Recognizing a fake face was not a difficult task. The unique toxin could not deceive my intuition.
In my past life, I tore off the facial skin along with the fake face of a person who was using it.
At that time, I thought he was a dishonest person using a fake face, and I had the perception that it was okay to kill someone who was dishonest.
Nowadays, I no longer had that madness, but when I see people hiding their faces, they were most likely villains. In the first place, using a fake face itself was illegal, so there was no reason to hesitate. Sometimes, there were big villains who didn’t use it, but those people could be caught then.
Looking at the surprised expression of the villain who was exposed because of me, I immediately broke his arms and legs. I carefully controlled my strength so that only the bones would break and that it wouldn’t cause any fatal injuries as Jung Da-hyun ordered.
“Ugh!”
“Villain arrest in progress. Please step back!”
While Jung Da-hyun was shouting to the citizens, I sat down in front of the struggling guy.
“Where is your hideout?”
“...!”
I twisted his little finger joint.
“Ah!”
“I will break one for every time you don’t answer. Where is it?”
“Dangsan 1-dong...”
“Okay, next is...”
In the midst of the excruciating pain of his shattered bones, the guy started to spill information. Every time he hesitated, I broke his bones, and he no longer hesitated and gave me all the necessary information.
What made a villain compliant was not being understanding of them. It was about making them perceive themselves as weak in the ruthless world of survival of the fittest. To remind them that they could be shattered into pieces like insects if they let their guard down for even a moment.
This was my first attempt, but I controlled my strength delicately enough that his life would not be in danger. Instead, he would have to live with the consequences of this for the rest of his life.
When I stood up, Jung Da-hyun approached me with a worried expression. For some reason, her face looked even prettier.
“Mr. Junho, what exactly...”
“I found out where their hideout is. Let’s go.”
“We have to report to our superiors and get support first.”
I nodded and met eyes with Jung Da-hyun.
“But it’s too late for that. Once those guys find out their comrade is captured, they’ll abandon the hideout. We have to act fast.”
“...”
“I want to catch as many villains as possible. Isn’t that your goal too, Miss Dahyun?”
Various emotions flickered across Jung Da-hyun’s face for a moment. After a brief moment of hesitation, she nodded her head in determination.
“Okay. Let’s do this as quickly as possible.”
“I’ll lead the way.”
After handing over the villain to the belatedly dispatched government hunters, we headed towards the hideout.
***
Jung Da-hyun, wearing the hat that Choi Jun-ho had given her, followed him closely.
It was a fascinating experience. She never thought that when she became a government hunter, she would raid a villain’s hideout like this.
At first, she joined the National Security Agency to catch villains, but the reality was different from her expectations. Instead of proactively catching villains, she was more like a firefighter who dealt with the aftermath of their actions.
Even if she achieved results, the upper management would dislike it. To them, what was important was the procedure and the achievement of the ‘Sangmyeong Habok’ (*the government’s system of reward and punishment).
This was why it’s difficult to arrest villains. It was making things difficult for Jung Da-hyun.
In that sense, Choi Jun-ho was truly an amazing person. Even after just becoming government hunter, he pushed forward with a bulldozer-like momentum.
It was hard to see him as an ordinary person when he could recognize a fake face, extract necessary information on the spot, and make on-the-spot judgments that didn’t give villains time to prepare.
Above all, his ruthless treatment of villains was not like that of a government hunter. It reminded one of the worst and most heinous villains, who crushed even other villains like bugs.
But he caught the villain.
It’s not the knife that’s important, but the purpose of the knife. She feared what kind of disaster would strike if she let this man, who had reached level 7, loose in the world.
Meanwhile, the two arrived at a villain’s hideout in Dangsan 1-dong. It was an old pub commonly found in alleys.
“We’re going in.”
“Yes.”
The two entered the pub. Even though it was daytime, there were three people inside.
Choi Jun-ho, who had been leading the way, reached out his hand.
Crack!
“Ahh!”
“What, what is it!”
“An attack!”
The others tried to prepare, but Choi Jun-ho closed the distance like he was stepping through space and extended his hand. The two, caught in his ‘landmine’ Gift, collapsed with their shoulders caved in.
Watching from a distance, Jung Da-hyun, who was about to lend a hand, asked, “Don’t we have to ask them about the password?”
“Since we’re going to put them all in jail anyway, there’s no need to do that,” replied Choi Jun-ho.
“I see.”
“And it’s not difficult to find a hidden location if you already know the whereabouts.”
Choi Jun-ho looked around where the bar master had been and touched a few things, revealing a passage leading underground.
How did he manage to find this? It was impressive.
“There’s something I need to do before we go.”
What Choi Jun-ho’s did was to break the villains’ limbs as he stepped forward.
“Is it really necessary to go this far?”
“We can’t let them escape like this.”
“...”
Though she tried to stop him, Choi Jun-ho’s method was the most certain.
In the past, it would have been an unthinkable action and would be considered as going too far, but why was she so drawn to that unhesitating hand?
Choi Jun-ho’s firm principle toward the villains dug deep into Jung Da-hyun’s heart.
“Then let’s go.”
Without hesitation, Choi Jun-ho moved forward and Jung Da-hyun followed behind.
***
Villains were fundamentally a social evil, like pests that existed in the world without any benefits. I needed to eliminate them one by one so that they wouldn’t become an obstacle to the ordinary life that I was pursuing.
Villains operating within the city parasitize various rights of the city and suck up the blood of the people.
Villains, politicians, entrepreneurs, and hunters were no strangers to collaboration. The biggest source of income for them was narcotics and the black market.
Among them, narcotics had an unending demand due to awakened individuals.
Those who handle Force were beings where senses were more important than any other profession. There were those who used drugs for greater power, and it had resulted in consistent demand.
These drugs not only had an addictive effect but they could also take away human nature.
Before completely losing my mind, I secretly took narcotics to forget the pain of my gift running wild. I killed those who were trying to bargain with drugs, and those who were trying to restrain me. I was so familiar with these drug dealers because I sought them like a beast to forget the pain.
These guys had to be quick, as they immediately cut off their tails and hid their tracks when exposed.
“This is a drug called Prun.”
I said to Jung Da-hyun, who was following behind me.
“If it’s Prun...”
Jung Da-hyun’s expression became serious.
We arrived at the end of the underground passage. As I reached out towards the firmly closed door and tore it apart, there were over twenty people inside the spacious area.
“Who are you?”
Instead of answering, I reached out my hand. The advantage of this particular gift was that it could exert its full power with just one touch. It rendered the person touched in a state of incapacity by causing an intense explosion of their Force.
The disadvantage was that I had to make contact, but that’s not a big problem for me.
“Kkeuaak!”
As two people fell instantly, they each grabbed their weapons.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Amidst the echoing gunshots, Jung Da-hyun and I began to fight against the villains.
The villains’ level wasn’t particularly high. Most of them were at level 1, barely reaching level 2.
With her “intuition,” Jung Da-hyun incapacitated the villains with her sword, while I twisted their limbs to prevent them from endangering her life.
Snap!
“Ugh!”
When they finally subdued the last villain, silence fell. I turned my gaze to Jung Da-hyun.
“Mr. Jun-ho.”
“Thank you for your hard work, Officer.”
Before that, I approached the villains that Jung Da-hyun had subdued and broke their ankles.
Crack!
“Aaaah!”
“I want to say that your methods are too harsh, but...I won’t object. I’ll request support.”
“Should we ask the special team?”
“That’s the way to go.”
“Instead of that, it would be better if you went directly to the Director.”
“Why?”
“This is related to villains and drugs. Do you think these drugs can be circulated solely based on their abilities?”
“There must be an insider.”
“Can you trust Team Leader Wang in that aspect?”
Wang Ju-yeol was the leader of the special team.
This person was a typical example of someone who pursued office politics and individual achievements in the company. He was a useless specimen who didn’t show much enthusiasm even though he was in charge of a special team that should be focusing on the arrest of villains. I could sense it after a few days, something that Jung Da-hyun couldn’t feel.
“I can’t. Alright.”
Jung Da-hyun shook her head and directly contacted Jung Ju-ho, while I searched around and discovered the area where a gift had appeared.
“It’s a barrier.”
As I disrupted the flow of force with the landmine Gift, the barrier was released and the safe was revealed.
Click.
Inside the safe, there were piles of drugs, cash, and a ledger.
I didn’t hesitate and took the ledger.
I unfolded the ledger and looked at the names inside. Wang Ju-yeol’s name was also there.
If an ordinary government hunter had this ledger, what would they do with it? Government hunters eat away at the rot of the country and protect the safety of citizens. Naturally, those listed in this ledger were social evils who had taken drugs.
Since they’ve already consumed drugs and their humanity had been eroded, it’s better to eliminate them all than consider the cost of rehabilitation.
Jung Da-hyun looked at me with a puzzled expression as I gathered the ledger.
“Mr. Jun-ho, why?”
“It would be better for us to gather this and present it to the director.”
“Why?”
“As long as there are accomplices within, the probability of this ledger disappearing at the intermediate stage is high. Team Leader Wang’s name is also on this. In a situation related to internal personnel, do you think the entire country’s national security will move to crack down on drugs?”
“Well...”
Jung Da-hyun’s expression was confused. She became a government hunter with a sense of mission to arrest villains, but not everyone was like her. Among the government hunters, there were those who were more villainous than the villains, and there were more who worked for their own career than for their mission.
To achieve clear results, my answer was to share information and act only with trustworthy people.
“Our choice is for ordinary citizens who live ordinary lives.”
“...”
“Think simply. Arresting villains and cracking down on drug cartels is what we have to do as government hunters.”
Even if someone had to ignore the procedure a little and pass through the situation, it’s all right as long as the result was good.
“Is this the best option in Mr. Jun-ho’s opinion?”
“I think it’s a very ordinary and reasonable conclusion.”
“...”
Jung Da-hyun was shaking. She showed emotional changes several times. She was uncertain whether to prioritize her own sense of what was right and fair, or to stick to her established principles even if the process deviated from them. Additionally, she was struggling to reconcile the outcomes that were revealed with the methods that were used.
After long contemplation, she nodded her head.
“I understand. Let’s do it.”
***
Arresting more than 20 villains and destroying the drug supply route.
It was an achievement that Jung Da-hyun and I achieved together.
After becoming a government hunter and achieving success shortly thereafter, the way people around saw us changed quite a bit. It was officially known that I was Level 5, and now I was recognized within the organization because of the achievements.
In the midst of that, there was talk of excessive suppression, as the villains became disabled, but it was a term that I honestly couldn’t understand. I had paid a lot of attention to adjusting my strength carefully so that they wouldn’t suffer any harm, so it was something I didn’t really understand.
“How can their thought process flow like that?”
Jung Da-hyun, who heard my muttering, said with a bewildered expression.
“Isn’t it the right thing to say since you have definitely subdued the villains?”
“On the other hand, we didn’t follow any of the special team policies.”
Reporting on the scene immediately, requesting reinforcements, and waiting for the decision of the superiors. None of these procedures were followed in this incident.
I knew this fact, and Jung Da-hyun also knew that if all those procedures had been followed, we wouldn’t have achieved these results.
Most of all, I believed in something.
“That’s why being a government hunter is good.”
“Why?”
“Because you won’t get fired for doing this kind of thing.”
“...”
Watching Jung Da-hyun’s speechless expression was one of the fun points.
“Jung Da-hyun! Choi Jun-ho!”
At that moment, Wang Ju-yeol, who came out of the chief’s office, shouted.
A chilling atmosphere swept over the room.
“Do you have something to say?”
“Do you want to hear it from my own mouth?”
“Yes, I would like to hear it.”
“This bastard...”
Wang Ju-yeol made an expression as if his face was about to burst. I didn’t say anything and just quietly watched him.
It was definitely a familiar face.
In my previous life, after my Gift activated and I became crazy, there were hardly any faces that I remembered.
Mostly, I remembered the guys who I either killed with my own hands or thought should be killed.
As far as my impressions we, this guy’s face didn’t really stand out in my memory.
Then, there was a face that passed by me fleetingly.
An older face than now, with a more chubby build.
I remembered the appearance of a government hunter who was struggling with his subordinates, who had come to kill me, saying that he would kill me if he could catch me by throwing useless subordinates as bait, claiming that he had built the encirclement network as his own work.
I appeared to him when I was exhausted from the hunters’ bitter pursuit for three days and nights.
At best, I was like an ant to him at the time.
By the way, at that time, I was more ferocious than usual because I had been starving for three days and nights.
I couldn’t even tell the difference between being crazy and being ferocious because I was in a crazy state to begin with.
In the end, the face of the person who lost all of his subordinates and fled before being caught by me and had his head burst open was right in front of me.
It was Wang Ju-yeol.
“Oh, I remember now.”
“What?”
“There’s something like that.”
It seems that Wang Ju-yeol would not be cooperative with my plan to live a normal life as a government hunter.
Then I just had to get rid of him.
Thanks for the chapter.
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