EPISODE 123

“Thank you for everything, Ambassador.”

Ambassador Joo Young-jin, who had been having his breakfast, looked embarrassed. “What? Are you leaving? I know we haven’t heard yet from…”

“But I do not have to stay any longer.” At this, Yoo-seong bowed his head deeply toward the Ambassador. “Thank you so much for your consideration.”

“Hmm… Yes. I am lucky to have met a great person. I pray that good things happen to you in the future.”

After saying goodbye, Yoo-seong went back to his room to start packing. Yang Chang-guk was also waiting inside.

However, as they were packing…

Knock-

Knock-

“Come on in,” Yoo-seong yelled.

When the door opened, Yang Chang-guk’s face froze in shock. He couldn’t believe what he was seeing. Ambassador Joo Young-jin and Yoo-seong had mentioned a hunter defecting to Korea. He’d thought this was good news. Hunter defection was not at all common. Although Japan was not known for Tech or Psy, it was never bad to have more manpower, especially during these times.

However, this person…

“I heard you were leaving.” Yang Biyeon stood at the doorway.

Unlike Ambassador Joo Young-jin, Yang Chang-guk recognized her at first glance. How could he not? She was China’s hottest hunter right now. It was only right for a Special Defense Agency Director to pay attention to top-notch hunters in other countries.

Yang Biyeon’s eyes turned to Yang Chang-guk, and Yoo-seong nodded at her.

“Hi,” she said in Korean. “I’d like to acquire Korean citizenship.”

“What… C-Could you repeat that?” Yang Chang-guk wanted to make sure he’d heard it right.

“Yes. I’d like to acquire Korean citizenship.”

From the moment he saw her, Yang Chung-guk’s head had been filled with only one thought.

‘It does not make sense.’

This woman was Yang Biyeon of the Red Dragon Society, the current CEO of the giant company that dominated the continent. China would never allow a member of the Red Dragon Society to leave their country, let alone its head.

Moreover, she was also currently ranked seventh in the legendary Chinese Ship Zone. She was a descendant of a great family who had a rare, genetically-inherited Psy.

If Yang Chung-guk could collect and combine the value of all the hunters who had defected to Korea in the past twenty years, the result would probably still be less than half of Yang Biyeon’s value.

“Great, great…” Yang Chang-guk said as he stepped towards Yoo-seong and pulled him close. “How did this happen?!” he whispered urgently.

“I told you, didn’t I? There’s a hunter who wants to defect,” Yoo-seong said matter-of-factly.

“No, but this… if she wants to defect, there must be something they want to take from our country.”

“The Director should not speak that way,” Yang Biyeon commented. “I can hear everything.”

‘I do not care if you hear it or not,’ Yang Chung-guk thought. He couldn’t help but feel suspicious. ‘Honestly, at this level, isn’t it right to be suspicious rather than grateful?’

It was too good to be true. Yang Biyeon could be a bait to lure Oh Yoo-seong over.

She might be disguised as someone who wanted to defect, so she could remain at Yoo-seong’s side and steadily convince him.

There must also be elaborate plans to kidnap or perhaps even assassinate Oh Yoo-seong. Otherwise, why would a Ship Zone member be involved?

‘Yes. That’s right,’ Yang Chang-guk convinced himself. ‘No matter how I consider it, that is the most likely reason. The Chinese government sent Yang Biyeon to target Yoo-seong.’

“No matter how I look at it, it’s suspicious,” he whispered to Yoo-seong.

Then Yang Chang-guk glanced back and took a look at Yang Biyeon.

For some reason, she was avoiding eye contact.

‘I’m sure of it.’

Yang Chang-guk looked back at Yoo-seong.

“I am almost a hundred percent sure that she came here for a purpose. That’s what my gut tells me. I’m willing to bet on it.”

“Really?” Yoo-seong couldn’t help but feel amused.

“Defection is just an excuse. She will use whatever means necessary to stick close to your side.”

Yang Chang-guk had no idea that his gut feeling was way off the mark. And yet, in some ways, he was also surprisingly close to the truth.

“If possible, why don’t you subdue her now? It might be an ungentlemanly act, but I think it can’t be helped if we want to minimize the risk.”

“Hmm.”

“You can do it quietly and bring her to Korea. We will definitely gain something from it. Fortunately, she used the faked identity of an ordinary Chinese tourist, so if only you could completely disarm her…”

“Let’s do that,” Yoo-seong agreed.

At this, Yang Chang-guk smiled brightly. He couldn’t believe that Yoo-seong trusted him so well. Defeating Yang Biyeon would not be easy, even for Yoo-seong, but if anyone had a chance against her—

“Yang Biyeon!” Yoo-seong shouted as he turned to her.

“Yes?”

“Come over here for a moment.” Yang Biyeon quickly walked towards them. Yang Chang-guk felt stunned as he watched what was unfolding before him.

“I think we have to act separately for the meantime,” Yoo-seong continued.

“Separately?”

“Yes. If you come with me, you will be in the spotlight. It would be better for you to be seen with the Director. You two are going to take the flight back to Korea together.”

Yang Chang-guk was just about to speak in disapproval. ‘No,’ he thought, ‘when I asked you to subdue her quickly, this isn’t what I had in mind. This won’t work.’

“Are you okay with that?” Yoo-seong asked Biyeon, not caring about Yang Chang-guk’s thoughts.

“But I wanted to come with you,” Yang Biyeon disagreed.

It was quite a different attitude from what Yang Chang-guk was expecting.

“Can’t I come in disguise? I will never get in your way. I feel anxious going without you.”

Yang Chang-guk kept his mouth shut and turned to look at Yoo-seong. His attitude was even more surprising.

“You’re really stubborn, aren’t you? Listen to me,” Yoo-seong said with a big smile.

“Y-You don’t have to say it that way,” said Yang Biyeon.

This time, Yang Chang-guk felt restless. After a pause…

“Okay,” Yang Biyeon finally said after giving it some thought.

Despite her reputation, she looked so innocent as she nodded at Yoo-seong’s suggestion. “I will do it. I will not be stubborn.”

‘What is happening?’ Yang Chang-guk thought in confusion. ‘I am well aware that Yoo-seong and Yang Biyeon are personal acquaintances, but the atmosphere between these two is…’

Suddenly, realization struck him. ‘Something is going on.’

“Then I’ll see you later,” Yoo-seong said as he picked up his bag and turned to leave.

Right before exiting the room, he stopped as if he’d just realized something. “Oh, come to think of it.”

He looked back at Yang Chang-guk, who was listening intently.

“The two of you have the same last name. Yang! You should be friends!”

Yoo-seong left the room with a bright expression on his face. An awkward silence fell upon the room he’d just left.

Yang Chang-guk felt uneasy and looked as if he did not have the slightest idea of what to say. Eventually, it was Yang Biyeon who spoke first.

“Well…”

“Yes?” Yang Chang-guk responded immediately.

With a very serious expression, Yang Biyeon asked him, “Which ‘Yang’ character do you use?”

***

Yoo-seong walked out of the embassy’s main gate.

“Oh, oh, oh!”

“That man!”

The eyes of the far-right protesters, who were rallying in front of the embassy, widened in surprise, but Yoo-seong walked by without minding them.

He was wearing casual clothing, walking down the street without attempting to disguise himself. ‘This is quite irritating,’ he thought.

He was being followed by at least five… No, maybe more than eight.

As Yoo-seong’s distance from the embassy grew, so did the number of people covertly following him. Nevertheless, Yoo-seong walked without care, with both hands in his pockets.

He walked through narrow alleys and less-populated streets. Then, upon reaching an empty street, he heard a familiar voice behind him.

“You made a mistake.”

Yoo-seong turned around.

There was a middle-aged man with dark circles almost down to his cheeks. This was the Director of the Disaster Management Administration.

Chairman Tatsuo Sukune’s son-in-law.

‘Kodama.’

He looked more exhausted than Yang Chang-guk.

“I don’t know what kind of self-confidence you have, but what were you thinking walking out here in the open?”

“Is that all you want to say?” Yoo-seong retorted.

“What…”

Before he even finished his response…

“Ha-ah!” A loud shout broke out of Yoo-seong’s mouth.

“Huh?”

Thinking that Yoo-seong was about to attack, Kodama crouched and raised his Aura, and he wasn’t the only one.

Tatak-! Sheriffs from the Disaster Management Administration, who had been hiding all over the street, popped out one after another.

All of them had Auras raised, ready to capture Yoo-seong at any moment. They were waiting for Kodama’s orders and were on constant edge.

Yoo-seong’s sudden reaction startled them, leaving them no choice but to reveal themselves. However, this “sudden reaction” did not end there. With his hands still in his pockets, Yoo-seong bent down and pressed a button.

At this, one of the sheriffs jumped at Yoo-seong.

However, as soon as the sheriff was in the air, Yoo-seong leaped and met him, kicking him away. He’d done it to defend himself, but in the eyes of the sheriffs, the arrogant foreigner had dared to cross the line first!

“What?!”

“He’s crazy!”

They were all caught in surprise.

Yoo-seong spun in the air with his hands in his pockets.

Then he pulled his hands out, revealing a bunch of silver coins. They were Yen coins used by the embassy’s staff.

Soon after, coins began to bounce one by one off Yoo-seong’s thumbs.

Ta-ang-!

Ta-ang-!

“Dodge it!”

Even if it was a simple coin flip, Yoo-seong’s Aura made it almost as strong as shooting bullets.

However, these were sheriffs.

Even when faced with an opponent armed with a machine gun, for them avoiding bullets was an easy feat. They were able to easily dodge the coins that Yoo-seong was shooting all over the alley.

“This is too easy!”

“It’s nothing!”

They thought they might have overestimated Yoo-seong. His power and speed were not as strong as they had initially thought.

At best, his shots were a little stronger than a Gellar Gun. An average person might be seriously injured if they got hit by these, but not hunters or sheriffs.

It did not matter if they got hit. They could use Aura to protect themselves.

All they had to do was wait him out. In the end, they knew that there was a limit to Yoo-seong’s attack.

And in less than ten seconds, it came.

Yoo-seong ran out of coins. The sheriffs steadied themselves to counter-attack. However… They didn’t have the slightest idea of what was about to happen next.

Quazzik-!

Yoo-seong pulled his arms together. The coins were connected with his Spider Web threads. As they bounced around the alley, everyone in range had been caught by the invisible trap Yoo-seong had set.

“Arggh!”

“I can’t…”

The threads were now pulled so tautly that it was impossible for them to move.

Using Auto-Hunt, Yoo-seong tightened his threads at each of the sheriffs’ vital spots. One by one, his captors lost consciousness as he pressed their nerves by tightening his threads.

Soon, it was only Kodama who was left conscious, suspended in the air like a marionette.

“If I were you, I wouldn’t believe this is over.” He raised his bloodshot eyes. “We’re just a small part of the hunt. Everyone in this city wants your blood!” his vile voice echoed.

“Everyone?” Yoo-seong simply raised an eyebrow at him.

“The Prime Minister, and all those who your cross-border activities have harmed. You have damaged the system here. You have meddled in things where you shouldn’t have meddled.”

Then there was silence.

Not a word came out of Kodama’s mouth after he saw Yoo-seong’s expression.

Yoo-seong was looking at him as if he were a cockroach crawling in the kitchen.

Swish-!

Yoo-seong turned around to walk back to the other side of the street.

“You will not be able to leave this country!”

Kodama felt anger, defeat, shame, all at the same time as he watched Yoo-seong leave.

“The airports and the harbors, all exits are already blocked!”

It was true. Yoo-seong knew that they were ready to use everything at their disposal against him.

“You will… never…”

“You have a very poor imagination,” Yoo-seong said without looking back at him.

***

For the next two hours, no one working under Tatsuo Sukune sighted Oh Yoo-seong.

He was not seen on roads leading to airports or harbors. Yet, without using any tricks, not even the Sky Scissors and the Sky Needle, Yoo-seong reached his destination.

He paused at the view before him.

Then he straightened his clothes a little.

He was, after all, at the official residence of the Japanese Prime Minister. Boldly and without hesitation, he opened his mouth and yelled out, “Come out here!”