The Civil Servant Who Concealed Their True Strength Turns Out to be a Master of Possession - Chapter 73

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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 073

* * *
Things had changed since I joined the Special Team.
First and foremost.
My desk had gotten wider.
The equipment manager had apparently indulged in some snacks somewhere and made a bulk purchase—my old desk, which was dreadfully heavy, hideously ugly, and featured such awkward curves that it was nearly impossible to use the space efficiently, had been replaced with a proper solid wood desk.
Along with that, it now coordinated nicely with what could generously be called “interior design” partitions, allowing me to keep documents at my station and even stick notes on post-its where I needed them.
And the Team 5 chair, which didn’t just creak but would deflate with a pathetic hissing sound whenever you accidentally touched something wrong, had been replaced with a new one.
I felt an inexplicable satisfaction every time the wheels rolled smoothly.
Not only that, but the strange mingled odor of instant ramen and sweat that used to permeate the office had been replaced with air freshener, the lighting had brightened, and most importantly—
“Everyone should read through the materials related to Susubat and the Black Market, and we’ll have a meeting next week.”
…Pee So-won had changed.
“Each of you take one copy. I’ll reassign teams then. I know you were all transferred from your original teams, but we can flexibly reorganize teams as needed instead of sticking to your original assignments. In cases like the Black Market, there are so many shell companies that we’ll often need to get out in the field and shake down brokers directly.”
I’d noticed for a while now that her usual listless, sprawled-out demeanor had become rare, but now she was openly acting like a workaholic.
Watching her distribute materials that appeared to be thousands of pages—which she’d apparently read through herself over several days—with practiced ease, I exchanged a meaningful glance with Byeon Gu-do.
‘What’s gotten into her.’
That was the expression on both our faces, though there wasn’t much we could do about it.
“Investigator Lee Yu-ji, you’ll work in a three-person unit with Kwon Ik-seong and Ham I-na for now, starting with the brokers. So you’ll need to review the materials a bit earlier than the others….”
Read all these thousands of pages by this week? Just the three of us—me, Ham I-na, and Kwon Ik-seong?
I looked at Kwon Ik-seong with a pleading expression, but the man I’d agreed to a “fake relationship” with remained unmoved.
No, more than unmoved—he even added something he shouldn’t have.
“Let’s read it by the day after tomorrow and have a separate meeting. The three of us.”
Is that really necessary?
That’s what I wanted to ask, but Ham I-na, as if accustomed to Kwon Ik-seong’s pace, answered without complaint.
“Yes, sir.”
“….”
As I stared blankly at the two of them for a moment, both Kwon Ik-seong and Pee So-won’s gazes turned toward me. As if asking what I was doing.
I looked at Pee So-won with the most pitiful eyes I could muster.
‘But…. You said I was your partner….’
Why do I have to work with Team 1?
But Pee So-won’s eyes remained cold even to that silent question.
“Now that we’re the Special Team, we’re all Special Team members. Besides, I need to handle task assignments, so I can’t move around the office for a while.”
This psychopath! But Byeon Gu-do is right there, and so is Ma Deok-ho!
But those two didn’t work as a team with me except when cursing out their superiors.
They quietly averted their eyes from my gaze, staring into empty space instead.
What could I do.
A junior has to take the hit.
“…Yes….”
And so, starting that day, I began working overtime.

* * *
The sheer volume of data was absolutely staggering.
Particularly for the Subspace Black Market “Susubat” that we’d targeted this time, all transactions were conducted anonymously, so we couldn’t even determine the exact number of traders involved.
We were fortunate to have recovered information about several transactions at all.
As a result, we actually had even more work to do.
Categorizing hundreds of transactions and deducing who the parties involved were proved incredibly complex.
With only a handful of clues, we had to identify who the “big player” in the illegal weapons trafficking was.
In connection with this, Kang Il-yeon was brought in for questioning as a witness.
Ham I-na and I conducted the investigation of Kang Il-yeon, who appeared dressed in a high school uniform.
Kwon Ik-seong watched our interrogation from beyond the semi-transparent glass partition.
“I’m not sure how many customers came and went. I barely saw anyone’s face… and I almost never left my room inside Susubat…”
“Your room—”
Ham I-na slid forward a photograph of the Subspace she’d prepared.
It was a photo of the small workshop, barely ten square meters, where Kang Il-yeon had been confined every single day.
That space, crammed entirely with strange machinery, looked nothing like a place where a high school student could have spent years.
“Yes. I think I ate and slept there. There were many nights I couldn’t sleep. When the director punished me, I’d be locked in there and had to make whatever he told me to for days.”
“…”
Ham I-na’s expression crumpled.
The look of someone who wanted to hunt down that “director” and kill him on the spot.
Reading that expression, I opened my mouth quietly.
“Right. I understand. So when you stayed at the director’s residence, do you remember anyone you saw?”
At my question, Kang Il-yeon shook her head.
“Only the driver and the cleaning staff. I never saw anyone else. I spent almost all my time in a storage room back then.”
“A storage room?”
“Yes. It was a room made by converting a garage, but it was still better than staying in Susubat. I could use the bathroom whenever I wanted, drink water, and it was brighter… And I could see Won-yeon sometimes too!”
Il-yeon smiled brightly.
Yet in that bright smile, the abuse she’d endured was painfully evident.
How routine must the abuse have been for using the bathroom, drinking water, and seeing family to feel like “privileges”?
“…Right. I understand. Let’s stop here for today. If we need anything else, would it be okay to call you again?”
When I asked, Kang Il-yeon’s eyes lit up as she answered.
“N… No, if you need me, Investigator, anytime.”
This girl had been following me around like a hunting dog lately.
The word “following” felt a bit uncomfortable, but it was true.
I had clearly freed her from the shackles of the director who’d been strangling her neck, and suggested we work together, yet she treated me like a new “director.”
The fact that she tried to obey everything I said was one piece of evidence.
‘This feels somewhat dangerous…’
In the original work, Choi Woo-jin had exploited Kang Il-yeon extensively because of this very tendency of hers.
Ultimately, it had been beneficial for this world and for Kang Il-yeon, but even so, the fact that Kang Il-yeon remained bound to someone never changed, and while reading it, I’d consistently felt that Choi Woo-jin’s methods were fundamentally wrong.
And now I’d become that Choi Woo-jin—
‘How peculiar.’
So I left the interrogation room and escorted Kang Il-yeon out, saying:
“You don’t have to comply with every request I make. You’re merely a witness, after all….”
It was right then that I was offering this explanation.
“Oh, that’s right. You gave me permission last time.”
“Permission?”
What permission had I given?
“Back then. You said I could run an experiment with that slime.”
Oh, that’s right!
Only then did I recall the message I’d sent when I’d plummeted because of Cha Jeon-hyeok, returned to my main body, and lost consciousness.
Hey
Unnie. Could I run just one experiment with that slime?
Sure. Go ahead.
…It was sent by mistake.
I suspected that autocomplete had activated when Byeon Gu-do touched my phone while I was unconscious.
I have no memory of sending that, I’m telling you!
So I hastily sent a correction afterward, but she actually went through with it?
I looked at Kang Il-yeon with a deeply unfortunate expression.
“Wait, wait. So you’re not about to hand me slime rice cakes or slime buckwheat jelly or something, are you? You’re saying eating that enhances your body?”
For reference, after hearing that I’d lost consciousness, Kang Il-yeon had shipped some disgustingly foul-tasting potion to my house.
It does give me energy when I drink it, and I’ve been using it well for overtime work lately, but—
Could it be…. That soft creature was actually inside that potion?
Cold sweat was pouring down my face at that moment.
Kang Il-yeon inserted something into my ear.
The moment that bean sprout-looking thing was plugged in, a voice came from somewhere.
[I’m suffocating! Open the door! Open it, I said, you XXXXX!]
Accompanied by extremely harsh curses.
And at the same time, as Kang Il-yeon opened her backpack, a green gelatinous creature—no, a slime shot out with a whoosh.
[Huh? That airheaded woman. You kidnapped me and didn’t even show your face the whole time?]
…What is this? Could it be—
“I ran various experiments with the true thoughts earphone. And it actually worked.”
Kang Il-yeon grinned wickedly and held up the slime oozing from inside her bag with both hands, showing it to me.
“Slime language interpretation!”
And at the same time—
“Get down, Investigator Lee Yu-ji.”
A flat voice echoed through the hallway, and Kang Il-yeon’s face instantly disappeared downward.
When I came to my senses, Kang Il-yeon was already pinned flat on the ground beneath Kwon Ik-seong’s body, her arm bent and restrained.
[Ahhhhhhh! What are you doing in the hallway!]
With the slime’s shriek, my face contorted.

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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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