Ch.136136. Taking Control of the Game.

This was a gamble too. After my fight with that kid, the impact was quite significant.

Especially since we fought openly in broad daylight. It was inevitable that many people would recognize me. Of course, there’s no evidence linking me to the monster.

But for those who already have suspicions, this would multiply their doubts.

Even the news is trying to find connections between me and those who were killed during the same entry times—wouldn’t others notice this too?

Why was I the only one saved? Thinking about it, there’s enough reason to be suspicious.

Moreover, Dokgo Jun is already suspicious of me. I didn’t want to be under surveillance unnecessarily.

It’s too grand to say I’m controlling the situation. The only option is to give up the game myself while securing my safety.

Above all, since I’ve confirmed there’s an informant in the police, I needed to deal with that first.

For this, I needed a meeting with Dokgo Jun, but as you know, an ordinary Academy student can’t just meet him freely.

His position aside, he’s so busy that it’s difficult to meet him under normal circumstances.

Plus, I heard he’s leaving for an expedition to Chile in a few days.

So I’m trying to catch him before that window closes.

Fortunately, I have someone who can help me. That’s Seol Yu-hwa, who’s right beside me now.

“Yu-hwa, thanks. With you here, it’s so much easier to meet him.”

“It’s nothing… Anyway, I’m glad you weren’t hurt. What exactly happened…?”

Yu-hwa was looking at the scenery outside the subway.

“I must attract bad luck. But I was just going to play a game, how could I have known such guys would show up? Yesterday, I visited Senior Unjeong from the Security Force. Thankfully, she’s recovering quickly.”

People around me keep getting seriously injured. I feel terrible that these things happen unintentionally.

Sometimes it feels like I’m the one attracting evil.

Still, if it’s to prevent humanity’s extinction, I must overcome this.

“But I’m worried this might be too much to ask of you.”

“No, it’s fine. If it’s important for our Guild Master, that’s enough. I mentioned it before, and he gladly agreed. Is this related to the recent incident?”

“Yeah, I have something to discuss.”

“Can you tell me what it is? I’ll help if I can.”

Yu-hwa’s eyes turn toward me. But should I tell her this? It’s not that I don’t trust Yu-hwa, but the fewer people who know, the better.

“No, if it’s confidential, you don’t have to tell me. I shouldn’t have asked.”

Yu-hwa loses confidence and backs away. She’s been like this since she was pushed around by Geum Do-hyun.

I grabbed Yu-hwa’s wrist.

“It is confidential. But it’s not that I don’t trust you. It’s just better if fewer people know.”

“R-really? Then maybe I shouldn’t hear it…”

“I’ll tell you because I trust you.”

“…Really?”

Yu-hwa’s expression brightens. Her characteristic is that when she’s expressionless, she looks haughty, but when she smiles, she transforms into a lovely appearance.

Before my regression, I regretted not seeing this because of Geum Do-hyun, but now I’m glad I can see it all I want.

“…”

“…”

We’re looking at each other and smiling for quite a while. Realizing this, we naturally turned our gazes away from each other.

This is embarrassingly awkward.

We’re currently heading to the magnificent White Dragon Guild building.

With Yu-hwa’s guidance, I was able to pass through the internal security procedures with a free pass.

“It’s complicated. Five-step authentication? I expected the employee ID, fingerprint, and iris scan, but…”

“They’ve added more recently due to security concerns.”

Entering inside, it was close to an ordinary company lobby. However, a dragon statue, the guild’s symbol, occupied one side of the lobby, and a reception desk with a red carpet extended down the corridor.

Plus, the elevator area was covered in gold, giving it a distinctly luxurious appearance.

Following Yu-hwa’s guidance, we took the elevator to the 10th floor, where Lee Chae-rin, a woman in a short-cut suit skirt, was waiting as soon as we arrived.

“Welcome. We meet often, don’t we?”

“Hello.”

“I hear you want to meet our Guild Master. Must have brought something significant?”

There seems to be some hostility in her words? She’s smiling, but there’s no warmth in it at all.

Yu-hwa whispered in my ear.

“These two usually discuss business together during this time. We might have interrupted that.”

“Ah, so we’re delaying their work schedule.”

That would naturally be annoying. She was more pleasant outside.

Anyway, the tense moment has finally arrived.

My heart is pounding.

This stern, ideological man. A meeting with Dokgo Jun, the head of the White Dragon Guild.

“Nervous?”

“He’s better than you might think. He’s quite cheerful except when fighting monsters.”

Haha, Yu-hwa. I am that monster. And Dokgo Jun is probably more suspicious of me. So this is a gamble for me too.

Just as I was about to knock on the door marked [Guild Master] with the White Dragon emblem:

“Come in.”

He already knows and tells me to enter.

The moment the door opened, I felt an overwhelming pressure. It was like his suspicious gaze was enveloping my entire body, even more intensely than before.

“Hello.”

“Sit down. Would you like something to drink? Anything except alcohol is available.”

“Vending machine Job’s tears tea, please.”

I don’t know why I said that. Maybe it was just mischief because he said I could order anything, but such a ridiculous order came out.

“Vending machine Job’s tears tea? Do kids these days drink that? I used to see it occasionally in my time. Chae-rin!”

I thought I might just provoke him, but surprisingly, I felt a warm sensation on my cheek.

“Here.”

Chae-rin somehow already had the vending machine tea and smiled at me.

“I’m busy as hell, and you’re playing jokes?”

Her eyes aren’t smiling. Haha, I’d better get to the point quickly.

After taking a sip of the sweet vending machine tea, I now faced Dokgo Jun.

This man’s gaze pierces down at me fiercely.

“Do Jong-hyun. I’m suspicious of you. You’re strangely often connected to the monster. So are you that monster who’s been behaving oddly lately?”

“Still on about that? You don’t have any evidence, do you?”

“If you can’t speak honestly, this is meaningless. Get out. We’re done here.”

Dokgo Jun turns away.

No, you idiot. You’re so impatient.

“Wait. What happens if I admit I’m connected to the monster?”

“I’d cut your throat immediately.”

“Then wouldn’t most people refuse to admit it?”

“That’s why I said get out. If it’s not the answer I want, I don’t need it. You’re definitely hiding something. I will never let you go.”

This stubborn old man! Just like an extremist! I’m getting angry, but I need this man’s help right now.

I should yield here.

“Even if it means missing the chance to find the police informant? If that’s not important…”

“…”

“Then I’ll go. I guess I’ll have to see Mr. Park Tae-sang.”

“Wait.”

This persistent battle of patience is ultimately in my favor, the one holding the key.

Because I’m the one moving directly to set up the game.

“How would an Academy student like you handle an internal informant?”

“Just like you. Wouldn’t the humanoids be suspicious of me? Just like you suspect I’m connected to the monster. Going further, they might link me to the informant leak.”

“…”

Dokgo Jun finally seems interested.

“So you’re saying you’re not related to the monster?”

“I don’t know. Maybe the monster is using me instead?”

“What?”

“I heard four people have already been killed besides me? By then, the monster would know well which people its enemy killed. Since they’re both monsters, it might have tricked the informant and contacted them.”

Dokgo Jun started laughing loudly. It’s full of mockery, but that’s fine. Don’t be intimidated. As they say in “The War of Flower,” they may be suspicious, but there’s no evidence.

This is the realm of fiction writing. I’m clearly creating fiction right now.

But at least I’m not creating something from nothing; I’m adding to what already exists.

This is possible.

“Anyway, the enemies have been disrupted and they’re somewhat suspicious of me. What would happen if I gave ‘false information’ to the police?”

“…In other words, you’ll be the bait?”

“You got it right away. I’ll deceive the police informants with false information. I’ll give different false information to suspected informants ‘on different dates.’ Whoever attacks me on that date is the informant. But they shouldn’t know about each other’s information. I’ll leave that part to you.”

“Good strategy. But we have a trip to Chile coming up.”

Dokgo Jun’s killing intent seemed to have eased a bit.

“Not everyone is going, right? And the informant issue will need cooperation. Plus, I have someone here who can help me.”

“Someone to help?”

I pointed outside.

“Seol Yu-hwa.”

“Since she’s from the same Academy, protection would be easy. You also have security guards around you, right?”

“Yes. Though I don’t know where they watch from.”

“They’re right there.”

Dokgo Jun pointed to another building next to the window.

I can’t see anything.

“I don’t see what you mean. Where are they? I’m in the lower class, so I don’t know.”

“They’re hiding with their abilities. By the way, are you pretending not to see, or are you just clever?”

What? Was that a test just now? Testing whether I can sense the presence of high-ranking Jaegers?

I really can’t let my guard down. Anyway, the story went as I told it.

Before going to Chile, Dokgo Jun would handle it, and afterward, Park Tae-sang would take over, and we entered into a strategy to catch the fake informant.

*

[Do Jong-hyun will meet with the police on December 16th (or until the 31st) in Dongducheon to provide important information about the next humanoid attacks.]

Seol Yu-hwa’s heart was racing rapidly. She was looking at herself in an old mirror in her simple home.

The reason for this was simple. Do Jong-hyun’s false operation required his protection first and foremost.

Sending out false information to lure in the enemy meant that Do Jong-hyun would be attacked again.

So he needed protection right beside him, but if the White Dragon Guild openly protected him, the informant wouldn’t approach easily.

So they needed a less well-known face for protection.

That was Seol Yu-hwa.

While Aerial and Do Jong-hyun had gained fame through their faces, Seol Yu-hwa had barely appeared on TV news, so she could just stay by his side.

[Got it? Girlfriend. Girlfriend. So dress up nicely and date for a whole week!]

The reason Yu-hwa became the girlfriend in this operation was, of course, thanks to Chae-rin’s efforts.

She was trying her best to bring the two closer together.

[Yu-hwa, you’re more than enough, so dress nicely. But since you can’t date every day, just stay together for about a week. Walk around for about an hour each day, then make contact with the police.]

‘Even if you say that… sigh.’

But Aerial came to Yu-hwa’s mind. She always approaches Do Jong-hyun boldly, and people think they’re dating even though they’re not.

‘Do Jong-hyun and I aren’t like that.’

Seol Yu-hwa denied it to herself, but she couldn’t deny the jealousy welling up inside her.

‘Liking him. No, no. Jong-hyun is just nice to me and easy to talk to…’

“You like him, don’t you, sis?”

Just then, she heard a snickering sound. When Yu-hwa hurriedly turned around, Seol Jun-hoo was smiling.

“Jun-hoo?”

“Sis, you look really happy today. It’s that guy, right?”

“…We’re not dating. Don’t get your hopes up.”

“So it is him? I think he’s pretty good too.”

This isn’t a meet-the-family situation, yet she’s hearing such things from her family.

But it was true that she was happy to meet Do Jong-hyun like this during the vacation period.

Seol Yu-hwa’s heartbeat increased by at least double.

‘Saying such things unnecessarily…’

If Do Jong-hyun asked if she was okay with him, of course she was. This was something Yu-hwa admitted.

“It’s a mission. A mission. Just one hour a day.”

“Tomorrow too, right?”

“…How did you know that?”

Jun-hoo just grinned.

‘That kid… really…’

Sometimes he seemed mysterious. She was considering having him take another magic test during the vacation.

‘I definitely heard before that apart from regular summons, there’s a rare method where the summoning spirit chooses directly…’

Could that be why Jun-hoo sometimes has strangely good intuition or hears voices?

Seol Yu-hwa stared intently at her brother’s face.

“Jun-hoo. Anyway, I’m going out now.”

“Okay! Have fun! But protect him well this time, sis. It could be dangerous.”

“Yes, it could be dangerous.”

At Jun-hoo’s words, other family members came out and waved goodbye.

After making thorough preparations, she finally met Do Jong-hyun.