A short while later.
I was standing with Ham Ina in front of a man who looked exhausted.
I thought Pi Sowon’s dark circles were bad, but this guy’s looked like they stretched all the way down his neck.
He sat at his computer, hunched forward like he might fall into the ocean, and spoke.
“Recently, we’ve been getting a lot of video analysis requests from the support team. As you know, someone’s been bringing in hundreds of crime videos at a time……”
“Ah, that ‘someone’ is me, then.”
I muttered a small apology, glancing nervously.
“I’m sorr—”
Support Team 3
Park Minbae
The man, wearing this name tag, glanced at me and spoke in a drowsy tone.
“Still, thanks to that, I don’t regret skipping out on the Taebaek Guild. I guess.”
‘Ah. So this is the person from that chatroom.’
The one who had passed the first Taebaek Guild round and switched to being a public servant. He was the one who had been fussing about whether the HIB would be disbanded or the investigative staff reduced because of the Kevin Choi summons incident.
Seeing him in person, he felt completely different from his impression in the group chat.
“Thank you. Really, thanks to you.”
He spoke nonchalantly and handed me a full copy of the CCTV footage. On a USB drive.
“But is it okay to just hand the whole thing over like this…”
“No, it’s not. That’s why I said—look. There’s no one in the records room.”
Park Min-bae said calmly, pointing to the empty room.
Come to think of it, he had said the records room was busy, but right now it was just him, me, and Ham Ina.
“I called you when the seniors weren’t here. On purpose.”
Ah. I see.
It felt like a big favor, but he said it so matter-of-factly that I found myself doing the same.
“Among public servants, loyalty to your peers is loyalty to the country.”
He returned his gaze to the computer screen and spoke flatly. I bowed my head in greeting.
“Thank you!”
The echo in the records room made Park Min-bae’s face scrunch up.
“Ah… so that’s your character? I thought you’d be a bit more taciturn.”
He looked burdened, but it didn’t matter.
I quickly left the records room with the USB, parting ways with Ham Ina in the hallway.
“I don’t know what you’re investigating, but… let me know if you need help again.”
Ham Ina’s tone was strangely serious. I hadn’t even mentioned “perceptive investigation,” but she seemed to already believe I was secretly investigating something.
‘I feels like I’m causing misunderstandings everywhere…’
Strangely, those misunderstandings were useful.
“Thank you.”
I bowed, and Ham Ina bowed with me, then suddenly asked,
“But that band…”
“Yes?”
I touched the bridge of my nose where she was pointing. I felt the texture of the smooth band-aid. It was the cat-print band-aid Ma Deok-ho had bought.
“…Cute.”
Ham Ina smiled faintly.
“Right?”
I awkwardly replied and walked out into the hallway.
* * *
And there, on the CCTV footage I finally viewed—
‘There it is.’
The black cat, having lost its siblings while playing in the flowerbed, trudged alone toward the parking lot.
Switching to the rear door parking lot camera, the trail of the black cat continued.
‘Watching the CCTV like this makes me feel like a real investigator, so proud…’
…As if.
Ma Deokho, you brat! I shall not forgive you. I’m not asking you about your lunch order ever again. Hmph.
Anyway,
The black kitten goes under the wheel of a certain car in the parking lot.
The camera can’t see the driver’s seat. The cat disappears from view.
The brake lights flick on, as if the engine starts and stops.
A person’s feet appear as they exit the car. The black cat tries to run out from under the car, but the person grabs it.
‘Stop!’
I hit pause hurriedly.
But cleverly, the person’s face wasn’t visible.
‘Damn it….’
The footage played again. The car’s brake lights turned on and it moved, without showing the cat being set down.
I froze it again.
A fleeting moment revealed the license plate.
27 Da 4885
Okay. Noted.
At least now I could quickly identify who took the black cat. I wrote the plate number in my notebook.
“What are you doing?”
A cold voice came from behind.
‘Control W!’
I instinctively closed the window and turned.
As expected, Pi Sowon was there. Behind her, Ma Deokho, eyes sharp as ever, was watching.
“Ah… that… I… just… some data…”
“You—”
Just as Pi Sowon was about to pry further, Ma Deok-ho muttered softly as he passed us toward his seat.
“Animal Farm, Episode 657.”
“…What?”
Pi Sowon asked, and Ma Deokho, pausing to put on his headset, replied,
“That video. It’s famous for the kitten rescue scene in Animal Farm episode 657.”
“….”
“….”
Faced with the majesty of an animal geek, Pi Sowon lost her words for a moment, then looked at me with a gaze full of pathetic pity.
“I’ll send over some operational manuals, so read those. Or take some leave and get some rest. You keep stubbornly coming in just to…”
Watch stuff like that, her eyes said as she returned to her seat. Even the band-aid on the bridge of my nose received a look of pity. I glanced at Ma Deok-ho over the partition.
Damn, I actually owe him one.
A person who gives trouble and then helps.
Fine, I’ll keep asking you about the lunch menu.
With that thought, I waited until I confirmed Pi Sowon had gone to the interrogation room before pulling up the CCTV footage again.
* * *
27 Da 4885
This car had a specific pattern. It parked at the back gate at a regular time every Wednesday and Friday.
So I wondered if it was someone from outside—it didn’t have a Hunter Investigation Bureau license plate.
And my worry proved correct.
How did I confirm it?
The next day was Wednesday. I arrived a little earlier than the usual parking time of 8:30 and waited.
‘Like this.’
Before I knew it, I was inside the car.
Why?
Because I used my possession skill.
For the record, my original body was currently playing with Lulu.
My possession skill affects all living things within a 10-meter radius; it doesn’t require contact or knowing the target.
I lowered the rearview mirror to check my own face.
An estimated man in his fifties.
Right. That’s me.
‘Good. Now I just need evidence that this person took the cat—’
[What’s up? Why the sudden silence?]
A random voice came from inside the car. Hands-free?
I hesitated, then answered.
“Uh… yes. I… was just distracted… What did you say?”
[I said Kwon Ik-seung’s deployment date is set. The 28th. Mess with the equipment being checked out that day. Mix in two or three defective ones.]
“Defective…… what?”
My heart started pounding.
‘Did I just hear that right?’
Mix defects into the deployment gear?
I looked at the phone mounted next to the navigation screen.
The screen clearly displayed:
Chief Cha
Chief Cha? Cha Jeonhyeok, the Equipment Manager?
Why would the Equipment Manager give such orders……
My head was spinning when a window appeared in front of me.
Quest: ‘Prevent the Bus Explosion! (S)’
-Reward: 10,000 Gold, Access to a portion of the Special Side Story of The Ranker Who Hides His Power Saves the World.
-Failure: Death by septic shock from gunshot wounds
-Time limit: 70 hours
Special side story? And gunshot wounds?
There are so many ways to die, seriously!
Anyway, a bus explosion—
‘I think I know what this incident is.’
The massive urban bus terror attack that even Choi Woo-jin couldn’t prevent.
I’m the one who has to stop it now.
‘Ah, I need a smoke…’
No! That’s not the time!
Wait, no! Damn it, of all things, I had to enter the body of a smoker.
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Comments (2)
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Oh my, Lee Yuji can never catch a break! Leader is going to be so annoyed with her
I’d go to Ma Deok-Ho mad as hell after this lol. It was supposed to be finding a kitten not stopping a terror attack!!