Chapter 158 : The Lecture (3)

Wolf Fang asked belatedly.

“But I still have my old badge, so that's fine, but…”

When Ho-cheol was active as a villain, there were two essential preparations.

“Where's the mask?”

As if asking something obvious, Ho-cheol answered shortly.

“I threw it away, of course.”

Wolf Fang swallowed his breath on the other side of the phone.

The pure white mask Ho-cheol had used during his villain days.

It wasn't just a mask to cover his face.

It was a real treasure, made from a rare metal mined from a gate, that couldn't even be compared to a diamond of the same weight, no, to any jewel.

That rare metal could permanently fix a Trait, and as far as Wolf Fang knew, it had at least four: perception inhibition, skin assimilation, automatic restoration, and indestructibility.

Thanks to that, Ho-cheol had never had his face revealed even while fighting so many heroes during his villain days.

The time his face had been unintentionally revealed was before he had gotten this mask.

“Uh, um.”

Wolf Fang's voice was full of bewilderment.

He threw away such a precious mask?

“Even for you, boss, it might be a little difficult with an ordinary white mask. And I don't have the confidence to get an item with such great functions in a day.”

“It’s fine. I threw it away, but no one would have touched it. It’s probably still in the same place.”

It was to solidify his resolve when he quit his villain life.

It wasn't like he had actually put it in a pay-as-you-throw bag and thrown it away.

“I’ll explain, so you go get it.”

“It doesn’t seem like a very dangerous place?”

Ho-cheol scratched the back of his head and said.

“I buried it under Smiley’s statue.”

A small sigh, whether of admiration or lament, came from the other side of the phone.

“Indeed. If the boss were to bury his villainous past, there’s no place quite like it.”

Just as they were about to end the call, another possibility flashed in Ho-cheol's mind.

“If I'm going to cover my face and cause trouble for the first time in a while anyway, I might as well scale it up.”

It wouldn't be bad to cause a ruckus, not enough for them to not pay attention, but not enough for them to cancel the event.

“How so?”

“The black market distribution routes I used during my villain days. Check if any are left. And if there are any villains you can contact, send a message to all of them.”

“What should I say?”

Perhaps because he was a guy who just used his body, he was a little slow on the uptake in this area.

Why does it feel like I'm acting like a professor here too?

Thinking that, Ho-cheol explained.

“Do you think that doctor bastard only caused trouble in our organization? There must be a lot of similar spies in other organizations too.”

Even Ho-cheol's secretive organization had been hit, unable to filter out a spy.

Not to mention other villain organizations.

“Those guys who got backstabbed. They’re probably all keeping quiet because of their pride, but there must be quite a few of them. And it doesn't have to be a spy from Black Oskopf. Blame the other spies on them too.”

Only then did Wolf Fang react as if he understood to some extent.

“They’re the type to verify external information several times, but they tend to trust information from someone they’ve dealt with at least once. Should I spin a tale that the reason we haven’t been in business for several years is because we were hit back then?”

“That would be good.”

Ho-cheol nodded his head.

Considering the scale and power of Black Oskopf, the current trick was just a trivial attack that wouldn't even leave a scratch.

But even if there was no damage, if you kept poking the back of your neck with a needle, of course you would get annoyed.

Too trivial to deal with, too annoying to ignore.

This level of ambiguity was good.

Of course, it was only possible if the black market routes Ho-cheol had used during his organization days still remained.

If it works, great.

If not, whatever.

In any case, it was a sufficient means to torment the opponent without any risk on their part.

“Understood.”

And so, the call ended.

Ho-cheol leaned his head against the hallway wall with his arms crossed.

“Good grief.”

He let out a self-deprecating sneer.

He had held back quite well until now.

But as soon as the enemy was a little strong and things got complicated, he had immediately blurted out that he would reopen his villain business.

It was quite a ridiculous sight.

However, Ho-cheol had no intention of regretting or revoking this decision.

The reason he was wearing the mask from his villain days this time was not just for his own safety and convenience, but more for the sake of protecting the people around him.

If he wore the villain's mask, the probability of his public current identity being discovered would decrease, and that would lead to the safety of the people around him.

If it had been the Ho-cheol of just three or four months ago, if he had been asked to choose between his beliefs and the safety of the people around him, he would have chosen his beliefs without any hesitation.

But he had changed.

The relationships around him had changed, and the situation had changed.

The changed situation had overwhelmed his true feelings.

No, it had changed his true feelings.

Was it a positive or negative change for him to have even folded his original beliefs for the sake of others?

That was something even Ho-cheol couldn't gauge yet.

But one thing was certain.

He took out his phone and dialed a saved number.

Hello?

“Let’s go eat.”

He quite liked this daily life.

To the point where such rigid beliefs didn't matter.

After having a decent lunch with So-hee, Ho-cheol returned to his dorm.

It was a good thing he only had one lecture a day.

And as he opened the door to his dorm and entered, an intruder was lying on his bed.

Since he hadn't been able to reach her, he had thought she was attending a lecture, but thought she was enjoying a nap.

He was quite dumbfounded.

Looking at Ji-an on the bed, he let out a sigh.

If you're going to take a nap, at least sleep quietly.

“Omnomnom……”

Ji-an muttered softly, as if sleep-talking.

The blanket was kicked off and wrapped around one leg, and her clothes were all turned up, revealing her abdomen and belly button.

“Mister……”

Ho-cheol let out another sigh and reached out to her.

Only after pulling down her clothes properly and covering her with the blanket up to her chin did he sit in his chair.

“Haa.”

Letting out a third sigh in just one minute, he touched his forehead with his fingertips.

This time, I might really die.

Since the call, his sixth sense had been sending ominous signals.

The problem was, this was not the sense he had honed during his villain days, but an ominous feeling that only the current Ho-cheol felt.

Conversely, the intuition that had saved him several times during his villain days was very calm.

It was quiet, as if this level of work was nothing.

And this difference was what made Ho-cheol anxious.

If he were to die because of a lack of power, that would be a shame.

But the current Ho-cheol couldn't do it.

If it was something that the villain Jeong Ho-cheol could do.

It definitely meant that someone had to die.

I’d rather die than kill.

He had said so, but he didn't know how his words would change in such a situation.

Most importantly, if he were to die helplessly, Smiley's legacy would also be a problem.

Even at the moment of Smiley's death, if it hadn't been for him, she wouldn't have been able to pass on that power to anyone.

He had many worries in many ways.

Meanwhile, Ji-an, who had woken up at some point, got off the bed and came up to him.

Squatting down and resting her chin on the desk, she asked, moving only her upper lip.

“You don't look so good. Did something bad happen?”

“No. Nothing……”

It wasn't a topic or a worry that he could share with Ji-an.

So Ho-cheol, who had been about to brush it off, stopped for a moment.

“Come to think of it, there is. What was that in your lecture today?”

“Uh, et. Ah.”

Bewilderment appeared in Ji-an's eyes.

“Are they your friends?”

At Ho-cheol's question, she glanced at him and answered cautiously.

“We’re not equals like friends. And they’re not my subordinates, their level is too low…”

Her voice trailed off, and after a long deliberation, she found a suitable word.

“Gophers?”

Ttak—!

Ho-cheol flicked her on the forehead.

Ji-an, who had let out a small scream, covered her forehead with both hands.

“Ah, I get it. They're like minions who have pledged their allegiance to me, moved by my charisma.”

“Gophers or minions, the expression is all lame. Still…”

He raised the hand he had used to flick her and placed it on top of her head.

“It’s a relief you don’t look lonely.”

“Ehehehe……”

Ji-an moved her head back and forth, letting herself be petted.

Come to think of it, Ji-an was quite sociable, to the point where she had even made friends in the extreme situation of being a test subject.

It was the harsh environment and the wicked adults around her that had pushed her into isolation.

In fact, this was the appearance that suited a normally grown-up Ji-an.

In a way, she probably has more friends than Da-yeon or Ye-jin.

“Well, it’s good to be on friendly terms like that. But your way of speaking was a bit jarring.”

“Ugh. I’ll try to fix that.”

In any case, it was only in front of Ho-cheol that she spoke normally.

It was still not easy to talk to other people in such a friendly way.

“But was that really the reason your expression was so bad?”

Ho-cheol shook his head.

He couldn't explain in detail, but since she might get the wrong idea, maybe he should tell her a little.

“It's just that I can't guess how things will turn out in the future. I've just been lucky so far. I'm worried about what will happen if things get twisted again.”

At Ho-cheol's weak words, Ji-an seemed surprised for a moment.

But she soon turned around.

From the desk to the armrest of the chair, and then to his thigh.

She stealthily rested her chin on it.

She cautiously glanced at Ho-cheol and asked.

“……Then. Shall we run away?”

“Run away?”

Ho-cheol asked back, as if surprised.

He would have expected her to make a fuss about helping him, but he had never expected that kind of answer and suggestion.

He chuckled.

“If we run away, where would we go?”

From Ho-cheol's expression and atmosphere, one could easily feel that it was just a joke.

But Ji-an, even though she knew it was a joke, answered quite seriously.

“I-I've actually prepared everything. A safe house, tangible assets, and even a new identity.”

The organization Ji-an had prepared, the achievements she had accumulated, the relationships, and even the twins she had been raising with Traits, although they were now in the hands of another organization.

All of those were for a single goal.

A happy ending for Ho-cheol and herself.

It was a wall to prevent anyone from interfering with it.

“I know how to do everything from cooking to housework.”

She raised both hands and placed them on Ho-cheol's thigh.

She gently scratched his pants with her fingernails and suggested.

Of course, she had lost most of it now, so there would be some inconveniences, but she could endure that.

“You just have to come with your body, Mister.”

At Ji-an's serious suggestion, Ho-cheol laughed again.

Even this kid believes in and sees the future so clearly, so I can't be whining.

“Thank you.”

In fact, he was able to relieve some of his worries and steel his heart.

“But for now, I’ll just accept the thought.”

“I’m always okay, so you just have to decide, Mister.”

Saturday.

According to Wolf Fang's information, Black Oskopf's secret event would be held tonight.

But that was no reason for Ho-cheol's daily routine to be disrupted.

He went to work, wearing comfortable clothes unlike his usual lectures.

Clington's main athletic field.

Although there were a few other athletic fields on the academy grounds, the expression ‘main’ athletic field was used only for this one place.

It even boasted a scale larger than it looked, with gate technology applied, and its actual area was comparable to a small city.

“Ah. Ah.”

Ho-cheol, standing on the podium, lightly tapped the microphone with his fingertips.

“I am Jeong Ho-cheol, and I will be in charge of the newly established physical training special lecture for all students from this semester.”

Thanks to the Saturday lecture, the students all looked as if they had bitten into something foul, but since it was a required lecture, there were no absentees.

Of course, Ho-cheol also read the atmosphere.

“You all look like you hate it to death, but don't complain to me, complain to the higher-ups. If you can't, then just work hard. If you have to do it anyway, you might as well get something out of it.”

Of course, just because he had read it didn't mean he was going to console them.

In fact, he had also been half-forced to take on this job.

Ho-cheol was closer to a figurehead who had just put his name on this lecture.

The dream of the head of the Augmentation Department.

The physical enhancement project for all students.

But both the union and the dean's faction had opposed it, as they considered giving such a large-scale lecture to the opposing faction to be a transfer of power.

And if the neutral department head were to politically support one side, he would lose his own exercise time, so he didn't like that either.

After years of just licking his lips, Ho-cheol had appeared.

Since he was closely related to both factions, he was able to proceed with the project without much opposition.

“This lecture is very simple. Physical strength. We will only look at physical strength, and only build physical strength. There’s a saying that too much is as bad as too little. But there is one exception. Physical strength. It’s always better to have too much physical strength than too little. So.”

As if it was too much trouble to say more, Ho-cheol pulled out a gun from his waist and aimed it at the tent with the word GOAL written on it in the distance.

“Run.”

Bang—

Even though the starting gun had been fired, only a handful of students were running.

Most were just strolling along with their hands behind their backs or in their pockets.

Looking at them, Ho-cheol scoffed.

“For your information, this lecture is scheduled for 3 hours. But in this run, the top 15% of each department will be sent back right away. The rest will be running laps for the full 3 hours.”

Only then did the students come to their senses and run on the track, jostling each other.