The Novel’s Villain

13. Vengeance Is Mine (1)

It had been about a month since the event at JW Gate, but the passion of the research institute didn’t fade. The lights in the lab never went out, and the researchers worked day and night. The accommodation facilities and the dormitory for researchers were better than hotels so that they couldn’t be compared with ordinary houses. With no rent, the accommodation provided breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and snacks so that the researchers never lived under pressure.

They were, of course, very luxurious meals.

When they grew tired from researching, they could rest in their comfortable rooms. They also had access to a swimming pool and a gym. Each was set with a mandatory exercise time thanks to Lee Jin-woo’s words to stay healthy. Even personalized PT was provided, so the researchers were able to work more enthusiastically.

It was a paradise for research!

The salaries were also several times higher than anywhere else. It went to the point they were growing sick and tired of the bonuses.

‘The lab is my home!’

‘With the will of a flu virus, we can win everything!’

‘Work like an assassin! If we get caught, we must rest!’

The morale of the researchers was always full. Visitors often said they were struck by the impression that the researchers were engulfed by madness.

‘A little bit more…’

Se-yeon was working overtime at the lab. Professor Kim Dae-jin told her to take it easy, but she was immersed in research. She was working on her analysis in an A-level laboratory with the highest security. The things that the A-level lab was studying were the treasures in JW Gate Castle.

All of them were incredible, but there was an artifact that Se-yeon had been studying without going home for almost a month. It was the artifact that prevented decomposition and detoxified the poison. She felt a similar wavelength to the beautiful gem that Lee Jin-woo gave them at the event.

Se-yeon deducted that Lee Jin-woo created artifacts that prevented decomposition and detoxified the poison using these beautiful gems. It seemed like he was hiding it.

‘That is amazing…’

Se-yeon thought that Jin-woo was someone who was hiding a lot of mysteries. As much as the pain he was hiding. The gems that prevented decomposition and detoxified the poison was highest among all the lab items.

Frankly, it was Kim Se-yeon’s insistence under the guise of a request. It was personal greed. The researchers here were amazing. In the eyes of Lee Jin-woo, she and the other researchers here were just no different.

She wanted to be helpful, to show that she could help. It was the first thing she, who was always passive, decided to do on her own. Professor Kim Dae-jin also looked troubled when she brought it up. Even though Lee Jin-woo told them to write the list down and submit it, he thought it would be difficult.

Eventually, Kim Dae-jin tried to call Lee Jin-woo several times. He barely managed to make a call, but Lee Jin-woo just allowed it so coolly.

‘Don’t feel pressured and take it easy. It doesn’t matter what the results are.’

Se-yeon could hear Lee Jin-woo’s voice when talking to Kim Dae-jin on the phone. She was furious at his response.

She wanted to show him some results. She wanted to show him that she was here. She didn’t know yet whether it was her stubbornness or certain other emotions. The artifact was great. She couldn’t even tell exactly how the technique was formed or what it was about.

But Se-yeon’s hard work paid off. She was able to turn it into data through her abilities. She still didn’t know what it was about or how it worked, but that alone surprised everyone. Turning it into data meant that she could apply it as it was to create artifacts. Of course, the data was so large and complex that the costs would be astronomical. If the data were fully interpreted, it could be reduced in size, but it was impossible at this point.

‘The interpretation…’

Now that she had made it into data, wouldn’t she be able to do it someday if she kept trying to interpret it? She didn’t even have a clue now. Her analytical ability had improved dramatically, but it was still difficult.

“Phew…”

The data wasn’t perfect either. She thought she had to work a little harder. She finally checked the data, secured it, and saved it. She even had double-secured the data, just in case. It was so high-capacity, and the security was thorough, it would take quite a while to unlock. It wasn’t even possible to untangle if it weren’t her.

As she was tidying up, the sun had ascended into the sky. Today was Sunday morning.

‘It’s already morning.’

She thought about going home for the first time in weeks. She wasn’t going to rest, but to get some underwear and extra clothes. She intended to stay in the lab until she could achieve satisfactory results.

Se-yeon came out of the A-level laboratory while stretching. As it was Sunday morning, it was quite near the A-level lab. Of course, there were researchers in other labs, but not in the A-level lab. There were only a few people allowed within. Se-yeon was also allowed to enter it only with Professor Kim Dae-jin’s approval.

Se-yeon turned her head, feeling a presence. A figure she knew stood in the dark.

“Senior?”

“Oh, it’s Se-yeon, huh? It’s Sunday, but you seemed to have stayed here until the morning.”

“Yes. I’m about to go home now. By the way, Senior. Weren’t you on vacation?”

“Y-yeah. I was.”

Kim Chan-young looked at Se-yeon as if flustered. Kim Chan-young was the only researcher who recently went on a ‘real’ vacation. The company kept giving researchers vacation time to rest, but researchers sneaked out and studied during their vacations.

Se-yeon tilted her head. Kim Chan-young was sweating hard with a large disk in his hand. Se-yeon could see bruises on his neck and hands.

“Are you hurt?”

“I fell…oh! I had something to save, but I forgot. I heard something from Professor Kim. I’ll clean up. Go ahead.”

“Ah, yes!”

“About that…”

“Yes?”

Kim Chan-young didn’t look well, but he smiled and shook his head as if nothing. It was a little strange, but she thought it was no big deal and just moved on. However, she was a little worried about Kim Chan-young. He was a very kind and good-natured senior who had helped her adjust.

Knowing that Se-yeon’s younger brother was living alone, he often invited him to his house. He even brought side dishes made by his wife. Like Chan-yeong, his wife was an angel. Although her little brother was stubborn, he still followed Chan-yeong like his older brother. Chan-young seriously encouraged her younger brother to go to college or get a job.

When she came outside, the bodyguard was waiting.

“Are you going home?”

“Yes! I’m sorry. It’s Sunday…”

“No. It’s my job.”

“I’ll only stop by for a while and then come out right away, so even if I go alone…”

The bodyguard laughed and shook his head.

“Come on, don’t say such a thing. Then I will have my salary reduced.”

The bodyguard was an easy-going person. He was a competent person with a great level, but he didn’t show it at all. He took as much care of Se-yeon as possible. Recently, security was strengthened under the direction of the security department chief, but it felt like business as usual because of that. The bodyguard opened the car door.

“I will take you home. Please get on.”

“Thank you.”

Kim Se-yeon returned home. She was now living alone in a house that was closer to the laboratory. Her parents were being treated at a nursing hospital, and her brother went out to live alone, so her whole family was scattered. She simply took a shower and brought a large bag to put her clothes and underwear in it. The house was largely empty because she didn’t stop by much.

‘I can re-analyze the data, get approval from the Professor, and work on the interpretation. And…since we can’t use the lab on Christmas, I will just use the night-duty room…I should move in advance.’

She hadn’t even left the house yet, but she was thinking about what to do in the lab. She was happy when she was researching. In the past, the reason she was immersed in studying was to forget about bullying. But now, not anymore. It was just because it was fun, and she was happy about it. It was very rewarding to receive recognition and be helpful.

It was about time she took her bag out.

There was the sound of someone knocking on the door urgently. When she opened the door, the head of the security team was standing there.

“Sir?”

“Se-yeon, you need to move now.”

“Pardon?”

“There’s a security problem. You must go to G&P headquarters for safety.”

Kim Se-yeon paused in surprise, but she nodded and followed him out. She climbed into the car and headed to G&P headquarters. It was said that all researchers were being called together.

“What the hell is going on?”

“Researcher Kim Chan-young stole data corresponding to the highest level of security.”

“What?”

She couldn’t help but be surprised. Kim Chan-young’s face she had seen briefly earlier came to mind. He was a senior researcher with the same security code as Kim Se-yeon. He couldn’t have been caught so quickly if he had made up his mind.

Screech!

The car that Se-yeon rode suddenly stopped. It sounded like something exploded. When she came to her senses, she saw a man with snake eyes looking at her.

The vehicle around her appeared to be half-squashed.

“Kim Se-yeon…that’s right.”

It was a dreary voice. The head of the security team stopped him. Something flashed, and the head of the security team pushed back. They were too many to fight, so the bodyguard began to evacuate Se-yeon.

There was a shelter in the alley. It was a place set up by the security team, just in case.

As soon as the shelter came into view…

“Kugh!”

Someone appeared, and in an instant, the bodyguard collapsed, bleeding. He was wearing a mask, but she knew right away who he was.

“Making me work like this…”

He pointed a sword at the bodyguard on the ground. Se-yeon blocked his way.

“I-I’ll follow you. I’ll go with you, so please…”

He looked down at Se-yeon and suddenly reached out to grab her by the neck.

* * *

The JW jurisdiction was very sparsely populated. A building permit wasn’t issued for normal buildings around the Gate out of concerns that it might be affected by the wavelength of the Gate. Thanks to this, there was nothing except G&P’s building, research labs, related facilities, and several publicity buildings built to construct the Gate city.

The largest building, originally used as the city’s public relations center, was quickly renovated and officially named the JW Gate Cultural Center. When the Cultural Center was established, the situation changed dramatically. This was because the G&P conference held by G&P was to be located at the Cultural Exchange Center.

The announcement, capable of changing the era, spread worldwide through MeTube.

‘G&P Infinity Technology’

Something as tiny as a fingernail heralded the new era. Several products that were to be produced immediately were announced alongside it. Whenever an announcement was made, there was only silence where not even a single breath could be heard.

It was that shocking.

‘What is Infinity Technology?’

‘No charging. A sudden revolution.’

‘A smartphone that can be used without charging for three years?’

‘The reason why the first Infinity phone could be released in the first half of next year.’

Due to this situation, great attention was paid to the JW Cultural Center. The restaurant, which would be newly opened at the JW Cultural Center, also refused to step down from the top of the search keyword list. When competent people met each other, they only talked about JW. What if Gate meat from JW was widely distributed?

It was a revolution in Gate exploration that would overturn the Gate history so far all at once.

‘It’s boring.’

Jin-woo had nothing to worry about as he went back and forth. He had been running around to meetings that had been delayed since the morning. He kept filtering them out, but there were quite a few people to meet. The first on the schedule was the Mayor.

Jin-woo was sitting on a soft sofa, with the Mayor sitting on a chair opposite him. The Mayor’s chair was a little low, but the Mayor gave him such meaningless considerations. The aide and city staff even prepared a PPT they were showing to Jin-woo. The title was ‘Great Beginning, a Victorious Cultural City.’

“The Holy Land of Gate Culture! Can’t we do it in Korea, too?”

“I will consider it.”

“It will be a beautiful space overflowing with the heat of culture, CEO Lee Jin-woo.”

A city that attracts tourists from all over the world! A city full of jobs! It was an ambitious plan to build a Gate culture city centering on the JW jurisdiction. It wasn’t a bad proposal because it matched Jin-woo’s project and direction, and there were many benefits to him personally. In reality, the difficult part was that Jin-woo had to step up himself.

The Cultural Center was already crowded with people. Although there was still only a Gate artifacts exhibition hall and a restaurant, people flocked to it. Thanks to this, the surrounding commercial sites were booming. It was really hard to get along well with each other, but it was lucrative.

‘Not bad.’

Anyway, Jin-woo had nothing to worry about. It would roll on its own if he left it to capable people. Thanks to this, he was able to do many things, and Jin-woo focused on only one thing.

‘Emperor of Vanity.’

The Emperor of Greed was the first to be released from the seal. The next wouldn’t be in Korea but abroad, and the risk was low due to the emperor’s characteristics. He continued to train, so he would be able to handle it well enough. It was when the story was going in full swing.

A man in a black suit appeared from behind Yoo-na. It looked as if he had risen from the shadows. The presence was so insignificant that the Mayor and employees didn’t even notice him. When Yoo-na turned her head slightly, the man whispered something to Yoo-na, and he disappeared.

Yoo-na’s expression hardened in an instant. When Jin-woo raised his hand for a moment, the Mayor stopped talking.

Yoo-na, who was standing in the back, approached Jin-woo. She lowered her posture and whispered in his ear. She said that one of the G&P researchers stole confidential information and was currently being pursued. He was a capable researcher who participated in the Gate informal event.

‘No way.’

He confirmed it with the Magic Eye of information, but he wasn’t a person who would attempt such a thing as a betrayal. Yoo-na was also nervous when she saw Jin-woo’s hard expression. As Jin-woo stood still and expressionless for a moment, silence fell. Even the Mayor, who has been through many hardships in the political world, couldn’t speak out.

“I think we should talk next time. Mayor, I’m sorry.”

“Ah…yes, I understand.”

“Thank you for your understanding. I will contact you.”

Jin-woo spoke politely and came out. He strode out of the building and immediately climbed into a nearby car. Yoo-na received the detailed report as she waited for Jin-woo.

“Report it.”

“Kim Chan-young, thirty-six. As an early member brought in by Prof. Kim Dae-jin, he is a talented person who participated in the Infinity Project. He was sincere and had good interpersonal relationships, so he received good marks in personnel evaluations.”

Yoo-na showed Kim Chan-young’s personal information on a tablet PC. Jin-woo looked through the data. He remembered him; he was standing behind Kim Se-yeon, and he gave off a gentle impression.

Yoo-na was receiving reports in real-time.

“They found Kim Chan-young’s wife. She was poisoned and had to be taken to the hospital.”

“Poison?”

“It’s not a common poison, but one used by competent people. They say it is difficult to get through even a few days without an antidote.”

Poison wasn’t a big problem because there were potions. Jin-woo was lost in thought for a moment.

‘Confidential information…’

He was wondering what he took. G&P’s research wasn’t a technology that could be stolen away. Since it was technology based on the JW gate, it was difficult to do anything realistically without the JW gate. And since most of them were money-sucking projects, it would be a loss of investment even for China. After all, it contributed greatly to raising Jin-woo’s Waste stacks.

“What’s been leaked?”

“Detoxification and anti-decomposition technology. It was analyzed and converted into data by Researcher Kim Se-yeon before it was uploaded to the secure server.”

Anti-decomposition and detoxification. It was limited to JW Gate, and it was something no one could do except Jin-woo. Detoxification of Gate poison and anti-decomposition was such a big deal that the Association of Competent People made such an uproar. Knights and officials from each country came to visit. It could have a very big impact on national competitiveness.

Considering this, it was a huge leak of confidentiality. To the extent that Lee Jin-woo would be turned into an enemy, and a response at the national level would be taken. Of course, that was the story, if it was real. It was just installed to make excuses. It was almost impossible to interpret, so he remembered giving it to the research team with a light heart.

It wasn’t something to worry about.

Kim Chan-young is currently missing. The Security Department and the Future Strategy Office were looking for him, but there was no result except finding his wife.

‘Is it because of threats that he betrayed me?’

That was the case.

Yoo-na touched her ear for a moment. Her expression turned to bewilderment.

“…Researcher Se-yeon Kim has been kidnapped.”

“Kim Se-yeon…? There must have been a security team with her, right?”

“My apologies. The security team was beaten. Now…”

The tablet PC that Jin-woo grabbed was cracked. Jin-woo’s expression crumpled.

Yoo-na felt a tremendously suffocating pressure. Vast mana was swirling around Jin-woo in response to his emotions.

Jin-woo inhaled.

“How about the damage?”

“There have been no fatalities yet, but most are in critical condition.”

Jin-woo’s expression sank very coldly. The usual light mood had completely disappeared. That alone seemed to reduce the temperature around him.

Whoever they were, they had crossed the line.

Fortunately, they weren’t the only ones who could cross the line.