* * *

“A good suggestion. This is a drug production factory, so we need to search it more thoroughly,” Hyeonyul said with certainty.

“They produce drugs here?” Sinu asked in surprise.

“Yes. This is the place,” Hyeonyul answered again.

The information Yujong had given him concerned trading partners. He had to dig through those leads to find the production sites. He had never expected to discover one like this. Wasn’t a production site precisely what they had to keep hidden at all times? It would hardly be surprising if he could work backward from here to find their trading partners.

‘I could slip them the materials Yujong gave me.’

Thinking he would watch for an opportunity, Hyeonyul walked forward without hesitation.

In a factory like this, the first things to check were, of course, electronic devices such as computers and tablets. Passing the fools standing motionless, Hyeonyul took the phones tucked inside their clothes. Normally, they would be unremarkable, but here in a production factory, they could make useful evidence.

“Are you taking their phones?” Nayun asked, approaching him.

It had been too fast to see clearly, but she had caught sight of something like black smoke darting out of Hyeonyul’s body.

“Yes. I thought we might need them.”

“I see a computer over there, too. I’ll take care of the phones, so start with that. You’re good with computers.”

“Thank you.”

Hyeonyul started to bow, but Nayun stopped him with her palm against his forehead.

“Don’t bow. Just say, ‘Thanks, sis.’ That’s all you need to do.”

“... Thanks, sis.”

“Right. Off you go. Do what you usually do.”

She didn’t know how Hyeonyul normally gathered information. It was better to leave it to him than try to coordinate everything with him now. This was for the Black Eagles, but it was also for Hyeonyul.

‘And Baek Sinu’s power is keeping things safe right now.’

Nayun kept her eyes on the motionless villains.

She thought Sinu’s power was closer to “summoning.” Naturally, anyone who suddenly found a sword pointed at their throat would be unable to move carelessly. And the swords Sinu summoned weren’t ordinary swords: they could even pierce a psychic’s barrier. Several people had apparently moved recklessly and died with blood streaming from their necks, which she thought made it all the harder for the others to move.

“Thanks, sis.”

Hyeonyul wondered what he ought to make of all this, then offered his thanks.

“You’re a quick learner. Very nice!”

Hyeonyul blinked at Nayun’s praise, then walked ahead. After a few long strides, he looked back and silently raised his thumb. Nayun burst out laughing.

‘... Was that wrong?’

Wondering what he had done wrong, Hyeonyul headed toward the computer.

Entering the room, he met the eyes of villains with swords at their throats. They were glaring at him. Without picking a fight or making a sarcastic remark, Hyeonyul approached the desk that seemed to belong to the highest-ranking person.

Even the chair was different, and the villain sitting in it looked prosperous. His face belonged to someone who slept well, ate well, and rested better than anyone else.

‘Is that why he reeks of drugs?’

The smell of blood mingled with the drugs, but the drug stench was strong enough to mask it. It was worst around his hands. That meant he had killed countless people with those hands.

Hyeonyul looked at the villain.

You wouldn’t.

That was exactly what the man’s look said.

If that’s what you want.

Hyeonyul kicked the chair away.

RRRRT!

The man’s eyes widened as the chair rolled away with that sound. The sword at his throat sliced his neck open. As blood streamed down, the sword vanished on its own, its target gone. Hyeonyul had thought so before, but its edge was far better than that of most swords.

“Ah, I should have explained sooner. If you speak, you die.”

At Hyeonyul’s kindly delivered lie, their already wavering eyes darted frantically, as though struck by an earthquake.

After studying their expressions, Hyeonyul placed his hands on the keyboard. He searched through the information piece by piece. A factory, like any other workplace, needed office staff. He suspected this was where they worked.

Once the room was filled with nothing but the sound of typing, Hyeonyul took out the materials Yujong had given him. He wanted to compare the trading-partner records. After turning through several pages, his hands paused.

‘Slightly less than half overlap.’

Hyeonyul put away Yujong’s trading-partner records. There was no longer any reason to deliberately leak them. The fact that slightly less than half the partners were listed here meant there were other production factories besides this one.

Put another way, however many trading partners there were in total, a single factory dealing with this many meant investigating this place alone would be enough. In the end, money could serve as another piece of evidence.

‘Once I catch the owner of this factory, the way forward will open up.’

Hyeonyul calmly examined the next set of files. The drugs mattered most. He needed to find out which drugs they produced and how they formulated them.

His eyes and hands moved quickly.

Transaction records.

Payroll management.

He dug deeper, excluding unrelated files. There were dummy files, too, since this was the most important information.

‘... Found it.’

Hyeonyul combined the pieces of data they had split up and carefully hidden. First, he transferred the drug records he wanted to examine separately to his phone. He copied the other materials, including the drug records, onto an external hard drive.

After copying everything, he released the data-wiping virus he had brought. It would infect the other PCs in an instant. How could he let them use this information again? Hyeonyul left without hesitation. Now he needed to find the actual drugs.

After a couple of steps, Hyeonyul turned his head to the right.

“Over here.”

Jihwan waved. When Hyeonyul approached, Jihwan cast magic.

“Is that magic?”

“Yes. Letting the enemy hear us won’t do us any good.”

Hyeonyul nodded in agreement. They were merely unable to move; they could still hear and see everything.

“Did you find what you were looking for?”

“I learned that this is a production factory with numerous trading partners. With that kind of volume, we can call it a key site.”

As he spoke, Hyeonyul also studied their expressions. He intended to kill anyone who could read lips.

“So you’re saying that if we raid this place, we can find out where the real target is?”

Jihwan asked calmly rather than celebrating too soon. There was no guarantee it would work out that way.

“There is probably a connection. But I cannot give you a definite answer yet.”

“That’s true. Still, I’m glad we won’t have to just turn around and leave. Going home empty-handed is the worst.”

Hyeonyul nodded. Wasn’t it an enormous waste of time to investigate diligently and end up with nothing? There were so many villains selling drugs that he had made virtually no progress on that front.

‘More importantly, why are they using this drug again?’

Was there any reason to go out of their way to use a drug that had been scrapped?

‘What are they after? Is it simply because the drug is so effective?’

It temporarily boosted the abilities of people who weren’t powerless, too, making it excellent for short-term use. But that was all. Why go to such lengths for a single use?

“Bro, there’s something I wanted to ask.”

“Yes?”

“I heard last time that this drug had been scrapped. Is that right?”

“That is correct.”

“If it was scrapped, that must mean it wasn’t efficient. So why are they using it? The fact that it isn’t in our data means it wasn’t used before and has only been used recently. The timing is so strange.”

“I would like to know that as well.”

“Then would you like to hear my theory?” Jihwan asked hesitantly.

“Go ahead.”

“I think they’re after you.”

“Why do you think that?”

There was plenty to consider. The only people who knew about that drug would be the bastards who had conducted the experiments back then and the test subjects. If they learned that he, a test subject, was still alive, they would inevitably try to get their hands on him. Others besides them had kept doing the same.

“Because I think a rumor has spread on their side that a test subject... is still alive.”

Jihwan was thinking along the same lines as him. They coveted him as a test subject and had thrown out bait. Judging by the circumstances alone, it was hard to reach any other conclusion.

“No such rumor has spread.”

But Hyeonyul corrected that information. At present, the Poison King was the only villain who knew whether he had been a success. All the others were dead.

“They might vaguely believe that a test subject is alive, but I think it is too early to assume they mean me. You know that test subjects can never succeed.”

“I know.”

There was simply one exception. Jihwan couldn’t look at Hyeonyul.

“They believe someone has broken that rule, so they are testing the waters. I think that is a more accurate description. I no longer live under that name.”

REX―3333.

The name he had been called countless times. Now he was Seo Hyeonyul. Now he was an adult. How could they recognize him?

“If they’re testing the waters because they don’t know, that is dangerous. They’ve suddenly started considering the possibility. Something on their side has given them a reason to.”

“That is how I see it.”

“Still, I won’t tell you to give up, Bro. You can use the Black Eagles as a shield. It’s perfectly natural for the Black Eagles to pursue villains. Who would suspect anything?”

“Yes. That is why I must keep pursuing them. If all these theories are correct, then at last, I...”

Hyeonyul stopped speaking and drew a breath. He hadn’t realized it while talking, but only now did he understand the situation unfolding before him.

“At last, I am heading in the right direction.”

He had struggled to find even the faintest trail, but now he had one. He could finally grasp the past that had eluded him no matter how tirelessly he searched. To think he had found it as a Black Eagle, not a villain.

“Have you been pursuing this for a long time?”

Jihwan looked at Hyeonyul. His expression was more peaceful than ever.

“A long time. Back then, I had less freedom of movement than I do now, so I could not move at this pace.”

Someone who saw only how he was now might ask what on earth he had been doing before. Fourteen years since he had met Jeongmin. More than ten years pursuing his past. He hadn’t been able to devote himself fully to the search throughout that long span.

A monster, not a human, had needed to make countless efforts to become human. Would anyone understand how long he had spent grinding away like a dog at the very bottom to become who he was now?

“I’m still going through rehabilitation myself. I don’t think that’s something to be ashamed of or hide.”

“It is not shame or anything like that. Other people do not know.”

There was an enormous difference between people who had been experimented on and those who hadn’t. The very fact that he was still unstable was a tremendous weakness for him. That was why he had to keep proving he was fine, that he could do it.

“You do not know either, Mr. Ye Jihwan,” Hyeonyul added.

When Jihwan’s steps slowed, Hyeonyul spoke again.

“I did not say that in the hope that you would understand. It is neither mockery nor sarcasm. I would like you to take it simply at face value.”

He had never once asked for understanding. He was simply stating a fact. He had no intention of seeking sympathy or airing his grievances.

“Maybe that’s why, but honestly, it makes me even happier.”

Jihwan said it with a smile, and a slight crease formed between Hyeonyul’s brows. He didn’t understand what Jihwan meant. Wouldn’t most people be offended?

“All that’s left now is for me to get to know you, Bro.”

“Why would you say that? What do you gain by knowing me?”

“No, that isn’t it. Honestly, I’m surprised myself. What I just said to you is something someone once said to me. Oh... so this is how it felt. That realization feels so new that it makes me happy.”

Jihwan tried to suppress the smile that kept returning, but the corners of his mouth tingled. He didn’t know how best to put it.

“My counselor told me that a connection is already forming from the moment someone says, ‘You don’t know me.’”

“Why?”

“They said that if someone’s heart were completely closed off, they wouldn’t even say that. You don’t suddenly tell a stranger, ‘You don’t know me,’ do you? They said that one act is a starting point. It sounded like a signal of some kind, so I guess those words slipped out without me realizing it.”

“... That is difficult.”

“It’s difficult for me, too. So, to put it simply, could you take it as, ‘I don’t know, so please tell me’? This really is hard to explain.”

“I will try.”

“Good. I’ll try, too,” Jihwan said spiritedly.

He had meant to offer a little comfort, but somehow it felt as though he had tied himself in countless knots. Still, if he had gotten his meaning across, that was enough. In that mood, Jihwan strode ahead.

But the silence lasted longer than expected. The factory was larger than he had thought, and their destination was far away. As the silence stretched on, he was wondering whether to say something when he realized he couldn’t hear anyone following him.

“Bro...?”

Jihwan turned his head. Hyeonyul was standing still.

“I hear something.”

It seemed to be coming from outside.

At Hyeonyul’s words, Jihwan opened his palm. Someone else was outside.

“Someone’s come in.”

“I will go.”

Leaving those words behind, Hyeonyul ran off in another direction. Though “ran” was hardly the word: he actually glided forward as smoothly as if he were riding a skateboard.

Jihwan glanced left and right, then ran forward.

“Bro! Wait for me!”

* * *

‘... Shit.’

Looking at the materials that had crashed to the ground, he clamped his mouth shut.

‘... I only meant to take a peek.’

Not long ago, he had confirmed that large numbers of people were gathering here. He had intended only to take a look inside without appearing suspicious, waiting outside as though he had come to do business.

As the man picked up the materials one by one, a thought crossed his mind.

‘There were swords at their throats. Did I see that wrong?’

“You are going to quite some trouble to peek inside.”

The sudden voice made the man freeze. He could see a blade beside his face. If he turned even slightly, it might cut him.

“What brings you here?” Hyeonyul asked quietly.

This man was not part of the faction in the factory. Even the scent clinging to his body was different.