Chapter 257: PAID

I didn't think I would end up coming here again.

They found themselves in the underground dungeon at Jongno 3-ga. To be specific, this was the very dungeon that Uijae had stormed through with Hong Yesung, Kkokko, and the student Gaeul. It was also the place where the dungeon had been reconstructed, causing them all sorts of trouble.

Though this time, he was with Lee Sa-young.

Lee Sa-young strolled casually toward the management office. The Hunter inside, who had been dozing off, suddenly snapped his head up as they approached. He seemed vaguely familiar, and then Uijae remembered—it was the same Hunter who had been knocked out cold by Kkokko during their previous visit. He was still stationed at his post, with an ID card around his neck displaying the logo of the Rift Management Bureau and the name *Lee Min-hoon.*

‘Good thing he didn’t get fired,’ Uijae thought, nodding slightly in sympathy toward the poor soul. However, Lee Min-hoon seemed to interpret the gesture as a threat. His eyes darted between Uijae and Sa-young, growing wide with alarm. He abruptly shot up from his seat and gave them a 90-degree bow. The motion was so abrupt that the hat perched on his head tumbled to the ground.

“Ah, h-hello! What brings you here?” he stammered.

Sa-young merely nodded in acknowledgment.

“Two of us. We're here to investigate the Corrupted Dungeon.”

“J-just the two of you?”

“That’s right.”

“I understand! Please be careful!” Lee Min-hoon, stiff with nerves, hurriedly opened the window of the management office and handed over two access cards. Without sparing him a glance, Sa-young swiped the card at the machine by the door. With a heavy grinding sound, the thick door slowly began to open.

Uijae clenched his fist, offering Lee Min-hoon a small gesture of encouragement. But instead of being reassured, the poor man’s lips twitched, and froth began to form at the corners of his mouth.

Sa-young, waiting by the door, scolded him.

“Why do you keep scaring people?”

“Hey, it wasn’t a threat—it was encouragement. You don’t understand.”

“Encouragement? It looked more like you were shaking your fist, threatening to kill him if he talked.”