Chapter 200: Chapter 198: The Pursuer (3)

“Gyoseon. Is this… verified information?”

“Yes. It has been cross-verified. We’ve secured photos and footage from the scene. It’s not a copy, and no separate recording devices were used either.”

“I had a feeling…”

“It seems we’ve opened Pandora’s box. Even I was shocked.”

At that moment, Lee Ye-rin was receiving a report from Hwang Gyoseon, her trusted confidant and cherished younger sibling.

Whenever an important investigation was needed, she would always call Hwang Gyoseon. This time, his skills were also required for the investigation.

The investigation was about the Jeonghwa Guild.

She had conducted the investigation to address the nagging suspicions she had harbored, and the results were beyond her imagination.

Hwang Gyoseon continued speaking.

“First, here are the photos from the Jeonghwa Guild’s human trafficking activities with the Kashimar Guild. You see Kim Dae-man, right?”

“Rank 4 in Jeonghwa Guild.”

“Correct. It seems Kim Dae-man is the information and contact point for Russia. He almost exclusively handles that.”

“…”

“And these people in handcuffs… no matter how I look at it, they seem like our country’s people. More precisely, they are hunters.”

“Indeed.”

“It’s hard to dismiss it as a mere deviation, especially since he didn’t come alone. There are quite a few hunters from the Jeonghwa Guild. Here’s the related photographic evidence.”

“…”

Every time Lee Ye-rin saw these damning pieces of evidence, revealing deeper truths, her expression grew more rigid.

The Jeonghwa Guild had been seen as a beacon of positivity and justice, not just to Lee Ye-rin, but to many others as well.

It was a place that truly understood the value of hunters, treated talent well, and nurtured them professionally.

That’s why the Jeonghwa Guild was the number one guild aspiring hunters aimed to join.

Currently, as the guild was no longer officially recruiting, the only way to join was through its satellite guilds.

A prime example was Han Seo-yeon, who had been affiliated with the Haeohwa Guild before being “promoted” to the Jeonghwa Guild.

Because they were pulling hunters from the satellite guilds in this way, the satellite guilds were seeing a surge in applicants.

Thanks to this, the Jeonghwa Guild’s satellite guilds, rooted in various regions, were expanding their influence.

On the surface, the Jeonghwa Guild appeared to represent virtue, but the reality was quite the opposite.

“And this is an internal document. It’s the final activity report of the hunters who joined through our mercenary corps’ contractor, introduced by the leader.”

“Like Yoon Jae-na and Myung-ji?”

“Yes. We also have the final activity records of Kim Yoon-jae and Lee Myung-ji. Take a look.”

“Where did you get this?”

“It was obtained from inside the Jeonghwa Guild. It cost a bit, but we made sure not to leave any traces.”

“Hmm…”

Lee Ye-rin frowned as she flipped through the papers. What shocking information would she find this time?

As she read, Hwang Gyoseon added more explanation.

“Kim Yoon-jae didn’t die inside the dungeon. He died outside. The time when we were told he died and the time he entered the dungeon are too different.”

“He couldn’t have even been inside the dungeon in the first place. But they said he died in the dungeon?”

“Yes. In fact, there’s a record of him entering Jeonghwa Building 8 during that time.”

“Why did they kill him?”

“Wouldn’t the reason lie within the guild itself?”

The evidence Hwang Gyoseon had gathered completely exposed the Jeonghwa Guild’s deceit.

Without something to hide, there would be no reason to cover up the truth with lies.

As the circumstantial evidence was combined with solid proof, Lee Ye-rin’s expression hardened into one of certainty. The Jeonghwa Guild’s true nature was different from its public image.

At that moment.

Another attendant entered.

They had a meeting scheduled, and the attendant was there to inform them of the guests’ arrival.

“Gong Yu-seok and Go Joo-hee, whom you had a meeting scheduled with, have arrived. Shall I invite them in?”

Someone had arrived from the Jeonghwa Guild.

They had come seeking information and advice regarding certain contractors with whom they had transactions through the Cheong-an Mercenary Corps.

Under normal circumstances, she would have recommended good hunters with good hearts to them…

But now, there was no longer any reason to do so.

She had to protect them.

Particularly, they had shown an unusual interest in one person: Kang-hoo, one of Lee Ye-rin’s main clients.

Evening.

Kang-hoo was looking out over the city of Osaka through a wide-open window while sipping a beer.

In truth, he wasn’t much of an alcohol drinker. He preferred coffee and rarely touched alcohol.

But every time he returned from a dungeon with Park Dong-jae, he had to go along with his routine and drink beer with him.

Now, whenever his mouth felt idle, he habitually reached for beer. Even without any snacks, the taste wasn’t bad.

“Mm.”

Kang-hoo was replaying the conversation he had just had with Lee Ye-rin.

If he summarized their talk, it went like this:

First, the Jeonghwa Guild had sent Gong Yu-seok and Go Joo-hee to look into Kang-hoo.

These two were people Kang-hoo had previously encountered during the face-to-face screening for Judgment Hell, so they were not strangers.

Since they were involved in recruiting external talents, it was natural for them to take charge.

Of course, it wasn’t likely they were acting alone. This must have been under Jang Si-hwan’s orders.

Lee Ye-rin had told Kang-hoo that she deliberately spoke poorly of him to them.

She gave them false information, saying he had more flaws than what was publicly known and that he had harmed other mercenaries to ensure the success of his missions.

Lee Ye-rin had also mentioned she no longer trusted the Jeonghwa Guild and would send him the relevant documents.

Additionally, she had warned him to be extremely cautious, as the Jeonghwa Guild had started taking an interest in him.

‘This is exactly the outcome I had expected from the start.’

Kang-hoo remained calm, in contrast to Lee Ye-rin’s agitated and trembling voice.

The Jeonghwa Guild had always been like this.

The world only saw the polished and distorted front, and that was the root of the problem.

For those who had seen the true face of the Jeonghwa Guild, much like the warlords of the Abyss, this news was nothing surprising.

However, Lee Ye-rin seemed to be feeling a deep sense of betrayal.

‘This is going well. It seems like Lee Ye-rin is finally following the original storyline, turning against Jeonghwa.’

Things were progressing as expected.

The timing was a bit earlier than planned, but that worked in his favor.

Lee Ye-rin was smart.

She wouldn’t openly show her hostility toward the Jeonghwa Guild like the Abyss.

She would probably act cooperative and friendly while secretly plotting another path. There was no need to worry about her.

‘If this is how it’s playing out, it might be impossible to avoid some interaction with the Jeonghwa Guild. In that case, maybe it would be better to get close to them first and then break away.’

His thoughts began to expand.

Avoiding the situation or running away wasn’t the only solution, but doing something rash was not ideal either.

Jang Si-hwan wasn’t a fool.

In the original story, Jang Si-hwan was portrayed as a master of the poker face and specialized in strategic approaches.

He must have some impression of Kang-hoo due to their memorable encounters.

If Kang-hoo acted erratically or displayed poor skills in an attempt to deceive the Jeonghwa Guild, it would only draw more attention.

From Shin Kang-hoo’s perspective, Jang Si-hwan wasn’t a foolish, one-time villain.

He was a smart villain, one who could push the world into a giant pit of downfall.

To deceive someone like him, the deception had to be precise and natural.

He wasn’t one of those brainless villains in a novel who would fall for the protagonist’s nonsensical tricks.

Just before midnight.

Ayane checked a message on her secure account with Hunter Gram, which she hadn’t expected to receive.

There was only one person who had been given this account recently, so she immediately knew who it was—Kang-hoo.

Since Ayane didn’t know Kang-hoo’s real name, she had stored him in her memory as the “handsome assassin.”

The message was simpler than she expected.

-How would you like to hunt down some despicable hunters? They have more than enough reasons to die.

She wasn’t particularly interested in killing for the sake of it.

Nor was she concerned with delivering justice.

She simply lived by the logic of capital, crossing borders as she pleased.

If someone paid her to deliver justice, she would do it. If they paid her to kill someone, she would kill.

One example was the job in Fukuoka’s Liberation Zone, where she camped at the dungeon entrance, killing intruders.

In a place where the concepts of good, evil, justice, and injustice had vanished, morality had no meaning.

Nevertheless, Ayane felt her heart race at Kang-hoo’s message.

The first time she had met him was at the Front Gate Research Lab.

She had turned down the meeting out of embarrassment, something she regretted to this day because the memory of that moment remained vivid.

Before she fell for his looks, she had fallen for his skills. He was exactly the kind of skilled assassin she had always dreamed of.

The message from Kang-hoo wasn’t a fancy date proposal or a gentle, sweet expression of affection.

It was a blood-soaked invitation to “hunt hunters.”

Her short-term contract with the Hayabusa Guild had just ended, and with no jobs on her schedule, she was resting.

The life of a wanderer meant being here today and there tomorrow.

It seemed like a good time to change her stage.

-Where should I go? And what spoils can I expect? Who’s the target?

Ayane, her mind now fixated on meeting Kang-hoo, began to fire off her questions.

After that day.

Kang-hoo began building his plan, preparing for the inevitable clash with Cha So-hyuk.

It wasn’t as if he could immediately tackle the Shadow Dungeon in Sapporo.

And the dungeon raid he had promised to Fumiya was set for after the Shadow Dungeon, so there was nothing on his current schedule.

For now, he broke out of his reclusive lifestyle of staying holed up in Rikou Tower unless he had external tasks.

If he wanted to give those aiming for him a chance, stepping outside was not optional, but necessary.

He enjoyed drives both in and out of the city.

He carefully crafted an image, as if he were cautiously sticking to safe areas.

He also made movements suggesting he was searching for hidden or mystery dungeons using special measuring equipment.

On the surface, it looked like he was just satisfying his curiosity about the region while taking in the fresh air.

During this process, Kang-hoo became aware of four people tailing him.

He only confirmed it once.

He didn’t check again. Drawing their attention unnecessarily would ruin his plan.

Three days passed like this.

Kang-hoo had expected Cha So-hyuk to charge in recklessly, but surprisingly, he was taking a cautious approach.

It was likely influenced by the comrades who came with him or perhaps by advice from Kim In-ho beforehand.

Like a predator waiting for the perfect moment to strike, they were watching for the best opportunity to hunt him.

Kang-hoo pulled his car over near the outskirts of Osaka and had a conversation with An Yeong-ho—who was actually Ayane—while heading somewhere.

“Hey, Yeong-ho. The readings from the device are showing a strong signal here, so there must be something.”

“The guild’s dungeon data doesn’t show anything in that location?”

“I’ll check it out further. I don’t need any backup. I’m just out here for a little fresh air anyway.”

Feigning a conversation with a silent partner, Kang-hoo continued moving to a more isolated area.

To draw out the ones tailing him and finish them off, the stage needed to be large. The fewer witnesses, the better.

‘Four.’

There were a total of four enemies.

Cha So-hyuk, along with three hunters, likely supported by the Toushi Guild.

Kang-hoo’s side had two.

One was Kang-hoo himself, and the other was his “hidden card,” silently lying in wait somewhere.