Chapter 17
Chapter 17
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 17
Chapter Title: The Gunshot That Day
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Agents bustle through the gray-painted interior corridors of the facility. Their footsteps brim with anxiety.
They have a mountain of urgent tasks to handle. If the Association's operations grind to a halt, the villains are sure to take advantage of the chaos.
With the tragic incident that unfolded right inside the Association still needing cleanup, they don't even have a moment to catch their breath.
Justice strides through their midst. Amid the noisy, chaotic hallway, only her footsteps ring out clear and resolute.
She's heading to the conference room at the heart of the Association building. Urgent calls for her help come from every direction, but right now, the one place she must go is that room.
"Justice."
"So you've arrived."
Inside, most of the Association's executives are gathered. With the Director and Crow absent, Justice has no choice but to shoulder both their roles and continue battling it out alone with the executives.
"We were just talking about you. How exactly do you plan to take responsibility for this?!"
Even before the Hero hailed as the strongest, the old executives raise their voices and point fingers accusingly.
"The Association's reputation has hit rock bottom. At this rate, the government will step in. How could this happen? How could an Association Hero kill the Director?!"
"Because of you, we can't even mount a proper response—we're just getting hammered by public opinion. If you were going to cover it up, you should have done it right...!"
The old men's words buzz like flies in Justice's already muddled head. She's been under so much stress lately that she's on the verge of exploding, and hearing their shouting in this situation makes her feel like she's losing her mind.
"Crow said he would never do such a thing. He said you'd take responsibility, so we should wait!"
"Enough. It was our mistake for being fools. We should have rooted them out properly from the start."
She offers no reply, but the executives keep talking among themselves, hurling abuse at Crow.
"Damn that sneaky bastard. All that posturing, and in the end, he was plotting behind our backs to screw us over."
"No time for cursing now! We need to restore the Association's reputation immediately. Justice, we have to issue a statement as soon as possible. It's already too late, but we need to contain the damage even a little faster."
"It's been three days. Three days... The initial response is the most crucial."
Justice doesn't even sit down.
She stands ramrod straight, clenching her fists hard.
She's gripping so tightly that her knuckles tremble.
Cracks begin to form in her composure.
"Goddamn it! The real problem is those documents getting leaked in the first place. No matter what we do now, we'll always be one step behind...!"
"That's because you lot couldn't handle your jobs! You should have secured the media from the start...!"
"Stop with the stupid talk. It wasn't just the media—they plastered it all over every site out in the open. This is blatant provocation. Provocation against the Association! Get your heads on straight, people!"
Every word rings true.
But they're all so pointed and obvious that it stirs suspicion instead.
"Justice. Listen carefully. There's a press conference scheduled for this evening. We've prepared a script to minimize our losses, so just read it as is. Understood?"
Maybe Crow was right—there could still be traitors lurking within the Association. They might have abandoned him and a few underlings, sealed their lips, and be playing their parts...
But Justice can't even grasp where the plan begins or who's involved.
To be honest,
the claim that Crow was tied to the REP project feels more credible
than some vague, uncertain conspiracy theory.
June 27th—the Director was killed. Estimated time of death: 11:03 PM.
Oddly enough,
Association entrance CCTV captured the Director around 7 PM. He clearly left the building four hours before his death.
No footage shows him returning afterward. That means he snuck back into the building, evading the internal cameras. The evidence is compelling. To thwart the REP plan, the Director had to confront traitors inside the Association. He must have infiltrated to gather intel.
However,
by sheer coincidence,
Crow had secretly infiltrated the Association that same day. This leads to two possibilities.
One: The Director and Crow were on the same side.
Two: Crow followed to assassinate the Director.
But there's zero evidence to support the first.
Instead, the Director was killed by a gun and ammo Crow frequently used—special rounds issued by the Association for superpowered foes. A shot to the back of the head, instant death.
Bang-!
One gunshot echoed, sirens blared throughout the Association, and nearby agents and Heroes began searching the premises.
In that instant, Crow's instincts screamed. Something was terribly wrong.
After the short, sharp report of a familiar gunshot, lockdown barriers began rising inside the Association building. Crow knew their design and structure intimately—he'd helped devise them. He could sense he'd fallen into a trap he couldn't easily escape.
"...Shit."
Crawling through the vents, he kicked open an exit and dropped into the corridor. Once lockdown started, vents would flood with sleep gas and hot air. Since he'd come up with the idea himself, he couldn't help but curse his own ingenuity.
'Should've left myself an escape route if I saw this coming.'
He racked his brain for an escape plan, but only one option remained.
Walk casually down the corridor
and submit to inspection by the Association personnel blocking the entrance.
That would expose his snooping into the REP plan. His future activities would be restricted, no doubt.
Maybe someone would even try to assassinate him on the sly.
Still, getting out of the building came first.
Of course, no need to worry about the gunshot. It came from the Director's office but fired only once—clear sign of a master marksman.
And naturally, Crow was certain that master was the Director.
He was formidable, after all.
A seasoned fighter who could hold his own in battle despite his age.
'Foolish man. Should've just slipped out quietly.'
So for now, Crow needed to get outside and assess the situation himself.
Even one person distancing themselves from the incident would help with cleanup later.
If disaster struck the Association,
the innocent or uninformed had to follow protocol without question.
And protocol was simple.
Drop everything and head to the entrance.
"C-Crow! What happened!?"
An agent came running up to him, pale as a ghost. He looked terrified, but spotting Crow brought a sigh of relief as he caught his breath. Probably figured he'd be safe sticking close to Crow.
"No idea. Let's get out first."
"Th-the gunshot..."
"I heard it. It'll be fine. Let's go outside and see what's up."
They hurried toward the entrance.
Already, confused agents, staff, a few Heroes, and executives had gathered, undergoing inspection.
"Damn, what a mess."
"Heard a gunshot. Could be casualties."
Muttered voices.
And suspicious glares from those checking the evacuees.
In the midst of it all,
Crow scanned for the Director, craning his neck now and then,
but the Director was nowhere in sight.
"..."
Then,
Crow felt another bad premonition.
What if the Director hadn't pulled the trigger...?
'No way.'
A creeping anxiety gnawed at him from within,
but Crow trusted the Director.
He wasn't someone who died easily. He'd earned that position for a reason.
He knew how to protect himself, at least. He'd be fine.
What worried Crow more
was how to help if the Director had killed someone.
This could be a trap targeting the Director.
If he got framed and arrested, the Association would plunge into chaos.
As Crow mulled this over,
Static-
the radios of those conducting inspections crackled with urgent chatter.
"Hold position for a moment."
They pushed the evacuees back and tuned in.
"Echo to Alpha, Alpha. Standing by for comms."
Before the transmission ended, everyone started exchanging uneasy glances.
"..."
Crow noticed
some of those glances flick briefly toward him.
Something was definitely wrong.
This trap targeted the Director,
but Crow himself too.
"Crow, hands on your head. Slowly get down on the ground."
Their gun barrels swiveled toward him.