This Villain is Soft - Chapter 25



Only Noblemtl

Episode 25

It was still a studio, but it was a completely new space.

The engineering room at Hero Headquarters had a factory-like feel to it, with lots of people coming and going and a lot of work being done.

On the other hand, Haon’s studio was like a hidden villa.

Joo-yeol looked around the workshop, which was barely recognizable from what he remembered.

Could it be because there are pinpoint lights hanging here and there on the ceiling painted in a dark wood color?

It felt like sunlight was streaming through the dense branches.

Beneath the table-top saw, which had tool racks and a circular saw, were large checkered blankets.

It felt like a non-slip step, as if the material had been deformed.

An acorn-shaped beanbag and a checkered cushion placed in the corner made the room look warm and cozy.

Juyeol, who was looking around absentmindedly, was suddenly captivated by the T-shaped workbench mixed with blue particles and the structure opposite it.

‘tide……?’

He approached the blue-tinged structure and flinched. Blue holograms suddenly rose up like trees.

Juyeol, who had been on guard, looked around in surprise, wondering if it was a sudden attack.

‘This is… … .’

What the hologram produced was a 3D map of Kwon Young-shi, about a meter high.

I carefully ran my fingertips over the hologram, and the map suddenly spun around. The map was following my hand gestures.

I was so surprised that I took my hand off and the map that had been moving around suddenly stopped.

What unfolded before my eyes was the hero headquarters of the central district.

I furrowed my brow and took a few steps away, and the map sank downwards, forming a wave-like shape again.

‘How can things change this much in just a few days?’

It was less than a week. I don’t know what ‘magic engineering’ is, but the more I looked into it, the more I realized that it was an incredible technology.

A little further away, a spiral staircase that seemed to connect to the fourth floor was created, but even that looked like vines growing on a checkered fabric.

There were already dusty footprints on it, indicating it had been used several times.

Joo-yeol looked around at the machines whose purpose he couldn’t figure out, then headed to the 5th floor.

It was still locked, but something was different.

‘It seems like there are more locks than before?’

I was extremely suspicious.

The rooftop with the penthouse also had its defenses back in working order.

When I realized that the camera had spotted me but wasn’t attacking me, Nova came to mind.

The same thing happened when I discovered that the large bed in the bedroom was missing.

‘No. That kid was already a dump anyway. He didn’t do anything wrong, so there’s no need to feel awkward.’

Joo-yeol tried to erase Nova from his mind and opened the second floor door of the penthouse, where the lock had disappeared.

“… … ?”

It was empty.

Since it had the same area as the first floor, there had to be several rooms, and there would have been enough room for hidden experiments or storage.

But there was no wall dividing the room, no furniture, nothing.

“Was this place empty originally?”

[The second floor of the penthouse is an empty space!]

“… … What’s on the 5th floor?”

[The 5th floor of the research lab is a locked space!]

That’s how you answer. Juyeol looked at the empty floors with suspicious eyes, and finally checked the 4th floor where Haon was.

The place, which had a much warmer atmosphere than before, was a research lab, materials warehouse, and data storage room with several computers.

‘The number of computers has increased, but the number of tables has decreased. I guess they paid attention to spatial separation.’

After checking the spiral staircase connected to the third floor, I finally saw Haon’s side profile, who was just looking at the monitor.

‘That fool did it all? Even though he has a problem with his head, his skills haven’t gone anywhere. No, he seems to have gotten better than before.’

Joo-yeol was impressed by the skills of the engineer he had hired, but he felt uneasy that it was Eun-ha-on who had such abilities.

A frown formed at the ambivalent feelings.

“hey.”

“Hey, Juyeol! Have you seen everything?”

Ha-on suddenly raised his head and looked quite tired, with dark circles under his eyes. However, a look of joy spread across his face.

‘You haven’t slept a wink since I left, have you?’

It was just a few days ago that I was crying and couldn’t sleep properly because of nightmares. I also saw you clinging to me and sobbing sadly…

Joo-yeol turned his eyes away as he suddenly remembered Nova’s song about the wind.

“Have you been watching me wander around? Or did this bird tell you?”

“You can tell by the blue, but there are CCTVs on every floor. Even on the stairs and rooftop.”

On the monitor next to where Haon was pointing, there were several CCTV screens floating around.

The lab originally had no CCTV except for the rooftop.

How many dirty things happen here? They don’t even make footage to hand over to the police or heroes.

I don’t know if they know that in the future they will not be able to avoid submitting evidence just because there is no CCTV.

“By the way, did you get your arm treated? It was injured.”

“I didn’t know I hired a doctor. Engineers should just do their job.”

Haon furrowed his eyebrows at those words and took out a black helmet from under the desk.

“We fixed some broken parts and added some new features.”

What’s new? Joo-yeol was surprised as soon as he snatched the helmet.

There was no apparent change, but it seemed to be half as heavy. When I asked them to fix the zoom function, they seemed to have removed the lens altogether.

He tossed the helmet in the air a couple of times and pressed it firmly onto his head. Perhaps because it was lighter, it was also easier to move his head from side to side.

And soon after, I was shocked to discover the new features that Haon had mentioned.

Equipped with infrared mode and thermal imaging mode.

You don’t have to carry separate night vision and thermal imaging scopes, and you can fit four more magazines on your belt.

Additionally, you could take a picture of what was visible on the front of the helmet and send it to your phone, and maps and navigation were also added.

It seemed to be rechargeable, as there was a battery indicator on the front corner.

‘What is this? Is this crazy?’

Ju-yeol, who was very excited about the suddenly upgraded equipment, was busy checking out the various functions of the helmet.

On the contrary, I checked the broken zoom function last.

The zoom was smooth and clear, and the further you pulled it out, the quieter it became. The characteristic little noise you used to hear when you zoomed in was gone.

Joo-yeol, who had been pulling and releasing the zoom several times, realized something and stopped.

‘… … Wait. There’s no delay at all?’

The same was true when switching between infrared and thermal imaging modes. There was no delay in any function working.

It was only a few months ago that I asked an engineer at Hero HQ to reduce the zoom delay, and was rejected, saying it was impossible.

As I recalled that fact, the image of the remodeled research lab came to mind. And the location of the awakening sphere was also immediately discovered.

The engineers at headquarters were all famous for their skills, but they were nowhere near Haon’s technological prowess.

‘How far can you go?’

Joo-yeol looked back at his engineer with an eerie feeling.

Haon didn’t even look at this side as if adding this level of function was nothing.

He just yawned and typed away at the keyboard at a breakneck pace.

‘Where is the limit?’

Meanwhile, Ha-on, who had no idea why Joo-yeol was fiddling with his helmet, stretched after finishing the simulation test of the newly developed apps.

‘Now the shield won’t break even if it blocks bullets.’

I’ve been giving Blue various commands while using magic engineering on my phone, but magic engineering isn’t a magic that makes anything happen just by reciting a spell.

All the magical powers Haon used were simply executing magical apps that had been installed in advance in the previous dimension.

Most of them were developed in-house and were very effective against magical attacks throughout the war, but were quite ineffective in this place where there was no magical engineering.

‘Now it’s finally usable.’

Aside from the app, I’ve also made a bunch of other stuff over the past few days, so at least it won’t be a big deal if it can’t deal with bullets or knives.

Haon smiled proudly and then met eyes with Juyeol, who was taking off his helmet.

“Juyeol-ah. How is it? Do you need anything else?”

“What’s on the 5th floor that makes it still locked?”

Haon hesitated and answered the question that was far from his appreciation of the commissioned work.

“Private space?”

“The second floor of the penthouse was originally empty?”

“Uh, uh.”

Joo-yeol frowned as he rolled his eyes unnaturally.

Haon decided to keep the information about the dimensional gate a secret.

‘Juyeol is a hero. He will definitely report if he finds out about the dimensional gate.’

If the existence of the dimensional gate were to become known in this place where even magic engineering does not exist, chaos would ensue.

I also wanted to eliminate the possibility of the heroes becoming suspicious or the villains becoming interested in the dimensional gate.

When Ha-on feels stung by Ju-yeol’s persistent gaze.

[Haon! A guest has arrived!]

Just then Blue announced the visitor.

As Ha-on got up as if he had been waiting, Ju-yeol pressed his shoulder and sat him down.

“What are you running away from?”

“No, I’m not running away. I’m going to meet a guest. No one can go above the first floor.”

It was an excuse made hastily, but it was true.

The reason we set up a cafe-like waiting room on the first floor was to prevent anyone from entering the studio or research lab.

Joo-yeol asked with a slightly relieved expression.

“… … No one can come up?”