Found You 23: Chapter 23.
Found You * * * Hyeon-yul asked the president again, “What did the Poison King order you to move, and where were you supposed to move it?” Bzzzz.
His phone vibrated, displaying the name Oh Haeryeon.
Only then did Hyeon-yul remember that he had not submitted a report yet.
“Ah, please wait a moment.
This is an urgent call.” After politely asking for a moment, Hyeon-yul answered the phone.
The president’s face plainly showed the thought, ‘What the hell is this guy doing?’ “Yes, Team Leader.” <Are you taking good care of the kids?> “…That was a remarkably difficult mission.” <It is difficult.
That’s why I sent you with Mr.
Jihwan.
He really likes kids.
You can take a short break if you need one.> “Did something happen?” Hyeon-yul did not think she would call merely to tell him to rest.
<It’s about the security companies for the festival.> As expected, there was a reason.
Hyeon-yul looked at the president as he spoke.
“Yes.
Please continue.” <We’ve narrowed it down to a few.
I thought it would be good for you to remember them, just in case.
Do you have time?> “Read them out to me.” Hyeon-yul extended a finger, and darkness moved to inspect the president’s laptop.
The president’s eyes widened as though they might pop out.
What kind of power was that?
Something like black smoke writhed over the keyboard and began typing.
<SAS Security, STS Security, DCD Security…> Hyeon-yul smiled faintly as he listened to the company names one by one.
One name caught Hyeon-yul’s attention: STS Security.
Conveniently enough, a proposal to send goods there was sitting right on the laptop.
What had the president said earlier?
—Hurry it up!
Do you have any idea how angry the Poison King is?
Move all the kids we acquired, now!
The Poison King was waiting for something, and the president had been in the middle of moving it.
The things being moved were children, and the destination was STS Security.
It was a hypothesis that fit the situation almost too well.
STS Security might not actually be the Poison King’s main base, but everything in front of Hyeon-yul pointed toward one conclusion.
‘So that’s where you are right now, Poison King.’ Hyeon-yul looked at the president, who flinched under his gaze.
“Team Leader.” <Yes?> “I found the Poison King.” <…What?
All of a sudden?> “STS Security.” The moment that name came out, the president’s lips trembled.
That reaction was enough.
“That’s the place.” Hyeon-yul smiled and slit the president’s throat.
There was no more information to obtain from him.
<H-Hyeon-yul, what are you doing right now?
Where are you?
Weren’t you at the kindergarten?> Haeryeon’s flustered voice came through the phone.
“I followed the person attempting to abduct the child, as the mission required.
The place I reached was a company operated by the Poison King.
And didn’t you just tell me where the Poison King is?” <I did…?
I only told you the security companies we narrowed down for the festival.
Even after narrowing them down, there are still four.> “You narrowed it down to four.
I just obtained a proposal from the president’s laptop.
Naturally, it doesn’t directly state that the cargo consists of abducted children.
They’re written down as though they were goods.” Even villains wrote proposals according to company templates.
Because they cared about outside scrutiny, they often mixed ordinary corporate terminology into their documents as camouflage.
When Hyeon-yul reached toward the laptop, black smoke-like power emerged from beneath it and pulled the device over to him.
“Team Leader, I’ll hand over the laptop later.” Hyeon-yul checked his watch.
Jihwan had said he needed five minutes to prepare to destroy the building, and four minutes had already passed.
Hyeon-yul seemed to fall backward, but instead his body seeped into the floor.
When he sprang forward again, the scenery had changed.
He was in the underground parking garage.
The vehicle carrying the children had not departed yet, and Hyeon-yul quickly located the truck.
“Team Leader, I’ll continue the mission.
The kindergarten abduction case is not over yet.” <Are you sure?
This would basically count as overtime.> “If we let him go now, it will become extremely troublesome.
Besides, this is not overtime.
You don’t split a continuing incident into separate work periods like that.” <That’s a relief, but the Poison King is a major villain and he uses poison.
Don’t you need backup?> “Yes.
Poison itself is not a problem, but moving all the captured children by myself would be difficult.
I need support for that.” <Mr.
Jihwan is with you, right?> “No.
He’s a little farther away.
I intend to move with him nearby.
I’m still in my probationary period, after all.” Of course, Hyeon-yul intended to keep a fair amount of distance between them.
Jihwan looked as though he had no poison resistance whatsoever.
<That’s not what I meant.
Mr.
Jihwan…
might have trouble because he has no poison resistance.
He can block some of it with magic, but if there’s no antidote, tell him to wait as far away as possible.> “Understood.
Then may I kill the Poison King?” <No, Hyeon-yul.
We need to block off every place the Poison King has his hands in.
We have to deal with the money he circulated, the products, and the people inside the organization too.> “There may be resistance.
Is it enough if he remains in a condition where he can still speak?” <…Hmm.
He has to be able to speak, and we need to be able to identify him as the Poison King.> “I’m confident I can manage that.” Hyeon-yul spoke with complete confidence.
Haeryeon merely let out a long, doubtful hum.
“I’ll move out now.” Hyeon-yul did not care what emotion Haeryeon was feeling.
The only thing he cared about was whatever that truck was transporting.
The children had to be inside.
<I’ll send Ms.
Nayun or Mr.
Shinwoo your way if I can spare either of them.> “No.
Don’t send them.
Until we know what kind of poison is involved, keeping the team members away is the best way to protect them.” There was a reason the man was called the Poison King.
Hyeon-yul had no intention of letting his team lose combat strength over mere poison.
Even if they came, they would probably be unable to help because of the poison anyway.
<…Hyeon-yul, sometimes you say things that put me in a really difficult position.> “I apologize.” <That’s not what I meant!
You’re saying something completely reasonable, but as the team leader it still bothers me…
No, I’ll explain later.
Focus on the mission for now and move out.> “Thank you for your permission.” Hyeon-yul gave a courteous response and ended the call.
He counted the people around the truck.
‘Eight.’ There was no need to confront them directly.
Hyeon-yul contacted Jihwan through his smartwatch and tapped his wireless earbud.
[Detonate it.] His voice was converted into text and sent.
Hyeon-yul sank into the shadows and stopped directly beneath the truck.
Countless hands made of darkness reached upward, grabbed the vehicle, and wrapped around it until it was completely bound.
“…What the hell?” A villain smoking in front of the truck reacted to the strange power.
He immediately dropped the cigarette from his mouth and backed away.
“What the hell is this?!” “How would I…” His sentence was cut off.
BOOOOM!
Something crashed down onto the building.
‘It’s here.’ Hyeon-yul instinctively recognized it as magic.
The sound was loud enough to thunder through the underground parking garage, making everyone cover their ears in shock.
WHOOOOOM.
Wind quietly rose from below, then transformed into scorching heat.
The cars began to bubble as if everything would melt the instant it touched the heat.
“Aaaaaaagh!” Screams filled the area, but they no longer reached Hyeon-yul.
He had sunk into silent darkness, where every sound died away.
* * * Knock, knock.
A knocking sound came from the door.
“Come in.” The door opened.
The sudden rush of blood stench made the man sitting and smoking a cigar turn his head.
The man wore a mask that covered only the upper half of his face.
Countless corpses lay scattered along the path Hyeon-yul had walked, yet not a drop of blood stained his body.
“Good afternoon.” Hyeon-yul greeted the Poison King, whom he had finally met.
Perhaps it was the atmosphere surrounding him, but the man was different from the ordinary small fry Hyeon-yul had encountered until now.
“A Black Eagle?” “That’s right.” “Impressive.” The Poison King looked rather pleased.
Haaah.
He exhaled a long stream of smoke, and a sweet scent filled the surroundings.
The smell slipped through Hyeon-yul’s helmet, and he immediately recognized it as poison.
“I killed the others in advance because I thought they might become troublesome.
If I had known you would miss them this much, perhaps I should have left one alive.” “No, that’s fine.
They’d only be a nuisance if they were still around.
They were going to die sooner or later anyway.” The Poison King tapped ash into an ashtray while gently swinging one crossed leg.
“So why are you here?” “What other reason would I have?” “There could be several.” The Poison King asked slyly and smiled.
Hyeon-yul had no interest whatsoever in what might be going through the man’s head.
“Do you want to kill me?” “I came to arrest you.” “You could kill me.” “I can.
I’d like to as well.” Hyeon-yul approached and sat down.
How satisfying would it be to bury a blade in that throat right now?
“But my team leader told me I’m not allowed to.” “I like that composure.” The Poison King could not seem to lower the corners of his mouth.
Despite being a Black Eagle, Hyeon-yul gave off an unusually strong sense of kinship.
At least, none of the Black Eagles the Poison King knew behaved like this.
“Any interest in coming over to this side?” The offer almost made Hyeon-yul laugh.
He seemed to extend a hand as if for a handshake, but in the same motion the Poison King’s mask split cleanly in half and dropped to the floor.
A dagger was already in Hyeon-yul’s hand.
‘Ah.’ The instant Hyeon-yul saw the Poison King’s face, the corners of his mouth rose.
Because the helmet concealed him, he could smile as widely and brightly as he wanted.
‘I’ve seen him before.’ Only now did Hyeon-yul realize just how wide Shin Daeho’s network had been.
He remembered that face clearly.
Perhaps it was a side effect of poison, but how could anyone easily forget a face swollen with grotesque boils?
The Poison King’s expression rapidly hardened as he stared at Hyeon-yul.
His face turned vicious enough to suggest he might kill him on the spot.
“I was curious what face you were hiding under that mask, so I took the liberty.
But why cover such a splendidly villainous face?” Hyeon-yul smiled, and the Poison King clenched his fist.
The disappearance of his smile meant he had lost his composure.
“If that annoys you, you can try the same thing to me.
If you’re capable of it.” Hyeon-yul deliberately provoked him.
He possessed absolute confidence that nothing the Poison King did would touch him.
“What an arrogant little trick.” As the Poison King spoke, the surface his hand had touched began to melt away.
Dark red poison dripped from his palm, and even the hard floor dissolved almost instantly beneath it.
Hyeon-yul regarded the vicious poison with complete casualness.
Anyone without poison resistance would have been busy dying simply from breathing here.
Even holding their breath would not help because the poison could seep through the skin.
Hyeon-yul simply was not one of those people.
“What were you planning to do with the test subjects?” Hyeon-yul asked the question in a bored tone.
He did not expect an answer, but he still had to ask.
He wanted to know everything: who had experimented on him, what their purpose had been, and who he himself had been in the past.
“Ah, there seems to be a misunderstanding.
I stopped working in that field a long time ago.
None of them could survive my poison.
It got boring.” The Poison King’s eyes curved into a smile.
“Yet you had a truck packed with children.
That doesn’t match what you’re saying.” When Hyeon-yul opened the truck he had rescued, it had indeed been filled with children rendered unconscious by drugs.
Serin’s friend might have been among them, but there had been no time to check.
He left the children with Jihwan and came here.
The children had been protected, and now he had to capture the Poison King who abducted them.
“Ah, you saw that?” The Poison King asked as though it were nothing.
“If I hadn’t seen it, why would I be here?” “Because there’s money in it.” The Poison King laughed loudly.
Hyeon-yul could not understand what he found so amusing.
“Why don’t you be honest too?” “About what?” “They pay tens of billions for a single child.
Of course I should catch them and hand them over.
Wouldn’t you?” “And that is why you’re being arrested today.
We can’t let animals wander the streets, can we?” “I’m honored.
I doubt there’s a greater compliment you could give me.” The Poison King rose from his seat and stared at Hyeon-yul as if calculating how best to kill him.
“What a shame.
The person who complimented me so nicely is going to disappear today.” The remark made Hyeon-yul want to laugh.
Was the roar of a beast with all its teeth missing supposed to be frightening?
Something began to churn below.
Thick poison flowed from the Poison King’s legs like a river, melting the chair and sofa in its path.
Every object it dissolved released highly toxic fumes that rolled forward threateningly, but to Hyeon-yul they were little more than a foul smell.
The poison could not even melt his shoes.
“Does it hurt?
Can’t you even speak?” ‘…What is he doing?’ Hyeon-yul narrowed his eyes.
It was probably an effective display against normal opponents, but to him it looked like nothing more than an odd little dance.
No physical strength, no real combat ability, yet he had risen to the ranks of major villains by relying solely on poison.
‘If that’s enough, I could become a major villain too.’ Hyeon-yul gave a quiet snort, “I’m disappointed.” The instant Hyeon-yul tossed out the words, he appeared directly in front of the Poison King.
Faint smoke drifted around Hyeon-yul’s body as he reached out and seized the man by the throat.
GRAB.
“…?” Unable to withstand the incoming force, the Poison King was driven backward into the wall.
Thud.
The impact echoed loudly as Hyeon-yul snarled, “This is what passes for a major villain?” With open irritation, Hyeon-yul drove his dagger into the Poison King’s shoulder.
Liquid-like blood flowed out and melted the floor beneath them.
“…Y-You.
Why aren’t you dying?” The Poison King swallowed the scream rising in his throat and forced out the question.
“Why would I die?” “What…
are you?” The Poison King’s composure shook.
His poison could melt a person.
Merely its smell contained enough power to kill hundreds of people in three seconds.
And that was not all.
Poison coated nearly every inch of his skin, lethal enough that anything touching him should die.
Yet this man was not merely enduring it.
He was holding the Poison King by the throat with his bare hand.
The sight of himself dangling helplessly in the air was unbearably humiliating.
“What the hell are you…?!” The Poison King rejected the reality before him.
Someone immune to his poison should not exist.
“Did you want Shin Daeho’s organization that badly?” “…” At Hyeon-yul’s words, the Poison King abruptly stopped resisting and smiled brightly.
“…So it was you.” “I appreciate the offer, but I don’t think I can join your company.
I’ve already found employment.” Hyeon-yul raised the corner of his mouth.
“You…
made the worst possible choice.” After all the places he could have chosen, he had picked the Empire’s dogs.
“Whether it was the worst choice is for me to decide.
Now be quiet and lose consciousness.” Hyeon-yul tightened the hand around his throat.
The Poison King grabbed Hyeon-yul’s wrist.
“Do you know why the Black Eagles were crea…” Before he could finish, Hyeon-yul practically rammed his dagger through the back of the man’s hand.
Stab!
“Where do you think you’re touching me?
That’s filthy.” Hyeon-yul was far more irritated by the fact that the man had touched him than by anything he had been about to say concerning why the Black Eagles were created.
Had the Poison King not just admitted with his own mouth that those filthy hands had once created test subjects?