Chapter 92

Target Report

Name: Jin Taekyung

Age: 27

Residence: Address xxx-xxx, Hope Goshiwon¹. Living separately from his family.

Family: Eldest son in a family of one son and one daughter. Father died in an accident eleven years ago. Information on his mother and younger sister attached separately.

This was the report Im Chunsoo received three days after ordering the investigation. After reading through the densely packed information filling five pages, he opened his mouth.

“Hey, Team 1 Leader.”

“Yes, Guild Master.”

The Team 1 Leader seated across from him answered. Apart from Guild Master Im Chunsoo, he was the only A-rank Hunter in Sangdong Guild, as well as Im Chunsoo’s loyal right hand.

“Did you read this report?”

“Not yet.”

“Why not?”

“Because it was your order, Guild Master. You told us to report any information that came in without filtering it along the way.”

“Then read it now.”

The Team 1 Leader politely accepted the report Im Chunsoo held out to him. His eyes moved rapidly across the pages. About ten minutes later, he raised his head and muttered,

“This is a little…”

“What do you think of the report?”

“I can only follow your judgment, Guild Master.”

“No. Speak frankly.”

After a brief hesitation, the Team 1 Leader answered.

“I think the information is incorrect.”

“Which part, exactly?”

“The subject of the report, Jin Taekyung, was an F-rank Hunter until only half a month ago. However, he succeeded in reawakening as a C-rank Hunter. That much is rare, but not impossible.”

“Go on.”

“But according to the testimony of Team Leader Im Changsoo—no, Hunter Im Changsoo—and the others who participated in that raid, Jin Taekyung single-handedly defeated a group of B-rank monsters, the Minotaurs.”

“Minimum five. Maximum ten, if I remember correctly?”

“Yes. They even said he brought down the boss monster with a single strike.”

“Right. A mere C-rank Hunter taking down a Minotaur Warrior with one blow. Does that make any sense?”

“I don’t think it does.”

“Then what is it?”

He was not asking because he genuinely did not know. He only wanted to confirm once again whether the Team 1 Leader was thinking the same thing he was.

“There are three things that concern me.”

“List them.”

“First, the report may be wrong.”

“Who wrote this report? Hong… What was it? Definitely not Hong Gil-dong.”

“Hong Woojin. He’s still young and doesn’t have much experience, but his ability is well known.”

“Right, that Hong Woojin—or Hong Gil-dong, or whatever the hell his name is. Check with that bastard again. Put some pressure on him, too. Anyway, what’s the second?”

“Second, Hunter Im Changsoo and the others may have coordinated their stories and lied.”

“Changsoo’s an idiot who can’t think straight, but he’s never lied to me in his life. Continue.”

“The last possibility is that Jin Taekyung is an A-rank Hunter whose strength has not yet been confirmed, or perhaps…”

A troubled look crossed the otherwise calm Team 1 Leader’s face. After a moment, he hesitantly opened his mouth.

“Could he be a third-awakening Hunter?”

“Third awakening?”

“…Yes.”

“Team 1 Leader. Doesn’t it sound absurd even to you? A third-awakening Hunter? Does that make any sense?”

The Team 1 Leader answered by lowering his head.

Im Chunsoo clicked his tongue at the sight and picked up the report. Extreme cold began to flow from his fingertips.

Crackle. Crash!

“Rewrite the report. Finish it by the end of this week and put it on my desk when you come in on Monday. Make it nice and clean.”

“Yes, sir.”

“And what about the information on the other people from that Peace Guild—or was it Love Guild?”

“……I was just about to report on that.”

“What? You haven’t found out anything?”

“We’ve finished identifying everyone except for three people.”

Im Chunsoo frowned.

“Three? One of them must be Jin Taekyung. Who are the other two?”

“The Guild Master and Team Leader of Peace Guild.”

He had heard about them from his son. The young Team Leader was an insolent brat, while the middle-aged Guild Master was a clueless man who had done nothing but chuckle throughout the entire raid.

“Why those two?”

“There was a Lock on them.”

“What?”

“Exactly as I said. Not only their personal information, but even their account details are all under security restrictions. The Audit Team is at a loss as well.”

“Did you skimp on the money?”

“Not at all. I already gave them plenty…”

“And yet?”

“They seem very reluctant on their end as well. They said an upper agency had placed the security lock, making it difficult for them to touch.”

Im Chunsoo was dumbfounded.

A Guild that had not even existed for a month. A small Guild whose entire membership could not even make up one raid team. No, at that point, calling it a Guild was strange. It would not have been odd to call it a social club instead.

And yet, who the hell were those bastards to have a Lock placed on them?

“Huh. Look at these bastards.”

“What should we do?”

“Don’t dig any deeper into that part for now. Leave it alone. And make absolutely sure the people we paid this time keep their mouths shut.”

During the Great Cataclysm, Im Chunsoo had been famous for his fiery temper. But after running a Guild, he had learned one important thing.

To achieve a goal—and to gain results beyond that goal—one had to remain calm and cautious.

“So everything else is completely investigated?”

“Yes. Completely.”

That was the answer of the Team 1 Leader, who had earned Im Chunsoo’s trust through his meticulous nature. Im Chunsoo nodded.

“Deal with those two locked targets as I said. For now, focus only on Jin Taekyung. Mobilize a few people from the Guild Audit Team and increase the surveillance separately.”

“Separately…?”

“Yes. Looking at the state of this report, it’s no good. When you think about it, our Guild Audit Team isn’t exactly outclassed, is it?”

“That’s true, but…”

The Team 1 Leader suddenly hesitated. He remembered what Hong Woojin had repeatedly stressed when he went to commission Woojin for the job.

“The moment I accept this assignment, it becomes my job. Got it? Within a week, I’ll find out the color of this bastard’s underwear on the day in question, so leave it to me. If you cause trouble on your end and the surveillance target catches on, you’ll ruin my job.”

Hong Woojin had little experience, but word had spread that he was good at his work. Despite Woojin’s arrogant way of speaking, his professionalism had inspired trust, and the Team 1 Leader had personally given him his word.

I should probably tell him.

But the objection the Team 1 Leader was about to raise went straight back down his throat at Im Chunsoo’s next words.

“Why? Is there something else you want to say?”

“Oh, no, sir. I’ll relay it exactly as you said.”

“Good. You can go.”

Im Chunsoo had been in a bad mood lately. It was the Team 1 Leader’s job to keep him appeased as much as possible and guide him in a favorable direction.

It’ll be fine, right? It will be.

Even after leaving the Guild Master’s office, the Team 1 Leader could not shake his uneasy feeling.

Home. Vacation.

Just thinking about those two words made me happy. And in reality, it was just as wonderful. But…

Bzzzz. Bzzzzzz.

“Ah, this is driving me crazy.”

I swatted at a fly with lightning-fast speed. It was not an ordinary palm strike, either—my palm was charged with internal energy. After killing the fly instantly, I tossed it into the trash and returned to the sofa.

“Why the hell are there so many flies?”

Hayeon, who had briefly come out into the living room to get a drink of water, let out a deep sigh.

“It’s summer, you idiot, Oppa.”

“It’s not just that.”

“What’s the big deal? How many could there be? There was only one just now.”

“That’s the problem. They keep coming in one at a time. Every time I catch one, another one keeps coming in from somewhere.”

“How many have you caught?”

“I swear to heaven, I’ve caught at least a hundred since this morning.”

“Look at you exaggerating. This is why men are…”

“I’m serious!”

“Okay, okay.”

Damn, this was driving me crazy. I tore at my hair and swatted down another fly. A hundred? I was not exaggerating at all. What had happened to this neighborhood that so many flies could swarm into one house?

Did someone smear honey on the windows?

At first, they had only been annoying. Just like Hayeon had said, I thought it was a normal phenomenon because it was summer.

But the more time passed, the more I realized that something was strange.

It was after I’d killed about thirty of them.

These damn things kept coming in without a break! I would kill one, then another would come in. I would kill that one, and a different fly would take its place.

Even after closing every window in the house and searching with my Qi Sense, the nightmare of the fly army continued.

Bzzzzzz.

“See? Another one came in before we could even turn around. Where the hell are these things coming from?”

I carefully searched for some tiny gap I had failed to notice, but I could not figure it out. They seemed to be coming through spaces barely large enough for a single ant to pass through.

“Don’t swat them. Just leave them alone. Then they’ll quiet down.”

“What kind of creative bullshit is that? You think they’ll stay still just because you leave them alone? We won’t be able to sleep with all that buzzing.”

“The flies in my room stay still.”

“What?”

“There are about three in my room, too. They bothered me at first, so I thought about killing them, but when I left them alone, they stopped flying around and just sat on my desk.”

“That’s only temporary. They must fly around like crazy when you’re not looking.”

“I think they’re just lazy flies. They haven’t moved even once.”

“Say something that makes sense.”

“I’m serious. Want to bet a hundred thousand won?”

“You even have a hundred thousand won? You’re an examinee.”

“Of course I do. It’s from the money you gave me last time.”

“You’re going to bet against me with the allowance I gave you?”

“If you’re scared, you can just die.”

“……Deal.”

Shit. So this was how money went around in circles.

We went straight to Hayeon’s room. She pointed at a fly sitting quietly in place and grinned triumphantly.

“See? I was right, wasn’t I? Hand over the hundred thousand won.”

“Hand over what? We need to run an experiment first.”

I brought my palm down over the fly. I struck at an ordinary person’s speed, slow enough for the fly to dodge easily. But then…

Flinch. Scramble.

The fly startled violently and scurried away, moving its legs as fast as it could.

I could not hide my bewilderment. Hayeon wore a similar expression.

“Sis.”

“Y-Yeah?”

“Are all flies these days like that?”

“Th-They could be, couldn’t they? Anyway, give me the hundred thousand won.”

“I’ll give it to you. I will. But isn’t that fly strange?”

“A fly is a fly. It’s just a weird one.”

“What kind of fly acts like that? I’ve seen goblins and Minotaurs in my life, but I’ve never seen a fly that flies around so little.”

The instant I finished speaking—

Bzzzzzz—

“……”

“……”

Suspicious. Extremely suspicious.

The timing was questionable enough, but the way its wings moved—as if it were trying hard to look ordinary—was even stranger. Even its flight was awkward and unsteady.

Forget that. It gives me the creeps. This feeling is weirdly familiar.

Where had I felt something similar?

Oh, right. That alley I had walked through on the way home two days ago, after looking at a house.

That déjà vu of someone secretly watching me.

Am I really just being oversensitive?

I glared at the fly and raised my Qi Sense. Its activation range now extended to a radius of seventy meters, spreading into every corner of the house.

And then something no one could have expected happened.

Ding. Ding. Ding.

System

Lv. 1 Housefly—Familiar

Lv. 1 Black Blow Fly—Familiar

Lv. 1 Green Bottle Fly—Familiar

“……?”

What the hell is this?