Chapter 82
The first thing Choi Deok-pal did after Yu-hyun had completely emptied his safe was to deal with the traitor.
“Brother, I swear it’s a misunderstanding.”
“That’s right. We didn’t do anything.”
“What do you mean you did nothing! If you hadn’t tipped him off, why would that lunatic have come to our office!”
The three who were beaten and left in an alley by Yu-hyun were dragged back to the organization they belonged to and beaten like dogs once again. They desperately claimed their innocence, but Choi Deok-pal didn’t believe them.
No, even if he knew their words were true, he had no choice but to act this way.
Someone had to take responsibility for this mess.
‘I have to pin this whole thing on these bastards! Otherwise, I’m in danger.’
Choi Deok-pal kept their lives spared, applying a cold compress to his swollen face. He was angry, but killing them in a fit of rage would only complicate matters for him.
His subordinates watched silently, not daring to speak. Choi Deok-pal glanced at them with disdain and then began to shake his legs nervously.
‘It’s about time he arrived.’
Just as Choi Deok-pal’s anxiety reached its peak, he saw a black sedan pull up outside the office through the window.
‘He’s here!’
At Choi Deok-pal’s signal, his subordinates quickly got into formation. Despite their injuries, they stood firm, sweating profusely.
The person who had come was someone they had to go to such lengths for.
“Is this the place?”
Shortly after, the door opened, and three men entered. Choi Deok-pal immediately bowed deeply to the man in his early thirties, who seemed to be the leader. He was a cold-looking man wearing rimless glasses.
“Have you arrived, Supervisor?”
“I’ve heard the news, but it seems I need a more detailed explanation.”
“Yes, yes. I will explain everything.”
The man naturally took the best seat in the office, the chair Choi Deok-pal usually sat in. Choi Deok-pal couldn’t object; he didn’t even lift his bowed head, as if it were only natural for the man to sit there.
“So, what happened?”
“Well, it’s…”
Choi Deok-pal recounted everything that had just happened.
A slight crack appeared on the man’s expressionless face as he listened.
“So, you’re saying that crucial information about our secret operation has been stolen?”
“No, that’s not it!”
“It’s not?”
“He took the safe, but I don’t think he can open it. You know about that safe. If he tries to force it open, he’ll definitely meet with some… accident.”
“He won’t be able to open the safe, huh…”
Muttering to himself, the man stood up and approached the three traitors crawling on the office floor like caterpillars.
The barely alive traitors looked up at the Supervisor, trembling with fear.
“Are these the ones? The ones who failed to handle the job?”
“Yes, yes! That’s right!”
As Choi Deok-pal confirmed, the Supervisor simply replied, “I see.”
Swoosh!
Then, with a swift motion, the heads of the three traitors flew through the air and rolled on the floor.
One of the organized members trembled violently. Even though they were used to violence, they had never seen three heads severed at once.
The Supervisor had killed three men with his bare hands, yet his expression remained unimpressed. Not a drop of blood stained his hand.
“You’ve done something interesting.”
“Supervisor?”
“Did you think I wouldn’t know? You thought you could avoid responsibility with just these three fools?”
“Well, that’s…”
Choi Deok-pal’s face turned pale. His shallow intentions had been thoroughly exposed by the Supervisor’s inscrutable gaze.
He trembled at the thought of death’s shadow looming over him.
“I’m sorry!”
“Sigh. No. It’s fine.”
“Really?”
“Taking responsibility won’t change anything. I’ll let it slide with these three for today.”
“Really?! Thank you!”
Choi Deok-pal expressed his gratitude sincerely, but the Supervisor didn’t seem to care much. He had simply stated the logical conclusion.
Killing Choi Deok-pal would be nothing more than venting anger.
The incident would remain unsolved, and it would only reduce the number of hands and feet they could use secretly in the field.
It was better to give him another chance. After all, President Choi had handled things well until now.
‘However, an unintended accident has occurred this time.’
The Supervisor surveyed the still untidy office interior.
The members had tried their best to clean up, but his keen eyes caught the remaining traces of the fight.
“Did you say it was just one person?”
“Yes? Oh, yes! One person. Only one person broke in.”
“Just one person…”
A single intruder had come in, subdued dozens of organization members without killing them, and even left a collector in a near-death state. And all this had taken less than five minutes.
‘A professional. And an exceptionally skilled one at that.’
The collector stationed here was close to a level 8 official rank.
While a level 8 collector might be considered low-ranking, they possessed strength far beyond that of an average person.
Even ten professional fighters attacking at once would be no match for a level 8 collector.
To hear that such a person, armed and dangerous, was defeated by an unarmed opponent suggests that the adversary must be at least level 7, or even level 6, considering the speed of the operation.
‘The most astonishing part is that he made the secured safe vanish in an instant.’
The Supervisor pondered for a moment before turning to his confidant standing beside him.
“What do you make of this?”
“It’s the work of someone highly skilled.”
“And why do you think that?”
“Not only did they come here alone, but the decisiveness of their actions was most striking. Clearly, the opponent is accustomed to rough tasks like ours and has considerable experience.”
“Yes, I agree.”
“And more importantly, I don’t believe it was an individual act. Surely, there are those behind the scenes who instigated this.”
The Supervisor nodded in agreement. He had been thinking along the same lines. It was clear that the intruder knew exactly what they were doing when they stormed this place. Knowing that implies they too have a powerful backer.
‘Whose doing could it be? Nemesis? Hesiodos? Crying Sword? Or a pawn of the Association?’
There were too many suspects. But the most troubling part was that no one knew what the intruder looked like.
Despite being subjected to such treatment, none of the organization members could describe the intruder’s appearance when asked.
Choi Deok-pal was no different. Even after a face-to-face conversation, he couldn’t remember Yu-hyun’s face.
‘Was their perception impaired? The fact that they had such an encounter means the intruder is undoubtedly an expert in this field.’
If such a person took the safe, its security could not be guaranteed. They must have found a way to open it and inspect its contents. That’s why they took it.
‘This is a serious problem.’
The data containing our organization’s secrets has fallen into the hands of an unknown enemy. Without knowing who they are, we must prepare as best we can.
“For now, we retreat. And shut down all the offices we’ve set up in this area.”
“Yes, yes? But…”
Choi Deok-pal tried to say something, but the Supervisor’s stern gaze silenced him immediately. The Supervisor sat back down and issued a warning to the lined-up organization members.
“If anyone gossips about this incident, they’ll be seeing our faces again. And it will be personal.”
“We’ll keep that in mind!”
“Good, now get moving. And take care of those three bodies.”
“Yes, sir!”
The organization members scurried out with the bodies.
The Supervisor, flanked by two confidants, tapped the table with his fingertips.
“How dare they brazenly meddle with our Twilight Veil Clan.”
Though he maintained a cool demeanor throughout, his inner rage burned hotter than anyone else present.
He suppressed his endless fury towards the mysterious man who had disrupted their operations.
“He will pay dearly for this.”
* * *
Oblivious to the Supervisor’s burning anger, Yu-hyun, nestled in the cosmic train, marveled at the scenery unfolding outside.
‘It’s my second time seeing this, but it’s still impressive.’
He had ridden the cosmic train in his past life.
Including that experience, it wasn’t entirely new to him, but the vast expanse of the universe always made him feel like a country bumpkin who had just arrived in the city.
The infinite black space stretched endlessly.
Against this backdrop, the colorful clusters of stars and nebulae seemed too natural to be man-made.
Even as he was captivated by the sight, Yu-hyun couldn’t hide his inner joy.
“Heh heh.”
[Hey, you’ve been giggling strangely since earlier. Is there something good going on?]
“Oh? Of course, there’s good news.”
[Aside from your promotion? Honestly, I’m a bit worried. You went out and came back laughing about some good news. You’re not sick, are you?]
“No, it’s nothing like that.”
Yu-hyun didn’t reveal what was inside the safe he had taken from Choi Deok-pal’s office. For now, he intended to keep it to himself, like a gift in a box.
‘I haven’t decided yet how to use this information.’
The data Yu-hyun had acquired was extremely important.
If word got out, it would undoubtedly cause a massive social uproar.
But Yu-hyun planned to use it to his advantage.
‘They must be scrambling to cover up this blunder. But will it be that easy?’
The thought of the interesting developments to come filled him with unbearable excitement.
Baekryeon sighed as she watched Yu-hyun.
The cosmic train, cutting through the space, soon reached its destination.
[Is this the Celestial Corporation? I’ve only heard about it, but this is my first time seeing it.]
As they disembarked at the station, Baekryeon spoke with excitement.
[But why go through the hassle of placing the cosmic train station so far outside? We have to move separately from the station to the company.]
‘It’s for security reasons. The Celestial Corporation doesn’t allow outsiders to enter freely.’
The placement of the cosmic train station outside was for that reason.
Moreover, the station was guarded by Tellers clad in black armor.
They were part of the Protection Division.
‘Those Tellers standing like statues are tasked with repelling intruders from outside.’
[Are they Tellers like you? Do they also fight with stories like you do?]
‘No. The Tellers of the Protection Division are a bit different from me.’
[Different how?]
The Protection Division Tellers differ from other Tellers who showcase narratives; they are assigned combat roles.
However, this doesn’t mean they gather TP and raise stats themselves.
‘The armor they’re wearing. That’s the real weapon of the Protection Division Tellers.’
Full-body black armor.
Commonly known as Guardian Armor.
Protection Division Tellers don’t become stronger themselves; instead, they wear equipment.
When donning the Guardian Armor, it lends immense power to the wearer, enabling them to battle foes.
[What’s that? It’s practically like a power suit.]
‘If you must put it that way, yes.’
But the Guardian Armor provided by the Protection Division shouldn’t be judged by its appearance. Inside the Celestial Corporation, this Guardian Armor can unleash formidable power.
The armor is also graded according to the Teller’s rank.
The Guardian Armor given to a manager-level Teller in the Protection Division can fight and win against a second-generation Divine Spirit when receiving the home ground buff.
As one rises to the ranks of assistant manager and department head, even the mighty first-generation Divine Spirits cannot be ignored.
‘Of course, that’s only domestically. If you take it outside, it probably won’t work properly.’
[Hmm. I see.]
Yu-hyun explained various things to Baekryeon as they crossed the station’s gate and reached the headquarters.
It was the second time he had seen this scene since the induction ceremony.
The scale was still too grand for something simply called a company. Yu-hyun navigated using the map drawn in the email he had received.
There wasn’t a specific place to go to. He just had to head straight to the towering skyscraper at the center of the island.
[What’s that place?]
‘That’s where I’m going for my promotion.’
It was so tall that looking up to see the top was almost painful.
At the very end of the towering skyscraper’s spire, that’s where the president of the Celestial Corporation resided.
‘The president.’
Yu-hyun wondered if he could ever reach that place himself. But then he shook his head.
Whether it was possible or not, he felt it was too much to hope for right now.
‘But someday…’
As he harbored such thoughts, Yu-hyun felt a gaze from the top of the building he was looking at directed towards him.
‘What’s that?’
He tried to find the source of the gaze immediately, but nothing was visible.
‘An illusion? No. I should get going.’
With that, Yu-hyun shook his head and entered the building where the promotion ceremony was to be held.