Chapter 70: Welco Party (2)
Hyeon-yul looked at the computer.
I examined the Experint Subject information received from Asan.
The nas of those who were Experint Subjects weren't written, but photos from before the experints remained.
At the first experint, there were 2,084 people.
In the final experint, only 2 remained.
The experint period was 2 years.
Short if you considered it short, long if you considered it long.
Only 2 remained in just 2 years.
The amount of money invested was also enormous.
I looked through various information, but the reason why Asan's child died didn't exist.
The purpose was the child’s ‘Resurrection’; I confird that this was the sa then and now.
‘Looking only at the contents, so of the drugs used overlap.’
Such overlaps occurred countless tis.
What could be known from the data was the drug's effects and side effects.
What I rembered was the sll, effect, and side effects of those drugs.
I was searching based on this, but when actually found and checked, they were often very different.
It wasn't that sll.
I even felt like they were mimicking the drugs I had been subjected to.
‘It’s fortunate that it’s written where they obtained it, though.’
This wasn't for external disclosure but made for their own convenience, so it was written where the drugs were bought and how they were combined.
It was also to prevent issues if the combination was strange, requiring quick changes.
However, since such data was usually destroyed first, sotis it couldn't be obtained even upon reaching the experint site.
‘Still managed to get sothing this ti, though.’
Today was a vacation day.
Hyeon-yul didn't rush.
I went to the bulletin board for missing persons and compared photos.
Since this happened often, I activated a pre-made program.
2,084 people.
After finding them, I removed them from the list.
Previously, I had also inford each family that they had died, but the response was always predictable.
That can't be true.
I'll sue.
After realizing they couldn't accept the death, I stopped informing them.
If they wanted it that way, so be it.
What I wanted to find was a family that might still be looking for even now.
‘…What aning does this have?’
I thought about it every ti, but I still didn't know.
I wondered what I should say if I found them, and even if I did, why I should et them.
But wasn't it right to at least let them know I was alive?
Ziiiing.
[Senior Baek Shin-woo: Hyeon-yul, what are you doing?]
Hyeon-yul frowned the mont he saw the phone.
[Senior Chu Na-yoon: Are you crazy? Today's a day off.]
[Senior Baek Shin-woo: You grumble when I contact Hyeon-yul separately.]
[Senior Baek Shin-woo: Are you contacting him separately?]
[Senior Baek Shin-woo: Should I contact him separately?]
[Senior Ye Ji-hwan: No way! Do it here!]
[Senior Ye Ji-hwan: You absolutely have to do it here!!!]
Hyeon-yul resisted the urge to flip the phone over.
I briefly looked around the house.
Seeing the spacious house felt calming.
‘I was tricked.’
When I said I joined the group ssenger room, I belatedly understood why Jeong-min had laughed.
If anyone said even a single word, ssages kept coming continuously.
Even if I didn't check for a short while, over 200 ssages would pile up.
I couldn't leave this room where the team mbers and the team leader were.
[Team Leader Oh Hae-ryeon: All the team mbers are here, should you be contacting separately?]
[Team Leader Oh Hae-ryeon: Mr. Shin-woo. You seem to be doing okay lately?]
[Senior Baek Shin-woo: Not at all, Team Leader! Absolutely not!]
Seeing even Hae-ryeon appear, Hyeon-yul let out a long sigh and moved his thumb.
[I am searching.]
[May I say what I am searching for?]
I knew the atmosphere would turn bad if I spoke.
Just in case, I asked before speaking.
[Team Leader Oh Hae-ryeon: Of course, of course.]
[Senior Chu Na-yoon: I’ll help you search. Tell us.]
[Senior Baek Shin-woo: Na-yoon is good at finding things. She has good eyes.]
[Senior Ye Ji-hwan: I’ll try searching with magic too.]
[Senior Ye Ji-hwan: There must be sothing I can do.]
Was it really okay?
Hyeon-yul hesitated, then moved his finger.
[I am searching for my family.]
[It’s difficult to find because my mory was wiped due to drugs.]
After sending the ssage, Hyeon-yul waited for a mont, then turned his head away.
It was obvious how they would react.
They'd pretend not to know.
They'd tell to cheer up.
‘Why did I even ask then.’
Hyeon-yul looked at the computer.
I felt I had considerably reduced the number of people on the remaining list by excluding countless nas from the roster.
Though there was still much more to reduce.
Ziiiing.
The phone vibrated even more.
[Senior Ye Ji-hwan: Oh no.]
[Team Leader Oh Hae-ryeon: Is that so?]
[Team Leader Oh Hae-ryeon: Was it like that?]
[Team Leader Oh Hae-ryeon: I'll help too.]
[Senior Ye Ji-hwan: You’ll definitely be able to find them!]
Ji-hwan sent an emoji of a fox shedding tears.
[Senior Chu Na-yoon: Hyeon-yul, I don’t know if I told you last ti that I have wide connections.]
[Senior Chu Na-yoon: Give just a small hint, and I’ll look for them. I should be able to find them quickly.]
[Senior Baek Shin-woo: Ah, I know a place too.]
[Senior Baek Shin-woo: I know how you feel too.]
[Senior Baek Shin-woo: I also searched desperately for my dead younger brother.]
‘……?’
Hyeon-yul was montarily surprised.
Was it okay to ntion his brother's death so casually?
[Senior Ye Ji-hwan: I don’t know about manpower or location, but I’ll search with you! I’ll return all my vacation days and search!]
Ji-hwan sent along a fox emoji strongly expressing determination.
Hyeon-yul blinked, looking at the continuously flowing ssages.
They said they would search together.
They didn't brush it off or pretend not to know.
It must be a heavy topic, yet they were discussing how best to find them.
‘……Strange.’
It was strange.
Really strange.
[…Let’s have a welco party.]
Hyeon-yul sent that.
No other words ca to mind.
The phone's vibration intensified, and Hyeon-yul soon regretted it, slapping his mouth.
Slap.
“Before heading out on the mission, I have sothing brief to announce.”
Hae-ryeon looked at everyone.
“Recently, evidence has erged suggesting multiple groups suspected to be villains are clashing at the point where the capital region and non-capital regions et. We conducted repeated verifications, judged it to be certain, and are informing you imdiately like this.”
“Team Leader. For this situation to occur, didn't the Poison King's faction show its strength just recently, rather than it being solely due to the Poison King's vacant position? Why do you report this is happening?”
Na-yoon raised her hand and asked.
Not long ago, the Poison King detonated the poison he had planted.
That poison was the sa as the one discovered during the festival.
Wasn't he continuously signaling that he was still alive?
“Good question, Ms. Na-yoon.”
Hae-ryeon gladly accepted the question she had naturally anticipated.
“We view the incident that occurred then as an action to show that although the Poison King disappeared, he himself is still going strong. The Team Leader eting also focused precisely on that point. Perhaps the faction led by the Poison King is fighting other factions coming towards the capital region to signal that they remain strong even without the Poison King.”
“That does make sense. Since the Poison King gave the signal first. They wouldn’t be so clueless as to not pick up on this.”
Shin-woo nodded his head several tis.
Just when they thought it was all over, the Poison King gives a signal; how exciting must it be from their perspective?
“We investigated deeply into whether they are really fighting or just pretending to fight. Honestly, it was suspicious, right? But several factions actually disappeared. Among the factions we were watching, the Crimson Witch was also included. This fact actually prolonged the eting.”
Hae-ryeon naturally ntioned the fact that was externally confidential.
The Poison King had defeated the Crimson Witch's faction.
“…What?”
Ji-hwan swallowed dryly in surprise.
“Team Leader. Did the Crimson Witch's faction really disappear?”
Unable to believe it, Ji-hwan asked once more.
Who was the Crimson Witch?
She was the Gravity Magician.
The power of gravity carried imnse weight.
“It’s true. That was the shocking incident and classified information I ntioned before.”
“……Ha.”
Shin-woo let out a scoff.
But the Poison King shouldn't be there.
How was that possible?
Was the Poison King's faction that large?
Then, how amazing was Hyeon-yul, who caught that Poison King?
“So you’re saying the Poison King’s faction and the Crimson Witch clashed, and the Poison King’s faction won?”
Na-yoon asked while clicking her tongue.
It was unbelievable.
“That’s right. In the fight between the two, the Poison King’s faction won. Currently, the Crimson Witch is presud dead.”
‘Did Asan’s faction charge towards the Poison King’s side after I killed Asan? Or was it the other way around?’
Hyeon-yul just listened quietly.
Although I had killed Asan, the Crimson Witch, I didn't know what happened to her faction afterwards.
Regardless of what happened, the collapse of one faction was good news.
“We are continuously monitoring the situation right now, and I want you to know that we could be deployed there at any ti. It’s quite rare for villains’ factions to converge like this.”
“But Team Leader.”
Ji-hwan raised his hand, a question arising as he listened.
Hae-ryeon nodded at Ji-hwan.
“If the Crimson Witch died, doesn’t that an soone new appeared in the Poison King’s faction?”
“I think so too. In my opinion, it seems like the entity Ji-hwan and Na-yoon saw.”
Hyeon-yul tilted his head at Hae-ryeon’s answer.
“Who is that?”
Is there soone besides ?
One could guess, but they wouldn’t know it was .
“I don’t know yet. They tried to detonate a new weapon in the city, and they possess it. If it is indeed that individual, they will beco quite a dangerous entity.”
‘…Not ? It should only be .’
Hyeon-yul felt ambiguous.
I was the one who took over the Poison King's faction.
But I destroyed the new weapon, I didn’t intend to detonate it, nor did I possess it.
‘Is soone spreading false rumors? Or is there sothing else besides ?’
Hyeon-yul belatedly recalled what Hae-ryeon had said at the special criminal detention center.
—No, Mr. Hyeon-yul. It’s not certain right now, but a new villain has appeared. Poison might not even work.
‘Did a truly new villain appear?’
Why wouldn't there be a villain trying to use my situation as if it were their own doing?
Impossible.
I hadn't heard it from Yu-jong, nor from Seung-yoo, the figurehead CEO.
‘But they are Black Eagles?’
To say they misunderstood sothing, they were Black Eagles.
The quality of information itself was different.
‘Let’s wait and see more.’
Hyeon-yul reached a conclusion.
That now wasn't the ti to make any judgnt.
“Certainly, if it’s real, it is indeed dangerous.”
Hyeon-yul chose neutrality and spoke.
“But don’t worry. The poison in the new weapon developed by the Poison King was successfully neutralized today.”
Weariness rather than joy showed on Hae-ryeon’s face.
She pointed a finger directly at herself.
I did it.
Clap clap clap.
Na-yoon clapped first, and the others followed suit.
“I knew you could do it, Team Leader! Who else could do it if not you, Team Leader?”
“As expected of the Team Leader.”
“Looks like a thesis will be published soon?”
Na-yoon, Shin-woo, and Ji-hwan flattered her, giving thumbs-ups.
Because they shouted in unison, Hyeon-yul glanced around and clapped along.
“…Impressive.”
Puhat.
Hae-ryeon burst out laughing.
The others usually did that, but Hyeon-yul was visibly trying hard to fit in.
There was absolutely no soul in his words.
“You don’t have to force yourself to follow along. I just leave the other team mbers be because they do it even if I tell them not to.”
“……Ah.”
Hyeon-yul imdiately lowered his hands.
“More than anything, this is the role I undertook besides being Team Leader.”
Although not the only Alchemist within the Black Eagle, I could assert that my skills weren't bad.
“Continuing, we confird that the drug found in the mission Mr. Hyeon-yul supported yesterday and the one from the mission we completed are the sa. Team Leader Ye Ju-hyeon of Team 7 has agreed to handle everything related to the transaction history from both missions.”
Ju-hyeon handled most aspects like this.
No one in the Black Eagle could surpass Ju-hyeon.
Each person had their own area of expertise.
‘Team Leader Ye Ju-hyeon is worth entrusting it to.’
Hyeon-yul nodded as if satisfied.
I knew she didn't particularly like , but ability was separate.
I had already seen Ju-hyeon's abilities multiple tis.
‘Information will co from both sides, right?’
Now all that remained was to see if the information overlapped or differed.
“Team Leader.”
Hyeon-yul slightly raised his hand.
“Speak, Mr. Hyeon-yul.”
“Regarding the plan discovered previously about turning Black Eagles into Experint Subjects. I am curious about how that is progressing.”
I wanted the Black Eagles to look into that as well.
The unidentified entity t at the secret base.
That entity who used a strange power.
“That is continuously under investigation. We need to first identify whose secret base it belonged to, but it was destroyed, perhaps to eliminate evidence.”
Hae-ryeon let out a long sigh.
‘There’s nothing there though.’
Hyeon-yul looked at Hae-ryeon.
I destroyed it so it couldn't be used again.
Didn't that entity I t there, who used portal-like powers, also say I could do whatever I wanted?
—Well now, a wasted trip. I won’t bat an eye even if you destroy this place. I have lots of money, you see. I can make plenty more of these.
If I found such places, I intended to destroy them all as I wished.
I was also curious just how much money he had.
“For now, although the plan ca out, nothing like that has actually happened. That doesn't an we aren't being vigilant. We will closely examine that aspect at all experint sites we discover, including the one we found, and any future ones.”
“Villains would really do that, right…? I really think they would.”
Ji-hwan hesitated before speaking.
He couldn't bring himself to look towards Hyeon-yul.
If even he was this scared, how much more so would Hyeon-yul be?
“They really will. They are those kinds of people.”
At Hyeon-yul’s answer, the atmosphere briefly grew heavy.
These were the words of none other than Hyeon-yul, who had been an Experint Subject.
“……I hope they don’t. Please, I hope they just put those things down.”
Ji-hwan answered belatedly.
I wanted to say no, but that was too difficult.
“This matter can likely be prevented just by paying attention to whether Black Eagles disappear or not.”
Hyeon-yul stated a fact, not hope.
The reason why preventing ordinary civilians from being captured as Experint Subjects was impossible was because monitoring everyone was practically impossible.
But with Black Eagles, the structure was such that the Team Leader would inevitably know.
“I think so too. So let’s work hard again today.”
Hae-ryeon gradually concluded the topic.
Dragging it out further wouldn't be good.
“And today, you know, right?”
Hae-ryeon imdiately changed the subject to shift the mood.
Starting this week, the ti slot changed from 1 AM to 6 AM.
She grinned at Hyeon-yul.
Today was the welco party day.
Tomorrow was a group vacation day for that purpose.
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