Chapter 32: Elena’s Annoyance

Irua and I left the containment zone and decided to stop by a place.

It wasn’t far. It was the orphanage.

“Is this really the place?”

Irua looked puzzled. The orphanage was tucked away in a secluded area, slightly uphill from the lake. The building

wasn’t small, but its old exterior made it hard to determine its purpose at first glance.

“It’s so rundown.”

“That’s why it’s the real deal.”

I approached the building and climbed up the railing at the back, motioning for Irua to follow. She climbed up and

looked through the window, her expression changing.

“Wow.”

Contrary to its dilapidated exterior, the inside was clean and modern. It could easily rival a high-end private

elementary school.

“There are a lot of kids here. If the exterior looked fancy, it’d become a target for crime. This city is like that, so they

deliberately keep it inconspicuous.”

“I see. Do you know the director?”

“We crossed paths a bit in the past.”

“Hmm.”

As Irua looked around, she made eye contact with one of the children. Startled, she froze, but the child ran over,

looking excited, and pressed their palm against the window.

Irua hesitated briefly before placing her hand against the glass, matching the child’s palm.

It was time to leave. As the sun slowly descended, Irua spoke up.

“That kid’s hand was so small.”

“Well, of course.”

“…Want to compare with mine?”

“What for?”

“Just try it.”

She held out her hand toward me, as if it were some kind of competition. Reluctantly, I opened my palm and placed

it against hers. She pressed her hand firmly against mine.

“It’s big.”

“I suppose it is.”

Irua smiled faintly, standing like that for a moment.

“This counts, doesn’t it?”

“What are you talking about?”

“Just talking to myself.”

She grinned, showing her teeth, then turned around and started walking.

“Reporting on Genmursa. Fourth-quarter sales are expected to close with a 22.7 percent increase compared to the

previous year…”

“Reporting on Yggdrasil Corporation. As per the chairman’s orders, the affiliate company’s public listing has been

executed flawlessly. As a result, the headquarters’ equity ratio now stands at…”

A massive conference room. Everyone seated at the table was over fifty years old—senior executives dressed in the

finest suits.

Each one was a CEO of a major corporation, members of the highest social class who would be treated as VIPs

anywhere they went.

Yet all their faces showed visible tension. They dabbed sweat with handkerchiefs, drank water repeatedly, and

fidgeted with their fingers.

One by one, they took turns presenting. After each presentation, the individual seated at the head of the table gave a

slight nod. Only then did the presenter exhale in relief.

“Reporting on SmartDrain. Sales dropped by 42 percent compared to the same period last year. However, this is due

to continued investment in technology since the start of the year. Development is expected to be completed by the

second quarter of next year…”

“Wasn’t it supposed to be completed by the third quarter of this year?”

The CEO of SmartDrain swallowed hard. The person at the head of the table glanced through the documents.

“Effective immediately, SmartDrain is expelled from El Corporation. Cease funding, and retrieve the investment.”

“C-Chairwoman! Please!”

The CEO of SmartDrain fell to his knees. One sentence had dealt him a death sentence. His company would collapse,

and he would be buried in debt, utterly ruined.

Before he could beg further, the guards swiftly dragged him out. None of the other CEOs even glanced in his

direction. They all knew that if they provoked her, they’d be next.

“Next.”

A cold voice pierced through everyone’s hearts.

With the government’s authority dwindling due to the war between the Hero Association, villains, and the rising

Dark Kingdom, the current state of affairs left the corporate queen in near-complete control of the nation.

Before Yoo Chaemi, chairwoman of El Corporation, everyone had to crawl on their knees.

After a long time, the year-end report for the business was finished, and only then did Yoo Chae-mi leave the

conference room. The CEOs exhaled a sigh of relief.

“If the performance doesn’t come through, it’s an immediate execution.”

“It can’t be helped. We’re all subsidiaries of El Corporation. If there’s no investment, we die.”

“I don’t know how much longer we can hold out. It’s been four years since Chairman Yoo took office, and no matter

how much she’s the granddaughter of the former chairman…”

“That makes it even more terrifying. Originally, she’s the illegitimate child with no right to succession.”

“She’s made it this far purely with her ability, piercing through that family’s struggles…”

“We’ll just have to hang in there. This city runs on money, after all.”

After a few exchanges, the CEOs stood up. Today, as usual, they left the room with their lifespans shortening,

exhaling with their breath.

Yoo Chae-mi, having left the conference room, walked down the hallway.

“I’ll escort you.”

Two men in suits, both A-class heroes, stuck close by her side. They were fools, forcibly assigned by the association

president, hoping to get closer to her.

Weren’t they from Green Nature’s crew?

Suppressing the annoyance rising inside her, Yoo Chae-mi boarded the VIP elevator. The glass walls gave a

refreshing view.

Seoul, the highest skyscrapers in the city, symbols of wealth and power, spread out before her.

The elevator descended toward the ground.

On the way down, Yoo Chae-mi witnessed clouds parting in the sky.

“Hoh.”

It was a disgusting sight.

Out of nowhere, soldiers from the Galactic Empire’s assault airship began jumping down to the ground, right above

her head.

“Chairman! It’s dangerous!”

“I’ll protect you!”

The two heroes blocked her path. But in this narrow elevator, being this close would do no good.

Yoo Chae-mi wasn’t foolish enough to not realize their unsavory intentions.

Disgusted by the very thought, she opened her fan and covered her mouth. Her irritation finally broke the threshold.

“What’s your name?”

“A-A-class hero, Water Master!”

“I’m Sand Bomb!”

The two men, forgetting their escort duty, grinned at Yoo Chae-mi. She shook her head.

“There’s no aesthetic in your names. Enough. Let it ‘burst.’”

Boom!

Blood spurted from the temples of the two heroes. The elevator walls were painted red as their bodies fell, lifeless.

Yoo Chae-mi activated her face recognition jammer and began undoing the buttons of her coat, stained with the dirty

blood.

Underneath, her violent physique and neat uniform revealed themselves.

No, not Yoo Chae-mi anymore.

Elena ran her tongue across her lips.

“How dare you turn my nest into a cesspool.”

A slight contempt filled her eyes.

“Break.”

The elevator’s glass shattered, and without hesitation, Elena leaped outside.

Gravity accelerated her descent, and violent winds whipped past her ears.

Just before gravity and concrete shattered her delicate body.

“Slow down.”

Her body decelerated. She landed softly on the ground, like a feather.

Elena lowered her long eyelashes and stared at the monsters.

Disgusting.

She vowed to herself.

Not a single one of them would pass through here. She would take their lives right here and now.

Just as she was about to speak her thoughts aloud, something fell in front of her, kicking up a cloud of dust.

“Apocalypse.”

[REV■■ATIO]

“The Red of War.”

[■E-LUM■UBER]

The red warrior that appeared instantly began tearing through the monsters in an instant.

“Jeo, you’re too excited! We should all fight together!”

“Haha. I’ve been slacking off for days because of that damn laziness. Let’s make some room for this.”

Next to land were Dark Matter and Vengeance’s crew members. Without even acknowledging Elena, they

enthusiastically began exterminating the monsters.

Elena looked up with a displeased expression. A crackling noise interrupted the clear sky.

‘Optical camouflage? On a ship that big?’

Optical camouflage was a technology still under development at El Corporation’s subsidiaries. Even at that, it was

only applicable to suits.

It wasn’t even close to being practical yet.

Such a technology was available to Vengeance, a newly-formed organization?

Elena was disturbed.

‘To catch my attention like this.’

It was so infuriating to think that someone had managed to intrude into her mind so freely.

Ziorgios.

What exactly was this man, who had been in her way since their first meeting?

“Zio.”

Elena decided to show mercy.

She called Ziorgios calmly.

However, Ziorgios, ignoring her call, continued focusing on hunting the monsters.

Elena crossed her arms and tapped her high-heeled shoes against the floor.

“Hey, Zio!”

At the loud call, Ziorgios finally turned his head.

“Hm? Elena. Ah, so it’s here. El Corporation’s headquarters.”

Elena’s irritation began to build.

Why did this man always act like he knew everything?

Her Sky Lens Project, to which she had devoted everything.

The Galactic Empire, which had been planning to invade on the 30th day, not the 50th.

And that tone of his—it was almost as if he knew Elena was actually Yoo Chae-mi, the CEO of El Corporation.

While many senior members of organizations and corporate executives knew about the close ties between

Shinsungsoo and El Corporation, the thought that he might be one of them only added to her annoyance.

“Come here. I have something to ask you.”

“I’m busy right now. Make it quick.”

Ziorgios stood in front of Elena, still towering with his massive, muscular build.

“How did you know the Galactic Empire’s invasion date?”

“Is that all you wanted to ask?”

Such an irritating man. Elena raised an eyebrow.

“By your expression, I can tell it’s not just that. Don’t worry. From what I see, you must have come to protect the Sky

Lens here. Well, Vengeance was planning to take care of all the monsters, anyway. Leave it to us.”

Elena didn’t like the situation of having to use her brainpower to figure out Ziorgios’ true intentions.

The Sky Lens wasn’t here in this building, the headquarters.

Ziorgios, as if reading her thoughts, continued to speak smoothly.

“Wasn’t it here? What’s the matter? Not everything is known to me. I only know what I know.”

He was really starting to piss her off. Elena wanted to break him.

“Zio. ‘Kneel.’”

Elena wielded her fan and issued the command with a spell.

But…

Ziorgios remained standing straight, unmoved.

“Goodbye.”

He turned and ran back toward the monsters.

Elena, watching his retreating back, made a vow to herself.

“Zio. I will make sure to kill you myself.”