Chapter 166: Pulling the Tail
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 166: Pulling the Tail
“W-who the hell are you?”
The man, who appeared to be in his mid-to-late thirties, looked utterly bewildered. It was his day off, yet four people—two men and two women—had somehow bypassed his lock, marched into his home, and were now standing in his living room without even bothering to take off their shoes.
“You don’t know me?”
When a young man who looked barely out of his teens asked such a blunt question, the man’s confusion quickly curdled into rage. Anyone would be incensed to see a brat barge into their home with dirty shoes and speak to them so informally.
Just as the man scowled, ready to explode, the youth spoke again.
“You wrote an article about me without even knowing what I look like?”
At the word ‘article,’ several faces flashed through the man’s mind. But the first thing he remembered was the encouraging phone call from his boss earlier that day, praising him because the article had gone viral and promising a massive bonus.
“J-J-Jin…”
“Yeah. Jin Seo-un. That’s my name.”
“This is trespassing! Get out! Get out right now! If you have something to say, go through a lawyer and contact my company—”
Crackle!
Whoosh!
The man’s words cut off abruptly as blue sparks and flickering flames erupted from Gi-chan’s and Juriel’s hands.
“Since you wrote the article, you should know. I—and the people here—have legal immunity. So, shall we sit down and talk? Or…”
Seo-un trailed off, his gaze shifting pointedly toward Juriel’s ball of fire and Gi-chan’s dancing electricity.
“Talk! Let’s talk! P-please, sit here.”
The man’s judgment was faster than his sluggish appearance suggested. Despite his heavy build and stoic face, he made a split-second decision and guided them to the sofa.
“Being a journalist must pay well. It can’t be easy to afford an apartment this size in Seoul.”
Seo-un remarked as the four of them sat on a sofa that still felt spacious in a living room that looked to be well over 1,400 square feet. The man gave an awkward, pained smile.
“I-I’m just very interested in investment…”
Not everyone interested in investment could afford a sprawling luxury apartment in the heart of the capital.
“Well, whatever. Let’s get straight to the point.”
At Seo-un’s words, the man swallowed hard, wetting his dry lips. Seo-un simply stared at him. As the silence stretched on, the man began to fidget, sweat pouring down his neck.
“Um…”
He opened his mouth, but the words failed him. After a few more moments of suffocating silence, Gi-chan pulled a coffin out of his subspace and slammed it down in the middle of the living room.
“The size… seems about right.”
When Gi-chan said that, eyeing the man’s frame and comparing it to the wooden box, the man’s face turned ghostly pale.
“I-I’m sorry! That wasn’t an article I intended to write! I just… Yes! Someone told me to run the story once, and that was it!”
“Who?”
Only then did a flicker of interest appear on Seo-un’s face. As he spoke, the man’s mind raced frantically.
“It was a personal contact, so I don’t know the details… But! I have their contact info, a recording of their voice, and even a video I took of their face!”
Seeing Seo-un’s brow furrow, the man rushed into his room and scrambled back out with a laptop.
“H-here…”
He hurriedly booted it up and pulled up several files. Among them was a video file—CCTV footage from a cafe.
“Because of the nature of my job, the identity of the informant is important, so I prepared this in advance.”
Gi-chan shook his head at the man’s suddenly proud tone.
“Exposing an informant’s identity is the nature of your job? Is it also a journalist’s job to publish articles without even checking the facts?”
The man began to stammer out excuses.
“W-well, everyone’s attention is on Players and Cloyd these days… Since I got a tip related to that, I just put the article out first. I’m sorry.”
“There’s no way you wrote that just based on a tip.”
“I-I’m not sure what you mean…”
Gi-chan smirked.
“Your spending patterns have changed quite a bit recently. You replaced all your home appliances and furniture. You’ve been drinking at expensive lounges every other day.”
“H-how do you know that?!”
“Did you think we wouldn't know just because you used cash? You were diligent enough to get cash receipts for everything.”
The man’s pupils shook.
“I-I did receive a small token of appreciation…”
“It must have been at least several hundred million won. I guess for a high-earning journalist like you, a few hundred million is just a ‘small token.’”
The man hung his head, silenced.
“Enough. Is that all you know about this man?”
The man nodded at Seo-un’s question. Seo-un picked up the laptop and stood up. The rest of the group followed him out. As the man trailed them to the entrance, Gi-chan didn't forget to leave him with a final warning.
“You should think very carefully before you write your next article.”
The man nodded violently, terrified by the words of the person who had brought a coffin into his home. Once the front door clicked shut, the man collapsed in the hallway and let out a long, shuddering sigh.
As the group stepped out of the elevator onto the first floor, a familiar figure was waiting for them.
“How did you know?”
Jeong Su-hwa, who had appeared in casual clothes instead of her usual stiff suit, answered Seo-un’s question.
“Tracking down the author of an article isn't that difficult. I figured you’d come here.”
“You didn't need to come all this way.”
“Just in case, we would have had to take custody of the body. He is a citizen of the Republic of Korea, after all…”
Seo-un shook his head as she trailed off, looking at him with concern.
“Don’t turn a perfectly fine person into a murderer. I’m not such a psycho that I’d go around killing everyone over a hit piece.”
She let out a visible sigh of relief. Public opinion was already stirred up because of this incident; if things went south, there might have been protests to deport Jin Seo-un.
‘Jin Seo-un Murders Journalist Who Wrote First Article.’
The moment a headline like that went up, the situation would have been impossible to contain. Feeling like she had averted a crisis, she spoke with a much more relaxed expression.
“What do you plan to do now?”
“I’ve caught the tail, so I have to pull it. I don’t know if I’ll get a whole vine of sweet potatoes or if the main body will suddenly pop out.”
With that, Seo-un walked past her.
“Just in case you’re wondering—it’s best if you don’t interfere.”
Jeong Su-hwa nodded as Seo-un drew a clear line and walked away. Even though they had become closer than before, the fact that Seo-un still treated her strictly as a government liaison made her feel a bit bitter.
Inside the car, Seo-un asked Gi-chan, who was busy typing away on the laptop.
“Can you find him?”
“Finding someone with just a face isn't easy. I can pull up various databases and run a search, but I don’t have much infrastructure here, and breaching the national databases takes time.”
“Ask Bai Lun for help. They don’t fall behind anyone when it comes to intelligence.”
Seo-un took out his phone.
“I need some help…”
After explaining the situation and sending the new lead to Bai Lun, a call came back shortly after.
—It’s me. I’ve sent the relevant information. What I can say for certain is that he is a former member of the South Korean Department of Homeland Security.
“Ah. Then it must be the Japanese side.”
—That is likely the case. I knew that the bastards who fled to Japan with Kim Chi-sang were creeping back into Korea to conduct various operations. I didn't expect them to show their tails like this.
“Can you find Kim Chi-sang’s location in Japan?”
—That is difficult even for us… We have been monitoring him, but his whereabouts have been completely lost since he entered Japan.
“So I have to find him myself. Anyway, thanks. I’ll definitely repay this favor someday.”
—I’ll just take the thought. I hope this matter is resolved well.
After hanging up, Gi-chan, who was already checking the information sent by Bai Lun, spoke to Juriel.
“It’s xxx-xx, Gyeonggi-do. His last known location was a motel there.”
Juriel quickly entered the address and swung the car around.
“Will he still be there?”
Gi-chan nodded at Seo-un’s question.
“The probability is high. I’ve tracked his movements over the past few months, and he’s been using this place as his base. By the way, how many agents does China have that they can plant so many in another country?”
“How should I know?”
It didn't take long for the four of them to catch the agent who had bribed the journalist. Subduing the man, who had returned to his long-term motel room without any suspicion, was a trivial task.
“You know me, right?”
“W-who are you…”
Seo-un’s smile deepened at the man’s claim that he didn't recognize him. It made no sense for a man who was once a Department of Homeland Security agent and a member of Kim Chi-sang’s guild not to know his face.
“I suppose a professionally trained agent won’t open his mouth easily. Looks like we’ll have to do this the hard way.”
Finishing his sentence, Seo-un took off his coat, pulled a steel chair out of his subspace, forced the man into it, and bound him tight.
“W-what is the meaning of this? I’m just a regular person stockpiling—”
Gi-chan shoved the laptop, which displayed the man’s full profile, in front of his face.
“Mr. Park Mu-seong. We know everything, so let’s not waste each other’s energy.”
The man’s expression shifted instantly, and his lips twisted into a sneer.
“You won’t learn anything from me.”
Seo-un held up a small needle condensed from Aura.
“Think carefully before you answer. This is a technique I learned from the most cruel person I know. Once it’s embedded in a person’s body, there is no way to remove it. Not until they die.”
The man involuntarily swallowed hard. Seo-un continued.
“I only want to know one thing: Kim Chi-sang’s location. Or the location of someone who knows it. That’s all. And… the method I’m going to use to open your mouth is called Ten Needle Double Pain…”
As Seo-un finished the explanation of the Ten Needle Double Pain he had heard from Nam Sa-gwang, the man’s pupils shook violently.
“I’ll say it again: this Aura needle is made from my Original True Qi. Once it enters the human body, there is no way to pull it out before death.”
After a moment, as Seo-un prepared to thrust the first needle near the man’s solar plexus, the man spoke urgently.
“Chiba! Chiba Prefecture… He’s in Mobara City.”
Seo-un smiled and withdrew the Aura needle.
“Wise choice. Now, shall we hear the details?”
From the man, Seo-un learned about the recent activities of Kim Chi-sang and his guild. Not only that, he also received a fairly detailed account of the situation in Japan. Once he started talking, the man seemed to give up and spilled everything, even things he wasn't asked.
“…That is everything I know.”
Seo-un patted the man on the shoulder and took out his phone.
“Are you nearby?”
—Yes.
“Come and take him. It’s better to hand him over to someone he knows than for me to deal with him.”
Shortly after he hung up, several men, including Jeong Su-hwa, burst into the cramped motel room.
“Park Mu-seong?”
At Jeong Su-hwa’s voice, the man recognized her and turned his gaze away with a grim expression.
“I found him easily with China’s help. I can leave the rest to you, right?”
She nodded at Seo-un’s question.
“He will never have contact with the outside world again.”
Leaving the motel, Seo-un called Karina this time.
“I need to make an unofficial trip to Japan.”
*
“Representative!”
A man rushed into the private sauna in the guild building, where Kim Chi-sang was sweating, and called out to him frantically.
“What is it?”
Kim Chi-sang’s brow furrowed in annoyance as his meditation was interrupted.
“W-we have a problem. Team Leader Park, who was active in Korea, has been compromised.”
“Compromised? By whom?”
“Look at this.”
The CCTV footage from the motel where Park Mu-seong had been staying clearly showed Jeong Su-hwa and her team binding him and taking him away.
“Damn it. When was this?”
“An hour ago.”
“An hour… Team Leader Park won’t open his mouth easily, but those guys must be fuming, so it’ll be hard for him to come out unscathed. Gather the team leaders immediately.”
The man who had come to report nodded and ran back out.
Shake him with a fabricated video, use the media to narrow his standing. Then, drive public opinion to expose his family’s personal information, cornering him mentally for months, and finally end him quietly with a surprise attack at the perfect moment.
A separate team had already been working fiercely on a strategy to plant traps and ambushes near Wonju, where Seo-un often trained.
“Well, this isn't bad either. Come, Jin Seo-un. I’ll prepare a prison here where you’ll rot for the rest of your life.”
Once he sealed and absorbed Seo-un’s abilities, his own power would become absolute.
Kim Chi-sang’s lips curled into a smirk, thinking that the day was not far off when he would no longer need to waste his energy playing mind games with the Japanese government, who only wanted to use him before discarding him.