Surviving as a Brainwashing Villain in a Hero World

Chapter 30

– Sssssssshh –

“Hehehehehe…”

Suddenly, with a hissing sound, a thick smoke spread through the café, and the seductive laughter of a woman faintly brushed past Do-hwa’s and Seolumi’s ears.

“Cough! Cough! What’s happening!?”

“Ugh… Was it an ambush?”

Though the white smoke that filled the café quickly began to escape through the windows and entrance, it was toxic enough to make the two cough continuously.

“I was sure… I subdued her so fast she couldn’t react.”

In the blink of an eye before Chaeryeong’s eyes could even fully recognize Seolumi.

Seolumi was certain she saw the ice quickly extend to freeze her in that split second.

‘What’s going on?’

Once the smoke cleared somewhat and visibility returned,

the figure of Chaeryeong, who should have been encased in ice, was nowhere to be seen.

‘Among the abilities we predicted… it’s not teleportation but the ability to create clones.’

“Cough…! We need to get out of the café quickly and chase her!”

The time it took for the smoke to fill and then clear from the café was just a matter of seconds.

Even if she had prepared a getaway car, there wasn’t enough time for her to start it.

Do-hwa, still coughing but insisting they should chase now, tried to rush out of the café.

“Ahem… It’s okay.”

But Seolumi grabbed Do-hwa’s wrist, preventing her from running out.

“What do you mean by that! If we don’t chase her now!”

“It’s okay. This is within the expected range.”

Do-hwa was surprised at Seolumi’s incomprehensible action.

However, Seolumi, saying it was expected, firmly held onto Do-hwa who tried to shake off her hand.

“I didn’t tell you, Ignition, but I had other agents positioned around here in advance.

Given how much smoke spread outside… by now, they should have…”

Seolumi had used a card with the Hero Union symbol on it to pay for an iced Americano a few days ago when she visited the café.

Combining the tip-off with collected information, she suspected this café to be a hideout of the Dark Knights,

and had intentionally shown the card to test her.

Chaeryeong took the card with an indifferent reaction to proceed with the payment,

but she had examined the symbol drawn on the card closely for a few seconds before doing so.

When she saw the symbol of the Hero Union, which resembled a powerful fist, her kind red eyes seemed to emit a sense of displeasure.

Having undertaken numerous undercover and stakeout missions with similar experiences,

her intuition told her this feeling was correct.

– Ding-ding! –

“Luckily, it seems the agents have successfully apprehended her.”

The notification sound from Seolumi’s device rang like a celebration of the operation’s success,

as the smoke in the café cleared away.

“Yes. Understood. The back alley of the café. We’ll move immediately.”

After receiving the report call from the agent she had positioned around the café earlier,

she put her device back into her pants pocket.

“Among the abilities we anticipated… she seems to use clones.”

“How do you know that? We couldn’t see anything because of the smoke.”

Even as Do-hwa rushed out of the café following Seolumi,

She questioned how Seolumi could be certain Chaeryeong had the ability to use clones.

“The laugh we heard earlier. It came from a different direction than where the ice was.

Even as the laughter was heard, her figure was definitely visible inside that ice.”

It was a brief explanation, but Seolumi presented a clear logic that was immediately understandable.

Do-hwa nodded in understanding.

“This way! Heroes!”

Men in black suits filled the alley between the café and another building.

And among them was Chaeryeong, her arm restrained by one of the men in black suits.

“Hehe… looks like I’ve been caught.”

Bound by special restraints, unable to move a single step,

Chaeryeong waited quietly with a resigned expression for Seolumi and Do-hwa to approach.

“We’ve restrained her so she can’t move. The transport vehicle will arrive in a few seconds.”

“I see. Thank you for your hard work.”

The agent with a neat appearance exchanged salutes with Seolumi,

briefly reporting the situation.

‘This is bad. Where in the world is the master…?’

Clearly, she had instructed Si-yoon to enter the café upon her signal, but neither he nor Do-hwa were inside.

Moreover, despite some time having passed since the operation started, they were nowhere to be seen.

– Tap-tap –

“Eh?”

As the agents and two heroes waited for the transport vehicle,

a hand emerged from among the agents tapping Do-hwa on the shoulder.

When Do-hwa turned around,

a tall, sturdy man among the agents took out his cell phone and lifted it up.

‘M… Master?!’

Wearing sunglasses and dressed in a black suit like the other agents,

but to Do-hwa’s eyes, that agent was unmistakably Si-yoon.

He gestured with his phone as if to tell her to check it.

Do-hwa pulled out her phone from her pocket to check the message.

[Master♥: Mission accomplished. Relax.]

‘Mission accomplished…?’

The message from Si-yoon contained just two words.

As his corrupted slave, Do-hwa trusted and followed Si-yoon’s words absolutely,

but even so, it was hard to understand how he managed to do whatever he did.

‘He must have taken some kind of measure.’

But given he sent such a confident message, she believed there must be a significant meaning behind it and kept her mouth shut, waiting.

“The transport vehicle has arrived.”

One of the agents ran from outside the alley to report to Seolumi that the transport vehicle had arrived.

“Understood. Proceed with the transport.”

“Yes, sir!!!”

Following Seolumi’s command, the agents holding Chaeryeong moved in unison to ensure she couldn’t escape.

“Against heroes like you… I simply can’t hold my own.”

She spoke as if giving up on everything, not just powerlessly,

being transported all too easily for someone in the position of a high-ranking villain.

To catch a top-tier villain who had been elusive for days so easily was strange,

and Do-hwa felt an odd sense of discrepancy.

“Hehehehe…”

As Chaeryeong walked towards the transport vehicle of her own accord,

she suddenly stopped and mocked the agents holding her.

“Using such simple and foolish methods…

How can I possibly be caught by you? Hehe.”

– Bang! –

“What… What’s happening!?”

“Where did she go!”

With a bang, Chaeryeong vanished in the blink of an eye.

Only the tightly tied restraints remained on the ground, leaving no trace.

“Search the surroundings quickly! She couldn’t have gone far!”

“Find her! Quickly!!”

The panicked agents rushed out to search for Chaeryeong.

“Tsk…!”

Seolumi bit her lip hard and clicked her tongue.

Regret over the failed operation.

And self-reproach for underestimating a top-tier villain.

She had remained calm even during the sudden ambush,

but at this moment, not even she could hide her anger and self-blame.

‘I knew she had the ability to use clones… but why?

Could she make multiple clones… or maybe she swapped places with one?’

As if punishing herself for her overconfident judgment,

her bitten lip bled.

– Tap-tap-tap –

“It seems she has escaped. No one resembling her is around.”

“We’re sorry.”

The agents, unable to find the escaped Chaeryeong, blamed themselves,

apologizing to Seolumi with bowed heads.

“No, it was my fault for underestimating her.”

However, Seolumi wiped away the blood from her lip,

and instead bowed her head, blaming herself for the day’s events.

“Quickly contact the agents stationed at the location where she was last seen.”

“Yes!”

She instructed them to relay the information swiftly to the agents dispatched to the area where Chaeryeong was spotted,

and both returned to their car parked in front of the café.

“I’m sorry. It seems I thought too lightly of it.”

“No! Complications and difficulties due to abilities are common.”

Some people live their entire lives without realizing they possess abilities,

while others face drastic life changes from birth due to their abilities.

The very nature of abilities is so elusive that it’s deemed impossible to understand, according to the mainstream opinion of researchers studying abilities for decades.

“There’s no way to pursue her now.

Until further reports from the agents or orders from above… we’ll temporarily suspend the operation.”

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