Chapter 96: Didn't I Say You Could Break It? (3)
Saaaah.
The woman felt a chill.
No sound, no presence was felt.
It was so quiet that her heart beat rapidly.
How.
How could he approach and dominate her from behind without a sound?
The woman’s expression quickly hardened.
Seung-yoo, who was watching her, had the corners of his mouth turn up.
He felt a chill as well, but he merely clenched his fists and trembled.
That person was the one he served.
He felt a sense of elation.
「This is it, right?」
「You were hoping for this when you babbled, right?」
Hyeon-yul wrote again and then slowly came out from behind, holding out his phone.
He faced the woman’s hardened expression.
「Satisfied?」
“How……”
「Shhh.」
「It’s a trade secret.」
Hyeon-yul placed his finger near the mouth of the rabbit mask.
「Don’t pick a fight anymore.」
「I want to kill you.」
Hyeon-yul warned, then slowly walked back to the sofa.
If she ignored the warning, it was more than enough reason to kill her.
If that faction said anything, he could just show them the CCTV footage.
They were the ones who started the fight.
「Secure the CCTV footage, erase it, then bring it.」
Hyeon-yul showed his phone to Seung-yoo.
「You know what happens if you copy it, right?」
“Of course. I will take action immediately.”
Seung-yoo briefly stepped outside.
「Sit.」
Hyeon-yul sat on the sofa and then offered her a seat.
The woman, all traces of laughter gone, approached.
「It’s true we’re collecting drugs.」
「You came to the right place.」
He didn't want to talk for long.
He wanted to quickly go home and knit, so he got to the point.
“What?”
The woman asked in surprise.
「They’re neatly stacked in the warehouse.」
「Where, and how, did this information leak?」
「Tell me.」
The fact that they had come meant that information had leaked.
He naturally thought Seung-yoo would know too.
“What will you do if you know?”
The woman narrowed her eyes.
She was starting to be wary.
It was a good sign.
「Because I despise drugs, I’m going to kill whoever I catch with them.」
The woman’s expression changed.
Was it surprise?
There was something a bit ambiguous about it.
“Are you serious? Poison King, that bastard, wouldn’t approve of this, would he?”
「But I’m not Poison King, am I?」
「Are you hoping he’ll come back?」
“Even if you say you’re not, this faction itself is Poison King, isn’t it? I don’t know how you luckily took it over, but……”
「Luck?」
Hyeon-yul briefly put down his phone.
He acted as if he were thinking.
“…What?”
Unable to withstand the silence, perhaps because her momentum had been broken, the woman spoke.
Hyeon-yul let out a long sigh.
「You try taking this place over by luck too.」
Hyeon-yul beckoned with his hand.
It was a clear provocation.
The woman’s lips pressed firmly together.
「Why didn’t you rush in like dogs when you heard Poison King disappeared?」
「Why didn’t you?」
「Does consoling yourself like that boost your self-esteem?」
Hyeon-yul laughed.
「You couldn’t do it, could you?」
「You were trembling in fear of Poison King, weren’t you?」
「You couldn’t even deal with the idiotic executives here who were fighting over whether Poison King’s position was mine or yours, could you?」
「I just did what you guys couldn’t.」
It was absurd that cowards were running their mouths.
It wasn't just the one in front of him; the others were the same.
Even though Poison King had disappeared, they were too scared to rush in.
Now that he had taken over, it seemed they were quite displeased.
「Alright, I’m feeling generous.」
「You… you don’t know what Poison King looks like, do you?」
“……What are you talking about?”
At the woman’s question, Hyeon-yul took out his phone and showed it to her.
「This is Poison King.」
The woman’s upper body leaned forward.
Soon, her face contorted.
It was hideous.
To think such a face was under that mask.
It felt as if she would vomit at any moment.
「Look carefully.」
「No fingers, right?」
“None….”
「I cut them off.」
“……”
The woman, her mouth shut, looked at Hyeon-yul.
The words "Are you joking?" hovered on her lips.
But those words couldn't quite come out.
Hadn't the one in front of her actually taken over Poison King's faction?
‘What happened? Black Eagle caught Poison King, but…?’
The woman’s pupils wavered.
A hypothesis quietly surfaced.
‘Before Poison King was caught by Black Eagle… was he attacked by that guy? So, that’s why he was caught so helplessly by Black Eagle?’
Looking at the destroyed place behind Poison King in the photo, she had no choice but to see it that way.
No, from the beginning, she hadn't believed that Black Eagle had caught Poison King.
「I… despise drugs.」
「Do you believe that now?」
Hyeon-yul held up his phone until he got an answer.
He was starting to get annoyed, wondering why he had to do this on his day off.
He wanted to go home.
“Then why are you collecting drugs?”
The woman spoke.
「I ordered them to collect them.」
“Why?”
「So I can deal with them myself.」
「If I leave them be, rats like today will run rampant, you know.」
「Making me want to kill them.」
“First, I’ll take this opportunity to make it clear.”
The woman spoke, then pointed to herself with her hand.
“My younger sibling was taken as an experiment subject and died. Died because of those… damn drugs.”
Pressing down the voice that threatened to rise, the woman revealed her emotions.
It seemed like anger.
「So?」
“Regardless of whether we’re villains who others point fingers at or whatever, drugs must disappear from this world. We will not shy away from any means or methods.”
「What makes you believe that?」
The woman, at Hyeon-yul’s message, seemed to think for a moment and then took out an external hard drive.
“These are the factions we’ve crushed. Take a look.”
「I’ll contact you.」
「Give me your contact information.」
“Before that, why do you despise drugs?”
「Would you believe me if I said it was for the same reason?」
“…I’d believe that.”
There was no wavering in the woman’s eyes.
“If you dispose of the drugs, I’ll believe you even more.”
「Tell me a place that’s troublesome to dispose of.」
Hyeon-yul didn't miss this good opportunity.
He had to obtain information.
Dealing with them would come after that.
「I’ll take care of it.」
Hyeon-yul threw out a bait.
He thought she would allow it anyway.
The scale of this faction, led by Poison King, did not lie.
“There’s a company called Prunal that sells milk.”
Linda and Prunal.
The two companies he had confirmed through information at that time came up.
“The leader’s power is definitely top-tier, but looking at the businesses he owns and his actions, he’s just big. Access has become difficult due to recent events.”
「Because of Black Eagle?」
“Yes. Because you guys were running rampant, Black Eagle has become sensitive too. We have to lay low for now.”
「Surely they wouldn’t capture you for trying to get rid of drugs?」
“Why don’t you just laugh at me instead?”
The woman reacted as if she was in a bad mood.
‘Why?’
Hyeon-yul didn't understand that reaction.
Black Eagle also wanted to get rid of drugs.
If they were offering to get rid of them, wouldn't Black Eagle welcome it?
“……The Empire.”
The woman opened her mouth and then took a deep breath.
Kadeudeuk.
But, as if unable to suppress her surging emotions, the sound of her grinding her teeth was clearly audible.
“My thought that the damn Empire must be erased hasn’t changed, you see.”
「When you say it like that, it sounds like the drugs are made by the Empire, doesn’t it?」
“What if it is?”
「What’s the basis?」
“…They should have stopped the experiment subjects. They should have stopped the drugs from being distributed. Those bastards failed to do their job! That’s why they captured people from here and everywhere else, without discrimination!”
「That’s a huge leap.」
Hyeon-yul felt no value in responding to words without basis or logic.
「If the Empire could stop that, we would have already disappeared, wouldn’t we?」
How could the Empire, which couldn't even erase villains, stop experiment subjects and drugs?
He didn't even know why they were blaming the Empire for this in the first place.
It was villains who conducted the experiments and made the drugs.
‘Ah…’
Hyeon-yul stopped after considering various things.
‘It’s just… what a villain would say, isn’t it?’
My fault is your fault too.
Your fault is your fault.
I am not at fault.
What more could he expect?
If they had any sense of remorse or regret, their very presence here would be strange.
“What if the Empire is just leaving us alone?”
「Do you have any basis for that?」
“Not yet.”
「You heard something, didn’t you?」
The woman, looking at her phone, chuckled briefly.
She had no intention of telling him.
“Trust, for us, honestly, doesn’t really suit us, does it?”
「Of course.」
「It’s just that our goals overlap.」
“Since the goal of erasing the Empire also overlaps, if I find out something, I’ll tell you for now.”
「That would be good.」
The woman, seeing Hyeon-yul’s message, stood up.
“Contact me. That’s all my business.”
「If you give me something good, I’ll let you get rid of the drugs we’ve collected with your own hands.」
Hyeon-yul threw out something enticing.
They were drugs that had to be disposed of anyway.
It wouldn't be too late to check the drugs collected so far and hand them over.
“…You know how to negotiate, huh?”
The corners of the woman’s lips turned up.
“What should I call you when we meet next time? Should I call you Rabbit?”
「Whatever you want.」
「And you?」
“Call me Yeon.”
Yeon smiled brightly.
“I’m going, Rabbit.”
「Alright.」
「Goodbye.」
Hyeon-yul waved his hand.
After Yeon left, Seung-yoo entered.
“…What did you talk about?”
Seung-yoo approached Hyeon-yul and asked cautiously.
「Investigate the company called Prunal.」
“Understood. I will begin immediately.”
「I can take the data, right?」
Hyeon-yul really wanted to go home now.
He had done enough.
He hadn't originally planned to do this much.
He could feel himself steadily heading towards overwork.
“Of course. But… are you leaving already?”
「Why?」
「Is something wrong?」
“That’s… not it.”
Seung-yoo answered and then hesitated.
「See you later.」
Hyeon-yul said goodbye.
Only then did Seung-yoo smile and bow his head.
“Please go safely. I will handle the tasks you ordered properly.”
Seung-yoo didn't raise his head until Hyeon-yul left.
He was smiling brightly.
Hyeon-yul raised his head.
His eyes were sinking.
‘It’s my day off…….’
The weather was nice too.
Should he really do it?
Even though he had come, he hesitated.
As soon as he returned home, he examined the data he received from the villain named Yeon.
Since there was no way to get his hands on the drugs that had already been processed anyway, he looked at it with an easy mind.
While checking for overlaps with the drugs he knew, a passage caught his eye.
It was information obtained by digging into the ‘experiment site.’
Hyeon-yul’s gaze stopped.
Could it still exist?
Was it the experiment site where he had been?
Relying on that fact, he went out of the house again.
He had no choice but to check, did he?
Hyeon-yul dragged his heavy legs and walked along the forest path.
The experiment site could exist in the city, or it could exist in the mountains.
Since it was difficult to pinpoint the minds of those who made them, he had to check immediately if he found one.
Hyeon-yul held up his phone.
‘The location is correct here.’
Nothing was visible.
For now, there was no smell other than that of animals.
Hyeon-yul walked a little further.
Even though there were various things underfoot, like stones and small plants, no footsteps were heard.
It was quiet, as if Hyeon-yul wasn't there.
Hyeon-yul, holding his phone, circled the nearby area and then lowered his gaze.
The smell was different from the surroundings.
The color of the soil also seemed subtly different.
‘……Ah, it’s under here.’
The data Yeon gave was, at most, a few years old, and at least, a few weeks old.
In any case, it was true that time had passed, so if this place had been dug up, the soil color would inevitably be different.
However, something was a bit subtle.
Hyeon-yul didn't think deeply and immediately dug downwards.
A passage appeared.
He could follow it, but he didn't want to waste time.
He continued downwards.
The further down he went, the more traces of the battle from that time came into view.
It was filled with broken debris and corpses, making it nauseating with every breath.
Dust had also accumulated, proving that this place had been abandoned.
Hyeon-yul descended to the lowest floor.
The smell intensified.
‘I came to the right place.’
The pristine white place was covered in darkish blood.
Since experiments would have been conducted here, that much blood was natural.
They had all rotted together, so he didn't know who the experiment subjects were, but Hyeon-yul tilted his head here and there.
‘This isn’t where I was.’
Except for the fact that it was white, the structure was different.
Although it was rare, he had walked through an experiment site on his own feet before.
How could he forget that structure?
Hyeon-yul looked around.
He checked if they had missed anything.
‘The computer is… completely broken.’
The broken medicine bottles뒹굴며on the floor had already dried up.
Numerous syringes were also broken and scattered everywhere.
All sorts of tools, which could even be called tools, were also visible.
‘I’ve had my fingers cut off countless times with those too.’
It was an act to confirm his healing ability.
They healed, and they healed, but he had confirmed it countless times during experiments.
Hyeon-yul, as if lost in reminiscence, looked around and then stopped walking.
In this dusty place, a shape less dusty than its surroundings, like a footprint, was visible.
The floor was also white, so it might not have been visible, but Hyeon-yul noticed the subtle difference.
‘Why is it heading this way?’
Hyeon-yul, feeling curious, followed the footprints.
The footprints passed by corpses, through broken rooms, and stopped in front of a wall.
Hyeon-yul hesitated for a moment and then reached out his hand.
His hand seeped through the wall.
He walked slowly.
How long had he walked?
Just when he thought there was nothing, a new smell began to emerge.
‘……?’
It was close to the smell of a place where construction had just recently finished.
Hyeon-yul’s pace quickened.
As he glided forward, a place that was being decorated in white, but was unfinished, unfolded before him.
‘Ha…….’
It was very familiar to Hyeon-yul.
It was decorated in the same white, but the structure and method were different from a moment ago.
If he had to categorize it, it could be seen as similar to the place he had found under the secret base not long ago.
‘…No way.’
Hyeon-yul heard footsteps approaching.
Three people.
‘They can’t be civilians.’
He didn't hesitate.
He appeared behind them and pierced the neck of the one in the middle.
“……Keo, keoheok.”
Before the scream could spread, Hyeon-yul swung wide to the right.
One head fell, and two torsos collapsed.
Hyeon-yul immediately turned left and aimed for one person’s neck.
Hyeon-yul, splattered with blood, looked like a demon.
“Is this place… being built to use Black Eagle members as experiment subjects?”
Hyeon-yul asked the one who seemed to be a person in charge.
If he didn't know, he could just find a computer and search it.
If not, that was fine, but it had the atmosphere of that place.
Building preferences rarely overlapped.
“……”
The man couldn't speak.
But his attitude, as if he were gauging the situation, proved that it was true.
Hyeon-yul slit his throat.
The man, clutching his bleeding neck, staggered and fell.
Hyeon-yul watched until he died and then smiled.
‘Come to think of it, he said it was okay to destroy this place, right?’
—Oh dear, a wasted trip. Even if you destroy this place, I won’t bat an eye. I have a lot of money, you see. I can make as many of these as I want.
That guy who used portal-like powers had definitely said that.
If this was the second one, it meant a third one also existed.
Looking at the construction time, it seemed they were creating these places almost simultaneously.
‘I wonder how much money he has.’