Chapter 287

Chapter 287

The moment Zeon saw Jin Geum-ho’s blue eyes, where a clear radiance lingered, he felt electricity prickle through his entire body.

It felt as if a microcurrent had swept over his body, and Zeon frowned.

He had felt this sensation once before.

It was when he had first met Jin Geum-ho.

‘He’s using Heavenly Eye on me.’

He had already expected as much.

Heavenly Eye was one of Jin Geum-ho’s main Skills.

An absurdly overpowered Skill that allowed him to read, at least roughly, the flow of causality and fate.

Using this Skill, Jin Geum-ho had recruited people who could be useful to him, used them, and grown Neo Seoul to this scale.

Even now, he was clearly trying to read something from Zeon with Heavenly Eye.

But Zeon was not greatly worried.

Heavenly Eye was not omnipotent.

As its name suggested, it could only grasp the broad flow. It could not know every fine detail.

Especially not the fate of beings like Zeon, who could become inflection points in the world.

After staring intently at Zeon for quite some time, Jin Geum-ho burst into hearty laughter and said,

“Haha! I invited a guest here and stared far too openly. My apologies.”

“Not at all.”

“But I don’t see those who went with you.”

“I apologize. They could not return with me.”

“Did they die?”

“Yes!”

“I see.”

Jin Geum-ho nodded.

Unlike a moment before, his gaze had sunk deeply.

Zeon looked silently at Jin Geum-ho.

After quite some time, Jin Geum-ho opened his mouth.

“Precious talents lost their lives. How were their final moments?”

“They probably did not suffer much.”

“That, at least, is fortunate.”

“Yes!”

“Sit down first.”

Only then did Jin Geum-ho offer Zeon a seat.

Jin Geum-ho did not ask anything more about Lee Jung-ho and Claire.

Because of that, Zeon could not tell what he was thinking.

Perhaps he had known in advance that the two would die.

However, he would not know that the cause of their deaths was Zeon.

Even if he suspected it, there was no evidence, so he could not press the matter.

“You worked hard. You returned much sooner than I expected.”

“Fortunately, I was able to complete the mission.”

“You mean you obtained Moby Dick’s heart.”

“Yes!”

Zeon handed Jin Geum-ho the subspace necklace containing Moby Dick’s heart.

Jin Geum-ho silently stroked the necklace.

As if he were measuring the weight of the heart.

After quite some time, he opened his mouth.

“You do not ask.”

“Pardon?”

“Is that not what people usually do? Do you not wonder what I intend to use Moby Dick’s heart for?”

“I am curious.”

“Then why not ask?”

“Because if I learn even that reason, I feel I will no longer be able to live freely.”

“You are cunning.”

“Please call it wise, if possible.”

“If you were truly wise, you would have worked for City Hall. That is what would serve humanity.”

“I do not have the capacity to worry about humanity’s future.”

Seeing Zeon shrug, Jin Geum-ho chuckled.

“Yes! Everyone has their own circumstances. For now, we each flow in different directions, but someday, we will gather in the same place.”

“I hope that day comes someday.”

“In any case, you worked hard. Thanks to you, a great worry has been lifted.”

“I’m glad.”

“You have done well.”

“I will take my leave now.”

“Without even eating?”

“I want to go back and eat with the children.”

“Ah! You had children you were looking after. I took up your time without noticing. Hurry along, then. I will reward you separately later.”

“Yes!”

When Zeon rose from his seat, Seo Tae-ran said,

“I will escort you to the first floor.”

“Ah! I can ride the elevator by myself. Then I will see you next time.”

Zeon bowed his head slightly to Seo Tae-ran, then immediately stepped into the elevator.

When the elevator doors closed, Seo Tae-ran carefully said,

“Is it all right to let Zeon leave like that?”

“Why?”

“We lost a member of the Numbers, did we not? Shouldn’t we hold him responsible?”

“How?”

“That is......”

When Seo Tae-ran hesitated, Jin Geum-ho chuckled and said,

“He is an opponent whose flow of fate is difficult to read even with my Heavenly Eye. That must mean he carries that much weight in this world. And you wish to hold such a man responsible? Without evidence?”

“Evidence......”

Seo Tae-ran frowned.

That was because she realized there was no evidence left with which to hold Zeon responsible.

Even then, Jin Geum-ho continued speaking.

“I knew Jung-ho would not return. More precisely, I could not see a flow of fate in which Jung-ho returned here. Even so, I attached Jung-ho to Zeon. Why do you think I did that?”

“Because only then could you obtain Moby Dick’s heart?”

“Correct! However, I cannot know exactly what happened to Jung-ho in the process. In other words, I cannot tell whether Zeon killed Jung-ho, or whether he was killed by a monster.”

“Hmm!”

“And to me, the process is not particularly important. What matters most is that I obtained the result I wanted through Jung-ho’s sacrifice.”

Tap, tap!

Jin Geum-ho tapped the desk a couple of times with the subspace necklace.

Seo Tae-ran felt chills crawl over her skin.

Jin Geum-ho cherished his subordinates. But at times, he also cut them away with terrifying coldness.

Without the slightest lingering attachment.

Lee Jung-ho had been an exceptional Awakened.

He had also handled all kinds of dirty work for Jin Geum-ho.

Awakened with such loyalty were never common. Even so, Jin Geum-ho felt no lingering attachment to his death.

He could have asked Zeon why he died, or who killed him, yet Jin Geum-ho had not done so.

By ordinary common sense, it was certainly difficult behavior to understand.

Fortunately, Seo Tae-ran was not an ordinary person, and she understood Jin Geum-ho more deeply than anyone. But even someone like Seo Tae-ran sometimes felt chills at Jin Geum-ho’s coldhearted side.

Jin Geum-ho rose from his seat and said,

“Let us go underground.”

“Right now?”

“We obtained the object we wanted. There is no reason to drag this out.”

“I will escort you.”

Seo Tae-ran immediately took the lead.

They entered the elevator.

It was a dedicated elevator leading underground.

In an instant, they descended dozens of floors below ground.

When the elevator doors opened, a fairly vast underground space appeared.

Countless wires and state-of-the-art machines were intertwined in a complex tangle, and dozens of researchers were diligently checking something.

At that moment, the researcher who looked the oldest among them, an old man with platinum-blond hair, saw Jin Geum-ho and ran over.

“Mayor!”

“Gentler!”

“Did you obtain Moby Dick’s heart?”

Expectation lingered in the eyes of the old platinum-blond researcher, Gentler.

Jin Geum-ho did not betray that expectation.

“I did.”

“Truly?”

Instead of answering, Jin Geum-ho handed the subspace necklace to Gentler.

Gentler shouted,

“Subspace Open!”

In that instant, an enormous subspace appeared before them.

Inside the subspace was a black, round jewel as large as several people put together.

“This is Moby Dick’s heart? It is different from the heart of an ordinary monster.”

It was also Gentler’s first time seeing Moby Dick’s heart.

He took Moby Dick’s heart out of the subspace and examined it closely.

“As expected, I can feel tremendous attribute power.”

“Then we can use it as Heavenly Punishment’s power source immediately.”

“However......”

“What is it?”

“The amount of mana is lower than we expected. To suspend a massive body over one hundred meters long in midair, it should have contained an enormous amount of mana. But this mana quantity falls far below even half of our estimate.”

At Gentler’s words, Jin Geum-ho frowned.

“Are you saying it is useless after all the trouble we went through to obtain it?”

“Not to that extent. However, I believe we will need to obtain another power source to support it.”

“Hmm!”

Even at Gentler’s words, Jin Geum-ho’s expression did not ease.

If this was the case, there would inevitably be a disruption in the plan, and more time would be required.

‘Did Zeon play some trick?’

Jin Geum-ho asked Gentler,

“Are there any traces of artificial manipulation on Moby Dick’s heart?”

“I see no such thing at all.”

At Gentler’s answer, Jin Geum-ho crossed his arms and fell into thought.

‘Am I being too sensitive?’

---

Zeon’s steps were light as he left City Hall.

That was because his deal with Jin Geum-ho had ended after handing over Moby Dick’s heart.

Since he would not be entangled with Jin Geum-ho for the time being, he wanted to rest properly for a few days.

After being away for so long, he missed his home and his soft bed. He also wanted to see the children at home.

‘They say affection grows when you see someone for a long time......’

He had never intended to take them in at first.

But somehow, he had become involved with the two children and ended up living with them. After spending so much time together, affection had formed.

The fact that Levin and Briel came to mind as soon as he returned to Neo Seoul made it clear that he had grown attached to them.

It was when Zeon left Neo Seoul and entered a secluded alley in the slums.

“Hyung!”

“Zeon!”

Suddenly, someone appeared behind Zeon.

He could tell who they were just from their voices.

They were Levin and Briel.

“Huh? What? Why are you two here?”

“What do you mean, why? We heard you had entered Neo Seoul, so we came to find you.”

“Levin’s connections are spread all around the main gate. So we knew right away that Zeon had returned.”

“Really?”

At the two’s explanations, Zeon smiled.

Briel asked carefully,

“Seeing that you’re safe, I guess the mission ended well.”

“You know me well.”

“Did you use the things I gave you?”

“They helped a lot.”

“That’s a relief. I felt bad that I couldn't go with you.”

“You don’t need to feel bad. Thanks to you, I made it back safely.”

Perhaps Zeon’s words comforted her, because only then did Briel smile brightly.

Levin lightly ruffled Briel’s hair and said,

“You have no idea how much she worried after you left. She kept saying she should have gone with you instead.”

“We can go together next time.”

At Zeon’s words, Briel and Levin nodded at the same time.

This time, each of them had been unable to go with him due to their own circumstances, but if he ever had to leave again, they were determined to accompany him then.

At that moment, Briel suddenly tilted her head.

“Zeon! Are you carrying some special item?”

“Why?”

“I suddenly feel this strange freshness......”

“Really?”

“Yeah! I never felt it before, but I can feel it all of a sudden.”

Squeeee!

At that moment, a small baby whale opened Zeon’s subspace and revealed itself.

At Gaia’s appearance, Briel’s eyes widened.

“Wow!”