## Chapter 38 – The Whereabouts of Trickster Chaeryeong (2)
Inside the alley, more agents in black suits were visible.
Even compared to Si-yoon, who was quite well-built, these men were just as imposing, standing in perfect formation.
‘Everyone… they’re all huge.’
He stood next to the men, who were standing silently at attention.
Then, the man next to Si-yoon turned his head briefly, as if wondering what was going on.
“I heard some noise outside. What’s happening?”
The man with the thick jaw seemed to think Si-yoon was a fellow agent, and quietly asked him, leaning close to Si-yoon’s ear.
‘Phew… they don’t seem suspicious.’
The distance between the alley entrance, where the fight had taken place, and the back of the cafe was only about 10 meters.
Even if they heard something, it was a distance where it would be difficult to tell exactly what was happening.
“There was a slight scuffle with someone trying to get in here.”
“I see.”
When he answered the man in a low voice,
the man nodded without much suspicion and looked forward again.
‘If there had been smoke about 30 seconds ago… there would have been chaos.’
The men standing behind the cafe were just silently filling the alley,
waiting patiently as if waiting for prey.
It was clear that they were setting a tight trap to catch the ‘Trickster’.
– Tatatatㅡ!
The sound of hurried footsteps from the right door of the two doors that seemed to lead to the back entrance.
A butterfly was flying into the pitch-black trap of its own accord.
“Everyone standby. The target seems to be trying to come out through this exit.”
The agents rushed to the door where the sound was coming from, ready to grab her as she ran out, and waited with their arms open.
Si-yoon, who instinctively knew that the sound was Chaeryeong, also joined their ranks,
standing at the very front and waiting for her.
His goal was to make contact with ‘Trickster’ Chaeryeong’s body even once.
It was to fulfill the condition for activating his ability.
Even a brief touch would allow him to locate her if Chaeryeong was a teleporter,
and if she was a clone ability user, he would be able to confirm it through the system status.
‘Please… I hope the one coming now isn’t a clone.’
– Screechㅡ!
“Ugh… oh my?!”
A woman with a mature appearance burst out of the door.
Si-yoon and the other agents immediately rushed towards the woman and grabbed her arms.
“Let… let go of me…!”
The woman was quickly grabbed by the arms by Si-yoon and a man with an impressive beard.
‘Okay…! My hand touched her arm… is it a success?’
Long black hair, red eyes, and a very glamorous figure.
It was definitely the ‘Trickster’ Chaeryeong from the photo in the report.
“Quick, bring the restraining rope!”
“Yes!”
A man who stood out slightly more than the other agents came forward to the captured Chaeryeong,
took off his sunglasses, and gave instructions to the other agents.
“Don’t resist and just comply with our demands.”
“Tsk…!”
The man, who seemed to hold a high rank among the agents,
glared at Chaeryeong, telling her not to resist.
Then, Chaeryeong bit her lip tightly and stopped trying to shake off their arms,
quietly offering her arms and shoulders to the special restraining rope that another agent brought.
‘If I had been caught back then… would I have been tied up with a rope like that too?
I doubt they would have used something this special on a low-level combatant like me.’
Si-yoon stepped back behind the agents tying the rope and watched her being tied up,
briefly recalling the time he escaped from the hideout.
As he thought, the rope binding Chaeryeong was an expensive item made of a special material,
usually used to subdue high-ranking villains.
“Did you inform Ice Queen?”
“Yes. She’s on her way here now.”
‘Ice Queen…? Is that the girl who ran in with Dowa earlier?’
– Tatatatㅡ
The sound of someone running from the opposite side of the alley where Si-yoon had entered,
and soon Rumi and Dowa appeared among the agents.
“This way! Hero-nim!”
While the agents and Rumi were exchanging greetings,
Si-yoon quietly lowered his head and subtly activated the Corruption System’s display.
[ Welcome, Hashiyoon, owner of the 〈Corruption System〉. ]
[ Current imprint candidates nearby: Yoon Dowa / Yeon Jiwoo / Chaeryeong ]
[ Imprinted candidates in possession: Yeon Jiwoo (Stage 2 – 41%) / Chaeryeong (Stage 1 – 0%) ]
[ Slave Management: Yoon Dowa ]
The names of the three women were clearly displayed on the screen.
Yoon Dowa, Yeon Jiwoo, and Chaeryeong.
The fact that Chaeryeong’s name was on the system’s screen
was clear and definite proof that the imprint had been placed on her body.
‘Nice…!’
Confirming that the operation was successful, Si-yoon let out a sigh of relief,
and sent a text message to Dowa and Jiwoo informing them that the operation had been successful.
Then, he gently tapped the shoulder of the orange-haired woman who was standing awkwardly nearby.
“Huh…?”
Dowa turned her head to look back at the dull sensation on her shoulder.
‘Here… take a look at this phone.’
Si-yoon slightly lifted and lowered his sunglasses so that Dowa could recognize him,
and pointed at his phone, telling her to read the text message.
Dowa picked up her phone and checked the text message as he instructed.
She had a somewhat bewildered expression, but nodded and waited for the situation to end.
While Dowa and Si-yoon were having a brief, silent communication,
a transport vehicle arrived near the alley to transport Chaeryeong.
“Hehehehe….”
Chaeryeong, who was walking quietly towards the transport vehicle with the agents,
suddenly lowered her head and laughed at the agents.
“You only use such foolish and simple methods…
I can’t possibly be defeated by you, you know? Hehe.”
– Poofㅡ!
At the same time as the popping sound, a faint smoke rose from the spot where Chaeryeong had been,
leaving only the tightly bound knot of the special restraining rope in its place.
Chaeryeong had disappeared like smoke.
“Search the area quickly! She couldn’t have run far!”
“Catch her! Find her quickly!!”
The agents scattered around to find her in the unexpected situation.
‘Is it now?’
Si-yoon also pretended to look for Chaeryeong like the other agents and ran out of the alley.
“Catch her…! Quickly… she wouldn’t come this far.”
He shouted wildly and ran out into the street where the cafe was located,
and hid in the alley of another building slightly away from the cafe building.
“I just need to take off my jacket and sunglasses, right?”
He took off the black suit jacket and sunglasses worn by the Union agents,
and threw the earpiece somewhere in the alley.
“Ugh… how can people wear such thick clothes when the weather is so hot?
Those agents are really working hard.”
His appearance in a plain white shirt and dress pants was that of an ordinary office worker.
Simply taking off his jacket and sunglasses and rolling up his shirt sleeves made quite a difference in his impression.
“Now… I just need to tell Jiwoo to come out quietly.”
***
“So… that’s how it is! I succeeded in imprinting Chaeryeong.”
“That’s a relief. I thought it had failed when she suddenly disappeared.”
Dowa, who learned the details of the situation and the inside story of the successful operation message,
let out a sigh of relief.
“Jiwoo, you were the one who made those agents fall asleep, right?”
“Yes! I used to do it in spy games before.”
Jiwoo, with a proud look on her face, immediately materialized a gun with a sleep needle,
and shook it wildly in front of the two as if to show off.
“Uh oh! Don’t shoot!”
“Ah! I almost shot you and Master….”
The sleep needle gun in Jiwoo’s hand disappeared with a blue light,
and the two, who almost got injected and fell asleep like those agents, brushed their chests in relief.
“Anyway… we succeeded in imprinting,
and it seems like she’s not that far away since she’s still included in the list of commandable targets nearby.”
“If she’s a commandable target nearby… what’s the range?”
“Well, I don’t really know what the range is.”
Si-yoon, the owner of the Corruption System, didn’t really know exactly what the ‘nearby’ meant.
However, it doesn’t matter now what that ‘nearby’ means.
Because it means that Chaeryeong is within the range where he can give commands.
“We don’t have to go looking for her. I can just tell her to come here.
We can just wait here comfortably.”
[ Applying ability nullification to target: ‘Trickster’ Chaeryeong. ]
[ Applying body manipulation to target: ‘Trickster’ Chaeryeong. ]
“Now. Let’s wait for the beautiful executive of the Dark Knights to come.”
