Chapter 162 : Main Business

Charlotte chuckled.

Well, she didn't know if he was a villain or affiliated with a corporation, but he could certainly have a space for his own personal vices.

“Nice.”

She took out a jet-black mechanical device from her pocket and held it out.

“It's a communication device that can be used within the Battleground. I'll let you know the detailed plans through this.”

After receiving the communication device, as Ho-cheol was about to stand up, Charlotte spoke to him as if disappointed.

“Are you leaving already? We're in the same boat now, so shouldn't we have a light chat to build our trust?”

“A chat.”

In a way, she was more blatant and persistent than Ji-an.

Ho-cheol hesitated for a moment in a hunched posture, then sat down again.

In fact, it wasn't that he had no questions at all.

Ho-cheol fiddled with the communication device and asked.

“You said you were a person who sells death.”

At the sudden question, she answered readily, though she looked a little confused for a moment.

“Well, I don't necessarily sell things for murder, but the people who buy them all use them for that purpose.”

Although they also sold equipment to replace missing body parts, The Top's highest sales were in modified bodies that were close to weapons.

In particular, for artificial bodies that contained a Trait, even if it was a one-time use, an astronomical price was attached to them every year.

At Charlotte's relaxed answer, Ho-cheol thought for a moment.

“What do you think of a life that thrives on the death of others as fertilizer?”

Charlotte in front of him seemed to feel no guilt at all, even though her profession was killing.

A type of person he rarely saw around him.

Honestly, he was curious.

Charlotte placed her palm on one cheek and smiled.

“Nothing. For me, this is common sense, and my way of life. It’s the most basic form of what constitutes ‘me’.”

Far from guilt, she didn't even have the awareness that it was a problem.

In the first place, such a concept was considered absurd here.

“Do you not regret such a life? No regrets?”

Was it a strange value system created by this special environment called the Battleground?

Or was she born like that?

“I was born in a back alley of the Battleground, and I grew up in a garbage dump. How many choices do you think I had?”

Most importantly, this was not the path she had chosen.

Since it was a past that everyone who knew, knew, Charlotte began to tell Ho-cheol her story without any particular reluctance.

“This position is not one I came to through my greed or will, but rather a position I was pushed into for survival. Not dying, not being weeded out, not losing my dignity. If you survive like that, it’s a position for only one person that you can naturally reach.”

It wasn't that she had protected her life and dignity because she had reached the position of vice president, but rather that she had reached the position of vice president because she was protecting her life and dignity.

These two were strictly different.

Outside, she didn't even ask for more than the most basic human rights guaranteed to everyone.

Who could dare to say that her life, which had been in pursuit of that simple thing, was wrong?

“If the power that protects me comes from the death of others, is there any need to feel any emotion for that death? That’s the logic of the world as I’ve experienced it.”

Ho-cheol let out a faint sigh.

Charlotte's attitude was like looking at his own past.

Trapped in the past, and mistaking conformity for satisfaction.

In fact, the most correct choice had always been in the closest place.

She had just been living without even noticing it.

“This might be crossing the line for a first meeting, but it's better to stop living like that.”

“You've crossed the line a lot. Even now, when I have a considerable liking for you, it’s very unpleasant.”

But Ho-cheol did not apologize.

“You might take it for granted now, but the end is definitely regret. I’m saying this because I’ve experienced the same thing.”

Because he had experienced a similar past, and because she was showing some interest in him, it was the greatest kindness Ho-cheol could return.

“Hmm. Is this an extension of what you said about not killing people?”

Charlotte pressed her lips with her fingertips, as if her interest had been piqued again.

The reason she felt curious about Ho-cheol.

A person who, despite having killed more than anyone, despite having already crossed the line by a long shot, was so timidly trying not to kill people.

Would he even feel guilt for adding one more to the pile of corpses that had already accumulated?

In fact, if the opponent was the target of his revenge, wouldn't he feel a sense of satisfaction?

What kind of regret had he experienced that a person who had killed dozens, hundreds, would act so timidly?

Ho-cheol leaned back in his chair and muttered as if letting it slip.

“Right. If I hadn't experienced something like this, I wouldn't have given such advice.”

“I’m interested. But I can't do that.”

Charlotte looked down at her hands.

White and slender hands, but in her eyes, these hands were stained bright red.

“It’s already too late.”

She had come too far to stop and turn back.

“Right. That’s what they all think. I thought so too.”

Ho-cheol also looked down at his hands.

His hands were still soaked in bright red blood.

“In the end, you'll realize it later. You think you can't stop, but in fact, you can stop at any time. All you need is a very small trigger and an even smaller courage.”

A person who has been stained with blood even once cannot go back.

But, it was possible to stop.

Just not getting any worse was enough.

“If you had the choice of a normal life…”

“I'm not a fool. It's not an easy thing to eat calmly while looking at a human corpse. And I'm not a luxurious person.”

A roundabout expression of regret.

“You said you wanted to see the face under my mask, right? But even if you succeed in this, you won't see it. I have no intention of showing it to you.”

Ho-cheol placed his hand on his mask.

“But if you want to change, if you want to stop even now, I can be that small trigger for you.”

Charlotte opened her mouth slightly, as if surprised.

“Honestly……”

Charlotte said, as if she genuinely couldn't understand.

“There’s no reason or benefit for you to meddle like this. What if I had reacted sensitively and even overturned our collaboration? What if I had harbored a grudge and leaked information about you to Black Oskopf? Most importantly…”

She hesitated and then said.

“You’re not a hero.”

Useless meddling.

It was the kind of thing a hero from a picture book would do.

But there was no way the person in front of her was a hero.

At least, Charlotte could be sure of that.

“That’s right. I'm not a hero. But that irresponsible and meaningless meddling, surprisingly, just that alone can change a lot.”

With those words, Ho-cheol stood up from his seat.

“I learned it from a hero.”

With those words, Ho-cheol left.

But Charlotte just sat there for a long time, staring blankly at the place where he had left.

Ho-cheol, who had briefly come out of the Battleground, immediately took out his phone.

The communication device Charlotte had given him was a collection of the latest technology that could contact the outside world even from within the gate, but Ho-cheol had completely removed it from his options.

It wasn't a matter of the probability of being wiretapped; they would definitely wiretap him.

He would not take this out of his pocket except to contact them.

Before the signal had even gone on for a short time, a voice came from the other side of the phone.

“Yes.”

“The plan has changed a bit.”

“……Did something go wrong, by any chance?”

At Wolf Fang's worried question, Ho-cheol shook his head.

“No. The main framework of the plan is the same. But something else has come in from the side. Well, it's a variable with more benefits, so there's no need to worry too much.”

“Isn’t it a variable because you can't control or distinguish whether it's a benefit or a loss?”

“If there’s something to use, you have to use it. That's the way to ensure the people around me are hurt the least.”

Even if The Top's earthquake operation failed, if some attention was directed that way, the possibility of Ho-cheol's identity being discovered would be even lower.

Ho-cheol briefly explained the newly changed situation.

“To think the boss would join hands with other guys. Good grief.”

In Ho-cheol's villain days, a temporary alliance for a common enemy was no different from a crazy idea.

In fact, he would have made one more enemy rather than an ally.

“We’re not joining hands, we’re just using each other because our goals temporarily overlap. We are.”

“Well, the boss must have his reasons. In any case, it doesn't seem like what we have to do has changed much, so I'll start preparing.”

“Right.”

Just before ending the call, Wolf Fang, suddenly recalling a question, hastily called out to Ho-cheol.

“Boss. So how are you going to deal with that Doctor bastard when you catch him?”

He had only heard that he wouldn't kill him, but he hadn't heard the specific method of dealing with him.

No matter how soft Ho-cheol had become, there was no way he would end it with the punishment of the law.

“Ah, well. Even if he's a traitor, would he even get a proper punishment if we go by the legal aspects? There’s a prison that’s perfect for him.”

“A prison?”

“You know the island we used to use for a while. The one that was taken over by an erosion gate.”

“Ah.”

Wolf Fang also knew that island well.

“Indeed. It would be perfect to imprison him there. No internet, no people. If we just let him live a decent life and die of loneliness, that would be the best punishment for a person like that.”

“Tell him to live a boring life like that and die.”

“But isn't there a monster that has fused with the core there? Won't it eat him?”

“I don’t know about that.”

He wasn't killing him, but he didn't care if he was eaten by a monster.

Back in the Battleground.

Ho-cheol went back to the cafe from before and killed time.

In the meantime, the internal map of the Black Oskopf main building was also roughly completed.

Of course, there were more empty spaces, but as long as he knew where led to where, the rest was up to others.

How many hours had passed?

As the number of empty cups continued to grow, a kugugugung— an ominous sound came from under the ground, and the building shook slightly.

Ripples formed on the surface of the half-full coffee.

“An e-earthquake?”

“Are there earthquakes in the Battleground too?”

The other customers were flustered and either hid under their desks or evacuated outside the building.

Since there had been no precedent of an earthquake in the history of the Battleground, the confusion was considerable despite its small scale.

Of course, Ho-cheol, who knew that this earthquake was artificial, just brushed it off.

In the first place, this was not the end.

They said they would cause two more small-scale earthquakes at three hour intervals, and if Black Oskopf's reaction was lukewarm, they would cause another earthquake with a stronger force.

Since the epicenter was right next to the underground of Black Oskopf, they would have no choice but to react sensitively.

And when they moved their main infrastructure, personnel, research results, and experimental materials, that was when Ho-cheol was supposed to move, according to the ‘original plan.’

Ho-cheol completely emptied his cup and stood up.

“That would be a problem.”

That was a plan that was blatantly focused on the interests of The Top.

They had thought that Ho-cheol was simply acting out of a personal grudge and had no great interest in Black Oskopf itself, but in reality, that was not the case at all.

Since they were guys who were obsessed with ‘transcendence,’ he was planning to stomp on them so they could never recover.

And he also had to prevent their experimental results from falling into the hands of others.

To achieve those two goals simultaneously, it was right to move now.

He headed towards the Black Oskopf headquarters with his hands in his pockets.

From the lobby, he could clearly feel the chaotic atmosphere.

The earthquake-resistant design was perfect, and it wasn't a large-scale earthquake, but since the epicenter was right under this building, the anxiety the employees felt was considerable.

Even in the midst of the noise, Ho-cheol, who stood in the center of the lobby, snapped his fingers.

Tang—

Taang—

At the intense sound, which was comparable to a gunshot, everyone's attention was on Ho-cheol.

“Uh. Just a moment. Attention here.”

At the employees' question of who he was, Ho-cheol swung the Purple Crystal Sword at his waist instead of answering.

Kwadeudeudeuk—

A large gash was carved into the wall and floor in the direction he had swung the sword.

He placed the sword on his shoulder and added shortly.

“A villain.”