CHAPTER 258: THE FEISTY CABBAGE

[Twenty minutes earlier...]

"HAMIN-SSI! How long are you going to hide my sister from us?!"

Haaah.

Hamin thought he hid Bitna well when he brought her to a small hospital in the countryside that only a few members of the Fall Guild knew about.

Bitna wasn’t injured or hurt, so he didn’t need to bring her to a big hospital.

That was why he thought it was safe for Bitna to be confined in the small hospital owned by a doctor that he trusted.

But how come the information leaked?

Seon Chanwoo, Bitna’s older brother, was already making a scene in front of the small hospital.

[There’s a rat in my guild, huh?]

"Hamin-ssi, are you listening to me?"

"No," Hamin said bluntly. "I don’t know who your sister is, President Seon. The person I’m taking care of is a friend named ’Bitna.’"

"Don’t be ridiculous," Seon Chanwoo said, scoffing. "My uncle won’t be bothering you if the girl you’re taking care of isn’t Seon Chowon."

Ah.

The Seons had probably investigated Hamin.

[These chaebols can really buy anything even the most confidential information, huh?]

"I will ask Bitna if she wants to see you," Hamin said nonchalantly. "For now, please leave."

"Hamin-ssi—"

"Stop," Hamin warned the president while raising his hand. "This conversation is over."

A thick wall as tall as Seon Chanwoo emerged from the ground— effectively and literally blocking the president.

"How dare you use your power on a Civilian!" Seon Chanwoo yelled angrily. "I will report you to APA!"

"Sure, go ahead," Hamin said. "I’m not scared of APA."

After giving a piece of his mind, he turned his back on Seon Chanwoo and entered the small hospital.

He made sure to block the entrance, too.

[I’ll just remove it later.]

Hamin went straight to the VIP room where Bitna was currently confined in.

And when he opened the door...

... he closed it again with a bang.

Hamin blinked, wondering if the Bitna who was only in her underwear was just his illusion or what.

[She was still asleep the last time I checked on her...]

"Hyung, you can enter now. I’m already dressed."

Oh.

[Not an illusion then.]

Hamin cleared his throat before he opened the door— carefully this time.

He was relieved when he saw Bitna completely dressed now: a black hoodie a bit too big for her petite size. In fact, the cycling shorts she wore underneath were almost covered by the hoodie.

Bitna was in the middle of wearing her socks when he entered the room.

"When did you wake up, Bitna?"

"Ten minutes ago," Bitna said while wearing her sneakers. "I took a quick shower after."

[I can see that.]

Bitna’s hair was wet and droplets of water were dripping from the strands.

"I think there’s a hair blower in the bathroom..."

"Yeah, but I don’t have time for that," Bitna said bluntly. Then she stood up and looked at Hamin with a blank look on her face. "Bye, Hyung."

"Wait!" Hamin said, flustered the he raised his voice. He took a deep breath, reminding himself to calm down. "I’m not expecting our reunion to be emotional, but I’m also not expecting it to be this short. Where are you going when we have a lot of things to talk about?"

"The high-ranking Guides in Seoul are currently being attacked by the square-headed bastards."

"I don’t care about that— wait, what? The Guides are being attacked?"

"Yeah. The System woke me up for that reason. Chu Wonhee isn’t in the right state of mind, so I need to step up."

"Then I’m coming with you."

"I’m going to teleport," Bitna said, extending her hand to him. "Let’s go."

Hamin nodded, and then he grabbed Bitna’s hand. "Alright."

***

HMM?

Hamin just blinked, and when he opened his eyes again, he found himself back in Seoul.

Wow.

[Teleportation skill is really convenient.]

But...

Hamin blinked while looking up at the building in front of him. "Why are we in front of my guild?"

"Hyung, are you stupid?" Bitna asked, clicking her tongue. "Didn’t I say all high-ranking Guides are being attacked? Don’t you have an A-Class Guide in your guild?"

Oh, right.

[Nam Seulgi!]

"You should go and save your Guide, Hyung."

Hamin grabbed Bitna by the arm when she tried to turn her back on him. "Where are you going?"

"To where I’m needed."

"Can’t we go together?"

"Your Guide needs you, Hyung," Bitna said. "And the other Guides need me."

"Can you fight?"

"Will I volunteer to save the other Guides if I can’t?"

"Yeah, you would," Hamin said in an irritated voice. He wasn’t angry at Bitna— he was just reminded of their bitter past. "You sacrificed yourself for a Hunter when you were just a Civilian back then."

"Hyung, let’s talk about it later."

"Will I see you again later?"

"Maybe?"

"Bitna."

"Hyung, don’t be clingy," Bitna said, pulling her arm away from his grasp. "We have no responsibility to each other."

Before Hamin could say anything, Bitna had already disappeared.

Haaah.

[Why does she always leave me?]

***

THE NATIONAL GUIDE CENTER.

That was Bitna’s current destination.

When she arrived in front of the Center, she was greeted by two square-headed bastards holding guns that looked pretty futuristic.

[Nice.]

"Hey, who are you?" one of the square-headed bastards confronted Bitna rudely, pointing a gun at her. "You can’t be here."

Hmm.

It was noisy inside.

Bitna could hear the crazy laughs of the other villains inside the building while shooting their victims.

She could also tell that there were Hunters fighting the bad guys.

But, for some reason, the villains were winning.

[It seems like the square-headed bastards brought out their elite team.]

Bitna’s thoughts were only interrupted when she heard the square-headed bastard curse her before pulling the trigger of his gun.

In fairness, the bullet was faster than the normal ones.

If she didn’t have any protection around her, she would have been shot.

But it didn’t happen.

The bullet hit the honeycomb-like barrier that protected Bitna.

[Guide-Hunter Seon Chowon, we don’t have time to waste here— I’m sending you to the high-ranking Guides who need your help.]

"Aigoo," Bitna complained at the System. "So demanding."

***

"NOW THAT YOUR queen is incapable of protecting you, it’s only logical to get rid of you at this very moment. Guides will only just get in the way of the new world our Liege is trying to create."

That was the first thing Bitna heard when she arrived at the location where the System had sent her in an instant.

It looked like a very high-end office.

Bitna made eye contact with the confused high-ranking Guides who noticed her while talking to the weird square-headed bastard with a ’TV screen’ for a head costume that said ’Commander.’ "Ah, so you attacked because Chu Wonhee is a bit confused at the moment?"

The so-called ’Commander’ turned to her.

She couldn’t see the bastard’s face, but she could tell that he was shocked.

"Well, it’s true that Chu Wonhee is the Queen of Guides," Bitna said, and then she suddenly grabbed Commander by the collar. "But don’t you know?"

The bastard tried to get away— but he couldn’t.

[Of course, he can’t.]

After all, Bitna had secretly stung the bastard in the neck with a very thin needle that could cause paralysis.

The commander could open his mouth, though.

"Know what?"

"You should know that if the Queen of Guides is down, her ’shadow’ comes out to save the day."

"Shadow?"

"Yep, and that’s me!" Bitna said cheerfully, raising her hand and turning it into a fist. "Chu Wonhee isn’t the only Guide you should be wary of."

And then she punched him the face— sending the bastard flying until he hit the wall.

CRACK.

That was the sound of the bastard’s mask breaking.

Unfortunately, the mask didn’t completely fall off.

[Well, I just need to punch him again.]

"Who are you?" the Commander asked in a panic while Bitna approached him. "No— what are you?"

"Didn’t you hear me earlier?" Bitna asked while laughing. "I am Chu Wonhee’s ’shadow.’"

[To be more precise, I’m Wonhee’s ’dark side.’]

Chu Wonhee was the luckiest girl in the world, but she was too nice. Even after the world had turned upside down, she managed to remain kind. Hence, the System knew that the S-Class Guide wasn’t fit to do their questionable biddings.

And that was when the System paid attention to Bitna.

[I was born unlucky, and I’m not kind. In short, I’m perfect to do the dirty work for the System.]

"You’re the System’s cheat code, aren’t you?!"

[No, that would be Ong Yool.]

But Bitna had no reason to correct the square-headed bastard, so she just laughed...

... and then she kicked the commander in the face.

CRACK.

Once again, the mask of the bastard cracked.

[Just a bit more and I can finally see this scum’s face.]

But, before that...

Bitna grabbed the square-headed bastard by the collar, and then she pulled him up.

The man was almost twice her size, but she could easily drag him despite his body being heavy as his limbs went numb.

It was thanks to her physical strength that she increased while in the dungeon.

She just needed to test her new "sting," and the commander was the perfect test subject.

But she didn’t actually need to cheat like that just to win.

[I’m stronger than this square-headed bastard, after all.]

"What did you do to me?" the Commander asked in an angry tone, yet his voice sounded weak. "I can’t move..."

And it wasn’t just because of the poison that she injected in the bastard earlier.

"The more I hit you, the weaker you’ll get," Bitna said to the Commander, and then she turned to the high-class Guides watching her in half-horror and half-amusement. "Hey, let me teach you how to do Forced Reversed Guiding— as its name suggested, it’s a skill that allows Guides to steal Mana from Hunters in order to weaken them."

***

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