Chapter 27: Look at the Answer First (1)
‘In cases like this, it generally splits into two possibilities.’
One was that the faction that planted the collaborator within the Black Eagle was right here.
The other was that the faction that planted the collaborator existed separately, and they happened to obtain this data by chance.
Either way, it just meant that people the Black Eagle hadn’t discovered were added to the list.
‘Now, with this list, do I just need to pick them out?’
Hyeon-yul liked that part.
Those who survived for a long time as collaborators within that group were as resilient as weeds.
Weeds weren’t easy to pull out because their roots were buried deep in the ground.
But now, he had the power to pull out the collaborators.
‘Wouldn't there be a team leader among them?’
If he could just deal with that one, the rest would crumble down.
Before heading outside, Hyeon-yul took pictures of all the lists and sent them to Hae-ryeon.
Someone could take them midway, or they could even be manipulated.
[This is the list of collaborators found during the mission.]
Hyeon-yul took the list and, as he came outside, naturally wiped off the poison clinging to his body.
Gazes full of astonishment were the first thing that met his eyes.
It was close to an expression of disbelief that he was actually alive.
‘……Was the fact that he defeated the Poison King true?’
They thought it was just an unfounded rumor, but it wasn't.
Only then did Hyeon-yul seem different.
“I brought it.”
Hyeon-yul ignored the focused gazes and handed the documents to Na-yoon.
“…Wow. Wooow, thank you so much! Are you hurt anywhere?”
“No.”
“No nausea, or any uncomfortable feeling anywhere?”
“None at all. However, there is something unsettling.”
Instead of answering, Na-yoon filled her eyes with intensity, as if ready to take action at any moment.
“That poison, if it gets released into the public, the worst-case scenario will unfold. Isn’t there something to collect the poison?”
At those words, Na-yoon naturally looked at the Talisman user.
That person had various tools.
“Th-there is!”
The Talisman user stuttered, then hurriedly ran over and handed the equipment to Hyeon-yul.
It was shaped like a mosquito, with a bottle attached to the back.
“You just need to press this button here.”
Hyeon-yul nodded at the Talisman user’s explanation.
“Understood.”
He calmly went back inside, collected the poison, and came out again.
“Here it is.”
As Hyeon-yul held out the equipment, the Talisman user wrapped it using a talisman and said he’d be back shortly, then ran off somewhere.
Hyeon-yul waited quietly and saw a Black Eagle approaching him.
Despite having sharp features, he had quite a lot of piercings in his ears.
He gave off an atmosphere like someone you’d meet in a shady place.
His hair came down behind his ears, and the tips were dyed green.
It gave a flashy impression.
The man pointed to his ear톡톡, then mouthed some words.
<It’s troublesome, but thank you for your help.>
“Ah. This person is congenitally unable to speak.”
Na-yoon explained on his behalf.
“Not at all. I heard we collaborate often. I look forward to working with you then.”
The man smiled lightly at Hyeon-yul’s neat greeting.
‘Now the mission is over, but…….’
Apart from work, Hyeon-yul was curious about the secret base.
“Ms. Chu Na-yoon.”
As soon as she was called, Na-yoon poured out a gaze full of disappointment.
Noona. Noona.
She mouthed the words.
Did he really have to do this?
Hyeon-yul hesitated but inevitably spat it out.
“Chu Na-yoon Nu…nim.”
“Yes!”
Na-yoon approached, and Hyeon-yul turned his head slightly.
“…Perhaps, the secret base, may I see it?”
“Of course, you can! There might be other secret bases like this, so it could be helpful in various ways. So……”
Na-yoon, who had been smiling brightly, suddenly looked somewhere with cold eyes.
Hyeon-yul turned his head, but there was nothing there.
It was just a mountain.
‘How far can she see?’
Na-yoon grabbed one of the sniper rifles among the various firearms slung on her back and immediately took a stance.
It was astonishingly fast.
As she pulled the trigger, a heavy sound was heard along with energy contracting at the muzzle.
Kuuung.
Something flew off.
“They were spying on us from over there.”
Na-yoon closed one eye and shifted the muzzle sideways.
“Two people in total. I hit one, and since we need to capture the other one, I’ll aim for the leg.”
Kung.
Light shot out in the direction of the muzzle, and Na-yoon’s body shook.
<I will go and check.>
As the man mouthed the words, a message appeared.
“Yes. Please contact me. I’ll keep watch from here.”
At Na-yoon’s words, the man nodded and ran.
He practically vanished in an instant, sparking electricity.
Hyeon-yul watched the scene, the corners of his mouth lifting.
It was a habit, but he often imagined what would happen if he clashed with an opponent.
‘Nice.’
Wouldn’t it be a truly interesting battle?
Na-yoon suddenly felt a chill and looked at Hyeon-yul.
His face was hidden by the helmet.
“I’m sorry, but Mr. Hyeon-yul, could you check the secret base side? It seems we missed something.”
“Please tell me the location.”
“Just a moment.”
Na-yoon immediately pulled out another gun from her side and fired it somewhere.
Something flew off, and red smoke rose in the distance.
“It’s over there.”
“Thank you.”
“I should take you there, so I’m sorry for guiding you like this.”
“Not at all. Thank you just for telling me the location.”
Hyeon-yul bowed his head and headed that way.
‘…What is going on?’
Na-yoon frowned.
She had asked Hyeon-yul because it was clearly a simple task, but an ambush?
‘What were we missing?’
They had definitely searched the entire secret base.
All they needed to do was return with those documents.
‘Was there a document we missed?’
Was the surveillance because of that document?
Or was the secret base the target?
Either way, Na-yoon was angry.
***
Hyeon-yul assessed the situation as he walked.
‘It seems the villains’ situation has become complicated.’
He didn't know for what purpose the villains operated this secret base, but their intentions were obvious.
Surveillance of fellow villains and surveillance of the Black Eagle.
He hadn't seen anything deviate much from this pattern.
‘The one they missed was Ms. Na-yoon.’
Who would have known that among the Black Eagles assigned to this job, there would be someone with abnormally developed eyesight?
The villains fleeing the secret base was likely just one of the procedures the company made them memorize.
They probably waited for the Black Eagles to leave, then got caught trying to retrieve something truly important.
‘Then, what were they trying to retrieve?’
It was difficult to guess that part.
‘Whatever it is, it’s gloomy.’
Hyeon-yul gripped a dagger in one hand and seeped into the underground through the darkness.
As soon as his vision changed, two people were in Hyeon-yul’s sight.
They were holding documents.
Hyeon-yul immediately looked for the Eagle emblem attached to his left arm.
‘Not there.’
If it wasn't there, they were villains.
Hyeon-yul smoothly approached the closest one and slit his throat.
As blood splattered, a sound filled with horror flowed from the villain.
“……Hiiik!”
Hyeon-yul aimed the dagger at the remaining villain.
The villain just gasped for breath with a confused expression.
Judging by his actions, perhaps he was a novice?
“What are you doing here?”
At Hyeon-yul’s question, the villain’s eyes darted to confirm the Black Eagle insignia.
—If you meet a Black Eagle, die.
Remembering the order given, he gritted his teeth.
But his upper and lower teeth didn’t meet.
Hyeon-yul was grabbing the man’s cheek as if about to crush his face right away.
“Suicide, is not allowed.”
Darkness extended from Hyeon-yul’s hand and extracted the pill hidden between the man’s teeth.
He then gripped the villain’s throat.
“Why did you come?”
Instantly, the man’s face flushed red.
“I…….”
Hyeon-yul knew the words the man was about to utter.
Do you think I’ll talk?
“I decide that.”
As soon as Hyeon-yul released his hand, he struck the man’s face with his fist.
Paaak!
The villain rolled across the floor as if sliding.
Hyeon-yul approached slowly, and black smoke wrapped around the villain’s hand.
As his fingers were forcibly pried open, the villain flinched in surprise.
“Did you anticipate what I would do?”
Hyeon-yul showed the dagger.
“You dir… Aaaaaaaargh!”
A scream erupted.
Along with spurting blood, a finger flew off.
“Nine left. I ask again. Why did you come?”
Hyeon-yul’s voice, heard amidst the pain, was different from before.
He was a Black Eagle, yet not a Black Eagle.
He didn't know about other things, but this wasn't the way of the Black Eagle.
All they knew how to do was spout foolish things like ‘Don’t do that,’ or ‘Stop.’
Tears burst from the villain’s eyes as his body trembled.
That guy would definitely do anything.
As that thought burrowed into his mind, his mouth moved on its own.
“…To get… get something.”
“What were you trying to get?”
“…Documents, they said we had to remove the documents. That’s, that’s all.”
It seemed true that he didn't know the contents.
Hyeon-yul asked something else.
“Are those, the documents that needed to be removed?”
Hyeon-yul pointed to the documents the men were trying to take.
The man nodded.
“What is in this place?”
“Data… there’s a lot. Data stolen from other… factions.”
“Is that all?”
“I, I don’t know any more. Really!”
“Understood.”
Hyeon-yul answered calmly, then approached and picked up the envelope.
As he stood up, he plunged the dagger into the villain’s neck.
Thwack!
“Ah, I never said I’d let you live.”
Hyeon-yul wiped the blood off his body and the dagger, then walked slowly away.
He thought a secret base would feel somewhat special, but it was just modeled after the company interior.
A company underground.
‘…This place, it’s horrifying.’
Hyeon-yul stopped looking around, took out the documents, and examined them.
Hyeon-yul’s fingers, flipping through several pages, stopped.
‘…Suspected Location of Shin Dae-ho’s Faction?’
The title itself was unusual.
This place was indeed a location for gathering information on villains.
‘They put in quite a bit of effort, but they got caught by the Black Eagle of all people?’
The location, and even all the data, were about to be plundered by the Black Eagle.
Perhaps this incident was the final fireworks set off by the person in charge.
Hyeon-yul stopped walking.
‘Since they’ll be sticking together, let’s find them all at once.’
Hyeon-yul’s eyes and ears naturally melted into the darkness.
All his senses scattered, delving deep into places where darkness existed, descending lower.
Numerous things came into view, and quiet sounds continued.
Then, a rustling sound was heard.
Hyeon-yul directed his sight that way.
Several people were caught gathering data.
‘Shall I go?’
***
As soon as Hyeon-yul appeared through the darkness, he grabbed one person.
After watching the gazes focus on him, he deliberately blew the man’s head off.
Crunch.
He intentionally made the sound exaggerated.
Everyone’s hands stopped, and Hyeon-yul used the silence to throw the villain’s corpse onto the floor and quietly ask.
“What is this place used for?”
Fear was truly a good tool.
When there were this many people, at least one was bound to confess due to survival instincts.
“…….”
After exchanging glances, someone spoke up first.
“It’s, it’s like a monitoring hub for other factions!”
“……Crazy bastard. You spilled it?”
“You guys would have blabbered too, stop acting tough!”
The villain raised his voice.
No matter how you looked at it, the man in the helmet was a Black Eagle.
What did it mean that he came here?
It meant they were already dead.
It was just unbelievable that this madman who killed people so casually was a Black Eagle.
“Thank you for telling me.”
Hyeon-yul bowed his head slightly, then walked towards those who hadn't spoken.
His stride was heavy and terrifying, like the Grim Reaper.
Seeing the darkness rising around him, even the will to fight back was broken.
“We, we, we were just… following orders!”
“What is the most important thing here?”
When Hyeon-yul asked, someone held out something.
The hand holding the data trembled violently.
“Th-th-this is it.”
“Thank you.”
As Hyeon-yul accepted the data with a thank you, he checked it on the spot.
How important could it be for them to go to such lengths to retrieve it?
“…….”
Hyeon-yul, having checked the contents, simply let out a breath.
「How to Utilize Black Eagles as Test Subjects.」
Test subject.
Just seeing those words made him feel like the blood in his entire body was boiling.
“…Is there a place for test subjects here?”
Following Hyeon-yul’s heavy voice, black smoke shimmered around his body.
It looked as if it would swallow everything.
“I, I don’t know!”
“Really… I don’t know! R-really!”
The villains explained, backing away.
“You don’t know?”
Hyeon-yul asked, suppressing his surging killing intent.
“……Yes.”
Ha.
Hyeon-yul found this situation laughable.
“Do you think I would believe that?”
The villains weren't idiots.
In situations like this, they tended to place relatively trustworthy individuals.
“There’s no way you don’t know.”
Hyeon-yul pierced the throat of the man who had wagged his tongue.
Kwak!
“There’s no way you people don’t know.”
He immediately pulled out the dagger and looked at the others.
They backed away, looking as if they would flee at any moment.
As Hyeon-yul stepped forward, the villain closest to him screamed and collapsed.
But Hyeon-yul wasn't there.
He appeared behind the farthest villain.
“When did I permit you to run?”
The pointed tip of the dagger protruded from the back of the neck.
No one could escape.
Stating that, he pulled out the dagger.
The corpse fell, and no one could speak.
Hyeon-yul held out the dagger towards a nearby villain.
“Answer.”
The villain glanced once at the blood spreading thickly on the floor, then looked at Hyeon-yul.
He was a demon.
Who would tell a lie in front of a demon?
“……Th-there is. Down here, way below.”
“This is why I can’t trust you people.”
To lie again when they knew all along.
Blood sprayed violently following Hyeon-yul’s hand gesture.
“Do you know how much you people deceive me?”
Thick hatred was palpable in his voice.
Only then did the remaining ones realize.
That guy never intended to let them leave alive in the first place.
Now, who was the villain?
***
How deep he went down wasn’t important.
What was important was the fact that a different background was revealed, unlike the place that previously resembled the company's layout.
Pure white walls.
A tile-like sheen shimmered, easy to wipe clean if something got on it.
Hyeon-yul knew this place all too well—a place so meticulously clean it felt cold.
‘……Found it.’