Chapter 84:
From earlier, Kim Kiryeo’s brain recalled a proverb like ‘A thief who learns late doesn’t know how to fly,’ but let’s ignore this.
***
“Hunter Seonwoo Yeon!”
“Oh, are you here?”
Finding the location of the warehouse wasn’t difficult. Seonwoo Yeon didn’t hesitate much and agreed to participate after hearing my suggestion.
“Your name has already been included in this investigation as an appraiser, so it doesn’t really matter.”
“I apologize for suddenly asking.”
The B-Class hunter immediately smiled.
“It’s okay. It would be great if Kiryeo-ssi could join us.”
For some reason, I feel guilty because she believes me so naively.
‘What reaction will they have once they find out I came to steal the Blueshell?’
But then, the car I was riding in suddenly stopped. It seemed like we had arrived at our destination.
‘It was built in an extremely remote location.’
Seonwoo Yeon and I got out of the car following the police’s instructions. In front of us stood a simple building with all sides blocked by ivory-colored panels.
‘Is this the warehouse?’
Surprisingly, it was clean and spacious. Of course, no matter how decent it looks on the outside, it doesn’t mean much if the security is like this. The barrier surrounding this place was so shoddy it made me frown.
‘Wow. This is even worse than the barrier of the Magic Tower Guild.’
Every time something like this happens, I feel like I’ve truly fallen into another world.
‘Primitive magical civilization.’
It was that kind of moment.
Boom! Boom!
When a sudden roar like that of a lawnmower erupted beside me, I couldn’t help but turn my head instinctively.
Boom! Boom!
It sounded like something was happening, and it turned out to be the sound of a hole being pierced through the barrier.
A strong gust of wind blew around the awakener with long, flowing hair, and as I watched Seonwoo Yeon using her abilities, I thought.
‘Huh?’
I taught her how to use this skill for no reason.
‘It’s pretty strong?’
Seonwoo Yeon, who has mastered her abilities completely, has become quite a threatening presence. If it was even slightly touched by that cutting wind, an F-Class or something like that would be instantly split in half.
‘Uhm.’
Whoosh.
I nodded as I listened to the sound of the ferocious wind.
‘I should never be caught stealing blueshells…’
By the time I was aware of the dangers of the mission.
Bang!
Finally, as if the destruction of the barrier had come to an end, the magical energy surrounding the warehouse dispersed into the air in an instant.
“Is this enough?”
“Yes, Hunter-nim. Let us enter now.”
By the way, they said this side wouldn’t be particularly dangerous…
‘Aren’t they all heavily armed?’
I glanced at the detectives holding their truncheons and asked a question.
“As expected, isn’t it a dangerous matter?”
Seonwoo Yeon responded to this.
“It’s okay. All the gangsters here are non-awakened.”
“Uhm.”
“We work in the hunter industry, so it feels like awakened people are common, but in reality, they are a minority in society.”
But even after hearing those words, I could hardly feel relieved.
‘An F-Class could probably lose to a regular person if it came to a fight… right?’
And while I secretly broke out in a cold sweat, the leading police officers shouted at Seonwoo Yeon.
“Hunter Seonwoo Yeon, all you have to do is follow behind and inform Jang Jongsik’s location periodically.”
That’s how the warehouse entry operation began.
Soon, the inside of the building we arrived at was dark and damp.
‘There are… a lot of rooms, huh?’
It had a more unique structure than expected. Temporary walls were set up here and there, making the corridors feel narrow.
‘Could it be that each room has a different role?’
Even at this moment, the police and Seonwoo Yeon are moving forward diligently. I glanced at them briefly, then slipped to the back of the line to try opening a room.
-Click.
But I never thought it would be locked.
‘Tsk.’
I tried the same thing several times after that, but the result was the same.
‘At least there are no open rooms in this hallway.’
But I couldn’t afford to waste this opportunity after coming this far. I followed behind the police, quietly trying to turn the doorknobs of rooms whenever there was a chance. Moreover, after some time, a member of the organized crime group came out from inside the warehouse room.
“You b*stards, stay still!”
“Starting now, we will arrest you on the spot for violations of the Narcotics Control Act and the Special Law on Awakened Crimes.”
So far, we haven’t found the Blueshell yet, but that wasn’t a big problem. Surprisingly, the Earthlings police officers fought well.
‘Ooh.’
I let out a short exclamation as I watched the thugs being subdued in an instant. Everything went smoothly.
-Daang!!
Wait, but what kind of ominous sound is this?
“Gun?”
“That sounded like gunfire?”
“Where did the gunshot come from?”
The noise coming from far away, beyond the corridor, put the police officers on alert. But it wasn’t just them whose attitudes changed.
“That’s the direction where the distributor Jang Jongsik is!”
Seonwoo Yeon sensed who was in the area where the gunshot came from and announced it loudly.
Then the police reacted like crazy.
“Let’s go quickly!”
A situation where something strange may have happened to a key person who must be arrested. They wasted no time and dashed down the right path. However, amidst this, there was precisely one person who didn’t follow the flow.
‘Crazy.’
It’s me, Kim Kiryeo.
‘Do guns exist in Korea too? It’s strange. That kind of thing only happens in movies; the information in the brain is definitely…!’
Some time ago, while surfing the web, I came across a post like this.
[How to classify C-class hunters.gif]
Do you know what the content of this post was? That was a video of a person suddenly shooting a gun at an awakener. In other words, awakened people above C-Class will not be injured by firearms, etc.; for those below that level, the results will gradually change…
‘Trash grades like Kim Kiryeo get pierced 100%.’
I didn’t follow them. I didn’t want to linger around the scene and risk getting shot by some amateur’s bullet.
‘Ugh.’
Besides, since the arrest operation is almost at its final stages anyway, wouldn’t it be better just to wait here?
‘What trouble did I come here to get some samples?’
I shuddered and paced the quiet hallway.
But at that moment, eerie sounds began to echo from the opposite direction of where the gunfire had just been heard.
-Heuk, heugh… Sniff…
It’s like someone sobbing…?
‘What is it?’
The warehouse was dark and somewhat gloomy, but unfortunately, I was an archmage who had just finished interpreting the soul. I don’t believe in spiritual phenomena.
‘It can’t be a ghost.’
If so, this must be a sound made by a person.
-Ugh, heuk…
As I listened, I became worried. So, I moved slowly toward where the sound was coming from. Of course, even at this time, my senses were on full alert so that I could run away at any time if I encountered another person, but fortunately, nothing I was worried about happened.
‘Is it here?’
The room I arrived at had its door wide open. Thanks to that, satisfying my curiosity was easily achieved. I was able to check the inside just by sticking my head out.
“Heuk… heugh…”
What I soon see is a woman lying on the cement floor. She seemed to have lost all strength to cry out as her voice gradually faded away. Now that I looked closer, her eyes were covered with a blindfold, and her arms and legs were tied with ropes; the situation seemed very serious.
‘Hmm.’
Now, it’s just a simple logic problem. This place is a gangster group’s hideout, meaning it’s a gathering place for bad people. Therefore, it’s presumed that the woman was captured by those bad people…
‘The enemy of my enemy is my friend.’
The answer became clear. I decided to help that person.
‘She’s an unarmed civilian. I should be able to handle the situation if things take a turn for the worse.’
Even though some impure thoughts may have crept in at times, I’m grateful for my sense of altruism anyway.
“U, eugh…”
I approached her, carefully looking around her.
“Are you okay?”
By the time the distance narrowed, I cautiously asked the citizen lying on the ground a question. However, there was no response.
“I’ll release you now.”
As someone who has been kidnapped, I know very well how frustrating it is not to be able to move.
I used the [Pyromancer Necklace] hanging around my neck to burn away the ropes in front of me.
‘Huh?’
I had no choice but to take off the eye patch myself. It looks like the other person is still confused.
‘That’s enough.’
Srrrk.
When I went back and removed the last of her restraints, the woman awkwardly raised her upper body.
“H, huh…?”
However, the Earthling’s face turned pale blue in just three seconds.
“Why did you suddenly release me… Are you… taking me away already?”
Not understanding what she meant, I stayed quiet, but the woman began to sob, even begging with her hands.
“I was wrong! Please spare me!”
“Yes?”
“I, I promise I won’t tell anyone about what you did. Really, it’s true!”
Why are you doing this? Are you really going to play ‘Gongguri’? I don’t like being on a boat. The following sentences are all incomprehensible.
“Uhh, I didn’t even know this was a Gayang faction…!”
Still, at this point, I can sense what kind of misunderstanding the other person may have had.
‘Do you really think I’m a member of this gang?’
How dare you treat a good person like me like a thug! It was absurd at first, but if I think about it, it could have been a problem.
A white shirt with black slacks. Of all days, the outfit I happened to wear today happened to resemble the attire of those criminals.
“Excuse me…”
I quietly tried to clear up the misunderstanding. But suddenly, new information came into view.
Because a stream of red blood suddenly flowed from the other person’s forehead.
‘Blood?’
I realized belatedly that she had been injured. Moreover, the wounded area didn’t look too good.
‘Did you hurt your head? That must be a vital spot for Earthlings, right?’
Since ancient times, early response has been the most important factor in treatment. I was startled when I realized the Earthling was injured, so I quickly bent down to examine the wound closely.
“Kyaaak!”
However, what followed was a threatening scream from the other party.
“Why, why are you doing this! Why!”
“Oh, I just want to check at the wound for a moment.”
“What?”
“Turn your head this way.”
“My, my head? Again with the head? Heuk!” No matter how much I tried to explain that I wasn’t a gangster, it was no use. The puzzled citizen, shaking like a leaf, murmured frantically.
“Please… please save me…”
As she shook her head vigorously, more blood flowed from her forehead.
“Ahh! S, stay still.”
I was embarrassed and stopped her actions first.
Tuk.
I grabbed her head with my right hand.
“Hiccup!”
However, the emergency treatment didn’t give good results. As soon as I grabbed her head, her face turned pale, and she let out a groan.
“I’ll tell you!”
I wonder what else she can say after talking so much about it so far.
“I’ll tell you everything without hiding anything! I’ll somehow remember what you asked me earlier. Please…!”
I’m sure this person was brought in for some reason, but honestly, I wasn’t curious about it.
Ssssk.
I rummaged through the woman’s hair and found the cause of the bleeding. Indeed, her scalp was torn. It was quite deep, too.
‘It’s difficult to repair living organisms, so let’s just try to stop the bleeding first…’
It was then.
-Tung!
I suddenly turned my head at the rough noise that came out of nowhere. However, I wasn’t greatly surprised. The figure that appeared after kicking open the aluminum door was a familiar awakener to me.
“Ah”
“….!”
Seonwoo Yeon enters the room, breathing heavily. It seems she tracked my location using her skills.
“You came quickly?”
But why does her expression look like that?