Chapter 527
Chapter 527
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 527
Chapter Title: Omen of Catastrophe (1)
“Argh! I can’t do this anymore! I’m done! Screw this!”
Flutter—
A bundle of documents painted the air amid her irritated shout.
“...This is such a hassle. I’m exhausted. I just want to take a break.”
Korean Returnee Association, Seoul Southern Branch.
Branch Chief Yun Jiyun, who had just flung aside the paperwork she’d been handling, ruffled her hair roughly.
Then she slammed her head onto the desk and began muttering to herself in a gloomy voice.
“Ahh—yeah. I’ve got a ton of vacation days piled up anyway. I should just use them and rest up for a while. Hole up somewhere remote where no one can reach me, kick back, and binge all the movies I’ve missed.”
Of course, it was just a fleeting thought.
There was no way she could step away from her post as branch chief during such a hectic time.
With a deep sigh of resignation, she stood up and gathered the scattered papers from the floor.
‘How did my life end up like this?’
Her body had long surpassed human limits—it wouldn’t weaken even after days without sleep—and her mind, honed through extreme training, could remain steadfast in any situation...
But that didn’t mean the accumulated stress and frustration simply vanished.
‘Ugh, I just want to smash everything.’
This thought had crossed her mind who knew how many times.
Though she came from a martial artist background, her enlightenment had always been far from the liberation of shedding all bonds and shackles.
If anything, it was closer to the path of霸道—overcoming obstacles through sheer force and breaking through adversities.
For someone like her, sitting obediently buried in paperwork was pure torment.
Crunch—
“...These damn bastards. They’re not even bothering to hide anymore, are they?”
A chilling voice leaked out along with the grinding of her teeth.
As she sorted the messy documents, Yun Jiyun recalled the culprits who had plunged her into this frenzy, and a murderous aura seeped from her body.
‘Reverse Heaven Society.’
A transnational terrorist organization lurking in the shadows, wielding influence across the globe.
And now, nursing a grudge after being driven out of Korea, they were the very axis of evil, deploying every dirty trick to pressure this side.
‘Their reach is way beyond what I expected. Politics, economy, public opinion, diplomacy—they’ve got their tentacles in everything.’
Responding to that had dragged even her—a top-tier Awakened in the country—into the chaos.
Thanks to some covert agreement with Phantom, they’d obtained a fair amount of intel on the Reverse Heaven Society, so she couldn’t just pretend not to notice.
‘That’s why I stubbornly clung to this branch chief position, turning down higher roles.’
Damn sense of responsibility.
She shook her head with a deep sigh.
In truth, the Returnee Association had always been chronically understaffed and swamped.
They represented Awakened who could dismantle the existing social order, protecting their rights while also reining them in and mediating to prevent them from crossing lines.
“Sigh, it feels like just yesterday the Guardians’ burden lightened up and I was relieved.”
The Guardians, who partnered with the nation to maintain public order, were the Association’s strongest armed force.
An honorable job with various perks and quasi-civil servant status.
The downsides were the low pay relative to the intensity and danger, plus the inevitable public backlash when big incidents occurred...
But recently, starting with the debut of Haeweol Mask and improvements in the Blood Alliance’s structure—a thorn in the underworld’s side—things had eased considerably.
Though they’d relied on underhanded help like private sanctions and criminal organization support, they had succeeded in creating a more peaceful society than before.
‘The problem is that this peace is just the calm before the storm.’
That was why she couldn’t just run away—she was trapped in this hell of paperwork.
She knew full well that slacking off now for a momentary breather would come back as casualties later.
Despite her grumbling, she was undeniably a righteous person, so she couldn’t sit idle in a situation like this.
“...Alright, it’s not like I can’t endure it. I’ll just tough it out a bit longer.”
In the end, she resignedly double-checked the neatly organized documents.
Then she spotted a familiar name and tilted her head slightly.
‘Howard Industries? It’s only been days since the terrorist attack, and they’ve already relocated headquarters? Even building a new structure themselves?’
Howard Industries was the world’s sole exporter of magical artifacts.
So she’d expected them not to crumble easily even if their HQ building got blown to bits, but she hadn’t anticipated they’d erect a new one and move in so lightning-fast.
No wonder they’d held a showcase right after the attack to flaunt their resilience.
It hadn’t been mere bravado.
She nodded slowly as she flipped through the pages.
“...Hm, it’s not fully complete yet. They prioritized the operational spaces first, I guess.”
Even that was impressive.
Building a state-of-the-art structure in mere days?
Not impossible if they mobilized every production-type Ability user, but it was still beyond common sense.
“And why is the underground area so deep and vast? After one terror attack, are they building a bomb shelter now?”
Yun Jiyun clicked her tongue as she rifled through the building permit documents.
But her interest ended there.
With government approval already granted, it wasn’t her concern.
Whether they made a bunker underground, a secret lab, or even a giant robot hangar...
“Ugh! No matter how much I do, the work never ends. Time for a quick break.”
She stretched and cracked her neck amid her ongoing tasks.
Beyond branch chief duties, collecting domestic and international intel and devising countermeasures against the Reverse Heaven Society meant endless work—so taking proper breaks to avoid burnout was crucial.
~♪
A soothing melody drifted from the TV on her office wall as she turned it on.
It happened to be the music channel she occasionally watched to clear her head.
“Oh? I like this song.”
Yun Jiyun closed her eyes, leaned back in her chair, and hummed along.
It was a smash hit she’d heard everywhere lately, even amid her packed schedule with no time for leisure.
Despite various controversies, the girl group Lycoris—who led the Hallyu wave—had filled their new album with tracks from the faceless genius composer ‘Harris’ and dominated it.
“...Come to think of it, those girls are pretty amazing.”
Sure, vampires faced less prejudice these days, but they’d long been shunned as a type of demon.
Stepping into the public eye as celebrities meant facing all sorts of ugly backlash, inevitably.
Like the car bomb attempt not long ago or clashes with Awakened celebrities.
‘Yet they powered through it all and won the public’s recognition.’
After their debut album put them on the world map, their second album was a massive hit.
The new album swept domestic charts and even overseas ones like Billboard.
Even as netizens worldwide hurled abuse, they broke through head-on with their music, artistry, and charm, claiming the top spot.
‘Not just skill, but mental fortitude too.’
Of course, few would dare criticize them openly now.
With Cheon Seolhyang—the top Awakened celeb—having picked a fight and gotten thoroughly trounced, Lycoris were untouchable in the industry.
“Can’t help the subtle ostracism, though.”
The internet was another beast.
Vitriol, curses, baseless rumors, unspeakable sexual harassment...
Anonymous online communities were cesspits of lethal curses for celebrities.
No wonder mental breakdowns leading to extreme choices cropped up so often.
‘Wait, but now that I think about it, I haven’t seen many hate comments on Lycoris...’
Already on break, her curiosity piqued, so she hopped online to check.
A quick search revealed something astonishing.
‘No anti-fan cafes... Not a single one...’
There were some hate comments, sure.
But nothing crossing into truly vile territory, and no anti-fan cafes—the hubs of malice—anywhere.
“...Pfft, they’re impressive in every way. Internet censorship on this scale? All for one girl group?”
Having grasped the situation, Yun Jiyun chuckled as she scrolled.
She’d heard Masquerade had top-tier hackers, but deploying them for this? Unforeseen.
It wasn’t limited to Korea either—overseas sites were similar.
Amid her amused browsing, she stumbled on a particularly striking post.
Well, the post itself overflowed with praise, like a fan’s rant...
The key was the comments.
💬 Comments — User123 This guy was slamming Lycoris with fat-shaming and forced hate just a while ago. What’s with the sudden change? — Anon456 ↳ Reply I saw it too. Did he take a bribe or something? — Lol789 Lmao, who pays a basement-dwelling hater? A lawsuit maybe lol. — TechGuy ↳ Reply Server’s overseas, so no lawsuits. — Skeptic ↳ Reply Then why? He actually repent and switch sides? Claims that the post’s author—pure praise now—was once a top-tier anti-fan.
A quick dig revealed such comments weren’t isolated.
‘So it’s not just deleting hate comments?’
Yun Jiyun tilted her head as another post caught her eye.
💬 Comments — WarningMan Be careful dissing Lycoris. Criticism’s fine, but cross the line and you’re really screwed. — TrollKing ↳ Reply Bullshit lol. VPN and private boards—what’re they gonna do lol. — Deleted Comment [This comment has been deleted.] — Doubter ↳ Reply No proof, don’t believe it. GTFO. — Deleted Comment [This comment has been deleted.] — FreakedOut ...For real? FML;; Crazy; — Huh? Eh? Why isn’t this deleted? A short line from someone who seemed to have experienced it firsthand.
The exchanges were partially deleted, stirring an eerie unease.
‘...A warning.’
With control this tight, leaving traces made no sense.
They’d probably left it intentionally as a message to others.
Tsking, she closed the browser and leaned back.
‘Well, they’ve got some lines they won’t cross. They won’t kill over hate comments.’
A secret email with personal info, a visitor at her solitary home, or a grinning face from the next PC bang seat.
Scary experiences like that? Maybe. But nothing life-threatening.
‘Just life lessons.’
Sorry, but she had too much on her plate to coddle haters.
Yun Jiyun closed her eyes, savoring the brief respite.
“...Slacking off again, Branch Chief?”
“Eek! I was working hard until just now and taking a quick break!”
She snapped at her secretary’s words as they entered.
Shrugging, Kim the secretary set down a stack of documents and turned off the blaring TV, handing her a file.
“...What’s this?”
“Additional notice on the Mind Breaker investigation.”
“Oh right, that guy. Any leads?”
Nodding, she took the file and scanned it.
Mind Breaker: the enigmatic figure who’d suddenly appeared, shattered multiple Villains’ minds, and vanished.
Capable of crushing even master-class psyches, even minor intel demanded utmost caution.
“Unfortunately, no significant gains. Despite deploying various psychics in a wide net, no sign since the last use.”
“Yeah, no new victims reported... Maybe he sensed the pursuit and went fully dark?”
“Possible. They say maintaining the net further is impractical. Can’t tie up rare psychics chasing an unpredictable ghost.”
“Fair enough. The Association Chairman’s got a headache too.”
Confirming, Yun Jiyun nodded and tossed it aside.
The Ability Management Bureau led the probe anyway—nothing for her to do.
“Haa, back to work then. Wonder what headache’s waiting this time.”
“Most complex tasks are done. Rest are reports like that one.”
“...For real? Finish these and I can finally clock out?”
“Yes, thanks to your hard work, Branch Chief.”
“Yes!”
Her face lit up.
Thanks to that, wrapping up didn’t take long.
“I’m off! Hehe, time for a beer party at home after ages.”
“Good work, Branch Chief. See you tomorrow.”
But alas, so very tragically.
She couldn’t have the off-day she’d longed for.
Beep beep beep—!
A blaring alarm suddenly filled the office.
Their cheerful farewell froze into stiff expressions.
They knew exactly what this alarm meant.
“Damn it! What now!”
She frantically activated the emergency line to the Returnee Association HQ.
“Yes, Chairman! Seoul Southern Branch Chief Yun Jiyun. What’s going—...Huh?”
The urgent report cut her off mid-sentence, her mouth agape.
“...Who got taken out?”
A Transcender from the Republic of Korea’s Ability Management Bureau.
The death of ‘Heukyeon,’ guardian of the Military Demarcation Line with North Korea.