The television was loud with reports regarding the attack on the police station. However, what they said was far from the truth. Perhaps they understood the essence to some degree, but instead of discussing it, they merely shouted sensationalist headlines for the sake of profit.

  It was a sight deserving of nothing but contempt. Nevertheless, the news anchor, unaware of the true value of the information they held, chattered away with usable bits of intel—exactly the kind of content So-young wanted.

  So-young smiled as she organized the information one by one. Her eyes were filled with amusement and curiosity. The reports regarding Jihyeon, in particular, were more than enough to excite her.

  "My goodness. Even I would have found that difficult to handle, yet he won. It even looks like he extracted the tool," So-young muttered, watching a distantly filmed video on the news.

  Jihyeon's adaptability—alternating between various tools to handle the situation—was remarkable. He looked like a hero from a special effects film. Though he lacked a signature suit, So-young could clearly see him switching tools to fight.

  Ordinarily, the number of tools a person could use at once was limited unless they underwent special modification. Because of this, most people could at best master two or three high-quality tools. However, Jihyeon seemed to have overcome that limit in his own way. This was worth researching. No one had expected that Jihyeon's possession of a tool related to information and knowledge—even an incomplete one—would yield such results. So-young was delighted.

  "Because it’s incomplete, he can grow in that way. How marvelous," So-young remarked. She turned her head slightly to look at the notes she had compiled. The details she had manually entered onto her tablet with a pen laid out the recent events in meticulous detail.

  Of course, this data would not be saved digitally. When dealing with someone like Jihyeon, leaving a record in such a place meant losing it all instantly. Keeping the most important information inside her head was the best course of action. Fortunately, due to reconstructive surgery, So-young was different from ordinary people in that regard.

  "By the way, when is the additional order arriving? Se-hee, do you have the data?" So-young asked, pressing the call button on her phone as the thought occurred to her.

  A moment later, a female employee wearing a name tag that read 'Jeong Se-hee' entered. She handed the documents to So-young.

  "They complained quite a bit over there, saying that sending goods to another world takes time," Se-hee reported.

  So-young gave a bitter smile. It seemed that no matter the world, the friction between ordering and receiving remained the same.

  "It can't be helped. If they don't keep sending tools to this side, they'll be in trouble too. I wish they'd stop complaining."

  Se-hee nodded at So-young’s words.

  "Exactly. They should be moving as much as possible to this side while the window is still open. It’s quite unsightly for them to whine just because things are difficult for them right now."

  Se-hee glanced around cautiously and asked in a low voice, "But... was it alright to send the Auditor like that? It might have been better to just kill him."

  So-young shook her head.

  "Even if it was an accident, that much investment was necessary to figure out the abilities of someone with an incomplete tool. The problem was the man who failed to commit suicide on time. Since he couldn't even die properly and had everything extracted, there was no point in killing him then."

  So-young stated that there had been a sufficient harvest and it wasn't a loss. While accepting this, Se-hee continued, looking a bit surprised.

  "Even so, you didn't have to show yourself directly to that Jihyeon guy, did you? What if he finds you?"

  So-young looked unconcerned.

  "What changes if he tries to catch me? They can't find this place. Think about it. Is this just an ordinary office?"

  Se-hee burst into laughter despite herself.

  "I suppose so. Even if the people of this world knew the exact location, they wouldn't be able to enter."

  Se-hee then asked about business. "So, what's the next move? Will you be providing tools to organizations in other regions as well?"

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  So-young shook her head.

  "No. We’ve done the promotion, so now we target the general public. After all, organizations prioritize their own greed, and their members are all far too violent."

  The low-grade tools she primarily distributed abnormally amplified violence, causing many problems. Now, she had to spread the tools in a different manner.

  "Not that it will stop people from causing trouble, of course," So-young said with a cold smile. She looked as if she were anticipating a new kind of fun.

  "Understood. I'll prepare the marketing materials accordingly," Se-hee said, turning to leave. As the door opened, a minute force field—imperceptible to ordinary people—flickered and vanished.

  "I’d appreciate that. It's time to set a new marketing strategy."

  So-young spoke to the departing Se-hee while reconsidering the future. Surely, there would be those who acted differently from their expectations. Simultaneously, So-young thought it would be necessary to cultivate people around her related to the tools.

  "It's time to release the cult members as well."

  So-young felt that the time had come to unleash those she had trained in various ways.

  "I should head out. To the cult."

  So-young stood up. It was time for new work, and she needed to move immediately. As she closed the door and left, her office vanished completely from the space of this world.

  "...wake up." "...wake up." "Wake up."

  He heard a voice waking him. Someone was shaking him. Seok-young finally managed to open his eyes. It seemed he had fallen asleep while investigating without even going home. He sat up and looked at the person who had woken him. Jihyeon was looking at him with an amused expression.

  "You look exhausted. You're working hard," Jihyeon said, placing something in front of Seok-young. It was coffee and donuts.

  "Huh? This is..."

  With his brain not yet fully functioning, Seok-young stared at the items and asked blankly.

  "Eat first, then we’ll talk," Jihyeon said with a smile.

  Nodding vacantly, Seok-young took a sip of the coffee. The fragrant aroma and the taste spreading in his mouth slowly awakened him. Feeling his sense of reality return, he ate a donut. The sweetness stimulated his appetite, and he soon finished the donuts and coffee.

  "Did you buy these because of your 'information' too? You picked all my favorites," Seok-young asked with a bitter smile as he fully regained his senses. Jihyeon simply wore an expression that claimed he knew nothing.

  "Setting the small talk aside, things must be a mess inside the department."

  As he spoke, Jihyeon took out a memory card and placed it on Seok-young’s desk. Seeing this, Seok-young replied, "Is this the report on the incident?"

  Jihyeon nodded. Seok-young checked the contents without hesitation. It was a well-organized document detailing Jihyeon’s summary of the event.

  Reading it, Seok-young said, "No matter how I think about it, the problem is that we are the victims, yet there's no way to resolve it."

  Seok-young sighed. If this continued, it seemed the only way to stop them was to use the same tools. While they could temporarily neutralize them with Tasers, perfectly suppressing them was impossible for anyone except Jihyeon.

  "That's how it is. They keep distributing tools for unknown reasons. There's no way to counter it. Even with my efforts, there's a limit," Jihyeon said, sighing. He was confident in his abilities, but the scope of what he could do was fixed.

  "I’m not trying to kill people, so to stop those who use tools and go berserk, I have to use various means. Because of that, there's a limit to the number of people I can handle at once... It's tough."

  Jihyeon took a sip of his coffee. Seok-young thought that, looking only at this moment, he seemed no different from an ordinary college student. However, regardless of what Jihyeon said, they had to find a solution. By any means necessary.

  "The biggest problem is that we have no way to replicate the tools. The information we have is extremely limited, and even with my ability, I can't find out more about this."

  Jihyeon looked frustrated by his limitations. Seok-young was a bit surprised, as he hadn't expected Jihyeon to show such an expression.

  "It seems even the great Jihyeon-ssi feels his limits. It’s strange to hear that from someone who could probably take over the world if he wanted to," Seok-young said with a hint of a joke. Jihyeon only gave a bitter laugh.

  "It can't be helped. I think I understand why a hero protecting the world alone finds it so hard. I’m glad I decided to cooperate with the police and public authorities. Though I don't trust the people at the top much. So... setting aside our side, how is the police department?" Jihyeon asked.

  Seok-young answered simply, "Haven't you already seen the information? You can tell by looking at me."

  This time, Jihyeon looked like he had been outwitted. However, there was a trace of joy hidden in his expression.

  "I suppose so. Still, talking can bring up ideas, not just information."

  Jihyeon recalled the recent events. After the attack on the police station, the police did not forgive those who had bruised their pride. However, their anger was directed in a slightly different direction: the arrest of all gang members in the region, except for the Boss's men. They protested, but their resistance was futile against the police's fury.

  Jihyeon, having participated in the crackdown, knew the situation better than anyone. Since drugs were also found during the arrests, the police's actions gained even greater legitimacy.

  "It's good that we caught them all, but gangs from other regions are causing trouble to fill the gap, making it even noisier. Of course, those guys aren't using tools yet, but it's quite a nuisance," Seok-young said, sighing. He then brought up another headache.

  "Since the large organizations have mostly disappeared, the problem now lies with the splinter cells. As you know, those seeking power vacuums are constantly increasing, so the problem is growing."

  As he spoke, Seok-young handed Jihyeon the materials he had been preparing. Jihyeon glanced at them, closed the folder, and sighed.

  "In the end, there will be no end until we catch the source of the problem. No matter how much we talk, it feels like running on a treadmill."

  Jihyeon spoke as if the weight of the data was heavy.

  "Exactly," Seok-young replied. He said nothing more. They remained silent for a while, feeling the stark reality that nothing would truly end until they caught So-young.