[Smith! How've you been lately?] [Ma'am, our store's policy is that returns due to a simple change of mind are not, in principle...] [Why didn't you show up to the party yesterday?]
Countless snippets of chatter. Beyond that, the blare of car horns, the hum of TVs, the cries of cats, the sound of running water in bathrooms—every conceivable urban noise crowded into Jin-Woo's ears. His five basic senses, plus the ability to detect mana. With every sense fully engaged, beads of sweat began forming on Jin-Woo's forehead.
'If only the shadow soldiers I'd planted on Jin-Ho were still in place, I wouldn't have to go through all this trouble...'
But then again, who said otherwise? By the time you regret it, it's already too late. The ant soldier he'd stationed on Jin-Ho as a precaution had already been used to relocate to the famous chairman's hospital room. After that, he'd been swamped with work, and since they were planning to stick together in America, the thought had simply slipped his mind. And this was the result.
'Kamish's shadow has vanished, and Jin-Ho is nowhere to be found...'
Veins began bulging on Jin-Woo's forehead, one after another. Dark clouds gathered over an already foul mood. His piercing gaze—sharp enough to strike lightning—swept in every direction, determined not to let a single movement slip past him. But. Let alone Yoo Jin-Ho, he couldn't even find an East Asian young man who bore a passing resemblance to him.
'Could it be... they've already left the city?'
To Jin-Woo, he was nothing more than a cute little brother, but Yoo Jin-Ho was still a D-rank combat-type Hunter. A mob of ordinary civilians wouldn't stand a chance against him, no matter how many swarmed. If the car heading for the Hunter Administration Bureau was trying to leave the city, Jin-Ho would surely have sensed something was off and put up a fight. The problem was.
'The guy who took Jin-Ho is an S-rank Hunter.'
Jin-Woo expanded the operational radius of his shadows even further.
'Hwang Dong-Su, that was his name.'
He couldn't figure out what Hwang Dong-Su had been thinking, impersonating him and abducting Jin-Ho. But it was give and take. He silently vowed to exact a price for having crossed him. And if anything had happened to Jin-Ho... A dangerous gleam flickered in Jin-Woo's eyes. Before long, an avalanche of information covering the entire city poured in from the shadow soldiers who had begun their intensified search.
* * *
In the end, Hwang Dong-Su had caused trouble. When the Scavenger Guild learned of this, a state of emergency was declared. The person they were dealing with was Sung Jin-Woo. If things went wrong even slightly, there was no guarantee Hwang Dong-Su would keep his life. Hwang Dong-Su was the ace among aces of the Scavenger Guild—a massive pillar of their combat strength. Thomas Andre, who could not afford to lose him, sat in the guild office anxiously waiting for updates.
"Any news yet?"
A subordinate employee nodded with a grim expression.
"No, sir."
The furrows carved into Thomas's forehead deepened further. Hwang Dong-Su's phone had been turned off, making it impossible to track his location. They'd had staff check every place he was known to frequent, but unfortunately, there was nothing to show for it. It seemed Mr. Huang had been planning this for a while.
'Does he not even value his life?'
No. Mr. Huang was also an S-rank Hunter. He should have been fully aware of the gap between himself and Sung Jin-Woo. The fact that he was still pulling something so reckless meant he had something to fall back on.
'He knows that I'll have no choice but to step in.'
His guess wasn't wrong. Even if he caused a bit of trouble, until the contract period ended, he was the Scavenger Guild's asset. The Scavenger Guild had invested a great deal of money, having seen Hwang Dong-Su's strength and potential. And Hwang Dong-Su knew that Thomas Andre was not a man who would give up his own property—so he'd acted without thinking about the consequences.
'...Have I been treating these Hunters too politely?'
Thomas repeatedly mulled over the thought that once this was sorted out, he would need to crack down hard so they never caused trouble again. The employees treaded carefully, barely daring to breathe under Thomas's heavily somber mood. Then. A phone rang. Thomas, who had been eagerly awaiting any kind of update, snatched the receiver up at once.
"We should be able to find Mr. Huang's location."
It was Laura's voice. He sprang to his feet.
"How?"
As though she knew exactly what he was feeling, Laura's explanation continued without pause, rapid and uninterrupted.
"I requested cooperation from the Hunter Administration Bureau and analyzed Mr. Huang's entire movement history over the past month. Altogether, three instances where he deviated from his usual range and moved to unscheduled locations."
Good! Thomas nodded. They'd gotten on his trail faster than expected.
"Send all our people that way. I'm heading there too." "Understood."
Thomas was about to hang up when he hesitated and lifted the receiver again.
"But... how did you manage to convince the old fogies at the Hunter Administration Bureau, Laura?"
The Hunter Administration Bureau recorded the current locations and movement histories of all Hunters through the GPS trackers embedded in their Hunter Phones. But they were not an agency that handed over their data easily. No matter whose request it was—even from the Scavenger—the review process alone should have taken at least several hours, yet they had pulled up Hwang Dong-Su's records this quickly. It was unheard of. Thomas was baffled as to how Laura had moved them. But Laura's answer was simpler than he'd expected.
"I told them that if they didn't help find Hunter Hwang Dong-Su quickly, Mr. Sung Jin-Woo and the Master would end up clashing."
* * *
"All guild members have just begun moving!"
Adam's urgent voice pierced through the phone. He'd been monitoring the Scavengers' movements. The Deputy Director asked.
"All one hundred of them?"
"They just cancelled even the scheduled raid. All Hunters are moving somewhere."
"What in the world... what is going on right now?"
"..."
Adam couldn't bring himself to speak easily. An S-rank Hunter from the Scavenger Guild had impersonated a member of Hunter Sung Jin-Woo's party and abducted him, and now both Hunter Sung Jin-Woo and the Scavenger Guild were on the move. This was no ordinary situation. The entire Scavenger Guild being mobilized meant that the Guild Master, Thomas Andre, was pulling the strings behind the scenes. Foreboding gripped Adam, and cold sweat began forming on his forehead. Sure enough. When Adam spotted Thomas emerging from the guild building entrance, he froze.
'Oh no...'
After a quick look around, Thomas climbed into the waiting car and sped off. It was the same direction the Scavenger Hunters had disappeared toward. Adam steadied his trembling voice and reported what he had seen to the Deputy Director.
"Deputy Director... Goliath... even Thomas Andre is on the move."
* * *
"Are you really sure it's okay to do this?"
The man looked down at the unconscious Yoo Jin-Ho sprawled on the floor and asked in a worried voice. Hwang Dong-Su nodded.
"I'm not going to do anything to him. I just need to know one thing."
His Master, Thomas, had warned him. Do not provoke Sung Jin-Woo. But Hwang Dong-Su had never intended to provoke Sung Jin-Woo in the first place. Because there was one other person besides Sung Jin-Woo who could answer his questions. That day—what had happened inside the Dungeon that his brother Hwang Dong-Suk, Sung Jin-Woo, and Yoo Jin-Ho had entered. He had told Yoo Jin-Ho that if he answered his questions honestly, he would be let go. But Yoo Jin-Ho, even until he was beaten to a pulp, never once opened his mouth. The more Yoo Jin-Ho clammed up, the deeper his suspicions grew. There was only one answer he wanted to hear.
'Sung Jin-Woo killed my brother.'
If he could just hear those words, he'd have no more use for Yoo Jin-Ho. But. What kind of guts did this small, unassuming guy have to keep his mouth shut so tightly in front of an S-rank Hunter? That courage alone was worth commending.
'But recklessness doesn't grant you a pardon.'
Hwang Dong-Su kicked at the side of Yoo Jin-Ho, whose entire body was battered beyond recognition.
"Hey. Wake up."
This was the fourth time the kid had passed out and come to? Fed up with how stubbornly Yoo Jin-Ho held on, Hwang Dong-Su's kicks grew harder.
"I said wake up!"
WHAM!
"Cough!"
Watching Yoo Jin-Ho spit out a mouthful of pooled blood and curl in on himself, the other man snickered.
"Still, he's living up to the tank title—pretty resilient. An ordinary person would've been dead by now."
Hwang Dong-Su grabbed Yoo Jin-Ho's hair with an expressionless face and lifted his head.
"Listen carefully. I have no intention of killing you. The guy over there laughing is actually a pretty skilled healer. Every time you're about to die, he'll keep you alive."
When Yoo Jin-Ho's blurry gaze drifted toward the snickering man, he smiled and waggled a finger in a mock wave. Hwang Dong-Su's hand moved roughly.
"Cough!"
Pinned in that grip, Yoo Jin-Ho's head jerked violently. The dust-filled interior of the building came into view. Hwang Dong-Su continued.
"This factory hasn't been operational in over five years. No matter how much you scream, no one's coming."
Holding Yoo Jin-Ho's head firmly in place, Hwang Dong-Su brought his own face close. Their eyes drew nearer and nearer.
"Which means you'll be suffering here forever until you tell me what I want to know."
At a nose-to-nose distance, Hwang Dong-Su bared his teeth.
"Well? Starting to feel like talking yet?"
"..."
Yoo Jin-Ho's lips moved, but the sound was so faint that even Hwang Dong-Su couldn't hear it.
"What did you say?"
"..."
Hwang Dong-Su cocked his head and leaned in closer. Yoo Jin-Ho whispered right into the ear pressed against his lips.
"...Screw you."
Hwang Dong-Su's face contorted. WHAM! He slammed the side of Yoo Jin-Ho's head into the ground and panted heavily.
"Hey! You didn't kill him, did you?"
The healer's eyes went wide as he rushed over and checked the pulse.
"Hoo..."
After confirming that Yoo Jin-Ho's heart was still beating, he let out a sigh of relief. But no doubt about it—another ounce of force and this young, weak Hunter would have been done for.
"Mr. Huang, please be more careful. I don't want to be an accomplice to murder just for money."
"...I'll be careful."
Hwang Dong-Su acknowledged his mistake. Perhaps it was the nerve-wracking situation, but the man who had been unable to hide his anxiety from the start tried to hold Hwang Dong-Su back.
"Let's stop here, sir. Haven't you learned enough at this point?"
"What are you talking about? We're just getting started."
Hwang Dong-Su's lips curled into a cruel smile. His cruelty was just like his brother's. The man who had failed to persuade Hwang Dong-Su kept glancing around nervously. Then. The man spotted something standing in the far corner of the factory. What is that? The man's eyes narrowed. At that moment.
"Huh? Wh-what?"
When the man pointed in surprise, both Hwang Dong-Su and the healer looked up. There stood a single high orc in black armor.
"...An orc?"
Hwang Dong-Su got to his feet. The healer, who had been checking on Yoo Jin-Ho's condition, also rose.
"Did a Dungeon Break occur somewhere nearby?"
Hwang Dong-Su shook his head. If that had been the case, the area would have been pandemonium. Just to be safe, he extended his mana sense and scanned the surroundings for any trace of other monsters, but he felt nothing. The high orc was alone.
"That's peculiar."
But the peculiarities didn't end there. The high orc was trembling. Its face was filled with terror, barely holding back tears that seemed ready to fall at any moment, its limbs shaking with fear.
"Mr. Huang. That thing... it looks like it's afraid of you."
"...I don't have time to joke around."
A white light began gathering in Hwang Dong-Su's fist. He didn't know where this orc had come from, but now that it had been spotted, he couldn't let it live. Hwang Dong-Su closed in with heavy strides and raised his fist to obliterate the orc's skull. Just then, a deep male voice rang out from somewhere.
-Exchange.