Chapter 164. Trusted Allies
***
– Don't film me. This is an invasion of privacy.
– Do you have evidence?!
– Bang! Bang! Bang! Please stop hitting…
– Bang! Poof! Poof! Poof! Ahem!
– Even if you're the same player, is this acceptable?!
– I have immunity, so it's fine.***
The video had been edited to about three minutes. At the beginning, a man in a black suit was blocking the camera and struggling with people, while soldiers faded away in the background. In front of him, a man with numerous tattoos demanded proof, but another man was brutally beating him.
Despite the man's pleas to stop, the attack continued, and he was repeatedly stabbed in his vulnerable groin. Blood was streaming from his mouth and tears were streaming from his eyes, making him look pitiful to anyone watching. When someone asked if this was too much, the man replied that he had immunity and therefore it was fine, looking not only arrogant but evil in itself.
The expertly edited video ended, and a man appeared on screen. "That was everything I saw that night, the facts and figures. As you all know, I'm a former player with special abilities." The man who said this drank some water as if his throat was dry and licked his parched lips. "It's quite dangerous for me to release this video. I could lose my life tomorrow.
The man who appears in the video, even though his face is icy, is that strong." The man's hands trembled slightly as he finished speaking. Although his face was icy, his eyes were cleverly closed, and anyone who knew him would recognize him. "
Due to the unfair libel law, I cannot disclose any information about that man's identity. Let's call him J from now on." The man looked nervous, as if he were about to reveal something important.
"As you can see in the video, J completely destroyed a player's precious future. That player's main strength was martial arts. His dantian is broken; he's practically finished as a martial artist." As he said this, the man nodded and put on a serious expression, making the audience sympathize.
"Moreover, J, who ruined someone's life, entered the mudroom under the protection of government agents to steal things." Ironically, the unfortunate man, whose dantian had been dismembered, was captured by agents and sentenced to 15 years in prison without trial. This was the reality of South Korea today. The man's face was filled with anger.
"Did you know? In the past, the state kidnapped ordinary people with special abilities to control them and violated their human rights. Those who watched the video couldn't help but know. That incident was the spark that brought down a regime. It wasn't that long ago.
Just a year ago. No, just eight months ago, that was the world we live in. Since then, the regime has changed, and the state pretended to accept talented people as citizens, but this is the truth. No one knows when they will be chosen by Cloyd and become a talented person.
Anyone can become a talented person at any moment. Such things are happening in this world right now." The man's voice became excited and passionate, his fists clenched.
"Everyone! In an equal democratic society, do you really think it's acceptable for someone to be granted unconstitutional, unlawful authority under the guise of immunity, elevating them above the law and receiving special treatment? I don't understand that.
From now on, I'll be a fugitive. I'll have to hide and flee from countless pursuers to survive. I might even have to leave South Korea. But I felt someone had to expose this truth. My exposure is free of any personal gain or distortion.
As you can see, there are no ads in this video. That's all. One person's struggle won't change the world, but I hope my sacrifice will be the spark that ignites change."
The video ended with these final words. The woman in the video, wearing a short skirt and distinctive makeup, smiled at the man. "Cut. Good acting." The man smiled at the woman wearing a short skirt and distinctive makeup, her garters visible. "Does that mean you're promising us a real life in Japan and support from Cloyd?"
"Of course. As you know, the members of our guild, formerly affiliated with the Ministry of Internal Security, are now living comfortably in Japan and receiving significant support from the Japanese government.
While the players are improving their game, the substitutes are living comfortably. There's no need to struggle in Korea." The man smiled happily at her words and picked up the bag he'd placed next to him. "Let's go." The two left and headed for Incheon Airport.
***
By the time Seo-woon and his friends returned to Wonju after giving their parents their self-defense items and leaving Songdo, the sun had already set and night was falling. By the time they'd run toward the familiar mountains and entered the house, Ki-chan was sitting at the table with an irritated expression.
"I sent a text saying there would be no training today. What's going on?" Ki-chan nodded silently at Lilingwei's words and handed her his cell phone. The three of them picked up the phone, which had a video paused on it, and stared at each other for a moment. Ki-chan's expression was so serious that it wasn't the right time to ask for details.
When they played the video, it showed the meaning of editing. After watching the entire video, Lilingwei couldn't control her anger and clutched the phone tighter. "Sister. You just got it."
"Ah. I'm sorry." The phone, which sounded like it was about to break, returned to Ki-chan's hand without breaking, thankfully. "Why did they twist it like that?"
Juriell focused on the stakes behind the video rather than the one-dimensional emotions it evoked. Seo-woon felt the same way. Everything in this world has a reason. Unless it's a crime committed by a madman against an indeterminate number of people, there must be a reason for going to all this effort. "
The reason is obvious. Either the friend of the man whose danjeon was destroyed, or someone jealous of Seo-woon..." Seo-woon shook his head before Lilingwei could finish. "I don't think you'd have the guts to do something like that out of simple jealousy."
That day, he'd shown enough violence to prevent others from thinking otherwise. Even with such a one-sided power differential and showing no mercy, he didn't seem the type to turn on himself out of simple jealousy.
Juriell, familiar with the political infighting between different families due to her family history and power struggles to inherit the family name, quickly got to the heart of the matter.
"He might talk like a saint walking a thorny path with no interest, but there must be someone pulling the strings behind him. Perhaps he's been presented with an offer tempting enough to make him willing to endure disadvantages in Korea."
"So, a foreign country?" Juriell nodded to Seo-woon's question. "There aren't many people in Korea stupid enough to turn on Seo-woon. It's hard to believe someone trying to influence public opinion like this would make such a foolish choice." Ki-chan added.
"His setup was definitely malicious, but it was so natural it was strange. Unless you were there and knew everything, it would be hard to tell it was staged."
"Multiple people were filming at that location. If anyone else uploads the real video, their lies will be exposed. They're an idiot." Juriell's eyebrows furrowed at Lilingwei's words. "When was this video uploaded?" "Eight hours ago. It's already been viewed 4 million times. It seems to have been viewed not only in our country but abroad as well. I
n fact, media in the UK and Russia are already starting to mention this video. I see articles starting to appear in our country as well…" The wrinkles on Juriell's forehead deepened, and her face took on a completely different expression than usual. "This confirms the situation. There must have been national support behind this. They must have already obtained or similarly manipulated all the videos from that day."
Seo-woon nodded at her words and sat down on the couch. "It's annoying, but they covered my face and my name isn't on the cover, so let's wait and see." Ki-chan and Juriell grew even more enraged at his seemingly calm demeanor. "Now is not the time for this. The comments on this video are serious."
Seeing that Seo-woon seemed to have lost interest, Ki-chan pushed the malicious comments he'd been hiding towards him.
– If that's the case, why did they make a special law for people with special abilities?
– This is the country we live in. This is South Korea.
– Are you crazy? They gave immunity to such a maniac? Is this government crazy?
– Everyone, we're petitioning right now. We're petitioning to expose this maniac and send him to jail. Here's the link…
– That crazy xx, that xx, xxx, and it should have been xx.
As Seo-woon read the seriously malicious comments one by one, his neck began to tighten. "We can't just sit back and watch. If we don't act quickly, we'll suffer the consequences of losing the initiative. We must respond quickly and refute their claims…"
Seo-woon shook his head, interrupting Juriell. "It's probably something Russia or Japan made up. But without definitive proof, there's nothing we can do right now. Besides, I don't want to expose myself any further. What kind of rebuttal could I possibly come up with?
Even if we refute everything and calm things down, all that will happen is my face will be revealed, and I'll have to suffer the consequences."
"But…" Seo-woon interrupted Ki-chan and said resolutely. "Let's wait and see. They couldn't have started something like this just to wage a public war. They surely have other plans. When the time comes… We will take them all down."
The killing intent radiating from Seo-woon caused Ki-chan to take a step back without realizing it. It was as if he'd been struck by the killing intent of a powerful enemy in a game, and Ki-chan's entire body stood on end. "I'm sorry. My Ki has become quite sensitive lately. Even the slightest change in emotion causes my internal energy to react. Let's just wait and see…"
Just as he finished speaking, there was a loud knock on the front door. Ki-chan hurriedly opened the door and saw Jung Soo-hwa standing there. "Come in." Juriell and Lilingwei greeted Jung Soo-hwa as she entered. After exchanging brief greetings with them, Jung Soo-hwa looked at Seo-woon.
"Do you know?"
"I saw the edited video."
"Are you okay?" Jung Soo-hwa, who knew Seo-woon's personality well, seemed worried he might do something. "Why wouldn't I be okay? Did you come here because you knew more about him?"
"Yes. We haven't been able to identify the mastermind yet. All the players and substitutes who were there that day have disappeared. We don't know if they were kidnapped or if they voluntarily hid, but it seems the mastermind is not one to be trifled with…"
"So, a national organization?" Seo-woon trailed off and blurted out the question, which made him look momentarily confused before nodding.
"You knew. Do you have any idea which country could be behind this?" "Japan or Russia. More likely Russia. Japan has been quiet for a long time. The media is abuzz with this right now, isn't it?" Jeong Soo-hwa nodded and frowned.
"We're expecting this, too, and we've mobilized all our personnel to gather information. Right now, they're just trying to influence public opinion, but…" "So, will they show their true colors soon?" He was interrupted once more and nodded silently. "If we wait, they'll make their move. I'll wait and see. Once we catch their tails, it won't be hard to get to their heads. Then…"
Seeing that Seo-woon hadn't finished, Jeong Soo-hwa knew what he was going to say without needing to hear the rest. While in Russia, Seo-woon had carried out a brutal raid and caused an incident that nearly brought the country down. Even now, Russia still harbored a grudge from that time and was always looking for an excuse to attack South Korea.
"We have footage from the day of the incident. Since it was shot by us, the angle is a bit different, but it should be enough to determine the truth of the matter. The superiors want to release it immediately to prevent further public outrage, but…"
"If we do that, they'll understand the situation. I'd prefer to postpone."
"Yes… The superiors want to meet with you, Jin Seo-woon, before releasing the video. After all, you're the person in charge."
"What matters is what they do from now on. Let them do whatever they want until we catch them red-handed. No. Maybe it's better to let them get a little more riled up. They'd better give a half-baked explanation, refute the allegations, and look confused." "I understand." With that, he hurriedly left Seo-woon's house.
Less than ten minutes after he left, Karina opened the door and walked in. "Are you here?" Nodding at Seo-woon's words, she tried to understand the situation with a serious expression. "
This is serious…" However, after a brief conversation with Seo-woon, she realized she was late and sat down heavily on the couch. "The video was uploaded not long ago…
When did you find out?"
"About 30 minutes ago." Hearing Seo-woon's answer, the woman looked at Seo-woon and his group with a surprised expression. She hadn't expected them to be able to resolve the situation and come up with a plan in just 30 minutes.
"What will you do if you find the person behind this?" Karina's face showed a slight hint of concern as she asked the question. "We have to handle it. I'm not stupid enough to let someone get away with baring their teeth. I should tear out all their teeth and break their will before they bite my neck.
Absolutely." She nodded, thinking this was to be expected. "We received a call from the American side. It seems they've already identified Jin Seo-woon as the person in the video. They said they'll stand by Jin Seo-woon if we encounter any difficulties. They'll actively participate in the public relations campaign, so we shouldn't worry." Seo-woon's face widened at Karina's words. "That's a relief to hear."
"The US is a country familiar with PR wars. And they seemed quite disturbed by their heroes being treated this way." Although the identity of the person in the video hasn't been revealed yet, it won't be long before Jin Seo-woon's name is mentioned. "I think so. J-gun, huh? Now that they've made it so obvious, it won't be long before my name is everywhere in the media."
"Is there anything we can help with?" "Not yet. After I take action, please deal with the aftermath." Seo-woon nodded with a sigh at her words. Just by listening to her, he could already guess how she would deal with those involved and how big the aftermath would be.
Just as Karina and Seo-woon finished their conversation, there was a knock on the door of Wonju's house, and a group of people arrived, looking for Seo-woon. "Long time no see."
Seo-woon stood up and extended his hand to the man who had greeted him. "Nice to see you. How are you?" Seo-woon's face lit up when he saw Bai Lun, the person in charge of the Chinese players. With a stern expression, he took Seo-woon's hand and nodded. "You heard the news, it seems."
Seo-woon nodded at his words, confirming that he had also seen Karina. "I heard the summary. Thank you for coming." When Seo-woon's words were lost, Bai Lun nodded. "Yes. I have some information to share with you."
When he finished, he pulled out an envelope from his pocket and handed it to Seo-woon. Seo-woon and his friends opened the envelope and looked inside in surprise. Inside were photos of a woman and two men.
"Are these behind this?" Bai Lun nodded and replied. "They're not necessarily behind this, but they are connected.
After the video was released, we confirmed that the person who shot it entered France with these three people. I think these three people are probably connected to the mastermind. Other than being Asian and anonymous, we don't have any other information."
Seeing that he hadn't finished, his friends waited for him to continue. "Bae Jeong-do, who uploaded this video, disappeared in France, and it turned out that these three people entered South Korea illegally through Russia. From what we've learned, the video appears to have been uploaded five days ago."
Seo-woon's mouth twisted at Bai Lun's words. "Through Russia? So, did they go back to South Korea?"
"Yes. We're currently tracking Bae Jeong-do and three others, but we can't find any trace of them other than their movements in France and Russia."
Juriell frowned and opened her mouth. "If they can operate so secretly, how could they leave a trace in France and Russia?" Seo-woon finished her sentence. "Isn't that obvious?"
Bai Lun looked at Seo-woon for a moment before speaking. "I'm sorry, we don't have definitive information yet."
"That's enough. We have a rough idea now. I'm always grateful to you." "Thank you for your kind words. Just remember that we consider Jin Seo-woon one of us. No matter what public opinion is formed, the Chinese government will stand by Jin Seo-woon."
"A kind gesture." After saying that, Bai Lun stood up. Seo-woon escorted him to the door.