Hyun Tae-oh teleported straight to the Bureau Chief’s office door and pushed it open without knocking.
Inside, the Research Institute Director was already present, summoned by the Bureau Chief.
The moment they saw him, both the Bureau Chief and the Director shot to their feet, startled.
“Esper Hyun Tae-oh!”
When the Bureau Chief called out, Tae-oh strode forward and dropped heavily into a single-seat sofa. Raising one hand toward the two men, who still stood stiff and uneasy, he said,
“Sit down.”
It wasn’t the kind of behavior one showed in front of the Bureau Chief and the Institute Director, but Tae-oh had no patience left for courtesy.
At his words, the two men sat almost simultaneously, as if rehearsed.
The Bureau Chief immediately leaned forward, his voice sharp with urgency.
“Where is Guide Kang Chi-yu?”
At that, Tae-oh smirked and shot back,
“You don’t actually expect me to tell you, do you?”
“Esper Hyun Tae-oh.”
The Institute Director called to him cautiously.
Tae-oh’s icy gaze landed on him, making the man flinch. The open hostility of an SS-rank Esper was terrifying for someone without abilities.
Feeling cold sweat sliding down his back, the Director forced himself to speak, trying to persuade him.
“I think you need a detailed explanation of what happened today. Please, let me explain.”
Tae-oh said nothing, just stared. The Director began his report.
“Until now, we’ve been creating mutant beasts in test tubes. It took time, enormous funds, and the defect rate was high. All the mutants you and Guide Min Yu-hyun collected samples from on state-classified missions were our creations.”
But instead of being shocked, Tae-oh remained disturbingly calm.
The Bureau Chief looked puzzled, but the Director pressed on.
“This time, however, we succeeded in developing an actual beast body capable of laying eggs and hatching them. Though you destroyed it, Esper Hyun Tae-oh.”
“……”
“Well, we still have the research data. We can reproduce it, and we were going to create another one anyway. The real problem is…”
The Director swallowed, his mouth dry.
The Bureau Chief cleared his throat, glancing nervously at Tae-oh.
“The offspring from the beast’s body go berserk the moment they’re born and self-destruct. That’s why we need Guide Kang Chi-yu’s Rampage Recovery ability. We tried with other Guides who only had normal Rampage Recovery, but it didn’t work. Only Kang Chi-yu—who can stabilize wave patterns and restore rampages at the same time—can ensure the eggs don’t explode.”
At that, Tae-oh frowned, recalling the Black Gate incident—when Kang Chi-yu had calmed a rampaging beast inside the Guide Safety Zone.
“This conclusion is based on the samples taken from that beast Kang Chi-yu stabilized during the Black Gate event. It’s undeniable. That’s why we absolutely need him.”
“So you’re saying the Black Gate opening was your doing?”
The Bureau Chief and the Director froze.
The Bureau Chief coughed again and quickly insisted,
“That was an accident. We never intended to open a Black Gate.”
“You mean you were running experiments that could open Gates?”
“If we had that kind of technology, we wouldn’t need to manufacture beasts. It truly was an accident—something that happened by chance.”
“……”
“The Bureau Chief is right. We never imagined a Gate could open at all, let alone a Black Gate. It was pure coincidence, and we still don’t know how it happened.”
Tae-oh’s voice sharpened.
“Why are you making beasts in the first place? Does the World Peace Committee know? If civilians ever found out, there would be chaos.”
The Bureau Chief leaned forward, speaking heavily.
“Esper Hyun Tae-oh, you’re an Ability User—you understand. If mutant beasts stop appearing, then Ability Users like us lose our purpose.”
“……”
“Our superiority over ordinary humans would vanish.”
“Our researchers, who have dedicated their lives to Ability User studies, would lose their work, their livelihoods, their very reason for being,” the Director added, backing him up.
The Bureau Chief nodded firmly.
“Mutant beasts can’t be allowed to disappear. They need to keep appearing, to keep civilians under pressure.”
Listening, Tae-oh rubbed his brow with irritation.
“What did civilians ever do to deserve this?”
The Bureau Chief answered as though it were only natural—that such was their fate. Seeing Tae-oh’s expression harden, he added quickly,
“Those born without abilities must live under the protection of those who have them. To put it bluntly, Ability Users are born chosen, and the others are not.”
“……”
“If beasts vanished tomorrow, civilians might rejoice at first. But would that truly be good for us? Without beasts, we disappear too. Don’t forget that.”
Tae-oh gave a short, bitter laugh. The Director rushed to reinforce the argument.
“If beasts disappeared and Ability Users were left jobless, greater problems would erupt. Many would abuse their powers for crime. Society would descend into lawlessness. This is, in truth, a matter of national security.”
“And what makes you so sure no beasts means Ability Users turn to crime?”
“You don’t understand now, but it’s inevitable. That’s human nature.”
The Director and the Bureau Chief sat rigid, unwilling to bend.
Tae-oh dragged a hand down his face, suppressing his frustration. He asked evenly,
“You think the World Peace Committee or other nations would just sit back if they found out?”
Again, their faces hardened.
The Director rubbed his hands together as he spoke.
“In the end, they’ll import our creations. The fools celebrating the decline in Gate frequency will eventually be overwhelmed with rogue Ability Users. Civilians will suffer more from them than from beasts. And then, they’ll come scrambling for solutions.”
“……”
“And when that time comes, we’ll sell our research at a high price. Nations everywhere will compete to obtain it. Just watch—our country will rise above the world because of my work.”
Pride radiated from the Director’s face, his arrogance plain even though he didn’t seem to realize it.
Tae-oh had heard enough. He rose to his feet.
“I think I’ve had enough of this lunacy.”
The Director panicked, fearing he would teleport away.
“We’ll make sure Guide Kang Chi-yu isn’t harmed at all—just let us extract his ability. I promise to return Test Subject 39 alive as well.”
Tae-oh’s expression turned hard as stone.
“You’re telling me Catdog’s role is to drain the healing power and then die?”
“It can be revived. There’s no need to worry about that…”
“You crazy bastards. This isn’t just a madhouse—it’s the capital of lunacy. Touch him once, and I’ll blow this entire Institute sky-high.”
With that, Tae-oh kicked the office door open and stormed out.
The moment he was gone, the Bureau Chief sprang up and grabbed the phone on his desk, dialing the direct line to his executives.
He ordered an S-rank Esper with invisibility to tail Hyun Tae-oh—under no circumstances to be detected, to locate Kang Chi-yu.
The Invisible Esper teleported to Tae-oh’s coordinates and began shadowing him. To prepare in case Tae-oh teleported again, the Bureau Chief arranged for live coordinate updates.
Confident that his threats had cowed the Bureau Chief, Tae-oh never sensed he was being followed. He teleported straight home.
The Invisible Esper followed, arriving with him.
As Tae-oh opened the door, Kang Chi-yu poked his head out, greeting him warmly.
The Invisible Esper confirmed Chi-yu’s face and instantly teleported back to the Bureau. It was the seasoned move of a veteran Esper.
Thus, Tae-oh had no idea he’d been followed home. He only worried the Bureau Chief might order another search, so he strengthened the Defensive Barrier around the house.
***
“Home?”
The Bureau Chief’s brow furrowed deeply.
“He’s really at Hyun Tae-oh’s house?”
He distinctly remembered the earlier report—Chi-yu hadn’t been there when they searched.
He had assumed Tae-oh was hiding him in Z-Zone. To find him hidden in such an obvious place made the Bureau Chief let out a low chuckle.
“So it really is the shadow under the lamp.”
Hanging up, the Bureau Chief turned to the Institute Director, his face dark with worry.
It looked like he would have to step in personally.
Enormous sums had already been funneled into the project—from high-ranking officials as well as the broadcasting station director. If they failed to extract Kang Chi-yu’s ability and fix the flaws in their creations, the financial losses would be devastating.
That would shake both the Bureau and the Institute to their foundations.
The Bureau Chief resolved to use his own power to persuade Kang Chi-yu.
“There’s no persuading Hyun Tae-oh.”
“……”
“For now, return to the Institute. I’ll handle Guide Kang Chi-yu myself.”
“Are you certain?”
“I’ll use my ability.”
He meant telepathy.
The Director nodded and rose.
The Bureau Chief then went to the Central Bureau Energy Vault and withdrew Kang Chi-yu’s energy sample.
The vault stored the energy of every Central Bureau Ability User, collected in case of national emergencies.
By linking his telepathic wavelength to the energy, the Bureau Chief could reach directly into a subject’s mind and communicate.
Of course, the subject could forcibly cut the connection, but in an emergency it was an extremely fast and effective command method. Every Bureau Chief before him had relied on this system, keeping all employees’ energy stored.
The Bureau Chief began linking his telepathic frequency to Kang Chi-yu’s energy, waiting for the moment Hyun Tae-oh wasn’t at his side.
