Surviving as a Brainwashing Villain in a Hero World

Chapter 53

“Hey! We’ve arrived at the rest stop. Everyone get off!”

As the vehicle stops in a corner of the rest stop’s parking lot,

Do-hwa’s voice conveys that it’s time for a brief break and some free time.

“Ughhh…! Oh my.”

“Nyaat…? Are we here?”

Chaeryeong and Si-yoon wake from their nap, stretching their backs.

“Cola! Walnut cookies! Waffles! Rice cake skewers! Kyaaaa!”

Ji-woo, excited by the rest stop sign, sparkles with anticipation for the snacks she’s been waiting for.

“Wait! Before we go out, there’s something we need to decide.”

Si-yoon said, holding onto Ji-woo who was about to dash out.

“As everyone knows… except for me, everyone needs to be cautious when moving around.

You two are active heroes, and Chaeryeong is on the wanted list by the association.”

“That’s true… I guess.”

Ji-woo is on leave from the association but still officially an A-grade hero,

and Do-hwa is active as a hero whenever called, especially after operations with Lumi.

Of course, if they run into association members, they might be able to cover for these two.

However, Chaeryeong is currently the most closely watched fugitive by the association.

If they encounter association members or heroes in this crowded place,

something very unfortunate could happen.

“Does anyone need to use the bathroom or need anything?”

“Nyaang? I’m okay with the bathroom! But I am a bit hungry…”

Chaeryeong, curling her hands like a cat, gently wipes her face,

and with the other hand, she softly rubs her stomach, indicating she’s hungry.

“Then, we just need to buy snacks for Chaeryeong.

Let’s go one by one. I’ll go last.”

“Kyaaaa! Walnut cookies! Cola! Rice cake skewers! Tornado potato!”

At the suggestion to go one by one, Ji-woo, card in hand,

shouts out snack names and bolts out of the car door.

“Ji-woo! Ji-woo! I need the bathroom urgently! Hey!!”

Do-hwa calls out urgently, still not even unbuckled,

but Ji-woo, already far away, couldn’t hear his cries.

“She probably can’t hear you anymore. She’s already run that far.”

“Sigh… She still acts like a child at times like this.”

“She does look excited. It must be quite a while since she’s been out like this.”

Do-hwa unbuckles his seatbelt and sighs, but smiles thinking of the excited Ji-woo.

– Ring-ring

While waiting for Ji-woo to return,

an alert sounds from the hero-exclusive device in Do-hwa’s pants pocket.

“What’s up?”

“I’ve got a call from Hero Ice Queen… she’s asking if I can come out now…”

“We’d need to drive to go back to S-tier.

It’s not really possible right now, is it?”

Even though it would be just coordinating a schedule or location under normal circumstances,

Do-hwa seemed greatly troubled.

“That’s not the issue… Ice Queen wants me to meet her here at the rest stop.”

Si-yoon understood why Do-hwa had made such an expression as soon as he heard.

“It doesn’t seem to be about Chaeryeong… it looks like another executive is around here.”

“Hmm…”

Another executive nearby meant that ‘Ice Queen’ Seolumi and other heroes would soon arrive.

This could lead to exposing the fact that he was with Chaeryeong, as he feared.

Of course, it would be great if the heroes dealt with the Dark Knights’ executive,

and he could contact the Kaiser leader first in the meantime.

However, if what Chaeryeong mentioned and the association’s data were correct,

it would not be easy to subdue even with joint attacks from several A-grade heroes.

“First, we need to get Ji-woo back quickly. Wait here for a moment.”

Do-hwa urgently grabbed Si-yoon, who was about to leave the car to fetch Ji-woo.

“Are you really going to be okay?”

“I’ll be right back.”

—

Somewhere in the parking lot of the rest stop where Si-yoon’s group had parked.

‘I hope a reply comes soon…’

A-grade hero ‘Ice Queen’ Seolumi, accompanied by association agents.

Dressed in similar casual attire as before, she was waiting for Do-hwa’s reply in front of an association vehicle.

– Ring-ring

“Yes, this is Ice Queen. Ah… I see. Understood.”

She received some information via her device, then briefly furrowed her brows in thought.

‘Why is the reply from Ignition so late… I need to decide whether to proceed or not.’

A tip from an agent that the villain ‘Executioner’ was spotted near the rest stop.

Seolumi, who was nearby on another mission, took over,

and was trying to request help from other heroes.

“Tsk…”

However, all heroes who could come quickly were engaged in other missions,

and there was no prompt reply from Do-hwa either.

‘Can’t be helped…?’

According to what she just received, the villain ‘Executioner’ is disguised as a regular citizen,

and is likely taking a brief moment to regroup here before joining another executive or the leader.

Having failed to capture Chaeryeong once before,

Unlike her usual calm and rational self, she was anxiously stamping her feet.

‘Since he was spotted near the men’s bathroom parking lot 3 minutes ago…

He must be in the bathroom or food court now.’

Unable to wait any longer for Do-hwa’s reply, which hadn’t come back even after several minutes,

Seolumi decided to head towards the last location where Executioner was seen.

She locked the vehicle’s door, put the keys in her pocket,

wore a mask on her chin, and pulled her hat down deeply as she started walking to find him.

‘He probably hasn’t left yet… Where could he be?’

She was scanning the surroundings as discreetly as possible,

but despite her efforts, she couldn’t spot Executioner.

Of course, finding a specific person among the many people at the rest stop isn’t easy.

However, Executioner’s distinctive appearance should make him stand out even in a large crowd,

so Seolumi kept her eyes wide open and moved them quickly.

“Oh!”

Long, black hair hanging down like wet seaweed.

A man with deathly pale skin and a tall stature entered her radar.

Seolumi quickly chased after him as he was about to enter the men’s bathroom,

but before she could get close, he had already gone inside.

‘Do I wait for him to come out…?’

It was clearly inappropriate for her, obviously a woman, to enter the men’s bathroom.

She quietly waited for Executioner to come out, standing by the wall next to the men’s bathroom.

– Thud-thud-thud!

‘What’s that noise…?’

As she leaned against the wall next to the men’s bathroom waiting,

the sound of urgent footsteps was heard from somewhere.

“There! He went in there!”

Three men in black suits and sunglasses.

To the hero Seolumi, they were very familiar agents of the Hero Association.

‘What…? I said I was coming… Could it be another hero?’

The agents pointed at the entrance of the men’s bathroom where Executioner had entered,

but there seemed to be no other hero accompanying them nearby.

Then they quickly ran to the entrance of the men’s bathroom,

and approached Seolumi, who was leaning against the wall.

“Have you seen a tall man enter here?”

The agents didn’t recognize Seolumi, who was in casual attire, as the hero ‘Ice Queen’.

“He went inside. And… here.”

Seolumi showed her device to the agents,

informing them that she was a hero.

“Ah! You’re a hero!”

She was startled by the agent’s loud voice and motioned for silence with her finger to her lips,

but the agents were looking towards the bathroom and missed her signal.

“Since you can’t enter here, we’ll go in first.”

“Wa… wait a moment!”

To make matters worse, the agents, thinking they were backing her into a corner, ignored her attempts to stop them

and were about to rush inside.

“I’m waiting for the villain Executioner to come out. Please wait a moment.”

Seolumi approached the agents and explained why she was standing there,

they nodded in understanding and waited with her in different directions for Executioner to emerge.

After a very brief moment,

Executioner, having finished his business, walked out of the men’s bathroom with heavy steps.

– Thud-thud-thud! Bang!

“Aaah!”

“Hmm.”

Someone was walking from the opposite direction where Executioner was heading,

and accidentally bumped into him, falling over.

“Oh, I’m sorry. Are you hurt anywhere…?”

“…I’m fine.”

Executioner helped him up nonchalantly,

and the man, seemingly unhurt, stood and expressed his apologies.

– Thud-thud-thud!

Suddenly, the agents who were waiting for him on the opposite side pulled out guns from their coats,

aiming at Executioner as he helped the fallen man up and was about to pass by.

‘Not now…! No!’

– Bang!

Surprised by the agents’ sudden action, she waved her hands urgently,

but the bullet had already been fired from the barrel.

Executioner, hit by the bullet that came from nowhere,

was struck precisely in his side and thigh.

“Hmm… Have they chased me this far?”

However, he sighed deeply as if he felt no pain,

and looked towards where the agents who fired the gun were standing.

“I didn’t want to do this in a crowded place… but it seems I have no choice.”