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Episode 120 Preparation (1)
“Yes.”
Kang-hoo didn’t usually talk about his past first, but since he had no reason to hide it, he answered honestly.
“How was it?”
“It was all good when we were dating.”
Memories of Han Seo-yeon came to mind.
Looking back on the life of ‘Shin Kang-hoo’, the time before he awakened as a hunter was a happy time.
As Han Seo-yeon became a hunter, problems began to arise in their relationship.
As the world we live in changed and our common ground began to diverge, conflicts became more frequent.
At some point, Kang-hoo came to the conclusion that breaking up was right for Han Seo-yeon’s sake.
If she wants to further develop her skills as a hunter, and if she wants to find someone to lead her… … .
He was convinced that his existence as a non-hunter would be a burden.
In this way, Kang-hoo unilaterally announced the breakup and intentionally did not respond to Han Seo-yeon’s calls.
Because you hate her? No.
It may have been a ridiculous reason, but it was for her. I still don’t regret that choice.
‘After breaking up so cruelly, I found you right after I got out of the Cheongmyeong concentration camp. I guess I’m thick-skinned.’
Kang-hoo smiled bitterly.
On the one hand, he was grateful to Han Seo-yeon for worrying about him and helping him forget about his past sorrows.
I hope she can further her dreams in the Purification Guild.
I also hope that I will never have to face her as an enemy in the future. I do not want a tragedy.
After finishing his thoughts, Kang-hu asked Ban Se-young back.
“you?”
“Me? I had a boyfriend.”
“Did you break up?”
“It’s true that we broke up, but, um… … . Would it be right to say bereavement? That’s what happened.”
“hmm.”
In hunter couples, or when one partner is a hunter, separation is more common than you might think.
The mortality rate of hunters is dozens of times higher than that of non-hunters, that is, the general public.
There were countless instances of people dying in dungeons, and it was also common for people to be killed due to conflicts of interest.
The mortality rate was even higher in the outskirts of the metropolitan area, where public security was poor.
So, the story of Ban Se-young’s bereavement did not seem new.
“I was ambushed. By those Eclipse guys.”
“Eclipse… … . What a fate.”
“That’s right. It’s for different reasons than Sehyuk oppa’s, but we both really hate Eclipse.”
“You haven’t found the culprit?”
“Yes. I only managed to find some of my boyfriend’s belongings. I couldn’t even recover the body, and the dungeon was reset.”
“It must have been very difficult.”
“Well, it’s something I’ll keep in my heart for the rest of my life. There’s one thing I swore at my boyfriend’s columbarium.”
“what?”
“I said that if I could smile when I saw my boyfriend’s picture in the charnel house, then I would meet someone new.”
“That’s a good promise. I’m sure your boyfriend doesn’t want you to be stuck in the past your whole life.”
“That’s right. But I still cry every time I go there. I guess I’m still a little far from being able to smile.”
Ban Se-young’s eyes turned red.
I thought you didn’t have any hardships because you always seemed so active and cheerful.
Rather, I felt sorry for him because he seemed to have experienced such deep pain at a much younger age than me.
Perhaps embarrassed by being so immersed in his emotions, Ban Se-young awkwardly scratched the back of his head and asked.
“So, oppa, you’re not seeing anyone right now?”
“I don’t want to meet him. I think the person I love is bound to be in danger.”
“why?”
“No comment on that.”
Because I didn’t want to tell Ban Se-young in detail about the path I wanted to take and the path I had to take in the future.
Kang-hoo wrapped up the story by pretending to stuff a zipper in his mouth.
Love, a word that makes you feel excited and happy whenever you hear it… but Kang-hoo thought it was a luxury for him.
I thought it was right not to love, for my own sake and for the sake of the person next to me.
The great whirlpool of fate that awaits you. There is no room to pursue love in it.
* * *
That afternoon.
After conquering Hell of Judgement with Jeon Se-hyeok, Kang-hoo decided to meet him again to go through the dungeon handover procedure.
I’ve decided on a place I like, but the process of transferring ownership is more complicated than I thought.
Since the dungeon wasn’t an urgent matter right away, just making an appointment like that was enough.
After exchanging contact information with Park Dong-jae, I came up to Seoul early.
Because the schedule for the attack on Hell of Judgement was announced. It was 6 PM the next day.
As planned, Kang-hoo was assigned to the exploration team, so he departed later than the main force.
The main force said they would enter the dungeon at 3pm the next day. That would be a 3 hour gap.
The reason the main force entered first was simple: they were moving only along the already explored safe routes. So there was absolutely no need for the exploration party heading to the unidentified area to enter first.
Inside the L Hotel in Myeongdong, overlooking the entire city of Seoul.
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Kang-hoo was resting there.
Although the price per night was unimaginably expensive, it was still a great place to stay quietly.
“2 people per group. Partner Jin Hyo-young. I have no idea who she is.”
Kang-hoo checked the materials he received before joining tomorrow.
The exploration team consisted of two people per team.
The reason we form teams when we act individually is because we need to cross-check internal search information.
The Purification Guild isn’t stupid.
You would never send one person into an unknown territory and trust that information.
So, we formed a team of two to act as watchdogs. All the exploration teams were the same.
Jin Hyo-young.
Looking at the attached photo, it was an impressive woman with blue-black colored hair and a pink headband.
He has no affiliation. If that’s the case, then he’s a mercenary, but it’s impossible to guess where he’s from.
“You’ll know when you meet.”
It’s not strange to meet someone you don’t know. It’s strange to meet someone you know.
Gulp- gulp-.
Kang-hoo looked out the window and drank the canned coffee he had bought in abundance before entering the hotel.
Although it was a canned coffee that disappeared after just a few sips, Kang-hoo liked its unique aftertaste.
Is it like something that stimulates and teases the tongue on the ambiguous borderline between sweet and bitter?
“I really have to go to Japan.”
It seemed like it was time for Ahn Young-ho to use his chance.
This was a thought that came to me because I was working with the Dark Seeker this time, and now I have the Dark Age stat.
To utilize Dark Age, you need to use a skill based on Dark Age. In other words, you need to steal such a skill.
However, among the domestic bosses, there were few bosses with skills related to the Dark Age.
Even if it existed, its utility in battle was low. It was also quite poor in terms of efficiency.
There is a reason why hunters, as they rise to the top, become more internationally active.
This is because there is a ‘deficiency’ in resources that can never be filled by operating only domestically.
That’s why Casey Rex, the Master of the Fortuna Guild in the United States, also became connected to the Purification Guild.
This is because, by their standards, there are quite a few rewards that can only be obtained in Korea.
at that time.
A phone call came.
Now, there are so many people who have shared their numbers that it’s impossible to know who is calling just by the fact that they called.
When I looked at the caller, it was Lee Ye-rin.
“yes.”
– Mr. Seon-gyu. How are you?
“What is your request?”
– Hey! We started with a greeting, so you should at least give us a reaction. Isn’t that too embarrassing?
“How have you been?”
– It’s like a machine.
“It’s something I hear a lot.”
Although there was some idle chatter, Lee Ye-rin laughed heartily, finding Kang-hoo’s character amusing.
Perhaps because there were so many eloquent and clever male mercenaries around her, Kang-hoo felt even more special.
– I got a request. It’s not a request to designate a mercenary, but it is a request to designate a profession.
“Are you talking about an assassin?”
– Yes. It’s a request related to a pharmaceutical company. Can you guess? I can’t tell you the target in advance.
“Let’s just listen to the composition.”
– This is a request to set fire to a laboratory where a certain pharmaceutical company’s secret human experiments are being conducted.
“It sounds like there’s some kind of facade of wanting to prevent inhumane, unethical experiments.”
– Haha. That’s right. If you take away the packaging, it’s just a competition check.
I thought I had a crush on someone.
This is the beginning of a competition between pharmaceutical companies, called the ‘White War’ in the original work.
A war over the distribution and supply rights of white powder, a narcotic stimulant.
That’s why it was called the White War.
Unlike the Americas and Europe, where the reorganization is almost complete, centered around large pharmaceutical companies.
The Asian region was a place where many pharmaceutical companies were proliferating.
Moreover, each pharmaceutical company had different beliefs, and there were even some that said they would not even touch drugs.
On the other hand, there were many places where they would research and develop more than just drugs if they had money.
As a result, researchers within existing pharmaceutical companies are leaving in large numbers through headhunting.
Or, there were many cases where the direction of a pharmaceutical company changed because it was acquired entirely by a large capital company.
It is truly an age of chaos.
The spark of the White War seemed to have been definitely lit by the recent electric vehicle incident.
“Let’s put it on hold for now.”
– yes?
“I have some personal plans. I’ll contact you again after I take care of this.”
– Then shall we turn to the other side?
“I think we’ll continue to receive similar requests in the future anyway. Let’s do that.”
– Okay. Then please contact me as soon as you finish work. I have high expectations for Seon-gyu.
“I’m looking forward to it too.”
– hmm?
Kang-hoo hung up the phone with words that left a strange aftertaste.
The White War is in fact a war between mercenaries and mercenaries. It is also a proxy war on behalf of the pharmaceutical companies.
So, there was a high possibility that not only domestic mercenaries but also large numbers of mercenaries from overseas would be deployed.
And if they’re looking for cheap mercenaries, they’ll likely turn to China or Russia.
‘That guy or that guy.’
It doesn’t matter which country’s mercenaries they are, it’s still awkward.
But since there is no answer to human wave tactics, I hope that foreign mercenaries will come in moderation.
Of course, such a wish would be nothing more than a dream.
Reality is always much more muddy and dirty than we think. The White War is no different.
* * *
2:30 pm the next day.
Kang-hoo arrived at the assembly point much earlier than the exploration team’s entry time of 6 o’clock.
I had just come in after choosing a nearby cafe.
The entrance to Hell of Judgment was located on the side of the Paju Publishing Complex.
The scene was already filled with numerous reporters who had come to cover the story and fans who had come to cheer on the Jeonghwa Guild.
According to the Hunter Police Department’s estimate, there are more than 10,000 people.
This was only a selective check of people at major intersections, and in reality there were several times more.
The scene where not only police officers from the Metropolitan Police Agency but even soldiers were dispatched to control the situation was truly spectacular.
‘It’s a new feeling.’
The reason Kang-hoo was lost in thought while looking around the Paju Book City area was not because of today’s strategy.
This is because in the original, this is where Shin Kang-hoo loses his left arm to Jang Si-hwan.
The fatal blow and the loss of his left arm here ultimately caught up with Shin Kang-hoo’s ankle, and there was no turning back.
Because he was portrayed as a villain with such conviction and a lot of stories, many readers were saddened when he died at the hands of Jang Si-hwan.
‘No rebroadcasts.’
Of course, that will never happen again. No, it has to happen that way.
Right then.
The strong scent of perfume that stimulated Kang-hoo’s nose came in with the sound of the cafe door just opening.
Rather than going away, the thick scent quickly came closer to Kang-hoo.
So I turned my head just in case, and there was the female hunter I was supposed to meet as my exploration team partner.
“Mr. Jeong Seon-gyu?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“Hello? This is Jin Hyo-young.”
It was a normal and natural greeting that one would exchange with someone meeting for the first time. However, Kang-hoo felt a strange sense of unease from her.