Chapter 102
Translator : M.N 1391
Chapter: 102
Director Hong looked at Kyung-wan with a visibly sour expression and let out a sigh. Then he turned to Kim Jun and asked,
“So, he’s being transferred to an American prison now?”
“...That’s not the case.”
Kim Jun replied with a forced smile. He didn’t want Director Hong to notice how hard he was trying to hide his guilt.
“The treatment Mr. Lee receives won’t be very different from now. The reason we granted Mr. Lee U.S. citizenship was to prepare for situations where another country might attempt to abduct or claim him.”
In short, it meant, we’ve marked him as ours, so don’t touch him.
And if there were ever an attempt to abduct Kyung-wan, it would give the United States a justification to intervene.
“And Mr. Lee.”
“Huh? What is it?”
“I’m sorry, but I’ve arranged to introduce someone to you.”
“Who?”
“Me!”
The office door burst open, and a graceful middle-aged woman walked in, someone Kyung-wan was already quite familiar with.
“Director Kim!”
Wearing a white lab coat fluttering like a cape and clicking her black high heels against the floor, Kim Maria entered. Director Hong’s face brightened the moment he saw her.
“It’s been a while, Director Hong.”
“Hahaha! Yes, it’s good to see you.”
At that sight, Kyung-wan suddenly thought of the contents of the letter he should send to Director Hong’s house.
Madam. Your husband is grinning ear to ear at another woman~.
Unaware of Kyung-wan’s thoughts, Maria finished greeting Director Hong and turned to Kyung-wan as well.
“It’s been a while, Mr. Kyung-wan. Have you been doing well? Are you playing games properly?”
Seeing her eyes sparkle as she looked at him made Kyung-wan feel extremely pressured, but when he recalled the cozy sofa she had prepared for him and the many considerate game titles, he put on a polite smile.
Wasn’t it rude to frown at someone who showed you kindness?
“Oh~ of course, Director. And you’ve been well too, right?”
“I was quite shaken after losing Ms. Han Yeongmi, but I’ve discovered a very interesting psychic recently, so I can finally breathe a little easier.”
“Oh, that’s good to hear.”
Kyung-wan congratulated her as if that psychic had nothing to do with him.
Thankfully, that psychic really wasn’t Kyung-wan.
That said, it didn’t mean Director Maria’s interest in Kyung-wan had diminished. He was still at the top of her list of concerns.
She looked at Kyung-wan and began speaking.
“I recently received a very good proposal from the United States.”
“What kind of proposal?”
“To put it simply, a research partnership.”
“You’re not saying I’m needed for that, are you?”
At Kyung-wan’s words, Kim Maria maintained her smile as she replied,
“If you help us, it would certainly be very beneficial. I hear you awakened again recently, Mr. Kyung-wan?”
“Who said that?”
“People who are very interested in you.”
“That kind of interest isn’t very welcome.”
At Kyung-wan’s indifferent reply, she laughed cheerfully and said,
“Hohoho! Capable people naturally draw attention. Just enjoy it.”
“I think I can avoid it...”
If you can’t avoid it, enjoy it was nothing more than the mental victory of those who failed to avoid it.
When a tidal wave comes crashing in, anyone preparing a surfboard is either a hero or a madman, and Kyung-wan was not a madman.
Of course, not many people would agree with him.
Maria replied with a smile.
“Hoho! You really have a good sense of humor, Mr. Kyung-wan. Anyway, I have a sweet proposal for you.”
Her proposal was not difficult at all.
She simply wanted him to freely come and go from the lab whenever he felt bored, and if anything occurred to him or if he had advice to give, to say it honestly.
Kyung-wan blinked in disbelief and then said,
“Are you out of your mind?”
Knowledge about psychic powers was a vision that would sit at the very core of national interests.
And yet she was saying a criminal like Kyung-wan, someone who treated the law like trash and had terrorized the National Assembly, could casually come and go from such a research institute?
Did that make any sense at all?
How absurd Kim Maria’s proposal was could be clearly seen just from the stunned expressions of Kim Jun and Director Hong, who were listening beside her.
“Director Kim, p-please calm down for a moment, ”
“Director Kim. May I report what you just said to higher authorities?”
At their reactions, Maria tilted her head as if she didn’t see what the problem was.
“If you want to make a proposal that would interest someone who isn’t normal, you need to offer conditions that aren’t normal. Don’t you agree, Mr. Kyung-wan?”
“Hmmm...”
It was hard to argue with that logic, so Kyung-wan nodded. No matter how much money she offered, or even if she showered him with beautiful women, it wouldn’t have been very appealing to him.
And trying to appeal to his humanity or emotions was pointless, given his track record. Several investigators had already failed after attempting to sway him emotionally to make use of his abilities.
So Kim Maria changed her approach.
She assumed that someone abnormal would like abnormal things.
Kyung-wan fully understood her intentions. Accepting her proposal meant falling for her tactics.
But to be honest, he didn’t dislike her offer.
No, truthfully, it was tempting.
Such a crazy proposal was incredibly stimulating for someone as bored as him.
“Why are you making this proposal?”
“To receive your assistance with our research.”
“I’m not exactly a researcher.”
“But it’s already an established fact that cooperation from psychics is the most important element in psychic research. Detecting S-particles and influencing them, right now, the human mind, no, the psychic’s mind, is the only thing capable of doing that. And among all the psychics I know, you’re the most unusual case.”
“What’s so unusual about me?”
“You already have three abilities. Sensory enhancement precise enough for sniping, the superhuman strength revealed in the recent abduction case, and even the ability to weaken or nullify an opponent’s powers. Even among composite psychics, there’s usually a common denominator between abilities, but in your case, the only commonality is that they use S-particles.”
Sharp woman.
Still, Kyung-wan didn’t show it and played dumb.
“So?”
“That’s all.”
She finished like that, her face holding a faint smile.
This push-and-pull is killer.
Kyung-wan pressed further to take control.
“What’s ‘that’s all’ supposed to mean?”
“I believe that your uniqueness could provide a fresh perspective on the psychic research currently underway.”
“I don’t really get it, but you’re saying I’ll be helpful?”
“Mhm!”
When she nodded with a smile, Kyung-wan said,
“Then what do I get out of it?”
Fine. Let’s say he accepts the offer to freely wander the lab and speak his mind whenever something occurs to him.
But what exactly did he gain from it?
At that, Maria smiled and waved her index finger side to side.
“Oh my, Mr. Kyung-wan. You’re not that kind of person, are you?”
“What kind of person?”
“Money, women, fame. Do you really want those things? If you did, you wouldn’t be here like this.”
“...”
Kyung-wan didn’t answer and simply looked at Kim Maria.
She seemed to have researched him thoroughly.
She continued,
“I’ve seen many people like you. People who don’t know how to live, who don’t know what they want, wandering aimlessly. Most eventually work for money because survival demands it, but there are those who give up even that.”
She dropped her smile and asked Kyung-wan seriously,
“Mr. Kyung-wan. What do you truly want?”
What else? To die.
What could someone exhausted from endless reincarnation possibly want more than that?
If not that, then perhaps things that could briefly make him forget the anguish of living.
Kyung-wan leaned back against the chair as if he’d lost, shrugged his shoulders, and said,
“I don’t know what to say. I get what you want from me, at least. Anyway, I’ll drop by sometimes when I’m bored.”
Everyone else looked dumbfounded, but Maria alone nodded and said with a smile,
“I’ll leave the door open.”
= = = = =
America’s first hero was born in Detroit.
His name was Stone Breaker.
As the name suggested, he was a man with overwhelming physical strength, capable of smashing even stone.
Following the rules of hero fiction, he did not reveal his identity, but whenever he appeared, anyone could tell who he was.
A sledgehammer made from a special titanium alloy, and a black, cutting-edge, full-body bulletproof suit made from advanced new materials.
These uniquely designed items were Stone Breaker’s trademarks.
His tremendous leg power and brute strength put a stop to Detroit’s severe psychic crime problem, where even banks were being robbed with psychic abilities.
With a single leap, he could cover over 100 meters, giving him mobility that allowed him to arrive at crime scenes within minutes of receiving reports, regardless of traffic. The combination of full-body armor and monstrous strength gave him the ability to subdue armed psychic criminals with minimal damage.
Encouraged by the success of Stone Breaker, the hero company gained confidence in the hero industry and consecutively unveiled Heroes No. 2 and No. 3.
At first, the public didn’t go wild over them. After all, movies and reality were different.
But as people began to feel firsthand that these heroes were protecting citizens from crime and disasters, public opinion gradually shifted in their favor. Media hype also acted as a catalyst.
Once the hero industry gained momentum, hero company branches began popping up one by one, starting in high-crime areas.
Naturally, the hero company’s headquarters was located in Washington.
As psychic heroes appeared one after another, suppressing crime, ensuring public safety, and selling related merchandise, all of which seemed to benefit the economy, other countries began to follow suit.
Korea was one of them, and when Kyung-wan heard the name of South Korea’s first hero, he couldn’t help but clutch his stomach and burst out laughing.
“Pwahahaha! Thunder Boy? Seriously? What decade is that name from?”
“···.”
“Isn’t it funny?”
At Kyung-wan’s question, the young man nervously darted his eyes left and right before nodding.
The young man felt extremely uncomfortable with the situation.
Why was he wearing normal clothes instead of a prison uniform?
And why was that man, who was wearing a prison uniform, able to walk around here so freely?
Seeing the young man’s lack of agreement, Kyung-wan put on a pitying expression.
“Man, life must be hard for you.”
“W-Why is that?”
“Because not feeling how tacky the name ‘Thunder Boy’ is means you’ve got no sense.”
The young man felt wronged. He had lived just fine so far without any sense like that.
But he was too scared to argue. He was just someone who had committed a crime due to a momentary mistake, while the person in front of him was a notorious criminal.
“Hey. You ignoring me?”
“N-No.”
While Kyung-wan was teasing the shy and clueless young man, Kim Maria appeared, accompanied by researchers.
“Mr. Kyung-wan. You ended up coming after all?”
“Repeated runs don’t seem to be my style.”
All he did all day was play games, but when it came to collection elements or achievements, he always ended up giving up. He tried them for fun, but soon a sense of emptiness washed over him. It felt better to just play another game instead of grinding collectibles.
The world was wide, there were many games to play, and the day was short.
Hmm.
A wise saying.