Chapter 47 – Catastrophe [Final Stage]

“Once the election is over, the police and prosecutors will likely start going after Yang Seongil.”

At Bae Eunjeong’s words, Lee Jeonghoon quietly nodded.

She continued speaking.

“With this much evidence, even someone like Yang Seongil or my older brother will find it hard to escape.”

Bae Eunjeong took a sip of coffee, then took out a cigarette and lit it.

“If an investigation into my older brother proceeds, I’ll immediately convene a board meeting. There, I’ll propose a motion to dismiss him from his position. Once evidence of this scale is publicly revealed, even the old-timers who’ve remained neutral will surely side with me.”

Lee Jeonghoon nodded and replied.

“That’s correct. If that happens, Ilsin Group will naturally fall into your hands, Vice Chairman.”

“And the Gangnam Luxury Faction will be taken by President Lee?”

“I only intend to secure the major assets held under borrowed names.”

“What about the members of that organization?”

“I’ve learned that people aren’t something you can fix and reuse.”

Siguk, who had been quietly observing their conversation, wore a faint smile at the corner of his mouth.

‘It wasn’t completely ineffective.’

Bae Eunjeong, who had spoken of the ‘real boss’ during their last meeting, hadn’t directed her gaze at Siguk even once since he and Lee Jeonghoon entered her house, except when exchanging greetings.

She only looked at Lee Jeonghoon and conversed solely with him.

‘It seems there haven’t been any particular side effects so far.’

Thinking this, Siguk took a sip of peppermint tea.

“Anyway, stay alert until the very end. It’s common for cases to go well only to slip up at the last moment and ruin the entire project.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

Lee Jeonghoon took a sip of coffee. Savoring the aroma of the luxurious Luwak coffee, he carefully set the cup down.

“Excuse me, I’ll go wash my hands for a moment.”

“Alright, go ahead.”

Lee Jeonghoon got up from his seat and headed to the bathroom.

Watching him go, Siguk quietly drank his peppermint tea.

Bae Eunjeong took a sip of coffee, then put a cigarette in her mouth.

As she lit the cigarette, she momentarily glanced at Siguk.

In that instant, her breathing became irregular and her pulse slowed.

Her entire body began to tremble slightly; a strange chill washed over her, goosebumps rose all over, and beads of cold sweat formed on her forehead and began to drip.

‘What is this?’

Just moments ago, there had been no issue at all, but the moment she looked at Siguk, these sensations suddenly surged over her.

It momentarily flustered Bae Eunjeong.

This was plainly visible on her face, and Siguk, pretending not to notice, observed every detail through his sunglasses.

‘Is it a reaction trauma?’

After 2020, in the era where fantasy became reality, a field called Mana Engineering developed, combining the abilities of Superhumans with the science and technology humanity had previously relied upon.

Among the inventions created by this Mana Engineering was a memory erasure device.

Ordinary people who survived attacks by Monsters typically complained of unimaginable psychological pain.

The memory erasure device served to liberate them from such suffering by erasing parts of their short-term memory from before and after the moment they were attacked by the Monster.

Of course, there were side effects.

Since it wasn’t a technology that completely erased memories but rather forcibly sealed them away permanently in the subconscious, while the mind might be freed, physical reactions retained the trauma—so-called reaction trauma.

Watching Bae Eunjeong look at him with fear, Siguk silently sipped his peppermint tea, thinking she might be suffering from some form of that reaction trauma.

“Sorry about that.”

Lee Jeonghoon returned and took his seat.

Only then did Bae Eunjeong’s gaze shift to him, and the unconscious fear reactions that had appeared in her body began to fade.

“Let’s finish what we were discussing. So, I’ll take the group, but what exactly will President Lee do, and how?”

“I plan to establish a holding company. I’ll concentrate most of the Luxury Faction’s assets under borrowed names and the current Clover Faction’s corporate assets there.”

“And through that, you’ll control the gangsters in the metropolitan area?”

“Well, ultimately, I become the CEO of the holding company, and its subsidiary investment company invests in profitable ventures, right?”

“Isn’t that a trick?”

“Well, ultimately, I become an entrepreneur, and you, Vice Chairman, can handle things cleanly without direct contact with gangsters, so it’s a win-win, isn’t it?”

From then on, Bae Eunjeong and Lee Jeonghoon began discussing future business matters.

As it was a topic Siguk wasn’t particularly interested in, he silently drank only his peppermint tea.

June 11, 2018.

8:35 AM.

4th Floor, Main Building, National Police Agency, Seodaemun District.

Special Investigation Division.

Superintendent Cha Seonggon was staring blankly at the sign for the Special Investigation Division.

『You go to the Special Investigation Division. It’s not a permanent transfer but a kind of dispatch, so handle things cleanly and you can return to your original position.』

Last weekend, a sudden summons came from the Seoul Police Chief, and Superintendent Cha hurriedly rushed to his office.

There, the Seoul Police Chief informed him of his dispatch.

『It seems evidence keeps coming to you, so the Commissioner probably thought there’s no one more suitable than you. Report there starting next Monday. The details will be explained by the Head of section there.』

‘A sudden dispatch…’

The Seoul Police Chief had only hinted that it was the Police Commissioner’s intention.

Superintendent Cha, filled with questions, opened the door to the Special Investigation Division and went inside.

As Superintendent Cha entered, a few people popped their heads up from behind partitions like meerkats to look at him.

Superintendent Cha’s eyes passed over the meerkats and went to the desk where the Head of section’s nameplate was placed.

There, Hong Jaehong, the Senior Superintendent and Head of the Special Investigation Division, was enjoying the leisure of a cup of coffee while reading the morning newspaper.

Superintendent Cha approached Senior Superintendent Hong.

“Um… I’m Superintendent Cha Seonggon, here on dispatch.”

At his words, Senior Superintendent Hong glanced at Superintendent Cha from over the newspaper.

He folded the newspaper, placed it on the edge of the desk, took a sip of coffee, and opened his mouth.

“Head of the Intelligence Section at Guro Police Station?”

“Yes.”

“Right. I heard from the Director. The Intelligence Bureau Director’s cherished junior, right?”

Superintendent Cha only smiled awkwardly and gave no particular answer.

Senior Superintendent Hong got up from his seat.

“I also heard from the Director last weekend that a special investigation team is being temporarily formed within the Special Investigation Division.”

Senior Superintendent Hong gestured for him to follow and led Superintendent Cha out of the Special Investigation Division. He then opened the door to a room across the hall, one without even a sign, and led Superintendent Cha inside.

A place that had clearly been used as a storage room for a long time and hastily converted into an office.

This would be the office of the special investigation team where Superintendent Cha would serve as Team leader for the foreseeable future.

“From now on, Team leader Cha, you can report here. Do you smoke, by any chance?”

“Yes, I do.”

“Including me, there are some non-smokers on this floor. So if you need to smoke, go out here and to the terrace at the end of the left corridor.”

“Understood.”

“Then, good luck. If you need anything, let me know.”

Senior Superintendent Hong patted Team leader Cha on the shoulder and went out.

Team leader Cha, watching his retreating back and the somewhat empty special investigation team office, soon went to the terrace, took out a cigarette, and lit it.

‘What on earth is this about?’

Looking up at the cloudy sky that seemed ready to pour rain any moment, Team leader Cha let out a futile sigh along with cigarette smoke.

Just then, the terrace door opened and someone came in to light a cigarette.

It was someone Team leader Cha knew well.

“Huh? Kim Dongin?”

At Team leader Cha’s call, Kim Dongin, a middle-aged man with a build closer to a fitness trainer or pro wrestler than a police officer, smiled brightly at him.

“Oh my, who do we have here? Isn’t this Superintendent Cha?”

“What brings you here?”

“No, I should be asking you, what brings you here, Hyung?”

The two shook hands.

Team leader Cha spoke.

“I’ve been dispatched.”

“Huh? Where to?”

“As Team leader of the special investigation team.”

“Huh? I was sent as deputy team leader.”

“What?”

Instantly, an ominous prospect crept up from the depths of Team leader Cha’s chest.

‘A guy whose promotion is blocked as deputy team leader?’

Inspector Kim Dongin, who had once worked as an investigator in the Special Investigation Division.

But ten years ago, while conducting a search and seizure during an investigation into a bribery case involving a member of parliament, a minor dispute arose with an aide, leading to an unfortunate physical altercation.

Inspector Kim, trying to be gentlemanly, didn’t throw punches but instead lightly picked up the opponent and moved him aside.

However, the aide, with a scrawny build, suffered a fracture during the process and was taken to the hospital.

Inspector Kim received a salary reduction penalty, was demoted from the Special Investigation Division to the Northern Gyeonggi District Police Agency, and thus couldn’t return to Seoul for some time.

Naturally, his path to promotion was blocked.

And such a person was to serve as deputy team leader under him.

‘What on earth is this?’

Inspector Kim’s chatter, excited to see him, didn’t even register in his ears.

Finishing his cigarette amidst the foreboding, Team leader Cha returned to the office with Inspector Kim.

Inside the office, two other young police officers were sitting together.

The two stood up abruptly as Team leader Cha and Inspector Kim entered.

“Hello. I’m Inspector Park Soyeon from the Investigation Support Team of Gangbuk Police Station, dispatched as an investigator for the special investigation team.”

A young female inspector full of vigor.

“A-ah, hello. I-I’m Inspector Gu Bongjun from the Violent Crimes Team of Gangdong Police Station, d-dispatched as an i-investigator for the s-special investigation team. P-please take care of me.”

A young male inspector with a wrestler-like build similar to Inspector Kim’s, who stuttered.

Four more dispatched investigators who entered afterward, still bearing the marks of being new police officers.

Sitting in their seats, awkwardly greeting each other and waiting for his instructions, Team leader Cha’s expression was completely stiff as he looked at them.

‘This… could it be a discard card?’

With such unease, the special investigation team began its investigation into Yang Seongil, his two sons, and Rust House.

The only saving grace was that there was sufficient evidence material.

There was no deviation.

Unlike the history of his past life, though Bu Mingang and Yang Seongil were both embroiled in scandals, the local elections ended in a landslide victory for the ruling party, just as in history.

And as soon as the elections ended, the investigations by the prosecutors and police began to pick up speed.

『I will bravely confront the forces surrounding me with political conspiracies and defamation campaigns, and prove my innocence.』

When prosecutors indicted him for the sexual assault case involving his former female secretary, Bu Mingang spoke in that manner before reporters.

Of course, public opinion reacted coldly.

『…….』

At the Special Investigation Division of the National Police Agency, the special investigation team conducted search and seizures at Yang Seongil’s officetel in Seocho-dong, his district office, and a Hannam-dong mansion under the name of Yang Seungmin.

Reporters bombarded Yang Seongil with questions as he went to work, but Yang Seongil gave no answers.

Around the time police sources were quietly leaking to the media that black money had flowed between Ilsin Group Vice Chairman Bae Geumseong and Yang Seongil, Siguk and Lee Jeonghoon also moved swiftly.

“…….”

The living room was filled with corpses, their necks broken or skulls crushed.

“G-groan…….”

Kim Seil, a middle-aged man whom the corpses had served as Boss in life, sat on the sofa in his pajamas, his entire body trembling violently.

Bloody tears streamed from his eyes, and blood poured from both his nostrils.

“…….”

And Siguk was looking at him with bright yellow Snake Eyes.

“What’s the safe combination?”

Siguk asked.

“G-groan…….”

Kim Seil did not answer.

“What’s the safe combination?”

Siguk asked again.

“G-groan……, 1……, 2……, 2……, 4…….”

And the moment the combination left his lips, his eyes burst.

Watching the blood streaming from Kim Seil’s eye sockets, Siguk withdrew his Snake Eye.

‘Hmm… the side effects are a bit unsightly.’

Siguk turned his back on Kim Seil’s corpse and re-entered the bedroom.

Following the combination Kim Seil had given, he opened the safe, took out the ledger, accounts, seals, IDs, and piles of documents inside, and packed them into a bag.

Siguk came back out to the living room.

Looking at the corpses fallen on the floor, Siguk shook his head briefly for a moment.

Wearing his sunglasses, Siguk took out his smartphone and made a call.

“Yeah, it’s all done. Wrap it up.”

Hanging up the phone, Siguk went outside.

Kang Bonggil, who had been waiting, saw him and bowed in greeting.

“Good work, Executive Director Lee.”

Seeing him still not having corrected his dialect, Siguk chuckled softly.

Siguk got into the back seat of the car with the bag.

Kang Bonggil took the wheel and asked Siguk.

“Where shall we go?”

“……. Home.”

“Yes.”

The car started.

‘Bae Eunjeong almost ended up like Kim Seil…’

Thinking it had been somewhat effective on Bae Eunjeong, he had tried it on Kim Seil as well.

As a result, Kim Seil told him the safe combination as Siguk intended, but afterward, his eyeballs burst and he died.

Suddenly, Siguk realized he hadn’t checked his Status Window in a while.

‘Status Window.’

Siguk summoned his Status Window after a long time.

A sequence of letters and numbers appeared before his eyes like a hologram.

Absentmindedly looking at it, Siguk’s gaze turned to the Skill list.

In that moment, he jolted in surprise and pulled his head away from the car window.

Skill: Combat Sense(B), Snake Eye(B), Killing Blade(B), Stealth(D)

The Snake Eye Skill, upgraded from Rank C to Rank B.

And the newly added Stealth Skill.

‘…….’

Siguk’s eyes trembled slightly as he looked at the Skill list.