The Civil Servant Who Concealed Their True Strength Turns Out to be a Master of Possession - Chapter 145

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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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A Civil Servant Who Hides His Strength Is Exceptionally Good at Possession – Episode 145
“These damn bastards….”
The quiet voice that erupted from the conference room didn’t belong to Pee So-won, surprisingly.
It was Byeon Gu-do’s.
“…?”
What’s with him?
We didn’t do anything that warranted—
“Why did Choi Se-a offer to give us that footage first?”
Ham I-na asked while I was feeling uncomfortable.
We had already established that our plea deal was Choi Se-a’s initial proposal.
I couldn’t mention that I’d known beforehand Choi Se-a had leverage over Choi Jun-gu.
‘To do that, I’d need to reveal the Gamer’s identity first….’
“I suspect it’s related to the association’s corruption. To figure that out, I think we need to know what case my fa—I mean, Detective Lee Do-young was pursuing.”
Ham I-na flinched at the word “father.”
That’s when Park Min-bae spoke up.
“There’s an object here, in this part. An item.”
Park Min-bae pointed at a small dot in the video displayed on the roll screen—the truck, specifically what the driver was holding in his hand.
“…?”
He can see that?
As I was thinking how that was possible, I realized.
Ah, right.
That guy was from the Support Team.
Which meant he probably had ‘eyes’ like an appraisal skill.
Precise enough that Taebaek Guild would want to recruit him.
Still, he’s being quite proactive.
He used to be that exhausted turtle who looked like he’d be heading to the sea soon.
“Can you appraise what kind of item it is?”
That’s when Ma Deok-ho spoke.
Ma Deok-ho had already removed the headset he always wore.
What’s with him too?
Park Min-bae and Ham I-na are one thing, but seeing Team 5 investigators being this proactive is hard to adjust to.
“Hmm… I can only tell it’s a Subspace item and its approximate grade? I can’t determine the Craftsman.”
Wow. This guy has a skill that lets him appraise through screens?
With luck, he might even be able to identify the Craftsman?
Our Public Investigation Division might actually be a gathering of skilled people, not incompetent ones?
“The grade is quite high. Subspace items don’t usually need to be this high-grade…. I’d estimate it’s A-rank.”
“So there’s a possibility it’s an item with additional stat bonuses attached?”
Byeon Gu-do nodded and spoke.
How is this meeting so efficient?
I couldn’t adjust to this side of Byeon Gu-do and Ma Deok-ho that I’d never seen before.
Either way, there was nothing bad about it.
“If it’s an ability to extract only necessary items, wouldn’t that be quite a valuable ability?”
I opened my mouth.
“Necessary items?”
I rewound the video slightly.
Watching my father collapse, I fell into a daze for a moment.
Tap.
Someone nudged my foot. Thanks to that, I snapped back to attention and found Kwon Ik-seong standing beside me.
“Ah, my apologies. I lost focus for a moment.”
“…Would you like me to take over?”
Kwon Ik-seong took the laptop.
“Ah, yes.”
Right. That would be better.
My gaze kept drifting to the clear image of my father in the video without my realizing it.
Ik-seong pulled the video forward again.
I pointed to the changed driver on the screen.
“That driver. He doesn’t appear to have any vital signs.”
I’d thought about this after watching the same footage multiple times.
“He didn’t emerge from the Subspace on his own….”
Pee So-won’s eyebrows shot up as she grasped the meaning of my words.
“He was treated as an object and brought out? Because he was dead?”
“Yes. If it’s a Subspace item that can place only necessary items in necessary locations and then be retrieved, it would be estimated as quite a high grade.”
It’s somewhat gruesome to say, but.
That’s right.
Given Choi Jun-gu’s nature, it’s highly likely he didn’t leave behind an “injured body” that might still have life in it.
The possibility that he left behind a corpse—definitely dead—like an “object.”
But even I, a civil servant who had read the entire original work, and even I as Lee Yu-ji, remembering this entire life, had never heard of such a type of Subspace item.
“If someone created such a special Subspace item, they’d likely be quite a high-grade Craftsman.”
Park Min-bae spoke up.
“At least S-rank.”
“An S-rank Craftsman…?”
Pee So-won’s face twisted at those words.
This time, Kwon Ik-seong opened his mouth.
“There are currently 12 S-rank Craftsman Hunters alive in the entire world.”
That’s right.
Craftsman-type Hunters are already quite rare to begin with, and S-rank is naturally even rarer.
So even an A-rank like Kang Il-yeon was an incredibly helpful Hunter to the protagonist, but an S-rank Craftsman Hunter?
Then this needs to escalate to an international crime scale.
“Among them, there are 5 S-rank Hunters operating in the Asian region. That includes Russia and Central Asia.”
Our Ik-seong… even in this situation, he’s quite impressive. An AI without errors in searches.
“Are there any S-rank Hunters on the red wanted list among them?”
Our open-source AI responded swiftly to my question, as expected.
“Yulia Kim. Known to be of Korean-mixed descent, and hasn’t been captured yet. Since Russia has Craftsman-class Hunters serve in special forces for life once caught, there’s a possibility she’s already been apprehended but the situation is being concealed.”
In other words, we can’t find her.
Tsk.
I let out a brief sigh.
Seeing that, Pee So-won clenched her teeth and gestured to Park Min-bae with her chin.
“Have you ever seen an item made by Yulia Kim?”
“I haven’t seen one, but….”
“If you did see one, could you confirm based on that whether this object was made by Yulia Kim?”
“Possibly.”
At Park Min-bae’s response, Pee So-won nodded.
“Okay. Then we start by finding something made by Yulia Kim.”
“How are you going to find that?”
I asked in a bewildered voice, but Pee So-won didn’t answer.
Instead, Byeon Gu-do and Ma Deok-ho simply rose to their feet as if they were ready.
“Whew, looks like I’ll get to flex a bit after a while.”
“It’s more about skill than strength. Your strength seems rather weak….”
Listening to the exchange between Byeon Gu-do and Ma Deok-ho, I narrowed my eyes.
“What exactly are you going to find and how?”
“Simple, right? We shake down the illegal item smuggling brokers. If we sweep through the Incheon area, something’s bound to turn up.”
Byeon Gu-do spoke as if it were obvious.
Wow.
They’re seriously planning to do pure legwork!
You guys…!
Then Pee So-won gestured to me with her chin.
“You coming, partner?”
Seeing that, Park Min-bae quietly asked Ham I-na beside him.
“Were all investigation teams like this originally?”
Then Ham I-na also answered quietly.
“That couldn’t be. Team 5 was somewhat… special.”
I can hear everything, you know.
I’m from Team 5 too.
Ham I-na looked at Kwon Ik-seong and asked.
“Then what should we do?”
“We trace Detective Lee Do-young’s movements on that day. There probably won’t be much remaining material, but we’ll verify based on duty logs and personal effects.”
At those words, I came to an abrupt stop.
Pee So-won looked at Kwon Ik-seong.
Kwon Ik-seong spoke to me as if it were obvious.
“This is work that Investigator Lee Yu-ji will need to help with.”
“Um… well…”
“Since I’m planning to join Kang Il-yeon in tracking down the items.”
At Kwon Ik-seong’s words, Pee So-won turned back just as she was leaving and bowed her head toward him.
“I’m taking Yu-ji with me, okay? And you two need to track Detective Lee Do-young’s movements that day, and make a formal request to the bereaved family. Can you just make requests like this without any proper procedure?”
Wait… is she worried about me?
Or is she just annoyed because I’m not listening to her?
I looked back and forth between Pee So-won, whose eyes were sharp, and Kwon Ik-seong, who was staring at her intently, my expression confused.
“Then let me make a formal request here. Please help us. Investigator Lee Yu-ji. Or rather, Ms. Lee Yu-ji.”
Ms. Lee Yu-ji.
The way Ik-seong called me by this unfamiliar title felt oddly pleasant.
It felt sweet, as if Ik-seong and I had become acquaintances who met from outside rather than workplace colleagues…
…but setting that aside.
I needed to give them an answer.
I looked at Pee So-won and Kwon Ik-seong with an awkward smile.
Both of them looked at me with some burden.
“I will…”

* * *
Before I knew it, I was standing in a hotel hallway dressed as hotel staff.
For reference, the hotel staff member who lent me this outfit is currently bound hand and foot in the hotel supply room.
Since I’ve taped her mouth shut so she can’t make a sound, she won’t be able to get out until I release her.
Which means—
[Once you’re inside, report the number of personnel.]
Pee So-won’s voice piercing into my ear.
This meant my answer was to go along with Pee So-won.
What choice did I have?
Quest ‘Clear the Fabergé Dungeon (S)’
This is a Russian dungeon.

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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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