Chapter 87: One More (1)
“That’s good news. This is a drug production factory, so we need to search further.”
Seo Hyeon-yul spoke with conviction.
“They’re producing drugs here?”
Baek Shin-woo asked in surprise.
“Yes. It’s here.”
Seo Hyeon-yul replied again.
The information he received from Kim Yu-jong was about trading partners.
He had to search the trading partners' information to find the production site.
But to discover it like this.
Wasn’t the production site the very place they had to constantly hide?
It wouldn’t be strange if the trading partners were revealed by tracing back from the production site.
‘I can subtly leak the data Yu-jong gave me.’
Seo Hyeon-yul, thinking of looking for an opportunity, walked forward without hesitation.
In such a production factory, the first things to check were, of course, electronic devices like computers and tablets.
Seo Hyeon-yul brushed past the foolishly still bastards and took the cellphone from inside.
Usually, it wasn't much, but since this was a production factory, it could be good evidence.
“Are you taking out the cellphones?”
Chu Na-yoon approached and asked.
It was too fast to see properly, but he saw some black smoke burst out from Seo Hyeon-yul’s body.
“Yes. I thought it might be necessary.”
“I see computers over there too. They’ll take out the cellphones themselves, so do that first. You’re good with computers, right?”
“Thank you.”
As Seo Hyeon-yul was about to bow his head, Chu Na-yoon blocked his forehead with her palm.
“Don’t bow your head, just say ‘Thank you, Noona,’ that’s all you need to do.”
“…Thank you, Noona.”
“Alright, go ahead. Do what you usually do.”
She didn’t know how Seo Hyeon-yul usually obtained information.
Right now, it was better to leave it to him than to coordinate with him.
This was a path for the Black Eagle, but it was also for Seo Hyeon-yul.
‘And right now, thanks to Baek Shin-woo’s power, it’s a safe state.’
Chu Na-yoon didn’t take her eyes off the motionless villains.
She thought Baek Shin-woo’s power was closer to ‘summoning’.
It was natural that anyone would be unable to move recklessly if a knife was suddenly at their throat.
Moreover, the swords Baek Shin-woo summoned weren’t just ordinary swords; they could even pierce through a psychic’s defensive barrier.
She thought it was even harder to move because some had moved recklessly and died with blood gushing from their necks.
“Thank you, Noona.”
Seo Hyeon-yul wondered what would be good to think, then greeted her.
“Your learning speed is very good, isn’t it?”
At Chu Na-yoon’s compliment, Seo Hyeon-yul blinked and then walked forward.
He strode forward, then turned around and quietly gave a thumbs-up.
Chu Na-yoon laughed out loud.
‘……Is this not it?’
Seo Hyeon-yul, wondering what was wrong, headed towards the place with the computers.
As he entered the room, he made eye contact with the villains who had swords at their necks.
They were glaring at him.
Seo Hyeon-yul, without any provocation or sarcasm, headed towards the seat that seemed to belong to the highest-ranking person.
The chair itself was different, and the villain sitting there also looked well-off.
He had a well-slept, well-fed, and more well-rested face than anyone else.
‘Is that why the smell of drugs is so strong?’
The smell of blood was mixed with the smell of drugs, but the drug smell was strong enough to mask the blood.
Especially around the hands, it was the worst.
It meant he had killed countless people with those hands.
Seo Hyeon-yul looked at the villain.
No way.
He was looking at him with exactly that kind of gaze.
If he wanted to.
Seo Hyeon-yul kicked the chair.
Drrrk.
With that sound of it being pushed away, the bastard’s eyes widened.
The sword at his neck slit his throat.
As blood gushed out, the sword, having lost its target, disappeared on its own.
He had thought so before, but it had a much better edge than most swords.
“Ah, I was late in explaining. If you speak, you die.”
As Seo Hyeon-yul kindly uttered a lie, the eyes of the already shaken bastards moved wildly as if an earthquake had struck.
After observing their expressions, Seo Hyeon-yul placed his hands on the keyboard.
He searched for information one by one.
Whether it was a factory or anywhere else, office work was necessary.
He thought this might be the place.
By the time the sound of the keyboard filled the room, Seo Hyeon-yul took out the data he had received from Kim Yu-jong.
He intended to compare the list of trading partners.
After flipping through several pages, Seo Hyeon-yul’s hand momentarily stopped.
‘Slightly less than half of them overlap.’
Seo Hyeon-yul put away the trading partner data Kim Yu-jong had given him.
The reason to intentionally spread the trading partner information disappeared.
The fact that less than half of the trading partners were there meant that there was another production factory besides this one.
To put it differently, no matter how many trading partners there were, the fact that one factory handled this many trading partners meant that looking at this place alone was sufficient.
In the end, money also became another piece of evidence.
‘If I catch the owner of this production factory, a path will open.’
Seo Hyeon-yul calmly examined the next set of data.
The most important thing was the drugs.
It was right to find out what drugs were being produced and how they were combined.
Seo Hyeon-yul’s eyes and hands moved quickly.
Transaction records.
Salary management.
He excluded other data and dug deeper.
Because it was the most important data, dummy files also existed.
‘…Found it.’
Seo Hyeon-yul combined the carefully hidden, partially separated data into one.
First, he transferred the drug list he would look at separately to his own phone.
He transferred other data, including the drug list, to an external hard drive.
After transferring everything, he spread the data deletion virus he had.
Infecting other PCs would be instantaneous.
Could he let them use this again?
Seo Hyeon-yul came out without hesitation.
Now, what he had to find was the real drug.
After walking a couple of steps, Seo Hyeon-yul turned his head to the right.
“This way.”
Mr. Ji-hwan waved his hand.
As Seo Hyeon-yul approached, Mr. Ji-hwan used magic.
“Is it magic?”
“That’s right. It’s no good if the enemy hears us, right?”
Seo Hyeon-yul nodded in agreement with those words.
They couldn’t move right now, but they were hearing and seeing everything.
“By any chance, did you find what you were looking for?”
“I found out that this is a production factory with numerous trading partners. With that amount, it can be called a core facility.”
As Seo Hyeon-yul spoke, he observed their expressions simultaneously.
If there was someone who could read lips, he intended to kill them.
“So, if we raid this place, we can find out where the real thing is?”
Mr. Ji-hwan didn’t get excited prematurely and asked calmly.
It wasn't always bound to happen that way.
“It’s probably connected. But I can’t say for sure yet.”
“That’s right. Still, it’s a relief that we won’t be going back empty-handed. Returning empty-handed is the worst, isn’t it?”
Seo Hyeon-yul nodded at those words.
He had investigated diligently, but if the result was nothing, wouldn't it be a huge waste of time?
There were so many villains selling drugs that there was really no progress on the drug side.
‘More importantly, why are they using this drug again?’
Was there any reason to use a drug that had been discarded?
‘What are they aiming for? Just because the drug effect is strong?’
It temporarily boosted the abilities of even non-awakened people, so it was really good for short-term use.
However, that was it.
Why did they have to do that for that one time?
“Brother. By the way.”
“Yes.”
“I heard last time that it was a drug that had been disposed of, is that right?”
“That’s right.”
“The fact that it was disposed of means it’s inefficient, so why are they using it? The fact that it’s not in our data means it wasn’t used before and was used recently, right? The timing is too strange.”
“I want to know that too.”
“Then, do you want to hear my guess?”
Mr. Ji-hwan asked hesitantly.
“You can tell me.”
“I think they’re targeting you, Brother.”
“Why do you think so?”
There was much room for thought.
Only those who conducted the experiment at the time and the experiment subjects would know about that drug.
If they found out that he, an experiment subject, was alive, they would surely try to get him.
It wasn’t just those guys; it had always been like that.
“Because it seems a rumor has spread that an experiment subject… is alive over there.”
Mr. Ji-hwan also thought similarly to him.
They threw bait because they coveted him, an experiment subject.
Looking at the situation alone, he couldn't help but think that way.
“The rumor has not spread.”
However, Seo Hyeon-yul corrected the information.
The only villain who knew whether he had succeeded or not was currently the Poison King.
The rest were all dead.
“They might vaguely think an experiment subject is alive, but I think it’s too early to assume it’s me. You know that an experiment subject can never succeed, don’t you?”
“I know.”
There was just one single exception.
Mr. Ji-hwan couldn’t look at Seo Hyeon-yul.
“They are just probing because they think someone broke that formula. Isn’t that a more appropriate way to put it? I no longer live by that name.”
REX—3333.
It was his name that had been called countless times.
Now, he had become Seo Hyeon-yul.
Now, he had become an adult.
How could they recognize him?
“If they’re probing because they don’t know, it’s dangerous. They suddenly started considering the possibility. The reason for that was created over there.”
“I see it that way.”
“Still, I’m not going to tell you to give up, Brother. Black Eagle, you can use this as a shield, can’t you? It’s natural for a Black Eagle to chase villains. Who would suspect you?”
“Yes. So I must pursue it further. If all these assumptions are correct, I finally……”
Seo Hyeon-yul stopped talking and took a breath.
He hadn’t realized it while talking, but only then did he realize what kind of situation had unfolded.
“Finally, I’ve found the right direction.”
It was hard to even catch a tail, but he had caught that tail.
He had searched and searched, but he could finally get his hands on the past that hadn’t been caught.
To catch this not as a villain, but as a Black Eagle.
“By any chance, have you been chasing for a long time?”
Mr. Ji-hwan looked at Seo Hyeon-yul.
He had the most comfortable expression.
“I’ve chased for a long time. Back then, my body was less free than now, so I couldn’t achieve the same speed as now.”
Some people might look at his current self and ask what on earth he had been doing before.
14 years since meeting Lee Jeong-min.
About 10 years since chasing the past.
He hadn’t been able to chase it wholeheartedly during that long time.
A monster, not a human, had to make countless efforts to become human.
Would anyone understand how much time it took for him to become who he was now, rolling around like a dog at the lowest level?
“I’m still undergoing rehabilitation. I don’t think there’s any reason to be ashamed of that fact or hide it.”
“It’s not about being ashamed or anything like that. Other people don’t know.”
The difference between someone who had been experimented on and someone who hadn’t was huge.
For him, the fact that he was still unstable was a very big weakness.
So he had to keep proving that he was okay, that he could do it.
“Mr. Ye Ji-hwan doesn’t know either, does he?”
Seo Hyeon-yul continued.
As Mr. Ji-hwan’s steps slowed, Seo Hyeon-yul opened his mouth again.
“This is not said in hopes of understanding. It’s not ridicule, nor is it sarcasm. I hope you will take it literally.”
He had never once wished for understanding.
It was just, that was how it was.
He had no intention of receiving pity or complaining.
“Is that why, honestly, I’m even happier?”
As Mr. Ji-hwan said with a smile, a slight frown formed on Seo Hyeon-yul’s brow.
He didn’t know what he was saying.
Isn’t it usually right to feel bad?
“Now, all that’s left is to get to know you, Brother.”
“Why do you say that? What do I gain from knowing you?”
“No. That’s not it. Honestly, I’m surprised too. What I just said to you, Brother, is something I heard a long time ago. Ah…, so this is what it felt like. That sense of wonder also makes me happy.”
Mr. Ji-hwan tried to suppress the smile that kept appearing, but the corners of his mouth twitched.
He didn’t know what to say.
“My counselor told me that from the moment I heard the words ‘You don’t know me,’ a connection had already been formed.”
“Why is that?”
“They say if your heart was closed off in the first place, you wouldn’t even utter those words. You wouldn’t suddenly say to someone you just met, ‘You don’t know me,’ would you? They said that one action is a starting point. It sounds like some kind of signal, so I guess those words came out without me realizing it.”
“…It’s difficult.”
“It’s difficult for me too. So, to put it simply, could you take it as ‘I don’t know, so please tell me’? It’s really hard to say this.”
“I will try.”
“Okay. I’ll try too.”
Mr. Ji-hwan said spiritedly.
He had intended to offer some words of comfort, but something seemed to have gotten endlessly twisted.
But if it was delivered well, he was satisfied with that.
With that feeling, Mr. Ji-hwan strode forward.
However, the silence lasted longer than expected.
The factory was bigger than he thought, and it was far to reach.
As an even bigger silence continued, just as he was wondering if he should say something, he didn’t hear any following sounds.
“Brother…?”
Mr. Ji-hwan turned his head.
Seo Hyeon-yul was standing stock-still.
“I hear a sound.”
It seemed to be from outside.
At Seo Hyeon-yul’s words, Mr. Ji-hwan spread his palm.
There was someone else outside.
“Someone came in.”
“I will go.”
Seo Hyeon-yul left those words and ran in another direction.
He said he ran, but in reality, he moved smoothly as if riding a skateboard.
Mr. Ji-hwan looked left and right, then ran forward.
“Brother! Let’s go together!”
‘……Damn it.’
Seeing the clattering, fallen materials, he shut his mouth.
‘…I was just trying to peek.’
He had confirmed a while ago that numerous people gathered here.
Even if he waited outside as if he had come to trade, strangely, no one was visible, so he had just intended to observe the inside.
The man picked up the materials one by one and idly thought.
‘There was a sword at his neck, did I see wrong?’
“You’re working hard peeking.”
At the words that suddenly came, the man stiffened.
He saw a sword blade next to his face.
If he turned even slightly, he might be cut.
“What did you come here for?”
Seo Hyeon-yul asked quietly.
That bastard was a different entity from the forces in the factory.
The smell on his body was different from the start.