Return of the Sword God-Rank Civil Servant

Chapter 145

In truth, it wasn’t a bad offer for Yoon Hyun-chul.

As a death row inmate, there was no further fall for him even if Su-ho caused an incident at Cheongok Prison.

"There's no punishment worse than life imprisonment for someone already sentenced to death in a country without the death penalty," he thought.

Su-ho expressed his gratitude for the swift decision.

"Thank you for the clear decision."

"It’s nothing. When do you plan on staying?"

"As soon as the meeting is over, I'll start. But that said, I think we need to get to work right away."

"You mean the face-changing procedure you mentioned earlier?"

"Yes, that's the one."

When Yoon Hyun-chul nodded, Su-ho immediately began his work.

The first step was a transformation of his appearance using Reverse Morphology.

As the skill activated, Su-ho's usual terrifying face shifted into a kind, approachable one.

Seeing this, Yoon Hyun-hee chuckled.

"This face suits you much better, oppa."

"…What do you mean 'better'?"

Despite his words, Yoon Hyun-chul smiled.

It seemed that, after a long time, meeting his sister had loosened the heavy emotions that had been weighing on him.

In addition to the face change, Su-ho also used items to make Yoon Hyun-chul appear like a completely different person, such as wrist restraints disguised as a watch.

These items were all sourced through Choi Yoon.

"With this, the basic preparations are complete. Now I’ll take a moment to prepare, so please feel free to chat while I’m gone. By the way, we’ve rented out the entire place, so you don’t need to worry about speaking freely."

After giving his instructions, Su-ho left the café.

‘I need to hurry up and get ready.’

Su-ho glanced around the café's surroundings.

The empty surroundings of the café.

This place, which looked like a regular street, was surprisingly not outside the prison walls.

It was, in fact, inside Su-ho's Pocket Space House.

Looking at the environment that was meticulously arranged to resemble a real street, Su-ho nodded in satisfaction.

"Truly, the technicians are amazing."

When Su-ho had visited Daejeon Station, he had requested help from Choi Yoon—specifically, to find people who could build structures using skills and characteristics. This way, the two of them could operate undetected in Su-ho's Pocket Space House.

Su-ho had kept the existence of his Pocket Space House a secret, even from his close acquaintances, as it was one of his trump cards.

So, though it was a bit cumbersome, this plan had been set in motion.

Pretending to exit the café, Su-ho then re-entered through the Pocket Space House and returned to the meeting room.

The meeting room was empty.

Su-ho waved his hand and activated another skill.

[ Military Strategy is activated. ]

The activated skill was Military Strategy.

Su-ho recalled the information about the Military Strategy skill.

[ Military Strategy ]

• Grade: A
• Consumes mana to summon clones that resemble the caster in both appearance and behavior.
• Clones have a slight sense of autonomy and possess the strength of the abilities assigned by the caster.
• Can exchange positions with the clones by consuming mana proportional to the distance.

This was the Military Strategy skill, once wielded by the Crusaders, and now it was Su-ho's.

As Su-ho activated the skill, one of his clones, identical to him, appeared.

"Not bad looking."

After admiring his first clone for a moment, Su-ho began changing the clone’s appearance, just as he had done for Yoon Hyun-chul.

The disguise was flawless.

For this, he had brought plenty of disguise items.

Once finished, Su-ho removed the transformation from Yoon Hyun-chul and instructed his clone on what needed to be done.

Next, he called Hwang Se-don.

"The meeting’s over. Please send the prisoners back. I’ll be leaving now."

"Understood. I’ll escort you to the entrance."

As Su-ho stood up, the guards escorted Yoon Hyun-chul back to his cell, and Su-ho left with Hwang Se-don, making his way out of Cheongok prison with ease.

Once outside, Su-ho drove the car away from the prison.

After reaching a spot with a scenic view of the river, Su-ho re-entered the Pocket Space House and went back to the café.

"Ha-ha, really?"

"Yeah! You wouldn’t believe how much I cried that time!"

The sound of a lively conversation came from the back room, where the two were catching up.

After all the waiting, it seemed they were finally settling into their conversation.

Smiling, Su-ho said,

"Sorry for the wait. The preparations are complete, shall we head out now?"

"Oh, sure."

The two barely touched their coffee.

They must have had so many stories to catch up on.

Su-ho handed them blindfolds.

Seeing this, Yoon Hyun-hee asked,

"Do we have to wear them again this time?"

"Yes, it will be a bit of a hassle, but please bear with me for just a moment."

"Understood."

Without any discomfort, the two quickly put on their blindfolds.

Su-ho took their hands and, with a flick of his wrist, created an exit from the Pocket Space House, leading them outside.

Once outside, Su-ho let go of their hands and said,

"You can remove the blindfolds now."

At his words, the two removed their blindfolds.

Before their eyes, a refreshing view of the river unfolded.

After gazing at the beautiful river scenery for a moment in silence, Yoon Hyun-chul finally spoke.

"...It's nice."

His words were sincere.

During his time in Cheongok, being a death row inmate, he had never seen such a view, only catching glimpses of it on TV.

Su-ho smiled and responded,

"I hope you get to see even better views while traveling."

"Thank you for making this opportunity possible."

"Haha, I asked for it because I wanted to, no need to thank me. But more importantly, here."

As Su-ho continued speaking, he handed over a wallet filled with cards and cash, as well as the keys to the car he had driven.

"It'll take at least five days, so feel free to relax during that time. Spend as much money as you need, and use my car. If you need anything else, just contact me through my phone. I'll also reach out to Hyun-hee."

"Understood. But are you sure about this?"

In response, Su-ho chuckled.

"There's no need to worry about that. This isn’t something I started without preparation. After all, you’re out here in broad daylight, aren't you?"

"…That's true. I should stop worrying. You’re someone of a different caliber than me."

"Then I’ll be in touch. I hope you both have an enjoyable trip."

After politely bidding them farewell, Su-ho left first.

The two waited until Su-ho had left before heading to the car.

However, naturally, as Yoon Hyun-hee climbed into the driver's seat, Yoon Hyun-chul chuckled and asked,

"Can you drive?"

"I’ve worked hard to live. Driving is essential for that."

Hearing that, Yoon Hyun-chul grinned.

"Right. Let’s see what it's like riding in a car driven by my little sister."

With a brighter smile than usual, Yoon Hyun-chul got into the passenger seat.

***

After parting ways with the Yoon siblings, Su-ho immediately began to disguise himself as Yoon Hyun-chul once he was out of their sight.

"I really need to level up Reverse Morphology or something. It's such a hassle to keep doing this," he thought.

Currently at B-rank, Reverse Morphology could only change his face, but once it leveled up, it would be able to alter his body and even his voice.

That’s why he was eager to head to Cheongok.

If this project, designed to raise the rank of Blood Furnace, went smoothly, he wouldn't have to worry about skill upgrades anymore.

Having completed his disguise, Su-ho checked his appearance one last time before activating Military Strategy’s Clone Movement.

Clone Movement was another option provided by Military Strategy.

The Crusader players became famous not only for their legions of Paladin clones but also because of this very skill, which allowed them to move stealthily and unpredictably.

"When a simple Paladin player can move like that, their utility becomes immense," Su-ho mused.

That’s why he had been determined to acquire Military Strategy.

As the skill activated, a list of possible clones to move appeared in his view.

There was only one clone available.

It was the person currently imprisoned at Cheongok instead of Yoon Hyun-chul.

Su-ho selected the clone and used the Clone Movement skill.

[ Clone Movement is activated. ]

Swish!

As the skill activated, Su-ho’s real body vanished without a trace.

***

The movement occurred in the blink of an eye.

When Su-ho opened his eyes after the move, he found himself in the prison's yard, where the inmates exercised.

"This must be around the time for outdoor activities," he thought.

Cheongok Prison was operated differently from regular prisons.

Most of the time, the prison focused on reducing inmates' stress and reforming them, because the prisoners here were much more dangerous compared to regular inmates.

"No matter how much they've been bound with special restraints that limit their magical power, you can't control everything," he mused.

There was no one around Su-ho.

Normally, you’d expect to see a group of people around the leader of a section, but here, Su-ho was alone, sitting by himself. It seemed the other inmates were extremely wary of Yoon Hyun-chul.

Then, Su-ho noticed a familiar face in his line of sight.

It was Kim Goong-won.

Kim Goong-won was sitting at a distance, staring at Su-ho. When he saw him, Su-ho gestured for him to come over.

Kim Goong-won's eyes widened, and he quickly hurried over, whispering as he approached.

"...Are you the big brother?"

"Yeah, it's me."

"Whoa!"

When Kim Goong-won heard "big brother," his eyes grew wide in surprise.

Su-ho asked,

"Why are you so shocked? I didn't hide this from you."

"Ah, no, it’s just... surprising, you know? But what happened? Just a little while ago, the 'little brother' didn't seem quite... right."

"What do you mean 'didn't seem right'?"

"He was answering, but he seemed a bit out of it?"

Hmm.

He had heard that clones have a small degree of autonomy, but it didn't seem too awkward.

"Still, I can't expect perfect acting," Su-ho thought.

It was fortunate that Yoon Hyun-chul was the target, as he was a man of few words.

Su-ho then asked,

"Why are you sitting so far away instead of coming to sit next to me?"

Kim Goong-won hesitated for a moment before answering honestly.

"Well, I noticed something was off with your condition earlier, so I kept some distance."

"...You're good at spotting things, huh?"

"Haha, well... But, big brother, may I ask why you're here at Cheongok instead of Yoon Hyun-chul?"

"I'm just here to make life difficult for the bad guys."

"Eh? You're going to make them suffer?"

"Yep, that's my goal."

There was no need for Su-ho to go into the specifics of his plans with Kim Goong-won. After all, the work would proceed quietly.

Perhaps that’s why Kim Goong-won looked at Su-ho with a strange expression.

"Alright, I understand. But... is there anything I can do to help with that?"

"There is. You're smart, right? You probably know most of the guys here in Cheongok, right?"

"Yes, I know most of them."

As expected, Kim Goong-won was sharp. Those who were weak had to be well-informed about these things to survive.

Su-ho continued,

"Then let's have everyone come in for a one-on-one interview. They should come by their respective prison blocks, and not a single person should be left out. Also, when you bring them, make sure you find out what crimes they were charged with and how much time they have left."

"Understood."

Though Kim Goong-won tilted his head, unsure of the exact reason, he nodded and agreed.

Since it seemed like Su-ho wasn’t going to offer any more details, Kim Goong-won quickly started moving.