Through Choi Sunmi, I could access information about the Red Light Special Task Force and the Korean Black Cross Society. Even without me asking, Choi Sunmi brought the information to me.
The Red Light Special Task Force existed in name only. Its members were assigned to other duties, not Jeokgwang. Their only task was to investigate occasional suspects believed to be Jeokgwang. The higher-ups had reportedly all but given up on Jeokgwang.
"The task force isn't likely to be disbanded. At least its existence gives the appearance that we're still investigating Jeokgwang."
The police would undoubtedly use the Red Light Special Task Force to reassure the public that they were still investigating Jeokgwang.
I heard the Black Cross Society is practically a funeral parlor these days.
They even held actual funerals for the Vampire Hunters I had killed. I stopped assassinating them after that.
Fewer than ten Vampire Hunters remain in the Korean Black Cross Society. They have to worry about other vampires besides Jeokgwang now.
I heard some Black Cross Society employees went insane from fear of me. Too bad.
They apparently requested support from the British and American branches of the Black Cross Society but were rejected. I received intelligence that Lee Munhyeon, the head of the Korean Black Cross Society, is trying to break through the current situation, but I'm not worried.
The Korean Black Cross Society had already lost its influence. All they could do was restrain the rampaging vampires who knew nothing.
Moon Ji-Hyeok seems to be running around investigating Cantra... but he's just wasting his time.
From the start, Moon Ji-Hyeok had been chasing Cantra in Korea. Among Korean vampires, only a tiny fraction knew anything about Cantra, and even those who did were completely ignorant of the Life Orb.
Right now, Moon Ji-Hyeok was digging in thin air.
I need to give him some information. That way, he'll chase after Doris like in the original story. Should I tell him about Kang Wook-sung?
Lost in thought, I shook my head.
Kang Wook-sung is a sharp one. He'll figure out right away that I gave Moon Ji-Hyeok the information.
I want to maintain a good relationship with Kang Wook-sung.
Such a convenient broker is hard to come by.
After much deliberation, I pulled out my smartphone and sent a message to Moon Ji-Hyeok.
Taker: How much have you learned about the Life Orb?
Moon Ji-Hyeok: No progress. I tracked down some hidden vampires and questioned them, but none knew anything about Cantra either.
Moon Ji-Hyeok: Maybe I'll have to go to Europe myself to investigate.
Taker: I have information about Cantra.
Taker: I've received intelligence that a Cantra executive will be smuggled from Japan to Busan soon.
Moon Ji-Hyeok: To think you'd obtain such high-level intelligence. As expected of Taker-kun.
Moon Ji-Hyeok: Do you know the exact date of the smuggling or any distinguishing features of the executive?
Taker: No. Cantra itself is a vampire organization that dominates the European region, making any information extremely difficult to obtain.
Taker: However, it's certain that Cantra's executive is a True Ancestor.
Moon Ji-Hyeok: If they're a True Ancestor, they must possess supernatural abilities.
I paused at this point.
Naturally, I knew about Doris Ziegler's supernatural abilities from the original work.
Should I tell him? Even without this information in the original story, he tracked her down just fine... But the current Moon Ji-Hyeok is slightly different from the original.
In the original story, Moon Ji-Hyeok underwent significant mental growth as he experienced and resolved various incidents. However, with the plot now twisted, the current Moon Ji-Hyeok had resolved far fewer cases.
"He's been different, especially since the bombing at headquarters last dawn. Calmer, I guess? Like the venom's been drained out of him."
Failing to stop Ji Anseok must have been a real mental blow to him.
Taker - This is just a rumor, but they say there's a True Ancestor among Cantra's executives with teleportation powers.
Moon Ji-Hyeok - Teleportation? With such an overpowered ability, why would they bother taking a ship to Busan?
Taker - The True Ancestor's powers have limitations. If they could teleport between countries, the vampires would have already conquered the world.
Taker - 10 meters. That's roughly the maximum range of their teleportation, they say.
Moon Ji-Hyeok - Still pretty overpowered, though.
Moon Ji-Hyeok: Thanks.
Taker: What for? This is all part of the job I get paid for.
Taker: Oh, speaking of which, about the True Ancestor who turned Detective Moon into a vampire...
He was supposed to have been captured by Moon Ji-Hyeok a while ago. But with the future twisted, there's no sign of him being caught even now. He's hiding in Seoul, still active.
Moon Ji-Hyeok: No way! You found him?!
Taker: Found him. Even dug up his identity.
Taker: His name is Im Mou-un. Age 28. His superpower is shapeshifting. He can't use it during the day, but at night he can change his appearance for about three hours. He can't transform into a woman, and his voice doesn't change.
Moon Ji-Hyeok: Impressive. I didn't expect you to investigate so thoroughly.
Taker: I've known about him for a while now. I hacked into nearby CCTV cameras to observe him and confirm my suspicions.
Taker: His current residence is an officetel near Sindang Station.
Moon Ji-Hyeok: Should we... kill him?
In the original story, captured vampires are executed in prison. The government secretly disposes of them to maintain secrecy.
Prisons are designed for ordinary humans. Putting a vampire in one would only lead to inevitable escape attempts using their innate physical abilities.
Taker: Vampires sent to prison always end up dead. Do as you see fit.
Taker: Just so you know, True Ancestors are far more dangerous than ordinary vampires.
I thought Moon Ji-Hyeok would arrest Im Mou-un, just like in the original story. Of course, Im Mou-un would eventually die in prison, like the other vampires who were transferred there.
Moon Ji-Hyeok: I have to kill him. The True Ancestor is too dangerous.
Moon Ji-Hyeok's reaction was unexpected.
What's this? Moon Ji-Hyeok has changed. ...Is it because of Jeokgwang?
Taker: Do as you please.
***
November 19th.
Im Mou-un died by Moon Ji-Hyeok's hand.
A silver-plated knife pierced his chest, killing him instantly.
It seems Moon Ji-Hyeok had secretly broken into Im Mou-un's house during the day and plunged the knife straight into his heart. He had successfully completed his revenge. But from what I could see, he didn't seem happy about it.
After killing Im Mou-un, Moon Ji-Hyeok immediately went down to Busan to investigate the True Ancestor vampire who was expected to arrive through illegal immigration.
Moon Ji-Hyeok. This bastard's gotten cold. And he's strangely obsessed with the Life Orb? He wasn't this fixated on it before.
Sensing something was off, I began investigating Moon Ji-Hyeok. Truth be told, it wasn't much of an investigation; I was hacking into his smartphone. Knowing his number allowed me to hack his phone remotely, though this method shortened the hacking duration.
Aha.
His call and chat logs revealed the truth.
Moon Ji-Hyeok has changed drastically because of Yang Jeongmin, the female lead.
In the original story, he worked in the Criminal Affairs Division, not the Red Light Special Task Force, and lived buried in work. The constant stream of cases left him no time for romance.
Come to think of it, the original drama had very little romance almost none at all.
"But since joining the Red Light Special Task Force, I've had more free time."
He used that free time to date Yang Jeongmin.
I thoroughly reviewed Moon Ji-Hyeok and Yang Jeongmin's call records and chat logs.
Perhaps due to his professional habit as a detective, Moon Ji-Hyeok automatically recorded all his calls. He saved even the most trivial conversations without deleting them. I was able to listen to their innocent, budding romance.
They've kissed, but they haven't gone all the way yet.
That made sense.
They were both virgins, and to make matters worse, this was their first relationship. Progressing would be difficult, especially since Moon Ji-Hyeok was the type to act like a Confucian scholar.
This guy Moon Ji-Hyeok is completely smitten with Yang Jeongmin.
I chuckled softly to myself.
Should I tell him tha Yang Jeongmin's is now obsessed with me?
No, no. It's not too late to do it after I've used Moon Ji-Hyeok.
If Moon Ji-Hyeok found out about this, his mental state might shatter completely. If he reacted impulsively, it could ruin my entire plan.
I can do it later. Judging by the way things are going, it doesn't look like I'll get to have more fun with her this year anyway.
...Hmm. Wait, maybe there's a chance on Christmas?
I chuckled to myself and checked the internet on my smartphone.
Lately, every website was filled with nothing but talk about Jeokgwang.
- Jeokgwang! Please kill my boss!
- Are those useless cops still screwing things up?
- Jeokgwang this, Jeokgwang that. When are they finally going to catch that murderer?
- If they catch Jeokgwang, he'll definitely get the death penalty. It's absurd to keep a superpowered killer alive.
- Jeokgwang's blade shines with light, and his blade delivers judgment.
- Ugh, there are way too many Jeokgwang fanboys. They were selling Jeokgwang masks everywhere on the streets today. Of course, I bought one too.
- Jeokgwang's swordsmanship! Learn it at the Incheon Heavenly Sword Art Academy!
- Superhero Jeokgwang! He's been quiet lately. What's he up to?
The internet was as chaotic as ever.
***
Found him.
Around 8 AM, Moon Ji-Hyeok discovered a foreigner who had secretly entered the country aboard a ship from Japan.
He appeared to be in his mid-to-late thirties, wearing a trench coat over a suit. His impeccable appearance evoked the image of an English gentleman. He carried a briefcase in one hand.
Moon Ji-Hyeok observed him from over 100 meters away.
At first, I wasn't sure. But...
In Moon Ji-Hyeok's left hand was a small mercury mirror. He had confirmed the foreigner's identity earlier by glancing at him through the mirror as they passed. The foreigner's reflection did not appear in the mercury mirror, confirming he was a vampire.
Moon Ji-Hyeok quietly tailed the man while sending a message to Taker.
Moon Ji-Hyeok: Found a foreign man suspected to be a Cantra executive. He's a vampire.
Moon Ji-Hyeok: (Photo 1) (Photo 2)
Moon Ji-Hyeok: The Life Orb seems to be in his briefcase.
Taker: Ah, you even got a good shot of his face. Hold on a moment. I'll run a background check.
"The target is a True Ancestor vampire like Jeokgwang, and a Kandra executive. Their senses must be incredibly sharp. I need to increase the distance."
He widened the gap to 200 meters. Honestly, even this felt too close. He'd rather tail them from 500 meters away.
"This distance is the bare minimum."
Taker real name Doris Ziegler, though he looks much younger than his actual age of 60.
Taker He's the True Ancestor with teleportation abilities I mentioned before.
Moon Ji-Hyeok It'll be tough to snatch the briefcase. Any ideas?
Taker Sniper shot? Even that might be difficult.
Taker For now, let's focus on gathering intel. He's likely on high alert, having just arrived in Korea.
Moon Ji-Hyeok agreed. Even though it was daytime, if Doris used teleportation to escape, they'd be helpless.
"First, gather information. Last time, they said the teleportation range was within 10 meters. With a well-planned strategy, we can handle that."
He slipped his hand into his coat pocket, feeling the familiar weight of the small revolver. It was a revolver he'd obtained through Taker, naturally loaded with silver bullets prepared specifically to kill the True Ancestor.
"I must obtain the Life Orb and return to being human. Once I'm human again... I'll propose to Ms. Jeongmin."
Doris calmly walked into a Korean restaurant and began eating breakfast.
Later, a car arrived to pick Doris up and sped off. Moon Ji-Hyeok immediately started running after it, but his face soon darkened.
"...I've been spotted. They're trying to shake me off."
Moon Ji-Hyeok clicked his tongue. He couldn't approach them directly; there were likely at least three vampires in the other vehicle, putting him at a numerical disadvantage.
For now, I'll have to let them go.
After following them for a while, Moon Ji-Hyeok pretended to be outmaneuvered, stopped his car, and sent a message to Taker.
Moon Ji-Hyeok: Lost them. I think they noticed me.
Taker: Car registration check complete. As expected, it's a ghost car.
Taker: But new intel has come in that allows us to deduce their destination.
Moon Ji-Hyeok: Really? Where are they headed?
Taker: Seoraksan.
Taker: What Doris has is the Flower of Life. This flower absorbs natural energy, or vital essence, to bear fruit. And right now is the time when the Korean Peninsula's vital essence is at its most abundant in 300 years.
Taker: Seoraksan is the spiritual heart of the Korean Peninsula. If you want to absorb its essence, that's the perfect place.
Moon Ji-Hyeok: Understood. I'll head to Seoraksan immediately. It'll be faster to abandon the car and take the train.
Taker: They'll be moving by car. Since they're vampires, their operation will likely begin at night.
Moon Ji-Hyeok felt a sudden unease.
Taker was providing information as if he'd been waiting for this moment.
It must be a coincidence. I can trust Taker. He's never given me false information before.
After all, it was Taker's intel that had allowed him to kill Im Mou-un, the vampire who had turned him.
Right now, I need to figure out how to confront them alone... no, how to retrieve the Life Orb.