Kid G's Ability

That evening, the moment the CEO of Cheonok Logistics received Kid G's crime notice, he called the Hero Association and demanded protection.

"Hey! Kid G just sent a crime notice over here! The scheduled time is tomorrow night at ten! What the hell is the Association even doing?!"

"You should've caught a bastard like this ahead of time instead of sitting around sucking your thumbs until the announced hour rolls around! Send someone—anyone—over right now and stop that damn thief!"

Beep—beep—beep—

Han Juyeon, the case officer at the Hero Union who had the misfortune of taking the Cheonok Logistics CEO's harassing call, let out a long, irritated sigh.

"Oh, sure, just because they pay the commission fee they think they're the boss. I tell them a dozen times I have to check the other heroes' schedules first and they don't listen for shit—just dump it on me like I'm on retainer…"

As the sighs and curses kept spilling out without pause, Eun Seol stopped by the Hero Union office, took one look at the dark aura rolling off Juyeon in waves, and rushed over in alarm.

"Juyeon unnie! Why are you so mad again? Did someone else pick a fight with you over the phone?"

"'Again'? Anyone listening would think I throw hysterics every single day!"

Pretty sure that's accurate…

Eun Seol swallowed the thought before it could leave her mouth.

Han Juyeon flopped face-first onto her desk, turned only her head to look at Eun Seol, and asked,

"So, our Valkyrie—how was the university entrance ceremony today? How'd it go?"

As one of the very few people who knew Eun Seol's identity as the rising star hero Valkyrie, Han Juyeon eyed her with open curiosity and pressed for details.

But the moment the words "entrance ceremony" left her mouth, a dark aura settled over Eun Seol instead.

"Ah… the entrance ceremony…"

"Why? Did something happen?"

"Ha… It was almost a good day, and then it all went to hell. There was this guy who looked exactly like Kid G—same voice, same face shape—so I dragged him off to interrogate him, and then he starts freaking out saying I'm threatening him and that he's going to sue me for intimidation and insult…"

"Kid G? Did you have any evidence?"

"Physical evidence… no."

"Yeah, then of course the other side got pissed. Pressuring someone with zero proof first? That's not like you. Why'd you do that?"

"Ha… I guess I was still on edge from letting that bastard Kid G slip away again two days ago. If that guy files a complaint it's going to be a hassle…"

"The one who has to deal with the phone calls is me, so who's the one being hassled here, you or me? Oh, and speaking of Kid G—the Cheonok Logistics CEO called earlier saying a crime notice just landed and he wants a hero sent over. You fought that guy a few days ago too, right?"

Eun Seol, who ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠had been clawing at her hair in self-reproach over her earlier blunder, jerked her head up the second she heard the name Kid G.

"Kid G?! When's the announced time for the crime? What's he planning to steal?"

"Tomorrow night at twelve, the Cheonok Logistics CEO's private residence. He didn't specify what he was stealing, just wrote, 'To the one who, by dishonest means, has brought tears to others' eyes—I shall bring blood-tears in kind.'" ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

"I'll go."

"Huh? You sure? You just started university and the new semester's beginning—won't you be exhausted?"

"I'm fine! Catching the kinds of people who mess up society is what I'm here for!"

"A sense of justice is great and all, but don't push yourself too hard. If it doesn't work out, I can always call around to some other heroes."

Han Juyeon tried to rein her in, worried by the excess of zeal that was practically a trademark of rookie heroes.

It wasn't uncommon for short-career heroes overflowing with righteous fury like that to neglect their own bodies until their daily lives collapsed, or to take on more than they could handle and end up broken—or dead.

But even with Han Juyeon's concern, Eun Seol shook her head.

"I'm fine, unnie! Please tell the Cheonok Logistics CEO that I'll be the one coming! That bastard Kid G—this time I'm catching him with my own hands!" ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

"If that's what you want, I'll make the call…"

Truthfully, Han Juyeon knew there wasn't much of an alternative anyway.

Kid G's name had started circulating quietly among the heads of chaebol groups, but outwardly he still wasn't well-known—barely even ranked as a villain, more like a petty thief.

Famous, powerful heroes didn't bother chasing down petty thieves like that.

Cases involving small-fry villains of that level were the domain of low-ranked rookies like Valkyrie.

And given that Valkyrie—Eun Seol—already had several prior encounters with Kid G, if the request had gone up through the Union, upper management would have dumped it on her immediately anyway.

Taking the job herself before that happened would raise her internal evaluation and improve her public ranking odds…

Not that Seol ever takes a job with that kind of calculation in mind.

Han Juyeon knew perfectly well that Eun Seol—Valkyrie—only ever ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠took jobs out of pure sense of justice.

"Alright. I'll send the details and the floor plan of the Cheonok Logistics CEO's mansion to your phone. If anything new comes in, I'll keep you updated, so check it carefully, okay?"

"Yes, unnie!"

The next night, ten o'clock.

Wearing a chip that emitted recognition-deterrent waves, I arrived at the Cheonok Logistics CEO's mansion a little earlier than the announced crime time.

Will you look at this mansion. What a bastard.

As for the sins Lee Jeongseok, CEO of Cheonok Logistics, had committed by this point in the timeline: he had personally promised contract workers they would be converted to full-time employees, then forced every last one of them into "recommended resignation" a month before the conversion date.

On top of that—though it hadn't come to light yet—there was skimming employee performance bonuses, embezzling budgets, tax evasion, and illicit wealth accumulation.

But this bastard's crimes didn't end there.

Further down the line he would stage a terrorist attack on a rival company's logistics center, and disguise Hero Union cargo as "lost in an accident" so he could sell it to the Villain Union for a fat under-the-table fee.

When Valkyrie caught wind of the deal and interfered, he went so far as to tip off the Villain Union, sell them her information, and drive her into a life-threatening crisis. On the surface he was just another ordinary conglomerate executive. Underneath, pure evil.

He was going to do even filthier things later, and he wasn't exactly clean now either—so he deserved to be punished.

I circled around the heavily guarded main gate to the rear wall, where foot traffic was relatively light, and lightly pressed my hand to the barrier. A doorway just large enough for one person to pass through formed in what had clearly been solid wall a second earlier.

One of the two abilities I possessed: Open Gate—the power to open anything.

Places that had never had a door, objects that could never become a door—if I touched them, they became one.

An ability tailor-made for thievery.

The instant I slipped easily inside the walls surrounding the mansion, I activated my second ability.

"Hup…!"

I focused for a moment, and a perfect double of myself appeared at my side.

I deliberately sent the clone toward a position where it would be easy to spot, and before long one of the guards noticed the intruder and approached.

"Who goes there! Hands up and freeze—now!"

"Pardon me a moment."

"Ghk—?!"

While the guard's attention was locked on the clone, I ambushed him from behind, pressed a stun gun to the back of his neck, and dropped him cold.

I hauled the unconscious guard over with the clone, laid him out carefully in the bushes by the rear gate, stripped him of every scrap of clothing, and put it on myself.

Once I was fully disguised as security, I made a show of patrolling now and then while I assessed how the situation was developing. At eleven o'clock—one hour before the announced crime time—Eun Seol finally arrived in her Valkyrie hero costume.

The moment Lee Jeongseok of Cheonok Logistics laid eyes on Valkyrie, he started pitching a fit.

"Finally! What kind of hero shows up this late?!"

"I arrived an hour early…"

"There's no guarantee Kid G will even come at the announced time—you should've been here a full three hours early just to be safe! This is exactly what's wrong with rookies these days…"

Lee Jeongseok ordered a Hero Union hero around like private muscle, and Valkyrie—who had every right to be furious—swallowed it all and endured his nonsense without a word.

"That bastard is definitely after my safe! That damn thief going after my fortune…"

"Where is the item Kid G announced he would steal?"

"The safe, you mean? It was originally in the fifth-floor vault room, but after I got the crime notice I moved it to a hidden room on the second floor. Valkyrie, was it? You stay in that second-floor room and make damn sure nobody walks out with my safe!"

By now he was straight-up barking orders at Valkyrie like she was his subordinate.

Pretending to patrol with a flashlight sweeping the grounds, I overheard every word of that conversation and allowed myself a thin smile.

As midnight drew closer the guards grew even more tense, and Valkyrie headed for the hidden room on the second floor.

At eleven-fifty, I made my move.

I already knew the mansion's layout from the original story, so in an empty stretch of exterior wall I pressed my hand against the stone, opened a door, and slipped inside.

There was no need to bother with actual doors and hallways, so the infiltration was absurdly easy. In moments I had reached the hidden second-floor room where Valkyrie was standing guard.

The second she saw me, Valkyrie shot to her feet in front of the safe, unfurled her wings, and dropped into a combat stance.

Then she got a look at my face, her expression twisted hard, and she shouted,

"You bastard! You really are the same guy I saw yesterday afternoon!"

My mask wasn't the full-face kind—it only covered the area around my eyes like a pair of glasses—and with her strong resistance to the Recognition Deterrent Chip, she recognized me on the spot.

Weird. In comics, nobody ever figures it out when the hero just wears one of those glasses-style masks.

"I have no idea what you're talking about. Are you accusing an innocent man?"

"Innocent? Innocent?? Even the way you talk is identical and you want to call yourself innocent? And after you humiliated me like that? You're dead!"

Valkyrie beat her wings and lunged straight at me. In pure combat power she outclassed me so thoroughly it wasn't even a contest, and she had me seized in an instant.

After binding me tight with rope, Valkyrie wiped the sweat from her brow with a look of pure satisfaction and preened.

"Kid G. Finally caught you. You ran circles around everyone for so long—look at you now. Oh right, I should report this."

Valkyrie switched on her radio to file the situation report.

"This is Valkyrie. I've captured Kid G, who infiltrated the second-floor secret roo—"

"…What?"