In This World, Police Face the Mastermind(4)

Time passed and a new year dawned.

Normally, this would have been a time to rejoice in the new year and prepare for the start of a new beginning.

However, society had not escaped the whirlwind of chaos that began in winter of the previous year.

Sai had disappeared after massacring soldiers. Supervillains walk around in the sunshine rather than hiding in shadows, committing atrocities.

Due to these supervillains running wild, even ordinary criminals without superpowers are acting as if it’s their world, causing crime rates to skyrocket.

The domestic situation is horrific. Abroad, supervillains are also appearing, causing disturbances between superpower users and nations, leaving no capacity to help our country.

People can’t go outside after sunset, and they can’t sleep at night worrying that someone might break in tonight.

Amid such worst news, if there’s one piece of news giving people hope, it would be the existence of the newly established special task force.

The special task force, created to pursue the worst supervillain Sai, was formed to chase Sai in place of the Special Investigation Team, which had been partially incapacitated due to the crimes of Yagi and Special Investigation Team 2.

Some people worried about betrayal because of rumors that the special task force includes not only police officers but also some unnamed superpower users.

However, such concerns were dispersed like the wind due to the existence of one man known to command the special task force.

The only man who successfully stood in the way of Sai’s plans amid the continuous stream of disruptive news following Sai’s appearance.

His name is Lee Munsu, who gave people hope by stopping Sai’s nationwide terrorism and discovering and destroying the superpower awakening drug factory that the entire country’s police force couldn’t find even by joining forces.

People had hope at the news that he, the only one who had stopped Sai’s evil deeds, would command the special task force as a police officer of South Korea.

People couldn’t help but place their expectations on him, who had stopped the unprecedented monster called Sai.

No, to be precise, it was a situation where they had no choice but to hold onto hope.

The military was defeated by a single person. Foreign countries are in turmoil, and the girl called a hero had her identity revealed and was crushed under people’s gossip.

As people typically do, after it was revealed that what a girl experienced was a suicide due to malice, they cried out for a hero who had gone somewhere as if they had never acted that way, but.

They know well how it looks for them to search for the hero girl after insulting her as they pleased, only to look for her when the situation worsens.

Therefore, people conversely didn’t trust New Hope, and instead expected the police officer Lee Munsu to solve this issue.

They hold an unfounded belief that even if the superpower users betray them, Sergeant Lee Munsu will somehow manage it.

Some people say this special task force is a meaningless struggle.

Some say we should surrender to Sai and prevent further damage.

There were also those who said we should gather all remaining military and police forces and wage a total war against her.

Regardless of how people viewed the current situation or what solutions they proposed, everyone knew who was at the center of the commotion with the inauguration of the special task force.

And that man is currently—

---

“Damn it.”

It’s a damn thing. I wish all this were a dream, and life is painful.

I see journalists pressing camera shutters. The Police Commissioner and I standing at the front of a large auditorium.

I gathered superpower users, and the Police Commissioner made all the preparations to announce that the hero New Hope would cooperate with the police to work towards Sai’s arrest.

This place is not just to inform citizens that the police are fighting with everything they have.

It’s also a place to announce that New Hope, who was an illegal vigilante, and the police are officially cooperating to fight.

“We stand here to declare war against crimes using superpowers that destroy our community and try to collapse our society.”

“We have begun the fight to arrest the supervillain Sai with all the capabilities of the police. The police are employing all available means.”

Journalists set off flashes and write down the Police Commissioner’s words. A planned place. A planned scene.

There are no journalists from places that live off superpower user hatred like before, but rather journalists who are somewhat favorable to the superpower vigilante, New Hope.

Therefore, it was inevitable that one of the journalists would raise a hand to ask a question in response to the Police Commissioner’s words.

“—Do those means also include receiving help from superpower users? Hasn’t it been revealed that the police and military alone can never defeat that witch?”

When the anticipated question came out, the Police Commissioner raised the corner of his mouth slightly, only visible to me standing right beside him, and said:

“Yes, that’s right. To confront evil with superhuman power, our police are now officially cooperating with that superpower user, the hero ‘New Hope,’ to arrest the supervillain Sai.”

Afterward, the Police Commissioner expounds on the necessity of superpower users hired for the special task force, along with explanations regarding various questions about Mina and rumors, and declares a determination to absolutely arrest Sai.

I should be happy since this is a place to once again inform the public that Mina is innocent, but—sadly, I couldn’t be happy.

It’s not because I’m suffering from having to stand like a statue without even being handed a microphone.

This is not the source of my pain. Given what I’ve done before, I can understand why I’m standing quietly.

The stiff collar of the police uniform stabbing my neck is not the source of pain either.

It’s a bit painful to hear my story being distorted as if I had been planning to raid the laboratory since the previous press conference and had dealt a blow to Sai—but this is not the main cause of my pain.

The source of my current pain is one of the police officers attending the scene.

Most people here are journalists or police officials, and everyone is solemn and serious, but just one person. I see someone who looks like they’re about to die trying to hold back laughter.

Should I call them a person? He’s bald. The captain.

Well, if you just glance, he looks as grave as those around him, but having been through so much together, I can clearly tell that this person is forcibly holding back laughter.

If it weren’t for the place, he would have burst into loud laughter and fallen to the floor. That damn captain.

I want to fly in like a butterfly and completely remove the few strands of hair remaining on the crown of his head like an eagle, but given the place, I have no choice but to endure.

The Police Commissioner is continuing a lengthy speech on the microphone beside me.

Listening to him, I worry if his jaw might hurt from talking so much, but more painful than his jaw are my legs.

As I stare blankly at the lights that are bright enough to be hot, my eyes hurt, so I look down again, and my eyes meet the captain’s once more.

The captain looks at me with a slight smile and moves his lips without making a sound. I read the captain’s lip movements.

‘Con-gra-tu-la-tions?’

With those syllables from the captain, I felt something inside me snap.

Who wanted to wear such a hat? If it weren’t for this situation, I wouldn’t have worn it even if offered billions.

But damn it, does that person spout such nonsense even knowing that? Moreover, that person is comfortably resting now that the Special Investigation Team is half incapacitated.

Blood rushes to my head, and I quietly waited until this press conference ended. And as I descended from the auditorium, I quietly made a request to the Police Commissioner who was catching his breath as if tired.

“Commissioner. This is sudden, but there’s someone among the police personnel I really want to call to the special task force. Captain Kim from the Special Investigation Team is someone who can be entrusted with backing us up, so I’d really like to request this.”

“…For you to say such a thing, that person must be capable. Alright. I’ll call Captain Kim from the Special Investigation Team to the special task force.”

The Police Commissioner nodded at my words.

I nodded, satisfied with that reaction.

Actually, I knew the Police Commissioner would react this way. He has staked virtually everything on this special task force.

Therefore, he gathered only trustworthy police officers, and the inauguration of the special task force is equivalent to declaring war against Sai, whom even the military couldn’t stop.

This is a life-or-death war for the Police Commissioner, as well as the police officers who have entered the special task force and those who are fighting alongside them.

So the Police Commissioner is also putting all his effort into gathering trustworthy police officers, and in such a situation, if I recommend someone I trust, the Police Commissioner would agree and recruit them.

And given the captain’s personality, if an offer comes in, he will definitely join the special task force. I know his sense of justice better than anyone.

Of course, I don’t feel any guilt towards the captain. I smiled at the refreshing feeling I hadn’t felt even on New Year’s morning.

But when the Police Commissioner dry-washed his face and sent me an intense gaze while speaking, I instinctively knew that the time for play was over.

“Then… this is the first operation. Bite them to pieces by any means necessary.”

“Yes, understood.”

Responding vaguely to the coldly smiling man’s words, I unfastened the top button of my uniform. Before I could even rejoice at being freed from the sharp collar that had been stabbing my neck.

I immediately left the Police Commissioner behind and headed to the parking lot behind the press conference hall where the special task force personnel were gathered.

Familiar faces. Two superpower users standing in front of the police officers gathered by the Police Commissioner catch my eye.

“Good work, Detective.”

“Oh, Detective, you’re here. You’ve worked hard being a figurehead~”

New Hope, a beautiful young girl with long black hair wearing black spandex and a flight jacket. New Hope, whose identity had been revealed, wasn’t wearing an eye mask.

As I had planned, after disappearing for a while, people realized the necessity of New Hope and sought out the hero.

Mina can now proudly fight alongside the police as a hero, without needing to hide her face, in the open.

Well, I did tell her to lay low, but she was secretly helping people while hiding her face. I knew she would do this anyway, so let’s move on.

Turning my gaze from Mina, I looked to the side, and Yuna-ri standing next to Mina was wearing her usual white doctor’s gown.

Yuna-ri, who responded to my scouting at the motel, is helping us from the rear, using her specialties of evidence investigation and information gathering.

She’s even helping people by using her ability to lower stress levels. Proving that the choice to scout her wasn’t a mistake, she has shown extremely excellent abilities.

No, it’s not just Yuna-ri. The people here are the members of the special task force, and all of them were more exceptional than me.

But I’m commanding these people? With a lower rank and less experience? Damn, it’s really awkward.

“…But is this number okay? Weren’t we planning to gather more people before starting work?”

When I made a sour face, Yuna-ri shook her head and asked.

Certainly, her words were right. Although all the people in this place are exceptional, the manpower is still insufficient.

Furthermore, I also wanted to recruit one more person as an external collaborator, but that guy hasn’t been answering calls, perhaps upset after the previous incident.

If we get in touch again later, I’d like to recruit him somehow—but that’s for later.

“Is there anyone in the world who moves after everything is perfect and prepared? If we’re short, we work with what we have and charge ahead.”

I casually swallowed the cold air and took off my uniform coat, hanging it over my hand. Then Mina made a groaning sound as she stretched and said:

“Then, shall we begin?”

“That’s right.”

I nodded at Mina’s question. In response, the police officers and the two superpower users got into the prepared vehicles.

Recalling what Sai had said, I honestly don’t understand why it’s so quiet now and I’m anxious, but I couldn’t just be scared either.

What should we do first to arrest Sai? I thought about it. And decided to start by capturing and throwing the damn supervillains in jail.

With the domestic awakening drug factory collapsed, new supervillains aren’t appearing.

Furthermore, now that everyone knows most of the remaining supervillains have been defeated by Sai and are obedient to her.

Arresting the remaining supervillains means finding a path toward Sai, and if we keep catching Sai’s subordinates, we might someday find the location of the hiding Sai.

I know. It’s daunting and frustrating. Even if we somehow reach Sai, I’m still not sure if Mina can really win.

Still, unlike the original work, the government isn’t pushing away the hero New Hope just because she’s a superpower user, but is joining forces as now.

And the young child bearing the name of a hero isn’t fighting alone. We also remember that and do everything we can.

The police now have proper bulletproof vests and protective gear. Unlike the original work, we’ve been granted permission to use rifles and heavy weapons, so we won’t be completely useless.

At least we won’t be a hindrance. Honestly, I hope that’s the case.

With such wishes, I put on my usual jacket over the annoyingly uncomfortable dress shirt and got into the car.

The car made a vrooming sound and sped down the empty road.

Looking at the radio in my hand, I was momentarily lost in retrospection.

All the events that began when I was dragged into the Special Investigation Team. Meeting Mina, then Sai, my life has come to this point.

I wanted to live moderately, but looking back on my life, it feels like I’ve been running at full speed down a narrow path with cliffs on both sides.

I don’t know what life is, but I seriously felt that if I actually arrest Sai, I might have to quit being a police officer.

Considering how I immediately fainted from the drop when Yuna-ri used her ability to lower my stress level just a tiny bit before, I seem to be under tremendous stress to the point where I might collapse at any moment—

But there’s no immediate solution, and if I want to live, I have to fight.

Honestly, anyone would struggle like me if they were stalked by that crazy woman. I smacked my lips and picked up the radio. And before the first operation, I said to the special task force members:

“Don’t die. Get hurt moderately. After we throw these escaped bastards back in jail, let’s go catch that damn woman too.”

Instead of answering my casual words, the people listening to the radio pressed the accelerator and increased their speed.

Clear sky. High sun. Moderate weather. It wasn’t bad weather to start anything.