The Civil Servant Who Concealed Their True Strength Turns Out to be a Master of Possession - Chapter 2

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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 002
That death, which would be recorded as my first demise, was likely a concussion.
Probably.
That day, I—or more precisely, the me from my previous life—was rushing through home visits due to orders from above.
“Why is library service usage so low? If our community center ends up last in XX District and our budget gets cut, what happens then? Wouldn’t that be bad? Wouldn’t it, administrator?”
…It would be bad.
Why ask a question that only has one possible answer?
Even as I wondered about this, I was climbing up the slum neighborhood, laden with pamphlets and several books, explaining large-print books for the elderly.
What choice did I have? Orders were orders.
That’s just how work gets created for low-ranking civil servants like me.
I trudged up the steep slope while grumbling—
“Uh… uh…?”
An elderly person’s hand cart that they’d lost control of hit me, and I fell backward, my head splitting open as I died.
What was even more absurd than this ridiculous death was that after dying like that, I was reincarnated and—
I possessed a body in a hunter novel I used to enjoy reading.
And I only remembered this fact when Lee Yu-ji, now twenty-four years old, showed up for her first day of work as an investigator with the Hunter Investigation Unit.
On this historic day when I’d awakened as an F-rank hunter and, after enduring all sorts of hardship, finally landed a government job.
‘Why am I only finding out about this now?’
And Team 5?
I don’t remember anything about Team 5 of the Hunter Investigation Unit.
I’ve never even heard the name Lee Yu-ji before.
What kind of possession is this?
I was dumbfounded.
The name of the novel I’d possessed into was this.
The Hidden Ranker Saves the World.
Abbreviated as “Hidden Ranker” for short.
True to its title, it was about the protagonist Choi Woo-jin, who hides his strength, fighting against the Great Empire Guild—the massive evil leading this world toward destruction.
In the process, Choi Woo-jin didn’t hesitate to commit crimes, so he was constantly being pursued by the Hunter Investigation Unit.
The Hunter Investigation Unit.
This independent investigative agency, established thirty years ago, was an organization that investigated only crimes committed by hunters.
Choi Woo-jin always referred to the Hunter Investigation Unit like this.
“Useless bastards.”
The higher-ups had only created this prestigious investigative agency called the Hunter Investigation Unit, but personnel recruitment and financial support were severely lacking, leading to constant problems.
‘One hundred percent accurate depiction of civil service society.’
Still, there were elite investigators like Kwon Ik-seong who overcame all those problems and boasted a ninety-nine percent arrest rate.
Ah, Kwon Ik-seong.
My savior. My hope. The rising star of the civil service.
As I read Hidden Ranker, I made Kwon Ik-seong my ultimate bias in my heart.
His status as my favorite was cemented not only by his outstanding appearance in the illustrations scattered throughout but also by this line of dialogue.
“It’s quitting time now. Let’s call it a day on this investigation.”
…Our Ik-seong, always leaving work on time.
Ik-seong, who keeps getting toyed with by Choi Woo-jin yet never gives up pursuing his true identity.
Give our Ik-seong a raise already!
Was this the punishment for cursing out the Hunter Investigation Unit so much…?
A window materialized before my eyes.
Abnormal Status: ‘Nameless extras in crime novels always die’ activated!
Quest: ‘Find the bomb installed within the Heonsu Building!(A)’
-Completion Reward: 5,000 Gold
-Failure: Death by explosion
Ah, right.
That’s it.
The reason my name and Team 5, which I belong to, don’t exist in my past life’s memories despite reading that novel so carefully.
Because Team 5 disappears early in the novel.
‘Everyone dies in an explosion.’
No wonder I couldn’t remember a single teammate’s name when I entered this novel!
02:59:59
Red numbers glowing in the upper right corner of my vision.
So that’s the time remaining until the bomb detonates…?
If it’s going to explode anyway, can I escape death by explosion if I just leave this office alone?
Time until explosion: 02:57:45
…No.
The larger numbers seemed to mock me.
There’s no way a supernatural Quest like this would let me escape death by explosion just because I ran away.
Like an oracle complex, it would either force me back to this spot somehow, or physically relocate me entirely.
I barely survived a pathetic death and possessed someone, and now this—death by explosion.
That’s when cold sweat began trickling down my back.
“Whoa. Another newbie showed up. Again….”
Someone sat on the desk in front of me with a deflated tone.
A man with a slick face and fairly long hair tied back tightly grinned and wiggled his hand in the air.
“Hey there, newbie. My name is Byeon Gu-do. My grandfather named me hoping I’d become someone who structures stories well….”
His tone and words were friendly, but his expression was quite indifferent.
Yet there was someone even less friendly than Byeon Gu-do—a man sitting beside him.
Thick horn-rimmed glasses pulled low. A hoodie worn over them. Even a headset hanging around his neck.
A headset in the office….
…So this is what they call the MZ generation?
Byeon Gu-do tapped the headset man’s shoulder and grinned.
“This is my section… you don’t need to worry about it.”
It’s hard not to worry when….
He keeps glancing over at me and glaring since earlier.
“Your partner is our team leader. Quite an honor, right?”
“Excuse me?”
My partner is the team leader?
So I’m basically in the position of a new hire working on a project with a department head at a regular company…?
Byeon Gu-do grinned widely at my bewildered tone and answered.
“What? You don’t like it?”
Ah, I recognize that expression.
I saw it often in my previous life too.
It was the look my township office section chief used to make whenever he issued some ridiculous directive.
And that expression meant this:
‘Just do as I say.’
“Of course not. I’m quite pleased.”
I forced an awkward smile while sweat began to trickle down my back.
Pleased, right.
When my life is literally on the line?
Let me think about this.
What if I’m a possession user in this world and I fail the very first Quest and die?
What if…
What if… that happens?

* * *
In the Himseoku novel, the episode where a bomb appears that would blow up part of the Heonsu Building is episode 51.
My possession must be working well—I remember the episode number perfectly.
In Himseoku, the protagonist Choi Woo-jin catches the tail of a crime connected to the Daeyang Guild in episode 50.
That crime is none other than a black market.
A hunter capable of manipulating subspace was distributing monster byproducts like “Funny Powder” that could be used as hallucinogens, as well as illegal weapons—a criminal enterprise.
‘Of course, the goods distributed here all flowed from the Daeyang Guild.’
Thus, Choi Woo-jin subtly leaked this black market crime to the Heonsu Department and even handed over a witness.
“After doing all this, only an idiot couldn’t catch them.”
…Yes.
The Heonsu Department was indeed idiots.
But the poor civil servants of the Heonsu Department had an excuse!
That witness had blown themselves up!
Along with the entire Team 5 investigation unit!
In other words, this bombing incident was orchestrated by the Daeyang Guild to eliminate that “witness” Choi Woo-jin had handed over to the Heonsu Department.
I gazed at the detention center connected to the 5th Team Office.
‘The black market owner. Since they were targeting him, they had no choice but to plant the bomb in the 5th Team Office, which was closest.’
The original work didn’t mention where the bomb was planted, but it did describe the method.
It wouldn’t be surprising if the Daeyang Guild had planted an insider within the Heonsu Department. The guild leader had the power to do so, and the Heonsu Department lacked the capability to root out such moles.
An insider.
Choi Woo-jin believed there was a spy within the Heonsu Department.
I observed Byeon Gu-do working on something at his computer, while Ma Deok-ho continued to glance at me warily through the mirror.
Was there a spy among these people?
Or was it my partner—the team leader?
“By the way, when will our team leader arrive?”
I asked, but neither of them responded.
Byeon Gu-do’s gaze remained fixed on his monitor, while Ma Deok-ho answered by turning up the volume on his headset.
I had no choice but to approach Byeon Gu-do, who seemed the more approachable of the two.
What was he so busy with?
Was he really a plant?
Suspicious, I drew closer and saw Byeon Gu-do’s monitor displaying bright red squares arranged in a grid.
‘…He was playing go-stop.’

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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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