20. Three ways to kill your boss (17)
***
A few days after the Sokcho incident, Minjun came out of work at the head office of Changcheon Bank.
He stopped right before he could hail a taxi. He looked around as if an idea had suddenly occurred to him. There happened to be a flower shop nearby.
“Welcome.”
Minjun stopped in front of an ordinary flower pot, passing by a pot of mandragora with its vocal organs removed and a basket of mosquito repellent acid. It was just the right size to carry around and had lots of leaves, just the way elves like it.
“What is this?”
“It’s a money tree. It’s also called a money tree because its leaves look like coins. Please give many of them as gifts to newly opened stores.”
“This is perfect. Please give me one of these.”
I’m not interested in the origins of plant names, but it’ll give me a good excuse to bring it to the store.
While the owner was packing the flower pot, news came on the radio.
– The government’s official position on the localized storm that occurred along the coast of Sokcho last week remains unchanged. It was simply a natural phenomenon. It is true that several citizens with supernatural powers living in Sokcho City have reported it, but it is added that this type of storm is likely to be confused with magical phenomena…
The florist, who had been listening, snorted.
“Oh, me. Who would believe that? Did you see the video of that? It’s all over YouTube.”
“Ah… well. Yes.”
Minjun answered dryly. The owner continued talking while moving his hands busily.
“A normal natural phenomenon? You have to say something like this… Do you know what everyone says when people gather? If the government hides it so thoroughly, there’s going to be an uproar because something big is going on. Of course, you can’t say that on the air or on the internet. If you spread conspiracy theories and get stamped out by the government and have your pension cut….”
The end of her speech was blurred. It seemed like she was about to start a denunciation and then realized something. She looked at Minjun’s clothes. She finished her speech, wondering if he looked like someone who worked for the government.
“Anyway, this is a world like Yojikyung. How can such an incident be buried like this?”
Minjun took the flower pot and answered dryly.
“That’s right.”
I left the flower shop and immediately got into a taxi. After telling him where I was going, I thought about it for a moment.
‘As expected, even that barrier wasn’t enough.’
The aftermath of the fierce battle between Minjun, the Elder Dragon, and a dragon comparable to the Elder that lasted over an hour was of such a scale that it could not be completely hidden.
Nevertheless, the truth of the incident was thoroughly covered up. It was the result of Jenkinson’s influence. Even if there is still a lot of noise, the related news will disappear from the media within a few days. As it has always been.
That was one of the driving forces that kept this precarious society going until now.
‘Did Jang Tae-jun believe that this world was abnormal?’
The flow of thought continued naturally. I guessed what the dreamer’s intentions were.
‘But would all this change even if the dragons were wiped out? For example, if humans took their place and a society came into being where they ruled everything.’
In the end, it was just a dangerous idea bordering on delusion.
Minjun remembered what he had said at the last moment.
***
The wind and rain that had been hitting Sokcho Port like a scrape is gradually weakening.
The flame of Jang Tae-jun’s life force was also quickly dying down.
Minjun knew that if it were another living creature, it would have already caused the injury to cause a coma. It was a situation where nothing could be done and he was brought to the emergency room, just waiting for the end of his life.
But the dragon’s body helped him stay conscious and think normally even in these moments. Minjun guessed that at least three of the six brains inside Jang Taejun’s skull had already stopped functioning.
Yong sends out a psychic wave that only Minjun can hear. Their conversation proceeds at the speed of thought. So fast that Jenkinson doesn’t even notice.
=I was originally planning to leave this world tomorrow.=
Because of a difference of just one day, his escape failed and he lost his life. However, resentment does not leak out through telepathy.
=If that homunculus had been found by an ordinary person, it would have been cremated according to my will. At the earliest, it would have happened about a week after I left.=
It was calculated by taking into account the schedule for the body, after the autopsy, to be handed over to the legal representative and for a proper three-day funeral to be held.
‘I see.’
Now Minjun has an answer to one of the two questions he had when he discovered the homunculus. Why did he wait a week after it went missing before hanging the fake body? Judging from the state of the body’s decomposition, there was definitely a Term.
‘I thought it was just because it took time to make since it wasn’t planned in advance… but there was another intention. If there was a reason why the makeup had to be done after you left.’
Minjun controlled his expression. Fragments of meaning came and went in an instant. His head spun quickly and he deduced the answer.
‘They played a trick on the corpse.’
There was a slight sense of satisfaction in the returning spirit.
=I tried to be a little grumpy.=
Even as he was dying, he spoke as if he was having fun.
=A mutant emerged during the research. A virus that has the same characteristics of being transmitted only to dragons, but has a mixed infection symptom pattern.=
In fact, it seems he went one step further than Minjun and Lee Min-gook predicted.
=It was ambiguous to call it a success. What I wanted was a virus that was 100% lethal in any environment… The symptoms that the mutant caused were inconsistent. In some experiments, it ended with a weak reaction, and in others, it destroyed the DNA of the sample in a few seconds. In the most powerful reaction, it showed the same effect as being exposed to more than 100 sieverts of radiation.=
His mind, which had been straining at telepathy, was gradually collapsing. With concentration, the dragon confessed the malice he had hidden until the very end.
=The cases were a bit mixed up, so I needed more samples. So··· I thought, why not try spreading this in a place where there are a decent number of individuals?=
It seemed like it didn’t matter if it failed.
A sound close to a quiet laugh.
=So I implanted a magical property into that mutant virus. When it comes into contact with a high temperature of over 500 degrees, it wakes up from hibernation and becomes active.=
It’s a temperature that normal viruses can’t survive at. But cleverly hidden magic makes it possible for them to survive.
The homunculus was the perfect medium to hide it. Even if the police had conducted an autopsy, they would have found nothing and would have ended up handing the body over to the deceased.
In the end, the deceased’s remains would have been cremated according to his wishes, and the virus would have spread far and wide by mixing in the smoke from the body’s incineration. That was Jang Tae-jun’s plan.
Minjun asks.
‘Why are you telling me this?’
=Well, you can probably guess why. Prisoner.=
‘······.’
=Okay, now I’ve told you everything. Whatever you choose to do with this… it’s entirely up to you.=
Those were the last words.
All of this conversation ended in an instant, and Minjun saw Jang Taejun’s large pupils slowly losing their light.
It was the death of a dreamer who hated his own kind.
——————
faqwiki.us
Join our Discord for new chapter updates!
https://discord.com/invite/xr7SxG5T6V
——————
“······It’s over.”
Jenkins quietly pays tribute to the deceased.
The few seconds of silence between them were enough time for Minjun to make a choice.
A decision on what to do with the homunculus.
“Jenkinson.”
Minjun’s decision was quick.
***
The goblin sensed the presence and raised his head.
“Ah… Master!”
Dong-cheol, who was combing his hair, greets Min-jun with a bright face.
“Are you feeling better now?”
“It’s okay… Hehe.”
After the day he safely evacuated Lakefield from the clutches of the dragon that had invaded the bookstore, Dong-cheol was sick in bed for three whole days.
Although he overcame the fear of dragons that was embedded in his genes through willpower, the desperate resistance left behind poison and fatigue in his body.
“If you’re feeling better, let’s go eat something delicious after work today.”
Jubilation and heat burst from the goblin’s eyes.
Minjun entered the bookstore, leaving behind the man who was excitedly swinging the broom at double the speed and scattering dust everywhere.
“I’m here. This is a gift.”
The elf’s gaze, which had been fixed on a thick book, moved. He looked at the potted money tree in Minjun’s hand and spoke bluntly.
“I guess you didn’t have time to kill him this time?”
Minjun scratched the back of his head and placed it next to the cactus pot. Then he sat down facing the bookstore owner.
“How about your body?”
“I was originally fine. Dongcheol just scolded me.”
Despite his old age and weakened body, this elf’s spirit was as strong as steel. The one who worried the two of them was Dong-cheol. Min-jun lowered his voice and said.
“I’m worried that it will remain as a trauma.”
“I’ve been searching and watching videos related to the Dragon Clan on my phone these days.”
“······is it so?”
It was an action that could be interpreted in many ways.
“By the way, why didn’t you tell me?”
The elf asks the question he has been putting off. His gaze is directed towards the two flower pots placed side by side.
But Minjun didn’t bother to explain why he had kept this bookstore under a barrier all this time. He didn’t even mention why he hadn’t told Lakefield about it. He just smiled.
The old elf frowned and looked at his sly face. A few seconds of comfortable silence passed.
The first to speak was the elf. He talked about the current state of affairs in the world, and Minjun responded with a lame joke. After talking for a few minutes, Minjun got up first. The reason was that he had a report to submit to the ‘headquarters’.
Then Lakefield handed over the thick book he had been looking at. It was the new book by the dwarf author. He said he had already finished it and suggested that if he was interested, he could borrow it. Minjun firmly refused.
***
Woof woof! Woof woof!
As he entered the office, what greeted him was the resonant sound coming from the warehouse.
The ego frying pan with its abnormal sexual desires is still here.
After Jang Tae-jun’s identity was revealed, his will lost its legal effect and all his assets were transferred to the state. So originally, it was supposed to be handed over to the immigration office, but Jenkinson conveyed through his secretary that there was no need to do so.
As it turned out, the model was already out of production and sale after the troll chef whose personality was copied sued the manufacturer. The reason was that his ‘private parts’ were copied without prior agreement, and his taste was outed to the entire dimension. It was a completely understandable motive.
Because of this, the legal issues were complicated and entangled, making it difficult for the immigration office to dispose of them arbitrarily.
Woof! Woof!
He ignored my protests to speak to him.
‘Are you feeling completely refreshed now?’
When Frying Pan was told of Jang Tae-jun’s death, the artificial personality’s only response was the short reply, “Oh, really?” However, Frying Pan did not say a word or make a sound by shaking his body all day long.
It seemed like it was his way of commemorating his former master.
Beep!
He turned on the computer in the corner. It was an old machine with the monitor, main body, and keyboard all built as one unit. As he typed, white letters filled the black screen. He was writing a final report summarizing what he had learned today.
– The assets of the deceased illegal alien were confiscated by the Korean government’s immigration office on a global level, and there are no clues in the will that could be used to identify the accomplice.
He visited the VIP safe of the main branch of Changcheon Bank with an immigration administrative agent in the morning. The purpose was to read Jang Tae-jun’s will. Since he was proven to be an alien, administrative execution was a natural thing to do.
Minjun searched the contents for clues that could help him identify those who helped him enter the country illegally. However, to his disappointment, he could not find what he was expecting, and instead he learned some unimportant facts.
– Summary of the will: Jang Tae-jun wishes to donate all of the Hyosung Industrial stocks (market value of approximately 200 billion won) he owned to a social welfare foundation. It has been confirmed that the foundation is not suspected of being involved with aliens or a specific criminal group.
After a moment of searching through my memories, I type the following sentence.
– The heir to all of his assets (valued at approximately 800 billion won), including his deposits, securities, artwork, precious metals, patents, and real estate including his residence, was designated as a female human being with whom he had maintained a relationship until just before his death.
Kim Yeon-ju guessed that Jang Tae-jun held most of his assets in Hyosung Industrial stocks, but the truth was completely different.
The stocks were only a small portion, and it seems that he decided that it would be dangerous to continue holding them, so he tried to dispose of them in the form of donations before they disappeared.
The gist of the will was that all real assets, excluding stocks, would be passed on to Kim Yeon-ju.
‘The reason why the homunculus was hung up in a remote mountain instead of being found at home… was it because that house was also an inheritance that would go to Kim Yeon-ju?’
If Jang Tae-jun had disappeared in a more natural way, and if Min-jun had not taken on this case, he would have died as a human being and everything would have been executed according to his will.
But now, it has all become meaningless assumptions.
Minjun then focused and wrote a few more lines.
‘This is the most important part!’
List your accomplishments in clear and concise language.
Jenkinson had already received the reward he had personally promised. This report was a procedure for a different kind of reward, much more urgent. When you catch a wanted criminal, you can report it in a simple manner, but in this special case, you have to sell some light to get recognition for your achievements.
And Minjun, with his 800 years of experience in the workplace (and prison), could sell Gwangra better than anyone else.
‘forwarding!’
When he pressed Enter, the screen flashed. This computer had no LAN cable or even a phone line connected, but it used a communication network through the spirit world to transmit data to a distant dimension. Minjun could now just sit back and wait for the committee to decide how much talent to give.
Perhaps, he might even be recognized for his contribution to the $50,000 commission to elucidate the principles of ISP, since the immigration office plans to share some of the samples seized from Rare with the committee.
Specialized areas like pheromone research were something I couldn’t touch anyway, so I’m very satisfied if I can get involved in this way.
‘Okay, then···.’
I look at my watch. There’s still some time left before the Evergreen Bookstore closes. To kill time, I open a new Scotch that Cathy brought into the office. I pour just enough to moisten the bottom of the glass, then sip.
“······.”
I sat for a moment, rolling the scent of a mixture of minerals and grains around in my mouth.
Suddenly, he remembered something and opened the drawer. He took out a small ampoule. Inside the magic container, dark red blood was sloshing around.
I muttered to myself.
‘It’s a virus that only reacts to dragons.’
The moment Jang Tae-jun died in Sokcho, Min-jun decided how to dispose of the homunculus.
He handed over the entire body to the immigration office, claiming it was evidence obtained during the investigation. Since the original death was confirmed, there was no excuse for continuing to keep it. There was also no reprimand from the immigration office for missing the immediate report. That was the way contract agents worked.
However, he did not submit every piece of evidence without even a 100-gram error.
‘If you apply heat, it will wake up from hibernation?’
What he was holding was blood taken from a homunculus.
I didn’t mention to Jenkinson the conversation I had with Jang Tae-jun. I was sure that the immigration office wouldn’t just burn it anyway. Since it was the remains of a dangerous terrorist, they would conduct a thorough inspection. There’s a high probability that they’ll find out the secret as well.
However, they will never know that Minjun also has the virus.
‘Someone may be suspicious, but that alone won’t stop me.’
He put the ampoule back deep in the drawer and sealed it.
It was almost an impulsive act to set this aside. A sudden ‘premonition’ flashed through my mind. I thought that it would be ‘bad’ to touch the homunculus before handing it over to the immigration office.
So this time, Minjun decided to act contrary to his premonition. His 800 years of experience were telling him that his premonitions were always woefully wrong.
Minjun took his last sip, pondering how he could use the virus in the future. And when he placed his empty glass on the table, he completely erased from his mind the foolish dreamer who tried to love humans in the dragon’s way.
