## Chapter 78 – How to Track a Villain (1)
***
The sweltering summer had passed, and a refreshing autumn breeze had arrived.
With the end of summer, the sweet vacation given to Rumi also came to an end, and she returned to her hero duties with a changed body and mindset.
‘My weight hasn’t changed much… it just feels like my bust and hip size got a bit bigger.’
Thanks to evolving one step further as Siyoon’s female, her body had become more voluptuous in various places, but fortunately, it seemed there were no major issues with wearing her hero uniform.
“Greetings.”
Rumi stood before a middle-aged man with a handsome beard and neatly combed-back white hair.
“Oh… you arrived right on time.”
Yoon, the department head, had been watching Rumi since she first became a hero. He was her direct superior and one of the executives in the Hero Alliance’s operations command.
He was often referred to as “Black Eyes” for commanding numerous secret operations of the Alliance.
“Did you have a good vacation? Ms. Rumi.”
He greeted Rumi, who was saluting with a rigid posture like a machine, with a fatherly smile, asking if she had rested well.
“I’ve told you several times not to call me by my first name.”
“Haha! Even after enjoying a vacation, that stiff attitude of yours is still the same.”
He chuckled, seemingly pleased by Rumi’s unchanging cold demeanor.
“I’m sorry to give you a mission as soon as you return… but there’s something I’d like you to take on.”
“You don’t need to apologize. It’s my job.”
“Right. It’s about that villain you subdued a while ago. Do you remember?”
‘How could I forget? He’s the one who brought Siyoon and me together.’
The executive villain of the Dark Knights, Executioner.
For Rumi, he was one of the powerful villains who had pushed her to the brink of death, and also a strange benefactor who had somehow connected her with Siyoon.
“Yes, I remember.”
“He woke up yesterday.
The ice you froze him in slowly melted.”
Rumi’s ability, “Freezing,” would cause the ice to melt depending on the temperature, like normal ice, unless she concentrated her power on the frozen target.
The ice that froze Executioner, who could be considered a giant, was quite massive, so it seemed to have taken nearly ten days or more to melt.
“The other interrogation specialists are too scared.
I’d like you to interrogate him yourself. What do you think?”
When the Hero Alliance captures villains, they generally investigate numerous things, starting from the villain’s motives, detailed information about their abilities, and illegal activities committed as a villain.
If they could interrogate a high-profile villain like Executioner, they could obtain valuable information, which would allow them to learn about Kaiser, the leader of the Dark Knights, and other executive-level villains.
However, it seemed that not only the Alliance employees in charge of interrogation, but even some heroes whom Director Yoon had asked, were too afraid and gave up on the interrogation.
“If you entrust it to me, I can certainly do it.”
“Yes. I thought you would say that.”
Director Yoon opened his desk drawer and rummaged through it, then handed her a black card with the Hero Alliance’s symbol on it.
“You’ll need this card to enter the villain detention facility.
It’s not issued to heroes or general staff, only to executives.”
“Can I really enter the detention facility with this?”
“You can present it along with your Alliance ID.
I’ve already informed the detention facility that I’m sending you, so there shouldn’t be any problems.”
Rumi received the executive-only access card and put it in the inside pocket of her uniform, where her Alliance ID was.
“Is there anything else you need to tell me?”
“The other remnants are still being pursued.
We’re closely tracking the guy who uses chains and the bomber villain…
But we can’t even get a grasp on the other two.”
Crazy Chain, who had completely turned the hero “Punch Lady” into a corpse, and Firecracker, who used explosive abilities, were being closely pursued.
However, they didn’t even know the whereabouts of Kaiser and Trickster.
“I understand. Then I’ll take my leave first.”
“Ah! Just a moment.”
“Yes? What is it?”
Just as she bowed to Director Yoon and was about to leave the office, he called out to Rumi and stopped her.
“Have you… been having good things happen to you lately?”
“Yes? What do you mean?”
“No… it’s just that your expression seems a bit brighter than before.”
He looked closely at Rumi’s face and said that something seemed different, asking if something good had happened.
“Perhaps… did you meet someone while on vacation? Huh?
When you get to my age… you can see those things.”
“Nothing like that happened.”
However, Rumi gave an even colder and more frigid expression, cutting off Director Yoon’s prediction in one stroke.
“Tsk… how cold…!
Well… that’s what makes you our Hero Ice Queen. Haha!”
However, Director Yoon was used to Rumi’s cold reaction to his trivial jokes.
“I’ll take my leave now.”
“Alright! Report immediately if any problems arise.”
***
As soon as Rumi left Director Yoon’s office, she used the Alliance’s special transport vehicle to arrive at the detention facility to resolve the interrogation of Executioner that he had requested.
‘This is my first time coming here. I’ve only ever subdued villains…’
During her time as a hero, she had subdued nearly hundreds of villains, but it was her first time visiting a detention facility to do things like interrogation.
As she stood in front of the large gate that read “Heinous Villain Detention Facility,” a security team with heavy armament and firearms rushed towards her.
“What business do you have here?”
“I’m here for the villain interrogation.”
Rumi took out the executive-only access card and her Alliance ID from the inside pocket of her uniform and handed them to the security guard who was wary of her.
“Ah! You’re the hero Director Yoon mentioned. This way.”
The security guard recognized Rumi after seeing the access card and Alliance ID, lowered his gun, and guided her into the detention facility.
‘Everything is… gray walls.’
The interior of the detention facility was entirely covered with specially treated gray walls and iron bars with high-voltage electricity flowing through them, and especially the area where heinous villains were detained had multiple armed security guards stationed.
“Here it is. Villain Executioner. Real name is Park Gyu-han.”
After passing through several thick iron doors that didn’t even show the outside, she stood in front of the door with the villain Executioner’s real name, “Park Gyu-han,” and his inmate number written on it.
“When you go inside, there’s a layer of transparent partition made of special material.
You can speak against that wall and your voice will be fully transmitted to him, so feel free to interrogate him.”
“I understand.”
The security guard moved the specially designed locking device back and forth, and with a ding, the locking device was released and a very thick iron door opened.
“Hey! A hero has come to interrogate you!”
Executioner, who was lying on the narrow floor, blocked by a sturdy and thick transparent wall like a cage in a zoo or an aquarium, raised his head.
“Another annoying guy has come.”
“We’ll open the door and come in exactly 30 minutes.
You can interrogate him until then. Then I’ll be on my way.”
The security guard set up a simple chair for her to sit on, took off his hat, greeted Rumi, and closed the door.
“I have no intention of answering any questions. Go back.”
Executioner turned his body towards the wall, seemingly annoyed after seeing Rumi’s face.
“It’s been a while. I remember meeting you at the rest stop back then.”
“Rest stop…?”
Executioner turned his body back as if something came to mind at the word “rest stop,” and stared at Rumi’s face with narrowed eyes.
“Is that the bitch? Who attacked me.”
“I’m here today to interrogate you.
I hope you will answer my questions as sincerely as possible from now on.”
“There’s no need to waste your efforts. I have nothing to say anyway.”
“Nothing will change just because you take such a stubborn attitude.
Your colleagues will all be subdued soon anyway.”
– Thud!
Executioner frowned as if angered by Rumi’s continued attempts at interrogation, then swung his long, seaweed-like hair and slammed his head against the transparent wall.
‘He’s really uncooperative… what should I do?’
The other interrogation specialists and heroes seemed to have been intimidated by his attitude and actions, but Rumi was more concerned with how to continue the interrogation rather than being intimidated.
“I don’t know anything. I don’t know where the other guys went…
I don’t know where the leader is either.
So why… why do you keep bothering me?”
“This is our job and duty.
You are a heinous villain who has committed organized crime among villains.”
“I thought you were a pretty decent bitch…
But in the end, you’re no different from the other hounds of the Alliance.”
Executioner complimented Rumi’s skills, but said something that seemed disappointed, and then turned his body back and lay down while looking at the wall.
