Surviving as a Brainwashing Villain in a Hero World

Chapter 28

“The combat unit commander from when I was there… There’s information up to the high-ranking officials?”

The amount and range of information organized in what looked like dozens of presentation slides were substantial.

From the combat unit commander during Si-yoon’s time as a fighter to the personal details of high-ranking officials he had barely seen.

“Each executive has different levels of investigation, but… there are recent photos of some of them.”

Basic personal details like name, age, and gender were included, and for those thoroughly investigated, there was even an analysis of their abilities or recent photographs.

“There’s information on executives I’ve never even seen when I was in the organization. How did you get such high-level information?”

“I’ve received a special mission from the head of the support department.”

“Special mission?”

“It seems they haven’t caught a single key figure from the Dark Knights yet. So, they’ve tasked me and other heroes to investigate and subdue them.”

Si-yoon tapped his forehead with his fingers, recalling the memory.

While the fighters and lower-ranking officials were fighting hard to protect the organization, the senior executives and the leader had somehow escaped in advance. When he requested support, panting his way to the command room, only expensive items were scattered around with no one there.

“Cowards. I nearly died back then.”

Looking at the faces of the cowardly executives who abandoned the hideout and thousands of members to flee, Si-yoon bit his lip, feeling displeased.

“From what I know about the Dark Knights’ structure… it seems these are indeed the members. Especially those four. The ones called the ‘Four Knights’.”

The organizational chart of the Dark Knights was quite simple.

The Kaiser, the leader, along with the four high-ranking officials known as the ‘Four Knights’ who commanded the command center. Below them were dozens of combat units, each led by a commander. There were also other members and officials for organizational operations, but nominally, they were classified as ‘special combatants’.

Si-yoon particularly scrutinized the information on the ‘Four Knights’, who could be considered the core figures of the organization.

“I’ve seen that grim-looking bastard a few times. He was the direct superior of our unit.”

With long, ragged hair like seaweed, a pale face, and an oddly long but strangely lean body, the man operated within the organization under the name ‘Executioner’. His unsettling appearance was vividly etched in Si-yoon’s memory.

“Real name is Park Kyu-hyun… 34-year-old male. There are quite a few sighting records.”

“No wonder, he’s very conspicuous. Even if he tries to hide, those who should know, know.”

Park Kyu-hyun had the most recent sightings and updated information. His towering height over two meters was very noticeable, but his corpse-like pale skin and deformed physical features made him stand out even more.

“Estimated to have the ability to create and wield blades from his body… it says here.”

“The Hero Union seems to consider him particularly dangerous.”

Among the listed high-ranking officials, he was the only male villain and was reported to have the most violent destructive tendencies. There were records of him surviving encounters with several A-grade heroes, causing significant damage.

While the usual goal with villains is to subdue and rehabilitate or incarcerate them, highly dangerous villains might be targeted for ‘elimination’ rather than capture.

Hence, the Union’s goal with the Executioner was ‘elimination’.

“Let’s put this guy on the back burner for now.”

“Yes.”

Si-yoon’s ability was only applicable to ‘females’. Moreover, this man was extremely violent and dangerous, marked for elimination by the Union.

“Crazy Chain… Trickster… Firecracker. The rest are all female villains?”

“Yes.”

The proportion of people with abilities in the global population is estimated at about 5%, with over 70% of them being female. Therefore, the gender ratio in the Hero Union’s heroes is about 7:3, and similar statistics were found when analyzing the villains’ data.

Especially in villain organizations, while combatants are mostly robust men, the executive-level villains are predominantly female. The Dark Knights were in a similar situation.

“Besides Trickster, I haven’t seen Crazy Chain or Firecracker before.”

Although Si-yoon had been active in the Dark Knights for a long time, he was only a regular combatant, so even his knowledge was limited.

Therefore, his memory of the high-ranking officials might not be accurate, and there could have been changes he wasn’t aware of.

“Crazy Chain. Seems like her real name and age are unknown… ability to manipulate chains.”

There was almost no photographic evidence or personal information on the villain ‘Crazy Chain’. Besides being a ‘female’ villain with the ability to manipulate chains, it appeared that even the Union didn’t have much information on her. However, there was mention that wherever she went, a kiss mark was left behind, along with a montage based on the testimonies of her victims.

“Oh. Could it be that one?”

“Why? Have you seen her?”

Ji-woo sat next to Si-yoon, closely examining the information on Crazy Chain, then mentioned she might have seen her somewhere.

“Last year, I think. In City B, I might have seen her?

I’m not sure about the kiss mark… but the montage and the chain thing made me realize.”

During an operation last year in City B, located just west of S City, Ji-woo said she had spotted Crazy Chain.

“Anything else you remember? Like heroes who were with you on the operation. Or any other distinctive features.”

“I was alone, so other heroes probably don’t remember anything. Plus, we couldn’t subdue her; she just escaped…”

Unfortunately, it seemed like Ji-woo didn’t have much information left in her memory.

“Oh! But… I remember her voice was incredibly husky. Really distinctive.”

“Her voice was husky?”

Ji-woo brought up the rather distinctive piece of information about her ‘voice’.

“It was a voice you couldn’t mimic. Really unique.”

“I see… Okay. That montage with a distinctive voice…”

They had found a good clue with the montage and the unique voice, but the problem was there were no recent sightings or photographs.

“Firecracker… this one is Chinese.”

Several photos showed a woman with long, green hair wearing a colorful qipao, striking poses. The villain ‘Firecracker’ was listed as an ethnic Chinese with an unknown name.

“An ability to turn objects she touches into bombs… feels like I’ve seen this in a comic somewhere.”

She was a villain with a simple yet powerful ability, reminiscent of a popular comic known for its bizarre abilities.

According to the report, she had caused destruction in downtown S City multiple times, but her power was so immense that even A-grade heroes found her challenging to capture.

“Lastly… this executive called Trickster. I’ve seen her a few times too.”

Compared to the other executives with distinctive looks, she had a rather plain and neat appearance. Several photos highlighted her mature look with long black hair down to her hips and red eyes, with an estimated name of Chaeryeong, a woman in her twenties.

“Every time I saw her, I thought she was really sexy. She was popular among the organization’s members.”

To the point where a fan club was formed among the combatants, she possessed both beauty and a glamorous figure. Si-yoon had felt his heart race several times upon seeing her.

“A café in the outskirts of S City… At the airport in B City… Why does she travel so much?”

Curiously, there were numerous reports and sightings of her in a very short period across very different locations. There was even a sighting at a subway station in S City, and five minutes later near the airport in B City.

The distance between that subway station and B City’s airport is about 60km. Even with the fastest available transportation, it would take over 50 minutes to cover this distance.

Because of these strange movements, the report on Trickster ended with:

‘Abilities have not been observed, but based on reports and sightings, she is suspected to have abilities like teleportation, disguise, or creating clones.’

“Information on the leader… seems like it’s still not available.”

“I never met the leader face-to-face either. I only saw his silhouette during occasional organization events.”

The leader kept his identity so hidden from the members, only showing his silhouette even at major organizational events. He left public dealings to the executive ‘Trickster’, staying out of sight.

Perhaps Si-yoon remembered Trickster’s face so well because she often stood in for the leader at most organizational events.

Si-yoon was lost in thought for a moment, looking at the many locations where Trickster had been sighted.

“For now, what’s certain is… Trickster. We’ll start by looking for this Chaeryeong.”

“With so many places she’s been spotted, wouldn’t it be actually harder to find her?”

As Do-hwa pointed out, ‘Trickster’ Chaeryeong had numerous sightings in a short span, which would indeed make her difficult to track down.

“But if you look at the locations and times of sightings… there might be something to see.”

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