“…What? Who? A thief?”

- Yes, that’s correct. Senior.

Special Division of the Great Union.

Upon receiving Suho's call, Pi Seongyeol furrowed his brow in disbelief.

- If you check the list of wanted criminals, you’ll see a thief. The ones who only target digital wallets.

At Suho's explanation, Pi Seongyeol gestured to his subordinate, who quickly displayed the thief’s data on a tablet and handed it to him.

Pi Seongyeol silently read through the data on the thief.

Then, without realizing it, he let out a chuckle and spoke.

“There is a thief. At first, I thought it was just a hacker because he was only targeting digital wallets, but it turns out that a large amount of magical energy was detected from the damaged wallets. They’re classified as villains, not just ordinary criminals.”

- Yes, that’s right.

"So, where are they now?"

- I've already dealt with them, and they’re under my control. Of course, I’ve also gathered all the evidence, and although not all the stolen digital currency, I’ve seized all that they had.

“What? Already?”

- Yes, Senior, I took care of everything beforehand so all that’s left is to send them in.

At Suho’s words, Pi Seongyeol narrowed his eyes once more.

It was a look of truth, and at the same time, one of admiration.

With his trademark voice, rough as if something were stuck in his throat, Pi Seongyeol spoke.

“Ha… I knew it. You’re something else, Junior. I haven’t even told you what to do, but somehow you managed to handle everything just like I would.”

- Haha, you flatter me.

“Flatter? Who’s flattering here… You can’t learn this kind of thing. It’s a natural talent. So, where are they? I’ll send some support right away.”

- Thank you. The location is here, let me give you the address.

Suho gave the address, then ended the call.

Afterward, he entered the underground hideout where the thieves were staying.

Inside, Seogiwon, the former 'boss' now known as 'the thief,' was beating up the criminals.

“Ugh! I’m sorry! I’m sorry!!”

“Please! Please! I won’t do it again!”

“Ahh!!”

Suho watched the scene with satisfaction.

The suggestion he had made to Seogiwon at the soup restaurant.

It was for Seogiwon to personally punish the ones who had made him like this.

This wasn’t the only reason for the suggestion, but the main one was to help Seogiwon erase the trauma left in his heart.

‘According to his autobiography, Seogiwon had suffered from his past memories for a long time after going into hiding.’

That’s why Suho had made this suggestion.

By personally punishing them this way, it would aid in Seogiwon’s mental healing.

‘If it’s not enough, I can take care of it myself.’

Suho had the means.

He had the Ring of Emotions.

At that moment, Seogiwon, hearing Suho’s presence, wiped the sweat from his brow and lowered his head in greeting.

“Hyung, you’ve arrived?”

“Yeah. By the way, did you beat them up good?”

“Yes, I only beat them enough that they won’t die this time.”

“Good job.”

Seogiwon spoke with a sense of relief.

Seeing his expression made Suho think that the Ring of Emotions was truly impressive.

After all, if it wasn’t for the Ring, Seogiwon would have found it difficult even to look at these criminals, let alone punish them.

As Seogiwon continued his physical punishment, Suho began to check the documents he had prepared earlier.

It was a handwritten confession from the criminals themselves. It detailed their motivations for committing the crime, how they had kidnapped and confined Seogiwon, and the crimes they had committed using him.

‘This should be enough.’

Seogiwon was indeed a powerful individual, but Suho had no intention of hiding his existence from Pi Seongyeol.

Currently, only Suho knew the full value of Seogiwon.

‘Besides, hiding it would just seem suspicious.’

So, Suho planned to make Seogiwon appear as a pitiable victim, shifting Pi Seongyeol’s focus away from him.

Suho was confident.

From what he knew about Pi Seongyeol, the man would never show affection unless he saw usefulness, so if Seogiwon could remain low-profile for now, Pi Seongyeol would likely stay on his good side.

After a while, the officers sent by the Special Division arrived at the villa.

However…

“Wow… Junior, you’ve been suffering here alone all this time?”

Surprisingly, Pi Seongyeol himself appeared at the scene.

Suho, taken aback, hurriedly greeted him.

“Senior, you’ve come? But how did you find the time to come in person…”

He didn’t expect Pi Seongyeol to show up in person.

Pi Seongyeol smiled as he spoke.

“Haha, it’s a little surprise, don’t you think? We’re special, after all, aren’t we?”

Special, my foot.

But it was a bit surprising.

Who would have thought that Pi Seongyeol, so busy, would actually come here in person?

But the fact that he did meant that Suho was receiving Pi Seongyeol’s affection and attention.

Looking at the trembling thieves lying on the floor, Pi Seongyeol asked,

“Are these the thieves?”

- Yes, that’s right.

“I see. But… why are they like this?”

As it happened, their treatment had just finished, and their condition was now fine, but the healing light couldn’t erase the bloodstains on their clothes.

However, Suho remained calm and confidently responded.

“Actually, there was some resistance during the process of subduing them.”

“Really?”

Pi Seongyeol gave the criminals another glance.

“But I don’t see any injuries?”

“I made sure to treat them thoroughly.”

“What? Hahaha!”

Pi Seongyeol burst into laughter.

He seemed genuinely amused, even tears welling up at the corners of his eyes.

Wiping them away, he said,

“Oh, this is hilarious. I didn’t think you had this in you, Junior. You’re very straightforward with your work, huh?”

“Sorry about that. It’s just that this is my first time in this kind of situation…”

“No, no. Am I scolding you? I’m praising you. I guess you’ve never been on a real mission, huh?”

Pi Seongyeol moved closer to Suho and lowered his voice.

“If they were regular criminals, maybe we’d care, but for villains, as long as we don’t kill them, it’s fine. Our people will heal them, and the evidence will disappear anyway.”

“Oh, really?”

“Yeah, honestly, for ordinary criminals, as long as you don’t kill them, you can beat them up. Our people are great at healing, after all. How long are we going to keep worrying about criminals' rights?”

“Special Division, as always.”

Pi Seongyeol proudly stated.

Suho knew this approach well, having once worked in the Special Division himself.

And he had learned this style of handling things from Pi Seongyeol.

‘How could you catch player criminals without leaving any wounds?’

In that sense, Suho was glad he had chosen to become a healer rather than a warrior this time.

Before, he had always brought a partner healer or used medicine on criminals, but now he didn’t have to do that anymore.

Soon, Suho handed the prepared documents to Pi Seongyeol, who flipped through them and nodded.

“Wow, this paperwork is nice and clean. We could deploy this immediately.”

“Thank you.”

“The motives for the crime are clear, and all the stolen accounts are listed. But…”

As he read through the documents, Pi Seongyeol’s gaze shifted to Seogiwon.

“Did they use him?”

- Yes, that’s right.

During the investigation, Seogiwon had been following Suho’s instructions and sat looking as pitiful as possible.

In reality, even without trying, Seogiwon’s appearance already resembled that of a homeless person.

Unkempt hair, dark circles under his eyes, tattered clothes that hadn’t been washed in who knows how long—his disheveled appearance served as raw proof of the hardship he had endured.

Suho quickly added,

“Seogiwon and these criminals are from the same orphanage. Once they learned about his unique traits, they kidnapped and confined him to plan their crimes.”

“Tsk tsk, they deserve to be killed. But this cyber ability… I’ve seen many types, but this is the first of its kind. What’s the principle behind it?”

“It’s not a real technology but a player ability used for system crimes. That’s how they were able to crack the complicated digital wallets.”

“Isn’t that risky? We should manage this carefully.”

“Is it really necessary? As far as I know, Seogiwon is the only one with this ability.”

“Are there no others abroad?”

“I looked into it, and there are none.”

“Really?”

Listening to Suho’s explanation, Pi Seongyeol nodded. Then, he narrowed his eyes and asked with subtle interest,

“But… can this Digitization ability be used in the Gate?”

As expected, Pi Seongyeol’s focus was elsewhere.

No matter how rare the ability, the real question was whether it could be practically used.

Suho

 quickly shook his head.

“I already asked, and since it’s a cyber ability, it has nothing to do with the Gate or similar matters.”

“So, it’s a skill that can only be used in the real world?”

- Yes, that’s right. It’s likely that private guilds specializing in security would want to hire him.”

“Hm, if it’s security, then it’s useless for us. We don’t need combatants or support in that area.”

“Yeah, I guess if that’s your standard, it makes sense. By the way, Senior…”

“Hmm?”

“May I ask what will happen to Seogiwon? Since he’s a victim, will he face punishment as well?”

Suho carefully asked.

However, the tone and expression subtly implied that he hoped Seogiwon wouldn’t be punished.

He had intentionally done so.

Currently, Pi Seongyeol seemed to be favoring Suho, and since Suho had proven his abilities with the thieves, it was highly likely that Pi Seongyeol would agree with his wishes.

‘That way, I’ll gain even more of his favor.’

After all, how could Pi Seongyeol refuse a request from someone who had humbled himself so much?

Pi Seongyeol grinned and said,

“Why? Did taking care of the victim make you soft?”

“I wouldn’t say I’ve become soft, but… he really looks pitiful.”

“Ha ha, yeah. As you said, we can’t punish the victim. The law is more humane and warm than people think. So don’t worry about the aftermath. He’ll be cleared of charges, and I’ll help him get compensation from those guys.”

“Really? Thank you, Senior.”

“Thank me? I’m just doing what’s fair. But…”

Pi Seongyeol narrowed his eyes again and asked,

“How did you find out about this case in the first place?”