Once we had settled on what needed to be done and the name of the group, we finished our meal without incident and left.

Before stepping out of the room, I used the Doppelgänger’s Mirror to change my appearance again. Some of the restaurant staff had already seen me earlier, but no matter how deep-rooted Forward’s influence was, they couldn’t have planted people in every single restaurant in Seoul.

What I truly needed to watch out for were the CCTV cameras.

“If you can change your appearance like that, there’s no way they’ll be able to track you down,” Ahn Hyunggi remarked, glancing at me.

For reference, this time I had chosen the appearance of one of my high school homeroom teachers from my original world. Unless some game developer had the rotten luck of using that exact person as a model, there was no way this disguise would overlap with anyone else.

As we walked down the corridor overlooking the courtyard, just as when we had entered, I noticed a few employees gathered together, whispering in hushed tones.

“I can’t believe it… something like this could really happen.”

“Right? If someone had told me yesterday, I never would’ve believed it.”

“Feels like the end is near. Bad news just keeps piling up.”

The workers quickly fell silent when they noticed us and stepped aside, bowing deeply.

What on earth were they talking about?

For some reason, their chatter lingered in my mind.

Outside, two cars were waiting—one for Ahn Hyunggi, one for Riyu Homar. Both had chauffeurs standing by. For some reason, the sight made my stomach twist with envy.

“Hmm?”

Ahn suddenly stopped, pulling his phone from his pocket.

“What is it? …What??”

“Hm?” Riyu raised a brow, clearly curious. I, too, turned to watch.

Whatever he heard, Ahn’s mouth fell open in shock.

“…I see. Understood.”

He ended the call, then looked back at us.

“Well then, I’ll be taking my leave, Chairman. As for you…”

His gaze lingered on my face before curling into a wry smile.

“…No, never mind. We’ll talk another time.”

With that cryptic remark, Ahn climbed into his car and drove off.

What the hell? What was he about to say?

“Hmph.”

Even Riyu stroked his beard, looking oddly thoughtful.

“Nam Yein. You said you’re heading to City Hall, correct?”

“Yes. The Peacekeeping Force Unit will escort me back afterward.”

“Then come with me.”

“…Sir?”

“I’m heading that way anyway. I’ll drop you off at City Hall.”

There was no reason to refuse. Being with Riyu Homar meant that even if Forward attempted an ambush, my odds of survival were much higher.

“Thank you.”

I climbed into the backseat with him. As soon as the chauffeur closed the door and settled into the driver’s seat, he spoke up.

“Sir, have you heard the news?”

“News? I just finished dinner—what news?”

“Chairman Oh Sungcheon was rushed to the hospital.”

“What!?”

What!?

At that moment, I recalled the restaurant staff whispering in the hallway, and Ahn Hyunggi’s pale face after taking that phone call.

So that’s what it was!

“What happened? Was it an attack?” Riyu demanded.

“They haven’t released details yet. Would you like me to turn on the news?”

“Do it.”

The chauffeur started the car and switched on the radio.

[…This just in. Oh Sungcheon, head of Forward Trading and appointed successor of Forward Group, is currently undergoing emergency surgery at Forward Yongsan General Hospital. Witnesses report that around 6 p.m., he lost consciousness and was transported by ambulance. The cause is still unknown. However, since no signs of an attack or accident were found at the scene, speculation points to a possible health issue.]

“Hah. And he’s so young too,” Riyu muttered.

Impossible.

In the game, Oh Sungcheon never had any chronic illness.

[Forward Group has yet to release any official statement regarding his condition.]

“Good grief. Perhaps it really is karma.” Riyu let out a dry laugh.

The car pulled up to City Hall not long after.

“Who knows? Maybe the day you all can walk freely will come sooner than expected.”

I couldn’t answer. My head was still spinning.

“Take care, then.”

“Thank you for the ride.”

“Mm.”

After Riyu’s car pulled away, I contacted the Peacekeeping Force Unit from the guard post.

A few minutes later—

“Yein! Did you hear!?”

“….”

I let out a long sigh.

Might as well have shouted it through a megaphone—so much for discretion. For all the good she had done during the chase earlier, Jang Hayoon was still Jang Hayoon.

Soon enough, I found myself in a car with one of the top five people I least wanted to be around, descending into City Hall’s underground parking lot.

“They say the surgery still isn’t finished. What kind of illness could it be, to take this long?”

“I couldn’t say.”

“Right? I’ve never heard of Oh Sungcheon having any medical issues. And apparently, the ambulance picked him up from an aromatherapy clinic. Wait—poisoning!?”

Her sudden outburst made my shoulders jump.

“If that’s the case, then the prolonged surgery is just a smokescreen. Inside Forward, they’re probably already tearing each other apart for the successor’s seat! That would explain why there’s been no official announcement! Don’t you think? It all adds up perfectly!”

“…Wasn’t the aromatherapy clinic detail from a Peacekeeping Force Unit investigation? Should you really be telling me that?”

“….”

“….”

“…This stays between us, okay? Don’t tell Senior Lee Seon.”

She winked at me. While driving.

Eyes on the road, please.

Still… poisoning.

It was plausible. For Sungcheon to seize the successor’s throne despite being the youngest and not even an Awakener, he must have drowned entire ponds with the blood he shed.

Then again, the scenario never unfolded like this in the game.

There, Sungcheon kept his power by purging and intimidating his enemies without hesitation. The slightest hint of rebellion was crushed instantly. His world was filled only with sycophants.

But maybe… without Yang Len by his side, someone finally saw an opportunity.

Or perhaps… maybe the man really did collapse from sheer stress and fury. He would have received news that I’d been spotted, only to lose me again. Add in the failed attempt on Porter’s life in London… it might have been enough to push him over the edge.

Whatever the case, my course of action remained the same.

Sungcheon was in surgery. He might recover. But even if he didn’t, Forward wouldn’t simply vanish. His loyalists and his enemies would only begin another bloody struggle for power.

There was no way Forward would ever be reborn as a clean, honest corporation. Their sins ran far too deep.

Ahn Hyunggi called it karma. He was right. It’s time for Forward to face it—sooner than in the original timeline, but face it all the same.

And I would be the one to make sure of it.

When I returned to the safehouse, Meiling immediately gave me a sharp look.

“Enjoy your little trip outside, did you?” she snapped.

I only grinned at her.

“Yeah. It was amazing.”

“You—ugh…!”

She clearly hadn’t expected that response. Grinding her teeth, she glared at me.

“Relax. I wasn’t out having fun.”

Just then, Lumina and Seo Yui stepped out of their room, both smiling warmly.

“Ah, Yein. Welcome back. You must be tired.”

“You’re late. Did you eat dinner? If not, I’ll warm up a lunchbox for you.”

I turned silently to Meiling.

“…What? Why are you looking at me like that?”

“Nothing.”

I brushed past her and stepped inside.

“I’ve already eaten. Thank you for asking.”

Then I looked at Lumina.

“Where’s Teacher Kim Sangsik?”

“In his room.”

“And Jodie?”

“Um… probably asleep. Why?”

“No reason. Let her rest.”

I headed straight for Kim Sangsik’s room and knocked.

“Sir, it’s Nam Yein. May I come in?”

“Yes, enter.”

Inside, he was seated at his desk, scribbling something onto a sheet of paper.

“Did everything go well?” he asked.

“Yes. Though it was a little dangerous.”

“…What happened?”

I told him about being pursued by Forward’s trackers.

“I see. It’s fortunate you had the Doppelgänger’s Mirror.”

“Yeah. Thanks to it, I got away easily.”

“Did you catch today’s news?”

“You mean about Oh Sungcheon?”

Kim Sangsik gave a single nod.

His face was always stern, but now it looked even harder than usual. I could guess what was running through his mind—thoughts like ‘He can’t die like this,’ or ‘It should be my hand that kills him.’

“Teacher. There’s something I’d like to ask of you.”

“What is it?”

“I want you to meet with the mayor tomorrow.”

“…The mayor?”

“Yes.”

I smiled faintly.

“With Yang Len arrested and Oh Sungcheon on the operating table, Forward’s head and hands are paralyzed. There won’t be a better time than now. It’s time to move on Gimpo.”

“!!!”

Kim Sangsik’s eyes widened.

“Gimpo… you mean Forward’s research lab?”

“That’s right.”

“…Finally.”

The word slipped from his lips in a whisper.

“You want me to meet the mayor to join forces with the Peacekeeping Force Unit, don’t you.”

“Yes. But before that, there’s something we need to discuss.”

“And that is?”

“You. And Jodie.”

“…Me and Jodie?”

I nodded.

“More precisely, what happens to you and Jodie after you’ve had your revenge.”

“What are you trying to say?”

“If things go on like this, the mayor will kill Jodie.”

“!”

Kim Sangsik’s face froze solid.

Forward Yongsan General Hospital.

Inside the director’s office, the air was thick with tension.

“How is the Chairman’s condition?”

The one asking was Mackenzie Stewart, vice president of Forward Trading and Oh Sungcheon’s right-hand man.

“…To be frank, it doesn’t look good,” replied Director Wi Hongu.

“Before the cerebral hemorrhage caused by trauma, there was already bleeding from severe hypertension. It seems he’d been under incredible stress. That’s what caused him to collapse.”

“….”

Mackenzie felt his lips dry up.

Stress.

It wasn’t surprising.

For two weeks straight, his boss had been pummeled with bad news.

All Around’s interference.

The Black Hounds’ failed raid on City Hall.

The HAUT champions’ public revelations.

And just yesterday—the simultaneous reports that they had lost Nam Yein and failed to assassinate Chairman Porter.

But the worst blow of all must have been the mayor’s announcement of a mana-stone power generator.

When Mackenzie had seen that news himself, it had felt like the goddess of fate had pressed a pair of scissors against his throat.

“Even if he miraculously wakes, he’ll never recover his previous cognitive or motor abilities.”

“…I understand.”

Mackenzie rose to his feet.

“Do everything you can.”

“Of course.”

When he stepped outside, his secretary rushed up and whispered.

“Vice President. Oh Yuwon has made a move.”

Mackenzie’s brows furrowed.

Oh Yuwon—daughter of Oh Seonghu, the eldest son of former chairman Oh Yeonggwang.

“Ten minutes ago, she left for Gimpo with her hunters.”

“Damn it. She can smell blood, that one…”

He clicked his tongue sharply.

Because in Gimpo, there was a secret lab built under Oh Sungcheon’s orders.

And there, they had been researching a drug to amplify Awakeners’ abilities.

Orphaned young Awakeners.

Failures drowning in debt to Forward.

Naïve volunteers lured in by fake clinical trials.

Forward had used every trick in the book to gather test subjects for that place.

The City Hall raid failed. Yang Len and the other leaders were captured by Mayor Cheon Jiwon. The assassination of Chairman Porter will soon be exposed as a Black Hound plot. On top of that, the mayor’s mana-stone generator has been revealed to the entire world.

At this rate, Forward had no future left.

But to those who had long despised Oh Sungcheon, this crisis was the perfect opportunity.

So Mackenzie could easily guess why Oh Yuwon had headed for Gimpo.

She wants to seize the enhancement drug and swallow Forward for herself.

Whether she used it to build her own army or leveraged it to seize control of the company, the possibilities were endless.

“Stop her. Raise the research lab’s alert to maximum and summon every remaining Black Hound. We leave for Gimpo at once.”

With Oh Sungcheon incapacitated, command of the Black Hounds now fell to him.

“Yes, sir.”

The secretary pulled out her phone immediately.

An hour later, Mackenzie and his Black Hounds reached the outskirts of the Gimpo lab.

And there, he saw the unthinkable.

“…What… is this.”

He rolled down the window, staring out in disbelief.

The lab was surrounded by vehicles bearing the insignia of the Peacekeeping Force Unit.

Worse yet—the building itself was burning.

“Why is the Peacekeeping Force Unit there!?”

“To arrest scum like you.”

“!!?”

He jerked in shock, whipping his head around.

“Up here.”

The next instant—

Crash!

The roof of his car caved in with a deafening bang.

“Mackenzie Stewart. Are you ready to face judgment?”

His face drained of all color.

Looking down at him through the hole in the roof was none other than Mayor Cheon Jiwon.

(End of Chapter)