Chapter 233: Resignation 1
Elise was looking at the images Zaira was displaying on the screen while tapping her finger against her chin.
"Look at this!"
Examining the skill involved, it looked like the work of the work of the hacker who had leaked the info to the internet last time, but this time, it was much more precise. The hacker had disrupted Zaira"s connection to the CCTV footage and was still jamming it. Zaira had tried to use over 172 different cameras to get footage of the situation, but it was unable to, so Zaira had to give up.
All screens went dark after the R-agents went in.
"Who could have done this? There aren"t many who are capable of it."
Zaira had erased everything pertaining to power searches, but someone had still shown up, and that someone had to have a computer like Zaira.
"Zaira, have you located the person?"
[I was using GPS to trace him, but it"s disconnected now. Tracking is impossible.]
"We are also using resources for other things, but still, there aren"t many who could have done this! Even if it"s the same hacker, he can"t continue this for long. We"ve also wiped all of the virus."
[To do this kind of work, he would need a supercomputer. There are only about ten capable computers in the world.]
"You mean there are only ten computers that could do it?"
[Yes.]
"Investigate and sweep those computers to find the hacker."
[Understood.]
"Can you do it?"
[Can I use 10 percent of my processing power for it?]
"Do it."
Elise never s.h.i.+rked away from a challenge.
"n.o.body"s beaten me yet."
---
After he came home and started training, his cell phone rang. Someone was calling Max"s phone. It was Sungtae, and he spoke with urgency.
"Turn on the TV!"
"Wait a sec."
Junhyuk teleported to the living room and turned the TV on to see news that left him speechless.
"There"s been a triple murder at Dosung University. The women have only been identified by their last names, Choi, Kim and Lee, but police are having a hard time locating the suspect. The CCTV footage seems to have been wiped."
Junhyuk scowled, and Sungtae spoke up, "What happened?"
"The R-agents must have killed them as a cover up."
"R-agents?"
"The people who came to kill you."
Junhyuk scowl remained. Why did they kill the witnesses? Sungju was already dead, but they were probably interested in running experiments on his body.
"They couldn"t leave any leads."
If they investigated Eunkyung"s phone, they would find out about Sungju. But they had to have put a trace on it too. Junhyuk collapsed on the sofa and let out a deep sigh.
"I shouldn"t have let them live."
The R-agents had survived and killed the witnesses.
Junhyuk teleported, grabbed a can of beer from the refrigerator and chugged it. He couldn"t really taste the beer. After that, he teleported back to the bas.e.m.e.nt and summoned every piece of equipment he had.
Training was the best way to clear one"s mind.
---
He reported to work early and got a call from Eunseo. She offered him a seat when he entered her office, and he sat down. Eunseo walked over to him. Junhyuk was a little surprised, and she leaned against the desk and crossed her legs.
He looked at her legs and then at her eyes. She liked the fact he was more interested in her eyes than in her legs and smiled. She didn"t usually smile, so the smile was slight, but it was still noticeable.
Junhyuk smiled back at her.
"You don"t need your wheelchair anymore?"
"Because of the poring incident, the public has lost confidence on Guardians. HQ is also continually under attack. So, this will be good time to announce the regeneration project is a success."
"Announce it?"
"I am proof of the project"s success. It will be effective that way."
"Right."
The monsters posed a threat to Guardians, but not as much to the public nowadays. Every monster that appeared away from Guardians" HQ was handled with relative ease.
Eunseo continued, "The iron soldiers will be stationed in South Korea as the first line of defense."
"Will that work?"
"It has to. This is the most dangerous spot. Seoul HQ will be repaired, and the decomposition liquid will be supplied to the military. Then, the military will be able to fight monsters as well."
"You"ll be making a lot of money."
"Probably billions."
Junhyuk was surprised.
"That much?!"
"Guardians will no longer require outside financial support."
"Good to know."
Junhyuk looked at her, but she avoided his stare. He got up slowly to get her attention again.
"Have you made up your mind?"
"I"ve only had a day."
He smiled and looked at her. She stared at his smile with intensity that was about to drill a hole on his lips. He tried to avoid looking at her, but she grabbed his cheeks. Coming as close as possible to his face, she whispered, "I"m willing to be on your side, but can you promise me that you won"t hide anything from me?"
A relations.h.i.+p without any secrets, he had to think about it. Still holding onto his face, she said, "It"s your turn to answer."
He realized then that he hadn"t just approached a novice. They would have a much more personal relations.h.i.+p if she joined his team, and he couldn"t buy relations.h.i.+ps like that with money.
As far as money went, he probably had more liquidity than her because his money wasn"t tied up somewhere as investment. By using her connections, he could achieve a lot more than by himself.
However, he was hesitating. She, on the other hand, didn"t, and pressed her lips against his, kissing him. She closed her eyes, so he closed his eyes as well. Her arms wrapped around his neck while he wrapped his around her waist. She didn"t resist it.
The kiss only lasted for a few seconds, but it felt like forever. He stepped back, and she exhaled lightly. He smiled at her, and she stared back at him. Her stare concerned him, and she kissed him again. Things moved quickly, and he laid her on her desk, but she stopped, got up and asked, "Can you answer me now?"
She looked very innocent under her gla.s.ses, but he was hesitating. He would have to be completely open with her, but he had a similar relations.h.i.+p with Sarang.
"I can"t decide by myself."
Eunseo frowned.
"You mean Catherine…"
He didn"t answer. She had guessed correctly and took a few steps back. After adjusting her clothes, she told him, "Before you resign, get an answer from her. If not, I will not join your side."
He got up and looked at her.
"I understand."
He was about to leave when she called after him and said, "I"ve sent you an email concerning today"s announcement. Translate it for me. It"ll go out to the entire world."
"I"ll do it."
He got out and got on the elevator, touching his lips slowly as he entered. Her lips hadn"t felt cold or pretentious, but hot and pa.s.sionate.
Dohee stared at him as he left for the Administrative Department. Once he was gone, Dohee entered Eunseo"s office.
Eunseo was also touching her lips, red like a ripe apple.
"CEO?"
Eunseo fanned herself with her hand and looked at Dohee.
"What is the matter?"
"Nothing," Dohee said and left.
Eunseo sighed and sat on her chair. Tapping her feet, she said, "Crazy, crazy."
---
Junhyuk focused on his work. He handed out a few instructions and started translating the email. It took him an hour to translate everything, and once he sent the email back, he got up.
"Can I have your attention, please?"
The emails contained the news conference"s location and time.
"There will be a news conference today. Use Zaira to contact various newspapers. The conference will be at 2:00 p.m. Tell them to not be late. It"ll concern a new medicine."
"Yes, sir."
The employees started getting in touch with newspapers and other media outlets with Zaira"s help. Tsubasa could translate from then on, and the other employees had learned how to use Zaira. There was nothing more for him to do.
The preparations for his resignation were over.
"I have to make up my mind up before resigning!"
He wanted to meet Sarang, so he went to the resting area and messaged her with his burner phone.
[Can you meet me tonight?]
He got a reply soon after.
[Whoa! I have time! Certainly!]
He sent another message back.
[I will stop by your school. Wear your disguise, OK?"
[I have the Spatial Bag. No problem.]
[Right.]
[OK! See you later!]
He put the phone away just as Soyeon walked in. He smiled at her.
"How about some coffee?"
"I"ll get it for you."
"I"m sorry, but you haven"t been paid yet. I"ll buy it."
He grabbed a couple of cups from the vending machine, and Soyeon took one and sat down. He sat next to her and asked, "Are you OK?"
"I"m fine. I was a little shocked, but the doctors said there was nothing wrong."
"That"s good."
Soyeon examined him and asked, "Are you really resigning?"
He nodded heavily, saying, "I"ve made up my mind."
"But…" She asked carefully, "Can I join you?"
He shook his head.
"Guardians is just starting, so it"s going through some issues, but its foundation is solid. Soon, the dangers will pa.s.s, and the place will be safe. Guardians will become a worldwide ent.i.ty, so stay here."
Soyeon looked at him, and he continued, "Just watch today"s conference. Guardians is a totally different company now."