abcnovels
Chapter 82:
Chapter 82:
Chapter 82:
Chapter 82
The first thing that Choi Deok-pal did after being robbed of everything by Yu-hyun was to execute the traitors.
“Bro, bro, it’s a misunderstanding.”
“That’s right. We didn’t do anything wrong.”
“What do you mean you didn’t do anything? Why did that crazy bastard come to our office if you didn’t tip him off?”
The three who were beaten and dumped in an alley by Yu-hyun were dragged back to their organization and beaten like dogs again.
They desperately claimed their innocence, but Choi Deok-pal didn’t believe them.
No, even if he knew that they were telling the truth, he had no choice but to do this.
Someone had to take responsibility for this incident.
‘I have to pin all the blame on these bastards! Otherwise, I’m in danger.’
Choi Deok-pal applied a cold compress to his swollen face and spared the lives of the three traitors. He was angry, but he couldn’t kill them in a fit of rage.
That would only make things worse for him.
His subordinates who were watching him kept their mouths shut.
Choi Deok-pal glanced at them with a resentful look and then shook his legs nervously.
‘He should be here by now.’
When Choi Deok-pal’s anxiety reached its peak, he saw a black sedan stop below his office window through the glass.
‘He’s here!’
As soon as Choi Deok-pal gave a signal, his subordinates quickly moved and lined up in their places.
They endured the pain of their broken limbs and clenched their teeth with cold sweat.
The person who came now was someone they had to do this for.
“Is this the place?”
A moment later, the door opened and three men entered.
Choi Deok-pal immediately went to the leader of the three, a man in his early thirties, and bowed his head.
He was a cold-looking man with glasses.
“Welcome, Director.”
“I heard the news, but I think I need a more detailed explanation.”
“Yes, yes. I’ll tell you everything.”
The man naturally sat in the best seat in the office, the chair that Choi Deok-pal usually sat in.
Choi Deok-pal couldn’t point out that.
He didn’t raise his bowed head as if it was natural.
The man also thought it was natural for him to sit here.
“So, what happened?”
“Well, well…”
Choi Deok-pal told him everything that had happened before.
The man’s expressionless face cracked slightly as he listened.
“So, in other words, some of the important information about our secret project was stolen?”
“No, no!”
“No?”
“He took the safe, but I don’t think he can open it. You know about that safe. If he tries to open it recklessly, he’ll surely get into trouble.”
“He won’t be able to open the safe… huh.”
The man muttered and got up from his seat. He walked toward the center of the office, where the three traitors were crawling on the floor like worms.
They looked up at the director with fear and trembled.
“Are these the ones who failed to do their job?”
“Yes, yes! That’s right!”
Choi Deok-pal answered that way, and the director said okay.
Swoosh!
And his right hand disappeared with a trail of light, and then the necks of the three traitors flew into the air and rolled on the floor.
Eek! One of the organized members who were lined up shook his body violently. Even though they lived by eating knives, they had never seen three people’s heads fly off at once.
The director killed three people with his bare hands without any emotion.
There was no blood on his right hand.
“That was fun.”
“Di-Director?”
“Did you think I wouldn’t know? Did you think you could get away with it by blaming these three bastards?”
“Well, well…”
Choi Deok-pal’s face turned pale.
His shallow thoughts were already torn apart by the other’s unfathomable eyes.
Choi Deok-pal felt the shadow of death looming over his shoulder.
“I-I’m sorry!”
“Sigh. No. It’s fine.”
“Huh? Really?! Thank you!”
Choi Deok-pal said that sincerely, but the director didn’t care much.
He just made a rational decision.
Killing Choi Deok-pal here would only be a vent of anger.
It wouldn’t solve the problem, and it would reduce the number of hands he had to secretly use in the field.
It was better to give him another chance. Mr. Choi had done a good job until now.
‘But, this time, an unexpected accident happened.’
The director looked around the office, which was not fully cleaned up.
The organization members tried their best to tidy up, but his sharp eyes caught the traces of the battle that were still left.
“He came here alone, you said?”
“Huh? Oh, yes! One person. The person who broke in was one person.”
“One person…”
He broke in here alone, subdued dozens of organization members without killing them, and even made a collector who was involved here go into a coma.
And it took him less than five minutes to do all that.
‘He’s a professional. And a very skilled one.’
The collector who was placed here was working in the field, but his skill was close to grade 8.
A grade 8 collector might be considered low, but he had a power that was far superior to an average person.
Even if ten pro fighters attacked him at the same time, they wouldn’t stand a chance against a grade 8 collector.
And he lost to an unarmed opponent.
That meant that the opponent was at least grade 7, or even grade 6 considering the speed of his work.
‘More than anything, he made the safe that was protected disappear in an instant.’
The director thought for a moment and then asked his aide next to him.
“What do you think?”
“It’s the work of a very skilled person.”
“Why do you think so?”
“Not only did he come here alone, but also his decisive work was the most striking. He must be someone who does the same kind of dirty work as us, and he must have a lot of experience.”
“Yeah. I think so too.”
“And… more than anything, I don’t think he’s working alone. There must be someone behind him who ordered this.”
The director nodded.
He thought so too.
The other party must have known what they were doing here and came in.
Knowing that meant that he had someone he trusted behind him.
‘Who’s behind this? Nemesis? Hesiodos? Crying Sword? Or some weed from the association?’
There were too many places to guess. What bothered him most was that he didn’t know what the other person looked like.
The organization members who were beaten like that couldn’t answer properly when asked what the other person looked like.
It was the same for Choi Deokpal.
He had a face-to-face conversation with Yu-hyun, but he couldn’t even remember his face.
‘Did he impair my recognition? The fact that he had such a story means that the guy who broke into this place is undoubtedly an expert in this field.’
If he had taken the safe, he couldn’t guarantee the security.
He must have opened the safe by some means and checked the contents.
He would have taken it because it was possible.
‘This is serious.’
The data containing this side’s weakness had fallen into the hands of an unknown enemy.
As long as they didn’t know who the other party was, they had to do their best to prepare as much as possible.
“First, withdraw. And close all the offices we have in this neighborhood.”
“Yes, yes? But…”
Choi Deokpal tried to say something, but he shouted loudly that he understood at the cold gaze of the director.
The director sat down on his chair again and warned the agitated staff.
“If there are any bastards who talk about this matter, we’ll see each other again. And personally.”
“Ye-yes, we’ll keep that in mind!”
“Then move quickly. And take care of those three corpses.”
“Four!”
The staff left with the corpses.
The director tapped the table with his fingertips, keeping two close aides by his side.
“How dare they mess with our Twilight Veil Clan without fear.”
He acted calmly throughout, but his inner feelings were burning hotter than anyone else in this place.
He suppressed his endless anger toward the unidentified man who interfered with this side’s work.
“I’ll make him pay dearly.”
Unaware of the director’s anger toward him, Yu-hyun boarded the space train and looked at the scenery outside with curiosity.
‘It’s my second time seeing this, but it’s still amazing.’
He had ridden a space train in his previous life.
Including that, he wasn’t completely inexperienced, but whenever he saw the cosmic scenery spread out, he became like a country bumpkin who had just come to the city.
The endless black space that stretched out infinitely.
The colorful star clusters and nebulae that filled the background seemed impossible to create artificially.
He was captivated by the scenery, but Yu-hyun couldn’t hide his inner joy.
“Hehe.”
[Hey, you’ve been acting weird since a while ago. Do you have any good news?]
“Of course I have good news.”
[Besides getting promoted? Honestly, I’m a little worried. You went out and came back, and you’re smiling like that because you have something good. You’re not sick or anything, are you?]
“It’s not like that.”
Yu-hyun didn’t tell Baekryeon what was in the safe he had taken from Choi Deokpal’s office.
He thought of it as a gift in a box that only he knew about.
‘I haven’t decided how to use this information yet.’
The data that Yu-hyun obtained this time was a very important item.
If this fact was somehow revealed to other people by any means, it would bring about a huge social turmoil.
But Yu-hyun was going to use it very well because of that.
‘They must be trying to cover up their mistake somehow. But will it be easy?’
He couldn’t bear the joy of thinking about the interesting things that would happen in the future.
Baekryeon sighed as he watched Yu-hyun.
The space train that crossed the space arrived at its destination before long.
[Is this Celestial Corporation? I’ve only heard of it, but this is my first time seeing it.]
Baekryeon said in an excited voice as they got off at the station.
[But why did they bother putting the space train station outside like this? To get to the company from the station, we have to move separately.]
‘That’s for security reasons. Celestial Corporation doesn’t let outsiders enter easily.’
The reason why they put the space train station outside was also because of that reason.
Besides, there were Tellers in black armor guarding Celestial Corporation station.
They were Tellers from the Guardian Office.
‘Those Tellers standing like statues are responsible for repelling intruders from outside.’
[Are they Tellers like you? Do they fight with stories like you do?]
‘No. Tellers from Guardian Office are different from me.’
[Different?]
Tellers from Guardian Office fight instead of showing stories like other Tellers. But that doesn’t mean they collect TP and raise their stats themselves.
‘The armor they’re wearing. That’s their real weapon.’
The black armor that covered their whole body.
Commonly known as Guardian Armor.
Tellers from Guardian Office wear equipment instead of becoming stronger themselves.
When they wear Guardian Armor, the armor itself lends a tremendous power to the owner and allows them to fight enemies.
[What? It’s like a power suit or something.]
‘If you have to say so.’
But the armor given by the Guardian Office shouldn’t be judged by its appearance.
As long as it was inside Celestial Corporation, that armor could exert a formidable power.
Guardian Armor was also divided into grades according to the rank of the Teller, and the armor given to the manager-level Tellers could win against the second-generation Spirits when they received the homeground buff.
If they went up to deputy director or director, they would not be ignored by the powerful first-generation Spirits.
‘Of course, that’s only for domestic use. It won’t work properly if you take it outside.’
[Hmm. I see.]
Yu-hyun explained various things to Baekryeon and reached the headquarters after passing through the gate of the station.
It was the second time he saw the scenery since the entrance ceremony.
It still had a huge scale that didn’t suit the name of a company.
Yu-hyun moved along the map drawn in the mail he received to find his way.
There was no place to go.
He just had to head straight to the giant skyscraper that rose highest in the center of the island.
[Where is that?]
‘That’s where I have to go to get promoted.’
It was so high that his neck hurt to see the top.
The tip of the giant skyscraper, that was where the chairman of Celestial Corporation was staying.
‘The chairman.’
Yu-hyun wondered if he could ever get there someday.
He shook his head soon.
Whether it was possible or not, he felt it was impossible for now.
‘But someday…’
He thought about it for a moment, but Yu-hyun felt a gaze from the top of the building he was looking at.
‘What?’
He tried to find the owner of the gaze, but he couldn’t see anything.
‘Was it my imagination? No. I should go.’
Yu-hyun lowered his head and entered the building where the promotion ceremony was held.