Ch.232Chapter 9. The Syndicate Prepares for All Situations (2)

Three hours later, at the Phuket branch of the Thai Hero Association.

“Nice to meet you, Jeongukhungdowang.”

“It’s been a while, Laplace. Is this our first meeting since your inauguration as A-rank 1 last year?”

“Yes. I didn’t expect you to visit without any prior notice. Is everything alright in Malaysia?”

“Even without me, ‘Khmer Xerxes’ is protecting it. I’m just here on vacation.”

“If you had given us advance notice, we could have arranged a proper reception at the airport or border.”

“I wanted to travel quietly. Though that’s blown now.”

The suffocating conversation continued.

Those watching from the sidelines could only exchange nervous glances in the tense meeting room.

Laplace smiled, but his eyes remained cold.

Jeongukhungdowang, wearing a simple dress, was openly presenting herself as “just a tourist.”

The battle of wills between the two A+ ranks involved not just human charisma but magical power as well, and everyone else in the seminar room was silently hoping someone would accidentally open the door.

“Let me get straight to the point. Why are you in Phuket?”

“I’ll answer directly. Vacation. End of story.”

“Is that the real reason?”

“Why else would I come here if not for vacation? Do you think I have some ulterior motive?”

“If you really came for vacation, why didn’t you just pass by when Phupatpong was on a rampage?”

“Could a hero simply ignore a villain taking people hostage? Do I need a reason to save people?”

“We could have handled it.”

“Well, it would be too late after the hostages were harmed. My goodness. This is the first time I’ve been scolded for saving people and subduing a villain. Were you filming a movie or something? I don’t think that was the case.”

They both knew each other’s true intentions but continued attacking with words while pretending ignorance.

They were both just smiling at each other, but Laplace was clearly the one feeling cornered.

“Fine. I welcome your vacation—which just happened to bring you to Phuket at this particular time, without any notification to Malaysia’s Hero Association or government, and even the Greater Vietnam Autonomous Region doesn’t know about it.”

“I wasn’t looking to be welcomed, but thank you for the warm reception anyway.”

“Have you arranged accommodation? Shall I book you a five-star hotel?”

“I came to enjoy the nightlife, so that won’t do. Don’t worry. I’ll just walk around and enjoy Phuket’s night air without a place to stay.”

“…Do you really think that makes sense?”

“Why wouldn’t it make sense? I’m just going where my heart takes me. Is there some reason I shouldn’t be in Phuket right now?”

Jeongukhungdowang just kept smiling.

Laplace was frustrated, while Jeongukhungdowang was overflowing with confidence.

The reason was obvious—the “justification” was on Jeongukhungdowang’s side, not Laplace’s.

“I’m just a tourist with a valid visa who came sightseeing and happened to save some people. Oh, citizens might get excited when they see me. It’s fine. I’ll try to keep my identity hidden as much as possible, so don’t worry. Hehe.”

“…You’re only making me worry more. Be careful. We’ve received intelligence that unidentified strange individuals are wandering around Phuket. You never know who might suddenly disappear.”

“Is Phuket’s public safety that bad? Thank you for your concern, but I have enough power to protect myself. May I go now?”

“…General Jeokrang will be arriving soon. Surely you’re not planning to stand up someone who’s coming all the way to Phuket?”

“……Hmm.”

Jeongukhungdowang’s eyes narrowed slightly, but she soon shrugged.

“Well, alright. I’ll just have some tea while I wait.”

“…Yes. Please don’t go anywhere and wait. I’ll have tea brought to you right away.”

Laplace stepped outside, and Jeongukhungdowang leisurely gazed out the window of the seminar room.

In the distance.

Toward what seemed like someone watching her, she casually made a V-sign with her fingers.

* * *

At our lodging.

After entering our accommodation while pretending to be newlyweds, we immediately turned on the TV.

On the screen, Jeongukhungdowang was making a V-sign toward a drone camera.

It would appear to be a hero’s greeting to Thai citizens, but she was actually sending us a signal.

“Oppa. It looks like we won’t be getting help. Laplace seems to have tied her down.”

“Yeah. And there are rumors that General Jeokrang is coming to Phuket from Bangkok.”

Key figures are gathering in Phuket.

Since Jeongukhungdowang is officially here as a tourist, she can’t help us with this operation.

“Ugh. She’s a pretty good fighter. I hope nothing big happens that would require her to fight.”

“I feel the same. I don’t particularly want to fight a hero who uses the title of Vietnam’s Admiral Yi as her alias.”

If she were to step in, she would have to do so as a “hero,” and that would mean she’d have to confront us, villains of the Syndicate, with all her might.

That’s how heroes who cooperate with the Syndicate operate.

They draw public attention to allow the Syndicate to move more freely, but when the Syndicate officially surfaces, heroes must fight against it.

So that the general public would think, “How could Jeongukhungdowang be cooperating with the Syndicate when she fought them so fiercely?”

“Tran Hung Dao drawing attention ends here. So, Mr. Nguyen?”

[Yes.]

I spoke to Nguyen who was staying in the adjacent hotel room.

The walls were thick, but for ability users who open their hearing, walls aren’t much of an obstacle.

“The Syndicate will move. From the moment you called us, the operation was already ‘confirmed.’ All that remains is determining the timing and location. We’ll decide the timing, but I’ll give you the choice of location.”

[……Which of the two islands should we attack first?]

“Yes.”

The island of the succubus?

Or the resting place of the gods?

The order doesn’t really matter much in terms of causing problems, but the scale and nature of the damage will differ greatly.

“The Syndicate doesn’t hesitate to spill blood. We’ll try to minimize bloodshed, but I won’t make idealistic promises that we won’t let anyone die.”

[…….]

“Remember that those you’ve reached out to are people who don’t discriminate between means and methods for world peace. So, what will you do? Will you withdraw from the contract?”

[If I stop here….]

“Then Ms. Lee and I will just enjoy our trip to Thailand and leave.”

Frankly speaking, the consequences affect this country and Nguyen, not us.

The Syndicate can always find other ways to uproot the darkness that has fallen over this country.

It’s just that right now, the Chief Administrator position is on a self-imposed sabbatical for a year, but “purifying” a single country isn’t much of a challenge.

[If I stop now, all sorts of evil acts will continue to happen on those islands, right?]

“Yes. Blood is probably flowing even as we speak.”

[…I’ll do it.]

“Good choice, Nguyen. I support your decision, and we’ll begin our full preparations now.”

I lightly tapped the wall.

“Operation begins at … o’clock. Until then, you have one task.”

[Just tell me. Right away-]

“Set your alarm and go to sleep.”

[……Pardon?]

“Don’t stay up all night worrying. Or should I come over and put you to sleep by force? One hit with my club and you’ll be out like a light.”

[No, no. …I’ll rest on my own.]

“Good. Then don’t leave your room until the operation begins.”

I took out my Goblin Club and lightly tapped the wall.

Soon, a thin barrier of magical power spread across the wall connecting to Nguyen’s room, and I turned around and headed for the bed.

“Oppa. I bet he won’t be able to sleep.”

“He must be nervous.”

“That’s not what I meant.”

Yoon Hye-ra sat on the bed and leisurely beckoned to me.

“He won’t be able to sleep because of the alibi-making sounds from the next room.”

“…I’ve put up a sound barrier with magic, so it’s fine. And….”

I stroked Yoon Hye-ra’s hair and leaned over her.

“I have no intention of letting anyone else hear your moans.”

“……Heh.”

From now on.

We create an alibi.

* * *

Midnight.

“Listen carefully. The Syndicate typically targets the times when humans are at their weakest.”

Agent ‘K’, under Laplace’s command, advised the Caucasian-Asian men in suits as he handed them pistols.

“Laplace said that woman, Tran Hung Dao, coming to Phuket is definitely not a coincidence. We must find the missing Nguyen and simultaneously locate the Syndicate agents that Nguyen called. Check the list again.”

With a swish, numerous faces appeared on the screens in front of the agents.

“We have the faces and locations of ‘people who arrived from Korea within the last 3 days’ through hotel booking apps, card terminals, and CCTV. We will now check all the places where these people are staying, and at the first sign of anything suspicious, we’ll raid them. Understood?”

“””Yes!”””

“Then, first location.”

Under Agent K’s guidance, the agents entered the hotel.

The hotelier didn’t even glance at them as if invisible people were passing by, and the agents began checking various room doors throughout the hotel.

“……R Hotel, nothing unusual. How about your side?”

[Nothing unusual here either. Oh, actually there was something unusual. Heh heh.]

“What?”

Agent K was infuriated by what he heard from another team through the radio.

“What is it? Even minor anomalies must be reported.”

[There’s a Korean couple really going at it patriotically. Wow, I’ve never heard a woman make such dying moans before.]

“…Unnecessary chatter. During a mission.”

[Hey. I can hear a bit more now. Want to listen?]

“…….”

K perked up his ears.

And then.

“……Is the woman dying?”

[Right? Hehe. Should we grab the guy and throw him on that island?]

“Korean couples are off-limits, too risky. …Still, slip a business card under their door.”

[Already did. Haah. Anyway, no sign of those Syndicate bastards. Are they really here?]

“They are.”

Thump, thump, thump.

The sound of the creaking bed coming through the radio was distracting, but the agent tried to focus on the mission.

“They’re terrorists. They must be preparing for terrorism somewhere. We have to find them. For Laplace.”

[Of course.]

Screech.

“……Tsk. Poor people. Coming all the way to Phuket because they couldn’t go to Ulleungdo or Jeju Island.”

The night deepened.

The search continued past midnight, but the agents couldn’t find even a trace of the Syndicate.

And then.

At 4:33 AM.

The alarm went off.