Seok-young’s office was filled with the usual scent of coffee. From the rich aroma of quality beans he prepared himself to the sharp scent of instant coffee mixes, the smell of various brews dominated the space.

  It couldn't be helped. To avoid collapsing under the weight of endless tasks, the power of caffeine was an absolute necessity. Since Seok-young was a non-smoker, he craved caffeine all the more.

  Ideally, something that tasted good.

  In that sense, the coffee and donuts Jihyeon had just brought in—without permission—were enough to satisfy him. With prices rising lately, Jihyeon’s occasional treat was quite a pleasure.

  However, Seok-young couldn't accept them with pure joy. Jihyeon coming here with coffee and donuts usually meant there was work to be done.

  Of course, Jihyeon wasn't doing this for a favor. It was always about mutual cooperation to solve cases.

  Still, being on the receiving end often put Seok-young in a difficult position. Lately, Seok-young felt less like an investigator and more like a counselor listening to Jihyeon’s complaints.

  Jihyeon was a far more delicate individual than he looked, and consequently, he had plenty of grievances. At times he appeared bold, but he often vented about the most trivial matters.

  Listening to it all was surprisingly exhausting. Even though the talk was strictly case-related, listening to endless complaints rather than a suspect's confession was not particularly pleasant for Seok-young.

  But in a "paid consultation," the one being treated shouldn't complain. Moreover, since Jihyeon provided a wealth of information necessary for the investigation amidst his grumbling, Seok-young had to endure the slight irritation.

  Thus, the awkward tea time between the relatively relaxed person and the one who was not resumed once again.

  "Being sniped is a nuisance because it might make things several times harder later. Having to be constantly conscious of it is truly annoying. More importantly, they might target civilians or family members just to keep me in check."

  Jihyeon spoke while eating his share of donuts. Seok-young let out a sigh at his words.

  It seemed that those selling the Tools were far more difficult opponents than the gangsters they had faced before. At least with criminal organizations, their methods were limited because their Tools weren't diverse. Many of those methods could be covered by police power.

  But the dealers were different.

  Even in the case of sniping, they wouldn't be found through typical firearms violations. How were the police, who lacked any specialized detection equipment, supposed to find someone sniping from a long distance using the power of a Tool?

  Considering that even Jihyeon couldn't find them, it was only natural.

  "We have to do everything we can. But I won't deny that we don't have a clear solution, and it feels like we're just burdening you, Jihyeon-ssi."

  Jihyeon sighed at Seok-young’s words. He knew in his head that it couldn't be helped, but hearing it out loud was a different story.

  "Is there no support, like drones or something?"

  Jihyeon asked, even though he knew the situation well. It was the build-up for the complaints that were about to start. As always, after laying this groundwork, the venting began. Jihyeon would likely complain for quite a long time. Having grown accustomed to this "complaint hour," Seok-young let out a sigh.

  "That’s only possible if we have the resources. You know our situation, don't you? It’s hard to deploy things like that recklessly."

  Seok-young said, bracing himself mentally.

  "I suppose so. But at least talk about support during combat. If they only target me, that’s one thing, but they could target the police too."

  Seok-young sighed again at Jihyeon's remark. He knew all too well that if Jihyeon had become a target for snipers, there was no reason they wouldn't be targets themselves.

  However, he didn't want to dwell on it. Just thinking about it caused an immense amount of stress.

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  "I know you hate it, but what can we do? If we don't crush those bastards quickly, we’ll be the ones who end up suffering."

  Jihyeon said, tossing the last piece of his donut into his mouth. Seeing him, Seok-young could only let out another sigh.

  "It’s one obstacle after another. There’s a limit to what we can do..."

  Jihyeon shook his head as he answered Seok-young.

  "It can't be helped. Our enemies are people with technology far more advanced than ours. Even if the higher-ups invest more, it might not be enough."

  Seok-young nodded at Jihyeon’s answer. Yet, as always, the things they could actually do were limited by realistic constraints.

  "For now, let’s finish hunting that werewolf. You said he was someone from a government agency?"

  Jihyeon asked, looking at Seok-young. Asking a question when he already knew the answer was one of his bad habits.

  "I don't know if we should save him or kill him. Depending on the situation, we might have to shoot to kill."

  Instead of a direct answer, Seok-young spoke about the choices they would have to make in the future.

  "We should aim to save him."

  Jihyeon replied as he stood up. The tea time without any real answers came to an end.

  The man was still asleep. He had run wild quite a bit, but perhaps due to his injuries, his physical condition was abnormal.

  Still, it was a relief he wasn't causing a scene, thanks to the recovery team who had fed him and brought him back. The recovery team of the once-notorious pseudo-cult was quite skilled.

  Thanks to them, the loan shark who had recovered the man began to contemplate his next move. The man had performed his role sufficiently, but it didn't seem like that alone would be enough to produce business results.

  Actually, the performance demonstrated by the man was quite good. Turning someone who targeted their secrets into a werewolf and letting them loose—that kind of power was something ordinary people couldn't handle. Furthermore, the control was simple.

  For those seeking power for gang warfare, it would be an incredibly attractive prospect. Good combat power combined with easy control and, above all, no risk of a berserk state was a good thing.

  However, it wasn't enough to defeat the guy in the hoodie. This was where the problem arose.

  The guy in the hoodie was someone that the users of the commonly sold strength-enhancing Tools couldn't even stand against. Anyone who saw a group of berserk users being annihilated by him alone would have realized that they couldn't do anything with those Tools.

  Naturally, they would realize they needed a Tool with enough power to defeat the hooded guy. But the werewolf wasn't at that level.

  The werewolf was equally one-sided in its defeat. If that was the case, there was no reason to pay a high price for it.

  At the very least, some organizations bought strength-enhancing Tools as a sort of insurance. If they only had to deal with common drunks, a Tool with a limiter was enough. They were selling quite well as versatile items at a reasonable price.

  However, the werewolf Tool, which was sold as a set with a control device, was incomparably more expensive. Small organizations managing only a few establishments wouldn't try to buy such an item, and large organizations were avoiding Tool purchases altogether as they were wary of the police.

  Unless they could defeat the guy in the hoodie, it was certain that combat-related Tools wouldn't sell.

  Of course, there were various other Tools, so they could sell them if they wanted to. But from the loan shark’s perspective, Tools used for fighting were supposed to be the best-selling items.

  Chaos, as always, created money.

  If people couldn't trust the police and had to protect themselves, they would each secretly purchase a Tool. And if problems arose in the process, he could squeeze out even more money.

  But if a so-called hero hunted down Tool users, the story changed. A world where people felt safe was, as always, a world where it was hard to make big money. The loan shark hated that.

  The loan shark was surrounded by people who were always proposing new businesses. This time, he had agreed to the request to just sell Tools, but he was thinking of making money through other businesses if things grew.

  To do that, business had to go well first, but the problem was the inability to defeat that damn guy.

  Of course, in the case of the werewolf, it was partly meant as a warning and an advertisement that such beings existed, so the failure wasn't a huge problem. But to truly appeal to potential customers, he had to produce impressive results.

  However, the sleeping man would be far from that. For a man already ruined by brutal torture, the Tool that turned him into a werewolf would be a significant burden in itself.

  And was it just the Tool?

  Because of the equipment dominating his consciousness, he probably wouldn't last much longer. He had been programmed to follow orders even over his own survival, so that was an expected result.

  Still, if necessary, he could be forced into a berserk state just once. To the loan shark, people were nothing more than a means to make money. For his pleasure or for business, the man was just something that could be sacrificed.

  The man could never return to normal anyway. Besides, if he did, he would try to reveal their secrets. It would be better for him to die being used so usefully.

  "I wonder if there’s a booster..."

  The loan shark muttered as he began to look through the Tools he possessed. Meanwhile, the man slowly woke up.

  The man blinked, trying to figure out where he was. It was a natural reaction to an unfamiliar environment. But soon, the man began to struggle. He realized he was bound in shackles.

  A man implanted with the soul of a wolf was a being that could not be restrained by anything. Since he had pre-implanted orders, he struggled even more violently.

  However, for the man who hadn't transformed into his aberrant form, the shackles were impossible to break. Moreover, the traces of torture still bound him.

  "Ah, there it is. It was right here."

  The loan shark smiled as he found something. His smile, which contained only pure cruelty, was enough to make anyone shudder if they saw it.

  But the loan shark didn't care. Instead, he walked toward the man holding the newly found Tool.

  "Make me a little more entertained."

  The loan shark said as he pulled out the device to control Tool users and began the procedure. Amidst pure screams, the cruel implantation continued for a while.