Chapter 99
Chapter 99
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 99
Chapter Title: Weaver's Warning
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Two-Shot showed no intention of taking the meeting seriously.
To be precise, he didn't seem to want it to proceed seriously.
*Typical Two-Shot, unable to handle a heavy atmosphere,* Weaver scoffed inwardly.
"Tell us about the new gang members in District 3. I heard you got yourself some of Dr. Eun's cranes?"
Weaver acted as if she had nothing to do with Two-Shot.
Hunter eyed Weaver with suspicion but didn't bother to upend the stage she had set.
"Two-Shot. You're aware that any significant change in a gang's size must be reported to Headquarters. I haven't heard a thing."
"It was about time for a meeting anyway. Why are you being so uptight?"
"The terrorist who attacked Hero Headquarters might be one of your gang members. Shouldn't I be uptight?"
"Well... in the Old District, we've always been breaking and getting broken by each other. Hero Headquarters is no exception. In the Old District, you follow the Old District's rules."
As Two-Shot spoke with grand gestures, Weaver shook her head.
"Even you wouldn't blow up a gang's base of operations, though you might blow up someone's garage in another district. Not unless you were declaring war."
She was implying that the situation was perfect for framing him as an accomplice to a terrorist who had declared war on Hero Headquarters.
Haon glanced at her face. The tattoos made it difficult to read her expression.
*If I had to choose between Two-Shot and Weaver as an ally, I would have picked Weaver. I wonder what Bae Anjae was thinking.*
A seasoned ruler who knew the Old District as well as Juyeol or Nova and had a decent grasp of the other bosses' situations.
Why had he chosen Two-Shot over someone like Weaver?
"You seem to have the wrong idea. I'm not hiding anyone. They entered District 3 on their own. Who knows where they are now."
Two-Shot grumbled as if he'd been wronged.
Haon carefully scanned him with her mana, but found nothing unusual.
This meant he wasn't being controlled by Bae Anjae through threats of a bomb, but had willingly joined hands with him.
Haon gave Hunter a look, signaling that this was enough.
Hunter stopped grilling Two-Shot and moved on to the usual topics discussed at these meetings.
Throughout it all, Two-Shot was on pins and needles. He kept checking the time and glancing behind him, as if to see if someone was standing there, until the meeting ended.
* * *
"Weaver! Can we talk for a moment?"
"..."
Weaver, who had been about to leave the library after the meeting, turned to look at Haon.
Haon was more assertive than usual, wanting to speak with her today.
"If you're uncomfortable here, should I go to District 5? Or would you like to come to my district? The lab is fine, too."
"Stepping into someone else's territory right now isn't a very good idea."
"Hmm. I think so too."
As Haon smiled awkwardly, Weaver's eyes slowly scanned their surroundings.
"Are you a stooge for Hero Headquarters?"
"Not exactly, but it would be a lie to say we're not in a cooperative relationship, since they've set up their headquarters in District 2."
At the honest answer, Weaver whispered something to her subordinate, then gave Haon a slight nod.
Haon followed her up to the second floor of the library. The empty, dark corridor was lit only by the green glow of an emergency exit sign.
Leaning against the wall, Weaver waited for Haon to speak.
The sense of pressure she exuded was different from Hunter's, and different from Halo's. Haon hesitated before asking.
"Did Bae Anjae happen to visit you?"
"Do you want to swallow up every district in the Old District?"
"...?"
Weaver answered her question with another question. After a brief pause, Haon answered her first.
"Does it look that way? I have no such ambition."
She didn't know if Weaver would believe her, but Haon spoke plainly. Weaver seemed to be constantly trying to gauge her true intentions.
"What are you trying to do by expanding your territory like that?"
"Uh..."
Having never considered it, Haon tilted her head and asked back.
"What about you, Weaver? What would you do if you had all five districts?"
"Let's see. I'd place my most trusted subordinates in each district, let things run for a while, and then probably get betrayed by those same subordinates when they get greedy."
Her tone was light, as if she were predicting the next episode of a TV drama.
Haon mulled over her words before it dawned on her.
"...You don't have any desire for the other districts either, do you, Weaver?"
Weaver's silence felt like an affirmation, which only confused her more.
"Then why did you try to take District 1? You kept trying even after I took it."
"Actually, I wasn't aiming for you back then."
"What? Then who?"
"There was just someone I absolutely didn't want to hand another district over to."
"...Was it Rusty, by any chance?"
Thinking back, Weaver's subordinates had been more wary of the other districts' members than of her or Chacha. She thought they had been Rusty's people.
Weaver let out a dry laugh and continued.
"You saved him, I hear? You should have killed him. Rusty will do whatever it takes to get District 4 back."
"I don't want to kill him. And so far, he hasn't shown any signs of trying."
"Perhaps. But what about the future?"
Weaver stared into Haon's eyes, piercing through the surrounding darkness.
"Since it's come to this, you take District 3. Just leave District 5 alone."
"If you don't torment people, I won't touch District 5."
Weaver scoffed at her answer.
"Are people living outside the Old District not people?"
"What?"
"Do you think the Old District is the only place where people suffer because of a regional administrator? This Central District is no different. Do you even know what the rent is like in that university district over there?"
"That's..."
"I'm telling you this because you're genuinely different from before, so get a grip. There's no such thing as a perfect administrator. Everyone just lives with it. Are you going to kill them all? Are you going to kill the president, too?"
"That's not what I meant! I just want everyone to live safely and well, and I have no intention of killing any—"
"You can't save everyone. Not even Hunter, the leader of the heroes, can do that."
Haon fell silent. There was nothing more she could say to Weaver.
"From your expression, it seems you already know. Is that why you're flailing about?"
A throb.
A headache flared as a hidden wound was torn open.
"Anyway, congratulations on taking three districts, Doctor."
Weaver waved her hand casually and added.
"Oh, right. Bae Anjae did come to see me. But we didn't join hands."
* * *
*Beep— Beep—.*
Juyeol's eyes shot open. He hastily turned off the alert on his wristband and checked beside him.
Haon stirred slightly but, thankfully, didn't wake up.
She had been a little down after returning from the meeting, and seemed lost in thought right up until she fell asleep.
He wanted to let her sleep soundly until morning.
*...She's so cute. How did I never realize this face was so pretty?*
He gazed at Haon's sleeping face, then gently stroked her cheek.
As if enjoying the feeling, Haon leaned into his warm touch, nuzzling against his hand.
*This is insane. Unbelievable, really.*
Juyeol punched his pillow, then rubbed his reddening face.
Although he had moved into the dorms next to Headquarters, he returned to Haon's penthouse every night.
Days spent making her dinner and falling asleep in the same bed.
He was busy with the Old District and his sister, but these were the most satisfying days he'd had since meeting Haon.
*I don't know what you think of me... but you wouldn't have let me into your bedroom if you didn't like me at all.*
The fact that she could sleep so well next to him without sleeping pills must mean that even if she wasn't particularly conscious of him, she felt some level of affection and trust.
She often talked to Nova on the phone at night, but with him, it was practically like they were living together...
As he continued his hopeful delusion, he was suddenly struck by how pathetic he was being and decided to check the alert on his wristband.
*It's still early morning. A call to me when I'm outside the dorms must mean it's something in the New District, right?*
He never told anyone his destination when he slipped out of the dorms each night, but most people knew he was going to Haon's.
So it wouldn't be strange for them to assign him a case in the New District, where Haon's lab was located.
*I should slip out quietly, take care of it, and come back before Haon wakes up.*
But the alert Juyeol checked wasn't about the New District.
It was a report that an underground tunnel in District 2 of the Old District had completely collapsed.
* * *
[Scan complete. The passage is completely blocked. A shielding membrane and mana traps have been detected, and poison is being released.]
At Blue's report, Haon shook her head.
"No. We can't touch this."
The collapse was caused by the same type of mana bomb that had brought down Hero Headquarters.
The same bomb that turned any wall she hardened back into sand.
As if that wasn't enough, there was a shield and traps. It seemed Bae Anjae had decided to abandon this route completely.
"With Hero Headquarters established in District 2, he must have decided this passage is no longer usable."
Chaser muttered as he tapped on his phone, relaying the situation to Headquarters.
As soon as he arrived on site, he had used his ability to see afterimages of the last minute to survey the area.
He said that since there were no suspicious afterimages on the surface, the bomb was likely detonated from inside the underground passage.
"In that case."
The moment Haon moved closer to ask his opinion, he flinched violently, his shoulders shuddering as he dropped his phone.