Parang looked around her room with wide, innocent eyes.
The more information, the better. She had no intention of revealing her true colors right now, you little brat!!
And well, it was a very slim chance, but… It could be that she was brought here simply because there was no other room to chat in.
Thud-thud-thud.
As Parang considered this possibility, the Government Wen walked towards the wall and picked up a large blade.
Possibility, deleted.
You bastard, confirmed.
Yu Parang was furious.
But for now, acting.
“Um, what’s all this?”
Parang’s voice trembled slightly. It was actually born from anger, but she packaged it well to look like fear.
Acting scared was Parang’s forte.
All she had to do was recall memories from her rookie deep-sea hunter days.
Her eyes started to flicker, and her voice wavered.
She did such a good job acting that goosebumps even broke out on her skin.
The masked Government Wen stroked the blade as if examining its condition and said,
“Yu Parang Hunter, please don’t resent me too much. If you think about it, it’s all your karma.”
“W-What do you mean? I don’t understand any of this!”
“You seem to be slow on the uptake.”
“ANSWER ME!! You said you would cooperate, so why did you bring me to a place like this?! Who are you?!!”
“Cooperate? With scum like you? There’s a limit to nonsense, Yu Parang Hunter. Did you really think you could get away with what you did and still cooperate with us?”
‘Huh?’
Parang tilted her head.
“Saying ‘scum’ is rather inappropriate for someone from the World Government.”
It’s not like Parang was a saint while the government was evil. It was just bizarre for a government person to refer to her in such a derogatory manner.
Even if they were in fierce opposition, the reason they were at odds was simply due to their differing positions.
Even if Parang had done harm to the World Government, it was a foregone conclusion, as they were enemies.
Just like how a soldier in a war wouldn’t shout, “You trash!” at the enemy soldier shooting at them.
But did Parang actually commit a crime? No, that wasn’t it either.
Sure, it might have been a thoughtless comment, but still.
If someone from the government wanted to insult Parang, there were plenty of context-appropriate alternatives. Lowlife, rat, thorn in the side, etc.
Yet, using ‘scum’ felt incredibly detached from the context.
This made her raise an eyebrow at the expression “such an act.” There was something off about it.
Parang decided to probe this conversation further. She immediately resumed her act.
“W-Who are you calling scum?! Do you think I would do something like that?! Just what are you saying?! Let me go home!!”
“Are you still playing dumb at this point?! You don’t even have the slightest awareness of the misdeeds you’ve committed.”
Something definitely felt wrong. What ‘misdeeds’? The World Government had only seen Parang on broadcasts.
To claim that was a misdeed was a massive misunderstanding.
Plus, that tone of voice. It really sounded like she thought Parang was a morally bankrupt villain. There was a hint of suppressed resentment in her tone.
While Parang was racking her brain, the Government Wen picked up a strangely twisted metal skewer from the wall and started heating it in the furnace, completely indifferent to whether Parang was restrained or not.
Of course, she wouldn’t worry about Parang. She could crush her anytime outside of the water.
Desperate to gather more information, Parang bombarded her with questions.
“What exactly did I do wrong?! I’m just a regular hunter! Let me out of here!!”
Unfortunately, the answer she sought didn’t return.
“The higher-ups ordered you to be tortured and executed. I’m sorry for lying to you; it’s all true.”
Tortured and executed, huh?
That was quite an order you couldn’t issue without holding a personal grudge against someone.
But would such a giant organization like the World Government really have a grudge against her?
Or did they actually hold a grudge?
According to what was mentioned in the Silo, the World Government was said to be rough, slow, and generally incompetent.
So maybe what they were doing to Parang was…
When they put Parang and that government wench alone in this area, it raised suspicions.
You’d normally want a group of people monitoring a situation like this, right?
Ah, if I keep acting, I feel like I can dig up something big. It’s surprisingly fun to act like this. Who knew I can find enjoyment in this direction? Parang ramped up her performance.
“Y-You! Who are you?! Why are you doing this to me?!!”
At that question, the Government Wen hesitated for a moment.
Parang instantaneously felt like she could see her expression behind the mask, even though it was hidden.
She placed her hand on the mask.
Yeah, take it off! Show your true face!
And then, thud. The Government Wen’s mask fell from her face.
“…You won’t say you didn’t recognize me now, will you?”
Parang was seriously bewildered upon seeing her face.
‘Who is she?!’
This was definitely someone she had never met in her life before. Who on earth was she?
It seemed the metal skewer had turned red-hot, as the Government Wen pulled it out from the furnace.
“It’s time to pay for your sins, Yu Parang Hunter.”
Well then, it looks like the conversation time is over.
What a shame. There was still so much information to uncover. Is there really no way?
Since she was here, Parang thought about turning the whole bunker upside down.
However, she decided against it.
On her way here, she had seen it.
Countless forks in the road that would put a labyrinth to shame, with surveillance cameras attached to every corner.
The government was surely watching the situation from outside the bunker right now.
She couldn’t even be sure if she could go around this bunker, and she surely couldn’t do so while being recorded by the cameras. That would be too much information exposure.
So, after some contemplation, a lightning bolt hit her brain!
A brilliant idea popped up.
Once a plan was made, it was best to act quickly.
She took two small blue spheres from her pocket and collided them with full force.
Zzzzap!! A blue energy wave exploded, sweeping through the torture room.
Silo’s special EMP ammo. All electronic devices in the room—excluding the warp machine since it’s not an electronic device—would have stopped working.
The cameras, of course, are dead.
Now, the only one who could bear witness to Parang’s “departure” was the Government Wen.
Whoosh!
As soon as the Government Wen noticed Parang acting strangely, she lunged at Parang with piercing eyes, now cold as ice.
In her hands was the red-hot metal skewer.
That speed was something that couldn’t possibly come from a human.
But Parang was faster.
“Departure.”
Boom!!
At that moment, the entire room filled with water.
The Government Wen looked at Parang with disbelief. Due to her momentum, the skewer grazed Parang’s neck but couldn’t leave a scratch.
“!!!!”
The Government Wen’s eyes widened. She looked like she wanted to say something, but it seemed being underwater was a major hindrance.
Parang guessed she was trying to say something like “Why?!”
But what can be done now that it has already happened?
Parang double-checked the cameras once more.
It seemed they were completely down; the cameras were flickering without showing any signs of life.
Those were the things causing her skin to tingle earlier.
Anyway.
With the cameras down, the people outside would suddenly realize something strange happened, and they would rush over.
Fewer witnesses would be better, so Parang quickly took action.
First, she tied up the Government Wen to the torture bed, ensuring she couldn’t lift a finger.
Under normal circumstances, she would have been the one to endure this, but now the field was flooded, so…
The Government Wen tried to blast electricity, but Parang quickly neutralized her.
A lightning user, huh? Was she trying to create some sort of counter-strategy against her?
Judging by her immediate battle stance despite being thrown underwater, it looked like she was quite the veteran.
Not that it mattered to Parang, though.
She attached one of her warp devices to the Government Wen.
Making sure she couldn’t resist, Parang bent a few joints—just the wrists and ankles would do.
Then, beep-beep, beep. Clack, clack. She pressed the buttons in order.
Soon, the Government Wen glowed with a white light before vanishing from the room.
Immediately after, Parang activated her warp device as well.
Her vision suddenly brightened, and the scenery around her changed.
What appeared before her were the Government Wen lying sprawled on the floor, surrounded by the Silo troops aiming their weapons.
Thus, Parang’s infiltration of the World Government bunker came to a close.
Parang’s safety? None at all.
Information exposure? The World Government personnel would come rushing in to confirm that the torture room was filled with water, so they would discover that Parang could create water. But that’s the end of it. They wouldn’t know if it was due to her “departure,” her skill, or some special technique.
Results? High-ranking government official kidnapped.
Summary: Major success.
Parang left the warp station and headed to the hotel room prepared by the Silo.
There, she planned to rest for a bit, notify the worried Oceanos of her survival, and chat with the Silo staff that dropped by.
Any anomalies observed with the Government Wen, the detailed situation at that time, and finally about the secret base.
She recalled everything she could regarding locations and stationed forces and relayed it as best she could.
About two hours later, Silo contacted her again.
“Shall we start the interrogation now? Would you like to participate?”
“Of course! Where should I go?”
As she went down to the hotel basement, she saw an interrogation room through a glass window in the wall.
Inside was the Government Wen, strapped to advanced equipment.
Parang was informed of a few precautions.
“Do not kill her, do not knock her out, do not beat her too brutally,” and similar stipulations.
At some point, she received the skill list of the Government Wen, minus her personal skills, along with her personal information.
With a determination to hear what was said, Parang opened the door and stepped inside.
