CHAPTER 276: COLD WAR

AS SOON as Yejun realized that Kunwoo was one of the people serving Lee Seodam— aka ’the Liege’— he also realized that Hwang Minsu might be in danger.

[Noona...!]

He was just about to check on Hwang Minsu when—

BANG!

The person that Yejun wanted to see came like a wrecking ball, quite literally.

Someone sent his older cousin flying.

Since Hwang Minsu was a high-ranking Hunter, her body was as sturdy as steel. Hence, it wasn’t a surprise that she destroyed the wall between that room and the other one.

[Like a wrecking ball, as I said earlier.]

Yejun teleported and appeared in front of the wall that Hwang Minsu was about to hit. He caught his older cousin, wrapping his arms around his noona from behind.

The impact was hard, but it was not something his S-Class body couldn’t handle.

"Noona, are you alright?"

"No," Hwang Minsu said, coughing up blood. "That bastard is using some weird substance."

Yejun descended with his older cousin in his arms, and then he carefully put her down.

Hwang Minsu had to lean against him for support, though.

And when he saw the black blood that his older cousin coughed up, he realized why she said the enemy used a weird substance.

[Tsk.]

Aside from coughing up blood, Hwang Minsu’s weapons were destroyed.

The floating crystal cube shields that followed his older cousin everywhere were both cut into half.

Most of all, Hwang Minsu’s beautiful crystal sword was covered in blood.

[I hope it’s Kunwoo’s blood.]

"Ah, it’s cheating if you ask for your OP baby cousin’s help, Hwang Minsu-ssi."

It was Kunwoo.

Yejun was quite pleased to see a huge slash on Kunwoo’s torso.

Moreover, Kunwoo’s right eye also seemed like it was stabbed.

[Minsu Noona did well.]

"It looks like I’m already late," Kunwoo said while glancing at Soline and Song Sunho’s corpse back and forth, and then he looked at Yejun. "Am I already caught?"

Yejun didn’t bother to respond verbally.

He teleported to attack Kunwoo— appearing before the bastard with the intention to stab him in the heart with an ice dagger.

However, he just passed through Kunwoo’s body.

[What?]

The bastard’s body had already turned semi-transparent.

[When did Kunwoo gain a teleportation skill?]

"It’s not a teleportation skill," Kunwoo said as if he could read Yejun’s mind. "I’m just being summoned by my liege."

The bastard then pointed at his feet.

And that was when Yejun saw it.

Black miasma oozed out of Kunwoo’s feet, crawling on the bastard’s body that was quickly "disintegrating" in the air.

In short, it was already too late to stop the bastard from running away.

"Bye-bye, Hwang Frost," Kunwoo said while waving. "Good luck finding your princess."

Wonhee...?

Yejun cursed under his breath when Kunwoo already disappeared before he could even ask questions.

And then it appeared.

His Status Window popped up after he received a message from Yeon Soobin.

[Hunter Yeon Soobin: Hwang Yejun, that bastard Lee Seodam kidnapped Hee-ya!]

Yejun’s cursed, scaring Soline and Hwang Minsu.

After all, he accidentally froze the room— including Song Sunho’s corpse.

Park Ruda almost got frozen by Yejun’s ice, too.

However, a thin layer appeared and covered Park Ruda’s body even though the bastard was unconscious.

Ah, right.

Yejun marched towards the unconscious Park Ruda, grabbing the bastard by the hair.

If you want war, then I’ll give you hell.

***

"WHAT ARE you waiting for? Are you not going to torture me to make me talk?"

Hmm?

Bitna raised an eyebrow when Meguro Shun kept talking.

[For someone who was caught for betraying his fellow Guides, he sure is loud.]

Right now, Bitna was inside the ’observation room’ where she could watch Meguro Shun’s actions through the several monitors on the wall.

That room and the basement cell were only separated by a special fiberglass.

Bitna and Hamin could see Meguro Shun through the glass, but Meguro Shun couldn’t see them from the white room where he was currently locked up.

[That room looks like a room in a movie-style asylum.]

They didn’t have to put handcuffs on the traitor because the room was designed to restrain Awakened People.

According to Hamin, the owner of the building, the more an Awakened Person used their power in that room, the more they would lose their strength. Apparently, the room could even restrain S-Class Hunters.

"You know you can’t make me talk, don’t you?" Meguro Shun asked sarcastically, laughing. "You better kill me now. Because once I’m out, I promise I will—"

Bitna pressed the ’mute’ button so she would no longer hear Meguro Shun’s voice.

"Is it alright to do that?" Hamin asked carefully. "Didn’t we bring him here to make him confess?"

"Nah, I don’t do interrogations," Bitna said bluntly. "I only do murders."

"Bitna."

"That’s why I’m leaving that chatterbox to you, Hyung. I only accompanied you here to tell you what you need to do."

"Where are you going this time?"

"I have a bad feeling, so I need to check on Wonhee," Bitna said, patting Hamin’s shoulder. "I’ll consider this as payment for pissing me off earlier."

"Bitna, at least answer my call."

"Nah, I don’t want to have anything to do with you anymore, Hyung."

Hamin knitted his eyebrows, obviously annoyed. "And what do you mean by that?"

"As long as you are Han Seulgi’s friend, I don’t want to be associated with you," Bitna said coldly. "Because after Wonhee’s problem is solved, I’ll kill my family— including your precious friend and her mother."

***

"IT’S not your fault, Soobin-ah," Semi said to Soobin quietly. "You brought Lee Seodam here because you thought it was the best thing to do at the time."

Soobin clenched his jaw, but he didn’t say anything.

He probably couldn’t muster the courage to speak as he still looked shocked after that bastard Lee Seodam took Wonhee right in front of them.

Even Semi didn’t expect that kind of "plot twist."

"I already sent a message to Hwang Yejun, so he’s probably on his way here," Soobin said in a small voice. "He’ll probably blame me for what happened."

"If Hwang Yejun is that kind of person, then I would never approve of him for our Hee-ya," Semi said firmly. "He should know that you, of all people, would never want our baby sister to be kidnapped by her crazy ex-boyfriend."

It was hard for Semi to calm down after witnessing her precious baby sister get kidnapped.

But she didn’t leave.

She didn’t know where to find Wonhee in the first place.

Hence, she figured gathering information was better than looking for her baby sister aimlessly.

[The System is also doing its best to locate Hee-ya.]

"Geon-ssi!"

Semi and Soobin immediately walked towards the high-class Guides gathered in the living room.

Ahn Kisoo, Im Rona, Kim Bora, and Shin Geon were all trying to heal Lee Seojin.

The kid lost consciousness after coughing up black blood earlier.

Semi had already given Lee Seojin a potion that would get rid of all the toxins in his body, that was why she was sure the kid was no longer poisoned.

The problem was his Mana depletion.

Hence, the high-class Guides were trying to Guide Lee Seojin.

But none of them had succeeded.

"Are you okay?" Soobin asked Shin Geon who coughed up some blood. "What happened?"

"Lee Seojin’s body is strange," Geon said in a weak voice. "It’s like pouring water in a broken glass. He’s absorbing our Mana, but it’s not going to his Core. The kid is just letting our Mana leak out without absorbing them."

Ah.

No wonder the high-class Guides looked exhausted already.

"Is it because he’s a rookie Hunter?" Kim Bora asked. "But receiving Mana from Guides comes to Hunter as natural as breathing. Even if he’s stupid, it should be in his instinct to accept our Guiding. We’re all high-class Guides here, too. No Hunter could possibly resist our Guiding except for pairs like Yejun Oppa and Wonhee Noona... oh."

Everyone froze when the realization hit them.

Ahn Kisoo glanced at Lee Seojin with pity in his eyes. "This kid has a Soulmate."

"If he doesn’t find his Soulmate, then he can never receive Guiding from anyone else," Im Rona said while sighing. "Lee Seojin might end up like Hwang Frost before Hwang Frost found Hee-ya."

Haaah.

It was a tragedy for a Hunter to be bound to a Soulmate that they may or may never find in their life.

Semi felt bad for Lee Seojin even though the kid’s brother kidnapped her baby sister.

"Eomma?"

Hmm?

Semi turned around and knitted his eyebrows when she saw Eunseok walking towards her. "Son, what are you doing here? I told you to stay in your room."

"I don’t know why I’m here either," Eunseok said, confused while looking around until his eyes found the unconscious Lee Seojin. "Something keeps telling me that I need to be here, though."

Semi had always been quick-witted.

Hence, she couldn’t help but look back and forth between Eunseok and Lee Seojin.

[No, please no...]

***

WHEN Wonhee opened her eyes, she found herself in the middle of what seemed like a fighting arena.

The ones used by gladiators in the past.

But she could tell that her surroundings were fake, though. She was just probably in a huge room with a "green screen."

"You’re awake, Wonhee-ya?"

"Don’t call me that, Hunter Lee Seodam-ssi," Wonhee said to the man standing in front of her. "Why did you bring me here? Are you going to challenge me to a duel or something?"

"Not me," Lee Seodam said, smiling. "I want to test your powers first."

And, just in the blink of an eye, Wonhee was now surrounded by World Rankers.

Oh.

Lee Seodam really wanted Wonhee dead this time, huh?

***

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