Chapter 105: The Enemy Within (5)
“What?”
Jeong Bo-hoon, who was driving the car, furrowed his brow.
Soon after, Eun Ji-eun’s voice came through his earpiece.
— Psycho sunbae-nim says he’s coming to see the yakuza… What should we do?
“Huu…”
Jeong Bo-hoon pressed his forehead and let out a sigh.
Chae Jin-young had definitely caught the rotten smell.
The problem was that it was faster than expected.
Because of that, while he was in the middle of the meeting with Yoon Soo-ho earlier, he had even looked into ways to temporarily send Chae Jin-young abroad.
“You should’ve used my name and told him not to come, at least.”
—Of course I did. But do you really think Psycho sunbae-nim would listen even with one ear?
“…If he doesn’t even snort, that would already be fortunate.”
Jeong Bo-hoon couldn’t blame Eun Ji-eun.
Because he knew no one could stop Chae Jin-young.
Even he himself was incapable of it, which was why he was desperately searching for some kind of solution.
—What should I do? Should I try to freeze him with a surprise attack?
“Are you serious?”
—I have to try everything I can.
Was this the bravado only a rookie agent could show?
The fact that she would even think of such a thing against none other than Chae Jin-young was astonishing in itself.
Moreover, she wasn’t someone who didn’t know Chae Jin-young—she had seen him fight up close.
It was hard to tell whether she was brave or just ignorant.
Jeong Bo-hoon shook his head slowly.
“Forget it. It’s pointless. Anyway, the only ones who know that the Director of the National Intelligence Service is involved are you and Chairman Cheon in Busan. So you just keep your mouth shut. In the meantime, I’ll order Chairman Cheon to leave Busan.”
—Do you really think I can do it well?
For the first time, Eun Ji-eun’s voice trembled slightly.
“Your combat ability as an agent is outstanding, but the rest is admittedly weak. So just think of it as gaining real combat experience.”
—Huu… I’ll try my best.
“Yeah…”
It was at that moment.
Jeong Bo-hoon’s phone rang, and he checked his watch.
[Yeon Jae-won, Director of the National Intelligence Service]
Jeong Bo-hoon swallowed hard.
It had finally come.
“I’ll try to negotiate with the Director myself.”
—Yes sir. Let’s definitely meet again alive!
Eun Ji-eun recalled the phone call she had with Jeong Bo-hoon not long ago.
And when she saw Chae Jin-young appear right in front of her, she immediately regretted her own words.
Huuuung…
Though invisible, the aura flowing from Chae Jin-young overwhelmed her completely.
His expression was smiling, but his eyes were calmly sunken.
“Y-You came really quickly, sunbae-nim.”
Because she was so tense, Eun Ji-eun even stuttered.
But Chae Jin-young didn’t even glance at her and stood in front of the frozen yakuza.
The atmosphere was so chillingly cold that even she, who handled ice abilities, felt a shiver.
Tss-ts-ts—
Without hesitation, Chae Jin-young opened a portal, and Jacob Harrison popped out.
“Jacob, interpret.”
“Got it.”
Jacob nodded and looked at the yakuza.
Then Chae Jin-young opened his mouth.
“I don’t need anything else. Just tell me which Korean cooperated with you.”
At that moment, the yakuza in the center spoke.
Yamakawa-gumi’s Oyabun, Yamakawa Shinichi.
“We already said everything we had to say. What more—”
“I didn’t hear it.”
Chae Jin-young cut off his words.
Then he turned to Eun Ji-eun and said,
“Release the ice on that one.”
“Ah, yes.”
Eun Ji-eun lightly waved her hand.
Srrrrr…
The massive block of ice that had been restraining Yamakawa Shinichi’s entire body melted away in an instant.
Though he had clearly regained his freedom, he still couldn’t move immediately.
He had been frozen for too long, causing all his muscles and nerves to become sluggish.
But as a 1st-grade Hunter facing a Zero-grade right in front of him, he quickly and secretly began circulating mana through his body.
He thought that if he used Mana Refresh to reactivate his dulled body and then launched a surprise attack, he might have a chance.
At that moment.
Crack—
“Arghhh!”
The right hand that had just regained sensation was instantly broken and twisted, sending vivid pain coursing through him.
Shinichi couldn’t even perceive when or how it had been done.
“You really shouldn’t have harbored impure thoughts.”
At Chae Jin-young’s words, Shinichi’s pupils shook violently.
He had never expected his intentions to be read so clearly.
Just who was this guy, showing up out of nowhere and doing this? The question flashed through his mind.
“You… you’re that Joseon-jing who humiliated the president of the Great Japan Association.”
Only then did Shinichi finally succeed in guessing who Chae Jin-young was.
“You know me? Then this should go smoothly.”
“To restore my tarnished honor, I will never kneel before you.”
Leaving his broken right hand alone, he swiftly released mana with his left hand.
Whoosh—
A blue pillar of flame erupted and engulfed Chae Jin-young.
The moment Shinichi formed a triumphant smile.
Shuuu—
The massive pillar of flame shrank in an instant.
Crackle—
It was swallowed whole by pitch-black flames and extinguished completely.
“The flames are this lukewarm?”
Chae Jin-young looked at the blue flames—far lower in temperature than hellfire—and openly showed his disappointment.
Once again, his attack had been futilely blocked, leaving Shinichi frozen in place.
The subordinates watching from behind, still encased in ice, wore faces of utter shock.
This was a different kind of shock from when Eun Ji-eun’s froze his fire.
From her, they had at least felt something fierce and powerful in her mana, but from Chae Jin-young, they sensed no power at all.
And yet, in that brief moment when the hellfire appeared at the end, they felt an overwhelming heat that no one could dare approach.
“J-Just what…”
Only then did Shinichi realize.
The warning from Association President Tachibana Yutaro to cherish his life.
He had dismissed it as the useless words of a mere loser still reeling from defeat.
But in reality, the loser drenched in arrogance had been himself all along.
“How about opening your mouth now?”
“I already told that woman everything. Why are you doing this to us…”
Shinichi glanced at Eun Ji-eun as he spoke.
The next instant.
Snap—
His leg twisted violently in an instant.
“Grrrk…”
Shinichi couldn’t even scream properly; he only glared at Chae Jin-young with wide-open eyes.
“You know that’s not the answer I want.”
Crack—
“Ughhh…”
Shinichi’s limbs were completely contorted, rendered utterly immobile.
The low-ranking yakuza who had silently watched their boss being helplessly overpowered.
Realizing their turn would come soon, their pupils began shaking fiercely.
Without being prompted, one of the underlings, overcome by fear, opened his mouth first.
“T-The chairperson of the Busan City Council, Cheon Ji-hee… we made a certain deal with her…”
“Chairperson Cheon Ji-hee?”
Chae Jin-young’s sharp gaze turned toward the one who spoke.
“Y-Yes. Chairperson Cheon was cooperating not only with us but also with a yakuza boss named Yukio. But that bastard Yukio used us as bait.”
Recalling Yukio made the underling’s anger surge, and excitement crept into his voice.
In the end, they had all been deceiving and being deceived among themselves.
“Is that the same as what you heard?”
When Chae Jin-young turned to ask Eun Ji-eun, she nodded with an expression of relief.
“Yes… that’s right.”
Chae Jin-young could have asked Eun Ji-eun from the beginning, but he deliberately hadn’t.
There was a chance the yakuza had fed her false information.
Above all, these guys had come to Korea with the sole purpose of causing terrorism.
Letting them leave unharmed didn’t suit Chae Jin-young’s temperament.
So he had combined interrogation with punishment.
“Hm.”
Now all that remained was to clean up here and go find Cheon Ji-hee.
But Chae Jin-young had already sensed a suspicious presence lingering around this place for a while.
Creak—
Using psychokinesis, he slightly opened the door and asked.
“Should I go? Or do you want to come?”
“I’m an agent of the Republic of Korea’s National Intelligence Service. Immediately…”
The man boldly declared himself an agent while pointing his pistol.
The corner of Chae Jin-young’s mouth curled up.
Why would an ordinary civilian agent, not even an Awakener, come to a place like this?
And why were Jeong Bo-hoon, Eun Ji-eun, and the other agents trying to hide this matter from him?
As those facts intertwined, a new hypothesis formed in his mind.
Crack—
Without a moment’s hesitation, Chae Jin-young twisted and snapped Shinichi’s neck.
Then he asked the National Intelligence Service agent.
“Did the Director of the National Intelligence Service perhaps order you to do something?”
“…This has nothing to do with the Intelligence Department.”
The agent gripped his pistol tightly and spoke with forced courage.
It was at that moment.
Click— Psssh…
The pistol he was holding disassembled in an instant and vanished like it was scattered by the wind.
At the magical sight, the agent’s eyes widened in shock.
Chae Jin-young poked his own temple with his finger and said.
“Next time, it won’t be the gun. It’ll be your head.”
***
“You seem quite worried.”
A man wearing a black fedora and a black coat spoke.
“Of course I am. The plan isn’t going as intended—this is my life on the line.”
Director Yeon Jae-won answered in a low voice with his eyes closed.
Srrr…
The man in the black coat approached behind the chair as if he were smoke.
“Don’t worry. Soon this country will fall into your hands. Just eliminate all the obstacles.”
At the chilling voice whispering in his ear, Yeon Jae-won furrowed his brow.
“I told you already. If you act too boldly, you’ll inevitably leave a trail.”
“You still don’t trust me. I’ll show you today.”
“One more time—I said no killing.”
“Kuhuhuhu…”
Sss…
The man in the black coat left behind a meaningful laugh and melted into the wall as if vanishing.
And Yeon Jae-won was left alone.
He always wondered if joining hands with them had been the right choice.
But it was already irreversible.
He thought that once he won the presidential election as planned and seized power, he could simply discard them all like a hunting dog after the hunt.
If he kept carrying around time bombs like these, the Republic of Korea would turn into a sea of fire.
Knock knock.
While he was lost in such thoughts, the subordinate he had been waiting for arrived.
“Come in.”
“You called for me, Director?”
Intelligence Department Director Jeong Bo-hoon entered with a polite bow.
“Director Jeong, let’s skip the dragging and get straight to the point.”
“……”
Jeong Bo-hoon looked slightly flustered at Yeon Jae-won’s rather abrupt attitude.
“How did you find out that Chairperson Cheon Ji-hee was involved in this incident?”
Yeon Jae-won had leaked information about the yakuza to Jeong Bo-hoon, but of course he had never mentioned Chairperson Cheon Ji-hee.
Yet Chairperson Cheon had betrayed him, and Jeong Bo-hoon was not properly following orders.
Yeon Jae-won’s conclusion was that the two had met and this situation had arisen.
He was curious how exactly they had met.
“…I cannot tell you that.”
Jeong Bo-hoon refused to answer.
“Huu… Bo-hoon-ah.”
“……”
Yeon Jae-won sighed in frustration as he spoke.
“If you ignore the chain of command, I have no choice but to use force.”
“You will regret it.”
Though Jeong Bo-hoon was a Hunter, Yeon Jae-won was merely an ordinary person.
Even if firearms were used, it was impossible to kill a 3rd-grade Hunter like him.
“This is your last chance. Change your mind even now and cooperate with me. With your age, isn’t it a waste to remain just as Intelligence Department Director?”
Yeon Jae-won tried once more to persuade Jeong Bo-hoon with a gentle tone.
“I’ll give you one last chance as well. If you don’t stop right now…”
Before Jeong Bo-hoon could finish his sentence.
Sss…
A black shadow suddenly surged up from the floor, wrapping around him.
Bam!
It slammed him straight down onto the ground.
“Kuht…!”
Jeong Bo-hoon was flustered by the unexpected ambush. He tried to shake off the black shadow binding his body.
Crack— crack—
Like stubborn gum stuck everywhere, it only stretched longer and refused to come off no matter what.
Yeon Jae-won frowned as if displeased and said.
“I didn’t even give the signal—why are you popping out on your own?”
“Peaceful negotiations like that won’t change a damn thing.”
The man in the black coat, slowly flowing out from the wall, spoke.
Jeong Bo-hoon rolled his eyes to glance sidelong at the unidentified man.
From head to toe he was pitch black, making it impossible to identify him.
One thing was certain: the man’s combat power overwhelmingly surpassed his own.
Even the black mana dwelling in the shadow constricting his body exceeded 1st grade.
“Director… why on earth did you join hands with GODS…?”
Jeong Bo-hoon forced the words out with difficulty.
Part of it was because he was tightly bound by the shadow, but mostly it came from the mix of disappointment and disillusionment toward the Director of the National Intelligence Service.
If this fact became known, trust in Korean politics would plummet, and only GODS’s infamy would grow.
That was why he had desperately tried to handle it quietly.
“There are complicated circumstances you wouldn’t understand. I’ll explain everything later—so for now, swear you’ll follow me.”
“…I can’t do that.”
When Jeong Bo-hoon ultimately refused, the man in the black coat sneered at Yeon Jae-won.
“See? Just as I said. Only blood and fear give legitimacy to rule.”
“Enough—leave him be. Director Jeong is very useful. If we can just coax him properly to our side…”
“Killing him here and making an example of him would be far more useful.”
“What?”
Yeon Jae-won’s eyes widened in shock.
The man in the black coat was gradually slipping out of control and acting on his own.
Crunch— crack crack—
“…!”
Jeong Bo-hoon’s entire body began to be crushed by the black shadow.
His face flushed red, looking as though it might burst at any moment.
“If you keep acting like this, we can no longer cooperate. Release him immediately.”
At Yeon Jae-won’s words, the man in the black coat replied mockingly.
“And if I don’t?”
The next instant.
Tss-ts-ts—
A black tentacle shot out from a black portal that appeared in midair.
The moment the man in the black coat turned to look at the tentacle.
Boom!
He was struck by the tentacle and sent flying straight out the window.
Splash—
Immediately afterward, the black shadow released Jeong Bo-hoon.
The agent who emerged from the portal—Psycho—spoke.
“Director, looks like we need to replace the Director of the National Intelligence Service a bit sooner.”
Jeong Bo-hoon, who had been sitting with his eyes closed in deep anguish, finally opened them and said.
“Yeah… we do.”
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