Chapter  005

* * *

“A bomb? What bomb?”

The moment Byun Gu-do spoke—

Lee Yu-ji spun around and slammed her leg into the delivery driver’s head without a second of hesitation.

Slamming was exactly the right word.

Despite only being around 160 cm tall, her kick was so powerful that the driver’s knees buckled instantly.

And the very next thing she did was—

Eat this…!

She shoved the mushroom straight into the driver’s open mouth through the gap in his helmet.

“You brought the bomb in here, didn’t you?”

The delivery driver, whose collar Yu-ji was gripping tightly, choked for a moment before raising his head and letting out a strange laugh.

“Heh… hehehe…”

“…”

“How did you figure it out?”

The mushroom Yu-ji had fed him was the one grown from Funny Powder spores.

Well, the bomb had been found.

The culprit had been caught.

So all that remained was getting rid of the bomb, right?

Just as she thought that—

Her body suddenly tilted.

The delivery driver had grabbed her and yanked her forward with overwhelming strength.

I-I can’t resist this!

The moment she felt that force, Yu-ji realized something.

This guy was an Awakened.

She’d been an athlete through high school, but no amount of training could overcome the difference in rank.

And before she could react—

A cold gun barrel pressed against her temple.

Click.

“Move, and I shoot. Nobody moves.”

Why is my life turning into a crime novel cliché?!

“Whoa, whoa, calm down! Just calm down…!”

Look at Byun Gu-do trying to negotiate with a terrorist.

And then—

“…!”

Look at Ma Deok-ho.

Even now, he was covering both ears with his headset like his life depended on it.

Yeah, he’s definitely not rescuing me.

Then—

Click.

Another gun is being loaded.

The sound came from behind them.

Held tightly in the terrorist’s grasp, Yu-ji couldn’t move.

She could only roll her eyes.

Byun Gu-do and Ma Deok-ho both looked shocked.

Then Byun Gu-do gasped.

“T-Team Leader…!”

Team Leader?

Did he mean Kwon Ik-seong?

Or—

The bomb courier glanced back and shouted.

“Y-You! Want to see this girl’s head blown open?!”

Only then did Yu-ji understand.

The leader of Hunter Investigation Unit – Team 5 was aiming a gun at the terrorist holding her hostage.

“…Honestly, I don’t really care.”

A low, lazy voice answered.

…That’s a woman?

No, more importantly—

What do you mean you don’t care?!

I refuse to die a pointless death twice!

The terrorist angrily shoved the gun harder against Yu-ji’s temple.

“Don’t lie! Of course you care!”

“Well… writing the incident report would be annoying.”

But there was still no emotion in the team leader’s voice.

No urgency.

No desperation.

Nothing.

“Besides, if we drag this out, we’re all going to get caught in the explosion anyway.”

Somehow, Yu-ji had a feeling the woman was smiling.

“…So wouldn’t it be more efficient to reduce the number of people who die?”

Now I understand why new recruits never lasted more than a week here.

I understand perfectly.

Completely ignoring Yu-ji’s internal screaming, the team leader suddenly continued.

“Oh, by the way.”

“W-What…?”

“When people talk, their hands naturally shake a little. Their breathing changes. But right now, you—”

“Stop talking nonsense and lower your gun! I’m wearing a bulletproof helmet anyway!”

The terrorist’s voice rang loudly through the room.

Yu-ji could feel the man’s hand trembling.

At this rate, he’s going to pull the trigger by accident!

Her head buzzed.

Am I seriously going to die again?

Please let me possess the protagonist next time.

“…You talk too much.”

Bang!

An explosive gunshot thundered through Yu-ji’s ears.

* * *

The pressure against her temple vanished instantly.

The pressure on her entire body disappeared.

A ringing sound filled her ears.

Eeeeeee—

Did I just get shot?

Carefully, she touched her temple.

Something wet smeared onto her fingers.

Blood.

But—

“Hey, rookie.”

As her hearing slowly returned, a woman entered her field of vision.

She had short hair that sat somewhere between a bob cut and a pixie cut.

Dark shadows rested beneath her eyes.

Her gaze looked completely lifeless.

“Are you lying there because you want someone to help you up?”

At her question, Yu-ji carefully sat up.

Her neck felt a little stiff, but nothing actually hurt.

Instead, the person who seemed to be suffering was—

“AAAAAAAGH!”

The terrorist.

He was clutching his right hand and screaming in agony.

The blood on Yu-ji’s temple wasn’t hers.

The team leader hadn’t shot at the helmet.

She’d shot the man’s gun hand.

My head was literally right next to it!

And she still took the shot!

She’s definitely a psychopath!

And hands weren’t easy targets.

One tiny mistake in breathing and Yu-ji’s head would’ve exploded instead.

But the shot had been perfect.

No hesitation.

No error.

An insanely accurate gun-shooting psychopath!

The moment Yu-ji realized that, she immediately knew what she had to do.

She jumped to her feet and bowed ninety degrees.

“Hello! I’m rookie investigator Lee Yu-ji!”

…Making a good first impression.

Because this psychopath was apparently her boss.

I need to stay on her good side!

The woman stared at her for a moment.

Then slowly looked her up and down.

Finally, she muttered,

“This team got another lunatic.”

But Yu-ji wasn’t even paying attention.

Her eyes were fixed on the countdown timer that still had over ten minutes remaining.

Then a flood of translucent messages appeared.

Status Effect: “Nameless Extras in Crime Novels Always Die” has been removed!

Quest Completed: Find the Bomb Hidden Inside the Hunter Investigation Unit Building! (A-Rank)

Reward: 5,000 Gold

Right.

The quest was completed the moment she found the bomb.

Mom. Dad.

I just earned 500 million won.

Our apartment belongs to us now, not the bank.

And then—

Congratulations!

You have successfully completed a possession and earned a special skill reward!

Another reward had arrived.

* * *

One hour later.

Office of the Hunter Investigation Unit Section Chief.

After hearing the report about the incident in Team 5, Chief Hong Jae-gyeol of the Hunter Investigation Unit looked up in disbelief.

Standing before him was a woman at attention, though her head was tilted slightly.

The leader of Hunter Investigation Unit – Team 5.

Pi So-won.

“…That’s the end of your report?”

“Yep.”

Despite Chief Hong’s disbelief, Pi So-won’s answer was simple.

“So let me get this straight.”

“A rookie on her very first day brought a detection dog into the building, noticed unusual behavior from the dog, found a bomb, and then captured a terrorist.”

“And all of this just happened by pure coincidence?”

Hearing something in his tone, Pi So-won reached out and picked up a document.

“Want me to draw a picture for you?”

When Pi So-won said, ” Draww a picture, she meant making up a believable explanation.

That’s how government work was.

People at the top hated the word coincidence.

If the arrest had happened by coincidence, that meant failure had also been possible.

And that reflected poorly on the organization.

“How exactly are you planning to draw this picture?”

Chief Hong asked.

Looking thoroughly annoyed, Pi So-won dropped another report onto his desk and started speaking smoothly.

“During a routine internal inspection conducted by Team 5, a rookie investigator following standard procedures discovered the bomb.”

“Using CCTV footage, the suspect’s location was identified.”

“An immediate pursuit followed, resulting in a successful arrest.”

Chief Hong’s eyebrow twitched as he read the report.

“A picture indeed…”

“…Good enough, right?”

At Pi So-won’s answer, Chief Hong narrowed his eyes.