“What if it explodes?”
When I asked, Pi Sowon answered simply.
“If the detonator is on top, whoever opens it is guaranteed to die anyway. I just checked that first.”
Come to think of it, the parts of the gift box that had been blown away were all on the top.
In the midst of this, her aim is crazy, seriously.
No, by the way, is it really okay to just get live ammunition supplied in the office like that?
Whew, I should treat her well from now on.
‘So scary….’
With that thought, I looked down at the screen.
Then, Choi Woojin’s fox character slid down its sunglasses, looked at us, widened its eyes, and smiled.
Our Team Leader Pi sure has a nasty temper.
It’s not a bomb or anything, so open it carefully.
Well then, bye~
At the same time, the screen turned pitch black.
Silence flowed among the team members.
In that stillness, I moved first and approached the gift box.
“Whoa there. Who knows what’s in there?”
Byeon Gudo stopped me.
Ma Deokho had a similar expression.
However, I answered calmly.
“If he intended to blow us all up, he would have just made it explode immediately. The opponent is someone who has easy access to the inside, enough to leave something like this in the office without anyone knowing.”
At my words, Byeon Gudo and Ma Deokho shut their mouths. They were convinced.
“…You’re good with words at times like this…”
Byeon Gudo muttered.
At that moment, Team Leader Pi moved.
She walked towards the gift box and instructed Ma Deokho.
“Tell them to send all the CCTV footage inside the building. Thirty minutes before and after this moment. And this is…”
She furrowed her brow as she looked down inside the gift box, which was already torn to shreds so there was no particular need to open it.
Soon she reached in and pulled out what was inside.
That was—
A small pill. Several capsule-type pills with colorful patterns were wrapped in a bag.
“…Call the Appraisal Team.”
The appraisal results came out quickly.
“This is a piece of Lamia leather. The capsule wrapping the outside is also an item.”
At the mention of a Lamia leather piece, Pi Sowon looked at me. A subtle expression appeared on her face?
“What kind of item is it?”
“If you swallow it, it immediately burrows into the internal organs. And it melts inside.”
Han Jihyeok, an employee belonging to the Appraisal Team with the Eye of Appraisal, said.
Appraisal Team 1
Han Jihyeok
That name… I’ve heard it before.
This person is the youngest Hunter belonging to the Equipment Management Division, the one who kept going on about a special squad in the group chat.
He’s been sending me very burdensome glances for a while now…
‘To think Team 5 took all the investigation command rights. It’s obvious a special task force is being formed!’
…Why do I feel like I can hear him thinking that in my ear?
Is it an auditory hallucination?
I don’t know why the youngest from the Appraisal Team came here in the first place, but—
‘If I were to deduce, since the Equipment Management Division is turned upside down right now, the only person who could be dispatched to Team 5 without issues might have been the youngest.’
In an hour, the investigation of Cha Jeonhyeok will take place.
Given that, the Equipment Management Division must be in a state of absolute emergency.
To think a higher-up in the civil servant society was arrested due to whistleblowing—
‘Just thinking about it gives me chills.’
On the inside, everyone would be playing all kinds of politics to preserve their own positions, mobilizing all their personal networks to check the situation, and secret conversations disguised as cigarette breaks and coffee times would be going back and forth.
‘The internal messenger must be blowing up.’
It was when I was having such thoughts.
“Then does the Lamia leather exert its effect even inside the internal organs?”
At Byeon Gudo’s question, Han Jihyeok answered in a voice full of fighting spirit.
“That probably depends on the grade of the Lamia. Actually, I also just found out today that Lamia leather could be processed into a powder form like this. If you need it, I’ll bring an A-rank appraisal kit right now to appraise—”
“No. That’s enough.”
As if she had already finished grasping the situation, Pi Sowon stopped Han Jihyeok.
Lamia leather that can control people.
And capsules that melt inside the body.
Just these two things explained everything.
The uncomfortable death of Yeo Hyeongse.
If Yeo Hyeongse had taken this pill within the last 24 hours, both CCTV and the black box were useless. It also made sense that there were no traces of items inside the vehicle.
‘The trace of the item remains deep inside Yeo Hyeongse’s body.’
If I hadn’t seen the special side story, I, too, would have only seen Yeo Hyeongse’s death as having occurred due to some external motive…… especially blackmail.
However, no matter how much they probed Yeo Hyeongse’s surroundings, no motive emerged for which Yeo Hyeongse would have to risk death.
Because of that, in the special side story, this incident—
‘…We have no choice but to conclude that Yeo Hyeongse’s suicide note was written without any external pressure.’
It concluded with this outcome.
Naturally, this conclusion made things even more disadvantageous for Kwon Ikseong, and Cha Jeonhyeok’s subsequent testimony drove a wedge into it.
But now, another possibility had opened up.
‘Involuntary death caused by Lamia leather and a forged suicide note.’
At this point, I very quietly suggested one more possibility.
“Isn’t Unit Chief Cha Jeonhyeok’s investigation in an hour? Then perhaps Unit Chief Cha also…”
At my words, Pi Sowon’s eyes sharpened.
“Unit Chief Cha Jeonhyeok?”
“Yes?”
“Cha Jeonhyeok is a suspect. Watch your mouth.”
“Ah. Yes.”
Pi Sowon definitely changed somehow after taking the investigation rights.
I don’t know exactly why, though.
Pi Sowon asked Han Jihyeok.
“Is there perhaps any way to detect this in a living person?”
Han Jihyeok shook his head with an expression of genuine regret.
Pi Sowon had a face that suggested she was contemplating something.
I mentioned the embargo on this issue to Han Jihyeok.
“What you saw in the Team 5 office today is strictly forbidden to be leaked outside. The same goes for the internal members of your team.”
“Of course!”
Han Jihyeok flared his nostrils and said resolutely.
…There’s no need to be that resolute.
He even slipped me something like this with a meaningful look.
“This is a special supply item. I snuck it out. Since this is special handcuffs, if you use it and bind yourself to the suspect, the criminal cannot go outside a 1m radius from the investigator. It’s a special supply item, so not just anyone can have this, you know?”
…Aha… I see.
But if you give me something like this, won’t it cause a problem?
“The team atmosphere has been grim lately. I slipped the approval document among other documents, and it just got automatically approved.”
So you used a trick.
And probably the reason is—
“Please don’t forget me.”
Han Jihyeok sent an earnest gaze as he firmly pressed a pair of rings called special handcuffs into my hands.
Sensing the crisis that the team might be disbanded, it seems he has already started walking the tightrope—
‘No, I’m telling you I’m the youngest too?’
I even rejected the special task force!
It feels like he picked the wrong line to stand in.
Still, I nodded at him with a faint smile, looking as if I had some profound thought.
“Don’t worry.”
…The team won’t be disbanded.
Probably…?
“We don’t know what kind of unexpected action Cha Jeonhyeok might take, so let’s reset the interrogation room. Youngest from the Appraisal Team?”
It was then.
Having finished her thoughts, Pi Sowon gestured to Han Jihyeok with her head.
“Help us out a bit.”
“Ah… Yes? Yes!”
Han Jihyeok nodded like a loyal Doberman.
* * *
Thus, a little while later.
Cha Jeonhyeok’s interrogation room was completed in a state reminiscent of Hannibal Lecter’s cell.
Powerful magical restraints on the windows, all objects that could become sharp weapons were removed, and Cha Jeonhyeok’s handcuffs were checked again.
Seeing that sight, Cha Jeonhyeok had an expression as if he found it somewhat absurd.
“What is this? Are you treating a serial killer? I’m a Hunter with only an appraisal skill. You know that, and yet seriously… This is too much, Pi Sowon.”
Even if he had swallowed the Lamia leather, the effects wouldn’t show yet.
The terrifying thing about mind control using Lamia leather was that the person themselves didn’t realize they were being controlled.
And above all, Cha Jeonhyeok right now—
‘Doesn’t know what came out of Yeo Hyeongse’s suicide note.’
So Cha Jeonhyeok’s current tactic was this.
“…My wife is a bit sick. So I just did as Park Seungsoo told me. He said he’d give me a cut… Yeah. I made a mistake. I know. But I didn’t know it would lead to something like that. Who would’ve known that bastard would even have a bomb.”
While pretending to be pitiful—
“Team Leader Pi Sowon. No, Sowon-ah. You know my wife well too.”
Appealing to emotion.
A face seemingly filled with sincerity.
Cha Jeonhyeok’s face with moistened eyes.
I watched Pi Sowon’s lips tremble as she looked at his face.
‘This feels ominous…?’
And naturally, her next action was—
Crash!
Pi Sowon immediately kicked the desk and knocked it over.
“Uuuuugh!”
As soon as Cha Jeonhyeok was hit in the ribs by the desk and collapsed, Pi Sowon climbed over the overturned desk, placed her revolver—from which she had already removed all the magic bullets—against Cha Jeonhyeok’s temple, and said.
“Your wife? Yeah, I know her well. Section Chief Kang Minyoung of the Hunter Administration Bureau, who used to buy us meals and ask us to protect the country well. But you soil the Section Chief’s name with that kind of behavior? Hey, you son of a b*tch. Just die here so that neither your skin nor your name remains, don’t even get recycled, and burn to death as general waste.”
…I knew this would happen.
Pi Sowon completely exploded.
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