National Intelligence Service.
Deputy Director’s office.
The smartphone ringing broke the silence.
The middle-aged man, who had been seated going through some documents, lifted the phone to his ear.
“Yes. Deputy Director B of the National Intelligence Service, Kim Min-Soo speaking.”
<It's been a while, Director. I'm contacting you regarding the Chinese spy case.>
Kim Min-Soo instantly realized that the information gathering he’d tasked a month ago was complete.
As China grew increasingly closed off, gathering intelligence had become nearly impossible.
Hence, he had entrusted the task to an information dealer with ‘shi guanxi.’
“Ah, is it all done? And yet, we shouldn’t discuss this over the phone. You’re acting too amateurishly.”
Of course, phone lines were insecure, and it wouldn’t do to leave any records of paying a criminal for information. This was Kim Min-Soo’s unilateral decision for efficiency, one he didn’t expect higher-ups to approve of in the slightest.
<Yes, I’m well aware. But I have a proposition for you.>
The information dealer chuckled unpleasantly over the call.
“What is it?”
<A national facility... well, one that the government has invested in, is about to be attacked by a villain. If you can provide me with proper compensation, I'll hand over the information.>
The information dealer had been selling information to ‘Dark Knight’ when he’d learned about his next target.
He hesitated for a moment whether to sell it but eventually went ahead, confident that no one would be able to trace it back to him.
“What villain, where, and when? And how specific is this information? What’s the price?”
<I've already sent you an email with the details. Check it out when you have a moment and reply if you wish. But remember to delete it after reading... Thank you for your time.>
“Right. Hard work. Let’s catch up next time.”
Kim Min-Soo turned on the external network PC and accessed the ‘Black Mail’ service.
An anonymous service guaranteed by ‘Black Streaming.’
Inbox (1)
He clicked on the new email.
First, the information related to industrial spies as requested. It seemed they weren’t planning anything big right now.
“Seems like we’ll need to gather a crew soon to catch them.”
He scrolled down, finding the data the informant had mentioned about the attack.
The information contained ‘the attacker’s identity’ and ‘the target institution’—and nothing else.
“Just this? And you don’t have when it will happen?”
If they didn’t know when, it sounded like the suggestion was to defend indefinitely until the attack.
He internally grumbled.
The price was 3 billion. A postscript assured that the information was well worth the money.
Director Kim Min-Soo could not possibly agree to the deal. Not only was the information incomplete, but 3 billion wasn’t pocket change.
It was impossible with the investigation budget, and there was no good reason to allocate the funds.
“It would be A Director’s job if it were a domestic facility.”
Thus rationalizing, he deleted the mail. The information dealer waited for a response but received none.
“Did I ask for too much?”
Deep underground at CK Biochemical Research Institute.
Two metallic experiment tables stood in the lab.
Lying down on them were the test subjects: a boy and a girl with white hair and red eyes.
Their limbs were restrained, tied down like experimental frogs.
The senior researcher held up a syringe as he spoke.
“Today, we’ll start with Omega.”
Upon hearing her name, the girl called ‘Omega’ went into a fit, screaming.
“No!”
She seemed terrified as she watched the surgeons approach her with their scalpels.
“Calm down.”
The senior researcher injected her with an anesthetic.
Her body began to stiffen.
The researchers smiled satisfactorily.
“Your power will lift our nation to greatness.”
What they were about to attempt was the implantation of an ‘ability amplifier device.’
Since there wasn’t enough space in the human body, they’d found a way after several failed experiments.
It would be implanted inside her organs.
The device had to be coated to avoid damaging the body, making this an irreversible surgery.
The researchers cut open her stomach and inserted the complex machine into the chosen organ.
It was a half-magical, half-engineered device designed to be semi-permanent.
They fused it with her body for the device to function properly.
Soon, the device lit up, signifying it was ready to siphon off her magic and nutrients.
“Success!”
The researcher didn’t feel a shred of guilt, as anyone who felt human emotion would either quit or meet an untimely death.
Most of the researchers didn’t consider Omega as human but simply as a collection of cells.
After all, they themselves had cultivated her from test-tube cells.
“Let her go! Leave Omega alone!”
Alpha, the boy restrained next to her, screamed upon witnessing the horrifying procedure.
Though they wanted to destroy the researchers with their power, they inexplicably couldn’t act when the researchers were nearby.
It was a control mechanism embedded into the original DNA sample from China.
Modified to recognize only the researchers, it rendered the bodies of Alpha and Omega powerless against them.
“Enough.”
The researcher injected a sedative into Alpha.
Next, it was Alpha’s turn. The method for him would differ, as the same technique couldn’t be used on him as it was on Omega.
Across the glass window, the head of the lab chatted casually with his staff while observing the surgery.
“Those Chinese folks truly are incredible. It seems they are not bluffing when they claim to produce awakened ones.”
“We must speed up the development of our own technology.”
Though the sample given was deeply flawed, causing some specimens to suddenly lose their abilities or meet sudden deaths, they’d only managed to steal the initial prototype due to the strict security around the complete version.
“I wonder how much funding we’ll get for the second half of the year?”
“Stop worrying. I’ve spoken well on our behalf, so we won’t be too constrained in the budget.”
The government had agreed to a generous funding after hearing about an obedient army of ‘Awakened Ones,’ completely unaware of the inhumane experiments being conducted.
The director had convinced them they were experimenting on unconscious vegetative patients, making it equivalent to dissection practice.
However, to teach the subjects how to use their powers, some level of consciousness and education was necessary.
For the past year, they had been given a magical growth serum and trained accordingly. They were currently 12 years old, though only physiologically 3.
“Hmph, fortunate. Then, should we discard Alpha and Omega soon? The new ones can be considered finished.”
“Ah, you’ve got to know how to save money. Get their full use before scrapping them. Stop thinking about how to spend the money before you even receive it. And the Omega is still somewhat usable, isn’t she?”
“Yes…”
The senior staff, while reprimanding the director, mentioned an unusual email.
“Did you get any threatening email?”
“What kind of email?”
“Saying there’s an urgent threat to our institute, and we need to pay 3 billion to get the information.”
“Are you so old that you can’t tell a spam email?”
“Well… It seems to be from a well-known information dealer.”
“Even so, we have no money. We need the government subsidy first. For now, just ask the security company to beef up patrols.”
The institute’s security was outsourced to ‘K-Shield’, a reputable firm composed of former hunters.
The staff agreed to request additional manpower, promising a bonus.
The information dealer, meanwhile, was baffled.
What he thought was a golden opportunity, information directly linked to ‘Dark Knight,’ went unsold.
He even offered a half-price deal but was rejected.
‘No money? What is this…’
He found relief that none of them bought it.
Looking at the information again, these people truly were despicable.
Not buying the information meant they deserved to experience the wrath of ‘Dark Knight’.
‘Really terrifying.’
The notorious ‘Dark Knight’ was as terrifying as rumors described. Even when facing him directly, his robe interior seemed completely empty—inhuman.
‘The monster theory is probably true.’
The information seller feared the nightmares of ‘Dark Knight.’
On a dusky evening,
I emerged from the hotel wearing the ‘Leather of the Sage,’ with Laura in her robe beside me.
Of course, anything that could identify us, like wings or tails, were hidden.
We met Kim Naye at the appointed location.
“D-dark Knight?”
She stepped back in surprise.
I pulled the hood back and waved.
“Misunderstanding. I’m disguised as Dark Knight. In case of any issues, we can pin it on him.”
“Ah, I see!”
I gave Laura a nod. She understood and began to cast a spell.
“Invisible.”
Instantly, both Laura and I turned transparent.
“Uh… where are you? I really can’t see anything.”
Kim Naye fumbled around, trying to find us.
I silently approached her from behind and gently touched her shoulder.
“Hmph.”
“Please don’t worry, and just stick to the plan.”
I whispered into her ear.
She nodded and started walking toward the research institute.
