Chapter 61

The method Cheon So-baek used to find the killer was simple.

She built a surveillance net by setting up a makeshift Magic Tower array.

Of course, it wasn’t possible to monitor the whole of Busan twenty-four hours a day.

With her mana, the coverage was no more than a single small sphere, so she installed them mainly in the areas where attacks had occurred.

Going rooftop to rooftop to check the little stone towers that had sprouted across buildings, Cheon So-baek began the hunt.

But days passed and no suspicious person appeared.

“It’s strange. It’s too quiet.”

“How about widening the range?”

“It’s useless. Not a single incident has happened since we arrived. At this rate we’re just wasting time.”

Even if we watched all of Busan, it would be meaningless if the culprit never showed.

It was good that the casualties didn’t increase, but we couldn’t stay here forever.

She undid her meditation posture, gathered in her mana, and asked me a question.

“So what were you doing while I was suffering?”

“I was also running around to catch the culprit.”

“With a fishing rod tucked under your arm?”

“The culprit might be in the sea.”

I toured the fishing spots Lee Do-hwan recommended; there were quite a lot of bites.

Was it thanks to the Tentacle of Digestion I’d hooked in place of bait?

From the way they screamed and flopped, it must have looked very appetizing to them.

The surrounding fish rushed in and got reverse-eaten by Digestion, so in the end I didn’t land a single one myself—but anyway.

It wasn’t like I only played around.

“Are you leaving?”

“At this point, keeping at it won’t yield anything. Let’s get dinner and rethink. Why?”

“When So-baek-nim stands up, the internet cuts off. I still have homework left—can’t you stay ten more minutes?”

“Be honest. You come find me three times a day not because you miss me, but for that, right?”

Her half-lidded eyes drifted toward the smartwatch in my hand.

When Cheon So-baek was near a makeshift tower, the connection flickered on and off.

Which meant there was one thing I absolutely had to do.

Even on a business trip, you can’t skip a mobile game’s attendance check and dailies.

Maybe because the relay-equipped Magical Siege Turrets were moving south with the Special Unit, the signal reached decently even at the edge of Busan now.

I couldn’t watch videos posted on the Special Unit Bamboo Forest yet because they took forever to load, but that would be solved once the Special Unit got closer to Busan.

In the end, Cheon So-baek grumbled but kept the makeshift tower running for ten more minutes.

This time, as she truly prepared to retract her mana, she asked:

“Are you done?”

“Just a sec, let me send this… done.”

“Going back with zero results doesn’t suit me. What about you?”

“I haven’t given up yet.”

“Oh? Got some brilliant idea?”

“That’s a secret.”

Again, it wasn’t like I’d only been slacking.

If I lost the bet, I’d have to do a hidden-camera prank on Yoo Se-byeol, so I couldn’t just hand over my trade secrets.

If I told Yoo Se-byeol I loved Cheon So-baek so much I was leaving the unit… when I came to, I might be locked in the basement of some villa deep in Mount Cheonsan.

Never seeing sunlight again, with my only conversation partner being Yoo Se-byeol, who would occasionally come downstairs wearing a face like a puppet with its strings cut.

Bound hand and foot, I’d be spoon-fed the meals she brought, and raised like that for life.

Would the food taste better than the cafeteria?

I was curious about the flavor of dishes she cooked herself, but it was too early to retire, so I was doing everything I could to catch the culprit.

“What is this? I’m showing you everything I’m doing. Give me at least a hint.”

“Hm… you’re right. Simply put, I’m waiting.”

“Huh?”

On the evening of our fourth day in Busan—

Watching the sun go down, I told her:

“Until the fish bites the bait.”

Humans adapted to their environment.

Right after rumors spread in Busan that the elderly and Awakened were being attacked—

The number of citizens who either stayed home or went out armed with weapons spiked, but even so, daily life had to go on.

The ones who had no choice but to tremble most in fear were the powerless elderly—the killer’s main targets.

So the Union increased night patrols and, for some seniors, even dispatched escort squads to walk them home, strengthening public security and trying to ease citizens’ anxiety.

Today, too, Grandma Park Mak-rye—very drunk—was no exception.

At ninety-six, a survivor of the Seoul Incident, she was at the Drunken Donut in Gwangalli again, hurling curses.

“This… this is all those Seoul bastards’ doing, I tell you!”

“Please calm down, Grandma. The investigation already confirmed the culprit is an Awakened from Busan who violated the Pact. How could it be a Seoul person when we can’t even attack him ourselves?”

“That’s right. The Special Unit agents dispatched at the Union’s request are doing their best to catch the suspect, so let’s head home for today, okay?”

“They’re the culprits! Ah, when my old man was still alive, if a Seoul bastard so much as set foot near Busan Port, he’d have had his legs broken—but now they come and go like it’s their own house!”

How could the world have turned upside down like this—

Watching Grandma Park Mak-rye burst into tears, the Union-affiliated Awakened handed some cash to his junior, who’d only joined recently.

“You’ve got a long night ahead.”

“It’s fine. It’s part of the job.”

“Get her a taxi and make sure she gets home safely. You know her address?”

“Yes, I asked one of the staff earlier.”

He spoke with a faint Seoul accent—a rarity in Busan—and took the money politely from beneath his black robe.

Then he flagged down a passing taxi and got in with the old woman.

Just as he was about to tell the driver the destination, Grandma Park Mak-rye, who had been dozing beside him, suddenly jolted awake at the sight of his face.

“Y-you! You’re that slick Seoul brat!!”

“Hey now, Grandma! He’s an Awakened from the Union!”

“Check his name tag! What’s your name, boy?”

“Me? Uh…”

He awkwardly fumbled inside his robe before pulling out his identification.

It bore the Union insignia and the name Seo Ryeong-woo.

“There, satisfied now? We’ll get you home safely, so make sure you head in before sunset next time. Ryeong-woo, good work.”

“Yes, sir.”

“No! Driver, don’t start the car!”

But the taxi started off anyway, its tires splashing through puddles left by the rain the night before.

A little while later—

At the edge of the darkened city, where the streetlights flickered weakly, the taxi stopped and the two got out.

As they walked through the narrow alley toward her home, the old woman trembled, glaring at him with suspicion.

“Y-you… what are you really?”

“What do you mean, Grandma? I’m just making sure you get home safe.”

“I know who Ryeong-woo is! You’re not him—you don’t look anything like that boy!”

“Oh? You two know each other?”

The Pact protected Busan from monsters, but unlike Seoul, the city couldn’t sustain itself easily.

Over the decades, its economy had shrunk, and the population had steadily declined.

The elderly often knew every young face in their neighborhood—and this time, that unlucky familiarity had blown his cover.

“You’re right, Grandma. I’m not Ryeong-woo. But what exactly do you think you can do about that?”

“I knew it! You are from Seoul!”

“What nonsense. I’m a proud Busan citizen.”

No need to pretend anymore.

A pale white hand slipped from beneath the robe, reaching slowly toward the old woman’s neck.

Grandma Park flung it off and tried to call out to the taxi that hadn’t yet left—but the driver had already accepted another call.

And with the heavy rain now pounding down, even her voice couldn’t be heard.

She stumbled and fell, hurting her back badly. As the shadow crept closer, she trembled and screamed in terror.

“Give it up, Grandma. There’s no one left to help you.”

“Y-you… you’re from Seoul, aren’t you!? Haven’t you ever heard this saying!?”

“What saying?”

Humans adapted to their environment.

But there was one creature that adapted even better than humans.

A man in a black robe wandering through Busan’s night streets, speaking politely, being mistaken for a Seoulite by an elderly stranger—

“The saying in Ground Zero goes: beware of the old and the young.”

“Huh…?”

—was not Grandma Park Mak-rye, the ninety-six-year-old living in Daeryong Village, Gijang County, Busan.

“Die, you brat!”

“Guhk!”

In other words—it was me, wearing a tentacle disguise.

“Good work, Mimicry.”

“Kkiiieeek!”

Seventy-fourth Tentacle, Tentacle of Mimicry.

I’d used it to transform into the victim, copying both the surroundings and a living organism.

The real Grandma Park Mak-rye was peacefully asleep at home.

Thanks to the Ninety-ninth Tentacle, Tentacle of Deep Sleep, she’d spend tonight dreaming a happy dream—meeting her late husband again, free from back pain.

I praised Mimicry, who had performed its role perfectly.

“You and Duplicate are such good kids.”

“Kkiiieeek!”

“Unlike Digestion. Why is it always so touchy? Just because I used it as fishing bait a few times, it swears blood vengeance. Don’t you think it’s the one in the wrong? Should I just drop it into the sea while it’s asleep next time?”

“Kki… kkiek?”

Not the smartest, but socially savvy enough, Mimicry chirped an affirmative.

Anyway, with this, the worldline where Yoo Se-byeol kidnaps, locks me up, and raises me like livestock was now completely erased.

Feeling both relieved and slightly wistful, I withdrew my tentacles into my sleeve and dragged the collapsed culprit toward the taxi.

In the driver’s seat sat Lee Do-hwan, disguised as a cabbie, reporting our success to headquarters.

“Good work. Was his ability shapeshifting?”

“Something like that. Should I throw him in the trunk?”

“Ah… better not. I have handcuffs ready—just put him in the back seat for now.”

“Got it. One moment.”

I cuffed the suspect using the set from the glove compartment, then climbed into the passenger seat.

As the taxi drove through the quiet night streets, I asked Lee Do-hwan what would happen next.

“What did the higher-ups say?”

“They ordered us to bring him to the Union headquarters. They’ve prepared for interrogation.”

Interrogation, huh… I wondered how.

“I thought the Pact between Busan citizens prevents conflict?”

“Punishment by judicial authority isn’t affected by the Pact. It only stops us from fighting each other—it doesn’t mean crime doesn’t exist. So, the system has its loopholes.”

“Ah, I see. I thought you were going to drag him outside the city, beat him up, and bring him back.”

“Haha, of course not. The outer zones are dangerous even for us—too many Gates.”

If possible, I’d rather never go out there in my life—

Joking around as he drove, he handed me a can of coffee.

Once we merged back onto the asphalt-paved road, the tension eased a little.

Taking the can, I asked him casually:

“So… did you kill the other victims the same way?”