WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR

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Chapter 60: Luxury Is in the Details (9)

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Some say perfect plans do not exist. Plans are bound to go off course, so one should always have a Plan B ready in case of failure.

There are far too many unpredictable variables in the world. No mere human can account for every one of them when making a plan. Even strategies devised by great tacticians can go awry because of a minor variable, while absurd strategies sometimes succeed through sheer luck.

There is no single right answer in the world of schemes. All that matters is creating a plan suited to the situation, one with the highest possible chance of success.

"Mm, that's the conventional wisdom."

"Correct."

While everyone nodded along, Baek thought to himself.

"Why is it impossible?"

He disliked the part about humans being unable to account for every variable. Why exactly was it impossible to consider them all? What was the problem? If no perfect answer existed, what was the cause?

The answer was obvious. People. Every plan went wrong because of people.

As basic science advanced and superpowers emerged, humanity's technology took an enormous leap forward. Predictions in scientific and technological fields could now boast a ninety-nine percent accuracy rate.

But it always came down to people. There was a saying that one could know the depths of ten fathoms of water, but never the depths of a single fathom of a person's heart. Humans behaved unpredictably, and every variable came from people.

"...Then how can I eliminate the variables?"

That was when Baek had an idea. If he understood people, would the variables disappear from a plan? If he understood everyone involved in an incident, could he always create the perfect plan?

It was around then that Baek awakened his superpower. As if answering that desire, he gained Insight into People. The name sounded grand, but it was not an especially powerful ability.

It simply allowed him to gain a deep understanding of someone by looking at them. It let him quickly acquire information he could have learned given enough time. It was an ordinary ability, nothing more and nothing less, but...

"...I can create perfect plans."

For a genius mind, that was enough. From then on, Baek became Director Baek. The reason he chose the path of evil was simple. There was more work on that side. More people who needed excellent plans.

Light City had many ability users. The greater an individual's ability, the greater the influence they could exert on the world. That raised the importance of understanding people in any plan, and this was exactly the kind of environment where Director Baek could thrive. People were the greatest variable, and Director Baek could understand people.

It was not a bad ability. Combined with a mind capable of using it in devilish ways, it was more than enough. Director Baek received only one million won for his first commission. His second paid ten million, and from the third onward, clients had to line up.

After that, Director Baek succeeded with every plan and quickly built immense wealth and fame. When things went according to plan, there was no chance of the person behind them being exposed. The reason he had remained an urban legend until now was because every plan he accepted had succeeded.

But now, a variable named Kang Jin-ho had appeared. A police officer rumored to be a genius, one who kept disrupting the board Director Baek had laid out.

Director Baek reached a conclusion.

"I'll see him myself and decide."

In the end, he needed to understand Kang Jin-ho in person.

The information available at his desk was not enough. Kang Jin-ho on paper wavered somewhere between "a lucky police officer" and "a once-in-a-generation genius." To clear up that ambiguity, Director Baek had no choice but to see him with his own eyes and make a judgment.

"I'm going out."

"...You're really going yourself?"

"My own eyes are the most accurate."

Director Baek's greatest weapon was the fact that his face was unknown. Even if someone saw him on the street, they would have no way of recognizing him as Director Baek.

So Director Baek boldly went to East Precinct 7 dressed as an ordinary office worker. It did not matter if Kang Jin-ho recognized him. He had prepared an escape route, and even if he was discovered, that would yield its own gains.

"Where is Officer Kang Jin-ho?"

"Just once! Please let me see him just once!"

"I came to get his autograph!"

By the time Director Baek arrived, the precinct was packed with people. Rumors had spread that Kang Jin-ho had driven back a 1-rank villain and earned the recognition of both the Gallon family and Tienrang. The crowd there to catch even a glimpse of him had nearly paralyzed the precinct.

'...This saves me some trouble.'

Director Baek naturally blended into the crowd. His appearance was utterly ordinary, so he did not stand out. There were so many people that no one gave him a second look.

As he was swept inside with the crowd and looked around...

"Welcome! What brings you here? Officer Kang Jin-ho is out on assignment, so he isn't here today~"

Director Baek met the eyes of a female police officer handling the visitors.

"..."

Then he realized something was wrong.

Insight into People was not activating. The ability that worked on everyone else did not work on her for some reason.

It was not that he saw nothing. He could clearly see something. But the moment he tried to dig beyond surface-level information, it was like trying to grasp a reflection on water. There was nothing to hold.

A person he could not read. It was one of the rarest things Director Baek had encountered in his life.

It was not impossible, of course. Someone could negate his sight if they were a monster powerful enough to surpass an S-rank hero... or if they wore or carried an artifact of that caliber on their person.

'...An ordinary police officer?'

Neither possibility made sense. She might have become somewhat famous lately, but could an ordinary policewoman at an ordinary precinct possibly fit either description? The odds were infinitely close to zero.

Then there was only one answer.

'...I've already been read.'

That woman... had been deliberately stationed there.

For what purpose? To be shown to Director Baek.

At that moment, Director Baek realized the entire precinct was a carefully constructed message.

Before Director Baek even made a move, Kang Jin-ho had already known he was coming. He had hidden himself under the excuse of an assignment so his true nature would not be exposed to Insight into People, then stationed that woman at the precinct. As if to say:

-I knew you were coming. This time, I won.

"Heh, hehehe..."

Director Baek raised both hands in surrender, then immediately turned around and left the precinct. After taking a winding route, he returned to his hideout.

"Director? You're back already?"

"Yes."

"What kind of person was Kang Jin-ho?"

"I was disappointed."

After saying that, Director Baek disappeared into his white room.

"..."

Dolsoe stared at the closed door. He did not need to think very hard to know that was a lie.

"Director, you're smiling right now."

In all the time he had worked for him, Dolsoe had never seen Director Baek smile so brightly.

* * *

At the same time, Kang Jin-ho stood before the tallest tower in Light City.

Director Baek was misunderstanding things on his own and burning with motivation, but... Kang Jin-ho really had gone out on assignment. Today was the day of his appointment with the person ranked number one.

This was the tallest tower in the world, built in the very heart of Light City's central district. It was commonly called Light Tower. Light Tower was known by many epithets, but the most famous was this one: the place where the number one-ranked hero lived.

Ranked number one. A living legend said to possess strength on an entirely different level, even among S-rank heroes.

'This is it... The plan to escape Eun-yeong begins now.'

With his heart pounding, Kang Jin-ho entered the tower. Since everything had been arranged beforehand, there were no special security procedures. Or perhaps it was confidence that they could quickly subdue anyone who caused trouble.

"You can use this elevator."

"Thank you."

After the long elevator ride reached the top floor, its gleaming white doors opened.

"Excuse me."

Kang Jin-ho finished preparing himself and pushed open the entrance door.

Then he saw her.

Inside the enormous living room, one side held a television screen as large as a movie theater's, while the other had a huge bed. At first glance, there seemed to be nothing on the bed.

"..."

Then the microfiber blanket squirmed, and something poked its head out from underneath.

"Uh... you're here?"

Crunch. A woman took a bite of a snack and stared blankly at Kang Jin-ho.

Messy blond hair. Dark circles beneath her eyes. A T-shirt with such a stretched-out collar that she had pulled it back over her shoulders. A small frame that made her look about middle-school age.

Despite all that, she possessed a dazzlingly beautiful face.

The strongest woman in the world, the S-rank hero ranked number one, Bitna.

"First... close the door. It's distracting."

She... was a shut-in.

Footnotes:

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