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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Wjin
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The request would have been difficult for Jo Kang-hyun to grant, but it was different with Go Tae-hyun, the Vice President, the true power within the Association.
“Returnee Lee Seong-joon will conduct the interrogation himself?”
A question, not a refusal.
This alone could be considered half the battle won.
“Is that a problem?”
“No, it’s not a problem, but…”
Ko Tae-hyun trailed off, then cautiously continued.
“It won’t be easy. As you know, he’s a man with nothing to lose but his life, so he won’t open his mouth easily.”
Already well-versed in the nature of the black market and villains, Lee Seong-joon simply nodded, as if it were no big deal.
“I’m fine with that. Just arrange the setting for me.”
Ko Tae-hyun fell into thought for a moment, then nodded.
“Hmm… Even I can’t keep him waiting for too long.”
“It’s alright. It won’t take that long.”
“In that case, I’ll tell the Enforcement Team to prepare the room.”
“Thank you.”
At Ko Tae-hyun’s ready agreement, Lee Seong-joon expressed his sincere gratitude.
This request was practically an abuse of authority, and from Ko Tae-hyun’s perspective as a public official, it was a rather difficult favor to ask.
Despite the potential for complications, he readily agreed to the request.
Naturally, Lee Seong-joon intended to repay Ko Tae-hyun for this effort.
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Since it was a direct order from Ko Tae-hyun, the Vice President, considered the true power within the Association, everything proceeded smoothly.
However, not everyone could have the same opinion or thought.
Not all of the Enforcement Team members readily accepted the order.
“Just in case, I’m telling you this… If you inflict direct harm, Kim Ki-yeol could report us to the Human Rights Commission.”
Perhaps it was because he had seen Kim Ki-jun’s gruesome corpse?
At Kim Young-joon’s worried expression, the head of Enforcement Team 3, Lee Seong-joon responded with a smile.
“You don’t have to worry about that. I just want to ask him what his exact objective was and who ordered him.”
Kim Young-joon nodded at Lee Seong-joon’s calm words.
Thinking about it, if he intended to inflict harm, he wouldn’t have brought him in alive.
‘He would have eliminated him on the spot, like Kim Ki-jun.’
He felt apologetic for his unnecessary fuss and slip of the tongue.
“I apologize for my unnecessary remarks. I’m sorry.”
Lee Seong-joon simply smiled and walked on without a word.
As a brief silence flowed, Kim Young-joon, who had been walking forward, stopped.
They had arrived at the interrogation room where Kim Ki-yeol was being held.
“30 minutes… As the Vice President has already told you, we can’t give you much time.”
“Yes, I understand.”
Lee Seong-joon responded with a gentle smile, then entered the interrogation room and closed the door.
Inside the dark room,
The man sitting in the center, Kim Ki-yeol, looked at Lee Seong-joon.
His eyes wavered slightly due to the fear etched in his mind, but a relaxed smile played on his lips.
“I don’t know what kind of false hope the Enforcement Team has in calling you here.”
He had completely misunderstood the situation.
He seemed to think that the Enforcement Team had asked Lee Seong-joon for help.
However, it didn’t matter what Kim Ki-yeol was thinking.
“Don’t waste your effort and just get lost.”
Lee Seong-joon’s brow furrowed at Kim Ki-yeol’s disrespectful attitude, unaware of his own wrongdoing, truly acting like a villain.
“Anyway, the most you guys can do is throw me into a prison full of villains, right?”
Perhaps he felt safe within the boundaries of the law, as Kim Ki-yeol’s voice grew bolder despite the provocative remarks, while Lee Seong-joon simply stood there silently.
“It won’t be a bad life. It’s a somewhat barbaric era, but human rights still exist, so even a damned criminal like me is provided with a decent bed and meals. Besides, I’m an A-rank villain, so life there won’t be too uncomfortable, heh.”
A faint smile spread across Kim Ki-yeol’s lips.
“I don’t know what you’re thinking, but you won’t hear anything from me.”
The moment he finished speaking, Lee Seong-joon’s cold gaze fixed on Kim Ki-yeol.
Kim Ki-yeol’s eyes began to waver as he met Lee Seong-joon’s gaze.
He couldn’t bear to meet his eyes; it felt like an invisible, intangible force, a heavy pressure, was weighing down on his entire body.
“Yes, please don’t say anything until the very end.”
The Blood Cult (血敎), a group with the dangerous ideology of dyeing the continent with blood, was practically a public enemy of the Murim.
But despite this, the Blood Cult had stubbornly survived, and ultimately, led by Lee Seong-joon, the best of all time and the strongest Blood Demon, they were able to conquer the Thousand Continents.
Naturally, achieving such glory wasn’t simply due to luck or coincidence.
There were legitimate reasons.
The members of the Blood Cult, who didn’t even fear death, and the Eight Great Demon Lords, who could be considered their leaders and pillars.
All of them had made significant contributions.
But if one were to choose the person who contributed the most to the conquest of the Central Plains,
‘Heart-Extinguishing Demon Lord (心滅魔宗), Bi-hyung.’
No one would object.
Bi-hyung was the best interrogator and information gatherer, capable of making even the key officials of the Murim League, who possessed steadfast hearts and outstanding mental fortitude, open their mouths.
In fact, when the war between the Blood Cult and the Murim League reached its peak,
Bi-hyung had made a great contribution by uncovering the final trap set by the Murim League to annihilate the Blood Cult through Kang Seo-hwi, the Vice League Lord at the time.
Impressed by this, Lee Seong-joon, as the Blood Demon, sought out Bi-hyung and learned the technique that had even opened the mouth of Vice League Lord Kang Seo-hwi.
‘Heart-Probing Selflessness Technique (探心無我功).’
This was the secret technique that Lee Seong-joon had learned from Bi-hyung.
A technique with the terrifying ability to inject blood energy into the mind, turning the target into a cripple, a puppet who would involuntarily divulge the information in their mind, regardless of their will.
This meant Kim Ki-yeol would eventually reveal all the information himself.
Of course, even though he knew the Heart-Probing Selflessness Technique, controlling the brain was by no means an easy task.
Even a momentary mistake could cause the head to explode, so it required a high level of blood energy control that even the other Eight Great Demon Lords, except for Bi-hyung, couldn’t dare to attempt.
However, it couldn’t be a problem for Lee Seong-joon, who had reached the level of being called the Blood Demon and Demon God.
‘There’s no way I’ll fail.’
Despite this confidence, there were reasons why he didn’t immediately use the Heart-Probing Selflessness Technique on Kim Ki-yeol.
‘I need a witness, but… if he becomes a puppet, he’ll immediately become a target.’
Kim Ki-yeol, arrested on the spot, had become a key figure who could firmly implicate the client who had ordered the hit.
But what if, as he suspected, the person who had hired the Shadow Brothers was a member of Hwanseong, one of the Five Great Guilds?
‘From the moment the Shadow Brothers, Kim Ki-yeol, were caught red-handed, Hwanseong would have been keeping a close eye on the Association’s movements.’
Of course, it could be an overthought, but considering that Im Jae-hoon had been waiting right in front of his house the day after he moved, it couldn’t be denied that Hwanseong had quite a good informant within the Association.
‘One must always prepare for the worst.’
Therefore, if they had seen Kim Ki-yeol turned into a docile puppet by the Heart-Probing Selflessness Technique from the start, Hwanseong would have tried to intervene, even if it meant going to extremes.
‘No, not just Hwanseong.’
The Shadow Brothers were A-rank villains; they would have connections and shared information with numerous other villains.
The villain groups would also try to eliminate Kim Ki-yeol to protect their secrets.
As troublesome situations could arise, it was necessary to show the typical villainous image of Kim Ki-yeol, a madman who relied on South Korean law, to the informants of Hwanseong and the villain groups hidden within the Association.
‘And by now, they’d be relieved after hearing about Kim Ki-yeol’s attitude.’
The perfect opportunity had arrived.
Thud.
Lee Seong-joon stepped forward and extended his arm, placing his index finger on Kim Ki-yeol’s head.
Immediately, the blood energy within his body surged into Kim Ki-yeol’s mind.
“…Ugh…Ugh…”
A groan of pain escaped Kim Ki-yeol’s lips involuntarily at the force of the blood energy that seemed to strike his mind.
However, even this didn’t last long.
Lee Seong-joon had covered Kim Ki-yeol’s mouth with his other hand.
“Shh, you promised not to say anything.”
If he could, he wanted to shake off the hand and scream for his life.
But his body didn’t move as he intended due to the blood energy that had spread through his mind.
He couldn’t even utter a proper word.
Fear welled up in his chest due to the unfamiliar sensation, and tears began to well up in Kim Ki-yeol’s eyes.
‘Stop! Stop! I was wrong! I’ll tell you everything!’
He desperately begged for forgiveness, wanting to escape this situation, but no sound came out.
“Yes, just stay quiet like this.”
The moment a faint smile appeared on Lee Seong-joon’s lips, the blood energy that had invaded his mind began to rampage.
The sensation of his brain being constantly rummaged through, an unbearable, dizzying pain washed over him.
It felt as if his entire brain had been plunged into boiling water, and the pain that wracked his entire body reached its peak.
From the smallest brain cells to his entire body, control over his body was handed over to Lee Seong-joon.
His body, which had been struggling weakly, now ceased all movement completely.
Helplessness.
Tears streamed down his cheeks due to the fear that he couldn’t do anything with his own power.
‘Please, please spare me…’
But even this couldn’t be uttered.
In the end, all Kim Ki-yeol could do was feel his consciousness slowly fading.
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Ko Tae-hyun momentarily doubted his ears when he heard the report from Kim Young-joon, the head of Enforcement Team 3.
It was understandable, as Kim Ki-yeol, who had been acting arrogant and defiant no matter what anyone said, had become docile as a lamb, obediently answering any questions asked.
It was unbelievable, but he couldn’t miss this precious opportunity.
He immediately ordered the Enforcement Team leader to thoroughly investigate everything, from the recent incidents involving Returnee Lee Seong-joon to the veiled movements and internal power structure of some villain groups.
The gains were substantial.
Not only did they uncover the identity of the client who had hired the Shadow Brothers as Hwanseong, but they also obtained a vast amount of information, enough to carry out the tracking and sweeping operations against the villains that had been causing them headaches.
Naturally, Ko Tae-hyun didn’t think this was simply a change of heart from Kim Ki-yeol or a sudden stroke of luck.
‘Surely… Returnee Lee Seong-joon must have intervened.’
If they didn’t show any results after he had set the stage like this, he would be truly disappointed in the Association.
‘I’ll show you definite results befitting this opportunity.’
With enthusiasm burning in his eyes, Ko Tae-hyun immediately picked up the receiver and summoned Kim Dong-joon to the Vice President’s office.
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