Rumble, rumble.

Son Baek-geum and Kim Goong-won trembled uncontrollably, kneeling on the floor. Their clothes were torn to shreds, and traces of their blood were splattered everywhere.

And yet, there wasn’t a single visible wound on their bodies.

Why?

Because Suho had healed them completely.

Dragging a chair in front of the two trembling men, Suho sat down casually.

“Man, I gotta say, the Stat Meter works like a charm.”

The Stat Meter.

It was an essential tool for Records Officers, taken straight from the Awakening Division’s supply room. Designed by the government, it allowed officers to gauge the stats of individuals without violating the system’s restriction against viewing others’ status windows. Though its accuracy was typically around 70%, Suho had managed to achieve a 100% success rate.

His method was simple.

He had beaten Kim Goong-won with the Stat Meter until the man told the truth.

Pointing the now-dented Stat Meter at Kim Goong-won, Suho spoke with a grin.

“Just so you know, if the numbers change the next time I check, it’s going to hurt even more. Got it?”

“Y-Yes! I understand!”

“Good. You’re all set now. Next…”

With Kim Goong-won’s status updated, Suho had no further business with him. Turning his gaze, he focused on Son Baek-geum, who was still kneeling.

Son Baek-geum, in his late thirties, had risen to prominence in Gangnam with Kim Goong-won’s help. Their encounter today had been purely coincidental.

‘Talk about good timing,’ Suho mused.

It was indeed fortunate timing—Son Baek-geum was one of those people who needed to be apprehended sooner or later.

However, arresting him now was a bit tricky. Suho was here as a Records Officer, conducting an on-site evaluation.

Still, how could he ignore a criminal kneeling right in front of him?

“Mr. Son Baek-geum?” Suho called out.

“Y-Yes…!”

“You said something interesting earlier.”

“W-What do you mean?”

“Something about bribing both the police and the Awakening Association.”

“…”

“So, who exactly did you bribe in the Association?”

To bribe someone—to grease palms in advance, ensuring silence or manipulating official duties to suit one’s interests. While the exact interpretation varied, it was clear the bribes had been for Kim Goong-won’s benefit.

And Suho couldn’t overlook that.

Here he was, living his second life as a civil servant for the sake of world peace, only to find someone spreading chaos like this.

Son Baek-geum quivered at the question, then tightly closed his eyes.

Suho let out a dry laugh. “Oh? Closing your eyes? Are you seriously closing your eyes when I’m asking you a question?”

“N-No, it’s not that! I wasn’t doing that! I was just… just about to answer!”

“Good. Because if you pull any more stunts like that, it’s not going to be fun for you. You’re not an Awakened, so you don’t need the Stat Meter—I’ll just use my bare hands.”

“…”

“Answer.”

“Y-Yes, sir! I understand!”

As Son Baek-geum stammered his response, shaking like a leaf, Gu Yeonhwa, watching the scene unfold from a distance, clicked her tongue.

“Wow… I knew he wasn’t an ordinary guy, but seeing him like this is terrifying. Don’t you think, Hyun-min?”

“I wouldn’t say terrifying—he’s just capable.”

“...?”

Gu Yeonhwa tilted her head, not fully understanding Kim Hyun-min’s response. But he meant it sincerely—he had firsthand experience with Suho’s competence.

The reason Suho had brought Gu Yeonhwa and Kim Hyun-min with him to Acro Tower was to ensure a quiet infiltration.

Even with his unparalleled skills, Suho couldn’t navigate the tightly controlled environment of Acro Tower alone. To bypass the security, he needed Gu Yeonhwa’s EMP ability, which could disable electronic devices, and Kim Hyun-min’s mobility skills.

The earlier blackout? That had been Gu Yeonhwa’s handiwork.

Returning his attention to Son Baek-geum, Suho repeated his question.

“So, who did you bribe?”

“Well… it was Vice President Park Kyu-min.”

“What?”

Now that was unexpected. Park Kyu-min was involved?

This revelation caught Suho off guard. Nodding, he pressed further.

“And?”

“That’s it.”

“That’s it?”

“Yes, just him. Only him.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, yes! I swear it’s the truth! Please believe me!” Son Baek-geum frantically waved his hands, trying to prove his sincerity.

Judging by his reaction, he probably wasn’t lying.

But Park Kyu-min…

‘So does that mean Park Kyu-min has no idea about the upcoming evaluation and awakening event?’

It seemed likely. If Park Kyu-min had known, he wouldn’t have allowed something that could jeopardize himself to be included in the assessment.

Still, this raised another question.

‘Then whose idea was it to include this task in the evaluation? Park Kyu-min’s personality would’ve ensured he made good on his bribe. Whoever included it must’ve deliberately targeted him.’

One name popped into Suho’s mind.

‘Could it be Pi Seong-yeol?’

It didn’t make sense for Section Chief Lee Moon-ho to include this in the evaluation just to deal with routine tasks. Park Kyu-min would have indirectly or directly influenced him.

If Lee Moon-ho still assigned this task, it must’ve been under pressure from someone else.

‘Whoever pressured Lee Moon-ho must either outrank Park Kyu-min or hold equal power.’

This narrowed the suspects down to two people: Chairman Jang Kyung-hwan or Special Division Head Pi Seong-yeol.

While Pi Seong-yeol didn’t officially outrank Park Kyu-min, his influence within the organization was widely regarded as stronger.

‘And considering Jang Kyung-hwan values Park Kyu-min as a trusted subordinate, he wouldn’t deliberately harm him.’

That left Pi Seong-yeol.

But even then, it didn’t add up.

‘Were those two on bad terms?’

Suho couldn’t recall any such friction.

Then why?

After pondering for a while, Suho reached a conclusion.

‘I’ll just wait and see.’

If news of Kim Goong-won’s capture reached either Pi Seong-yeol or Park Kyu-min, one of them would react.

There was no need to shake the Platinum Gang unnecessarily in the meantime.

‘Whatever happens, it won’t take long.’

Standing up, Suho turned to Son Baek-geum and spoke.

“See you around, maybe.”

“…Excuse me?”

“Take care.”

With that, Suho left Acro Tower with Kim Goong-won in tow, accompanied by his team of Banshees. Left alone, Son Baek-geum stared after them in disbelief.

“…He’s just leaving like that?”

***

"Senior."

"Oh, Suho, you're here?"

The Great Awakening Association Headquarters.

Suho returned to the Awakening Division and went to find Han Ho-seong, who was relaxing on a break. Han Ho-seong was napping in the lounge, his face radiating ease and comfort. He sat up straight and yawned.

"Yaaawn… So, did you find Kim Goong-won?"

"Yes, I found him."

"See? I told you, this job might look easy at first, but it’s actually harder than it… Wait, what? What did you just say?"

"I found Kim Goong-won, updated his status window information, and, just in case, I left him in the investigation room."

"...?"

Han Ho-seong furrowed his brows and tilted his head, his expression one of disbelief. He seemed to be questioning whether he’d heard Suho correctly.

But his ears were working just fine, and Suho wasn’t one to lie.

Suho gestured toward the door. "Let’s go."

"Ah, yeah, right, of course, let’s go," Han Ho-seong stammered, snapping back to reality. He hurriedly followed Suho, making a beeline for the investigation room.

***

“Unbelievable…”

Han Ho-seong let out a hollow laugh as he stared at Kim Goong-won, seated in the investigation room chair. His expression was one of disbelief.

How could this be possible?

Kim Goong-won was a notorious unregistered Player, a menace to the system, and ranked among the most troublesome S-class offenders. For years, no one had even seen a trace of him.

And yet, Suho had managed to capture him… in just a single day? No, within a matter of hours?

But that wasn’t all.

Looking over the status window data that Suho had handed him, Han Ho-seong could only marvel further.

"Even the stat results are nearly perfect?"

It was almost inconceivable. The Stat Meter had an accuracy of only 70%. To get even close to reliable numbers, you’d typically have to engage in an exhausting battle of wills with an unregistered Player.

Yet somehow, Suho had done it.

Effortlessly.

As though it was the simplest thing in the world.

And what’s more, Kim Goong-won was being remarkably cooperative.

While Han Ho-seong sat there, slack-jawed, Suho spoke casually, as if none of this was a big deal.

"Now that we’ve confirmed his charges, you can hand him over to the Special Division."

"Ah, yeah, of course… absolutely. But, Suho," Han Ho-seong stammered.

"Yes?" Suho replied.

"How… how on earth did you catch him?"

"Oh, I just asked around here and there and got lucky. Speaking of which, can I handle the rest of the unregistered Players on my own? This is part of my on-site evaluation, after all."

"Oh… uh, sure, of course… Actually, wait, no. How about I come along to help?" Han Ho-seong offered.

"No."

"What?"

"I want to catch them all myself and get the highest evaluation possible. If I need help, I’ll let you know. For now, I’d just appreciate it if you could handle the handoff to the Special Division."

"Ah… yeah… sure…"

Han Ho-seong found himself unable to object to Suho’s firm yet polite request.

No, he didn’t even feel like he had the right to object.

“What is this…?”

To him, Suho was simply on another level—a completely different kind of person.

***

From that point on, everything proceeded smoothly.

These weren’t violent criminals—they were just unregistered Players. How difficult could they be?

Over two days, Suho managed to apprehend every single person on the list. Each time, Han Ho-seong could only gape in amazement, utterly speechless.

As a result, Suho naturally became the hottest topic within the Association, with his name on everyone’s lips once again.

“Have you heard? Hunter Ahn… I mean, Probationary Officer Ahn.”

“You mean the one who caught all those unregistered Players?”

“Yeah, I heard he wrapped up everything in just two days! Even professional Records Officers couldn’t do that.”

“He really is a Sword God, isn’t he? The way he works is just on another level.”

“But doesn’t this make the other Records Officers look bad?”

“Hmm, I guess so?”

It was a reasonable concern. After all, a probationary officer accomplishing what seasoned professionals couldn’t was bound to invite comparisons.

But reality turned out to be very different.

“Probationary Ahn! Probationary Ahn! Probationary Ahn!”

“Ahn Suho! Ahn Suho! Ahn Suho!”

“Sword God! Sword God! Sword God!”

“We love you! We love you! We love you!”

The reception wasn’t jealousy or resentment—it was pure, unfiltered admiration.

Suho had become nothing short of the Awakening Division’s biggest idol.

“Suho, can’t you just stay with us forever and never transfer anywhere else?”

“I don’t usually say things like this, but I’ve never seen someone as talented as you.”

“I even joined Suho’s fan club. From now on, call me a Suho Disciple.”

“Ahn-men.”

“Sword-men.”

Why were the people in the Awakening Division so thrilled? The answer was obvious.

For years, they had borne the brunt of endless criticism due to the unregistered S-class Players. Now Suho had resolved the issue entirely, sparing them further scolding and scrutiny.

‘If we’re going to be criticized regardless, I’d rather suffer once and be done with it,’ was the collective sentiment.

Thanks to this, Suho achieved a perfect score on his on-site evaluation as expected and smoothly transitioned to the next stage—working with the Non-Awakened Division as part of his training.

Just as Suho was wrapping up his work with the Awakening Division, his phone buzzed.

Vrrr, vrrr.

A call.

Seeing the caller ID, Suho grinned.

“That was fast.”

Answering the call, he greeted with a polite tone.

“Yes, senior.”

• “Ahn, are you busy? If not, come see me for a moment.”

The caller was none other than Pi Seong-yeol.