The Civil Servant Who Conceals Her Power Is Too Good at Possession Chapter 2

That death—destined to be recorded as my first—was probably from a concussion.

 

Probably.

 

That day too, I—well, more precisely, the me from my previous life—was rushing through a house visit because of an order handed down from upper management.

 

‘Why are the library service usage rates so low? If this keeps up, our community center will rank dead last in the district. What do you think will happen if our budget gets slashed? Would you like that? Or would you not like that, Officer!’

 

…I wouldn’t like it.

 

Why ask a question that can only be answered that way?

 

While thinking that, I lugged pamphlets and several books up the hillside neighborhood, explaining large-print books for the elderly.

 

What choice did I have? When they say jump, you jump.

 

That was just how work got handed down to a low-ranking public servant like me.

 

I was grumbling while climbing the steep uphill road when— 

 

“Uh, uh……?”

 

I was struck from behind by a handcart an old man had lost control of; I fell backward, cracked my skull, and died. 

 

What was more ridiculous than that absurd death was that after dying like that, I reincarnated—

 

And possessed a character in the Hunter novel I used to enjoy reading. 

 

And I, twenty-four-year-old Lee Yuji, only remembered that fact the moment I arrived for my first day of work as an investigator for the ‘Hunter Investigation Bureau.’ 

 

On this historic day when, after awakening as an F-rank hunter and going through all kinds of hell, I’d finally landed the job.

 

‘Why am I only realizing this now?’

 

And Team 5?

 

I can’t remember a single thing about Hunter Investigation Unit Team 5.

 

I’ve never even heard the name Lee Yuji.

 

What kind of screwed-up possession is this?

 

I was dumbfounded.

 

The title of the novel I possessed was this.

 

<The Ranker Who Hid His Power Saves the World.>

 

Commonly known as R.H.H.P.S.W

 

Just like the title says, it’s about the protagonist, Choi Woojin, who hides his power and fights the massive evil organization—the Daeyoung Guild—that’s driving the world toward ruin.

 

In the process, Choi Woojin didn’t hesitate to do things that bordered on criminal, so he was constantly being chased by the Hunter Investigation Unit.

 

The Hunter Investigation Bureau. 

 

An independent investigative body established thirty years ago, dedicated solely to investigating crimes committed by hunters.

 

Choi Woojin always referred to the Hunter Investigation Bureau like this.

 

“Useless idiots.”

 

This was because the higher-ups had only created a flashy-looking agency on paper; in reality, problems were constant due to an infinite lack of manpower and financial support. 

 

‘The portrayal of civil servant society is 10,000 percent accurate.’ 

 

Still, there were elite investigators like Kwon Ikseong who overcame all that and boasted a 99% arrest rate.

 

Ah, Kwon Ikseong.

 

My salvation. My hope. The rising star of the public service world.

 

While reading R.H.H.P.S.W, I had let Kwon Ikseong into my heart as my favorite character. 

 

It wasn’t just his striking looks in the illustrations scattered throughout the story—this line played a big part too.

 

“It’s quitting time now. We’ll stop the investigation here for today.”

 

…Our Ikseong, who knows how to respect leaving work on time. 

 

Our Ikseong, who never gives up on uncovering Choi Woojin’s identity despite being toyed with every step of the way.

 

Give our Ikseong a raise already!

 

Was I being punished for cursing the H.I.B so much back then……? 

 

A window popped up in front of my eyes.

 

Status Effect ‘An unnamed extra in a crime novel must die’ is now active!

 

Quest ‘Locate the bomb installed inside the Hunter Investigation Bureau building! (A)’

 

-Completion Reward: 5,000 gold

 

-On Failure: Death by explosion

 

Ah. Right.

 

This was it. 

 

The reason neither my name nor Investigation Team 5 existed in my previous-life memories, despite reading R.H.H.P.S.W. diligently.

 

Because Team 5 disappears at the beginning of the story.

 

‘Because everyone died in an explosion.’

 

No wonder I couldn’t remember a single team member!

 

02:59:59

 

A red number floating in the upper-right corner of my vision.

 

So that’s the time remaining until the bomb explodes……?

 

If it’s going to blow up anyway, could I avoid dying if I just left this office by myself?

 

Time remaining until explosion: 02:57:45

 

…Yeah, right.

 

The numbers, which had grown larger, seemed to mock me.

 

There was no way a supernatural quest like this would let me escape death just because I ran away.

 

Like some kind of oracle complex, it’d either force me back here somehow, or physically relocate me outright.

 

After dying a pointless death and barely managing to possess someone, now I was going to be blown up?

 

Cold sweat ran down my back at that moment.

 

“Wow. Another rookie arrived. Another one…”

 

With a somewhat dejected sound, someone perched on the desk in front of me.

 

The man, with his slick expression and fairly long hair tied tightly back, smiled lightly and flicked his fingers in the air.

 

“Hey, rookie. My name’s Byeon Gudo. My grandpa named me, hoping I’d grow up to be someone who plans things well.”

 

His words and tone were friendly enough, but his expression was distinctly indifferent.

 

However, there was someone even less friendly than Byeon Gudo, and that was the man sitting next to him. 

 

Thick horn-rimmed glasses. A hoodie pulled low. And a headset hanging around his neck.

 

A headset… in the office?

 

…Is this what they call the MZ generation?

 

Byeon Gudo tapped the headset guy on the shoulder and smiled.

 

“He’s my partner… no need to worry about him.”

 

No need to worry……?

 

He’s been glaring at me out of the corner of his eye this whole time.

 

“Your partner is our team leader. Quite the honor, right?”

 

“Excuse me?”

 

My partner is the team leader?

 

So, in corporate terms, I’m basically a fresh hire getting assigned straight to a project with a department manager…?

 

At my flustered voice, Byun Gudo broke into a grin.

 

“What? Don’t like that?”

 

Ah. I know that look.

 

I saw that expression all the time in my previous life.

 

It was the look our district office section chief wore whenever he gave an utterly unreasonable order.

 

And that expression meant this.

 

‘Yeah—if I say do it, you do it.’

 

“Of course not. I am very happy.” 

 

I forced an awkward smile as sweat began to trickle down my back.

 

Happy, my foot. 

 

My life’s on the line here.

 

Alright, let’s think. 

 

Surely, since I’m a ‘possessor’ in this world, I won’t die because I couldn’t clear the first quest, right?

 

No way…

 

No way…… right?

 

* * * 

 

The chapter where a bomb blows up part of the Hunter Investigation Unit building in R.H.H.P.S.W. is Chapter 51.

 

Thanks to possession timing, I remember even the chapter number perfectly.

 

In Chapter 50, the protagonist, Choi Woojin, gets hold of a lead on a crime tied to the Daeyoung Guild.

 

That was none other than the Black Market. 

 

A crime ring where a hunter capable of handling subspaces distributed things like “funny powder,” a hallucinogenic derived from monster byproducts, and illegal weapons.

 

‘Of course, everything sold there came from the Daeyoung Guild.’

 

And so, Choi Woojin subtly feeds information about this black market crime to the H.I.B., even handing over a witness on a silver platter.

 

“I’ve gone this far. If you still can’t catch them, are you morons or what?”

 

…Yes.

 

The Bureau were morons.

 

But even the poor Bureau civil servants had an excuse!

 

Because that witness got blown to bits!

 

Along with every single member of Investigation Team 5!

 

In other words, this explosion incident was a move made by the Daeyoung Guild to eliminate the ‘witness’ Choi Woojin had handed over to the Bureau. 

 

I looked toward the holding cells connected to Team 5’s office.

 

‘They were targeting the black market owner, and the closest spot was Team 5’s office, so they had no choice but to plant the bomb there.’

 

The original novel never specified where the bomb was planted, but it did explain how it happened.

 

It wouldn’t be surprising if they’d planted a mole inside the HIB. The Daeyoung Guild Master has that kind of influence, and the HIB doesn’t have the ability to root out moles like that.

 

A mole.

 

Choi Woojin believed there was an informant inside the HIB.

 

I looked at Byeon Gudo, who was doing something on his computer, and Ma Deokho, who was still glancing at me through a mirror as if wary. 

 

Is one of those guys the mole?

 

Or the Team Leader who is supposed to be my partner?

 

“By the way, when is our team leader arriving?”

 

I asked, but neither of them answered.

 

Byeon Gudo’s gaze was fixed on the monitor, and Ma Deok-ho replaced an answer by turning up the volume on his headset. 

 

With no other choice, I walked toward Byeon Gudo—the lesser evil.

 

What’s he so busy with?

 

Is he really the mole?

 

As I approached with suspicion and looked at Byeon Gudo’s monitor, there were bright red squares drawn on it.

 

‘…You were playing go-stop?’