Codename-Anastasia

Chapter 46: 3.16 Hide and Seek

"Eh? What's this?"

Yoon Jong Woo was about to log into the game and suddenly frowned. When he entered his ID and password and clicked the Login button, an error message appeared indicating that he had already logged in before. He tried closing and reopening the active window, but the result was still the same. If it wasn't for a server error, his ID would definitely have been stolen by someone else.

Yoon Jong Woo felt this a long time ago. Every time he logged in, his level changed subtly and some items were no longer in stock. Yoon Jong Woo simply thought that there might have been some event that he didn't know about, but it seemed like today he caught that tail.

Dare to hack a national intelligence officer? I don't know whose name it is, it's really big.

"You bastard, you touched the wrong person."

Yoon Jong Woo entered a different ID to access the game. It was an ID he created just to register for the event and just left it unused. That's why he didn't have anything other than the basic items.

Yoon Jong Woo looked for the old ID in the user search window, and the thief's location was immediately revealed. Entered the server. The thief is there preparing for a game that is about to start. Yoon Jong Woo was talking to him but other users urged him to quickly end the wait. Without hesitation, Yoon Jong Woo pressed the fight button.

Soon the game started. A vivid desktop reminiscent of a real battlefield fills before your eyes. The sound of gunfire echoed through the headphones as if it were real. In the place where they went crazy killing each other, Yoon Jon Woo only chased the thief. The guy naturally got caught up in the game and only chose high-level users who were immersed in the massacre of civilians to shoot. It's magical, it's a hundred hits.

"Ahh! I purposely didn't use it and saved it."

Yoon Jong Woo, who was aiming at him, shouted in surprise. The item that the thief just threw out is a rare item that is difficult to obtain even with cash. The treasure he had carefully stored without daring to use it even once was being proudly squandered by that bastard. He couldn't sit still any longer.

Yoon Jong Woo registered for the 1:1 match with a very serious expression. Forgetting the fact that the ID the other person was using was his, he decided to sacrifice the new cards.

Then the thief answered.

>Don't play tricks, go out there and play.

Yoon Jong Woo was speechless so he gasped. He signed up to fight again. Rejected again. He registered again. Rejected immediately again.

"This bastard."

Yoon Jong Woo kept clinging to him until he accepted. Then the thief suddenly agreed to the confrontation. Suddenly, he was confused again. As soon as the match started, the two rushedd at each other. However, there is one thing that Yoon Jong Woo overlooked. The ID, which he had accumulated experience by dividing his time with great difficulty, was no longer his. Yoon Jong Woo is just an insignificant and powerless low-level user.

He used up all his flamboyant skills and launched all kinds of attacks, but the thief didn't suffer a single wound. On the other hand, as soon as his bullet passed by, his health meter dropped sharply. Yoon Jong Woo stood up mid-sentence, pounding the keyboard and mouse angrily.

"Ahh! Die!"

Opponents are equipped with special armor so they will not take damage from most attacks. The problem was that all of Yoon Jong Woo's firepower was put into that attack. Even when he aimed straight and pulled the trigger, his opponent did not receive a single scratch. He decided to step out of the armor, but that only affected Yoon Jong Woo's life.

In a dilemma, the thief made the decisive blow. His vision was turned upside down when Yoon Jong Woo was hit in the head by a bullet.

"No way! Ahh!"

Yoon Jong Woo grabbed the screen and shouted, but the game was over. Damned. He cursed while looking for the ID that the thief had stolen. But he has already logged out. Unable to scream in the middle of the night, Yoon Jong Woo could only grab his hair and kick his legs in anger.

It wasn't until a long time later that Yoon Jong Woo discovered that the message had not been read. The sender was the thief from earlier. He immediately checked the content. There is only a place and time written on it without any mention. It's ridiculous.

The time he specified was 30 minutes later, and the location was a computer room in Incheon. He even friendly wrote down his seat number. If Yoon Jong Woo works hard from now on, he will be able to arrive on time. Yoon Jong Woo, who was in a rage, took his coat and left the house.

--

The lighting in the PC room is designed to be quite dim as if to increase concentration. Because it was not rush hour, there were many empty seats. The part-time student working at the counter also fell asleep and did not notice Yoon Jong Woo's appearance.

He narrowed his eyes and walked through the dark room. Yoon Jong Woo ran for nearly 30 minutes with fighting spirit, but when he arrived, his heart was pounding. Yoon Jong Woo took a deep breath and moved to the 59th chair that the thief gave him. After passing the 30th and 40th rows and entering the 50th row, his heart beat so fiercely that it seemed like it wanted to jump out of his chest. Yoon Jong Woo walked carefully and finally reached seat number 59.

Yoon Jong Woo's face showed a trace of disappointment, because seat 59 was empty. The damn thief called Yoon Jong Woo here and then ran away? Maybe he was chatting somewhere in the store. Yoon Jong Woo quickly looked around. No one caught my eye, no one stood out. Wasn't it enough to get beaten up in the game, but now you're being played properly by him like this?

"Ah, you bastard!"

Yoon Jong Woo clenched his fists in anger, gritting his teeth and struggling wildly, causing other computer users to also look at that soundless scream.

Just like that, Yoon Jong Woo received everyone's attention and reduced his anger. He accidentally touched a nearby computer screen, the power saving mode was turned off and the screen turned on. It's suspicious because eye-catching writing fills the screen.

"Sit down."

What game is this again? Yoon Jong Woo was extremely uncomfortable but sat down quietly. He pretended to calmly look around and wondered if this was a trick of the thief, but on the one hand he was also curious about what trick he was planning to play.

However, even after waiting for a long time, the thief still did not appear. Other PC users are just immersed in their games. Are we playing together again? A fire burned in Yoon Jong Woo's heart.

You have to let him know who he touched. Yoon Jong Woo will find this bastard no matter what the tricks or methods are. He gritted his teeth and stood up from his seat.

At that moment someone suddenly cried out.

"A mature person is a wise person."

How does that voice sound so familiar? Yoon Jong Woo flinched and looked at the seat next to him. Immediately the opponent also slowly lifted his back away from the partition. Yoon Jong Woo's eyes widened.

"Senior!"

"Take it easy, you bastard."

Kwon Taek Joo panicked and blocked Yoon Jong Woo's mouth and carefully observed the surrounding movements. Yoon Jong Woo also suddenly looked around after panicking. Kwon Taek Joo only released him after making sure he was safe.

"What happened? I thought senior was dead!"

"Aren't you looking forward to that?"

"What are you talking about? I worry about my senior day and night."

"Playing games day and night?"

"Yes. Playing games day and night. Ah, I told you that's not true, really!"

Yoon Jong Woo, who was unconsciously drawn, quickly corrected his words. His face almost looked like he wanted to cry. Kwon Taek Joo smiled and nodded telling him to follow and stood up first.

Yoon Jong Woo asked in a loud voice as he went down the narrow and steep stairs.

"But was the thief just now senior?"

"ID cherryboy, password pure1004@. Isn't it time to change it?

Kwon Taek Joo admitted frankly. It's shameless to openly steal someone else's ID. Yoon Jong Woo was full of resentment and looked at the back of Kwon Taek Joo who was walking in front, thinking over and over again what he wanted to say if it wasn't his senior.

"What if it's not senior?"

"What?"

Wondering if he accidentally mumbled what was on his mind, Yoon Jong Woo was startled and covered his mouth.

"Don't you know? I know how to read minds."

Yoon Jong Woo innocently asked if it was true. Kwon Taek Joo just smiled without answering. Obviously they're playing each other again. Why would Yoon Jong Woo himself meet a sniper like Kwon Taek Joo? How could it have to be him? Today you needlessly challenged God's will.

--

Kwon Taek Joo's face reflected in the streetlight cannot be described in words. Everywhere you look you see bandages or band-aids. His physique is still the same, but it seems he has lost 5kg because his facial features have become sharper. Maybe he didn't sleep well, so he had dark circles under his eyes. He's so pitiful that Yoon Jong Woo doesn't even feel resentment toward him anymore.

Yoon Jong Woo had no way of knowing where Kwon Taek Joo was or what he was doing, as he had to keep the mission a secret even from his NIS colleagues. It was common for him to not be able to be contacted during combat, but he also wondered what he had been doing in the past few months without any news. However, Kwon Taek Joo is also the type of person who will suddenly appear and invite him to dinner, as if he just met the day before if he completes the mission safely.

Yoon Jong Woo has never worried about Kwon Taek Joo's safety. but this time it's a little different. After Kwon Taek Joo called back from Russia, he felt uncomfortable. 'Yevgeny Vissarionovich Bogdanov', with whom he was traveling at the time. a character for whom no official information could be found. That in itself wasn't a good sign, but the more he knew, the more dangerous he became. He tried to tell that truth to Kwon Taek Joo, but the two lost contact. He also didn't call back. Yoon Jong Woo reported to Chief Lim in vain but all he was told was not to worry because Kwon Taek Joo was safe. Then he put aside his thoughts and shook off his worries like an old woman.

However, Kwon Tae Joo, whom he met again after a long time, did not seem to be safe.

"Did you bring the car?"

"Yes, over there."

Yoon Jong Woo carefully opened the car door. Both sat in the driver's seat and passenger seat respectively

"Where are we going now?"

"Let's talk here."

Kwon Taek Joo turned off the car engine and pulled out the memory chip from the black box. He also deleted the location information recorded on the locator. The inside of the car was dark because the headlights and interior lights were turned off. It seemed that from the outside, no one could know the presence of the people sitting inside.

Kwon Taek Joo only opened his mouth after erasing all traces.

"Chief didn't say anything about me?"

"Last time I was talking on the phone with my senior, the phone was disconnected and you didn't contact me after that. I was very worried at that time, so I told the department head about the name you went with. He told me not to worry because you're fine. Isn't that right?"

"I'm fine. I'm not saying it's wrong because I'm not dead yet. So how's the atmosphere at headquarters these days?"

"Oh, stop talking. I really don't have time to breathe these days. As of yesterday, I had to work nights for 3 days in a row. Why? Not long ago there were rumors that there would be large-scale personnel changes. The Blue House decided that the next head of the intelligence agency will be one of the current deputy directors at NIS."

Stories like that still spread regularly. There are rumors that the current head of NIS has announced his intention to resign due to personal reasons. The head of the NIS is appointed by the president and the position is usually held by an outsider. Although it is the highest leader, to prevent excessive power, that position has only symbolic meaning. Actually, it is not irrelevant that it would be easier to manage if the position held was by someone close to the Blue House.

For that reason, it is an extremely unusual move for one of the deputy directors to become NIS director. If the rumors are true, then only the employees below are tired, because each department will have to work harder to accumulate another achievement.

Yoon Jong Woo's complaint afterward is proof of that.

"The department head is also very active and treats everyone like slaves."

"Is there nothing else besides that?"

"Let's see. Well, here's one. I was recently transferred to the information support team."

Only then, Kwon Taek Joo, who was looking straight ahead, turned his head towards Yoon Jong Woo. "Why?", the boy shrugged indifferently.

"I was originally not suitable for the investigation team. From the beginning, I did not go in that direction. When I joined headquarters, the department head promised that if the investigation team had enough people, I would be transferred to the support team. So it's not bad at all. As expected, the support team's job is to race against time, not take risks like in the field. Life insurance used to cost 1 million won a month, but Now there's no need to buy half. Everything is good but.."

"But what?"

Yoon Jong Woo vaguely missed what he was saying. He was silent for a moment, wondering if he should continue speaking or not. He waited a moment and then continued.

"I still find something strange. Our team hasn't been staffed yet and I haven't heard that there will be staff from another team transferring in. It's not like I made a big mistake or anything." What a great achievement. Whether it's a punishment or a reward, there's no reason to transfer me to the support team right now. Or is this just an act of personnel management?"

From the sounds of the complaints, there doesn't seem to be any obvious reason. Such personnel actions are more likely to be based on the needs of superiors.

"Dude, what was the last mission you took on in the investigation team? Destroy Kim Young Hee's group in Busan, that one?"

"I can't reveal it."

"Relax. Do you want to lose your life before talking?"

"That's right, that's the case."

Kwon Taek Joo heard the answer and fell into thought. Looking back, it all started right there. Immediately after arresting Kim Yeong Hee and her accomplices in Busan, Chief Lim called him over and he immediately left for Russia, Then, Yoon Jong Woo, a partner in that mission, suddenly had his personnel adjusted. There is definitely something unclear. It is impossible to transfer a gunner's assistant without notifying the gunner.

'If considered seriously, you are not qualified for this campaign.'

'From the beginning you were so confused, how could I feel secure in this far away place? So I've already found someone to help you.'

Looking back, there were many strange points. Partners are usually attached before going live. Kwon Taek Joo prefers to work alone and he will definitely refuse to work in a group, so there must be a reason for the delay in announcing the partner. Even if he had given in and they had a good reason to, the swapping of Salman and Zhenya's photos was not a mistake at all.

'Do you think you're hated there anyway? Did a place called the National Intelligence Service send me my photo by mistake? That never happened.'

"I have one more mission."

'That was an order from the Korean side. What the hell have you been doing in your own country? What did you do to be sent here and almost killed?'

Zhenya and Salman's words flashed through Kwon Taek Joo's mind. At this point, it seems like the situation isn't just that bad. You definitely need to dig deeper into it.

"How are the guys arrested in Busan?"

"Ah, maybe the senior still doesn't know. It's a bit noisy. It was the strategy to wipe them out on our passenger ship but because there were so many hostages and even witnesses on the ship, they couldn't just let it go quietly. Perhaps they were afraid of being held responsible later, so instead of claiming that those people were arrested by agents, they claimed that those people were armed drug smugglers and were arrested by the Coast Guard."

That is normal. Civilians do not know that there are still agents in Korea today, and the government also wants to avoid social unrest as much as possible.

"And Kim Young Hee drank poison right before being arrested."

"Poison?"

A wrinkle formed in the middle of Kwon Taek Joo's forehead. Yoon Jong Woo nodded and said that he was dead when the police arrived.

Kim Young Hee also attempted to commit suicide when he was captured by Kwon Taek Joo at that time. However, immediately after that he tied her left hand with handcuffs and hung it on the railing, and her right hand was hit by a bullet. He even stuffed a handkerchief into her mouth so he couldn't bite her tongue. How could Kim Young Hee harm herself?

"Tell me more clearly. Why is that so?"

"I don't know either. After that, the whole team was quickly mobilized. It seems the department head wrote the report on your behalf because the senior was not here."

If there is no doubt, there will be no doubt. Nothing is impossible if you try to understand it by all means. And once he asked the question, Kwon Taek Joo felt everything was suspicious. He knew the situation was quite unusual, but he also didn't know the cause. He felt like he had missed an important clue.

It seems he has to reconsider from the beginning again. If so it will take time, so Kwon Taek Joo's return to Korea will have to be kept a secret for the time being. Deep in thought, he softly called out "Jong Woo."

"Yes?"

"Don't tell anyone you saw me."

"Why not?"

"Because there might be an arrest warrant for me in the future. If they knew you were meeting me today, you would be considered an accomplice."

"Yes? What the hell did you do?"

Yoon Jong Woo shouted in shock. Pupils seemed about to roll down from wide open eves. Kwon Taek Joo flicked his finger on his forehead. Yoon Jong Woo rubbed the painful area as he spoke.

"Has senior really caused trouble, you wouldn't come back here, right? You would have run away."

"Yeah, right? There's no way criminals can properly appear in front of NIS officers. Don't you know what fear is?"

Yoon Jong Woo muttered to himself and then quickly understood. Kwon Taek Joo turned his head and smiled. Yoon Jong Woo immediately understood the meaning of that smile and blushed and said not to laugh at him. That's right, if you look at the madness in shooting games, Yoon Jong Woo is honestly the best agent in this field.

Yoon Jong Woo's phone suddenly rang. He said "Wait a minute," then checked the message he had just received. Outside the window the sky gradually brightened as dawn appeared. There were no passersby but they were still alert.

"Spam is really tiring."

Yoon Jong Woo quickly put his phone in his pocket. He tried to pretend to be calm, but his tone seemed to have stiffened a bit. Kwon Taek Joo just rolled his eyes to scan him once. He nervously touched the gun on his belt, then threw his gaze out the window and calmly warned.

"Don't act stupid. I don't want to knock you out."

"What? I don't understand what senior means."

"What? don't you understand? Don't be so obvious, kid."

Yoon Jong Woo sighed deeply after being scolded as if teasing him. His shoulders, stiff with tension, also dropped.

"As the senior said, an internal arrest warrant has just been issued. Please report to your superiors as soon as you contact senior."

"What is the charge?"

"I heard you were suspected of being an insider with a Russian intelligence agent? Didn't you mention that guy? It's Yevgeny Visarionovich Bogdanov."

Laughter broke out, It's absurd. The entanglement with Zhenya was completely the headquarters' fault and Kwon Taek Joo himself went through all the hardships when he reluctantly attached himself to him, and he came back alive but they made it up like this. Of course. whether he likes it or not. accompanying him to the gathering place of important Russian figures is also a fact, so just with that situation alone. it is easy to be forced into revealing secrets. nation. He even impersonated Chief Lim to Sergei. Yoon Jong Woo doesn't know what mission Kwon Taek Joo himself was on and there's no other way to prove it, because Zhenya blows up the hotel and all evidence about him is destroyed. The same goes for Zhenya's mistakenly sent photo. If Kwon Taek Joo is arrested by headquarters, all suspicions will be against him.

Someone is planning. Kwon Taek Joo himself is just a horse playing around on it. When did the drama unfold? After Kwon Taek Joo was sent to Russia? Or after you arrested Kim Young Hee and his accomplices in Busan? Perhaps wiping them out was also included in the script.

There are clearly two goals in the Russian campaign. Anastasia and Kwon Taek Joo himself.

"What's going on? The suspicion is an insider accusation, if this continues, it will involve the crime of revealing national secrets. Unbelievable. There is no way the senior would interact with That Russian bastard. If so, I wouldn't have called to let you find out who he was. That would be like publicly proving that I was in contact with him, right? I wouldn't have come back if I knew. that the arrest warrant will fall in front of you."

Yoon Jong Woo didn't know whether to laugh or cry. His trembling eyes clearly showed insecurity. As an NIS employee, he had to follow headquarters' orders, but he seemed confused by the questions about the instructions he received.

Kwon Taek Joo had no choice but to briefly tell what happened in Russia. Yoon Jong Woo listened carefully then shook his head at the truth about what happened to Kwon Taek Joo and the headquarters. If identities are revealed during normal operations, the NIS will cut off support to the agent to avoid national surveillance. Even so, inside the headquarters there are still carefully considered countermeasures.

However, Yoon Jong Woo had not felt such an atmosphere until now. To him, he was always worried about Kwon Tae Joo's safety. Chief Lim still told him to relax. Something is definitely not normal.

"What do you think, senior?"

"I don't know for sure. We'll have to find out from now on."

"You still don't have any proof, okay? If you keep moving on faith like this, it's too dangerous. If it's true as you guess, someone at headquarters arranged this, they definitely won't let you freedom of movement. Assuming it's not simply an insider but revealing national secrets, they will involve the prosecutor. At that time, if they are caught, their lives will be over."

"I don't know if I'll be arrested if I keep going like this. Someone keeps stepping on me, but I have to try until my last breath. I will first investigate again from Kim Young Hee. No matter what I think, Looks like I missed something there."

"We're done with that case, is there anything else we can investigate now?"

"Maybe we don't know. We just looked at a tree named Kim Young Hee and forgot that there was a whole forest. Maybe they threw Kim Young Hee as bait to distract us. Looking back, I caught her so easily back then."

"The situation is quite similar to now. There are many suspicious points but I have no evidence. At that time, Kim Young Hee contacted Lee Cheol Jin."

First, we must be suspicious of matters that have been resolved too smoothly. At that time. Kwon Taek Joo could not arrest Lee Cheol Jin and he intended to arrest him as a criminal. He planned to arrest him first and then conduct a solid investigation later, but Kwon Taek Joo didn't have the chance to do that. He himself was sent to Russia and Yoon Jong Woo was sent to another team.

"The arrest warrant alone is enough to make things difficult. If you're careless, it's inevitable that you'll be arrested, and you'll be imprisoned on all sorts of charges. However, if you're careful, it's still possible."

Agents often compare their situation to that of a bloodhound. Despite their dedication to the country, they were cruelly abandoned when faced with a crisis. Kwon Taek Joo knew there was no other way, which was also what he was ready for when he became a special agent. But this is not an inevitable situation. It is impossible to sacrifice just for someone's needs.

Yoon Jong Woo groaned and put his head on the steering wheel. He dreams of becoming the main character in superhero movies, action movies, and shooting games. Applying to the National Intelligence Service is also part of that aspiration. However, he doesn't know what to do when he encounters a situation like in the movie.

The arrest warrant for Kwon Taek Joo has been issued. If you help him even a little, you can be accused of agreeing to help. If you are more unlucky, you will easily be accused of complicity.

The most miserable moment as a civil servant is wondering between finding out the truth and silently ignoring it, and because he is human, Yoon Jong Woo has no other choice but to be shaken.

However, when I think back, it was correct to obey the headquarters' orders. There is no reason for you to put yourself in danger by falling into the trap of friendship or camaraderie. All Yoon Jong Woo has to do is follow his beliefs to live a long and leisurely life. Living healthy in the world is already too difficult, after all, other people will not be responsible for your life.

Yoon Jong Woo, after continuously rationalizing his thoughts, finally spoke.

"Can I help you senior?"

Yoon Jong Woo betrayed his reason in pursuit of safety when his conscience spoke up.