The Genius Assassin Who Takes it All Chapter 21

Episode 21: The Eyes of Truth, Youngho Ahn (1)

* * *

“You’ve really never seen it before?”

“No. And even if there were, why would I tell you? I have no obligation to do so, right?”

“I don’t think it would hurt to help Eclipse. Maybe a few eyes on the back of your head weren’t enough?”

“There’s no one who just closes their eyes and pulls the trigger. Why? Are you afraid of fighting our mercenary group?”

“It’s scary. If Dong-Hyeon just shows up, that side will be sorted out right away. How could that be?”

“Then why don’t you tell me to come out? You always sit in your chair like a corner fighter, and you’re bluffing… .”

“Anyway, you haven’t seen it? If it turns out you have seen it later, you won’t just let it go.”

“Get out, just now.”

Because Cha So-hee is searching for mercenary spots near Daejeon Station and investigating Kang-hoo.

Her investigation led her to Lee Ye-rin, who was opening a desk and accepting applicants for the mercenary group.

Lee Ye-rin’s mercenary group, Cheong-an (靑眼) and Eclipse, have been enemies for a long time.

This is because both are rooted in the Daejeon area, and there were already conflicts over vested interests.

The reason Eclipse couldn’t sweep away Cheong-an right away was because Lee Ye-rin had built up a solid network of connections around her.

In particular, the criminal organization Black Lion and Lee Ye-rin, who are at odds with Eclipse like Cheong-an, have joined hands.

It was an alliance formed to keep each other in check, just like Wei, Shu, and Wu in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms.

Anyway, since the balance of power was so tense, no one could act rashly.

“You must be working hard day and night.”

“I told you to get out.”

“joy.”

Cha So-hee continued to nag Lee Ye-rin until the end and then leisurely left the scene.

“Crazy bitch.”

Yerin Lee turned her head after giving a cool cursing speech to those behind her. And then she thought.

‘If Eclipse sends a hunting dog to investigate Mr. Kang-hoo, it means they are very interested.’

It seemed like the goal was not to kill Kang-hoo, but to capture him alive.

If you were going to kill him, you wouldn’t have buried him like this. You would have quietly tracked him down and then decapitated him.

That didn’t mean that the person who sent the hunting dogs, Kang Dong-hyun, was watching Kang-hoo closely.

‘I thought he had extraordinary skills from the beginning, but… … .’

Lee Ye-rin also had a growing interest in Kang-hoo, so it was not hard to understand why she was interested.

But I didn’t like the fact that no one else was thinking the same thing as me, and that was Eclipse.

‘I think I could lighten it up a bit. Hehe.’

It’s easy to get in the way of Cha So-hee finding Kang-hoo.

You just need to keep an eye on her from behind. If you just keep track of her movements, you can reduce the number of times you meet Kang-hoo.

Of course, while informing Kang-hoo of the location.

It’s not that I have a deep connection with Kang-hoo, but I also don’t want Kang-hoo to be connected to Eclipse.

Lee Ye-rin decided to pay a little more attention to the safety of her client, Kang-hoo, a hunter who only takes on requests from the mercenary group.

In the long run, it was her greed to recruit Kang-hoo as a mercenary rather than a client.

“Changhyun-ah.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Kyo-seon is calling. I need to ask you to do something for the first time in a while.”

“all right.”

Lee Ye-rin called out her ‘eyes’.

* * *

Kang-hoo erased his thoughts about Cha So-hee with another glass of Solarkium Burst.

Unless you were living like a dead rat, it was almost a given that something like this would happen.

Just in case, I looked into the Hunter Community and official website that Eclipse acquired and operates.

There was no public search warrant on their level, which means their goal was not to kill him.

This issue seems like something I could think about when I meet Cha So-hee. It’s something I’ll have to think about.

“One more drink.”

“This is the last one, sir. We are out of stock of Solarkium… … .”

“It’s okay. I’ll make this my last drink.”

While waiting for the next glass, Kang-hoo was lost in thought.

After dealing with the Heo Jeong-tae issue, the plan was what to do next.

There was a way to receive a new request from Lee Ye-rin and carry it out, but I wondered if there was another route.

The first thing that came to mind was Ground Zero.

The area that starts from the DMZ, formerly called the Demilitarized Zone, and continues into the land of ‘old’ North Korea.

Hunters called this area, uninhabited and filled with monsters, Ground Zero.

The vast land from Sariwon in the west to Wonsan in the east was Ground Zero.

It was possible to enter this place without separate permission. Of course, the person entering must take care of his or her own safety.

‘It’s good in terms of leveling up, and most importantly, it’s a place where you can get Mad Solar Ki-um.’

Mad Solarium.

It is a concentrated version of Solarqium.

A more powerful calming agent, when taken, will ‘free you’ from mana hypersensitivity for about 30 minutes.

Of course, there will be a big aftershock later, but in any case, it will definitely help in battle.

Mad Solarium is not widely grown and is difficult to obtain in the first place, so it is not sold in the market.

To get it, you have to go to Ground Zero yourself and do some legwork.

‘It was a space I created in the first place.’

Ground Zero is where in the original work, ‘Shin Kang-hoo’ lured in two of the thirteen stars and killed them.

As the original author, I had drawn the space in detail, including the topography, so I had memories of useful points.

I wasn’t able to see through them all, but I was confident I could at least find a few field bosses and a few Mad Solarkiriums.

“It’s a Solarkyum Burst.”

The bartender, a blunt man wearing glasses, handed Kang-hoo the last Solar Ki-um Burst.

The five cocktail glasses stacked up next to him hinted at Kang-hoo’s stubborn taste.

Right then.

The only door to the modern bar on the third floor shook, and a man came inside.

As soon as he entered, he looked around and saw Kang-hoo, who had just started to put his glass to his sip.

“Brother! Did I keep you waiting too long? The people your uncle sent haven’t arrived yet!”

He spoke while waving his hand in a sarcastic manner.

However, unlike his actions, his eyes were shaking violently.

Kang-hoo looked at him without saying anything and glanced behind his shoulder.

Then two men in plain clothes – but not so plain clothes – looked inside from outside the door.

Their gazes alternately glanced at the man and Kang-hoo, then disappeared as soon as they met Kang-hoo’s gaze.

The man, who still did not know that fact, sat down at the table opposite where Kang-hoo was sitting alone and continued talking.

Now his eyes had found stability, but on the contrary, his two hands placed on the table were trembling.

“Brother, how have you been?”

“The stuck eyes have fallen off for now.”

“ah…….”

The man flinched as he watched Kang-hoo calmly say that the two stalkers had disappeared from sight.

“I understand the situation, but I hate dragging innocent people into it.”

“… … I’m really sorry. I was short-sighted.”

He stood up from his seat with a deadpan face at Kang-hoo’s cold remark.

At that time, Kang-hoo tilted his head slightly after seeing the constellation information confirmed by the man.

【True Clairvoyance】

【Neutral constellation. You will make the other person you want tell the truth, but you must always tell the truth yourself.】

‘Eyes of Truth, Ahn Young-ho.’

His name immediately came to mind.

This is because in the original work, he is one of the characters who stands at the opposite end of the Purification Guild along with Shin Kang-hoo.

He was also a person who hated the Purification Guild until his death.

His end was an explosion in which he hugged and died with Shin Tae-seok, who was the third-ranking member of the Purification Guild. That was how deep-rooted his grudge was.

Anyway, Ahn Young-ho appears in the work three years from now.

Moreover, the main stage is Japan, not Korea.

The reason is simple: his maternal uncle is the vice-master of the Rikou Guild, one of the most prestigious guilds in Japan.

There was no need to risk doing business domestically, since Japan was a good place to rely on.

But why is it in the country?

‘So, is it because of the twisted circumstances while working in Korea that you came to hate the Purification Guild?’

It’s a part that wasn’t in the original, but I thought it would fit in with the reconstructed past that was intertwined with the bad ending.

Although it is expected, the two stalkers may be from the Purification Guild.

An Young-ho is an important person.

Since he is a figure who is strongly supported by the Japanese Ricou Guild, he is also worth using.

At this point, it must be an extremely weak time.

Moreover, since he is a healer, the battle will be even more difficult.

So, they probably couldn’t muster the courage to fight or shake off the stalkers, and were pushed all the way here.

A cold wind lingered and passed by the empty spot where Ahn Young-ho left, leaving behind a pitiful figure.

widely!

Kang-hoo drank the remaining Solarium Burst in one go and stood up.

And then he grabbed the shoulder of Ahn Young-ho, who had just gone down half a floor.

“for a moment.”

“……yes?”

“Summary the situation. Briefly.”

“I was in the Purification Guild, but I left, and then someone started following me. But I don’t even know who it is.”

My prediction was right.

If things went as planned, Ahn Young-ho would have been ‘kidnapped’ by the Purification Guild here.

From then on, his life will become completely twisted like Shin Kang-hoo’s in the original, and he will grow to hate them.

“atmosphere.”

Kang-hoo stopped Ahn Young-ho and targeted him, successfully moving laterally to hide.

And when I went down one more floor and looked down through the glass window, I saw an unusual sight.

First, at the entrance, the two stalkers we saw earlier are standing there, smoking cigarettes.

There is no one around, and right next to the two stalkers is an unidentified black van.

‘This is too shabby.’

There’s no way they just blocked the entrance.

The building has an exit, strictly speaking, from the bottom, but it also has an exit from the top.

Rather, looking at the way they are blocking the entrance as if they were trying to hide it, it seems like they have blatantly planned to lead you to the rooftop.

‘Anyway, they are more systematic in their bad deeds. This must all be under Chae Gwan-hyung’s influence.’

First, the plan was to rescue Ahn Young-ho.

It’s not because of pitiful sympathy or pity, but because Ahn Young-ho’s usability is so good.

And what if you become the ‘savior’ of Ahn Young-ho, who is sincere in everything he does and feels?

He will try to repay you and repay your favor in some way.

That’s just the nature of the person.

In the original, he was a villain from the perspective of the Purification Guild, but to the Ricou Guild, he was an angel.

“Wait. I’ll clear a path to the rooftop.”

“yes?”

“I mean, I’ll deal with the guys up there. You can come up later.”

“Thank you. Really… … .”

“Let’s hear the thanks once everything is sorted out. For now, wait on the stairs on the 4th floor. The rooftop is just after the 5th floor.”

“all right.”

Pot.

As soon as Kang-hoo finished speaking, he moved sideways again and disappeared into hiding.

Ahn Young-ho looked around in surprise, but he didn’t feel any sign of Kang-hoo.

In the meantime.

Kang-hoo hung out of the open window and used his leaps to climb up one floor at a time.

I had to bear all the weight on my two arms, but my increased strength and stamina made it possible.

Moreover, there were no hunters around yet, and I wasn’t using any attack skills, so my stealth wasn’t broken.

So while Kang-hoo was reaching the 3rd floor to the 4th floor, the 4th floor to the 5th floor, and then to the railing.

Neither the two stalkers on the first floor nor the two hunters who had already taken up positions on the rooftop noticed Kang-hoo’s presence.

The next moment.

Kang-hoo, who had jumped off the railing, turned to face the two hunters guarding the iron door leading to the rooftop.