Chapter 1363 – 1363. God’S Atlantis
First, I headed to the dressing room with Samara. It was to secure evidence.
When I entered the dressing room, the atmosphere was tense.
Elena was sitting on a chair, frowning as she sipped her iced Americano, while Yuria was quietly lost in thought. Miryeong was staring at the three cameras on the desk with a stiff face, and Joo Seo-hyun was radiating a murderous aura as if she were about to draw a sword and swing it. Of course, she didn’t have a sword.
“Are these the cameras?”
I approached the desk. Three identical cameras were placed there. They were about the size of a thumb. It seemed they were designed to store footage rather than transmit it in real-time.
“Yes. We found them cleverly hidden in the ceiling, walls, and clothing racks. We searched separately, but there are no others besides these three.”
Yuria said.
Just in case, I asked them.
“No one was filmed while changing, right?”
“Yuria found them as soon as she arrived. I’ve heard that the entertainment industry in District 6,700 is dirty… but I never thought we’d be at risk of being filmed by hidden cameras before even debuting. This is no joke.”
Elena clicked her tongue.
I glared at the cameras and used hacking.
[Hacking successful.]
[You can hack the cameras for 50 minutes.]
The footage captured by the cameras flashed through my mind.
The cameras had been installed in the morning, and the person who installed them was cleverly not captured.
Samara, standing next to me, voiced her opinion with anger.
“PD-nim, this is not a minor issue. We need to call the police immediately and catch the culprit!”
“Calm down, Samara. The police don’t solve everything. And if we call the police, this will inevitably become public. A hidden camera issue before even debuting. How do you think the reporters will use this?”
Reporters.
Hearing that, Samara immediately frowned.
Most of the reporters in this world were trash. They would write malicious articles if they didn’t like something, and they would even directly threaten entertainment companies for money using their stories.
“…Are we just going to bury this and move on?”
“Of course not. My women… no, the POBITS almost got filmed by hidden cameras, do you think I’m crazy enough to just let it go? My intention is to resolve this quietly without making it public.”
I picked up the cameras.
“Samara, search the dressing room thoroughly to see if there are any other cameras. And for the outfits… let’s change in the car. This place feels too unsettling to change in. You all feel the same, right?”
“Yes. There are no cameras, but it feels unsettling. The only person who should see my body is… one person. Please catch the culprit, Producer-nim.”
“This world is full of trash…”
Those were Miryeong and Joo Seo-hyun’s words. I left the matter of the outfits to Samara and immediately went to find Director Jackson.
“PD-nim, what’s wrong? Your face looks very stiff. Haha, you look like a murderer.”
Jackson, sitting in the director’s chair, laughed. He seemed to be in a good mood since receiving the envelope of money.
I glanced around. The other staff members were busy preparing for the shoot. I approached Director Jackson. I took out a small knife from my pocket and held it to Jackson’s neck, speaking with murderous intent.
“Director, let’s talk, just the two of us.”
“……”
Jackson’s face completely stiffened. He glared at me as if he wanted to kill me.
“…If you thought I would yield to such threats… you’re greatly mistaken. I, Jackson, have almost lost my hand in a gambling den…”
*Thud.*
The blade of the small knife pierced Jackson’s neck. Not all the way through. I avoided the carotid artery. It was a precise spot that wouldn’t actually cause a life-threatening issue. Instead, the sensation of the cold blade entering his neck was intensely felt.
“Let’s talk, you bastard. Or do you want to die here?”
Jackson, who had turned pale, couldn’t even nod properly and said in a trembling voice.
“Y-yes, I understand. I’ll talk. Please, spare me… I’ll even give back the money I received…”
“Let’s go to the restroom. Act natural.”
I took Jackson into the public restroom. I locked the restroom door and immediately kicked Jackson. Jackson, kicked in the abdomen, rolled across the restroom floor.
“Ugh…!”
“You bastard, where are you acting up? This hasn’t even started yet.”
I stepped on Jackson. I stepped on his head, broke his arms and legs. Kicking his abdomen was a given.
“Why, why are you doing this… Please, spare me… Hngh…”
Jackson curled up like a pill bug, tears streaming down his face. I grabbed Jackson’s right hand. *Crack, crack.* I broke his fingers one by one.
“Aaaaaaaah!”
All five fingers on his right hand were mangled.
“Ha, you still have that wronged look on your face? You stubborn bastard. Do I really have to cut off your fingers for you to admit your mistake?”
“I, I didn’t do anything. I’ll give back the money I received!”
Jackson said in a desperate tone. Blood was streaming from his collapsed nose, and broken teeth were visible in his open mouth. At this point, he should have confessed his sins…
‘……Is Jackson not the culprit?’
Suddenly, I remembered that Jackson wasn’t captured in the hidden camera footage. Perhaps Jackson wasn’t the one who installed the hidden cameras.
‘Even so, that doesn’t absolve this bastard of responsibility. How can a director not manage things properly?’
I was angry, so I hit Jackson in the head. Jackson trembled, making a choking sound. After beating Jackson to the brink of death, I took out a potion and poured it on Jackson’s body. Minor injuries disappeared, and the broken fingers returned to normal.
Despite kindly restoring his body, Jackson couldn’t get up. I grabbed his shoulder and forced him to stand.
“Aaaaaaah! My shoulder…!”
“Don’t act up. You still don’t know what you did?”
“I, I didn’t do anything!”
“You installed hidden cameras in our girls’ dressing room. Not just one, but three.”
“Wh, what are you talking about…”
Jackson’s eyes widened. He looked like he had no idea.
“You didn’t install them?”
“No! Why would I install cameras! My career would be ruined if I got caught…!”
“You need money because of your gambling debts.”
“It’s not that much debt! I can pay it off if I work for a few months! Even if I look like this, I’m a well-known music video director in the industry! Why would I commit a dangerous crime like installing hidden cameras!”
Now that I heard it, it was true.
“Still, it’s a fact that there were hidden cameras installed in the dressing room. Managing the site is your responsibility. So you have to take responsibility.”
“Re, responsibility?”
I smiled coldly and held the knife to his neck.
“Do I look like I’m joking?”
“I, I really didn’t install them. Please, spare me. Please…!”
“If it wasn’t you, who did it? Is there anyone suspicious among the staff?”
“Yes! The dressing room is installed and managed by Robert AD! Robert AD also knows how to handle cameras!”
“It could be another staff member.”
“Robert AD is almost the only staff member who can freely enter the dressing room without being noticed! And Robert AD has a motive!”
“What’s the motive?”
“I heard him say at a drinking party that he invested all the money he had saved in stocks. Those stocks… crashed recently.”
“So that bastard needs money just like you.”
“I, I’m not as destitute as Robert AD!”
“Shut up and call that bastard here. If you try anything… you know?”
“Yes. Yes. I’ll call him.”
Jackson took out his smartphone from his pocket. With trembling hands, he touched the smartphone and connected the call.
-Director Jackson? Where are you? The on-site directing is almost finished. We can start filming as soon as you and the actors come out.
“O-oh, Robert. I’m in the restroom right now…”
Jackson kept looking back at me. I mimed slitting his throat with the knife. Jackson swallowed and continued.
“There’s no tissue here. Can, can you bring some?”
-Ah… I’ll send the youngest.
“No, you come yourself.”
-Me, personally?
“Damn it. Don’t make the youngest do it, it’s embarrassing. Are you trying to undermine my authority by making the youngest do it? You come to the restroom alone, without anyone knowing! Damn it!”
-Ah, yes. I’ll be right there.
Jackson hung up the phone and looked at me.
“He’s quick, so he’ll be here soon.”
“You didn’t just curse at me, did you?”
“Absolutely not! I usually curse a lot… I thought Robert would be suspicious if I didn’t curse.”
“……”
I looked at Jackson with suspicious eyes, but I didn’t do anything in particular.
Less than three minutes later, someone knocked on the public restroom door.
“Director! It’s Robert!”
I pointed to the corner with my finger. Jackson quickly understood. He quietly went to the corner and crouched down.
As soon as I opened the restroom door, I grabbed Robert by the neck, pulled him inside, and threw him to the floor. I locked the door again and beat Robert with all my might.
“Kaaaaaak!”
After beating Robert like a madman for a while, I asked him with murderous intent.
“Was it you?”
“Wh, what are you talking about?! D-Director! Help me! That crazy bastard…!”
Robert, spitting blood, asked Jackson for help. Jackson, who had been cowering in the corner, shouted as if having a seizure as soon as he met my gaze.
“It, it was you! You bastard! You installed hidden cameras in the dressing room!”
“Hidden cameras?! N-no! Why would I do such a thing?!”
“If it wasn’t you, there’s no one else who would do it!”
“N-no, I didn’t!”
I had a feeling.
Robert was probably the hidden camera culprit.
‘Even if it’s not this guy, it doesn’t matter. I’ll just take down all the staff members one by one.’
The dressing room was restricted to authorized personnel, so the culprit must be among the staff. If I checked their belongings, I might find evidence related to the hidden cameras.
I grabbed Robert’s head with one hand.
“You still don’t understand the situation? You’re a dead man now. Ah, of course, I won’t just kill you. You did something cheeky… so you have to pay the price.”
*Zap.*
I unleashed lightning.
The current spread through his body from the top of his head. It was electric torture. If I made a mistake, he could die… but I’ve done this many times. I know instinctively how much the other person can endure.
*Zzzzzap!*
The current flowed. He couldn’t even scream properly. Electrocution is said to feel like your whole body is being torn apart.
I smelled burning flesh.
I took my hand off his body. If I continued, I might kill him, so I was giving him a break.
“I’ll give you a 30-second break.”
“Ugh, ugh… I’m sorry… I won’t do it again… Please spare me… please…”
“You bastard. You confessed right away after only a few minutes?”
I took out a potion.
Trying to film my women’s naked bodies with hidden cameras… It was an act that could never be forgiven.
