CHAPTER 248: MELTDOWN

HWANG MINSU gulped hard after watching how Hwang Yejun killed Hunter Belle Blanche.

It was quite gruesome.

[Yejun is my cousin, and I even changed his diaper when he was a baby, but he still scares me sometimes.]

The technique that Hwang Yejun used was known as the Meltdown.

[He rarely uses that technique, though.]

After freezing the enemy with his ice, Yejun then melted the ice with boiling water.

[As an ice manipulator, he also has the ability to control water.]

Since Hunter Belle Blanche was frozen solid (as humans were mostly water), ’defrosting’ her softened her literally until she melted.

Hwang Yejun’s Meltdown had a special feature.

[The skill collects the ’liquid’ the victim has become and turn it into... that.]

By ’that,’ Minsu meant the small red ice cube in Hwang Yejun’s hand.

[It’s over.]

Hwang Yejun killed a World Ranker in the Top 10!

"Noona, did you capture everything?"

Minsu flinched when her cousin suddenly appeared right next to her.

[His teleportation skill is really useful.]

"I did—"

She wasn’t able to finish what she was saying because Hwang Yejun suddenly turned off all the cameras and audio recording devices in the room.

"Noona, please make an official announcement that Winter Guild’s Hwang Frost killed the crazy World Ranker after attacking us," Hwang Yejun said in a serious tone. "If APA calls, tell them that our Winter Guild will take responsibility in case UAN complains."

UAN, the organization in charge of seeing the world’s strongest Hunters, had one motto: ’The death of a powerful Hunter is a loss to humanity.’

Hence, UAN established a rule that World Rankers weren’t allowed to kill each other.

"Yejun-ah, do you know what happens after you killed a World Ranker in the Top 10?"

"Yeah."

"You’re now back in the Top 10 of the World Rankers!"

"I know, Noona."

"This is big news!" Minsu said, holding Hwang Yejun by the shoulders. "Yejun-ah, our guild will finally get back on its feet!"

"It did when I reclaimed my spot as an S-Class Hunter, Noona."

Oh.

[He’s not excited at all.]

Well, why would he be?

[To Yejun, it’s only natural for him to do well. So, reclaiming his spot in the World Ranking isn’t a big deal to him.]

She almost forgot that her cousin was a genius.

"What else do you need me to do?" Minsu asked, changing the subject. "Should we inform APA first of what happened before we release an official statement?"

Yejun was about to answer, but he suddenly stopped and stared blankly into the air.

Oh.

[His Status Window probably popped up.]

***

[YEON SOOBIN: Hwang Yejun, my baby sister insists on meeting Lee Seodam. Is it safe for Hee-ya to approach him?]

The fuck?

"Noona, I’ll get going," Yejun said to Hwang Minsu in a hurry. "Please let my parents know about what happened."

Before his older cousin could even say something, he already disappeared.

He wanted a place where he could vent out, so he went to the rooftop of his building.

The ice rink— no, the entire space in the rooftop— was still a mess since renovation hadn’t started yet.

And he didn’t care about that at the moment.

"Hyung!" Yejun complained as soon as Soobin picked up his call. "Don’t bring Wonhee to Lee Seodam!"

"Hwang Yejun, I understand that you’re jealous. But—"

"This isn’t just about my jealousy, Hyung. It’s not safe for Wonhee to approach the Virus’ host. In fact, I just killed the crazy World Ranker who attacked us recently."

"You killed Hunter Bride?"

"Whatever her name was, yes— I killed her. It was the System’s order."

"Will the Winter Guild take responsibility for that World Ranker’s death?"

"Yes, yes. My guild will take full accountability. We’ll release an official statement later," Yejun explained in a hurry. "Hyung, I talked to the talking orange earlier. Apparently, Wonhee’s Status Window was infected by a weak virus. That virus blocks all the commands that the System orders. And that’s why the System can’t update Wonhee’s memories."

"First, your Status Window was corrupted. Now, it’s Hee-ya’s Status Window? How could that happen when the System was supposed to be prioritizing the safety of you two?"

"Right? That’s how I ended up with the conclusion that the Virus might have sent viruses to our Status Window during the time Wonhee was purifying Lee Seodam. Physical contact was required during the purification, and I hit Lee Seodam several times. So, it’s possible that the Virus was active even if it wasn’t possessing its Host, and the Virus probably sent the weak viruses during the times Wonhee and I had physical contact with Lee Seodam."

"Ah, dammit. Why did we think that Lee Seodam is only dangerous when the Virus is possessing him? But it’s not like we can avoid it. After all, Hee-ya needs to purify him."

"We shouldn’t let Wonhee purify Lee Seodam again. I’d rather we kill him and earn the wrath of the Civilians instead of putting Wonhee at risk."

"Hee-ya can’t Guide or purify anyone at the moment— her Status Window didn’t respond to her."

The hell?

Yejun was confused.

Fortunately, his Status Window popped up and explained the situation to him.

[GUIDE CHU WONHEE IS STILL A GUIDE! BUT THE SYSTEM CAN’T REACH HER BECAUSE THE WEAK VIRUS IS MESSING WITH HER STATUS WINDOW! REST ASSURED, SHE STILL HAS ALL HER SKILLS!]

All caps, huh?

It must be the talking orange.

"Hyung, the System said Wonhee still has her skills even though she can’t summon her Status Window."

"We need to talk in person— come to my house."

Yejun immediately nodded. "I’ll be right there, Hyung."

***

"OPPA, when are we leaving to see Seodam Oppa?"

Soobin was feeling bad for Wonhee, but he strengthened his resolve.

[Lee Seodam is dangerous at the moment, but Hee-ya won’t accept that as an excuse.]

"Hee-ya, as I said earlier, Lee Seodam is quarantined because of the Virus that possessed him several times."

He used the term ’quarantined’ instead of ’locked up’ for Wonhee’s sake.

[At her current state, she’ll be upset if she finds out that her ex-boyfriend is currently locked up.]

"We need to follow the protocol before we can visit him."

"But Oppa is APA’s Vice President," Wonhee said, sulking while sitting on the sofa. "Can’t you use your authority to skip the protocol?"

"Be patient, Hee-ya," Soobin said, gently patting Wonhee’s head. "It’s not like you to ask me to abuse my power."

Wonhee’s face turned red as if she was embarrassed.

She tried to explain herself.

But Soobin’s skill already took effect.

Wonhee fell alseep on the sofa.

"N-Noona..."

"She just fell asleep," Soobin assured Do Ahyeon who saw everything. "We need to stop Wonhee from seeing Lee Seodam."

***

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