Chapter 42
Chapter 42
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 42
Chapter Title: The Shadow's Threat
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Let us turn back the clock for a moment.
To the time after Do-jae finished his pleasant date with Eun-hee and returned to the unit with Song Ji-yoon and Yuk Hyeon-jae.
In a remote area of Gwacheon, a three-story building stands alone.
In this place, which has a somewhat eerie atmosphere, there is an office with its lights on even late at night.
Outside the office, someone knocks cautiously on the door.
Knock, knock—.
"Come in."
A rather sharp voice comes from inside the room.
Kim Soo-kyung, the one who knocked, slowly opened the door and entered.
*Thwack!*
Kim Soo-kyung executed a perfectly sharp salute to Park Do-hwan.
Given the nature of the MID unit, they had no specific motto.
"Yes, Team Leader Kim… What is it?"
Park Do-hwan looked at Kim Soo-kyung with bloodshot eyes.
He had been wrestling with a problem lately: the Mana Accelerator being developed in China.
The Mana Accelerator was a type of doping injection, a drug that could boost an Awakened's abilities several or even tens of times over in a short period.
It was said to serve the same function as a Transcendence Stone, but without any side effects.
Information about this Mana Accelerator had been obtained through the intelligence agency's espionage activities.
And now, it was MID's turn to act.
If the Mana Accelerator were to be perfected, China would gain power far greater than what it currently possessed.
Humans are animals of war.
In primitive times, humans evolved by hunting animals in the wild for survival.
In other words, aggression and violence are embedded in human DNA, a fact proven throughout history by the act of war.
However, decades ago, monstrous creatures called monsters appeared.
These monsters, possessing power that defied the laws of nature, inflicted immense damage upon humanity and the entire planet.
A new predator had appeared above humans, who had been at the apex of the ecosystem.
For the first time, humans as a species resisted the monsters.
They fought and sacrificed to return to the top.
And what made that possible was the existence of the Awakened.
It was, in a sense, a new evolution.
With their superhuman abilities, they turned humans from the hunted into the hunters.
But as monster hunting became more familiar and the damage began to heal, humanity's true nature started to emerge once again.
The seeds of war were slowly beginning to sprout.
No, even now, small-scale wars were breaking out all over the world.
A single powerful Awakened possessed strength equivalent to hundreds of soldiers from the past.
The wars of today were not fought by pouring firepower, but through small-scale battles between the Awakened.
In other words, modern national defense depended on how many powerful Awakened a country possessed.
As the head of MID, the strengthening of other nations' Awakened was his primary concern.
"It's about Lee Do-jae."
"Lee Do-jae? Who was that again?"
"He's the man who bought the half-piece of Transcendence Stone and then joined the Suppression Corps."
"Right. What happened with him?"
Park Do-hwan shot up from his seat.
As important as China's movements were, the whereabouts of the Transcendence Stone was paramount.
Three months had already passed, but surveillance on Do-jae had been sluggish due to the geographical location of Kaesong and the presence of Kim Hwan-soo of the Chilgok Unit.
Recently, however, the Kaesong subjugation was nearly complete, and he had been leaving the unit occasionally, so Park Do-hwan had ordered surveillance to be placed on him.
"Well… I sent Jang Ji-woo, but he says he was discovered by Lee Do-jae."
"Discovered?"
"Yes… He tried to incapacitate Lee Do-jae and bring him in, but he failed."
"So, what did you find out?"
"He was knocked out before he could even put up a proper fight…"
"You useless bastard!"
*Crash—!*
*Shatter—!*
Park Do-hwan threw the water glass from his desk, and it struck Kim Soo-kyung on the forehead, shattering into pieces.
*Drip—.*
Kim Soo-kyung could have dodged it, but he took the hit on purpose.
It was a simple outburst of anger, so it wasn't thrown that hard, and being an Awakened, he wasn't going to die from being hit by a glass cup.
Dodging it would have only provoked him further.
*Thump—.*
"Wipe it."
Park Do-hwan tossed a box of tissues at Kim Soo-kyung's chest.
Kim Soo-kyung quickly wiped away the blood that had trickled down to his chin.
"It's my fault for picking guys like you, isn't it?"
"No, sir."
"You didn't come here just to report a failure, did you? If so, that's very disappointing."
Park Do-hwan stealthily placed his hand on the telephone.
With a single phone call, he could make not only Kim Soo-kyung but his entire team disappear without a trace.
"Yes. According to our investigation, Lee Do-jae has grown suspiciously strong recently. It's unprecedented. It's almost like the result we would see if our unstable experiment were perfected."
"So."
"Lee Do-jae clearly knew what the Transcendence Stone was when he bought it from Choi Woo-seok. We can infer that there's a connection between his newfound strength and the stone. Therefore, we must bring him in for experimentation to find a way to maximize the efficiency and effectiveness of the Transcendence Stone."
"And how are the bastards who failed at simple surveillance supposed to bring him in? Are you planning to kidnap him in the middle of the city? You got the guts for that? …Wait, didn't you say Lee Do-jae has a younger brother?"
"Yes, he has a sick younger brother who has recently shown great improvement and is scheduled to be discharged soon."
"I see… so that's how it is…"
Park Do-hwan took his hand off the phone.
And he flashed a meaningful smile.
Seeing the look on Park Do-hwan's face, Kim Soo-kyung's expression grew uneasy.
***
Do-jae headed to the shop of Choi Woo-seok, a man he'd often traded with and grown close to.
This morning, after a brief farewell to his squad members, he had headed straight for Seoul.
He had been given a week's leave before following Kim Hwan-soo to the Suppression Corps headquarters.
His brother was also being discharged this afternoon, so he planned to stop by Choi Woo-seok's in the morning, maybe grab lunch together, and then go pick him up.
*Jingle—.*
"Sir. It's been a while."
But there was no response.
Normally, Choi Woo-seok would have rushed out the moment the bell chimed.
*'Is he not here?'*
Do-jae walked past the shelves and headed toward the back.
Fortunately, Choi Woo-seok was in the small office attached to the shop.
"Sir."
Do-jae opened the office door and called out to Choi Woo-seok.
Unaware of Do-jae's arrival, Choi Woo-seok was dozing off, his head bobbing.
"Sir?"
"Mm… huh? Oh, is that you, Do-jae?"
Calling out a little louder, Do-jae woke Choi Woo-seok, who sat up, blinking his eyes open drowsily.
He still looked dazed, not fully awake.
"What's going on? Sleeping at this hour?"
"Huh? Oh… yeah… I guess so. I've been sleeping a lot lately."
Choi Woo-seok staggered to his feet, tidied up some papers, and took out a paper cup.
"Coffee… you want some?"
"Yes, please."
Do-jae watched Choi Woo-seok slowly prepare the coffee.
His usual vibrant energy was gone, replaced by a strange listlessness.
In the few months Do-jae had been in Kaesong, the man's face had become incredibly gaunt.
"Here you go."
"Thank you."
"It's really hard to see your face these days. What brings you by?"
"No special reason. I just came to see you."
"What? Last time you came with a full truck! You came empty-handed this time?"
"Don't worry. I have even more than last time."
Do-jae had already piled up a huge stack of spoils in the warehouse parking lot.
Last time, he had to call for a delivery truck because he couldn't take everything out of his Subspace one by one, but now his Subspace was larger and the list of items inside was more organized, allowing him to take them all out at once.
"Really?"
"Yes, go take a look later. I've piled it up in the parking lot."
"Really? I see…"
Choi Woo-seok glanced at the back door through the office window, then sat back down on the sofa.
*'Strange.'*
Normally, he was the type of person who would rush out to check immediately, saying time was money.
But he didn't seem very interested.
"Sir, did something happen?"
"No? Nothing's wrong."
"Hmm. You've lost weight and your eyes are sunken. Are you sick?"
"Kid, this is just what happens when you get old."
Choi Woo-seok was in his late fifties.
It wasn't a young age, but in this day and age, it was a bit of a stretch to call someone in their fifties old.
For him to change so much in such a short time, there had to be a health problem, unless something else had happened.
"Then you should go to the hospital. You should at least get a check-up."
"Hospital? What for? And do you know how much a check-up costs? Are you going to pay for it?"
"Yes, I'll pay for it."
"Forget it, kid. I have plenty of money!"
"Still a cheapskate, I see."
"Yeah, I'm a cheapskate! Then you should've brought something for me to buy instead of coming empty-handed!"
"Huh? I told you earlier. I piled it up in the parking lot…"
"Did you? Sorry. I've been forgetting things lately."
Do-jae stared intently at Choi Woo-seok.
It wasn't just a simple gaze.
He was checking his condition with the Eye of the Golem.
[Character Information]
Name: Choi Woo-seok
Classification: Human
Details: 58 years old, Male, 168cm, 61kg, Owner of .
Status: Drowsiness, Headache, Fatigue, Memory Loss
[Stats]
Strength: 9 / Stamina: 10 / Agility: 7 / Spirit: 0 / Resistance: 0
[Skills]
Passive: None
Active: None
*'Memory loss…'*
Do-jae scanned Choi Woo-seok's body from head to toe.
There were no visible signs of external trauma.
To suffer memory loss, he must have been seriously injured, yet there wasn't a single scratch on his head or face.
"Sir, has anything happened to you recently?"
"Happened? What could possibly happen to me? My life is just coming to the shop every day."
"Think carefully."
"Hmm…"
Choi Woo-seok furrowed his brow.
He wore an expression as if something was on the tip of his tongue, and then, as if he'd remembered something, he opened his mouth.
"Ah, was it about three or four months ago? It was strange…"
"Ahem…"
Do-jae's expression tightened.
Three or four months ago was when Do-jae had bought the Transcendence Stone, the 'Sealed Memory,' from Choi Woo-seok.
And the organization related to this was, without a doubt, the Suppression Corps' Intelligence Command, MID's Shadow Unit.
*'Do-young…!'*
As Do-jae's expression turned grim, Choi Woo-seok, in turn, began to worry.
"What's with the serious face? Don't worry. I told you, this is what happens when you get old."
"Sigh… For now, please eat something good for you. Especially something good for your head! What's the point of chasing money so much? We do it all to live, don't we?"
Do-jae found himself losing his temper.
It was due to the guilt that Choi Woo-seok had suffered a mental attack because of him, and his rage toward the Shadow Unit.
On top of that, Do-jae's mind was filled with worry for his brother.
If MID knew about the people connected to him, it meant his brother might not be safe either.
"Ah… alright. No need to get angry."
"I'm sorry. I was just worried."
"Thanks. Sigh, you're right, we do it all to live. I'll go to the hospital."
Do-jae quickly rose from his seat.
He planned to go to his brother's hospital immediately.
"Yes, I'll be going now. Please take care of the items like last time."
"Alright, come again!"
Do-jae stepped out of the shop.
He was thinking he had to somehow repay the Shadow Unit for what they did to Choi Woo-seok, just as he was about to hail a taxi.
*Bzzz—.*
Do-jae's smartphone vibrated.
*'Who is it?'*
Do-jae took out his smartphone and checked the text message.
An address was attached, along with a single photo.
And upon seeing the photo, he was consumed by a tremendous rage.
"You sons of bitches!"