WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Dionysus
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ The Newbie Civil Servant Hunts Villains Before Going Home ◈
Chapter 96: You Said It Was Okay to Break (3)
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* * *
Saaah.
The woman felt a chill run down her spine.
She could hear nothing, sense nothing.
The silence was so complete that her heart began to race.
How?
How had he approached without a sound and gotten behind her?
The woman’s expression rapidly hardened.
Seungyu, who had been watching her, slowly smiled.
He felt a chill as well, but only trembled with clenched fists.
That person was the one he served.
He felt joy.
「This is what you wanted, right?」
「This is what you were running your mouth for, right?」
After writing another message, Hyeonyul slowly stepped out from behind her and held out his phone.
He came face-to-face with the woman’s frozen expression.
「Satisfied?」
“How...?”
「Shh.」
「Trade secret.」
Hyeonyul placed a finger near the mouth of his Rabbit Mask.
「Don’t pick a fight anymore.」
「It makes me want to kill you.」
After warning her, Hyeonyul slowly walked back to the sofa.
If she ignored the warning, killing her would be more than justified.
If her faction complained, all he had to do was show them the CCTV footage.
They were the ones who had picked the fight.
「Secure the CCTV records, erase them, and bring them to me.」
Hyeonyul showed Seungyu his phone.
「You know not to copy them, right?」
“Of course. I will take care of it immediately.”
Seungyu stepped outside for a moment.
「Sit.」
Hyeonyul sat on the sofa and offered her a seat.
The woman approached, all amusement gone from her face.
「We are collecting drugs.」
「You came to the right place.」
He did not want to talk for long.
He wanted to get home and knit, so he got straight to the point.
“What?”
The woman asked in surprise.
「They’re neatly stacked in the warehouse.」
「Where and how do you think that information leaked?」
「Tell me.」
The fact that they had come meant information had leaked.
Hyeonyul naturally assumed Seungyu knew too.
“What would you do if you knew?”
The woman narrowed her eyes.
She had begun to guard herself.
That was a good sign.
「I hate drugs, so I want to catch them and kill them.」
The woman’s expression changed.
Was it surprise?
There was something slightly ambiguous about it.
“Are you serious? That bastard Poison King would not approve.”
「I’m not the Poison King.」
「Do you want him to return?」
“Even if you say you are not, this entire faction is the Poison King’s. I do not know how you got hold of it through sheer luck, but...”
「Luck?」
Hyeonyul lowered his phone for a moment.
He acted as if he were thinking.
“...What?”
Perhaps the woman had lost her momentum, because she could not endure the silence.
Hyeonyul let out a long breath.
「Then you should try taking this place through luck.」
Hyeonyul crooked a finger at her.
It was an obvious provocation.
The woman’s lips pressed tightly together.
「Why didn’t you rush in like a dog when you heard the Poison King was gone?」
「Why not?」
「Do you feel better about yourself when you comfort yourself like that?」
Hyeonyul smiled.
「You couldn’t do it.」
「You were trembling because you were scared of the Poison King.」
「You couldn’t even deal with the idiots among the executives here who fought over whether the Poison King’s seat should be mine or yours.」
「I only did what you couldn’t.」
It was absurd that cowards were running their mouths.
Not just the woman before him, but the rest were all the same.
Even after the Poison King disappeared, they had been too frightened to rush in.
Now that Hyeonyul had taken the place, it seemed to bother them.
「Fine. I’m in a good mood.」
「You don’t know what the Poison King looks like, do you?」
“...What are you talking about?”
Hyeonyul took out his phone and showed it to her.
「This is the Poison King.」
The woman leaned forward.
Then her face twisted.
It was grotesque.
To think that face had been beneath the mask.
She felt as though she might throw up at once.
「Look closely.」
「He has no fingers, right?」
“He doesn’t...”
「I cut them off.」
“...”
The woman stared at Hyeonyul with her mouth shut.
The question of whether he was joking hovered on her lips.
But she could not bring herself to say it.
Had the man before her not truly seized the Poison King’s faction?
‘How did this happen? Black Eagle captured the Poison King, but...?’
The woman’s eyes shook.
A hypothesis quietly formed in her mind.
‘Was the Poison King attacked by that man before Black Eagle captured him? Is that why Black Eagle caught him so easily?’
Looking at the destroyed place behind the Poison King in the photo, she could only see it that way.
No, she had never believed Black Eagle had captured the Poison King in the first place.
「I hate drugs.」
「Do you believe me now?」
Hyeonyul held up his phone until she answered.
He was slowly becoming irritated at having to do this on his day off.
He wanted to go home.
“Then why are you collecting drugs?”
The woman spoke.
「I ordered it.」
“Why?”
「So I can handle them myself.」
「If I leave them alone, rats like you start scurrying around, like today.」
「It makes me want to kill you.」
“First, let me make this clear.”
After speaking, the woman pointed to herself.
“My younger sibling was taken away as an experimental subject and died. They died because of those damned drugs.”
The woman revealed her emotions while forcefully suppressing her rising voice.
It seemed to be anger.
「So?」
“Whether people point fingers and call us Villains or not, drugs need to disappear from this world. We will stop at nothing.”
「What am I supposed to see and believe?」
The woman seemed to think for a moment at Hyeonyul’s message, then took out an external hard drive.
“These are the factions we destroyed. Look through them.”
「I’ll contact you.」
「Give me your contact information.」
“Before that, why do you hate drugs?”
「Would you believe me if I said it was for the same reason?」
“...I would.”
There was no wavering in the woman’s eyes.
“If you deal with the drugs, I’ll believe you even more.”
「Tell me somewhere troublesome to deal with.」
Hyeonyul did not miss this good opportunity.
He needed information.
Dealing with them would come afterward.
「I’ll take care of it.」
Hyeonyul cast the bait.
He thought she would accept anyway.
The scale of the faction once led by the Poison King did not lie.
“There’s a company called Prunal that sells milk.”
Linda and Prunal.
The two companies he had confirmed through intelligence came up.
“The leader truly has the power of a major player, but looking at the businesses they own and what they do, they’re only big. It’s become difficult to approach them because of recent events.”
「Because of Black Eagle?」
“Yes. Because you people caused a commotion, Black Eagle has become sensitive too. We need to lie low for now.”
「Would they really arrest you for trying to get rid of drugs?」
“Why not just laugh at me instead?”
The woman reacted as though she were offended.
‘Why?’
Hyeonyul did not understand that reaction.
Black Eagle wanted to eliminate drugs too.
Would Black Eagle not welcome someone saying they would get rid of them?
“...The Empire.”
The woman began to speak, then took a deep breath.
Grind.
Unable to hold back her rising emotions, she ground her teeth loudly.
“I haven’t changed my mind about wiping out that damned Empire.”
「The way you say that makes it sound like the Empire makes the drugs.」
“What if it does?”
「What is your evidence?」
“...They should have stopped the experimental subjects. They should have stopped drugs from being distributed. Those bastards failed to do what they were supposed to do! That’s why they took people away without caring whether they were from our side or not!”
「That is a huge leap.」
Hyeonyul saw no point in responding to words with neither evidence nor logic.
「If the Empire could stop that, we would have already disappeared.」
How could an Empire that could not even eliminate Villains stop experimental subjects and drugs?
He did not understand why she was blaming the Empire for this in the first place.
The ones conducting experiments and making drugs were Villains.
‘Ah...’
Hyeonyul stopped picking it apart.
‘They’re just Villains talking.’
My fault is your fault.
Your fault is your fault.
They themselves have done nothing wrong.
What more could he expect?
If they had reflection or regret, it would be strange for them to be here at all.
“What if the Empire is simply leaving us alone?”
「Do you have evidence?」
“Not yet.”
「You heard something.」
The woman looking at the phone gave a short laugh.
She had no intention of telling him.
“Honestly, trust is not something that suits us, is it?”
「Of course not.」
「Our goals merely overlap.」
“Since our goal of wiping out the Empire overlaps too, if I find something out, I’ll tell you for now.”
「That would be nice.」
After reading Hyeonyul’s message, the woman stood.
“Contact me. That’s all I came for.”
「If you give us something good, I’ll let you destroy the drugs we’ve gathered with your own hands.」
Hyeonyul dangled something that would tempt her.
They had to get rid of the drugs anyway.
It would not be too late to check the drugs they had gathered so far and hand them over.
“...You know how to negotiate?”
The woman smiled.
“What should I call you when we meet next time? Rabbit?”
「Call me whatever you want.」
「And you?」
“Call me Yeon.”
Yeon gave him a bright smile.
“I’m leaving, Rabbit.”
「All right.」
「Goodbye.」
Hyeonyul waved.
After Yeon left, Seungyu came in.
“...What did you discuss?”
Seungyu cautiously approached Hyeonyul and asked.
「Investigate a company called Prunal.」
“Understood. I will begin immediately.”
「I can take the materials with me, right?」
Hyeonyul truly wanted to go home now.
He had done enough.
He had not intended to do this much in the first place.
He could feel himself steadily heading toward overwork.
“Of course. But are you already... leaving?”
「Why?」
「Is something wrong?」
“No, it isn’t.”
Seungyu started to answer, then hesitated.
「See you later.」
Hyeonyul said goodbye.
Only then did Seungyu smile and bow.
“Please travel safely. I will take proper care of the task you assigned.”
Seungyu did not lift his head until Hyeonyul left.
He was smiling broadly.
* * *
Hyeonyul raised his head.
His gaze was growing dull.
‘It’s my day off...’
The weather was nice too.
Did he really have to do this?
Even though he had come all this way, he hesitated.
The moment he got home, he looked through the materials he had received from the Villain named Yeon.
Since there was no way to get hold of the drugs they had dealt with anyway, he examined them without concern.
As he checked for details that overlapped with drugs he knew, one section caught his attention.
It was information they had obtained by digging into an experimental site.
Hyeonyul’s gaze stopped.
Did it still exist?
Could it be the experimental site where he had been held?
That possibility made him leave the house again.
There was no choice but to confirm it.
Hyeonyul dragged his heavy legs along a forest path.
Experimental sites could be in cities or mountains.
Since it was hard to pin down where the people making them might choose, he had to investigate the instant he found one.
Hyeonyul held up his phone.
‘This is the right location.’
Nothing was visible.
There was still no scent but animals.
Hyeonyul walked farther.
Despite the rocks, small plants, and all manner of things underfoot, there was no sound of footsteps.
It was as quiet as if Hyeonyul were not there.
Holding his phone, Hyeonyul circled the surrounding area, then lowered his gaze.
The scent was different from the area around it.
Even the color of the soil seemed subtly different.
‘...Ah, it’s beneath here.’
The materials Yeon gave him ranged from a few years old to only a few weeks old.
Either way, time had passed, so if this place had been dug up, the soil color had no choice but to be different.
Still, something about it was strange.
Without thinking deeply, Hyeonyul immediately burrowed down.
A passage came into view.
He could have followed it, but he did not want to waste time.
He continued downward.
The farther down he went, the more signs of the battle from that time came into view.
The place was filled with shattered debris and corpses, making him sick every time he breathed.
Dust had piled up as well, proving that the place had been abandoned.
Hyeonyul reached the lowest floor.
The smell grew worse.
‘So I did find the right place.’
What covered the pure white facility was darkened blood.
Experiments must have been conducted here, so that much blood was only natural.
Everything had rotted together, making it impossible to tell who had been an experimental subject, but Hyeonyul tilted his head as he looked around.
‘This is not where I was held.’
Other than being pure white, the layout was different.
He had walked through an experimental site under his own power before, even if only rarely.
How could he forget its structure?
Hyeonyul looked around.
He checked in case they had missed anything.
‘The computers are... completely broken.’
The shattered drug containers scattered across the floor had already dried out.
Countless syringes lay broken everywhere as well.
All sorts of tools, enough to call them implements, were visible too.
‘I had my fingers cut off countless times with those too.’
It had been done to verify his healing ability.
They reattached and healed, but they checked countless times during every experiment.
Hyeonyul wandered around as though lost in memories, then stopped walking.
In this dusty place, there were shapes where dust had accumulated less, tracing the outlines of footprints.
The floor was white too, so they could have gone unnoticed, but Hyeonyul spotted the subtle difference.
‘Why are they headed this way?’
Hyeonyul followed the footprints, feeling doubtful.
They passed corpses and broken rooms before stopping before a wall.
Hyeonyul thought for a moment, then reached out.
His hand passed through the wall.
He walked forward slowly.
How long had he walked?
Just as he began to think there was nothing, a new smell started to reach him.
‘...?’
It was close to the smell of a place where construction had only recently finished.
Hyeonyul quickened his steps.
As he slid forward, an unfinished facility decorated in pure white stretched out before him.
‘Ha...’
It was extremely familiar to Hyeonyul.
It had been decorated in the same pure white, but its structure and design differed from the place he had just seen.
If he had to compare it, it was similar to the place found beneath the secret base not long ago.
‘...No way.’
Hyeonyul heard footsteps approaching.
Three people.
‘They can’t be ordinary people.’
He did not hesitate.
Appearing behind them, he pierced the neck of the one in the middle.
“...Kuh, cough!”
Before the scream could spread, Hyeonyul swung wide to the right.
One head fell, and two bodies collapsed.
Hyeonyul immediately turned left and aimed for the remaining person’s throat.
With splattered blood covering him, Hyeonyul looked like an evil spirit.
“Was this place built to use Black Eagle agents as experimental subjects?”
Hyeonyul asked the person who appeared to be involved.
If they did not know, he only had to find a computer and search through it.
If not, that would be fortunate, but the place had the same atmosphere.
Buildings did not often share the same taste.
“...”
The person could not speak.
But their behavior, as though watching for Hyeonyul’s reaction, proved that he was right.
Hyeonyul slit their throat.
The person staggered while clutching their bleeding neck, then fell.
Watching until they died, Hyeonyul smiled.
‘Come to think of it, they said I could break this place, right?’
―What a pity. You came all this way for nothing. Even if you destroy this place, I will not bat an eye. I have plenty of money. I can make as many of these as I want.
The man who used a power like a portal had definitely said that.
If this was the second one, that meant there was a third as well.
Judging by the construction timelines, it seemed they built these places almost simultaneously.
‘Now I’m curious how much money they have.’
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