Chapter 17
Chapter 17
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 17
Chapter Title: Plan (3)
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"What the hell are you up to?"
Yubyeol-ha glared at me sharply.
Her piercing gaze felt like it could slice right through me, brimming with all sorts of tangled emotions.
And the thickest one among them? Doubt, no question.
"I'm not your enemy. If anything, I see myself as being on the same side as you."
"You expect me to believe that?"
I walked toward Yubyeol-ha with deliberate steps.
Her body tensed up instantly.
Bracing for whatever might come, she deployed a barrier field around herself and shifted into combat stance—but all I did was set down some of the Experimental Awake I'd gotten from the goat right in front of her.
"Go to the Federal Guidance Bureau and ask for their help. Tell them there's a group distributing dangerous stuff in Academy City."
"What...?"
"Don't worry about your murders getting exposed. Unlike me, who entered legally as a student, all the monsters you killed slipped into Arcana through forgeries or smuggling—every last one of them illegal entrants."
I nudged the Experimental Awake with my foot.
"Even if they vanish, no one will bat an eye. And even if someone close to them reports it, it's no different from a ghost—impossible to even identify the missing monster. So go ahead and get involved without a care."
Baek Do-hyun was a vampire, but also a psyker.
He was eighteen by human standards and had a proper identity to boot.
Baek Do-hyun could enter Academy City legitimately, but most monsters didn't have that kind of qualification.
So monsters mostly got into the city with 'collaborators' helping them out... and since that help always involved smuggling or forged identities—purely illegal means—most monsters were undocumented illegals.
Yubyeol-ha wouldn't kill monsters in broad daylight where people could see, and without direct witnesses, the Guidance Bureau had no way of pinning it on her.
"Roughly fifty psykers have ingested Experimental Awake. Considering the goat's range... most of them are probably students at the school in the Fifth District."
If you report this straight to the Federal Guidance Bureau yourself, you can prevent a ton of casualties.
I relayed the info to her, reciting straight from the original story.
Yubyeol-ha crossed her arms, still eyeing me warily.
A moment later, her tightly shut lips parted.
"Hey."
"What."
"What the hell are you...?"
Yubyeol-ha let out a bewildered chuckle, tilting her head to the side.
"Aren't you supposed to be some monster that lives by sucking people's blood?"
I didn't deny it.
When the bloodlust hit, I was the kind of monster who'd beat someone to death just to quench the thirst.
"It doesn't make any damn sense. If what you're saying is true, why would a monster side with humans instead of the secret society?"
"No reason it shouldn't. Humans fight each other all the time—if they can do that, what's stopping monsters from scrapping among ourselves?"
"...Then why'd you sell drugs to the cadets?"
"You gotta make some moral sacrifices to play the small-time crook convincingly."
Yubyeol-ha clamped her mouth shut, deep in thought.
I'd come here to forge an alliance with her.
Sure, in the prologue, Baek Do-hyun gets offed, and she goes on a no-mercy rampage, smashing every secret society monster in sight—a vengeful ghost with a temper—but to twist this tragedy into something else, I needed Yubyeol-ha's potential and power on my side.
Her abilities, destined to make her a hunter surpassing even Lee Gyeo-ul's fame someday? They'd be a huge help.
I was dead certain, knowing her future from the original story.
"Fuck."
Yubyeol-ha scratched her head furiously.
She glared at me suspiciously, then picked up the Experimental Awake from the floor.
"This shit stinks to high heaven, but I can't just ignore it..."
I shrugged.
"My goal is stopping what the 21st Century Secret Society is trying to pull off. I can't get behind their insane plan to cull humanity down to one-thousandth—and hey, I'm a gourmet, so..."
Yubyeol-ha raised her hand, cutting me off.
With her guard somewhat lowered, she continued calmly.
"I can't fully trust you yet, but... fine, whatever."
"After sparing your life and showing you all this collusion, and you still don't trust me?"
"How am I supposed to instantly trust a bloodsucking monster?"
Yubyeol-ha flashed a mischievous grin.
Her signature shark teeth peeked out.
"That said, you've shown me some useful cards, so I owe you some trust in return."
"Oh?"
"Don't get the wrong idea. I still don't fully buy your shit."
Setting aside trust so far, from her position of wanting to wipe out the 21st Century Secret Society, my proposal had to look tempting.
Yubyeol-ha said slyly,
"I had chances to hand that Experimental Awake over to the Guidance Bureau myself."
"I know. But you prioritized killing monsters over saving lives, so you didn't."
"Yeah. If the authorities get involved, I can't go wild as I please—probing the secret society gets messy, killing monsters gets messy..."
"So what you're saying is, killing monsters with your own hands takes priority over letting fifty people turn into dimensional beasts?"
"Are you insane?"
Yubyeol-ha gave me a cold, dead stare.
"Even if I'm a monster-killing maniac, I'm not that crazy."
Still, she said, if we didn't hit them hard this time, the 21st Century Secret Society would just scheme something else in Academy City.
She had a point.
Even if we nabbed the goat who spread the Experimental Awake and smoothed this over, with dozens of secret society members in the city—including their ringleader Aria—these incidents would repeat eventually.
"What I'm saying is, let's think more creatively. Best defense is a good offense, right? Let's step one foot into the future."
"Deep thoughts for someone who lost to me. Lucky you."
A vein popped on Yubyeol-ha's forehead.
That last jab had hit her pride's sore spot.
Lips pressed tight, she trembled all over, flashing a menacing smile.
"Should I drag your ass out here again...?"
"Pass. We've got bigger fish right now."
Best defense is a good offense.
One key premise first.
To 'deflect' the story, I had to stay embedded in the 21st Century Secret Society.
The more I intervened and twisted things, the further reality would diverge from the original plot.
With the main antagonists being the 21st Century Secret Society... to stay one step ahead of the shifting story, intel superiority was essential.
"First off, heads-up: I can't get exposed as an informant. Try not to mention me anywhere."
"I got that much, kid."
Beyond stopping the incident, a way to really hurt the 21st Century Secret Society...
This needed some serious pondering.
"I'll think about that forward-stepping plan."
"Good."
"Anyway, you handle passing it to the Guidance Bureau. Ask them to focus on the Fifth District, and we'll talk the rest once time passes."
I finished up and slid her my phone.
Yubyeol-ha stared at it blankly.
"What."
"Gimme your number."
"Huh?"
She looked at me like I was pulling some sleazy move.
"We need to stay in touch about the job, don't we? Who said I wanna hit on you?"
"Sorry, sorry—your looks reminded me of those parasitic freaks who hit on anything, my bad."
Yubyeol-ha snickered playfully and punched in her number.
I saved it to contacts and turned to leave the rooftop.
"Hey."
"What."
As I headed for the rattling iron door, her voice stopped me.
Still something to say?
"If I tip off the Guidance Bureau about the Experimental Awake, you'll end up on the suspect list too. You cool with that?"
"Worried about me now?"
Her golden eyes twitched at that.
Like she'd spotted some creepy bug, she denied it vehemently.
"W-Who said I'm worried about you... If your ass gets nabbed and shit goes sideways, I'll be the one in trouble!"
"Whatever, it'll work out. Can't just stand by and watch fifty people turn into dimensional beasts. Plus, it's the drugs I spread, so don't sweat it."
I left her bellowing at the top of her lungs behind me.
And headed down from the rooftop. The night air was chilly.
Walking, I pulled out my smartphone from my pocket.
Staring at the screen, sure enough, there was a message from the system.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ Trait 'Hypnotic Eyes' has met its second evolution condition. ⚔ STATUS ⚔ ──────────────◆
Level.1 - Hypnotic Eyes Eyes that induce hallucinations in people. Can show visions to targets who meet your gaze. Evolution Conditions: Evolution Points 100, ──────────────◆
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ Evolution Points remaining until trait evolution: 50. ⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ 'Evolution Points' are awarded based on 'Fate Deflection'. ⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ We hope you'll contribute to 'Fate Deflection' for trait evolution as well. Nice.
A satisfied smile crossed my face as I headed to the basement.