Ch.561Chapter 21. Blood Pack (21)

A short while later, near Ganghwa Island. In a public restroom near the Hero Association’s temporary situation room.

“…….”

Jung Ki-jo, the president of the Korean Hero Association, sat on the closed toilet lid, arms crossed, deep in thought.

A crossroads of information flooded his mind.

Like untangling a ball of yarn, he sorted through the complex situation and information, separating truth from falsehood as he organized his thoughts.

Profiling.

This wasn’t an ability.

Though similar abilities existed among the powered, simply “organizing one’s thoughts” was something even ordinary people could accomplish.

If one had exceptional thinking skills comparable to those with abilities, even without magical power.

“…I see.”

President Jung Ki-jo slowly opened his eyes.

“This is the answer.”

The president raised his hand and wrote in the air.

The Syndicate’s mischief.

In a position where he couldn’t speak freely to anyone, where he had to be most cautious about information leaking to others.

Even if one discovered the truth or reached enlightenment, there were times to reveal it and times to conceal it.

The position of Korean Hero Association president required making appropriate choices based on the situation.

Whether to reveal the truth he had deduced to everyone.

Or to hide information and selectively disclose only what would benefit the Hero Association.

The latter was what every organization in the world did.

It was the natural order and physiology of organizations to conceal unfavorable information while exaggerating and widely publicizing favorable information.

As the head of the Korean Hero Association, his position and posture as president were more important than his curiosity as Jung Ki-jo the individual.

Creeeeak.

The president opened the door.

Outside, three men in suits were waiting their turn, and the president patted their shoulders.

“Don’t worry. I didn’t use it.”

“Ah, ahem.”

“I just needed a quiet place to organize my thoughts alone. This happened to be the closest place available.”

Swoooosh.

The president washed his hands, then pressed his damp, cold fingers around his eyes.

“…Well then, shall I tell everyone? The truth behind this incident.”

After wiping his eyes with his sleeve, he straightened his clothes and went outside.

Flash! Flash!

Camera flashes sparkled in the dark night.

Those waiting for him outside the restroom pointed their watches and microphones at him with suspicious faces.

“Ah. Everyone seems to have many questions.”

The president stood before the reporters and calmly began.

“To get straight to the point, everything started with Haeguneul’s evil deeds.”

* * *

[SHOCKING: The ugly truth behind selling blood for profit.]

[Chairman Choi: “An individual’s misconduct; we promise reform at the group level”]

[Missing person responsible for everything? Haeguneul Group remains silent.]

[Where was Armored Taejo? In-depth SNS analysis.]

[Goblin’s resurrection? Fake Goblin? The truth is.]

“Such a commotion even though it’s dawn.”

I couldn’t help but laugh at the articles flooding the internet.

“Maybe because the incident happened at night, people are still confused despite the Association’s statement.”

“For those just waking up, it’s like the country turned upside down overnight.”

In the early morning, Baek Seol-hee sat with me on the living room sofa, placing her hand on the window as she spoke.

“For some, it was a time when S-rank heroes clashed, but for others, it was time to sleep to prepare for a difficult day ahead. Someone once said that all the fun stuff happens while I’m asleep.”

“It’s hardly ‘fun’ considering how serious the incident actually is.”

“Wouldn’t it be fun for people who enjoy seeing Haeguneul get exposed?”

“Correct.”

Haeguneul’s evil deeds had been revealed to the world.

Things that had been spreading as conspiracy theories were now surfacing one by one.

“From Haeguneul secretly selling Korean blood overseas to secretly operating a powered mercenary PMC under their umbrella. Now that everyone knows to some extent, they won’t view Haeguneul so favorably anymore.”

As Baek Seol-hee said, people were still condemning Haeguneul even now at dawn.

“Do you know what’s the most damaging part? They were trying to sell blood donated by middle and high school students.”

“You’ve done a lot of research.”

“I just monitored the reactions online throughout the night. Someone had to tell you how communities were reacting while others were fighting on the scene.”

“Thank you.”

I approached Baek Seol-hee and patted her shoulder.

“Sleep?”

“I can go without sleep for one night. Besides, I might get contacted today, so I can’t sleep.”

Baek Seol-hee stared at me intently and gently held my chin.

“They say everyone from Zenros testified the same thing. That Goblin Unit 3’s face looked similar to Do Ji-hwan’s.”

“I deliberately took off my mask to let them know.”

“Do you think people would believe such testimony from Zenros members in a mentally compromised state? That the Do-rider who wore his mask diligently in front of Battle God appeared maskless in front of Zenros villains?”

“Isn’t that precisely the selling point that differentiates him from the original Goblin? A Goblin without a mask. It doesn’t make sense even with normal thinking.”

“…Hmph.”

Baek Seol-hee pinched and squeezed my cheeks.

“So if someone asks, you’ll deny it for now? Since you don’t particularly want it right now anyway.”

“It’s fine to just drop hints. Just enough to leave some breadcrumbs.”

“You’re asking for the most difficult thing.”

Baek Seol-hee grumbled as she tapped my chest with the back of her hand.

“The original Goblin is Do Ji-hwan, and Baek Seol-hee brought down Goblin with love. Is it that hard to say?”

“Am I the one who fell?”

“Isn’t that why you created an alter ego? The original betrayed his organization for love and sided with heroes, and the hero embraced the villain with love.”

We needed a scenario.

Everything was for the child growing in Baek Seol-hee’s womb.

“People are gossiping about adultery, promiscuous heroes, pregnancy addicts, and whatnot, but when the ‘truth’ is revealed, we want to make them all go ‘ta-da!’. That’s what we’re building up to now.”

“If you explain everything like that, others might find it less interesting.”

“It’s better than being frustrated from lack of information. Don’t you see people beating their chests online? Because of all the rumors you’ve spread, many people think even facts are rumors.”

“It’s fine. People only believe what they want to believe anyway.”

No matter how much truth is spoken, some people will distort it to fit their own interests.

Or some will knowingly spread falsehoods as truth.

“Even if you provide an alibi, many will think it’s fabricated.”

In this country, Haeguneul is the prime example.

“Take Taejo, for instance.”

“…Yes, that’s causing even more commotion now.”

Baek Seol-hee tapped her watch with a complicated expression.

“Like with Goblin, many people are confused about whether that ‘Master Jindo’ is fake or real. And Haeguneul is now claiming the ‘Taejo brainwashing theory’.”

The community reactions Baek Seol-hee showed me were mostly identical, word for word.

“Look at this.”

-Where was Armored Taejo and what was he doing? Could he be working with the Syndicate to lower national prestige? The president must explain directly! (Delete after parentheses.)

“Even with this, people still believe Black Taejo is Taejo.”

“Despite records showing Taejo’s watch was in Busan the whole time, and signals to the watch were checked immediately from Busan?”

“Yes.”

It’s a somewhat awkward situation.

“Honestly, if I didn’t have this relationship with you, I would have advocated for the ‘Taejo brainwashing theory’ too. Seriously.”

“Really?”

“Since people who know already know that the Syndicate can perform mental reconditioning, it’s more convincing to say they brainwashed that immature Taejo because they couldn’t stand him.”

Currently.

70% of South Korea, no, 70% of the world seriously believes the ‘Taejo brainwashing theory’.

They think the Syndicate captured Armored Taejo, modified him to their liking, killed the immature one, and created Black Taejo.

“I guess everyone really disliked the immature one.”

“He might have charm as an entertainer, but as a hero, it’s a bit questionable.”

Until last year, or rather until before boarding the Sinuiju Golden Train, only die-hard fans liked Armored Taejo.

-Give our oppa back!

-Our Taejo isn’t that serious character! He’s a naive kid who doesn’t know the world! Syndicate, wake up! Undo the brainwashing and give us back our flamboyant kid!

-Use time regression ability or whatever, give us back our Taejo! This is murder! Murder!

In many ways, public opinion toward the Syndicate is not good.

I understand, but facing this madness directly is quite bewildering.

However.

“It’s okay. This is within the range of scenarios we anticipated.”

When seeking cooperation from Black Taejo, we had already prepared countermeasures for the Taejo brainwashing theory—fundamentally, the theory that Black Taejo and Armored Taejo are the same person.

“We just need to deny it.”

Denial.

“Black Taejo is not Armored Taejo. He has an alibi.”

An alibi that everyone would accept but no one would dare question further.

* * *

Click, click, click.

As watch flashes sparkled, a young man in a black suit entered the press conference room.

“Look at that, they’re completely identical.”

“Isn’t that him? Did he rush here right after causing that commotion in Seoul?”

“Is that possible? They said he was injured.”

“Who knows. Maybe he came out while still injured inside.”

“Was he brainwashed by the Syndicate?”

“He came out brainwashed. To deny that he’s that man.”

Amid the reporters’ open whispering, the black-haired young man—Taejo—quietly sat down at the conference and grabbed the microphone.

“I am Armored Taejo. As a hero, I will tell you only the truth. Just the facts.”

“This is Jo Seok-jun from Haeguneul Daily. Where were you and what were you doing during the Ganghwa Island incident?”

“That’s—”

“You responded immediately to the hero signal from your residence but took no other action. Why is that?”

“…I’ve been hesitant to speak about this here, but if it can clearly resolve the public’s curiosity, my embarrassment is nothing.”

Taejo, all too casually.

“I was… patriotically engaged.”

“…….”

He dropped a bombshell.

“Fully committed, in my room.”