Vol 6 Chapter 50

[ The wavelength coming from you has become incomparably gentler than before. I don't know if this is the common power of Skaga's servants, but someone I knew also had a very good personality. ]

It couldn't have been just Kapros's imagination that he heard longing in that voice.

"Superior..."

Though Superior didn't answer, Kapros felt he should say something but couldn't think of appropriate words. Consolation would be too cliché, and he didn't know anything that could refresh the mood...

While he was contemplating with his mouth shut, Superior suddenly laughed brightly and spoke.

[ Well, does this mean we'll be able to meet Lumi soon? I'm honestly quite looking forward to it. Hurry up and take me there diligently! ]

"Kar, why are you walking so fast! Let's walk together!"

At the same moment, Hyung's grumbling voice could be heard as he chased after them. Though one corner of his mind remained concerned, Kapros finally took his eyes off the staff at his waist and turned his head toward Hyung.

It was the beginning of another day heading toward the Elven Forest.

Mugeon came out of THE MIST's operator capsule with a long sigh. Having been called out while busy working because Yoon Seok-ho wanted to see him, he was in a very uncomfortable state of mind. Yoon Seok-ho, who used to often meet him by entering the game directly, had at some point changed his approach to calling only Mugeon offline to meet in person at the office.

It was now hard to tell whether his main job was being an operator or doing what Yoon Seok-ho ordered, especially since nothing good ever came from meeting Yoon Seok-ho.

'I should have been wary when he first approached me saying he was my middle school senior that I couldn't even remember. Regretting it now is pointless since it's already ruined...'

Oh, what has become of me. Mugeon's steps were heavy as he headed toward the Branch Manager's office on the upper floor while beating his chest.

"Why are you so late? I'm sure I told you to come quickly."

As soon as Mugeon opened the Branch Manager's office door, Yoon Seok-ho, oblivious to Mugeon's feelings, smiled as if ready to strip him to the bone just for being a few minutes late.

"Is it my imagination, or have you been getting slower and slower in coming lately?"

Does he really not know why? I want to ask if you'd walk lightly as a feather when called by a superior who works you to death without even giving overtime pay! Though Mugeon desperately wanted to say this, he just swallowed his indignation. The couple ring with Soyoung shining on his left ring finger gave him some strength. Mugeon bowed repeatedly in apology, considering this just the price of being a salary worker living in this dirty society.

"I'm sorry. As you know, operations management isn't the kind of work you can just leave immediately."

"Come more quickly next time. I might forget what I want to say at this rate."

Something surged up inside him again at that smooth-talking tone, but Mugeon desperately held back while looking at his couple ring. Fortunately, Yoon Seok-ho didn't bring up anything more about that.

"Do you remember the bait I spread that I mentioned before?"

At Yoon Seok-ho's unexpected topic, Nam Mugeon was momentarily confused.

"Bait...?"

"I told you before. About that one mudfish in our operations management team."

"Ah...!"

Only then did Mugeon realize he was talking about the spy within the operations management team. But the two-week deadline Yoon Seok-ho had given him to find the spy hadn't passed yet...?

"Is there some problem? Two weeks haven't passed yet. I haven't even properly questioned the team members."

"Actually, those activities are no longer necessary. That's why I called you today."

"What? Why?"

"I got one over on that bastard."

Though Yoon Seok-ho's tone was cheerful, the coldness in his eyes sent a chill down Mugeon's spine. Though he had observed and dealt with Yoon Seok-ho for about a year and a half, at times like this he was so creepy it was impossible to think he was the same person as the usually slick man.

"Pardon...?"

"It's exactly as I said. Take a look at this."

Yoon Seok-ho spun his chair toward the empty wall and pressed a button on a small remote. A hologram video appeared with a whirring sound from above and began playing black and white CCTV footage.

The time shown in white at the bottom was around 3 AM. The location was in front of the operations management team's main computer, familiar even to Mugeon's eyes. Around 3 AM was when most people in Saturn Korea Branch's operations room would be sprawled out in their capsules, and he would have been no different.

Taking advantage of exactly such a gap, a suspicious shadow boldly entered wearing a mask and knit cap covering their hair, and without even looking around, immediately booted up the main computer and started typing away. Though the operations management team's main computer was supposed to be inaccessible to anyone but the person in charge, unbelievably, after a few minutes the shadow had somehow managed to bypass all security measures and operate it normally.

After staring at the screen for a while reading the monitor, the shadow, apparently satisfied, inserted a CD into the main computer's tower, copied information onto it, and then succeeded in shutting down the computer with just a few more keystrokes. This was even more unbelievable since the computer couldn't be shut down so easily without being the computer administrator.

"Could... couldn't that person be the main computer administrator?"

As Mugeon muttered with wide eyes, unable to believe that someone who could so easily bypass all security measures wasn't the main computer administrator, Yoon Seok-ho shook his head.

"No. The build is too different. The possibility of an accomplice has already been ruled out as well."

"Then how could they possibly do that?"

As if hearing Mugeon's voice, the man in the footage, who had been leisurely putting the CD in his clothes and was about to step out of the CCTV's range, suddenly stopped. The man's final action as he slowly turned to face forward was to casually raise two fingers in a light salute.

That direction was exactly where the CCTV was located.

'How could someone be so brazen?'