Not A Regressor - Chapter 114

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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I Am Not a Regressor Chapter 114
Hunting the Owls (5)
“Heh…”
The Black-haired Woman’s eyes grew clouded and vacant.
She staggered to her feet, her mouth hanging open stupidly.
‘I can still dominate up to mid-level officials, it seems.’
Of course, I could only succeed in domination by poisoning her first and then threatening her.
Still, it felt oddly remarkable that I could so easily subdue an Awakened User with the same rank as Ashad Khan—someone who had beaten me to a pulp just a few months ago.
‘I really am growing stronger at an incredible pace.’
Well, to be honest, the woman I just subdued only held the same rank as Ashad Khan in title; she seemed far inferior to him in actual capability.
Even if she were truly his equal, I was confident I could subdue her without difficulty.
‘But thinking about it, if I only count by Star rating, I’m still below Ashad Khan.’
Back then, Ashad Khan was 7-Star, so by pure Star ranking alone, he was still one tier above me.
But after fighting so many 8-Star Awakened Users recently, 7-Star felt like nothing at all.
No.
In reality, 7-Star Awakened Users posed no real threat to me anymore.
‘If I’m already this strong at 6-Star…’
Just what would I become
when I reached higher tiers?
“Hmm.”
Even I couldn’t predict it.
‘Well, I’ll find out when the time comes.’
I had no intention of stopping anyway.
I had infiltrated the Owl Faction’s headquarters and risked danger precisely to lay the groundwork for even faster growth.
“Now then.”
I turned my gaze toward the woman, now my puppet.
“Would you take me to where the Black Star Society branch locations and scale information are recorded?”
“…Yes.”
The woman nodded mechanically.
Once inside the Server Room, I retrieved the USB drive I had prepared from my sling bag.
“Copy all the information you can onto this.”
“Understood…”
The woman nodded and inserted the USB drive.
“The Black Star Society currently has a total of 32 branches across the nation.”
32 branches—that was quite a lot.
“How many of those are large-scale branches?”
“There are 6 branches led by senior officials or higher.”
“What’s the scale of each branch?”
“Large branches have approximately 200 members, while small to medium branches have around 30 to 50.”
Quite substantial indeed.
‘If I include all the branch offices, that’s over five thousand people.’
In terms of sheer numbers, it exceeded all the top ten Guilds combined.
‘The ability to grant stigmas is genuinely broken.’
Of course.
There is no power without a price.
They had forcibly granted power to those without the talent to receive the Star’s blessing, so proportional side effects would inevitably follow.
“…How many have been sacrificed so far?”
“Sacrificed… sir?”
“How many died receiving the Owl Faction’s stigma?”
“Ah, you mean the defective products.”
“…Defective products?”
“Within the faction, we refer to those who died unable to withstand the Black Star’s blessing as defective products.”
“….”
Defective products?
Did these bastards just call people defective products?
“What the hell do you think human lives are?”
“Huh?”
“Are human lives some kind of tool or spare part? Huh?”
“That’s… that’s not….”
The woman faltered in confusion.
“It’s not like that….”
“Nope, you nailed it.”
“…Pardon?”
“I think the same way.”
A grin spread across his face.
Kwon O-jin nodded while lifting the corners of his mouth.
“Wow~ I never expected to find common ground with the Black Star Society on something like this.”
A soft chuckle escaped him.
“….”
Even under domination, the woman looked up at Kwon O-jin with an expression of utter disbelief.
“So since we’re kindred spirits, let’s be honest with each other. How many died?”
“…The number of dead defective products is approximately two thousand.”
Two thousand.
‘That’s actually a pretty high success rate.’
With the Owl Faction’s current strength at around five thousand, it meant roughly three out of four survived receiving the stigma.
Of course, just because they didn’t die didn’t mean there weren’t other side effects like shortened lifespans or damaged body parts trailing behind.
‘Still, the important thing is they can become Awakened Users.’
A seventy-five percent chance to escape a miserable, pathetic life and become superhuman.
Isn’t that a gamble worth taking?
‘That’s why there are so many Black Star Society members crawling around like this.’
Whether the Black Star Society kidnapped children to use as hostages and killed them, or unleashed monsters upon defenseless civilians for a massacre—none of it would truly matter.
Morality always pales before desire, after all.
“Here… the information you requested.”
The woman extended a USB drive.
‘Perfect.’
If I spread this information through the Guilds.
Dozens, hundreds of Guilds hunting the Black Star Society with burning eyes would descend upon them.
‘No matter how powerful their faction, they can’t stop an entire nation moving against them.’
If they could have.
There would be no reason to hide so carefully in the shadows as they do now.
Kwon O-jin smiled darkly as he gazed at the USB containing information that could obliterate the Owl Faction in a single stroke.
“Is there anything else you wish to ask?”
“Hmm.”
I already had the information I originally came for.
“Where is Cheon Do-yoon right now, and what is he doing?”
“That… I don’t know.”
Even the executive official holding the Black Star Society’s core secrets doesn’t know?
Then.
“What about the movements of other Black Star Society factions?”
“Currently, aside from the Leech Faction in Italy and the Seahorse Faction in Japan, no other movements have been detected.”
The Seahorse Faction?
“Which ranked executive officer leads the Seahorse Faction?”
“The 7th-ranked executive officer.”
Below Cheon Do-yoon then.
‘Japan is fairly close, but.’
I don’t have the capacity to worry about foreign countries right now.
‘I should wrap this up here.’
I’d like to sit and interrogate her about countless other things.
But if I drag this out any longer, there’s a risk my infiltration will be discovered.
‘If I get caught here, it’s over.’
Empty building or not, there are three thousand Black Star Society members at headquarters alone.
If I’m unlucky enough to get surrounded, there’s no escape.
“That’s enough. We’re done here.”
Kwon O-jin rose from his seat.
He placed his hand on the woman’s head and issued his final instruction.
“Forget everything that happened here and don’t give it another thought.”
“…Yes.”
I had already administered the antidote to the poison I used to subdue her.
There would be no loose ends to trace back to me.
‘Time to leave.’
I grabbed the USB and headed out.
I retraced my steps with utmost caution, half-expecting to encounter another Black Star Society member on the way back, but my worries proved unfounded—the corridor was completely empty.
“That was surprisingly smooth.”
For a solo infiltration into the Black Star Society’s headquarters, I’d managed to slip through without any real danger.
‘Now I just need to get downstairs….’
The moment I pressed the button and stepped into the Elevator.
—Whirrrrrr!
“What the hell? What’s going on all of a sudden?”
“Apparently there’s an emergency request from another branch.”
Black Star Society members suddenly poured out from beyond the Gate and flooded into the Elevator.
‘What the—’
In an instant, the Elevator was packed with Black Star Society members like a rush-hour train car.
‘This is insane.’
Of all the times for this to happen.
“With the Leech Queen and the Association causing such chaos lately, things have been hectic.”
“Sigh, if only Cheon Do-yoon were here.”
“He must have a plan. We just need to follow orders.”
Fortunately, they mistook me for one of their own Black Star Society members and simply chatted away without paying me much attention.
‘Damn it.’
But it was only a matter of time.
The moment even one of them recognized me, all the careful planning would crumble to dust.
‘Domination.’
I desperately activated Domination.
Dark clouds spread through the cramped Elevator.
—Ding!
[The number of targets to dominate is too large.]
[Domination has failed!]
Damn.
‘I can’t knock them all out here either.’
Physically, it wouldn’t be difficult.
The problem was the aftermath of causing such a massive commotion.
‘Reinforcements would pour out from headquarters immediately.’
Since we were practically right on top of it, hundreds or thousands of troops would come flooding out in less than a minute.
If that happened, it was over.
Even I couldn’t fight that many people.
‘If they just don’t recognize me and I can make it to the first floor….’
I stared anxiously at the floor display as it changed from the 6th to the 5th floor.
Then.
“…Huh?”
“What?”
“I’ve never seen that face before….”
“Not from another team?”
“Wait a moment.”
One of the Black Star Society members in the Elevator fixed their gaze intently on Kwon O-jin.
‘Damn it.’
I was caught.
“Oh, wait… I feel like I’ve seen that face somewhere before.”
“N-Noe-rang! It’s Noe-rang!!!”
“W-What? Why is Noe-rang here?!”
The Black Star Society members inside the Elevator surrounded Kwon O-jin in a circle.
“….”
Kwon O-jin turned to regard the Black Star Society members encircling him with a cold gaze.
“How noisy.”
“…Huh?”
“Which team do you belong to?”
I turned the question back on them.
“W-We’re from Black Wing Team 3… sir?”
“Team 3, I see. In that case, it makes sense you wouldn’t know me.”
“…?”
The Owls tilted their heads in bewilderment.
“In any case, Do-yoon really does control information far too thoroughly.”
“Could it be….”
“Wait, wasn’t Noe-rang an Awakened User of Vega Star?”
Kwon O-jin swept his gaze across them and let out a soft chuckle.
“By the grace of the Black Star.”
“…!”
The Owls’ eyes widened dramatically.
—Ding!
At that same moment, the Elevator arrived at the first floor.
“You said you were heading out for emergency support?”
“Yes, yes! That’s correct!”
“Good work.”
Tap, tap.
I patted the Black Star Society member’s shoulder and walked out.
“….”
Leaving the Owls behind with dumbfounded expressions on their faces.
* * *
“Holy crap! Noe-rang was actually part of the Black Star Society!”
The Owls who had exited the building climbed into their vehicle, making a fuss.
“Then the news about Cheon Woo-sung’s death… that was a lie, wasn’t it?”
“Ah! That’s right! You said Noe-rang was the one who chased down Cheon Woo-sung and captured him!”
“Puhahahaha! What? So the Association’s people were dancing in the palm of our hands?”
The Owls let out exclamations of disbelief.
“Wow, I knew Cheon Do-yoon always had a plan!”
“Who would have thought he’d even bring Noe-rang into this?”
Vega Star’s apostle, who was receiving worldwide attention, was actually part of the Black Star Society all along!
“Kyaha! Doesn’t this mean our faction basically controls all of South Korea?”
“Cheon Do-yoon said it himself. A world dominated by the Black Star is coming soon.”
“Hehe. When that time comes, we’ll also….”
Greedy smiles spread across the Owls’ faces.
“Wow… anyway, Noe-rang. I’ve seen him fight on broadcast before, and he was ridiculously strong.”
One of the Owls clenched his fist with a bashful expression.
“Do you think I could transfer to the team Noe-rang belongs to later?”
His clenched fist trembled with barely contained strength.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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