The Police Do a Better Job than Heroes - Chapter 74

WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR

Chapter 74: Darkness Sometimes Feels Comforting (1)

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A small office in a bustling part of Light City.

Small as it was, it was not a place to be dismissed. Land in this district cost a fortune even for a palm-sized plot, and the luxurious interior made it obvious that a considerable amount of money had gone into it.

"What do you think? First impression?"

Trace smiled as she savored coffee from an elegant cup. Kang Jin-ho had been invited to her hero office.

"It feels like the kind of place Sherlock Holmes would work. The atmosphere, I mean."

"That was partly intentional. It's the sort of image people expect from an information-type hero, after all."

Kang Jin-ho ran a curious hand over the antique-style table and let out a quiet sound of admiration. It really was cool.

"But is this okay? Haven't you been busy lately? I didn't expect you to come the moment I contacted you, Jin-ho."

Trace tilted her head, and Kang Jin-ho scratched the back of his head awkwardly.

"Haha... The others at the station are handling the work, so there wasn't really anything for me to do."

"Oh, what kind of work are you doing?"

"We're assessing the villains' charges, then deciding whether the arrest gets credited to me or someone else. The ones with serious crimes get credited to me, and the lighter ones get credited to someone else..."

"...What did you just say?"

Trace frowned as if she could not believe what she had heard.

"Assessing them? Their crimes? And they only get approved if what they've done is serious?"

"..."

"You're joking, right?"

"...Haha! Of course I'm joking."

Kang Jin-ho waved a hand as naturally as if it had all been a joke, while thinking to himself.

'Fuck, it really is weird after all.'

No matter how famous he had become, criminals lining up to confess and having their cases reviewed was just too strange. It really was strange...!

"...That wasn't funny. Anyway, could you take a look at this?"

Trace pouted and pulled something from the stack of documents behind her.

She spread several photographs and copies of communication records across the table.

"My side has been tracking the flow of funds through Blackflame's organization lately. It was a request from the Hero Association. But while we were tracking it... we found something strange."

Trace tapped one of the photographs with her fingertip.

"A mid-level executive who handled communications under Blackflame has recently been gathering a huge amount of information on you, Jin-ho. Your route to and from work, the number of officers assigned to your precinct, even floor plans for the buildings around your apartment."

"...Even floor plans?"

"Yes. It looks like they've been investigating you very thoroughly for at least a month."

Most importantly, there were signs that this executive had sent a direct report to Blackflame several days ago. The problem was that Blackflame's organization had gone quiet after that report.

"When an organization suddenly goes quiet, it means they're lying low before something big. And this change came right after they received that report about you, Jin-ho."

"Hmm..."

"I've been a hero longer than you, so let me say this... with this much evidence, it's safe to assume Blackflame is targeting you."

Kang Jin-ho sifted through the photographs with an uneasy expression.

"Why try again...?"

"Exactly. Didn't Blackflame retreat when you ran into him in that alley last time?"

"That's right. But I don't know why he'd target me again."

More precisely, Blackflame had fled after seeing Eun-yeong, but Kang Jin-ho could not exactly say that.

"That's what makes it worse."

Trace's expression turned serious.

"Someone who retreated once moving again means they think the situation has changed. There was a reason they couldn't touch you back then, but now they think they can. Or they think they have to."

"..."

"And as far as I know, Blackflame is cautious. If he isn't certain, he doesn't act in the first place. So he will definitely... try something soon."

"Try something, huh."

Kang Jin-ho rubbed his chin and fell into thought.

If Blackflame was going to make a move... what exactly was he planning to do? Kang Jin-ho quietly recalled what he knew from HiCiSi.

Blackflame was cautious, intelligent, and cruel. He maintained an outward image of brutality and mercilessness, but only because that image benefited him. He never involved himself in anything that brought no profit.

So there was something to gain from targeting me... but what could possibly be...?

"..."

Kang Jin-ho stopped thinking.

Was there anything to gain from targeting him? There was plenty. So much that he could not even begin to guess why Blackflame was doing it.

Villains gained fame just from being arrested by Kang Jin-ho. How much more would someone gain from taking him out directly? The important question was how Blackflame intended to do it.

"Jin-ho, I know you must have your own plans, but... Blackflame isn't like Body Snatcher."

Trace set down her coffee cup.

"Lethe and Body Snatcher were only frightening under certain circumstances. Sealing memories, taking over bodies... their abilities were terrifying, of course. But Blackflame isn't like that."

"Blackflame is..."

"Blackflame is different. He's just strong. He reached 1-rank villain status through pure combat ability. And he's intelligent on top of that."

Trace looked Kang Jin-ho straight in the eye and spoke clearly.

"A 1-rank villain can openly attack someone in the middle of the city. There has even been a case where one kidnapped a politician that way and escaped. So please be truly careful for a while. You could ask the Hero Association for protection..."

"Mm."

Kang Jin-ho thought for a moment.

Trace's concern was perfectly reasonable. Still, he thought it was unlikely that Blackflame would launch an open attack.

There was one reason.

Eun-yeong was at the police station.

Blackflame had run away last time because of Eun-yeong. Even if he did not intend to fight her head-on, directly provoking Eun-yeong would be an enormous burden for him.

That made the answer obvious.

A moment when Kang Jin-ho and Eun-yeong were apart. A time and place beyond Eun-yeong's sight. Blackflame would exploit that opening. The fact that he had watched Kang Jin-ho's movements and obtained the floor plans of his home over the past month was proof that he had been looking for just such an opening.

'...Then.'

If that was the case, Kang Jin-ho would eventually have to face a 1-rank villain alone.

Honestly... he had no chance at all.

Of course, Kang Jin-ho was no longer the same Kang Jin-ho from that alley. Thanks to his karma, his body had become tougher than most heroes, and his reputation had soared through the roof.

But reputation would not stop Blackflame's fire. A tough body would only let him burn longer.

He would lose in a direct fight. There were not many ways to escape, either. A 1-rank villain would use every bizarre method imaginable to pursue Kang Jin-ho.

Then.

"I have no choice."

There was only one way.

"Jin-ho? What are you thinking so hard about...?"

"No."

Kang Jin-ho gathered the documents and handed them back to Trace, his expression firm.

"I've made up my mind."

"About what?"

"..."

Kang Jin-ho took out his phone and contacted Eun-yeong.

"To survive."

* * *

Deep underground in Light City.

In a place so hidden that even those who designed the city might have been surprised it existed, there was an immaculate laboratory.

Pure white walls, a spotless floor, glass tubes and mechanical equipment lining the walls. It would not have looked out of place at any university.

At the center of all that equipment.

"That is all."

A man surrounded by black flames sat there.

The man was cloaked in pitch-black fire that seemed to swallow light. No heat came from the flames. They only gave off an aura that made the air turn cold with every breath.

The 1-rank villain, Blackflame.

"So."

He lazily flipped through the report handed over by his subordinate, one page at a time.

"There are this many moments when Kang Jin-ho is alone...?"

"Yes. We have confirmed that he is always alone after work."

"A trap? Confidence? Well, this is enough."

Blackflame casually set down the papers.

"There is one thing I need to report."

His subordinate spoke cautiously.

"It appears the Hero Association has learned that we are investigating Kang Jin-ho. An information-type hero seems to have discovered it while tracing the flow of funds."

"If this continues, he will be on guard. Perhaps you should postpone the timing..."

"It doesn't matter."

Blackflame cut them off.

"Whether he is on guard, wherever he hides, whether he asks the Association for protection... none of that matters."

Whoosh. The flames around Blackflame's body surged once.

"All I need is one second."

When he raised a finger into the air, black flame shimmered above it like a heat haze.

-Fwoosh.

The next moment, the flame vanished from the air and flared back to life on an experiment table three steps away.

Limited spatial movement. Blackflame's fire moved through darkness.

Distance meant nothing. Walls, security, locks, none of it meant anything. The instant his target showed even the slightest opening, Blackflame would already be standing behind them.

"No matter how much of a genius he is, he's still human. Since he's an information-type, it's impossible for him to respond perfectly."

The corner of Blackflame's mouth slowly twisted. It was hidden by the fire... but it was an utterly cruel smile.

"I will try to kidnap him first. If circumstances make that difficult, kill him. Prepare yourselves. The moment you determine when he will be completely alone within his usual range of activity-"

-Bang!

At that moment, a subordinate burst through the laboratory door.

"B-Blackflame!"

"What is it?"

"It's urgent news about Kang Jin-ho."

"Speak."

"First... he has not moved."

"Mm?"

Blackflame narrowed his eyes.

"He knows his location has been exposed. Is it a trap? But it doesn't matter. In any case..."

"There is another problem."

"Speak."