Chapter 38
Chapter 38
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 38
Chapter Title: The Whereabouts of Trickster Chae-ryeong (2)
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◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ As he ventured deeper into the alley, more agents in black suits came into view.
These were burly men who wouldn't look out of place next to Si-yoon, whose physique was already impressive. They stood in perfect formation, silent and disciplined.
'Damn... these guys are built like tanks.'
Si-yoon took up position beside the men, mirroring their rigid at-attention stance.
One of them glanced over at him briefly, as if something had caught his eye.
"Heard some noise outside. What was that about?"
The man with the thick jaw leaned in close to Si-yoon's ear, whispering as if addressing a fellow agent.
'Phew... guess he doesn't suspect anything.'
The distance between the alley entrance—where he'd fought those other men—and the back of the cafe was about ten meters.
The sounds might have carried, but it would've been hard to make out exactly what was happening from here.
"Some guy tried to come in. Had a little scuffle with him."
"Got it."
Si-yoon murmured back into the man's ear, and the agent nodded without a second thought, turning his gaze forward again.
'That smoke was maybe thirty seconds ago... if something big had gone down, they'd have reacted by now.'
The men stationed behind the cafe simply filled the alley densely and silently, like hunters lying in wait for their prey.
It was obvious they were setting a tight net to capture the 'Trickster'.
- Thud thud thud-!
Urgent footsteps erupted from the right of the two doors that looked like the back entrance.
A single butterfly was flying straight into the pitch-black trap.
"All units, hold position. Target's heading for this exit."
The agents rushed toward the door making the noise, arms spread wide to grab her as she burst out.
Si-yoon, instinctively knowing it was Chae-ryeong from the sounds beyond the door, joined their ranks and took point at the front.
His goal was simple: make physical contact with 'Trickster' Chae-ryeong at least once.
To fulfill the condition for activating his supernatural ability.
Even a brief touch would let him track her location if she had teleportation powers, or check her system status if she was a clone user.
'Please... don't let this be a clone coming out right now.'
- Creeeak-!
"Ugh... oh?!"
A mature woman burst through the door.
Si-yoon and the other agents lunged immediately, seizing her arms.
"Let... go of me...!"
The woman had her arms gripped tightly by Si-yoon, who had charged ahead, and a man with a striking chin beard.
'Okay...! Hand made contact with her arm... success?'
Long black hair, red eyes, and an incredibly glamorous figure.
It matched the photo of 'Trickster' Chae-ryeong from the report perfectly.
"Get the restraint rope! Now!"
"Yes, sir!"
A man who stood out slightly more than the others stepped forward, removed his sunglasses, and barked orders at the rest.
"Don't resist. Comply quietly."
"Tch...!"
He seemed to hold a higher rank among the agents.
He shot Chae-ryeong a menacing glare, demanding obedience.
She bit her lip hard and stopped struggling, allowing another agent to bind her arms and shoulders with the special restraint rope.
'If I'd gotten caught back then... would they have used something like this on a lowly grunt like me? Probably not.'
Si-yoon stepped back behind the agents tying the ropes, watching her submit quietly. His mind flashed back to his escape from the hideout.
As expected, the ropes binding Chae-ryeong were made of a special material—an expensive tool typically used on mid-to-high-level villains.
"Has Ice Queen been notified?"
"Yes, sir. She's on her way here now."
'Ice Queen...? The one who ran in with Do-hwa earlier?'
- Thud thud thud-
Footsteps approached from the opposite side of the alley Si-yoon had entered.
Soon, Lu-mi and Do-hwa appeared amid the agents.
"Over here, Heroes!"
While the agents exchanged greetings with Lu-mi, Si-yoon quietly bowed his head and summoned a small Corruption System display.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [Greetings, owner of the <Corruption System>, Ha Si-yoon.] [Imprint targets nearby and available for commands: Yoon Do-hwa / Yeon Ji-woo / Chae-ryeong] [Owned imprint targets: Yeon Ji-woo (Corrupted Slave) / Chae-ryeong (Stage 1 - 0%)] [Slave Management: Yoon Do-hwa] The display clearly listed three women's names.
Yoon Do-hwa, Yeon Ji-woo, and Chae-ryeong.
Chae-ryeong's name appearing on the system screen was irrefutable proof that the imprint had taken hold on her body.
'Nice...!'
Confirming the operation's success, Si-yoon let out a sigh of relief and sent a text to Do-hwa and Ji-woo: mission accomplished.
Then he tapped the shoulder of the orange-haired woman standing awkwardly nearby.
"Huh...?"
Do-hwa turned at the dull touch on her shoulder.
'Check your phone.'
Si-yoon lifted his sunglasses just enough for her to recognize him, then pointed at his phone, urging her to read the message.
Do-hwa pulled out her phone as instructed and checked the text. Her face showed confusion, but she nodded and waited for the situation to resolve.
While Si-yoon and Do-hwa exchanged this brief silent communication, the transport vehicle arrived near the alley to take Chae-ryeong away.
"Hee hee hee hee..."
Chae-ryeong walked meekly toward the vehicle with the agents.
Suddenly, she bowed her head and let out a mocking laugh at them.
"To think you'd only use such stupid, straightforward tactics...
I could never lose to idiots like you. Hee hee."
- Pop-!
With a popping sound, faint smoke rose from where Chae-ryeong had stood, leaving only the knotted special restraint rope behind.
She had vanished like smoke.
"Search the area! She couldn't have gone far!"
"Grab her! Find her quick!!"
Catching the agents off guard, they scattered to hunt for her.
'Now?'
Si-yoon pretended to search like the others and dashed out of the alley.
"Get her...! Hurry... she won't come this far."
Yelling wildly, he burst onto the street with the cafe and slipped into an alley of another building, a short distance away.
"Just gotta ditch the jacket and shades, right?"
He shed the black suit jacket and sunglasses worn by Union agents, tossing the earpiece deep into the alley too.
"Man... it's this hot, and they wear these thick clothes? Those agents really grind hard."
Now in just a plain white shirt and slacks, he looked like any office worker. Rolling up his sleeves after ditching the jacket and shades had changed his look dramatically.
"Now... just tell Ji-woo to come out quietly."
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ "So yeah, that's how it went! We successfully imprinted Chae-ryeong."
"Thank goodness. When she vanished so suddenly, I thought we'd failed."
Do-hwa sighed in relief after hearing the full story and the details behind the success message.
"Those agents passing out like that—it was you, right, Ji-woo?"
"Yep! I tried it once in that spy game. It worked great!"
Ji-woo beamed proudly, manifesting a syringe gun loaded with sedative and waving it enthusiastically in front of the two.
"Whoa! Don't shoot!"
"Eek! Almost hit Sis and Master..."
The syringe gun vanished in a blue glow from Ji-woo's hand. The two patted their chests, narrowly avoiding a sleepy fate like the agents.
"Anyway... we imprinted her successfully, and she's still listed as a nearby commandable target, so she can't be too far."
"'Nearby commandable target'... how big is the range, exactly?"
"Beats me. Even I, the ability owner, don't know the exact limits."
Si-yoon, wielder of the Corruption System, wasn't sure what distance qualified as 'nearby' either.
But the precise range didn't matter right now.
What mattered was that Chae-ryeong was within command range, no matter what.
"No need for us to hunt her down. I'll just summon her here.
We can sit back and wait comfortably."
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [Applying Supernatural Ability Nullification to target: 'Trickster' Chae-ryeong.] [Applying Body Control to target: 'Trickster' Chae-ryeong.] "Now, let's wait for that lovely Dark Knights executive to grace us with her presence."