Chapter 56

I Am Not a Reincarnator Chapter 56

A Game I Can't Lose (3)

"Hey, suspect?"

The reporters shouted in shock.

"Quiet."

Choi Woojin opened his eyes fiercely and spoke in a low voice.

--A gaze that seemed to constrict the soul.

The cold flames in the eyes of a beast that had caught the scent of blood burned brightly.

"Ah, ah!"

"Ugh!"

The reporters trembled in fear at his overwhelming presence.

Most of the reporters were ordinary people who hadn't even awakened.

There was no way they could withstand the presence of Choi Woojin, who was called a 'War Dog' and was among the top three in the Association.

"I will conduct an emergency investigation using my special agent's authority."

Choi Woojin showed the special agent's identification issued by the Association.

He scanned the reporters with his sharp eyes.

'There are a few awakened ones... but they're not at a very high level.'

At best, they were 2-3 star awakened ones.

Even among them, they were few in number.

'If there were any awakened ones capable of deceiving my senses...'

Choi Woojin shook his head.

It was impossible for anyone else to deceive the senses of someone with the 'Hunting Dog' scar.

"..."

Choi Woojin narrowed his eyes.

Since entering the press conference room, or even when he shook hands with Oh Jin, he had activated his scar to be on guard.

'I didn't sense any signs of an ambush.'

To inject poison into Oh Jin without being detected by his senses, which were on high alert?

'Impossible.'

Unless it was a high-level awakened one of 9 stars or above, it was impossible to deceive the senses of the Hunting Dog and approach him.

However, the possibility of a real high-level awakened one targeting Oh Jin was slim.

There was no reason or justification, and most of them were currently on the front lines of humanity, in the 'Demon Realm.'

'I didn't drink or eat anything.'

Then.

'Before meeting me... he was already poisoned.'

The only explanation was that Oh Jin was poisoned between leaving his house and arriving in Yeouido.

"Check the personal information and alibis of all the reporters."

"Understood!"

After assigning the task to his subordinate, Choi Woojin brought his nose close to the blood Oh Jin had spat out.

-Whirr!

The 'Hunting Dog' scar on his left chest glowed brightly.

His senses were explosively amplified.

Smells from a radius of several hundred meters, even several kilometers, flooded his nostrils.

But these were not ordinary smells from daily life.

'The smell of magic power.'

He followed the smell that anyone with a scar would inevitably emit.

"Indeed."

In addition to the smell of the 'Harp' scar from Oh Jin, another smell stimulated his nose.

A very faint trace of magic power.

He followed the trace, so faint that no one else could have found it.

"I'll leave the scene to you."

"Sir...?"

"There's something else I need to investigate."

Leaving his subordinates at the scene, he followed the trace of magic power.

The faint trace of magic power, barely detectable, led to the car Oh Jin had taken.

'As expected, he was poisoned on the way here.'

It was impossible to be poisoned inside a moving car.

Then.

"Phew."

He took a deep breath.

Like a short-distance runner standing on the starting line, he placed his hands on the ground and lifted his buttocks.

He would usually have traveled by car, but.

'Time is short.'

If Oh Jin had been attacked before meeting him, he needed to act as soon as possible.

The culprit would be erasing their traces at this very moment.

"Beast's Step."

A burst of blue light.

The magic power of the scar enveloped his body,

-Boom!

He planted his feet roughly.

-Thud, thud, thud, thud, thud, thud!!!!

He ran down the road at a speed that made the surrounding cars seem like snails.

The wind cut across his cheeks.

Following the faint trace of magic power, he headed towards Incheon, where Oh Jin's house was.

"Haa, haa."

After running for about 20 minutes.

He adjusted his slightly roughened breathing as he arrived near Oh Jin's house.

'Did Oh Jin live in such a place?'

Given his recent rise to fame, he had assumed Oh Jin would live in a good area.

"...A place that's almost a ruin."

Had it been attacked by a monster 8 years ago, or now 9 years ago?

The neighborhood was so dilapidated that it was hard to believe anyone lived there.

While walking through the half-collapsed buildings,

'I found it.'

He discovered a place where the trace of magic power was more concentrated.

"He was ambushed here."

And it was done so secretly that he didn't even realize he was poisoned.

"Indeed."

Choi Woojin, who had been scanning the surroundings, clicked his tongue.

'There was a reason for the ambush here.'

There wasn't even a single CCTV camera in sight.

The perfect place for an ambush.

"...Mr. Oh Jin said he was unconscious and recuperating at home, right?"

If so, the culprit must have been lying in wait near his house, waiting for him to come out.

"..."

A planned ambush.

But the question was not completely resolved.

'Why did they wait for him to come out of the house?'

If it was an ambush, it would have been wiser to do it during the past week when he was unconscious.

"...Was there someone in the house?"

Now that he thought about it, he had heard of it.

A woman living with him.

'Song Haeun, right?'

Choi Woojin contacted the Association to verify information about her.

'She lost her power in an accident 5 years ago and recently recovered.'

There was also a record of her participating in a recent demon extermination and making significant contributions.

"A 7-star awakened one of the Dragon constellation."

Indeed.

There was a reason the culprit waited outside.

'They knew Song Haeun was with him.'

That's why they waited for Oh Jin to come out of the house alone.

To secretly deal with him, who had just regained consciousness and hadn't fully recovered.

"The reason... is obvious."

Choi Woojin's eyes gleamed sharply.

The secret relationship between the Pandinus Guild and Choi Jongchul that Oh Jin was about to reveal at the press conference.

'Oh Jin had the evidence.'

Then the culprit must have been.

"No. I can't jump to conclusions yet."

He was a special agent who had sent countless criminals to prison.

He couldn't determine the culprit based on mere suspicion without concrete evidence.

'I need evidence.'

Choi Woojin increased the power of his scar even more.

Irrefutable, perfect evidence.

He was the most specialized awakened one in finding such evidence.

'The culprit's trace... is over there.'

He followed the trace of magic power, passing the spot where the two had crossed paths.

It seemed the culprit had tried to hide their magic power as much as possible, but it was impossible to deceive the senses of a 7-star awakened one of the Hunting Dog constellation.

-Thud, thud.

Choi Woojin followed the trace of magic power.

The trace led to an abandoned eco-bag in the middle of an alley.

Specifically, the green liquid on the end of the eco-bag.

The smell was the same as the one he had detected from Oh Jin's blood.

"They bumped into him naturally and used the bag to inject the poison."

That explained why Oh Jin didn't realize he had been 'poisoned.'

It was unlikely he would have suspected that the person he bumped into on the street was carrying a poisoned bag.

"...From here, there's no trace at all."

Choi Woojin frowned and looked around.

After the abandoned eco-bag, there was no trace of magic power in the surroundings.

No smell, no footprints.

The culprit had vanished as if they had evaporated from this spot.

'What did they do?'

He couldn't know that, but.

-Click.

Choi Woojin carefully reached out his hand towards the green liquid on the end of the eco-bag.

He focused his mind and read the magic power of the scar contained in the poison.

It seemed they had tried to hide it, but.

He could feel it.

--The faint trace of the Scorpion constellation's magic power.

"Indeed. No surprises."

His eyes gleamed fiercely.

Unlike other scars, almost all awakened ones with the Scorpion constellation's scar were affiliated with the Pandinus Guild.

Especially someone skilled enough to carry out such a secret ambush could only be from the Pandinus Guild.

With both suspicion and evidence,

He could no longer hold back his judgment.

"The culprit was... the Pandinus Guild."

Choi Woojin said with a confident voice.

* * *

In the ICU of a hospital in Yeouido.

Surrounded by expensive medical equipment made using Seong Yu-seok, Oh Jin slowly opened his eyes.

'Tsk. It hurts like hell.'

The pain was intense due to the powerful poison that had melted part of his internal organs.

'Well, I had to do this much to convince them.'

He smiled faintly while wearing an oxygen mask.

Oh Jin reached out and picked up the smartphone on the table.

He checked the latest news articles in the news tab.

[Oh Jin collapses, spitting blood during press conference... 'Shocking']

[The culprit is the Pandinus Guild? 'Trace of the Scorpion constellation's scar' found at the scene]

[Oh Jin rushed to Hye Sung Hospital, 'Would have died if it was a bit later' according to doctors]

[What was the relationship between the Pandinus Guild and Choi Jongchul that Oh Jin was about to reveal?]

The headlines and all the articles were filled with stories about this incident.

"They found the trace well, it seems."

He smiled deeply, looking at the articles.

'Frankly, I was a bit worried they wouldn't find it.'

Choi Woojin.

He was an awakened one with excellent investigative skills, as rumored.

'Let's see how people react.'

He entered a famous community site he had checked before.

[Ro Yoojin: Breaking News))) The 'Guild' that attempted to poison Oh Jin]

They are still denying any involvement lol

┗Jerry M: lolololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololol