Working overtime every day was more than enough to break a person. Yet, the fact that the work never ended taught Seok-young a sense of resignation. When he realized there was no choice but to give up and keep doing what had to be done, Seok-young simply chose to keep tapping at his keyboard.

  Still, the fact that his efforts weren't entirely fruitless lightened the heavy burden on his shoulders, if only slightly.

  "So, is it that place?" Jihyeon asked.

  Seok-young nodded with effort. "There are several sellers, but those guys are the first whose tails we caught. I'm not sure if I should be relieved that they’re less cunning than I expected..."

  Seok-young let out a sigh as he spoke. The distribution of Tools was carried out through point organizations. The ones they had cornered now were one such cell. Of course, even as a small cell, the danger remained. Those who sold Tools tended to keep bodyguards to protect themselves.

  Since equipment used to control Tool users can only be operated by those who haven't been implanted themselves, there was a high probability that the sellers were ordinary humans not using Tools—but even that was uncertain. Tools, after all, were not items from this world. Therefore, it was necessary to be absolutely cautious and ensure a definitive arrest.

  "You've worked hard. To think you found them like this. Well then, I'll see you after I've cleared things up."

  Jihyeon spoke as he quietly vanished. Watching him disappear by distorting visible light, Seok-young wore an expression of wonder. Although he had seen it several times, Jihyeon's disappearance was still fascinating. He had heard the rough scientific principles behind it, but such things were meaningless to Seok-young right now.

  "Then finish it up well," Seok-young muttered and sent a message via his phone. In response, the police began to move cautiously.

  The Tool sellers tried their best to hide themselves. There was no need to take unnecessary risks, nor was there any reason to do anything that would earn the ire of their suppliers. However, no matter how careful they were, sometimes unknown bad luck would overlap, causing trouble with the supplier.

  The seller was one such case. He was once a low-level member of a gang. Having gone through various incidents, the seller had watched his organization collapse. Yet, he didn't grieve. He had already been looking for a chance to escape because they gave him difficult tasks without proper compensation; he actually thought things had turned out for the better.

  However, he was worried about making a living. At one time, the seller was a drug dealer for the organization. He had made a quite lucrative profit wandering through entertainment districts, and that experience gave him confidence in sales.

  Perhaps that was why? Those who supplied Tools approached the seller. They suggested that they do business together. There was no reason for the seller to refuse. He was already far removed from a normal life. If he could make money, the seller was willing to do anything. The harm to others was not important to him; their sacrifice was merely good fertilizer for his profit.

  Thus, until today, the seller had made a quite decent income. Although there was some trouble because a guy who used to be in the loan shark business was doing something unnecessary in his territory, wasn't that just a regular occurrence?

  But he never dreamed that it would upset the supplier. So, the seller thought to himself that the situation had become somewhat awkward. However, he never anticipated that this trouble would cause someone to come looking for him. Especially not the worst possible uninvited guest.

  Men in black suits with sunglasses and short, buzz-cut hair turned their heads in unison at set intervals to scan their surroundings like machines. The sight was beyond unnatural, and because of that, Jihyeon could identify their true nature.

  They were likely those who had been forcibly turned into this state by control devices after receiving Tool implants. Unfortunately, there was no way to restore such people yet. Jihyeon was researching various means, but that would be a long-term task for the future.

  For now, neutralizing them was necessary. Though they might have lost their sense of self, those in charge of security boasted superhuman strength and durability. If the police tried to face them with mere handguns, they could be annihilated. Having experienced the terror of these beings several times in the field, the police were researching how to deal with them, but they still had a long way to go.

  This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

  Of course, they were easy targets for Jihyeon. As long as he could get close, Jihyeon could take them down without any noise. The problem was, literally, getting close. If they spotted him, they would pounce like beasts and turn the surroundings into a mess. Meanwhile, today's target would escape. That could never be allowed to happen. Therefore, Jihyeon checked his surroundings several times before moving.

  Fortunately, it seemed they had no countermeasures prepared against Tools that neutralized CCTVs. It seemed those Tools were expensive, as cases of having them were surprisingly rare. Moreover, as if they didn't plan on staying long, they hadn't paid much attention to security.

  Thanks to this, Jihyeon could approach them relatively easily. Those who responded only to sight and sound did not notice Jihyeon even when he silenced his footsteps and approached within arm's reach.

  It might have been different if they had a sense of self. But in a state where their egos were suppressed by equipment, they were no different from machines.

  There were four people guarding the entrance area. Jihyeon neutralized them perfectly all at once in his now-familiar way, and extracted their Tools simultaneously. Without giving them a chance to even scream, Jihyeon finished the entire action within ten seconds. Using telekinesis to clear them away so they wouldn't even make a sound as they slumped down, Jihyeon headed inside.

  Fortunately, there were no other people inside. It appeared the seller was the only one there besides the guards. Seeing that they hadn't prepared any protective equipment to safeguard information, Jihyeon thought they must be a small-scale operation among the distributors.

  Of course, there were unavoidable aspects to it. If they ran a proper office, the police would catch on quickly. Moving among people like this was probably for the best. Though they were accompanied by four bodyguards, it was understandable considering the rough nature of the business.

  But because of this, the seller wouldn't be able to deal with a surprise like Jihyeon. They were only prepared to deal with rowdy customers and hadn't even considered a way to face someone with abilities beyond that.

  Jihyeon stepped further inside. The structure was far simpler than expected, and Jihyeon soon arrived in front of the seller's office.

  "Hmm... what else should I order..."

  The seller seemed deep in thought regarding his business plans inside the office. He continued to talk to himself, unaware that his voice was carrying outside. Hearing that voice, Jihyeon felt a surge of contempt. He had no intention of showing any mercy to a man who sacrificed others for his own gain without a second thought.

  The only thing was that he wouldn't be the one to deliver the punishment. Jihyeon would merely add a bit of a painful process during the neutralization. After confirming there were no escape routes nearby, Jihyeon grabbed the handle with telekinesis without hesitation.

  Click.

  The door opened. When the door suddenly swung open without any signal, the seller looked startled. Simultaneously, Jihyeon revealed himself. Appearing suddenly in empty space, Jihyeon delivered a shock to the seller as if he had been struck in the back of the head.

  "W-Who, who are you!" the seller shouted upon seeing Jihyeon. But soon, he showed panic as he recalled the stories of the man in the hood. "D-Dammit!"

  He had to run. That was the seller's judgment. Normally, in such a case, he should have destroyed evidence like the ledgers, but he had no time. However, even as he tried to flee, there was nowhere to go. Jihyeon was blocking the entrance. It wasn't as if there was another escape route.

  "Shit!"

  Cursing, the seller lunged at Jihyeon. He knew he was no match, but the seller had no intention of being caught without a fight, saying "Yes, I was wrong."

  But today, calling the seller's luck "bad" was an understatement. His opponent was far beyond human. Jihyeon knocked the seller unconscious by creating an electric whip and lightly flicking it. There was absolutely no chance to dodge. Faced with power sufficient to neutralize an ordinary person, there was no way to resist.

  With that, the situation was settled. No other words were needed. No matter how much one wanted to run, an unconscious person could do nothing.

  Fortunately, there were no booby traps this time. It seemed he hadn't even imagined this would happen. Because of that, the seller failed to erase the precious information in his head. Through this information, Jihyeon and the police would gain great momentum in apprehending other cells in the future. In fact, Jihyeon had already secured many clues to find the next target.

  Looking around to prepare for any potential threats, Jihyeon cleared the scene and contacted Seok-young. Along with a message saying he would handle the next cell as well.

  Seok-young would surely sigh at those words. However, to reduce the damage to people, he had to do what he could when he could. If information leaked, other cells would vanish. To handle them before that happened, Jihyeon moved quickly. Overlapping with Jihyeon's departure, the police entered the seller's base. They proceeded to arrest the perfectly neutralized subordinates of the seller one by one. Meanwhile, forensic investigators who were on standby began investigating the interior.

  "Phew..."

  With a short sigh, Jihyeon began moving to find the next cell. Knowing he could produce results as long as he hurried, Jihyeon unleashed his power without reserve.

  And that evening, the news reported that several Tool sellers had been apprehended in a simultaneous crackdown.