***
Seoul Northern Police Station.
Inspector Seo Ik-hwan, the leader of Violent Crimes Team 3, was once again seeking sleep while lying on a corner sofa today. Every detective passing by merely avoided him while whispering "shush" to one another.
In truth, Inspector Seo Ik-hwan was a man who had left almost no case unsolved thanks to his superior investigative power and tenacious personality; he was a quite well-known expert even in Seoul. He was so skilled that even other jurisdictions would set aside their pride and request his help.
Naturally, his achievements were more than enough for him to be promoted to Senior Inspector, but he ended up being stabbed in the back by Inspector Heo Tae-gu, who was his colleague and rival. Consequently, his own flaws regarding his poor conduct were all exposed, and in the end, he failed to be promoted and had all his achievements stolen away.
Following that, he was reassigned from the Central Police Station to the Northern Police Station. It was no different from being sent into exile.
That colleague, Inspector Heo Tae-gu, had recently been promoted rapidly to the rank of Superintendent and had become a division chief at the Seoul Central Police Station.
“Team Leader Seo-nim.”
At that moment, someone woke Seo Ik-hwan by shaking him carefully.
It was Detective Park Jeong-man of Team 3. He was a policeman who respected Inspector Seo Ik-hwan and had volunteered to follow him and work under him. Being quite bright for his young age, Seo Ik-hwan was currently taking him along without a word.
“Mmph… why.”
Seo Ik-hwan turned over while exuding a heavy scent of alcohol.
However, Detective Park Jeong-man opened his mouth nonchalantly.
“An answer has come from the CCTV Control Center.”
“What did they say?”
“They say there is no data at all.”
“What?”
Seo Ik-hwan’s brow furrowed involuntarily.
“It seems someone hacked the server room. They say the footage of the locations and time slots related to the incident was all cleverly and completely deleted. The funny thing is, the center didn't even know at all until we made the request. Since so many videos are stored on the server, it seems they missed it.”
“Haaaaam! Does that make sense? You’re saying the CCTV Control Center was hacked without them even knowing?”
“That’s what I’m saying, sir.”
Seo Ik-hwan sat up and wiped his face with his dry hands. Deleting the footage by hacking even the control center was as good as decisive evidence that a third party had intervened in this matter.
However, it was a situation where there was no physical evidence at all.
‘Just who is the guy who orchestrated things to this extent… and why go through the trouble?’
He had searched not only the CCTV but also every nook and cranny of the accident scene for several days, but in the end, he could not find a single clue. Looking at this alone, it was certain that the opponent was quite high-level.
“Detective Seo!”
While Seo Ik-hwan was lost in thought, Officer Kim, the youngest member of Team 3, approached the two while holding a report. Then, Detective Park Jeong-man took the report and glared at Officer Kim.
“I told you to call him Team Leader.”
“Well… Detective Seo told me not to call him that…”
Officer Kim spoke with an awkward smile and muttered. After clicking his tongue once and looking at the report, Detective Park Jeong-man suddenly narrowed his eyes and looked closely at the documents.
“Huh? Team Leader, you should take a look at this.”
“What is it?”
“It’s something that came out while investigating the Yangkkaengi Gang this time. A ledger was discovered at the illegal prostitution establishment they operated, and the names of several civil servants and police officers were written in it. But looking at the names of those police officers… they are all Heo Tae-gu’s lackeys.”
“What? Give it here.”
Seo Ik-hwan suddenly showed interest and began to read the report. Then, he slightly raised one corner of his mouth and muttered.
“Ha, it seems I’ve caught a rat while walking backward like an ox. Let’s dig into this.”
“What about the fund fraud case that was received this time?”
“That’s not urgent, so we can do it slowly, can't we? Let’s dig into these guys first. Who knows if there might be something to pull down that son of a bitch Heo Tae-gu?”
For the first time in a long while, a fair amount of vitality returned to Seo Ik-hwan’s eyes.
Strangely, he did not harbor any ill feelings toward the third party who must have been deeply involved in this case. After all, they had completely wiped out two organizations that had been a headache due to their power struggles, smashed their places of business, and even provided him with this kind of information.
Strangely, they were guys he felt a liking for.
<><><>
That evening.
While Woo Do-hwa’s role was important when taking revenge on Yang Kyung-min, Jo Sang-nim’s help was absolutely necessary to take revenge on my wife’s next affair partner.
“It’s all done!”
Jo Sang-nim, who had been tapping on the keyboard for a long time, let out a large stretch and shouted. Because she had been sitting in front of the computer all day, her entire body was stiff, but the result was satisfying.
“How did it go?”
Hearing her shout, I entered the room and asked while looking at the monitor. Of course, I didn't know at all what the dense numbers and English words displayed on the screen meant.
Was the Cognitive Enhancement ability still not enough to reach this far?
“I’ve added some plausible flesh to a virtual company called Bright Investment. Of course, it won't be searchable right away. I’ve made it so it can be verified through two or three steps by riding the algorithm I set up. They’ll definitely be fooled.”
“Do you really have to do it that way? Couldn't you just, well, make a homepage or a site?”
When I asked in frustration, Jo Sang-nim laughed as if it were pathetic.
“Pfft, that’s a method from the Stone Age. It’s too obvious. These days, the skill is in deceiving people in a way that’s barely visible. You just need to read that and familiarize yourself with it.”
What she pointed to was a bundle of papers that had been printed just moments ago. Picking it up, the thickness was substantial.
“What is this?”
“It’s the information regarding the virtual company Bright Investment that I’ve spread across the internet. Since you’re the CEO, you should at least know what you’ve done.”
“Meticulous as always. Thank you.”
I lightly stroked her hair as if she were praiseworthy. She also held up her middle finger to me in response.
I went out to the living room, turned on the TV, and skimmed through the printed information while watching the news. To anyone watching, it might look like I was reading it roughly, but all the information was currently being inputted into my head.
It was not a very difficult task. This was because memory was also included among the Cognitive Enhancement abilities.
After checking all the information, I tossed the materials aside and began to organize them in order within my head. In the meantime, Jo Sang-nim, who came out to the living room, brought beer and peanuts from the refrigerator and asked me.
“What? Have you given up?”
At her words, I slowly opened my eyes and said:
“What do you mean, give up. I’ve familiarized myself with all of it.”
“Don't make me laugh. Then can I ask a few things?”
“As many as you want.”
Chhh— Snap!
She asked me while opening a beer can. First, starting with an easy one.
“What was the operating capital needed for the investment in the startup ‘Beyond Lab’ two years ago?”
“7.5 billion.”
“Then, list the names of the companies we invested in besides Beyond Lab?”
“Econex, NextRoot, Cheongmyeong Tech, Dion System, Hanbit Solution.”
“Ooh…”
When I listed them in a row without a second of hesitation, Jo Sang-nim, who thought it would take a long time, was startled and set down her beer can. Then, she picked up the bundle of papers and checked once more.
As expected, it was the correct answer.
“It’s too easy. Give me something a bit difficult.”
I spoke to her with a self-indulgent, arrogant expression. Then, Jo Sang-nim asked again with a slightly playful smile.
“Then, what is the scale of capital we can invest per case moving forward?”
“10 billion.”
I replied without hesitation.
Then, Jo Sang-nim clutched her stomach and burst out laughing.
“Puhahat! You’re so confident? Can you really gather that much? It’s not like there’s a big issue every day.”
“There’s nothing I can't do. I just have to raise the betting amount.”
On days when there were no issues in the coin world, the percentage that rose during those 2 minutes was not very much. However, that didn't mean I couldn't earn a lot of money. Because I could just raise the betting amount accordingly.
For example, if I put in 500 million won at 100x leverage and it rose by only 0.2% in 2 minutes, it meant I earned 100 million won.
“That’s true, but if you raise it any more from here, it’s really dangerous. And I don't have the confidence to click. I don't want to blow several hundred million in just 2 minutes. My hands would shake, so how could I do it? If you’re going to do it, you do it.”
“Me?”
“Yeah. Isn't it time you did it yourself? You’ve learned how to use the exchange too. Well, you still need to learn a bit more about how the coin market works, but I can just coach you from behind for that. Try betting directly from now on.”
Her words also made sense. And in truth, I was also thinking about trying it on my own soon. Since I already had many things to make Jo Sang-nim do, it didn't seem right to make her worry about earning money as well.
“Hmm… then shall we start lightly?”
I stood up and headed for the computer room. She also followed me in with her beer and set up the exchange at the seat next to hers. She had prepared two seats in advance for such an occasion.
I sat down and began to watch the flow of the graph.
From now on, it was a battle of patience.
Since the ability could only be used once a day, I had to use the ability only when the graph surged or plummeted to some extent.
Jo Sang-nim was still sipping her beer with her legs up on the desk. When she began to drink her third can, the graph suddenly began to soar.
0.5% in 2 minutes.
I quickly used the Taste of Regression to return to 2 minutes ago, pushed 500 million won into a Long position, and quickly checked the time. In that moment, the graph began to surge, and I kept watching the clock until the exact moment 2 minutes had passed, then I realized the profit.
I had earned 250 million won in an instant.
“Ooh… that’s amazing? It really is a marvel every time I see it. Do you really have supernatural powers? Can you really return to 2 minutes ago?”
Jo Sang-nim asked while sticking close to me and peering intently into my eyes. Her sweet body scent wafted in for an instant, and the voluptuous cleavage beneath her slender jawline was clearly visible.
“How many times do I have to say it… I told you I do.”
I spoke while trying my best to avert my gaze.
“It really is mysterious.”
Then, as if she had become interested, Jo Sang-nim began to stealthily place her legs, which had been on the desk, onto my lap.
Then, she spoke as if whispering into my ear.
“Then you must already know what I’m going to do in 2 minutes?”
Her smooth legs on my lap wriggled little by little and moved upward. The sensation of her toes was transmitted directly to my groin.
At that moment, something suddenly occurred to me.
‘Wait, I have one use of the Mental Control ability left for today, don't I?’