Chapter 141. Whistleblower (2)
As Eun-Ho turned the corner at the end of the hallway, a heavy steel door came into view.
The woman in a formal dress adjusted her round glasses. “This way, please.”
Clang—
The large metal door creaked open, revealing a small reception room that seemed far cozier than one would expect after the long, dim corridor. Certainly not what one would imagine when thinking of an interrogation room.
“What is this place?” Eun-Ho asked.
“Ah, this is our team office,” the woman replied.
“The Special Investigation Control Team, you mean?”
The room appeared less like an office and more like a workshop or a private studio. A large round table stood at the center, with a tea table and a sofa that resembled a lounge chair in the corner. Potted plants with vivid green leaves were scattered around the room.
“I’ll explain everything. Why don’t you take a seat first?”
Eun-Ho nodded and took a seat at the round table. The woman sat across from him.
Immediately after sitting down, Eun-Ho asked politely, “Would you happen to have anything to drink? My throat’s a bit dry.”
“Hmm, I’m afraid I don’t have much to offer. We don’t get visitors often.”
“Anything’s fine.”
The woman rose from her seat and turned around to search for something. While her back was turned, Eun-Ho murmured softly, careful not to be heard, “Third Eye.”
Unfortunately, it failed again, just like when he’d tried it on the manager.
[Skill activation has failed.]
[The rank difference is too high.]
...
Ding. Ding. Ding.
Even a failed attempt revealed more than enough information.
Interesting trick you’ve got there.
Eun-Ho decided he could play along for a bit.
“The team seems to have a good atmosphere,” he remarked casually.
“Oh? You think so?”
“But it seems like you do a lot of fieldwork. I don’t see many desks around.”
“That’s right, we’re out and about most of the time,” she said with a nod. Then, she set a small bottle down on the table. “Here. This is all I’ve got.”
[Warm Honey Water]
- A drink made by mixing warm water with honey in a 1:10 ratio.
- When consumed, it increases maximum Stamina by one percent and enhances recovery speed by five percent for thirty minutes.
It was a high-quality drink, complete with buff effects. He hadn’t actually been that thirsty, but since it was offered, he might as well drink it.
[You have consumed the Warm Honey Water.]
[Your maximum Stamina has increased by one percent.]
[Your recovery speed has been enhanced by five percent.]
[Remaining duration: 29 minutes 59 seconds.]
As those messages scrolled past in his mind, Eun-Ho emptied the bottle in a few gulps. Meanwhile, the woman turned to Yul. “Let’s take a short break, Little Ninja.”
“Whaaa... But I wanna play with Uncle...”
The woman smiled gently and stroked Yul’s hair. “I’ll finish quickly, okay? Then you can play.”
“Uuum... Okay!” The child leaned into her touch, as if she was used to it. Clearly, this wasn’t their first meeting.
Fwoosh!
Then, a fine shimmer of light flowed from the woman’s palm. A soft green glow surrounded Yul, wrapping her in warmth until her eyelids drooped. She curled up deep into the cushioned chair, fast asleep.
“Mmm...”
Huh? “Little Ninja”?
Eun-Ho’s eyes narrowed slightly. She knew about him and about Yul’s abilities, too. There was only one person who came to mind.
“... You were an observer, weren’t you?”
[The Brain from the Bureau of Investigation grins, saying that betting on you wasn’t an underdog move but it was the obvious choice.]
[They add that they are glad the little ninja made it out alive.]
During the survivor pool, she had bet on Yul’s survival instead of Eun-Ho’s and earned a mountain of points for it.
The woman’s expression didn’t falter in the slightest. “Wow, sharp as ever, aren’t you?”
Her tone was one of amused admiration, as if reading lines from a book.
Besides, she somewhat revealed herself earlier.
“You look even better in person than on the screen.”
Are you seriously pretending to be surprised after revealing it yourself?
“Well, let me introduce myself properly. My name is Ye-Ra, and I’m the head of the Special Investigation Control Team.”
Eun-Ho frowned and asked, “And also the Brain from the Bureau of Investigation, right?”
The teasing remark drew a small, yet genuine laugh from her.
So she’s the team leader, he thought.
Eun-Ho hadn’t imagined the people who spent their days peering into Eyes would hold any real authority. He had assumed they were idlers with too much free time, but clearly, that wasn’t the case.
“Why did you bring me here?” he asked.
That was what mattered. There had to be a reason she had revealed herself and gone out of her way to bring him here.
Ye-Ra answered with something completely different, “I know you killed Assistant Manager, Cheong Jeong. And you took his keepsake, didn’t you? That’s what all the chaos is about, no?”
With that statement, she had folded one question neatly into another.
Eun-Ho met her eyes and replied calmly, “I’m not sure what you’re talking about.”
“The manager of Division Nine already testified against you. He said you murdered Cheong Jeong, stole his relics, and tried to sell it. Apparently, you’ve got powerful connections backing you.”
The accusation was absurd.
I have connections? That’s ridiculous, Eun-Ho thought.
“... How can a rookie who’s only been here for two days do such a thing?” Eun-Ho asked incredulously.
Ye-Ra simply shrugged. “Whether it’s true or not doesn’t matter. I brought you here to help.”
“To help?” Eun-Ho repeated. “In what way?”
“I’ll take down the manager and division chief above him. I’ll also make sure neither of them ever dares to cling to you again.”
It was an outrageous promise, delivered in a calm, measured tone.
Therefore, he asked, narrowing his eyes, “Why are you trying to help me?”
In a world like this, there was no such thing as kindness without a price.
Ye-Ra placed a hand over her heart, as though confessing a heartfelt truth. “Well... Because I’m your fan?”
Eun-Ho gave a faint, skeptical smile. “Is that pure goodwill? No strings attached?”
He had to be sure, especially with people like her, who never revealed all their cards at once.
The playful expression vanished from Ye-Ra’s face, replaced by a steady seriousness. “Ah, yep, that’s the Eun-Ho I know. Straight to the point, as always.”
“We’re both busy people,” he said.
“True enough.”
Clearly, she did have something to ask for, so he waited in silence. After a pause, Ye-Ra folded her arms and finally said, “I want you to promise me something.”
“What kind of promise?”
She didn’t hesitate this time. “Use your Department Selection Ticket on us.”
The Department Selection Ticket was an award given to the top new recruit that allowed him to choose any department he wanted.
[Department Selection Ticket (Single Use)]
- Write the name of the department you wish to join and submit it. Then, you will be assigned accordingly.
“In other words, join my team,” Ye-Ra clarified.
“Why do you want me?” he asked.
Ye-Ra adjusted her round glasses with a sly smile, eyes glinting behind the lenses. “Hmm...”
He waited, expecting a real answer.
“Because you’re handsome?” she said instead, half-grinning.
“I guess the company really is short on good-looking people, huh.”
“Oh, there are plenty. You’d still rank near the top, though. Be proud of that!”
“Ah, thanks,” he replied dryly.
She wasn’t going to give him a straight answer, that much was clear.
“Anyway, the important part is that we want you. And we can help you. Just keep that in mind,” Ye-Ra said.
Eun-Ho stared at her for a long moment, then said, “I refuse.”
Ye-Ra’s eyebrows twitched. “Do you need an explanation? I can’t share everything right now, but if you join our department, you’ll learn it al—”
“No, that’s not it,” Eun-Ho replied.
He had the strong impression she was hiding something, but that alone wasn’t the reason. Whatever the cause, there had to be circumstances that forced secrecy. What mattered to him was something else.
“I haven’t even looked around the other departments yet. I want to keep all my options open,” he said.
OJT trials had only just begun. To some people, OJT could be a perfunctory nuisance, but that wasn’t the case for him.
It was, after all, a lawful way to observe each department from the inside. Maybe other divisions would offer opportunities to lay the groundwork for his goal, just as this one had. He didn’t intend to be trapped from the outset.
“Hmm, so that means you’re planning to handle this on your own. Aren’t you a little overconfident?” Ye-Ra asked.
Still, he couldn’t simply throw away a good offer.
“No.” he stared steadily at the eyes hidden behind her glasses. “Since we’ve met, I’d appreciate it if you could help.”
“What?”
“I want to take down the Division Nine Manager and the Division Chief. If necessary, I want to pull in whoever’s above them and get them all at once,” he explained.
He had filed accusations naming three people: Cheong Jeong, the manager, and the division chief. However, only the manager was under investigation at the moment. The division chief had vanished without a trace. He was probably using whatever power he had to silence things. Of course, if he could reveal the buried tale in Cho Bok’s report, dragging the division chief out would be easy.
But I don’t want to use all my cards just yet.
“Man...”
“If you help me, I will pay you back,” he said.
She snorted. “That’s a bit brazen, isn’t it? It’s typical of you, though.”
“Would it work?”
“Do you think it would?”
“Ah... I see...”
“If I were you, I’d accept the reality here.”
Her reaction was predictable; the gray area between acceptance and refusal wasn’t something she could prearrange.
“Then...” Eun-Ho turned and looked at the bare wall. “May I ask the person behind you?”
Ye-Ra flinched, protesting belatedly, “... What nonsense is that?”
However, it was too late. The small silence she’d created had functioned as a tacit agreement. Besides, he had seen it himself. The messages that appeared on what appeared to be a white wall through his Third Eye proved others were here too.
[Skill activation has failed.]
[The rank difference is too high.]
“Is it really impossible?” he asked softly, voice threaded with certainty.
Ye-Ra fell silent and the unfamiliar voice behind her answered, tinged with admiration, “... Not bad.”
Ziiing—
The white wall began to ripple, blurring as if melting away. Its opacity wavered, going from being transparent one moment, then opaque the next, until glimpses of something beyond flickered into view.
A faint breeze slipped through the seams, carrying with it the scent of fresh air and glittering specks of light.
Fwooosh—!
Beyond the dissolving wall spread a lush, verdant scene. There were tree stumps and vines trailing up to the ceiling. A riot of colorful plants bloomed in every direction, with a small pond as well as butterflies drifting lazily through the air. The image stuttered several times like a broken screen, then the wall vanished entirely.
Whoooosh!
The air barrier that had dammed up behind it burst forth in a rush, flooding the room. The air beyond shimmered with pale green motes of light and the scent of fresh grass.
Seated atop a tree stump, was the owner of the unfamiliar voice, their legs crossed. “How did you know?”
The voice and the figure were unmistakably young, appearing to be sixteen, perhaps seventeen at most. His skin was pale as porcelain, and his limbs slender to the point of fragility, making him look even younger than he probably was.
“Hm? I asked how you knew. Not that I did my best to hide myself,” the sickly-looking boy said in an oddly archaic tone, one that didn’t suit his frail frame at all.
“I thought something was off,” Eun-Ho replied, calmly taking in both the boy and the strange, green world around him. “When we turned at the end of the corridor and entered this room, it seemed too small. The wall behind you left too much unaccounted space. The opposite side was clearly solid, so this side had to hide something.”
“What? You remembered that much?”
“Judging by the length of the hallway, there should’ve been at least another fifty meters of space back there,” Eun-Ho explained. “That alone suggested a hidden area.”
The boy exhaled like an old man sighing in admiration. “Whew...”
Of course, Eun-Ho knew the real proof had come from his Third Eye, but there was no reason to reveal that.
“So what now? The more I see, the more I want you,” the boy murmured.
“Ah, I’m flattered,” Eun-Ho said politely.
“And yet you still refuse to join us, which makes it all the more irritating.”
“Then perhaps you should help me,” Eun-Ho suggested. “Consider it building a connection.”
Both Ye-Ra and the boy chuckled quietly at that.
The boy brushed a hand through his ashen-gray hair, curiosity glinting in his eyes. “You’re indeed quite the remarkable one, aren’t you?”
Noticing that, Eun-Ho bowed his head slightly and said, “I’ll look forward to a positive answer.”
The boy smirked, amused. “Very well. I’ll give it due consideration. For now, you should get going.”
“Understood.”
“Ye-Ra, see him out.”
“Yes, sir.”
The brief conversation had ended and as Eun-Ho turned to leave, he paused, offering a final remark.
“Next time,” he said quietly, “let’s have the others join the conversation as well.”
[Skill activation has failed.]
[The rank difference is too high.]
[Skill activation has failed.]
[The rank difference is too high.]
[Skill activation has failed.]
[The rank difference is too high.]
...
He had seen the messages himself. Though those hidden presences never once revealed their forms, he knew they were there, listening in silence from beyond the veil.
***
It was 4:30 PM and Eun-Ho had returned to the dormitory early. Yul had woken up from her long nap, bright-eyed and buzzing with energy.
[You have entered the Eastern Rest.]
After dropping off the girl, he returned and got straight to work.
[You have connected to the internal network.]
[Welcome! Please check the bulletin board!]
He was testing the privileges he’d earned after completing his training, seeing how far his new access extended, and where the system’s invisible boundaries lay.
Suddenly, something unexpected caught his eyes.
Hm?
[Breaking News] Division Chief of Investigation and Analysis Taken for Audit!
└All the managers are also being questioned. The Investigation Bureau’s in total chaos right now. Apparently, a group complaint was filed to the Audit Bureau. Does anyone know the details?
My story’s already on here?
└The complaints were everywhere in front of the Audit Bureau office, so everyone’s seen it.
└So what were they about?
└ It’s confidential, but rumor is there’s been so much corruption, a mere disciplinary action won’t cut it.
└ You think he’ll get fired? It won’t be that bad though, right?
└ At minimum, forced reassignment. Worst case, termination.
└ Damn. That serious?
...
The anonymous company board was flooded with posts about Division Nine’s Manager and Division Chief, as well as the group complaint.
At least forced transfer and possibly dismissal... I guess the audit’s doing its job.
Fortunately, his name wasn’t mentioned anywhere. Things seemed to be moving in his favor.
Then, the system chimed again.
[Day two of Project OJT has officially ended.]
[OJT at Division Nine of the Investigation Bureau’s Investigation and Analysis Department has ended.]
[Displaying evaluation results...]
His mentor probably would’ve been the one to handle his evaluation. However, with Cheong Jeong dying, it was almost certain that his manager had filled it out from start to finish.
“You do realize I’m the one grading your OJT evaluation, right? If you’re lying, it won’t end well for you. I’ll tank your attitude score and your work assessment. Straight to the bottom.”
Moreover, the manager had used that threat in real life, hence Eun-Ho knew what to expect. Well, he’d started this knowing the consequences, so he thought he could handle it.
[Your first OJT grade is F.]
[Trial Performance - A]
[Attitude - FF]
[Job Suitability - FF]
[Overall Evaluation - F]
“Huh?”
He had expected a bad score, but this was over the top.
Double F? What is this, dual-wielding incompetence? he thought wryly.
[You have earned a point.]
It was his first-ever F. He was rewarded with only a single point as reward, and not even a Welfare Point bonus.
That bastard really went all in on revenge.
He couldn’t say the loss didn’t sting, but it also wasn’t surprising. After killing Cheong Jeong and seizing all those items, a decent evaluation had been off the table from the start. Still, he’d earned plenty of rewards from yesterday’s trial, and with the information advantage he’d soon gain from Cho Bok’s report, the trade-off was worth it.
Ding!
At least, that’s what he thought until another alert appeared.
[You have received an unfair penalty due to a Corrupt Ruler.]
[Your title, Order Opposer, has been activated.]
[Resistance stat has been increased(+50).]
Even the system seemed to think he had been wronged and was compensating him for it.
Ding!
[You have an additional notice!]
[You have completed the hidden trial, Justice Served.]
A trial that he hadn’t even known existed was cleared.
“Justice Served”? Me? he thought, half-amused.
[Congratulations!]
[You have received a special bonus.]
[Please check your gift box!]