Chapter 78
Chapter 78
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 78
Chapter Title: How to Track a Villain's Footsteps (1)
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◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Autumn had arrived before long, bringing cool breezes in the wake of the sweltering summer.
With summer's end, the sweet vacation granted to Lu-mi also drew to a close.
She returned to her hero duties with a body and mindset that had changed in ways both subtle and profound.
'My weight hasn't changed much... just my bust and hips feel a bit fuller.'
Thanks to evolving one step further as Si-yoon's devoted mate, her body had grown more voluptuous in all the right places.
Fortunately, it didn't cause any real issues with her hero uniform.
"Hello, sir."
Lu-mi stood before a middle-aged man whose stylish mustache and neatly combed white hair lent him an air of refined charm.
"Hoo... right on the dot."
He was her direct superior, who had watched over her since her very first day as a hero.
Director Yoon, one of the executives in the Hero Union's Operation Command—and more often called "Black Eyes" for orchestrating the Union's countless covert missions.
"Did you enjoy your vacation, Miss Lu-mi?"
He flashed a fatherly smile at Lu-mi, who saluted with mechanical rigidity, and asked if she'd rested well.
"I've told you many times not to call me by my first name."
"Haha! Even after a vacation, that stiff demeanor of yours hasn't budged a bit."
He let out a hearty laugh, as if her unchanging icy attitude was a welcome sight.
"Sorry to dump a mission on you the moment you get back... but there's something I'd like you to handle."
"No need to apologize. It's my job."
"Good. You remember that villain you took down not long ago?"
'As if I could forget. He's the one who brought Si-yoon and me together.'
Executioner, an executive villain of the Dark Knights.
To Lu-mi, he was one of the formidable villains who had driven her to the brink of death.
Somehow, he had also become a strange sort of benefactor, paving the way for her connection with Si-yoon.
"Yes. I remember."
"He woke up yesterday. The ice you trapped him in finally thawed out."
Lu-mi's supernatural ability, "Freezing," encased targets in ice that would melt like ordinary ice if she didn't maintain her focus.
The block encasing a giant like Executioner had been enormous, taking over ten days to fully melt.
"The other interrogation specialists are too spooked to handle him."
"I'd like you to take a crack at questioning him yourself. What do you say?"
When the Hero Union captured villains, they typically investigated everything from their motives for turning villain to details of their abilities and the crimes they'd committed along the way.
A heavy hitter like Executioner could yield top-tier intel on the Dark Knights' Leader Kaiser and other executives—if he could be made to talk.
Even some heroes Director Yoon had asked for help had backed out in fear.
"If you entrust it to me, of course I'll do it."
"I figured you'd say as much."
Director Yoon rummaged through his desk drawer before handing her a black card emblazoned with the Hero Union emblem.
"You'll need this to get into the villain detention facility."
"It's issued only to executives—not heroes or regular staff."
"Can I enter with this?"
"Just show it along with your Union ID. I've already notified the facility that you're coming, so there shouldn't be any issues."
Lu-mi accepted the executive access card and slipped it into the inner pocket of her uniform alongside her Union ID.
"Any other orders, sir?"
"We're still pursuing the remnants."
"We're hot on the trail of the chain user and the bomb villain..."
"But the other two? Not a clue."
Crazy Chain—the one who had reduced Hero Punch Lady to a lifeless corpse—and Firecracker, with his bomb-manifestation ability, were being pursued aggressively.
Leader Kaiser and Trickster, however, remained complete ghosts.
"Understood. I'll take my leave then."
"Ah! One moment."
"Yes? What is it?"
She had bowed to Director Yoon and was about to exit the office when he called her back.
"You wouldn't happen to... have something good going on lately, would you?"
"Pardon? What do you mean by that?"
"No... just that your expression looks a bit softer than usual."
He studied her face closely, noting the subtle change, and asked if perhaps something nice had happened.
"Did you... maybe meet someone special during your vacation? Hm?"
"At my age, you can spot those things a mile away."
"Nothing of the sort."
Lu-mi responded with an even colder, frostier expression, shutting down his speculation in an instant.
"Tch... chilly as ever...!"
"Well... that's our Hero Ice Queen for you. Haha!"
Director Yoon was well accustomed to her frosty reaction to his feeble attempts at humor.
"I'll be going now."
"Right! Report back immediately if anything comes up."
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Lu-mi wasted no time leaving Director Yoon's office, hopping into a Union special transport vehicle en route to the detention facility to handle the Executioner interrogation as requested.
'First time coming here. I've only ever subdued villains before...'
She had taken down hundreds of villains during her career as a hero, but this was her first visit to a detention facility for follow-up work like interrogation.
Standing before the massive gate labeled "Vicious Villain Detention Facility," a swarm of heavily armed guards brandishing firearms rushed to block her path.
"What's the problem?"
"I'm here for a villain interrogation."
Lu-mi pulled the executive access card and her Union ID from her uniform's inner pocket and handed them to the wary guards.
"Ah! You're the hero Director Yoon mentioned. This way, please."
The guard recognized her from the credentials, slung his weapon, and escorted her inside.
'It's all... gray walls.'
The facility's interior consisted entirely of specially treated gray walls and iron bars crackling with high-voltage electricity.
Vicious villain sections were especially fortified, with multiple armed guard posts stationed throughout.
"Here you are. Villain Executioner. Real name: Park Gyu-han."
After passing through layer after layer of impossibly thick iron doors that blocked all outside views, they arrived at a door marked with "Park Gyu-han" and his prisoner number.
"Once you're inside, there's a single layer of transparent partition made from a special material."
"Speak right up to the wall—your voice will carry through perfectly. Take your time with the interrogation."
"Understood."
The guard fiddled with the specially designed lock mechanism until it beeped and disengaged, swinging open the massive iron door.
"Hey! A hero's here to interrogate you!"
Behind a sturdy, aquarium-thick transparent wall—like a zoo enclosure—Executioner lay sprawled on the cramped floor and lifted his head.
"Another pest."
"Our guards will open the door exactly 30 minutes from now."
"Interrogate him until then. I'll step out."
The guard set up a simple chair for her to sit in, removed his cap in salute to Lu-mi, and shut the door.
"I won't answer a damn thing you ask. Get lost."
Executioner glanced at Lu-mi's face, annoyance plain, then rolled over to face the wall.
"Long time no see. You remember that rest area encounter?"
"Rest area...?"
At the mention of "rest area," something clicked; he turned back around and squinted hard at Lu-mi's face.
"That bitch? The one who attacked me."
"I'm here to interrogate you today."
"Answer my questions as sincerely as possible from here on."
"Save your breath. I've got nothing to say."
"Your stonewalling changes nothing."
"Your comrades will all be rounded up soon enough."
-Thud!-
Irritated by her persistent prodding, he scowled fiercely and slammed his head against the transparent wall, his long, seaweed-like hair whipping wildly.
'He's really not cooperating... What now?'
The other specialists and heroes must have been terrified by his attitude and outbursts.
Lu-mi, however, wasn't scared—she was simply pondering how to press on with the interrogation.
"I don't know a damn thing. No idea where the others went... no clue where the Leader is."
"So why the hell do you keep harassing me?"
"This is our duty—and our obligation."
"You're one of the most heinous villains out there, neck-deep in organized crime."
"Thought you were a decently skilled bitch for a second..."
"Guess you're just another Union lapdog after all."
He praised her skills even as he expressed disappointment, then rolled over once more to lie there facing the wall.