Chapter 9
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 9
Chapter Title: A-Rank Gate (1)
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Agent Chae suddenly rolled her eyes back and collapsed.
“Whoa.”
Fortunately, I caught her just before she hit the floor.
Fainting out of nowhere like that... She must have some kind of chronic condition.
I carefully leaned her against the wall.
Then I stared intently into her pocket.
Sure enough, a thin leather notebook trembled and slipped out from Agent Chae's pocket.
It was an old notebook with a round eyeball on the cover, and the eye staring back at me was filled with intense fear.
“This must be it...”
The gaze that had tried to peer into my soul back in the interrogation room. This notebook seemed to be its source.
“Shall I take a look inside?”
I grabbed the notebook with my bare hand.
It twisted violently, resisting me.
But that resistance was just adorable.
I ignored its struggles and tried to force the cover open. Or at least, I tried.
For some reason, it wouldn't open.
“Ah, I see.”
It looked like only the rightful contractor could open it.
Of course, forcing it open wasn't impossible.
But I didn't have enough magic power right now for that, and there wasn't any real reason to bother anyway, so I didn't waste my time on it.
'I wasn't really curious about the contents to begin with.'
I let go of the notebook in my hand.
As if terrified I might change my mind, it darted back into Agent Chae's pocket.
I stroked my chin as I watched it go.
'I've confirmed it's some kind of detection artifact...'
But its mechanism was unlike anything I'd seen before.
After rolling around in hell for 10,000 years, I'd handled every kind of artifact out there. I knew as much about them as any artisan.
Yet even I found this notebook alien.
And the woman contracted to it, Agent Chae, as well.
Both of them were highly suspicious.
'Well, if we're talking suspicious, there's no end to it.'
Gates, Awakeners, Returnees—this world reeked of something fishy just from those alone. All of it conveniently popping up on a specific date?
Who would buy that?
Anyone could see it was all fabricated.
I pressed my temples.
'Ah, what a pain...'
I'd come back to Earth to live a peaceful, ordinary life. But with so many things nagging at me, how could I relax?
“Eh. Tsk tsk.”
As I clicked my tongue, Choi Eun-ji emerged from the bathroom, her face pale and haggard.
“...!”
She spotted me and clamped both hands over her mouth. The color drained from her face in an instant.
“Ah.”
Only then did I realize I was covered head to toe in blood. Had I been wandering around Superhuman Management Bureau headquarters like this? Impressive that I hadn't been arrested.
Snap!
I ignited flames to burn off all the blood and flesh chunks on my clothes.
While I was at it, I changed out of the suit into casual everyday wear.
I based it on the tracksuit I'd seen on that PC bang part-timer before. Naturally, I adjusted the size to fit me perfectly.
I examined my new outfit and grinned.
'Definitely more comfortable.'
There was something special about tracksuits... that unique comfort they provided. A slouchy kind of ease, you know?
Hard to put into words, but it had its own satisfying vibe. With both hands shoved deep into the pockets of the tracksuit top, I looked like the epitome of a jobless slacker.
'Being unemployed rocks.'
Doing absolutely nothing—how great was that?
Not just anyone could pull off being a bum. It took real talent.
Take me: I'd sworn to rest once I got back to Earth, but all I'd done was hunt down that perverted creep who latched onto me.
'Yeah, not cutting it.'
I'd have to say something to Lee Min-hyuk when he got back.
Yeah.
“Where'd you get those clothes?”
Lee Min-hyuk, walking toward me, asked with a puzzled look.
He'd just come back from the director's office and noticed my outfit had changed from a white suit to a gray tracksuit.
'No way he bought them outside in that short time.'
Lee Min-hyuk narrowed his eyes.
'Did he steal someone's?'
“Made them.”
Lee Min-hyuk nodded at my answer.
“You have creation abilities too? Impressive.”
Creation-type powers as well. I didn't know the extent, but it was definitely worth noting down.
As he thought that, I narrowed my eyes.
“But just now, your look got kinda weird?”
“Just your imagination.”
“Nah. Your eyes definitely looked off.”
He flinched at "eyes." Memories of Hwang Won-uk exploding limb from limb after one wrong glance flooded back.
Lee Min-hyuk shuddered, then spotted the fainted Chae Seol-ah in his view.
“Why's Agent Chae like that?”
Choi Eun-ji answered.
“She seems to have fainted. The reason...”
She glanced pointedly at me as she trailed off.
I didn't notice, hands deep in my pockets, chin tilted cockily.
“Looks like some chronic condition. Take good care of her welfare. She's a public servant, after all.”
Lee Min-hyuk scratched his neck.
“It's not a condition. She's just a huge scaredy-cat.”
Chae Seol-ah's personality was infamous in Team 3.
Basically, she was a total coward.
But it wasn't just that she was timid or couldn't handle scary things.
When gripped by fear, Chae Seol-ah went into full panic mode and did anything to escape the source.
Considering what she might actually attempt in that state, fainting from fear was actually a blessing.
“So, what's next?”
“Pardon?”
“I killed someone. You gonna arrest me?”
I mimed handcuffs with a sly grin.
Lee Min-hyuk ignored the playfulness.
“Murder? You had no choice but to kill a criminal resisting arrest.”
“Criminal?”
What was this now? I tilted my head, puzzled, and he explained slowly.
“Seventeen bodies from Hwang Won-uk's 'house.' All women recently reported missing. Traces of drugs and his semen found on them. Police ruled it as him drugging, raping, and murdering them.”
“Ho ho?”
“Police couldn't handle an S-Rank Hunter like Hwang Won-uk, so they shared intel with us. But his resistance was too fierce, so you had no choice but to kill him.”
“Hmm.”
“Not murder.”
I nodded as he finished.
“Ah, so that's the narrative?”
“Yes.”
“What about Seosung? He's their guild's S-Rank. Gotta square it with them too?”
“Seosung will cooperate fully.”
“Fully?”
I furrowed my brow.
“Their S-Rank gets killed overnight, and they'll just play along with the Bureau?”
Lee Min-hyuk scratched his cheek awkwardly.
“There's a reason. Hwang Won-uk's the chairman's illegitimate son.”
“Ooh, secret birth.”
My eyes sparkled for a moment.
“An illegitimate son who was abused and kicked out returns as a top-tier S-Rank Returnee. How's the vice president handling that headache? No telling what he'd do if provoked. And rumor has it, factions inside are backing him now.”
Lee Min-hyuk shrugged with a subtle expression.
“Then you remove the tumor without being asked. Of course they'll align with us. The vice president probably wants to hand you bundles of cash.”
“If they offer money, I'll take it.”
Why turn down free cash?
“Wait, I could even go demand it legally...”
As I started down that scary path, a flustered Lee Min-hyuk raised his voice.
“B-before that, the house! Let's go see the house!”
“House?”
“Yes. The one the Bureau's providing.”
I tilted my head.
“But we skipped the other stuff. Like psych counseling or job training or whatever.”
“All canceled.”
“Really?”
“Yes. That's the plan.”
“Then let's check out the house.”
My gaze shifted to the still-unconscious Chae Seol-ah.
“And bring her along. Definitely.”
“Who's dead?”
In an enormously spacious office,
a woman stood behind a desk as massive as the room. She gazed out the window while continuing her call.
-Hunter Hwang Won-uk. The Bureau just requested cooperation on postmortem handling. What should we do?
“That bastard's dead?”
She narrowed her brow.
“You sure?”
-Yes. Seems there was an incident at the Bureau. He picked a fight with a new Returnee and got killed.
Her face relaxed.
She took a deep, refreshing breath.
“Ha. Good riddance to that fucking prick.”
-Yes. But the issue is the crimes he's committed up till now have come to light too.
“Crimes?”
-Rape-murders. Looks like he trafficked drugs too.
“Ha, guy did it all.”
-The Bureau wants to wrap it up as them trying to arrest him, but his resistance forced a kill. They're covering for the new Returnee's murder. It'll damage Seosung Guild's image.
“...”
-What should we do, Vice President?
The woman—Seosung Vice President—pondered briefly before speaking.
“Got video?”
-Pardon?
“Of that bastard dying. CCTV, dashcam, whatever.”
-...I'll send it soon.
After a short wait, her smartwatch beeped. She played the video.
[Kwaaaagh!]
Even though it was a snuff-film-level gorefest, she watched every frame intently. When it ended, she spoke.
“...The woman in the video. Name?”
-Kim Hyun.
“Toyed with Hwang Won-uk like an insect, so at least top S-Rank. Looks good too. Personality seems a bit rough...”
That was hardly a flaw for hunters.
-What will you do, ma'am?
She answered without hesitation.
“Cooperate with the Bureau. And we have that A-Rank Gate Hwang Won-uk was supposed to raid—the one we bid on before?”
-Yes. What about it?
“Float it their way. See if they'll raid it.”
-Well, since she killed our S-Rank, the Returnee Kim Hyun should take responsibility and help with the Gate.
“No, not that.”
-Pardon?
“Hand over everything—byproducts, internal resources, all of it. If needed, pay her under employment for the raid fee. Whatever it takes to connect with Kim Hyun.”
The vice president's gaze fixed on the frozen image of Kim Hyun.
Staring piercingly at the blood-soaked, smiling Kim Hyun, she smirked.
“Looks like someone we absolutely need to snag.”