Chapter 89
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 89
Chapter Title: Capture
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Gulp-
Such a lewd and perverse video title. How could anyone resist clicking on it?
It was right then, as Choi Seol-ah was about to play the video she'd pulled from Yoon Joo-young's PC.
"!"
A chilling sensation prickled at the nape of her neck.
Rustle-
She swiftly erased her presence and blended into the surrounding air.
Blend-
Choi Seol-ah melted into the background like a ghost. It was stealth worthy of her title, Shadow Lord.
With Choi Seol-ah completely hidden and holding her breath...
"What's there?"
"I definitely felt a presence. Someone's still in this room right now."
Murmuring voices approached from the bedroom. Yoon Joo-young and I emerged, heading toward the office.
'Tch.'
She'd clearly confirmed us going through the portal, but it seemed they'd noticed something off and doubled back.
Too absorbed in the video, she hadn't sensed the danger until it was this close. A critical mistake.
Yoon Joo-young scanned the office with her eyes and shrugged.
"There's no one here. Who'd break into the Association President's office? Security's airtight."
"No. There's one person who could breach every security measure."
I wasn't in my boyish form anymore—I was back to normal, prowling the room and probing for presences.
Choi Seol-ah swallowed hard, freezing in place like a dead mouse.
As I searched the office, I approached the very wall she clung to.
Step-
Then I ran my hand over the computer under the desk.
I'd picked up on the warmth from it running.
After checking the PC, I turned to Yoon Joo-young.
"Did you leave the computer on?"
"No? I definitely turned it off. It auto-shuts down after a while anyway. Why? Is it on?"
"..."
It was a do-or-die moment.
'Damn. At this rate, I'm busted. Gotta smash the window and bolt.'
101st floor. Insanely high, but she could land just fine without free-falling.
As Choi Seol-ah eyed me, preparing to move...
Flash-
"Guhk."
My hand shot to her throat in an instant.
With sharp eyes, I gripped her neck and hoisted her up.
"Krrk..."
"Hiding here, huh? Little rat."
"Le... let me go!"
Underground bunker.
Yoon Joo-young and I looked down at a woman trussed up tight in blankets.
Despite her fierce reputation, she was a cute black-haired beauty.
Alias Shadow Lord—Choi Seol-ah. One of the seven mafia bosses ruling the underworld.
Word was, ever since she took the top seat, she rarely took infiltration gigs herself. Who'd have thought we'd catch her in the Association President's office?
'That weird vibe I felt all day... was it her?'
Not certain, but it seemed Choi Seol-ah had been tailing me the whole day. She'd snuck into the office following me...
If that was true, the problem was...
'This woman knows my secret.'
The fact that I turn into a shota was top-secret info only Yoon Joo-young knew. Now that it was out, we couldn't just let her go.
Clatter-
Yoon Joo-young rifled through her pockets, dumping out a pile of junk.
She shook out the robe Choi Seol-ah had been wearing, and the living room carpet filled with gear.
Daggers, throwing knives, ropes, nets, flashlights, brass knuckles, gags, handcuffs—the works, plus artifacts and odds and ends.
Among them, the thief's seven tools, the legendary artifact Log Master's MacGyver Knife.
Yoon Joo-young picked it up, and Choi Seol-ah shrieked.
"D-don't touch that!"
"...What the hell's this bitch saying? You think you're in a position to give orders?"
Ignoring her, Yoon Joo-young examined the MacGyver Knife, flipping it open and around before tossing it aside, bored.
"Big deal. So, what's your goal?"
"Hmph. You think I'll tell you?"
Choi Seol-ah toughened up, so Yoon Joo-young sighed and spoke softly.
"You still don't get your situation, huh? You've been kidnapped."
"..."
"Know where you are? Your goons could search forever and never find you."
My bunker was somewhere in the Gangwon mountains. We came via portal, not car—impossible to track.
Who'd think to check the portal in the Association President's bedroom closet?
Choi Seol-ah was perfectly isolated, no rescue coming.
I looked down at her coldly.
"Who sent you?"
"..."
Too many people hated me to guess easily.
Recent beefs? Shin Ji-yeon or Lee Yu-ri, maybe, but no proof.
Couldn't rule them out, so I probed.
"Shin Ji-yeon's orders?"
"Wh-what? No!"
She stammered and shook her head wildly.
'Bingo.'
Her reaction confirmed it. Fell for it that easy? Shadow Lord my ass.
Or maybe this was her real personality. No wonder the mask and goggles—hiding that cute face to keep the mystique.
Couldn't have the boss looking this adorable; no intimidation factor.
I nailed it, and Yoon Joo-young asked.
"How'd you know?"
"Shin Ji-yeon showed up at my place once, mad about my leave. Said she'd kill me if I ghosted. Been holding a grudge since."
"You two meet up personally?"
"She crashed uninvited. Wrecked my front door."
"...Anyway, so she put you up to it."
Yoon Joo-young and I eyed the trembling Choi Seol-ah.
"What's the goal?"
Trailing me all day meant she had a purpose. Did I give off some suspicious vibe?
"..."
Choi Seol-ah clammed up.
"Hoo."
Yoon Joo-young exhaled smoke, grinding out her cigarette on the floor.
Squatting and threatening, she looked like a school bully.
Scary as hell...
"Not talking?"
".."
Still silent. No intention of spilling.
Yoon Joo-young stuffed a rag from the floor into Choi Seol-ah's mouth after ditching the cig.
"Mmph!"
"I'll pull it when you wanna talk. Until then, shut it."
With her subdued, Yoon Joo-young turned to me.
"If she infiltrated the office earlier, she saw you turn into a shota, right?"
"Yeah. Told you we might get caught."
"Tch. Didn't think it'd go down like this. What now? Kill her and seal her lips?"
Murder to silence. Cleanest, no loose ends.
"Mmph! Mmph!"
At "kill," Choi Seol-ah thrashed like she had plenty to say, but Yoon Joo-young held firm.
"Stay still, bitch."
Whack-
A smack to the back of her head, and she slumped unconscious.
One hit KO. Terrifying strength.
Yoon Joo-young asked me after knocking her out.
"So, what do we do?"
"Hmm."
Two options: blackmail or bribe with rewards. Or both.
After thinking, I proposed.
"Killing's messy. Use the same trick you pulled on me."
"...For real?"
"What, prefer killing? Better than that. Proven effective."
The body cam. Inhumane, sure, but beats murder.
I'd been through it anyway. Fuck.
Yoon Joo-young nodded at my suggestion.
"...Fine. Actually works out. Been wanting to crush those underworld scum. Grab this dirt and make 'em heel."
The seven Shadow Lords ruling the underworld. We'd nabbed one.
The Hunter Association always tried wiping them out, but their power and resistance made it impossible.
Now, with dirt on Choi Seol-ah, she could weaken them.
"Not right now... Lock her up first. Got a prison in the bunker?"
"...What do you take my bunker for? No prison. Especially not for a big shot like her."
Rank 1 hunter me and the president tag-teamed her into this state, but Choi Seol-ah was at least Special-grade.
Slapdash cell? She'd pick the lock and bolt.
Couldn't keep knocking her out every time she woke. Tricky.
How about this?
Yoon Joo-young and I were racking our brains for solutions when Yuria suddenly popped out from wherever she'd been hiding.
"Got a special method?"
Yeah! Remember the app update last time?
"Right."
The damn update got me caught by Yoon Joo-young in the first place.
New feature: Invite anyone to the app. Can't lock her in reality? Trap her in a parallel world instead!
"Hooh."
True. While the mind's in the parallel world, the real body goes fully defenseless.
No need to fuss over cells.
"Solid idea, but... come here a sec."
Why all sudden?
"Just come. Got something important."
Yoon Joo-young pulled Yuria aside for a whisper session. What're they scheming, excluding me?
Feels alienating...
They huddled, nodded, and ended their chat.
Whatever deal they struck, Yoon Joo-young told Yuria.
"Alright. Trap that woman in the parallel world."
OK~
A blinding light flooded my vision.
'Wh... what?'
For some reason, I felt myself getting pulled into that parallel world too.