In the mid-slopes of Odaesan Mountain, Hongcheon, Gangwon Province, a dark brown wooden door appeared under the shadow of the trees. The door creaked open slowly, emitting a chilling sound, as if echoing the person’s emotions.
Soon, a young man in a black baseball cap and jacket stepped out. His face was barely visible under the hat, obscured further by a mask.
His worn sneakers crunched on the overgrown grass as he stood still, surveying his surroundings. Once he confird that no one else was around, he crouched down in front of the door. His voice, distorted in an odd manner, spoke up.
“Thanks for opening the door. It helped get here faster.”
“No… problem….”
Romantic Opener, Choi Goyo, responded in a dying voice. He lay sprawled out on the floor of Uijae’s cramped room, his cheek pressed against the ground. The space was far too small for a grown man, forcing him to curl up like a frog. It was quite a pitiful sight.
Uijae glanced at him with sympathy.
“Should I move you to a bigger space?”
“A bigger… space? Where?”
After a mont’s thought, Uijae cautiously suggested.
“The floor of the restaurant seems too dirty… How about I push a few tables together and lay you down there?”
“No….”
“……”
“Just drag out to the grass… please….”
“Are you sure you'll be okay? We’re in the middle of the mountains.”
“I’ll… be fine. Mingeojeok will… probably pick up… I think.”
His answer didn’t sound convincing. Uijae looked at him doubtfully, but then he hoisted Choi Goyo onto his back and carried him out, laying him down under the shade of the trees. Choi Goyo weakly waved his hand in what seed to be a feeble attempt at a goodbye.
“Have a safe trip…. And when you….”
“When I?”
“…Ack.”
Before he could finish his sentence, Choi Goyo’s head lolled to the side with a pitiful groan. It looked as if he were dying, but fortunately, faint snoring followed soon after.
Uijae squatted next to the unconscious Romantic Opener, watching him for a while. After so ti, a low voice erged from Uijae’s shadow.
“Oh, you’ve arrived. I’m sorry for being late. Please excuse for a mont.”
The voice was familiar. Mingeojeok crawled out from the edge of Uijae’s shadow. Seeing Choi Goyo snoring peacefully, Mingeojeok nodded in satisfaction.
“You followed the instructions from the attached file perfectly. Well done.”
Uijae had opened the attached file from the box Coco had delivered earlier. It not only included the address and map of Protheus’ branch but also detailed instructions on how to reach the location. The file could be summarized in three lines:
- Contact Romantic Opener and have him co quickly.
- Tell him to open the door.
- I’ll handle the rest.
‘The manual is quite sothing….’
Now he understood why Lee Sayoung trusted Mingeojeok with everything. The plan he had laid out was as efficient as it was convenient. Uijae glanced at Mingeojeok with a mixture of admiration and surprise. Today, the man’s sunglasses seed more reliable than ever.
Mingeojeok dusted off the leaves clinging to his suit.
“Now then, before we proceed, let’s briefly go over the plan. I’ll explain a few key points and things you should be cautious about.”
With a snap of his fingers, sothing dark pooled on the ground. It was a shadow.
The shadow rippled before forming a rectangular shape. Using a branch, Mingeojeok drew lines through it until it resembled the map Uijae had seen in the attached file.
“Protheus has branches scattered everywhere. The information about this one was provided by Jung Bin, and after so investigation, it turns out it’s quite large.”
Still crouched down, Uijae muttered.
“I thought the Awakener Bureau and the guilds were cracking down on Protheus. How is it still this big?”
“Ah, there’s a sad story behind that. In short, it’s because of you.”
Suddenly accused of being the culprit, Uijae stared at the shadow, bewildered. How hard had he worked to live quietly as a hangover soup restaurant owner?
“What did I do? All I’ve done is serve soup quietly.”
The self-proclaid hangover soup restaurant worker, who had fought Hunters at Masok, crushed them at Incheon Port, attended the Artisan Exhibition, and taken down an S grade dungeon boss, carefully asserted his innocence. Fortunately, Mingeojeok shrugged.
“I may have summarized it too briefly. It’s not that you did anything wrong, nor am I blaming you. I was just explaining the flow of events. So, let clarify.”
Mingeojeok drew a circle and split it into three pieces. The shadow inside the circle thickened.
“As I ntioned before, the investigation into Protheus was a collaborative effort between the Awakener Bureau, Wave Guild, and Seowon Guild. However…”
He tapped one of the segnts, pulling it away from the others, leaving two pieces behind.
“Once J appeared in the rankings, the Bureau shifted its focus to tracking him down. They pulled resources away from the Protheus investigation and directed them to finding J.”
Uijae, forcibly resurrected and thrust back into the rankings, said nothing. He had expected people to start searching for him, but he hadn’t realized they were this serious about it.
Mingeojeok poked the remaining two pieces with his stick. One of them morphed into the shape of a tiny person moving around, as if it were carrying sothing.
“It wouldn’t have been an issue if only the Bureau pulled out. But the Wave Guild also diverted its resources to tracking and confusing the Bureau’s efforts to find you. The Wave Guild, which had been aggressively hunting Protheus, left an opening.”
One word in that explanation caught Uijae’s attention. He looked up sharply.
“Confusing? Wait, the Wave Guild was looking for too?”
“Oh, that was supposed to be a secret.”
Mingeojeok didn’t seem too concerned about his slip-up.
“But since that’s already over, I suppose it’s fine to tell you. Yes, the Wave Guild was also searching for you, and they ran interference to stop the Bureau from finding you.”
“…Why?”
Why had the Wave Guild been looking for J? From the sound of it, they hadn’t been cooperating with the Bureau either. The Wave Guild was established after J disappeared into the rift, wasn’t it?
As if he had anticipated Uijae’s confusion, Mingeojeok responded dryly.
“As always, it was under the guild leader’s orders. We don’t know the exact reason.”
“……”
“When he gives an order, we follow it. Anyway…”
Why would Lee Sayoung do that? Uijae was full of questions, but Mingeojeok interrupted his thoughts with his usual professionalism.
“To get inside, you’ll need an authorized key card. Most areas require so form of clearance to access, and the security here is quite strict.”
Uijae, now back to focusing, nodded. A key card. The researchers would likely each have one. Rubbing his chin, he asked,
“Do the access levels differ by rank?”
“An excellent question. Yes, you’ll need at least a senior researcher’s key card to enter the core areas of the facility.”
“Got it.”
Uijae studied the shadow map closely, murmuring to himself.
“So all I need to do is find soone who looks like a researcher, beat them up, and take their card, one by one…”
“……”
Despite having the right answer, Mingeojeok didn’t respond. When Uijae glanced up, he was t with a look of utter shock on Mingeojeok’s face—like Munch’s *The Scream*. The expression was so extre that even Uijae hesitated.
“…Is that not the plan?”
“…Absolutely not.”
Mingeojeok muttered gloomily as he handed Uijae sothing from his coat pocket. It was a plastic card splattered with a few drops of blood. A photo of a bespectacled man was printed on it. Uijae accepted the card with both hands, bowing slightly as he did so. Mingeojeok’s sunglasses glinted.
“Please trust more! Do you think I wouldn’t have secured sothing like this? I’m Mingeojeok! A specialist in stealth and infiltration, ranked 36th in Korea!”
“Yes, yes. Thank you very much.”
Korea’s number one Hunter bowed his head to the 36th-ranked Hunter. Still quietly fuming, Mingeojeok sighed and ran a hand through his hair.
“Now that that’s settled… let’s clarify your objective. What exactly are you hoping to find or confirm here?”
“……”
“A clear goal will help us save ti.”
Uijae fiddled with the key card before answering.
“First, I want to check the list of test subjects and find out what experints they’re conducting here.”
“The chances of your target being on that list are extrely low.”
“I know. But if I start here and trace things back…”
The air around them rippled. A sharp aura swirled, disturbing the surrounding area. Without realizing it, Mingeojeok took a step back. The branches of the nearby trees swayed violently.
Uijae pocketed the key card and continued.
“…I might find a clue.”
“……”
“A tiny clue. That’s all I need.”
“…Very well. If that
’s your goal.”
Mingeojeok pointed deeper into the forest.
“Keep walking along this path, and you’ll find the entrance. I cleared the foliage covering it, so you should be able to go right in.”
As Uijae nodded, Mingeojeok hesitated, his expression uneasy.
“…The place might be a bit of a ss, though.”
*Beep.* The door opened when Uijae scanned the key card. *Squelch, squelch.* His worn sneakers stepped into a puddle. The sharp, tallic scent of blood slipped through the gap in his mask. The dark, wide space was eerily silent. Uijae scanned his surroundings and let out a long sigh.
“They weren’t kidding when they said it might be a ss…”
Feeling along the wall, he pressed a button. With a loud flick, the lights illuminated the room, revealing…
“This is beyond ‘a ss’.”
Corpses lay sprawled on the floor, blood flowing from every hole in their faces, covering the entire lab in crimson.
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