I Picked Up the Greatest Villain in the Story

91.

Jian tensed momentarily. He wondered if Yoonjae had noticed something and was responding to it.

But contrary to his worry, what Yoonjae held in his hand was a colorful cube that Jian had seen before.

“I always use this when discussing important matters. It’s become a habit, and there’s no harm in being careful.”

This wasn’t the Dark Net Guild but the Director’s office at the Hunter Management Bureau. Seeing how cautious Yoonjae was even in what was essentially his own territory, Jian realized that maintaining a high position was certainly not an easy task.

When the cube started making clicking sounds as it turned, Jian covered his mouth with his fist and gave a small fake cough. This was the signal he had arranged with Sehun before meeting Shin Yoonjae.

Sehun quietly waited for Yoonjae to make eye contact with him. When those unpleasant eyes finally turned toward him, he used his ability.

The previously sharp eyes became unfocused, and soon Yoonjae just blinked with a blank expression.

“…Did it work?”

“Yes.”

Jian’s voice trembled with tension. This was the first time he had directly witnessed Sehun using his ability. Moreover, since the target was Shin Yoonjae, cold sweat dampened his back.

“You can ask whatever you want. I’ve made him tell only the truth.”

Hearing Sehun’s calm voice, Jian understood why hunters were wary of those with mind control skills.

Without any drugs, using this skill made it possible not only to discover everything in the target’s mind but also to control them like a puppet.

But his admiration for Sehun’s ability was short-lived. When he recalled what that young child had gone through to obtain this ability, his gaze toward Shin Yoonjae turned cold.

“Director Shin Yoonjae, please answer my questions honestly from now on.”

“…Yes.”

The voice that usually grated on people’s nerves now dragged out like a broken radio.

Jian calmly began asking one by one the things he wanted to know.

“What is your relationship with Lee Jian? Did you undergo the same experiment?”

“…We were like brothers. Yes, that’s right.”

“What kind of experiment was it?”

The measured voice revealed the story Jian had so desperately wanted to know. The more questions he asked and answers he received, the harder it became to breathe.

The original Lee Jian, whose body he had possessed, and Shin Yoonjae were survivors of the first research facility created by the Jeongho Association. Jian gritted his teeth when told that hundreds of children had been sacrificed.

The experiment was successful but incomplete. To improve it, they established a new research facility in Gangwon Province. That was the place Sehun had escaped from.

Jian understood why it was called incomplete. This body had awakened as an S-rank hunter but had to use life force, and unlike other S-rank hunters, it had fewer skills.

Shin Yoonjae didn’t have the side effect of using life force but couldn’t awaken as an S-rank. As a result, this body was able to escape from the Jeongho Association’s control. It was essentially like being discarded.

“…What is your relationship with the Jeongho Association? Are you one of them?”

The Jeongho Association was the root cause of all this. If it weren’t for them, Sehun wouldn’t have endured such harsh experiments, and the soul of this body wouldn’t have died.

Depending on Shin Yoonjae’s answer, Jian would have to decide whether to kill him or work with him. As he waited for those thin lips to open, Yoonjae made an unexpected response.

“…That’s difficult to answer.”

Jian turned to Sehun with a bewildered expression. Sehun was also frowning. Despite his irises turning blood-red and emitting a strange light, Yoonjae’s lips remained firmly closed.

“Why is it difficult to answer?”

Wondering if the question was the problem, Jian asked for the reason. It was strange to see awareness gradually returning to the previously unfocused eyes.

“Let’s stop here for today. If I talk any more, I might die.”

Yoonjae smiled brightly and took out a handkerchief from his pocket. The moment he held it to his nose, drops of blood fell heavily.

Watching the white handkerchief turn red, Jian’s mind was thrown into chaos.

The person who had been blank-faced and dutifully answering questions just moments ago had suddenly returned to normal.

Seeing his face change as if removing a mask sent chills down Jian’s arms.

“I’ve only heard about it, but experiencing it firsthand—it’s certainly a frightening ability.”

Yoonjae praised Sehun’s ability in a relaxed voice. Sehun’s expression turned cold as he tried using his bewitching skill this time.

“Ah… This feels a bit strange.”

Yoonjae shrugged while his eyes, turning red, curved. Sehun’s face hardened as he realized his ability wasn’t working.

“In such situations, it’s better to smile. That way, the opponent gets confused. When they’re confused, they let their guard down.”

Sehun’s eyes crinkled with irritation at the voice that sounded like it was teaching a young student.

“I truly want to get along well with both of you. We’re not enemies. We’re allies against a common enemy.”

“Then why can’t you tell us? If we’re on the same side, you should trust us.”

Yoonjae’s words were full of contradictions. When Jian pointed this out, a bitter emotion flashed across his mild face.

“Don’t you see this? If I die here, unpleasant things will happen to both of you too.”

Yoonjae lifted the bloodied handkerchief. His nose was still bleeding. Then he exaggeratedly waved his left wrist, with its watch, in front of Jian and Sehun’s faces.

“Thirty minutes are up. I don’t know when our next meeting will be, but take care of yourselves. I hope you have the caution to tap even a sturdy stone bridge before crossing it.”

There was a clicking sound, and the translucent barrier surrounding them disappeared.

“Director.”

Simultaneously, a knock came from the door, as if someone had been waiting. Yoonjae stood up from the sofa at the call.

Jian and Sehun had no choice but to leave the Director’s office. As they headed to the parking lot in the elevator, Yoonjae’s words and actions kept replaying in Jian’s mind.

“…Why didn’t the ability work?”

Sehun, who had been silent like Jian, spoke only after they got into the car. The deep wrinkles between his brows suggested he was trying to recall and understand something.

“Has this happened before?”

Jian asked, grabbing Sehun’s hand. Sehun squinted one eye as he searched his past.

“Come to think of it…”

“Yes?”

Jian squeezed Sehun’s hand as he seemed to remember something, and Sehun clicked his tongue softly.

“Header Researcher. My ability only partially worked on him too. He should have died, but he was alive.”

At that time, Sehun had ordered the Header Researcher to die in the most painful way possible. The man followed the order and even pressed the self-destruct program himself.

The last time Sehun saw him, the man was barely breathing. Sehun had escaped the burning research facility alone.

But the man who should have died long ago appeared before them again. Until then, and even before meeting Shin Yoonjae today, Sehun had thought the man had developed a resistance to drugs.

Could it be that his ability hadn’t properly worked?

Today too, Sehun had confirmed that Yoonjae’s eyes became unfocused after he used his ability. Yoonjae had readily answered Jian’s questions.

Sehun couldn’t tell whether the ability had worn off in the middle or if it had been ineffective from the start.

However, he confirmed that there was a gap in his mind control ability.

There was someone who could resist his ability despite not being an S-rank hunter. Not just Header Researcher and Shin Yoonjae, but possibly more people might have this immunity.

They were probably connected to the Jeongho Association. After all, it was the Jeongho Association that had made Sehun awaken this ability.

Then he realized that his bewitching skill hadn’t worked either. Perhaps Shin Yoonjae had strong resistance to mental influences. Either way, it was a setback. Sehun gritted his teeth at the feeling of powerlessness he hadn’t experienced in a long time.

He had met with Shin Yoonjae’s close associate through Soochul, but they didn’t know much. They had only confirmed what they already knew.

That’s why Sehun had planned to thoroughly search Shin Yoonjae’s mind today, but he had failed.

“Still, it wasn’t without gain.”

Jian said, stroking Sehun’s head, who looked oddly dejected. Although they hadn’t discovered the relationship between Shin Yoonjae and the Jeongho Association, they had learned why he was interested in this body.

Though he couldn’t trust it one hundred percent, Jian strangely felt that what Shin Yoonjae had said wasn’t a lie. The nosebleed, his claim that talking more would endanger his life—it all seemed genuine.

However, Shin Yoonjae had given them another puzzle piece that didn’t seem to fit anywhere.

“He’s someone we still don’t know is a friend or foe, but if he wanted to harm us, he would have done so already. He already knew about my existence and had the capability.”

If he had known for ten years, Sehun would have been only ten years old at that time, and Jian himself wouldn’t have been familiar with using his skills.

Whatever Shin Yoonjae wanted, Jian could only hope it wasn’t the same as the Jeongho Association.

Even if he was trying to get Jian to let his guard down and trust him, it didn’t matter. The only people Jian truly trusted were Sehun and Hyunwoo.

Even if Shin Yoonjae one day bared his innermost thoughts, there would never come a moment when Jian would completely trust him.