Chapter 29 …
A little later.
I stood with Hamina in front of a man who looked exhausted.
Even Pisowon thought her own dark circles were bad, but this guy’s dark circles seemed to stretch all the way down to his neck.
He sat at the computer in a turtle-neck posture, as if ready to dive into the sea, and spoke.
“Recently, there have been a lot of videos coming in for analysis from the support team. As you know, someone’s been fetching hundreds of crime videos…”
“Ah, so I’m that ‘someone,’ huh.”
I muttered a small apology, sensing the situation.
“I guess I owe you an apology…”
Support Team 3
Park Min-bae
The man wearing this name tag glanced at me, speaking in a drowsy tone.
“Still, thanks to you, I don’t regret not joining the White Tiger Guild. Well.”
‘Ah, so this is the person from that group chat.’
The one who said he switched to being a public officer after passing the first round of the White Tiger Guild.
The same guy who panicked, wondering if the investigation team would be disbanded or the investigator staff reduced after Kevin Choi’s summoning incident.
Seeing him in person, he felt completely different from how he appeared in the group chat.
“Thanks. Really.”
He said indifferently and handed me the entire CCTV footage.
Via USB.
“Uh… is it okay to just give me all of this like this—”
“No, it’s not. That’s why look. There’s no one in the archive room.”
Park Min-bae spoke casually and pointed to the empty archive room.
Now that I thought about it, even though he said the archive room was busy, oddly enough, it was just me, Park Min-bae, and Hamina there.
“I called you here while the seniors weren’t around. On purpose.”
Ah. I see.
It felt like a very kind gesture, but he said it so matter-of-factly that I ended up responding matter-of-factly too.
“Among public officers, caring for your juniors is loving your country.”
He returned to his computer screen, speaking casually again.
I bowed my head in greeting.
“Thank you!”
My voice echoed through the archive room, and Park Min-bae’s face crinkled.
“Oh… so that’s your personality? I thought you’d be a bit more taciturn.”
He looked a bit overwhelmed, but it didn’t matter.
I quickly left the archive room with the USB and parted ways with Hamina in the hallway.
“I don’t know what you’re investigating… but if you need help again, let me know.”
Hamina said in an oddly solemn tone.
I hadn’t even mentioned the word ‘cognitive investigation,’ but she already seemed to believe I was secretly investigating something.
‘I feel like I’m being misunderstood everywhere…’
Strangely, that misunderstanding actually helped me.
“Thank you.”
When I bowed, Hamina bowed too and then suddenly asked,
“But that band—”
“Huh?”
I touched the bridge of my nose where Hamina was pointing. The smooth texture of the band was there. It was the cat-themed headband Maduk-ho had bought me.
“…It’s cute.”
Hamina gave a faint smile.
“Right?”
I awkwardly replied and walked down the hallway.
Watching the CCTV footage—
‘There it is.’
The black cat, which had gotten separated from its siblings while playing in the flowerbed, was trudging alone toward the parking lot.
Switching the camera to the rear parking lot, the trail of the black cat continued.
‘Watching the CCTV like this really makes me feel like a detective… and proud…’
…Yeah, right.
That little rascal Maduk-ho! I’ll never forgive you.
Next time, I won’t ask what he wants for lunch. Hmph.
Anyway.
The black cat crawled under a car parked in the lot.
The camera angle didn’t show the driver’s seat. The cat disappeared from view.
But the taillights flickered on, and then off.
Someone’s foot appeared, stepping out of the driver’s seat. As the person lingered, the black cat tried to dash out from under the car but got caught.
“Stop!”
I quickly paused the footage.
But the person’s face was cleverly hidden.
‘Damn it…’
The footage resumed. The person placed the cat down and drove off without showing the action.
I paused again.
In that split second, I caught the license plate number.
27다 4885
Okay. Got it.
I could now figure out who took the black cat. I jotted the number in my notebook.
“What are you doing?”
A cold voice came from behind.
‘Ctrl+W!’
Instinctively, I quickly closed the window and turned around.
As expected, Pisowon was there. Behind her, Maduk-ho, with his deadpan gaze, also appeared.
“Ah… uh… I… was… just… looking at… some data…”
“You—”
Before Pisowon could pry further, Maduk-ho passed us and returned to his seat, speaking softly:
“Animal Farm – Episode 657.”
“…What?”
Pisowon asked, and Maduk-ho, about to put on his headset, answered:
“That footage is famous for the cat rescue scene in Animal Farm, Episode 657.”
“….”
“….”
Faced with the might of a true animal enthusiast, Pisowon was briefly speechless, then gave me a look of exasperation.
“I’ll send you a few work manuals. Read them, or take some leave and rest. Instead, you stubbornly come out…”
Her eyes said, You’re watching nonsense like that? as she returned to her seat.
Even the cat headband on my nose drew her contemptuous gaze.
I peeked at Maduk-ho over the partition.
Ah, why do I feel grateful for no reason?
A real case of “give poison, then medicine.”
I decided I’d let him ask about lunch from now on.
After making sure Pisowon had gone to the interrogation room, I returned to the CCTV footage.
27다 4885
This car had a distinctive habit: it always parked at the rear door at a specific time on Wednesdays and Fridays.
So I had worried it might belong to an outsider. It wasn’t a standard issue car for the investigation team.
And my worry turned out to be correct.
How did I confirm it?
The next day was Wednesday. I arrived a bit earlier than the car’s usual 8:30 AM parking time and waited.
‘Like this.’
Before I knew it, I was inside the car.
Why?
Because I used my possession skill.
For reference, my main body was currently playing with Lulu.
My possession skill had a 10-meter radius for living beings. It didn’t require physical contact or identifying the target.
I lowered the car’s rearview mirror to check my own face.
A man estimated to be in his 50s.
Right. That’s me.
‘Good. Now all I need is proof that this person took the cat—’
[Hey. Why aren’t you answering?]
Suddenly, a voice came from inside the car. Hands-free, maybe?
I hesitated, then replied:
“Uh… yes. I… was just… distracted… What did you say?”
[The date for Kwon Ik-seong’s dispatch is set. 28th. Mess with the equipment being shipped that day. Mix in a couple of defective ones.]
“Defective… ones?”
My heart started pounding.
‘Did I just hear that right?’
Mix defective items into the dispatched equipment?
I glanced at the phone mounted next to the navigation system.
And there it was, clearly displayed:
Chief Cha
Chief Cha? That’s Cha Jeon-hyeok, the equipment management chief, right?
Why would the equipment chief give orders like this…?
My head was spinning. Then a window popped up before my eyes.
Quest: Prevent the Bus Explosion! (S)
Completion Reward: 10,000 Gold, Partial Access to The Hidden Ranked Player Saves the World Special Side Story
Failure: Death by septic shock from gunshot wounds
Time Limit: 70 hours
Special side story? And gunshot death?
They really have all sorts of ways to kill you, huh?
Anyway, if it’s a bus explosion—
‘I think I know what incident I’m involved in.’
The major urban bus terrorism case that Choi Woo-jin couldn’t stop.
I’m supposed to prevent it now.
‘Ah, I need a smoke…’
No, that’s not the time!
Damn it, why did I end up in a smoker’s body at a time like this?
