Ch.589Chapter 22. The Price of Labor (21)

Chairman Choi Ho-jung was dead.

When a political situation arises and the subject dies, things tend to fizzle out.

The problem is that if there’s even the slightest suspicion about the death, people start spinning conspiracy theories.

-Why did the Haeguneul chairman die while in Gangwon Province?

-Why was he suddenly found dead in Gangwon Province?

-The body was damaged beyond recognition, is it really him?

-Was it murder or suicide?

Amid all these suspicions, I flew straight to Gangwon Province to observe the scene from a distance.

“Excuse me! Please don’t come any closer!”

“Hello, this is Kiwoo TV! Today we’re covering the late Chairman Choi Ho-jung’s…”

Many people were broadcasting from the scene along the police line set up by the police and Hero Association.

“Is Choi Ho-jung really dead? Or did he kill someone else and make them look like him? Although the government hasn’t released any definitive investigation results yet…”

Unlike the reporters and citizens who cast suspicious glances at the government, the government is currently busy analyzing Choi Ho-jung’s body.

More precisely, due to a shocking truth that differs from expectations, they’re currently unable to freely disclose the results of their research and analysis of Choi Ho-jung’s body.

“Investigation complete.”

Whoosh.

With the wind, Hyun Se-rin stood beside me with a hardened expression.

“It’s him. It’s Choi Ho-jung’s body.”

“What a terrible situation.”

According to the government investigation.

Genetic testing, blood component analysis, fingerprint comparison.

After doing their best to analyze the remaining parts despite the damage, the result was a ‘match’.

The owner of the body—face beaten to a pulp and body charred black from fire—was none other than Choi Ho-jung himself.

“Are we… doomed?”

Chairman Choi Ho-jung was really dead.

Modern science declares Choi Ho-jung’s death to the world, but the government’s political position is currently delaying that announcement.

They have to delay it.

Since his appearance is so severe, having been killed so brutally, there would likely be sympathetic public opinion toward Haeguneul—specifically toward Choi Ho-jung and the Choi family.

If Chairman Choi Ho-jung had left a suicide note saying “everything was my fault” and died by taking pills or shooting himself in the head, there would still be some sympathetic public opinion.

But if that’s combined with a horrific ‘murder’ by an unknown person, the gyrodrop of Haeguneul’s downfall would have a major speed bump in the middle, alongside sympathetic public opinion.

“Scientists across the country have analyzed and confirmed Choi Ho-jung’s death. What will you do now?”

“What else? We need to find him.”

I lightly tapped my Syndicate watch.

“One conspiracy theory: Choi Ho-jung put forward a fake and died.”

“You know that hypothesis doesn’t work since the dead Choi Ho-jung is the real Choi Ho-jung, right?”

“That’s what science tells us. Modern science.”

But what if we looked at it from future science or an SF perspective?

What if Choi Ho-jung died, but didn’t die?

“We need to investigate from a supernatural perspective too. Obviously.”

From a supernatural perspective rather than scientific, the story changes.

Of course, if even supernatural investigation confirms “Choi Ho-jung is dead,” we’d have to find the person who killed him so horribly, but…

‘That can’t be right.’

Choi Ho-jung couldn’t be dead.

He’s the type who would desperately survive, struggling to live even if it meant becoming a cockroach.

Even without supernatural abilities, he has the capital and power to use those who do have them.

Therefore, I called a supernatural ability user who could track Choi Ho-jung.

Due to the urgency of the situation, I was able to call her here.

“Serin~ Hello!”

“Ugh.”

A woman in a white coat ran up behind us and hugged Hyun Se-rin from behind.

Though Hyun Se-rin showed obvious dislike, the blue-haired woman—Taotie Cheon Ju-yeon—reached her hands toward Hyun Se-rin’s front with a mischievous face.

“Hehehe, so our Serin is no longer a split-body now? Wow, look at this mana pouch. This is S-class.”

“Unnie. That’s sexual harassment.”

“What’s the big deal between us? We’re both Do sisters.”

“Since when does having codenames Taotie and Taowu make us sisters in any world?”

“You know if you’re reborn as Do Ji-hwan’s daughter later, you’ll be Do Se-rin and I’ll be Do Ju-yeon, right?”

“Ah.”

Squeeze, squeeze.

“Want to touch too, mister?”

“Not now, after we catch the escaped Choi Ho-jung.”

“What? You’re so serious. Fine. Then the two-handed flower play comes later.”

Cheon Ju-yeon, who had been fondling Hyun Se-rin’s mana pouch like a character from a Japanese cartoon since her arrival, adjusted her glasses and stepped forward.

“Since I dropped everything and came to Korea on a private jet, I should earn my keep. Heheh.”

Directing writers with a red whip for serialization.

Honing her abilities to officially debut as an S-class American hero based on Ymir’s split body.

Even monitoring the world for possible incidents.

She put all that aside and came to Korea.

That’s how important and serious the current situation is.

“They didn’t dig up the soil around here or anything, right?”

“Not at all. If they had known, they probably would have scorched the earth around the body, but there’s no trace of that.”

“Good, then let’s start the investigation.”

Cheon Ju-yeon tapped her Syndicate watch.

“Spread, Aquadra.”

Soon, multiple screens appeared around her and began to ripple like the surface of water separated from its body.

“Scan and visualize the ‘memory of blood’ that seeped into the ground.”

Whirr.

Water droplets began to take shape in front of Cheon Ju-yeon.

Soon the water droplets began to change into human-like forms, and like a 3D simulation program, the water droplet humans began to move.

One was crawling on the ground, a fallen being.

Blood streaming from its entire body, it clutches its face with its hands and crawls along the ground, desperately trying to escape.

“Ugh…”

The pitiful sight was enough to make even Hyun Se-rin openly frown.

Water was dripping from its entire body, but if this were reality rather than a simulation, it would have been ‘blood’ flowing out.

And that trace matched the long red trail beyond the police line, into the forest path.

The end of the trail—where someone had crawled along the ground bleeding profusely in an attempt to survive—was a large pool of blood.

Crunch.

Something struck the water droplet human’s body hard.

Water droplets burst like a fountain from the water human’s back, and the water human collapsed, flipping over.

Stab, stab, stab.

Though the water droplet human could no longer move, wounds continued to be carved into its body.

Water droplets splashed from the face area as wounds formed, and even the body was covered with wounds.

Like someone cutting with something sharp, like a scene from a historical drama where someone with a long sword brutally kills someone.

Whoosh.

When no more water flowed from the mutilated water droplet human, it began to shrink.

It began to shimmer like heat waves across its body, and Cheon Ju-yeon lightly clenched her fist.

BANG!

The water droplet human exploded.

Cheon Ju-yeon had burst it herself, and her face was hardened beyond words.

“Even a snuff film would be less horrific than this. Goodness, really. Killed in such a terrible way. Poor thing.”

Mourning the dead with a voice full of pity.

“Choi Ho-jung, that piece of trash.”

While simultaneously condemning Choi Ho-jung.

“Confirmation complete. The dead person is Choi Ho-jung but not Choi Ho-jung.”

“As expected.”

As anticipated.

The dead person had Choi Ho-jung’s body but wasn’t Choi Ho-jung.

“Were you able to identify who it was?”

“…I don’t know who, but I think I can tell one characteristic of the person who entered this body. Right, Serin?”

“…A woman.”

Hyun Se-rin reached toward the water droplets scattered on the ground.

“The way she struggled and fled trying to survive, it was a woman’s behavior.”

The body was Choi Ho-jung’s, but the behavior was that of a woman.

“Everyone does despicable things to survive, but I didn’t know she wanted to live this badly.”

“…If she was going to be caught and Zenrosed anyway, maybe she just Zenrosed in advance?”

Cheon Ju-yeon joked, trying to lighten the mood.

Though cold sweat still ran down her face, she lightly patted Hyun Se-rin’s and my shoulders.

“So we need to find Mr. Choi Ho-jung, or rather, Grandma Choi Ho-jung?”

“Choi Ho-jung… could be an auntie too, right?”

Hyun Se-rin also made a slight joke and smiled before.

“…Either way, death is her predetermined fate.”

Fingering the handle of the sword at her waist, Hyun Se-rin glared at the pool of blood inside the police line.

“Let’s start right away. So we can fly anywhere in the country and attack immediately. You’re ready now, right?”

“Of course.”

I operated my Syndicate watch to contact ‘him.’

“Ah, this is Black Wing. Golden Wing, please respond.”

[Hey, Brother Ji-hwan.]

“…You really can’t match the mood at all, can you?”

I scolded the man who answered the phone while pulling something out of my pocket.

“The moment you break this, you’ll get a response from anywhere in the country, anywhere in the world. You need to sound the ‘Buster Call’ right away. Got it?”

[Got it. So where is that grandma now?]

“Whether she’s a grandma or not is something we’ll have to find out.”

The item I took out was a blue feather.

“The moment it breaks, location tracking begins. They’ll know they’ve been marked right away, so we need to move immediately.”

Even if she changed bodies.

Even if she left her Taeguk watch on the dead Choi Ho-jung’s body.

If there’s something she still has after changing bodies, we can track that item.

“Turning on the 2 trillion won location tracker.”