Ch.96A-Class Superhuman

During their brief meal break, Gu Seo-ryong enjoyed the chicken and sprawled out on the bed with Sa Gu-gu.

I disposed of the leftover trash by teleporting it to a nearby garbage bin.

“Haah… it’s been a while since I’ve eaten something so delicious.”

“Mmnya nya nya…”

“It would be nice if W City had food like this too.”

“That would be difficult. Restoration means Meister found the recipe, the factory produced ingredients, and they coordinated to ensure it doesn’t affect existing production… Above all, they increased production enough for citizens to eat it. W City doesn’t have the manpower for that.”

“Is that so?”

“Besides, using this much oil and an entire chicken for one dish is a luxury. It’s fascinating. I’ve heard government officials eat chicken, but to make it available to citizens…”

I’m not sure what point she’s trying to make, but it seems eating chicken in W City is difficult.

After eating, Gu Seo-ryong quietly closed her eyes, apparently feeling drowsy.

But only for a moment—remembering something she’d forgotten, she suddenly sat up and interrogated me again.

“Honey, did you get caught stealing this chicken?”

“I’m not a thief.”

“Then what’s with the government information access record? You’ve finished the chicken, so can you please tell me what’s going on?”

“Hmm…”

I told Gu Seo-ryong everything that happened today.

About the hero who stole my hot dog and how I threw him in the trash.

About the Superhuman Protection Act, the right to remain silent, various laws, and the hero who was friendly to me.

And how my ability was measured, classifying me as an A-rank superhuman.

“Haaah…”

“What’s wrong?”

“I said being chased by bullets would be troublesome, but… anyway, things seem to have worked out well… Continue, honey. Do you remember the conversations between the villains and heroes in detail?”

After sighing deeply, Gu Seo-ryong asked for specific details about the conversations between the villains and superhumans in the interrogation room and among the office workers.

I told her everything I could remember.

After hearing everything, Gu Seo-ryong lowered her head in thought, and only after a long while did she speak.

“This A City is indeed very different from what I knew. Especially how humans are so hostile toward heroes.”

“They weren’t being hostile.”

“That level of animosity counts as hostility. Those who would be eaten by even Homicide-rank monsters without heroes don’t know to be grateful and are grinding their teeth?”

“Isn’t it natural to be angry when another human disrespects you?”

“Another human, huh? You’ve been influenced by W City… Superhumans and regular humans aren’t the same kind of human, are they?”

“Don’t monsters sense them all equally as humans?”

“Oh my, that’s true. From a monster’s perspective, they are all the same humans.”

Realizing something she’d forgotten, Gu Seo-ryong then talked about the human perspective.

“Conversely, the humans in A City probably see superhumans the same as monsters.”

“Heroes and monsters are different.”

“We may feel that difference, but from the perspective of humans with no abilities, they’re not. They’ve only distinguished between humans and non-humans. So… they’re hostile to superhumans just like they are to monsters.”

Hearing her explanation, Gu Seo-ryong’s argument seems convincing.

To humans, superhumans are monsters that can communicate, while actual monsters are creatures that cannot.

Both are non-human monsters.

“You understand the human perspective well?”

“…Observing prey is a predator’s basic skill. To monsters, superhumans are also humans with the same weaknesses. There’s no harm in knowing humans in detail.”

“Hmm, I see.”

“Isn’t it interesting? W City stubbornly insists on the foolish notion that superhumans are still human. But here, they’ve clearly separated superhumans as something beyond human. As a result, villains have become heroes.”

“What do you mean by villain heroes?”

“When I asked why most of the villains I knew were gone, I was told they’d converted to being heroes.”

Gu Seo-ryong’s explanation of the situation was quite impressive.

Superhuman supremacy—the idea that superhumans are different and special from ordinary people.

By clearly making this distinction and declaring ordinary people inferior while directing special benefits toward superhumans, many villains turned into heroes.

“Superhumans are superior and special, so they should enjoy more privileges… That sounds right even to me. This Cage person, I’m not sure if he’s brilliant or reckless.”

Gu Seo-ryong picked up my superhuman registration card and twirled it on her finger.

“With just this registration card, he divided the villains into two factions. He even absorbed one faction entirely… The remaining villains strengthened their connections with the government to survive, and the government uses them as chess pieces to bring itself down… There might be many side effects, but things are moving incredibly fast.”

“What do you mean by bringing down the government?”

“Simply put, we weren’t the only ones who saw Meister’s absence as an opportunity.”

“Your explanation is insufficient.”

“Cage wants control of the city, right? While Meister is gone, S-rank heroes and high-ranking government officials are silently at war behind the scenes.”

I asked out of curiosity, but hearing it now, it doesn’t seem like something I need to worry about.

“Is this something I need to know?”

“Oh my, well… not really. Our goal is just to search the laboratory. Social changes in human society aren’t a monster’s concern.”

Agreeing with me, Gu Seo-ryong flicked my superhuman registration card, sending it flying.

“Still, you brought back a lot of good information. The distrust between humans and superhumans, the silent political war… The chaos behind the scenes makes it easier for us to move. And that card… it’s an absurdly useful item.”

“Twelve million won.”

“Yes, an A-rank allowance of twelve million won. I heard about it from the villains. I never expected you’d actually bring back the physical card…”

“We can eat a lot of delicious food for a week.”

“Honey, you do know our purpose isn’t to tour A City’s restaurants, right?”

Gu Seo-ryong sighed while stroking Sa Gu-gu, who was purring and growling, and explained the card’s use.

“With that card, you can freely access training centers or schools used by superhumans. Use it to visit schools and training facilities to look for Yeo Un-jae directly. I’ll work behind the scenes to find connections between the laboratory and the government.”

“Do you think the laboratory belongs to the government?”

“After hearing your story, I think it’s possible, so I want to check. To humans, both superhumans and monsters are just monsters. So wouldn’t they prefer controllable stupid monsters over clever monsters that could deceive them?”

Gu Seo-ryong’s theory about why the laboratory created monsters seems quite plausible.

But somehow, I have a feeling it’s not the correct answer.

Even Gu Seo-ryong, a fellow experimental monster, didn’t seem to think the experiments were simply to weaponize monsters.

“Anyway, thanks to you, our investigation has progressed unbelievably well. It’s messy and precarious, but… you did well. Just gaining a means to approach Yeo Un-jae directly is an enormous advantage.”

“Did big brother do well? When praised, I say thank you!”

“Yes, thank you.”

“I heard Yeo Un-jae is teaching students after retiring as a hero. As an A-rank superhuman, they won’t be able to ignore you.”

“Understood.”

My next task is to find Yeo Un-jae as an A-rank superhuman and search for traces of the laboratory.

After sharing the information we’d discovered, Gu Seo-ryong took out her phone.

“Well, that’s enough about the laboratory for now… let’s move our hideout.”

“Are we going somewhere else?”

“Of course! This is just a temporary hideout. We’re not staying in this filthy place because we like it.”

“Does Sa Gu-gu like it here?”

“You like any place you can dirty as much as you want, don’t you?”

Gu Seo-ryong sighed and looked around the dark, dirty room.

“With a superhuman registration card, money laundering becomes easier too. I can freely use my money now. Let’s move our hideout to the best hotel right away. We might meet government people there, and changing hotels daily will make it easier to avoid being tracked.”

“Do you have money?”

“More than you.”

Gu Seo-ryong showed me her phone screen.

The screen displayed about 22 million won, equivalent to 22,000 bowls of soup.

“Where did this money come from?”

“Among villains, there are plenty of wealthy men who will hand over money just by doing this.”

Gu Seo-ryong wiggled her finger and smiled.

Perhaps she used the toxin from her fingertips like a drug to intoxicate and extort them.

Well, if her targets were villains… it doesn’t matter.

“We can eat lots of delicious food.”

“Mommy very good! Big brother good too!”

“Honey, we didn’t come here to eat… Haah, I don’t even know anymore. Fine, let’s move quickly and eat something delicious at the hotel. But… you just ate a bunch of chicken and you’re still hungry?”

“I’m still hungry.”

“Me too!”

“Is this a cat or a pig…”

“How rude.”

“Mommy rude!”

Shortly after, three monsters emerged from underground and blended in among humans.

Their destination was a hotel—no, the delicious meals at the hotel.

Work-life balance is important in all things.

You need to eat to be able to investigate.

#

While heading to the hotel, I realized a few things.

First, the combination of me, Gu Seo-ryong, and Sa Gu-gu attracts a lot of attention from humans.

Tall me with Gu Seo-ryong and Sa Gu-gu, who appear to be quite beautiful to humans.

The stares intensified as we walked, becoming almost uncomfortable.

“Shouldn’t we avoid drawing attention?”

“This kind of attention doesn’t matter. The point is not to be suspected as a suspicious person like you.”

“I’ve never been suspected of being suspicious.”

“Sure, sure. Suspected villain Park Deun-deun.”

And the second realization:

A man accompanied by two pretty women attracts troublesome situations.

“Hey, mister, I can tell just by looking. Are you a superhuman?”

“We’re superhumans too. These are prostitutes, right? This is that kind of street.”

“You don’t look high-ranked. Why don’t you share?”

When three men approached us on the street looking for trouble, civilians exchanged glances and silently fled.

The superhumans before us were flaunting their abilities, continuously emitting waves of power.

Seeing me not react at all, they must have mistaken me for a low-level superhuman.

“No hero cam on his chest.”

“Must be a villain or just a superhuman.”

After seeing Gu Seo-ryong handle men through her cat before, I grabbed her shoulder and pushed her toward the men.

“What are you doing?”

“Go, Gu Seo-ryong.”

“Aha! Good thinking! Come over here, honey.”

As the excited superhuman approached, Gu Seo-ryong knocked away the arm reaching for her and frowned up at me.

“Honey, at times like this, you’re supposed to say ‘How dare you touch my woman!’ and chase these guys away!”

“Why should I do that?”

“Hey, you, cute girl, come here too.”

“Nya?”

“Gu-gu, didn’t mommy tell you not to follow strangers?”

While Gu Seo-ryong was getting annoyed, another superhuman beside us gestured for Sa Gu-gu to come over.

Grabbing the confused Sa Gu-gu who was stepping forward, Gu Seo-ryong was about to snap her fingers but instead rummaged through my pocket.

“Can you see this?”

“Huh? A superhuman registration card? Not even a hero registration…”

“Hehehe, don’t tell me you think only the man is a superhuman? I have one too… A, A-rank!”

“We’re sorry!”

The superhumans who saw my registration card fled in terror, and civilians who had been watching from a distance started whispering.

A-rank, A-rank… The crowded dark street suddenly emptied, becoming a comfortable place to walk.

“I’m sorry, but our hotel is only for special guests… A, A-rank!”

Even the employee at the hotel who had shown an arrogant attitude bowed deeply the moment he saw the superhuman registration card.

And so I realized a third thing: In A City, many problems can be solved simply by being a superhuman.

“I apologize, madam. I didn’t realize you were family of an A-rank superhuman…”

“Oh my, it’s fine. You couldn’t have known.”

“What’s a madam?”

“It’s a thing. You don’t need to know.”

And the fourth realization:

Gu Seo-ryong likes this strange term “madam.”