Cha Seohu was connected to the research lab, so it was likely that Kwon Taehyuk had reached out to him for cooperation as well.
‘The Yesung Guild did help us during the recent competition...’
After a long pause of hesitation, Ryu Sunghyun finally tucked the document into his inner jacket pocket.
“I’ll give it some thought and contact Guildmaster Kwon separately.”
“Alright.”
He wasn’t sure if Cha Seohu would actually be involved in this operation, but if there was a chance to meet him again, Ryu wanted to talk.
He had been feeling guilty—ever since their last meeting, where he’d been... too sharp, too defensive. He didn’t know why, but back then, Cha Seohu had sincerely worried for the Circle Guild and had tried to help.
Ryu wanted to apologize for how he’d acted, and now that they had won the competition, he wanted to reassure him—there was no more need to worry.
Now more resolved, Ryu Sunghyun stood up.
“Then I’ll be on my way.”
“Mm. Good work.”
With a faint smile, Song Jiwoon gently set down the teacup in his hand. A quiet clink echoed through the now-silent office.
“......”
He stared down at the trembling tea ripples with a subtle smile before lifting his gaze toward the window.
The twilight had vanished, and the darkening night sky was settling in. Between scattered clouds, a pale yellow moon began to reveal itself.
“We’ve received a reply from the Circle Guild’s Vice-Guildmaster. He says he’ll attend.”
“I see.”
“I’ll send them the finalized time and location.”
“What about the others?”
“There’s still been no word from the Won Guild.”
There were just two days left until the event on Wednesday.
Kwon Taehyuk frowned slightly, but he didn’t bother contacting Cha Seohu again or taking further steps.
He meant what he’d said about respecting his choice. No matter how exceptional Cha Seohu’s skill was, he couldn’t drag him there by force.
‘That man... even if you tried to drag him, he’d just refuse outright.’
Pushing those useless thoughts aside, Kwon spoke again.
“What about the investigation I ordered?”
“Ah, that...”
The secretary looked slightly troubled before answering.
“It’s confirmed that the man is affiliated with the C-281 district. But we can’t get much beyond that.”
“It’s that difficult?”
“The security was much tighter than expected. If we push any further, our own presence could get exposed.”
“I seem to recall you got a bit more on Hunter Cha Seohu than that.”
“The situation’s a bit different. Hunter Cha Seohu is officially registered as an Awakened and has even established a guild with his sibling. Although, granted, that process was rather suspicious...”
Clearing his throat awkwardly, the secretary continued.
“This man, on the other hand, seems to be directly embedded within the district. To even get a name, we’d have to breach their internal files—but their encryption level is extremely high. Breaking in would take a long time, and we’d be exposed in the process.”
“Hm...”
“They likely have a very skilled hacker on their side.”
Since monsters appeared and people Awakened, the digital world had changed drastically. The role of the hacker was one such evolution.
The servers and encryption built by S-rankers were beyond what normal people could even imagine—vast and intricately layered. Getting through them and retrieving targeted data wasn’t just difficult—it meant exposing yourself in return. It was like walking into the enemy’s base and offering up your own throat.
As expected from a district even the government didn’t dare mess with. Kwon ran a hand across his brow and nodded reluctantly.
“He seems close with Hunter Cha Seohu. He’ll probably visit again. Keep an eye on the office.”
“Yes, sir.”
Once the secretary had left, Kwon leaned back into his chair and closed his eyes. He kept remembering the man he’d run into last week, outside the Won Guild office.
Kwon had been heading up the stairs. The man had been heading down.
Bright, flamboyant hair. A ridiculous number of piercings packed so tightly they made Kwon instinctively frown. The man had locked eyes with him briefly, an expression of mild surprise crossing his face, then smirked faintly and brushed past him.
Kwon had watched the man’s retreating back the entire way.
‘Honestly, being too kind is its own problem.’
Even when Kwon had outright proposed using his skill, Cha Seohu hadn’t seemed particularly offended or displeased. He’d simply said he’d consider it.
Kwon intended to do everything he could to avoid making him use it... but he couldn’t help being concerned.
Over the past few days, I’d focused on cleaning up the chaos I’d left behind. First, I had to sort through what needed to be handled immediately and what could wait.
‘Visiting the Circle Guildmaster... That can wait a bit.’
There was a lot I wanted to ask him—especially now that Song Jiwoon had clearly been replaced. But with my head this clouded, there was no point going just yet.
I couldn’t forget: the most important thing in this life was the Seed of Catastrophe inside Cha Sahyeon. To understand it, I needed information about the lab.
No need to rush. I could visit the Circle Guild later.
Next, I had to check the reward I’d received after clearing the competition victory quest.
Main Quest: Win the competition against Ronik Guild alongside Circle Guild – CLEARED!
Main Quest reward has been granted.
Trait rank increased!
Lie Down and Stay There (F-rank) → Lie Down and Stay There (E-rank)
A cash box has arrived! Check the gift tab in the item shop.
“...”
Figures. Wasn’t expecting much anyway.
‘At least the cash keeps coming in. I really should make time to browse the item shop properly.’
I’d seen firsthand how effective the shop items could be, so I had more faith in using them now.
All that remained was deciding whether to accept Kwon Taehyuk’s request.
If I accepted, I’d have to attend the event in my Cha Seohu identity. If I refused, I’d wait until night and sneak in as Cover.
I honestly had no idea which choice was better. I was still wavering when Hyun Dowoon contacted me.
— Odds are, it’s a trap.
Hyun Dowoon was already aware of the lab-linked individual appearing at the Gyeongbokgung event. Apparently, this was what he’d wanted to talk about before I cut our last call short.
In fact, he was surprised I already knew, and filled me in with a bit more detail.
— I mean, the Nox Bio logo is kinda well-known to people who’ve looked into the lab. That logo showed up on the clothes and items of people caught during the raid, remember?
“Right.”
It wasn’t publicly confirmed, but those in the know had seen it floating around.
Only a few had real awareness—people like Guildmaster Kwon, who helped take the place down, or Hyun Dowoon, who’d dug into it at my request.
— No way the lab doesn’t realize that. They weren’t exactly idiots. No way they got this far doing secret bio-research under the government’s nose by being careless.
“So you’re saying... they deliberately circulated that business card to lure people in?”
— That’s one possibility. Still not sure why they’d set it up that way, though. If they wanted to eliminate the people who knew the lab’s identity, there are better places to do it.
True. For discreet elimination, a high-profile event full of celebrities wasn’t exactly ideal.
I rubbed my lips with my thumb, thinking hard, when Hyun Dowoon’s voice cut in again.
— Maybe... instead of targeting multiple people, they only want one specific person?
“...Wait. What do you mean by that?”
— If it’s just one target, you’d want to stir up as much noise as possible to draw their attention, right?
I blinked slowly. One target?
‘If Hyun Dowoon’s right...’
Who would that person be?
It was obvious—Cha Sahyeon.
Given what the lab had done—developing drugs and experimenting directly on her—they clearly knew about the Seed of Catastrophe and were trying to accelerate its growth.
But Sahyeon was just a child. She couldn’t do anything alone. And standing by her side...
...was me.
“......”
Memories of our escape from the lab flashed across my mind.
I’d used my Hidden Skill to reach the central research chamber, fought my way through guards and researchers, and eventually...
I’d come face-to-face with the Director.
She hadn’t been captured. She escaped. She’d °• N o v e l i g h t •° seen my face when I used my skill. She knew I’d taken Cha Sahyeon with me.
The blood in my veins ran cold. I let out a crooked laugh.
“Hah...”
— What the hell?
Hyun Dowoon sounded wary as I started laughing out of nowhere.
“It’s nothing. Just remembered something funny.”
— Psycho.
“Your theory might not be dead-on, but it’s worth checking out.”
No matter how much we talked, everything was just a possibility until I went to the event and caught Kwak Seunggyu myself.
And now I knew which form I’d attend in.
Smiling to myself, I tilted my head.
‘If there are two options—why not do both?’
That way, I could catch them with even more certainty.

Comments

Loading...