I Picked Up the Greatest Villain in the Story

77.

It hadn’t been long since the irritating Seonjun disappeared from sight, and now a new guy had appeared. From the moment he said he wanted to talk “alone” and have a “secret” conversation, Sehun had been imagining killing him in his mind.

The incomprehensible sympathy in his eyes as he looked at Jian also made him feel uneasy. Those eyes, as if they could see right through him, constantly triggered Sehun’s sensitive instincts.

“We’re trying to keep the employees tight-lipped, but it seems a few reporters have caught wind of it. But don’t worry. There won’t be any articles published until we officially hold a press conference.”

Despite Sehun’s sharp gaze, Yoonjae wasn’t intimidated. Instead, he lowered his voice to a whisper, as if sharing a secret.

“We plan to hold the press conference within a week. Of course, personal information will be kept confidential.”

Sehun remained indifferent to Yoonjae’s words. He didn’t care whether people found out or not.

In fact, he thought it might not be bad if the publicity attracted those guys from the research institute. After all, Researcher Heather was currently at the top of Sehun’s hit list.

However, Yoonjae’s attempt to approach Jian under this pretext was hard to overlook.

“I’ll trust you on that part, Director.”

Jian, who had been quiet, spoke up. He had already prepared himself for Sehun’s existence to be revealed after registering as a hunter.

With the consecutive appearance of not just an A-rank, but an S-rank hunter, it wasn’t a problem that could be solved by just silencing the employees.

The story would leak from somewhere, and if just one reporter seeking a scoop got the related information, they would risk publishing the article.

Moreover, now there was the situation of the mysterious dungeon called the Tower appearing. With public anxiety at its peak, there was no way the government would hide the fact that two S-rank hunters had appeared.

One alone was an incredible force, but now there were two. There was a good chance they would use this to widely promote that there would be no problem in conquering the Tower.

“I’d rather continue the conversation we didn’t finish earlier.”

Where did this body’s soul go, what was the relationship with the Jeongho Association, where exactly was the place in the photo? Plus, the words that seemed to hint that he came from another world. There were so many things Jian wanted to ask.

“I’ve told you all I can. The rest is for you to find out, Lee Jian.”

Either unaware of Jian’s frustration or pretending not to know, Yoonjae responded with a light shrug.

Jian’s fists clenched involuntarily. He hadn’t properly explained anything.

“Oh my. It seems chaos has erupted while I was away briefly. Well then, see you again soon.”

“Director!”

After checking his watch, Yoonjae turned his back and walked away quickly. Jian called out to Yoonjae and followed, but soon black-suited bodyguards blocked his way.

“Hah.”

Jian let out a short sigh of frustration and ran his hand through his hair irritably. Now he understood why Hyunwoo gritted his teeth at the mere mention of Yoonjae.

Aside from being cryptic, he was a man well-versed in toying with people. It wasn’t just teasing; this was the second time he had appeared only when he wanted to, said what he wanted to say, and disappeared. And both times within a few hours.

“Hyung, let’s go too.”

Sehun approached Jian and took his hand. The curious gazes gathering around were unpleasant.

“Alright.”

With no choice, Jian headed towards the parking lot with Sehun. With the bodyguards blocking the way, following Yoonjae would only cause more trouble.

For now, it was important to meet with Hyunwoo, share some of what he heard from Yoonjae, and think of ways to uncover what Yoonjae was hiding.

* * *

“Jeongho Association.”

“Have you heard of it before?”

“No.”

Hyunwoo, who had been listening with a serious expression throughout Jian’s explanation, furrowed his brow.

What good was running Korea’s top information guild if the information he wanted most was as elusive as catching clouds?

Hyunwoo’s sigh deepened with a sense of self-doubt he hadn’t felt in a long time. He was certain he had seen the mark of the organization called the Jeongho Association somewhere before.

But he only had a vague memory, and nothing came to mind clearly, as if someone had tampered with his brain.

The reason he ran an information guild was not only due to the influence of his awakened skill but also because of his exceptional memory that allowed him to remember information he had seen just once.

“It seems like someone has messed with my memories.”

“Is that really possible?”

“Otherwise, it doesn’t make sense that I can’t remember to this extent.”

Hunters who have awakened mental manipulation-related skills are extremely rare. Whether it was the Jeongho Association or Shin Yoonjae who had done this, nothing could be said with certainty at this point.

Hyunwoo let out a long breath and looked at Jian. Seeing a face full of even more worry than his own made him feel uneasy.

“Still, now that we know the name, we should be able to find something more. The new recruit training is finished, and we’ve decided not to accept new requests for a while because of the Tower anyway. The information about Sehun awakening as an S-rank hunter will soon reach them too, so they’ll react in some way. I’ll investigate personally with my team.”

“Will that be okay?”

Jian expressed concern at Hyunwoo’s words. Hyunwoo smiled lightly as if it was fine, and instead worried about Jian.

“You’re going into the advance team, so I should at least do this much. Are you really okay? We still don’t know anything about the Tower. That’s why almost no guilds have sent their core members into the advance team. It’s likely to be dangerous.”

“Someone has to go, right? My ability is specialized in defense, so it’s good for dealing with unexpected situations too.”

As Hyunwoo said, the advance team carried great risks, to the extent that few volunteered. But Jian not only knew information about the Tower, he also had another skill he was hiding.

It was a skill that could recover others’ health and mana. He had never used it before because it consumed his life force.

There probably wouldn’t be a need to use it. Several hunters with skills to restore mana and health would be deployed in the advance team. Everyone would also carry plenty of recovery potions.

However, it might serve as a hidden ace to save someone in a crisis situation.

“You got me life recovery potions too, so I should put them to use.”

Jian grinned, pointing at the box of potions placed on the table.

In response to the anomaly that occurred in South Korea, a pharmaceutical company in the United States had sent life recovery potions through a personal courier.

The final clinical trials were still ongoing, but the efficacy was said to be certain.

Just in case, Jian had tried drinking a life recovery potion after using his stealth skill. Seeing that one potion bottle recovered about 100,000 life force, he felt relieved.

“Is it really right to take Sehun in too?”

Despite Jian’s confident attitude, Hyunwoo couldn’t hide his uneasiness.

Hyunwoo had been suffering from a throbbing headache since earlier because Jian had asked to include the newly awakened Sehun in the advance team as well.

“What do you think will happen if I leave him behind?”

“…He’d find a way to follow secretly no matter what.”

“You think so too, right? Isn’t it better to take him in from the start then?”

“Sigh, alright. I’m worried sick that Hyunsu might say he wants to go in too.”

In fact, Jian was worried about that too. That was also why the two of them were having this conversation in a closed room, away from the kids. It was partly to talk about the Jeongho Association, but also for this reason.

“We should keep it a secret from Hyunsu.”

“How are we supposed to deal with the aftermath?”

“Well, we’ll have to think about that when the time comes.”

Jian checked the time on his watch. The gathering time for the advance team was already approaching within an hour.

Since the gathering place was in front of the Tower, it was better to start moving soon to avoid being late. The road conditions were still more complicated than usual.

“…Why do kids who were just waiting for their university entrance ceremony have to go through this?”

Jian gave a bitter smile at Hyunwoo’s words, which sounded like he was talking to himself. If only the Tower had appeared a little later.

He really wanted to see Sehun attending university. To make that happen, they needed to clear the Tower quickly.

The last season he remembered from the original story was summer. Those who had just entered the Tower said it was sweltering hot outside now.

They also said flowers were in full bloom when the advance team went in, so it was certain that the Tower had appeared earlier than in the original story.

‘I hope the monsters that appear haven’t changed too.’

If they had, the knowledge Jian possessed would be completely useless. He was pushing to enter the advance team to minimize casualties as much as possible.

‘I guess we’ll have to face it and see.’

Any assumptions made now would only be uncertain. Having made his decision, Jian smiled faintly at Hyunwoo.

“Hyung, please take care of Hyunsu. I think Sehun and I need to leave soon.”

“Alright. Quickly put the potions in your inventory first.”