Chapter 80
Chapter 80
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 80
Chapter Title: Operation: Subduing the Explosive Continental Cutie (1)
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◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ "Let's get going quick. Before she slips away... we'll capture her alive first."
Ha Si-yoon and the other women hurriedly changed clothes and prepared to head to the airport.
Ji-woo took off her headpiece and apron, switching back to her usual hoodie and shorts.
Chae-ryeong concealed her ears and tail, slipping into long jeans and a crop top.
'Even at the fastest, it'll take over an hour to get from here to the airport...'
The hideout where Si-yoon and the women lived was in downtown S City, and reaching B City's airport would take at least an hour no matter what.
"Chae-ryeong!"
Si-yoon rushed over to Chae-ryeong, who was still half-dressed, and grabbed her shoulders.
"Nyaaah...! What's up?"
Chae-ryeong blinked in confusion, her skirt hanging loosely around her waist.
"You said you can swap positions between your clone and your real body."
>"And... if you hold an object while swapping, it comes along too, right?"
"Y-Yeah... Something small, about the size of my palm, is fine."
Chae-ryeong spread her palm to demonstrate as she answered Si-yoon's question about her supernatural ability.
'So... if we enhance her ability, maybe we can do it.'
Females whose imprints had evolved to stage 3 into 'Corrupted Slaves'—or Slaves for short—could share or strengthen their supernatural abilities.
Si-yoon planned to boost Chae-ryeong's 'Doppelganger' ability to teleport himself and Ji-woo in one go.
"Hang on a sec... At least finish getting dressed first?"
Si-yoon told Chae-ryeong to put her clothes on properly, then pulled up the Corruption System display and fiddled with it.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [<Corruption System> Owner Ha Si-yoon, welcome.] [Nearby imprint subjects you can command: Yeon Ji-woo / Chae-ryeong] [Owned imprint subjects: Seol Lu-mi (Stage 2 - 35%)] [Slave Management: Yoon Do-hwa / Yeon Ji-woo / Chae-ryeong] [Slave: Enhancing Chae-ryeong's supernatural ability 'Doppelganger'.]
While Si-yoon experimented with the Slave Management function, Ji-woo finished getting ready and stood waiting by his side.
"Okay...! Chae-ryeong, do you feel like something's a bit different now?"
"Nyaa...? Yeah, my body feels kinda weird in a subtle way."
Chae-ryeong tilted her head at the vague sensation.
Si-yoon grabbed her arm firmly.
"How about... trying to swap positions with your clone once?"
Despite Chae-ryeong clearly saying earlier she could only swap with small objects, Si-yoon's sudden confident grip puzzled her.
But since it was her beloved master's order, Chae-ryeong figured there must be a reason and clapped her hands together.
-Pop!
"Master and... Chae-ryeong unnie disappeared...!"
Just like that, Chae-ryeong and Si-yoon—who had been holding her arm—vanished somewhere, leaving only her clone at the airport behind in the hideout.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ -Thud!
"Whoa?!"
Chae-ryeong, used to swapping between clone and body, stepped forward casually, but Si-yoon—new to this—tumbled to the floor on his butt.
"Ugh... Still, it worked, so that's good!"
"H-How did you do that? I could only swap with stuff like cards before!"
"I enhanced your supernatural ability, Chae-ryeong."
Chae-ryeong's eyes widened at the unprecedented power output of her ability, but Si-yoon answered with a smug grin.
"Anyway... seems like we've startled some people."
The spot where Si-yoon and Chae-ryeong had swapped with the clone was somewhere in the airport's restaurant district. A few passersby looked shocked at their sudden appearance.
"Haha! No, it's nothing. Really."
Si-yoon and Chae-ryeong linked hands nonchalantly and walked off elsewhere, leaving the citizens exchanging baffled looks as they went their separate ways.
"Let's head somewhere less crowded first. We need to bring Ji-woo too."
They left the bustling restaurant area for a quieter spot, where Chae-ryeong clapped a few times to safely summon Ji-woo to the airport.
"Whoa?!"
Like Si-yoon, Ji-woo landed on her butt and gawked in shock at the reality of teleportation.
"Do-hwa said she'd contact Ji-woo, right?"
"Yes! She's closer to the airport than I thought—she said she'd be here in under 30 minutes."
"Alright, then we can move now."
"Nyaa! Firecracker's in that cafe in the restaurant district from earlier."
The three slipped back into the restaurant area and stealthily approached the cafe where Firecracker was supposed to be.
"That's her! The green-haired girl, short stature."
It matched the face from the executive intel Do-hwa had passed along from the Union for the operation.
Long green hair down to her waist, purple eyes, and a notably petite build—definitely Firecracker.
She wasn't in her usual modified qipao, probably to hide her identity; instead, she wore a plain skirt and a black hoodie.
"If someone unfamiliar like me or Ji-woo approaches, she'll get suspicious for sure."
>"So... you go alone and bring her out, Chae-ryeong."
>"Make another clone here first, then we'll take it outside, grab a large taxi, and wait."
"Got it... So I bring Firecracker and swap positions with that clone?"
"Exactly. You get it."
>"And if anything goes wrong, contact me on this smartphone."
Si-yoon handed Chae-ryeong a burner smartphone he'd prepared.
The screen showed an internet map pinpointing the taxi stand inside the airport.
"You've been here a few times, so you probably know, but I marked it on the map just in case."
>"And I connected it to the airport Wi-Fi. She's all yours."
"Nyaa! Leave it to me!"
Si-yoon and Ji-woo took up position where they could quietly watch the cafe, while Chae-ryeong entered alone.
"Welcome!"
Pretending to be a regular customer, she approached the busy cashier first.
"One iced Americano, please."
"Sure! It'll be right out—please wait a moment!"
Chae-ryeong paid cash instead of card, took her iced Americano when it was ready, and sat in the seat next to Firecracker.
"It's me."
Firecracker didn't notice Chae-ryeong glancing her way or hear her—or maybe she was just dozing off with half-closed eyes, head nodding.
"Ruirin. Hey, it's me."
"Whoa?! W-Who are you?! Eek...?!"
Chae-ryeong tapped her shoulder to get her attention. Firecracker turned irritably, then stuttered in shock upon seeing Chae-ryeong's face.
"T-Trickster...?! Y-You're alive...?"
"Shh! Don't yell it so everyone hears. Call me by my real name."
"Ah! Y-Yes! Ch-Chae-ryeong... nim."
Gone was the cute pet cat vibe—Chae-ryeong was back to her elegant, charismatic 'Trickster' self.
She calmed the panicking, stammering Firecracker and chatted with her briefly about recent events.
"I see... Dain vanished somewhere..."
>"And Executioner ended up captured by the heroes..."
"Yeah... I kept coming here just in case, but no one showed..."
Apparently, she'd been circling the airport interior and vicinity for three days on the off chance.
That's when she caught Chae-ryeong's clone's eye.
"I know exactly what's happened to everyone else."
>"You've been through a lot too, Ruirin."
"E-Everyone just... vanished so suddenly... I was s-super scared I'd get caught too..."
Firecracker sniffled childishly, clinging to Chae-ryeong's arm.
The funny part was that Chae-ryeong, who seemed far more mature and actually was older, was a year younger than Ruirin—who in turn was a year older than Si-yoon, who kept Chae-ryeong as his pet cat.
"Good thing I came here thinking maybe everyone was waiting."
>"For now... let's head to where I'm hiding out."
"R-Really...?"
"Of course! You'll even get to see the Leader."
Firecracker bought Chae-ryeong's blatant lie about the Leader being there without question.
The two returned their empty drink cups to the counter and walked out of the cafe, arms linked tightly.
"First, we'll head out to a vehicle we've prepped outside the airport, then teleport straight to our temporary hideout on the outskirts of B City using my ability."
>"So hang on tight to my arm, Ruirin."
"O-Okay...!"
Chae-ryeong spun tales of nonexistent future organization plans as she led Firecracker toward a quiet corner with few people.
'Hee hee... Ruirin will find out soon enough who our true Master really is...♥'
Chae-ryeong gripped Firecracker's arm firmly and clapped once—swapping places with the clone inside the vehicle where Si-yoon and Ji-woo waited.