Chapter 40

Chapter 40 – Aid #4

The serial killer called the Hippo .

Tae-hyuk thought of Yoo Cheol-ho while he was eating .

‘I was very lucky . ’

It was only three months ago .

The events from back then felt like a long time ago, causing Tae-hyuk to sigh . He woke up with memories of the future, and received the crime skills .

He pretended to be as calm as possible, but that was just a facade .

‘Hyung bought me some ice cream, but I only ate a little bit of it before throwing it away . ’

At that time, his only crime skill was the ‘Robbery’ skill . At the time, he still had no idea about his abilities and titles . If Tae-hyuk had come across the Hippo at that time, then he wouldn’t have even a single thought about catching him .

However, Yoo Cheol-ho was so infamous that he appeared on the front page of the newspapers every single day . Every single person knew his face . Tae-hyuk could catch him just by knowing his hiding place and reporting it to the police .

‘The Hippo is different . ’

Only two people in this world knew his identity . The Hippo, who was the killer . The other person was Seo Tae-hyuk, who had memories of the future .

The police saw the Hippo as a serial killer, and created a dedicated team to catch the criminal . Tae-hyuk could see how Cho Kang-suk was desperately working every night .

Surprisingly, the arrest rate of criminals in South Korea was quite high . By default, the country’s size was small, so there weren’t many places to hide . The fact that every person’s fingerprints were stored as data was a tremendous advantage in investigations . The CCTV were well spread out and installed in buildings, so it was a difficult country to commit a crime in .

South Korea also had a high awareness of the world of scientific investigation, so they used advanced investigation techniques during crime investigations .

A blood smear expert could reconstruct a crime scene based on only the location and size of a blood drop . A fingerprint expert used fingerprints, as well as palm prints . There were even profiling experts who approximated the criminal’s psychological state of mind .

They used more advanced investigation methods than the past method of searching around the victim’s body .

In the case of accidental murders, most perpetrators were quickly caught . However, it was difficult to identify a serial killer who killed indiscriminately .

Thus, the scientific investigation methods were a tremendous aid . No matter how perfect a criminal was, there was no incident where they didn’t make a single mistake .

One common mistake was drinking from a cup or paper cup, then throwing it away . Others included: Leaving even one strand of hair behind at the crime scene, and unintentionally spitting and leaving saliva . Experts could even extract the DNA of the criminal from fingerprints or saliva left behind on the victim’s body .

There was no killer that didn’t leave behind a trail of evidence . However, unlike his ridiculous nickname, the Hippo was a perfect killer . He didn’t leave behind any evidence .

It was why the investigation gradually became a labyrinth . That was why there were rumours that a demon was killing people .

‘… The Hippo will kill 10 people over the next year . His modus operandi will also remain the same . Feeding the victim a great deal of salt water . Why on earth has he started his activities earlier than scheduled? I need to strengthen my crime skills and help Kang-suk hyung’s and Noona’s love affair . ’

Tae-hyuk was completely different from when he first caught Yoo Cheol-ho .

He now had the ‘Robbery’, ‘Voice Modulation’, ‘Spying’, ‘Forgery’, ‘Gambling’, and ‘Violence’ skills, making a total of six crime skills .

Thanks to An Eun-young’s studying skill, his intelligence stat rose greatly . He could also make a wide variety of props using the Forgery skill .

It was different from when he was forced to call the police for Yoo Cheol-ho . He could fight the Hippo .

Tae-hyuk intuitively sensed it . Until now, he had used a single crime skill at a time in order to catch the criminals . It was a condition for acquiring the skill .

“But this time, I can’t afford to not use all of my skills . ”

This time, he would have to use all six crime skills in order to deal with the Hippo . That was his hunch .

Tae-hyuk looked in front at the things that he had prepared . Paints, plaster boards, ropes and glass beads . There were many other things piled up .

He put them in a big bag, and thanks to his stamina (61), Tae-hyuk was able to carry it . He raised it up and over his shoulders .

“Ugh . Heavy!”

However, every one of the items inside were necessary things that couldn’t be removed . From this moment on, he would go prepare the trap to catch the Hippo before he murdered someone tomorrow .

Obviously the victim…

“……!”

Tae-hyuk moaned as a fact suddenly rose in his head .

He suddenly recalled the name of the third victim killed by the Hippo . Of course, that didn’t mean anything would change, since they were alive today . The victim wouldn’t believe it even if he said anything .

Above all, he had to prepare the crime scene to catch the Hippo . Therefore, he had to let the crime of kidnapping the victim be committed .

But the person the Hippo hoped to kill tomorrow was someone who Tae-hyuk knew .

“… Jung Yuri . ”

Tae-hyuk realized why Jung Yuri wasn’t in his memories . He had gotten a job as a security guard at Sungjin Group five years later . At that time, Jung Yuri wasn’t alive .

She was supposed to die tomorrow to the Hippo . Savagely murdered .

Tae-hyuk didn’t do anything for a while before opening the window and looking up at the night sky . The moon was almost full, but it was covered by the dark clouds so nothing could be seen . There was just darkness .

@

Jung Yuri’s legs didn’t work . She had been weak from birth . The muscles of her lower half slowly stiffened .

Nevertheless, she never once thought that her life was difficult or uncomfortable . She had a sister who was born a year earlier . The two of them were always together .

By the time she entered primary school, Jung Yuri’s legs were no longer moving . She had to ride a wheelchair from then on .

It was her sister who pushed it . Her sister always helped her move forward .

“Unni…”

Her sister had died three years ago . She was brutally murdered at the hands of the serial killer, Yoo Cheol-ho .

When Yuri met him, he smiled and felt regret that he couldn’t kill her . Yuri spat on Yoo Cheol-ho’s face, and he said,

“Kuhuhuhu… Just wait . I will be sure to escape and kill you . ”

Yoo Cheol-ho really did escape . She still had goosebumps when she thought of that time .

However, she was different from her sister . Jung Yuri’s father was now the vice president of a large company . She was also working under him, so she was able to set an enormous bounty on Yoo Cheol-ho .

A few days later, he was caught . This time, he was trapped in a place where he could never escape .

“Hu…”

Her whole body was wet with sweat from pushing her wheelchair . Jung Yuri pulled out a handkerchief from her handbag and wiped her forehead .

She was on the way back from a meeting with a client . The driver said he would give her a ride, but Jung Yuri said that she wanted to go on her own .

No one had pushed her since her sister had died . Now, she moved forward with her own strength .

She desperately exercised and raised her physical strength, her complexion improving dramatically . She became more beautiful every day . She even received suggestions to become an advertising model .

“Ahum… This will be difficult . ”

Jung Yuri looked at the hill that appeared in front of her . It was a moderately steep slope .

However, she vowed to live strong after her sister’s death . Jung Yuri prepared to put her hands on the wheels of her wheelchair .

It was at that moment that someone started to push the wheelchair from behind . Jung Yuri was startled and looked back .

“It will be hard on your own . If you don’t mind, then I would like to help . ”

A friendly looking man smiled at her .

“Ahaha… Thank you . By the way, have I met you somewhere before? Your face is really familiar . ”

The man said .

“I was with the one who came for a bounty . Cho Kang-suk… Do you remember?”

“Ah, that person!”

The man laughed .

Then Jung Yuri was pricked in the neck .

@

“Uhh…”

In the darkness, the dazed Jung Yuri opened her eyes .

She couldn’t see anything . Her eyes were covered with leather . Her legs couldn’t move in the first place, and her arms were tied behind her back .

She couldn’t do anything other than sweat .

“Oof! Oof!”

Her body was in a place like a glass box .

She wriggled her toes and something cold .

‘Water…? I-It is filling up!’

She would die in this way .

Jung Yuri recalled the man who kidnapped her . It wasn’t Yoo Cheol-ho . However, he had the same eyes . It would be not just her sister, but Jung Yuri herself would also be killed by someone .

Tears flowed down through the blindfold .

‘I, am I going to die? U-Unni . S-Save me… Unni…!’

The water had already risen to her head .

Jung Yuri couldn’t breathe .

@

Joo Hyun-ho was drinking a cup of milk in his room .

Classical music flowed from speakers that cost over 20 million won . Chopin Etude Op . 10-4, also known as ‘Chase’ . It was his favorite piece .

What was it? No matter how hard he thought, he felt like there was something in the corner of his mind that he was missing .

He wondered what it was . What on earth had he missed?

Joo Hyun-ho looked at the case file scattered across the floor . Everything about the Hippo incident was written there .

“The first murder occurred on October 8th . The second happened on the 5th of November, and today is December 3rd…”

And then suddenly…

“October 8th was Chuseok (Korean holiday) . November 5th…”

Chuseok always occurred on the full moon . The second murder also happened on the day of the full moon .

Then surely…

Joo Hyun-ho was amazed as he had a thought . If his idea was correct, then the murderer was probably preparing for his next kill right now .

“I-I need to call Kang-suk sunbae!”

Joo Hyun-ho contacted Kang-suk . However, the phone call didn’t connect .

“Damn . ”

Joo Hyun-ho was forced to look for a place where the Hippo could commit the crime .

He mobilized all of his connections .

First, he sent a group text .

–Confirm if there is a bathhouse, aquarium, or swimming pool that isn’t open and check them out! The hippo might be working right now!

How far ahead was he?

Joo Hyun-ho couldn’t stay in the house . In the end, he put on a coat and left his house .

Ding! Ding! Ding!

At that moment, the clock chimed, indicating that it was 12:00 .

December 4th . It was the day that the Hippo would kill .

He used the map application to look for a place with a lot of water near his house . The Hippo took a long time to kill, so it should be a place that wasn’t open right now . There was only one place nearby that fit the conditions .

H Aquarium .

Joo Hyun-ho smirked . He was so thrilled that he couldn’t stand it . He had always seen profiles of criminals from his desk, but this time, he might even be able to face them himself .

“Sunbae… Sunbae… Pick up your phone . Let’s go hunt the Hippo . ”

As Kang-suk didn’t answer his calls, Joo Hyun-ho started the BMW .

@

Tae-hyuk looked at his work with a satisfied expression .

He took advantage of his six crime skills to create an amazing trap .

“It is perfect for my guest . ”

Tae-hyuk was at the entrance of an aquarium . It was a place that didn’t feel the need to employ more than one guard when it wasn’t daytime .

Tae-hyuk also confirmed that the guard was sleeping in front of the TVs in the office .

He checked the time .

It was 12:09 a . m . on December 4th .

The Hippo would be waiting inside the aquarium .

Creak .

Tae-hyuk entered through the back door of H Aquarium .

It was time to hunt the Hippo .