Chapter 402

Jang Woo-hang and the Wolf Fang Squad moved to a quiet location.

The moment they entered a place free from prying eyes, the appearance of the Wolf Fang Squad changed.

Crack! Crackle-crack!

With the sound of bones shifting, the muscles in their faces moved of their own accord, and soon returned to their original forms.

“Xi’an, Wu Qian, Heuk-no, Han, Zhu Ping…”

As Jang Woo-hang called their names one by one, a flicker of doubt crossed his face.

One person was missing.

“Where’s Guang Liang?”

“He’s dead,” Tang Xi’an replied.

“Dead?”

“He ran into the Sand Sorcerer and got himself killed.”

“…You mean Zeon?”

“Yeah. Went to the Goblin Market to fence some goods and had the bad luck of running into him…”

“Mmm.”

Jang Woo-hang let out a low hum.

Ma Guang Liang had been one of the top fighters in the Wolf Fang Squad. On the journey here after losing all their forces, he had contributed more than anyone to the squad’s survival.

Hearing that such a man had lost his life made his chest feel heavy—especially to Zeon of all people.

“Damn it! You just stood there and watched him die?”

“We couldn’t do anything. This isn’t the Underground City. If we’d stepped in then, we’d probably be dead too.”

“He was that strong?”

“If it weren’t for the fact that we were in the slums, Guang Liang wouldn’t have lasted as long as he did. In the desert, he’d have been slaughtered in an instant.”

“Mmm.”

Jang Woo-hang hummed again.

The Tang Xi’an he knew was a very pragmatic person—cold-headed and able to make rational judgments without being swept away by emotions. If she was saying this, it meant it was the truth.

To change the mood, Jang Woo-hang shifted the topic.

“What was with those faces earlier?”

“Heh-heh! There just so happened to be some Awakeners heading out to hunt beyond Neo Seoul. So we killed them and stole their identities.”

The man who answered was in his fifties, with a large burn scar on his right cheek.

His name was Mo Yong-han.

Despite being a Curse Caster, he was a versatile Awakener who could also craft items and deploy barriers.

He was the one who had been supplying cursed items to the black market.

Thanks to the money he’d made from selling those items, the Wolf Fang Squad had been able to stay comfortably in the slums.

They had been hiding there, waiting for a chance to infiltrate Neo Seoul.

That was when they spotted a group of Awakeners heading out of the city to hunt.

By coincidence, there were exactly six of them—just like the Wolf Fang Squad.

They tailed them quietly and launched a sudden attack.

The Awakeners, caught off guard, were wiped out before they could even put up much of a fight.

The Wolf Fang Squad stripped them of their clothes, weapons, and ID cards, then buried the bodies in the sand.

Forging the IDs was Mo Yong-han’s job.

The IDs issued by City Hall contained the user’s unique mana signature, making forgery impossible. But after several sleepless nights, Mo Yong-han discovered a loophole—and succeeded.

He replaced the IDs’ unique mana signatures with the Wolf Fang Squad’s, and then altered their faces using Underground City’s unique technology.

Thanks to this, they were able to fool the guards and slip into Neo Seoul without raising suspicion.

“Still… this city is something else. Right here in the middle of the desert. Honestly, I thought the slums were impressive, but they don’t hold a candle to Neo Seoul.”

Tang Xi’an admired the view of the city.

Heuk-no nodded in agreement.

“We have to give them credit for their strength. Buildings that tall… it’s enough to make your head spin.”

Not just the two of them—the entire squad was overwhelmed by the sight of Neo Seoul.

It had seemed impressive enough from the slums, but now that they were inside, the dazzling city was almost too much to take in.

Clean streets, towering high-tech buildings, people dressed in stylish clothes, and cars moving through the roads.

It was a sight unimaginable in the Underground City.

They couldn’t help but feel both envy and admiration.

A particularly small-framed man in the squad spoke up.

“I want to smash it all. Flatten everything, then take over this place ourselves.”

“If you’re going to move in, why smash it? Just drive out the humans.”

“Because just moving in isn’t any fun.”

“You’re such a freak.”

Tang Xi’an shot him a glare.

The small man’s name was Deng Zhu Ping.

Within the Wolf Fang Squad, he was known as a cold-blooded killer—or a terrorist mastermind.

Whenever he saw such well-ordered sights, he felt a powerful urge to destroy them.

It wasn’t the first time this had caused trouble.

Jang Woo-hang calmed him down.

“Whoa, whoa! Relax. If we cause trouble now, our objective will be harder to achieve.”

“Don’t worry. I know when to hold back. The mission comes first. My fun comes after.”

“Good to see you’re not forgetting your place.”

“And I see you’re carrying out your mission well.”

“Why do you think that?”

“Because the Moon King’s Nine Heavens Sword isn’t with you. I’m guessing it’s been delivered to the target?”

“That’s right. Delivered just as planned—your plan, in fact.”

“My plans never fail.”

At Deng Zhu Ping’s words, Jang Woo-hang nodded.

He was definitely insane—but useful.

The idea to use the Moon King’s Nine Heavens Sword to win favor with one of Neo Seoul’s power players had been his.

Carrying it out had been Jang Woo-hang’s job.

At last, Wu Qian, who had been silent until now, spoke.

“Then all that’s left is to wait.”

“We won’t have to wait long. Until then, rest at the place I’ve prepared and get to know Neo Seoul.”

Jang Woo-hang had already secured a hideout for the squad in the southern district.

It was his thorough preparation that had convinced them to let him enter Neo Seoul first despite the risk.

Heuk-no smiled darkly.

“We must steal Neo Seoul’s magi-tech engineering. Let’s move quickly.”

They had only one goal—steal Neo Seoul’s core technologies and deliver them to the Underground City.

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Zeon was summoned early in the morning by Yoo Se-hee and headed to the Goblin Market.

“What’s the matter this early?”

“You’re coming somewhere with me.”

“Where exactly?”

“You’ll see when we get there.”

“Understood.”

Zeon followed her without protest.

The place she took him to was outside Neo Seoul.

The two of them walked far into the desert.

A flicker of interest crossed Zeon’s eyes.

He had spotted a group gathered in the middle of the sands.

It was the First Convoy, led by Kim Jin-soo.

“Welcome, Chairwoman! Lord Zeon!”

Kim Jin-soo hurried over to greet them.

Yoo Se-hee nodded.

“You found it here?”

“Yes. Right over there.”

Kim Jin-soo pointed to a large pit where several bodies lay tangled together.

Zeon frowned.

“Corpses?”

“One of our men stumbled across them. It felt suspicious, so we brought you both here.”

At his reply, Zeon descended into the pit to examine them.

The bodies were so caked with sand it was impossible to make out their features—but that didn’t matter to Zeon.

When he raised his Dominion, the sand fell away on its own.

Once their true forms were revealed, one of the convoy members cried out.

“Hey, aren’t those the Black Wolf Team?”

“You know them?”

“They’re a small elite hunting team. We’ve crossed paths a few times.”

“I see.”

Zeon examined them closely.

“The wounds are deep and clean—done by someone who uses a sword. All of them had their throats cut in a single blow.”

“So an Awakener who uses a sword?”

“Seems that way. Spears or halberds leave bigger, rougher wounds.”

“Who would kill them, and why?”

Yoo Se-hee looked baffled.

From the circumstances, it seemed the Black Wolf Team had been ambushed while heading out to hunt.

It would have made more sense if they had been attacked on their way back after a successful hunt—when they’d be carrying spoils worth stealing.

That kind of thing happened often enough that it was hardly unusual.

But these people had been attacked right after leaving Neo Seoul. Naturally, they wouldn’t have had any spoils yet.

Zeon noticed another odd detail.

“They’re all missing their ID cards.”

“Why take the IDs specifically? Unless…”

“Yes. It seems someone needed them.”

“Those bastards…”

“They must have used the identities to enter Neo Seoul.”

“How? Even with the cards, the mana signature has to match. Plus, they’d have to pass the Awakener inspections.”

“Have you forgotten? These are the same people who breached the Goblin Market’s barrier. They must have their own way.”

“Damn it.”

Yoo Se-hee’s face twisted.

Zeon’s words made too much sense.

“Then we can assume those bastards are already in Neo Seoul. For country bumpkins, they sure act fast.”

“They seem very used to this sort of thing. They’re quickly learning how both Neo Seoul and the slums work—and exploiting it.”

“What should we do with them?”

“I’ll have to go into Neo Seoul myself.”

“You’re going to hunt them down personally?”

“I’ll have to get inside first—then figure out how.”

“Make sure word doesn’t reach Xiao Lun. If he finds out you’re inside, he won’t stay quiet.”

“I’ll be as careful as I can.”

“You think being careful will be enough?”

“What other choice do we have?”

“…True.”

Yoo Se-hee clicked her tongue.

The Goblin Market’s influence was absolute in the slums—but inside Neo Seoul, it was minimal.

The systems were completely different, and people from the slums had almost no opportunity to move freely inside the city.

Old man Klexi’s Eye of Argos had planted people inside Neo Seoul, but using them carelessly was dangerous.

If their covers were blown, the losses would be immense.

In the end, Zeon personally entering Neo Seoul was the best option.

Climbing out of the pit, Zeon asked,

“What should we do with the bodies?”

“Leave them here and they’ll just become fodder for the beasts. Take them back to the slums and cremate them.”

At her words, Zeon nodded and raised his Dominion.

Shrrrk!

The sand shifted, pushing the corpses out of the pit.

Thanks to that, the First Convoy was able to recover the Black Wolf Team’s remains without difficulty.

“Well done, everyone. Let’s head back to the Goblin Market for now.”

“Yes, ma’am!”

The convoy answered in unison.

Zeon returned to the slums with them.

As soon as they arrived, he headed straight for Neo Seoul’s main gate.

Most of the things he needed were stored in his subspace, so there was no need to prepare separately for the trip.

“Lord Zeon?”

The Awakeners guarding the gate recognized him immediately.

Because Zeon was under special management in Neo Seoul, he passed through without any formalities.

‘Now everyone will know I’ve entered.’

The gate guards worked for City Hall, but many of them also took bribes from various districts.

The moment a dangerous or high-profile person entered Neo Seoul, the news was relayed to every district.

For someone like Zeon, who was under special watch, this was doubly true.

Everyone would be watching his movements.

He would have to evade their surveillance.

Silently, Zeon slipped into Neo Seoul’s dazzling streets.