WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Dionysus
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ The Newbie Civil Servant Hunts Villains Before Going Home ◈
Chapter 87: One More
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* * *
“That’s a good point. This is a drug production plant, so we need to search it more thoroughly.”
Hyeonyul spoke with certainty.
“They make drugs here?”
Sinu asked in surprise.
“Yes. Here.”
Hyeonyul answered again.
The information Yujong had given him concerned his business partners.
They had needed to dig through that information to find the production site.
Yet they had found it like this.
Wasn’t a production site exactly the kind of place they would desperately keep hidden?
It would not have been strange if the production site led them back to the business partners instead.
‘I can casually leak the information Yujong gave me.’
Thinking he would watch for an opportunity, Hyeonyul walked on without hesitation.
The first things to check in a production plant like this were electronic devices such as computers and tablets.
Hyeonyul passed the idiots standing still and took the phones from their pockets.
Normally, they would have been nothing special, but since this was a production plant, they could serve as valuable evidence.
“Are you taking their phones?”
Nayun approached and asked.
It had happened too quickly to see clearly, but something like black smoke had burst from Hyeonyul’s body.
“Yes. I thought we might need them.”
“I can see computers over there too. I’ll take care of the phones, so start with those. You’re good with computers.”
“Thank you.”
As Hyeonyul tried to bow, Nayun stopped him by pressing her palm to his forehead.
“Don’t bow. Just say, ‘Thank you, sis.’ That’s enough.”
“...Thank you, sis.”
“Good. Go on. Do what you usually do.”
She did not know how Hyeonyul normally obtained information.
Rather than trying to coordinate with him now, it was better to leave him to it.
This was for Black Eagle, but it was also for Hyeonyul.
‘And we’re safe right now thanks to Baek Sinu’s power.’
Nayun did not take her eyes off the Villains standing still.
She thought Sinu’s power was close to a summoning ability.
If someone suddenly had a knife at their throat, naturally they could not move carelessly.
Moreover, the knives Sinu summoned were no ordinary knives. They could pierce even an ability user’s barrier.
A few had apparently moved recklessly and died with blood running from their throats, so the others would find it even harder to move.
“Thank you, sis.”
Wondering what he ought to think, Hyeonyul thanked her.
“You learn fast. Very good.”
At Nayun’s praise, Hyeonyul blinked before walking ahead.
After taking several long strides, he looked back and quietly gave her a thumbs-up.
Nayun laughed loudly.
‘...Was that not it?’
Wondering what he had done wrong, Hyeonyul headed toward the computers.
When he entered the room, he met the eyes of the Villains with swords at their throats.
They were glaring at him.
Without picking a fight or making sarcastic remarks, Hyeonyul headed for the desk that appeared to belong to the highest-ranking person.
Even the chair was different, and the Villain sitting there looked well fed and well rested.
‘Is that why the smell of drugs is so strong?’
There was a scent of blood mixed in with the smell of drugs, but the drugs were strong enough to mask it.
The scent was particularly strong around the person’s hands.
It meant those hands had killed countless people.
Hyeonyul looked at the Villain.
Their gaze seemed to say, You wouldn’t.
If that was what they wanted.
Hyeonyul kicked the chair.
Scrrrape.
As the chair rolled away, the person’s eyes widened.
The sword at their throat sliced through their neck.
As blood streamed down, the sword, having lost its target, vanished on its own.
He had thought this before, but its edge was far sharper than that of most swords.
“Ah, I was late in explaining. If you speak, you die.”
When Hyeonyul kindly uttered that lie, the eyes of the people who had already been trembling darted around wildly, as though an earthquake had struck.
After examining their expressions, Hyeonyul placed his hands on the keyboard.
He searched through the information one item at a time.
Any factory needed office workers.
He thought this was probably where they worked.
By the time the sound of typing filled the room, Hyeonyul took out the documents Yujong had given him.
He wanted to compare the business partner lists.
As he went through several pages, Hyeonyul’s hand stopped for a moment.
‘Just under half overlap.’
Hyeonyul put away the business partner information Yujong had given him.
There was no longer any reason to deliberately spread it around.
If fewer than half the business partners overlapped, it meant there was another production plant besides this one.
Put another way, no matter how many business partners there were, the fact that one factory handled this many meant searching this place alone would be enough.
In the end, the money became another piece of evidence.
‘If I can just catch the owner of this production plant, the path will open up.’
Hyeonyul calmly examined the next files.
The drugs were the most important thing.
They needed to find out which drugs were being produced and how they were combined.
Hyeonyul’s eyes and hands moved quickly.
Transaction records.
Payroll management.
He set aside other documents and dug deeper.
Since it was the most important information, there were also dummy files.
‘...Found it.’
Hyeonyul combined the files that had been separated into parts and carefully hidden away.
First, he transferred the drug records he wanted to review separately to his phone.
He transferred the other files, including the drug records, to an external hard drive.
Once he had copied everything, he spread the data-deletion virus he had brought with him.
It would infect the other PCs in no time.
He could not let them use this again.
Hyeonyul walked outside without hesitation.
Now he needed to find the actual drugs.
After taking a couple of steps, Hyeonyul turned his head to the right.
“This way.”
Jihwan waved.
When Hyeonyul approached, Jihwan used magic.
“Magic?”
“That’s right. It wouldn’t do us any good if the enemy could hear us.”
Hyeonyul nodded in agreement.
They could not move right now, but they could still hear and see everything.
“Did you find what you wanted?”
“I learned that this is a production plant with numerous business partners. Given that volume, it can be called a core facility.”
As he spoke, Hyeonyul also watched their expressions.
If anyone was reading lips, he intended to kill them.
“So if we raid this place, we’ll be able to find where the real one is?”
Jihwan did not get excited too quickly. He asked calmly.
It was not guaranteed to work out that way.
“They are probably connected. But I cannot say for certain yet.”
“That’s true. Still, I’m glad we won’t be going back empty-handed. We hate returning with nothing, don’t we?”
Hyeonyul nodded at that.
They could investigate diligently, but if it produced nothing in the end, would that not be an enormous waste of time?
There were so many Villains selling drugs that they had made no real progress on that front.
‘More importantly, why are they using these drugs again?’
Was there any reason to deliberately use drugs that had already been disposed of?
‘What are they after? Is it simply because the drugs are so effective?’
They temporarily boosted the abilities of powered people, so they were very useful in the short term.
But that was all.
Why go to such lengths for that one-time benefit?
“Hyung. But...”
“Yes.”
“I heard last time that these drugs had already been disposed of. Is that right?”
“That is correct.”
“If they had already been disposed of, that means they weren’t efficient. Why are they using them? The fact that they aren’t in our data means they weren’t used before and have only been used recently. The timing is too strange.”
“I would like to know that as well.”
“Then would you like to hear my guess?”
Jihwan asked hesitantly.
“You may speak.”
“I think they’re after you, hyung.”
“Why do you think so?”
There was much to consider.
Only the people who had conducted the experiments at the time and the experimental subjects would know about those drugs.
If they discovered that he, an experimental subject, was alive, they would surely try to claim him.
It had always been like that, even with people other than these ones.
“I think a rumor may have spread that an experimental subject... is alive.”
Jihwan had reached a conclusion similar to his own.
They wanted an experimental subject like him, so they had thrown out bait.
Looking at the situation, it was hard not to think so.
“No rumor has spread.”
But Hyeonyul corrected him.
At present, the only Villain who knew whether he had succeeded or not was the Poison King.
Everyone else was dead.
“They might vaguely believe that an experimental subject survived, but I think it is too early for them to guess that it is me. You know experimental subjects can never succeed.”
“I know.”
There had only been one exception.
Jihwan could not look at Hyeonyul.
“It would be more accurate to say they are testing the waters because they think someone may have broken that rule. I no longer live under that name.”
REX-3333.
It was the name he had been called countless times.
Now, he was Seo Hyeonyul.
Now, he was an adult.
How could they recognize him?
“If they’re testing the waters because they don’t know, then that is dangerous. They suddenly began considering the possibility. There must be a reason they started doing that.”
“That is how I see it.”
“Still, I won’t tell you to give up, hyung. We can use Black Eagle as a shield. It is only natural for Black Eagle to pursue Villains. Who would suspect anything?”
“Yes. That is why we must pursue them even more. If all these guesses are right, then I have finally...”
Hyeonyul stopped speaking and drew in a breath.
He had not realized it while talking, but only then did he understand what was unfolding.
“I have finally found the right direction.”
Even finding a trace had been difficult, but now he had seized it.
He could finally get hold of the past that had eluded him no matter how thoroughly he searched.
To catch it as Black Eagle, rather than as a Villain.
“Have you been chasing this for a long time?”
Jihwan looked at Hyeonyul.
He wore the most relaxed expression.
“I have pursued it for a long time. Back then, my body was less free than it is now, so I could not move at my current pace.”
Someone might look at him now and ask what exactly he had been doing before.
It had been fourteen years since he met Jeongmin.
More than ten years since he began pursuing his past.
He had not been able to pursue it wholeheartedly throughout those long years.
A monster that was not human had to make countless efforts to become human.
Would anyone understand how long he had spent working like a dog at the bottom just to become who he was now?
“I’m still rehabilitating too. I don’t think there’s any reason to be ashamed of that or hide it.”
“It is not that I am ashamed. Other people do not know.”
There was a great difference between those who had been experimented on and those who had not.
The fact that he was still unstable was itself an enormous weakness.
So he had to keep proving that he was all right, that he could do it.
“You don’t know either, Mr. Ye Jihwan.”
When Hyeonyul continued, Jihwan slowed his steps, and Hyeonyul spoke again.
“I am not saying this because I want you to understand. It is not mockery, nor is it sarcasm. I would like you to take it exactly as it is.”
He had never once asked for understanding.
It was simply how things were.
He had no intention of seeking sympathy or airing his grievances.
“Maybe that’s why I’m honestly even happier?”
When Jihwan said that with a smile, a slight furrow formed between Hyeonyul’s brows.
He did not understand what Jihwan meant.
Normally, should that not make someone feel bad?
“Now all that’s left is for me to get to know you, hyung.”
“Why do you say that? What will happen if you know me?”
“No, it’s not like that. Honestly, I’m surprised too. What I just said to you, hyung, is something I heard before. Ah... so this is how it feels. I think I was happy because it felt strange.”
Jihwan tried to hold back the smile that kept appearing, but his lips tingled.
He did not know what he should say.
“My counselor told me that from the moment someone says, ‘You don’t know me,’ a connection has already begun.”
“Why?”
“They said that if someone’s heart were closed from the start, they wouldn’t say that at all. You wouldn’t suddenly say, ‘You don’t know me,’ to someone you’ve just met. They said even an action like that is a starting point. It sounded like some kind of signal, so I guess I said that without realizing it.”
“...It is difficult.”
“It is difficult for me too. So couldn’t you take it simply as, ‘Since I don’t know, please tell me’? It really is hard to put into words.”
“I will try.”
“Good. I will try too.”
Jihwan spoke brightly.
He had tried to offer words of comfort, but it felt as though things had become hopelessly tangled.
Still, he was satisfied if his feelings had gotten across.
With that feeling, Jihwan strode ahead.
But the silence lasted longer than expected.
The factory was larger than expected, and it was a long way to their destination.
As an even deeper silence continued, Jihwan wondered whether he should say something. Then he realized he could no longer hear the footsteps following him.
“Hyung...?”
Jihwan turned around.
Hyeonyul stood still.
“I hear something.”
It seemed to be coming from outside.
At Hyeonyul’s words, Jihwan opened his palm.
Someone else was outside.
“Someone came in.”
“I’ll go.”
Leaving those words behind, Hyeonyul ran in another direction.
He was running, yet he moved smoothly as though he were riding a skateboard.
Jihwan looked left and right before running forward.
“Hyung! Let’s go together!”
* * *
‘...Damn it.’
The man looked at the materials that had fallen over with a crash and closed his mouth.
‘...I only meant to take a peek.’
He had confirmed not long ago that a great many people had gathered here.
He had waited outside as though he had come to make a deal. Since it was strange that no one appeared, he only intended to look inside.
As the man picked up the materials one by one, he thought uneasily.
‘There were swords at their throats. Did I see that wrong?’
“You’ve gone to a lot of trouble just to spy on us.”
At the sudden voice, the man stiffened.
A blade appeared beside his face.
If he turned even slightly, it might cut him.
“What did you come here for?”
Hyeonyul asked quietly.
That man was different from the faction in the factory.
Even the smell clinging to his body was different.
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