# Chapter 68
The man placed a letter in a white envelope and handed it to the employee standing next to him.
“It needs to arrive today.”
After receiving it with utmost respect, bowing deeply, she lowered her head, unsure what to do when she heard his words.
“That… if I don’t know the location, it might take some time.”
The employee’s supernatural ability was as a messenger pigeon, able to send and receive communications anywhere. However, if she didn’t know the location, the physical toll increased exponentially. With her ability, delivering it by today was virtually impossible.
“Are you proving yourself useless?”
“No, sir. I’ll definitely send it today.”
But if she didn’t do it, she would die. At his sharpened gaze, the employee hastily changed her words. She vowed to send it today by any means necessary. He was that frightening.
“Good.”
As his gaze, which had briefly turned to her, was averted, the employee could finally release a sigh of relief. Even that was just a tiny breath, for fear of being caught.
“How is that matter going?”
“We’ve secured about 10 barrier ability users.”
Because of what had happened earlier, this time the employee spoke as soon as he finished his sentence.
“Practicality?”
“There’s no problem with implementation.”
The employee handed over documents containing the personal information of the 10 barrier ability users. After scanning the documents page by page, he nodded with a satisfied smile.
“Barriers have many uses. So capture them as soon as you find them.”
“Understood.”
Although they had been acquired with considerable effort, it seemed it wasn’t enough yet. At the thought of having to find more barrier ability users, the employee wanted to cry tears of blood, but hiding those emotions carefully, she bowed again.
* * *
It appeared suddenly during the meeting without a sound. The dove, transparent enough that the background was clearly visible through it, circled the conference room once before landing on the desk.
Boss, who had been watching, silently accepted the letter offered by the dove. As if its job was done, the dove disappeared in an instant.
“Messenger pigeon……”
Amidst the confusion of those present, Boss immediately recognized what had just happened. This was a messenger pigeon ability, possessed by only a select few. If the ability rank was high enough, it could be sent anywhere regardless of knowing the location.
Judging by its ability to reach here, it seemed to be a considerably high-ranked ability user…
“Who could have sent it?”
Alex narrowed his eyes, looking at Boss who was opening the letter.
“They shouldn’t know our location.”
The organization’s location is known only to executives. It’s only natural since regular members can’t know the exact place due to illusions. Alex couldn’t understand how the dove had come here.
“A high-ranked ability user can send it regardless of location.”
The messenger pigeon ability was said to have only its name known, with almost no information available about it. Therefore, this was something even Alex was hearing for the first time. At Boss’s answer, he opened his eyes wide.
“Then that doesn’t mean our organization’s location has been exposed?”
“No, the sender would only know that the letter arrived here.”
Only after hearing Boss’s definitive answer could Alex breathe a sigh of relief. He had worried they might need to relocate headquarters, but that didn’t seem necessary. While Alex was asking, Boss, who had opened the letter, began reading the not-so-lengthy content.
“What does it say?”
After reading to the final period, he summarized the content and answered Fenil.
“They plan to transport Alice tomorrow.”
“…Tomorrow?”
At this sudden information, she checked the letter placed on the table, but what was written matched what Boss had said. Fenil’s expression began to crumple nastily at the transparent ploy.
The expressions of others weren’t much different from Fenil’s. A heavy silence enveloped them. The reason they became so serious was simple. Tomorrow was the day they had planned for their operation.
“What are you thinking of doing? We can modify the plan sufficiently.”
It was Boss who stopped Alex, who was about to change the plan immediately. He quietly opened his mouth, stopping Alex who was shaking his head and trying to stand up.
“It seems they’ve noticed when we’re planning to move.”
Since they had already distributed tasks to the organization members for tomorrow’s mission, it wasn’t impossible for Peace to notice.
But falling into the trap would actually be what Peace wanted, so they hadn’t paid much attention to it…
“Peace might attack this place…”
Alex nervously spoke up about the suddenly changed situation, but Fenil shook her head.
“If that happens, other organizations would also act up. That’s not what Peace wants.”
Peace needs something to grip and shake “Alice” with. They want to keep “Alice’s” role of maintaining balance among villains, but make them submit to Peace.
“They’re telling us to choose, that’s what this means.”
That’s why they’re resorting to such tactics. Boss, who had figured out Peace’s thinking, placed the letter he had been holding on the floor. At that moment, the letter disappeared like flowing water.
“Between Alice and Kay, you mean?”
After watching this briefly, Boss nodded and slowly opened his mouth.
“We’ve caught Peace’s weakness, but they’re still empty-handed.”
“They can’t rest easy unless they have our weakness too?”
Fenil naturally continued Boss’s words. From the beginning, they had no intention of making Peace’s human experimentation public. Unlike other villains who pursue only pleasure, most rational people would know.
That Peace must exist in this country.
In a world where villains run rampant, a force to suppress them is absolutely necessary. And Peace was that agency. But what if it became known that such a Peace was conducting human experiments?
There could only be a huge uproar. And that would soon lead to distrust of hero agencies as a whole. Even if they established another agency instead of Peace, ordinary citizens would continuously doubt and question.
In that situation, villains would become even more active, which could paralyze the entire society. That was not what “Alice,” despite being a villain organization, wanted.
Peace must know this too. Therefore, finding “Alice’s” weakness was likely an insurance policy. They’ve had their weakness exposed to an untrustworthy party. This means variables could occur at any time.
The mastermind of this situation was getting impatient. Afraid that their plan might go awry. But if there was one thing they hadn’t realized yet, it was that this side wasn’t completely foolish either.
Fenil’s gaze turned to Boss, who was deep in thought. What conclusion would he reach?
“You’re going to Alice, right?”
To Melia’s words, which sounded like it was obvious, no one raised an opposing opinion. Kay was just bait anyway. But the trap using Alice, who was actually in the laboratory, was likely to be real. If they don’t go, they might kill Alice, thinking she has no more value.
Boss, who had been pondering the demand for clarification in their gazes, opened his closed mouth.
“We’ll have to split into two groups.”
The hand tapping the table stopped.
“Alex and Melia go to Alice, while Fenil and I go to the abandoned factory.”
Although it was Boss’s decision, there were too many questionable aspects to believe this order at face value.
“Why…?”
Melia had thought Boss would choose Alice. Because Alice was Boss’s sister. Because until now, the “Alice” organization had existed to save Alice. That meant Alice was significant to him.
But Boss didn’t choose Alice, he chose Kay. Melia couldn’t understand this decision. Fenil quickly grasped her question.
“If we only choose Alice, Peace might become suspicious. They’ve compiled various information and decided Kay was suitable as a weakness.”
They might even notice that Kay is with them.
“If we don’t go, they might find out Kay is alive.”
“Then Boss is…”
But there was still something she didn’t understand. Melia’s unresolved curiosity could be solved by Alex’s subsequent words.
“But if Boss goes to Alice, it’s obvious that Peace will manipulate him. They won’t just watch when they’ve caught our weakness. That’s why Boss is going to the abandoned factory.”
Alex had fully grasped Boss’s intentions through Fenil’s words. Indeed, thinking that way, Boss’s decision was correct.
“To make them think Kay is the true weakness.”
If attention is focused on Kay, it might also be easier to rescue Alice. Not only that.
“Since Kay is with us, we can handle any tricks Peace might play.”
That’s right. In a word, it meant the tables were turned. Just thinking about it, a satisfying scene came to mind at Boss’s words.
“We can even use it against them.”
The sight of falling into the trap one set oneself. Alex’s smile gradually deepened.
“However, the problem is that we haven’t figured out what kind of trap there might be on Alice’s side.”
Boss, who had been watching Alex, spoke to catch his attention. They already had plans for the abandoned factory. But since they had only learned about Alice today, there wasn’t enough time to make a perfect plan.
Alex knew this too, but he showed a confident smile instead.
“It’s fine. I’m not stupid enough to fall into a trap set by fools.”
But Fenil threw a dagger at that smile.
“Yes, you’re not stupid. Just a blockhead.”
His confident smile shattered instantly. Alex frowned and spoke sharply.
“To you, everyone’s a blockhead.”
“Especially you, more so than others.”
Alex had counterattacked but didn’t even get his original back.
“Anyway, that ability should have been mine.”
“Then you would have been F-rank, not S-rank.”
Once again, Alex was the one to surrender to Fenil, who wouldn’t give in till the end.
“You’re lucky to be so smart.”
“…Not really. I think I prefer blockheads.”
However, contrary to a situation where she should be pleased, Fenil’s complexion subtly darkened.
Boss, the only one who knew the reason, gazed at her briefly before turning away.
