gets registered late are virtually nonexistent here.
And in Kang Ha-neul's case, it wasn't even just a late report. When she turned four, her records were manipulated to look like she'd been registered at birth.
"...That's definitely suspicious."
"Yes! But everything else is totally ordinary! Dad's a university professor! Mom's a high school science teacher! A perfectly normal intellectual educator family!"
An ordinary family. Aside from the birth issue, they seemed utterly average, the kind you could find anywhere.
Ahn Su-ho pondered Iliana's words. What did Kang Ha-neul's murky origins imply?
'Related to the Dawn Legion...?'
Like Ji Ye-won, maybe raised by the Dawn Legion and adopted into a normal family midway.
But that seemed unlikely. Iliana would've noticed during the investigation if so.
"...If the birth records were faked, she might not even be their real daughter."
"Yes! I thought the same and dug deeper, but no suspicious points! Mom's hospital admission records, birth registry, insurance enrollment, parental leave records—everything's perfectly in place! On paper, she's their biological daughter!"
"But all those records show signs of tampering."
"Exactly! Perfectly assembled records! All with traces of fabrication! Super duper suspicious!"
"Anything else noteworthy?"
"Not really? Oh, Kang Ha-neul does live streaming and internet broadcasting! Streamer name NovelSky007! She's been on a sudden break for the last couple days!"
"I already knew that."
He'd crashed her stream himself, after all. What Ahn Su-ho really wanted to know was whether there were any other suspicious points beyond that.
"Pfft."
But Iliana's attention seemed elsewhere.
"What's so funny?"
"Oh. Nothing! Just... kinda amusing? Yeah!"
"Amusing...?"
"Her streamer name!"
"You mean NovelSky...?"
"Holy... Koreans' English skills are seriously impressive... I didn't expect even Customer Ahn Su-ho to..."
"Pardon?"
What was that supposed to mean? As Ahn Su-ho shot back, Iliana pulled up an English dictionary on her smartphone and explained.
"Both you, Customer Ahn Su-ho, and Kang Ha-neul read the streamer name as 'NovelSky'! That's so weird!"
"What's weird about it?"
"Look at the spelling properly! It's not Noble, it's Novel! The first means noble, aristocratic! The second is that novel for mystery novels! Even five-year-olds in England wouldn't mix them up!"
"Ah... "
He'd wondered what the fuss was—it was just a pronunciation thing.
Ahn Su-ho brushed off Iliana's comment. After all, to a British person like her, Korean English pronunciation might sound funny.
However.
"............Huh?"
In that instant.
A ominous spark flashed through Ahn Su-ho's mind.
"Iliana. What did you just say?"
"What? What'd I say?"
"Kang Ha-neul's nickname. Definitely not NobleSky..."
"No. Novel! It's spelled Novel, not Noble! In Korean pronunciation, No-Vel!"
Not Noble, but Novel.
Not No-ble, but No-vel.
No-vel.
Novel.
Novel Sky.
Novel's sky.
The sky of the novel.
Kang Ha-neul of the novel.
Kang Ha-neul... from inside the novel.
"............No way."
Calm down.
No way that's it.
Just coincidence.
Logical leap.
Overthinking it.
Ahn Su-ho repeated to himself to stay rational countless times, but each time, the suspicion rooted in his brain grew stronger.
What if Kang Ha-neul was a possessor like him?
That seed of doubt sprouted branches endlessly.
Kang Ha-neul's personality was 180 degrees from the original. But if she was possessed? If she was just someone else wearing Kang Ha-neul's shell, like him? Of course her personality would change.
The recent incidents too. All the events swirling around her—failed kidnapping attempt, double dungeon, now this kidnapping. None appeared in the original. But if she was possessed, and Pleasure Heavenly Demon orchestrated them to torment the possessor?
'That makes perfect sense. Then the Ryu Tae-hyun thing too...'
Why did Kang Ha-neul know about Ryu Tae-hyun and the talisman?
Ahn Su-ho had assumed it was Dawn Legion ties. But no.
If she was possessed, it'd be weirder if she didn't know the protagonist and his ability's origin.
"..............Ha."
No hard evidence.
Just circumstantial.
But Ahn Su-ho instinctively knew it was true.
'Come to think of it...'
The first time their lives crossed.
When the quest for Kang Ha-neul first popped up, the system message had said:
Your relationship with Kang Ha-neul will definitely help your future.
Ahn Su-ho had taken it as her being promoted to important character status. But no. The short message meant far more.
Kang Ha-neul is a possessor like you.
Cherish your relationship with her.
That day's system message was secretly inserted by the angel of rebellion, Ramiel, to help Ahn Su-ho. Of course, he didn't know that. But he'd finally pieced it together.
"...Iliana. Compile the results and email them to me."
"Leaving already?"
"Yeah. Something urgent came up."
At that moment.
The Knight's Tomb raid coming up in a day or two, the system quests—none of it mattered anymore.
"What urgent matter?"
"Yeah. Need to meet someone. See you."
Confirming that one suspicion burning in his mind.
Nothing was more important or urgent right now.
He left the club room and called Kang Ha-neul immediately. Without even checking the time.
-Riiiing. Click.
-...Hello?
"Ha-neul."
-Su-ho oppa? I'm in training right now, call back la—
"Tonight."
Cutting off the oddly subdued voice—Ahn Su-ho spoke urgently.
"Can we meet tonight? It's urgent."
-Tonight? What on earth is it...?
"Not something for the phone. Really. Super important."
-......
Hearing that, the Stephanie disguised as Kang Ha-neul hesitated.
She knew who was on the other end. She'd thoroughly investigated Kang Ha-neul's connections.
Ahn Su-ho. Security Force Special Countermeasures Division member who'd saved her during the Jin Su-seong kidnapping and the double dungeon incident.
At first glance, just a benefactor. But their relationship wasn't that formal. From her investigation, Stephanie concluded it was near-romantic.
'I should avoid private meetings with acquaintances as much as possible...'
But refusing might look suspicious.
"...Okay. Tonight. Su-ho oppa."
In the end, Stephanie accepted. She'd come to his studio apartment tonight. After hanging up, she focused back on training.
'Urgent matter, huh? What could it be?'
Maybe a confession tonight?
A silly thought brought a faint smile to Stephanie's lips.
The real Kang Ha-neul oblivious to her kidnapping, while this guy confesses to the wrong girl—it'd be hilarious. The thought kept her chuckling. Clear mockery.
'Sure. I have to live as Kang Ha-neul for at least a week anyway. A toy to play with in the meantime wouldn't hurt.'
Stephanie felt zero threat from Ahn Su-ho's summons.
She trusted her acting skills implicitly. No way he'd see through her. Impersonating people and fooling others was as natural as breathing after countless jobs.
So that night, Stephanie went to Ahn Su-ho's place.
With a very light heart.
"...You're gonna tell me where Kang Ha-neul is?"
But now.
Stephanie endlessly regretted that careless decision from just hours ago.
'How the hell did he figure it out?'
She shook her head. No point dwelling on the past. What mattered was breaking out of this situation.
Stephanie looked up at Ahn Su-ho straddling her, hand on her throat.
His eyes blazed with hot fury. Even she, tempered by countless "jobs," swallowed dryly under that piercing glare.
She'd seen eyes like his before.
People who'd lost something precious. Or were about to.
Most begged and pleaded in those moments. Please just once. I'll do anything, please don't. Clinging to her pant leg, ready to lick her shoes.
But rarely, some converted all that emotion into rage and killing intent. Like Ahn Su-ho right now.
"You think I'll just tell you?"
"...Tell me."
"If you want me to talk, let go first, huh? You're pressing too hard—kinda choking here."
"Talk."
"If you want Kang Ha-neul back safe, better do exactly as I say?"
"TALK!!"
And Stephanie knew how to handle them.
With someone consumed by rage, never meet their demands head-on. Deny, twist the conversation, shake their already fragile mind—cool the boiling anger first. Even the maddest berserker regains reason eventually, then worry takes over.
'He's yelling he'll kill me now, but he can't. He needs my cooperation to find her.'
The situation looked like she was pinned, but she still held the reins. So Stephanie kept her cool even from the bottom.
However.
"...?"
The next moment. Stephanie sensed something off.
Ahn Su-ho wasn't looking at her.
His gaze pointed her way, but oddly unfocused—like staring at empty air in front of her.
"...Hey."
Puzzled by the look, she heard Ahn Su-ho murmur lowly.
"Forget it. You don't have to tell me."
"...What?"
"No need to say where Ha-neul is. I just found out."
"Wait, what do you—"
-Grip.
He released her neck, cupping her face instead. His thumbs pressed firmly on her eyelids.
"Hey. Wait. What are you doing? Huh?"
-Whoooosh.
Pitch-black smoke swirled from his thumbs. The gem in the talisman blazed blue.
"Wait! Do-don't you want to know where Kang Ha-neul is?! If you kill me, you'll never— So—"
"I already know. Warehouse in the textile factory, Howon-dong, Uijeongbu City. Right?"
"H-how?!"
Ahn Su-ho shifted his gaze back to empty air.
📜 EXTRA QUEST OCCURRED 📜 [Rescue Kang Ha-neul kidnapped by thugs.]
[Kang Ha-neul's location info displayed on HUD.]
🎁 Reward: ■■■■■■■
He stared intently at the holographic map in the corner of his vision before turning back to Stephanie.
"You don't need to know."
-Boom!
The next instant, pitch-black smoke exploded from Ahn Su-ho's hand.