Chapter 181
Chapter 181
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 181
Chapter Title: Regional Conflict (4)
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“Damn it! Fuck! Shit!”
After throwing a tantrum with a stream of curses for a while, Wu Shangkai slumped into his chair, panting heavily. Once he’d vented his anger, his sanity finally returned.
The fact that Suhyun had sent a message like that was a clear warning. A warning not to drag things out any longer.
“Haah…….”
Suhyun wasn’t the type to keep messaging and harassing after a single warning. That was amateur hour. He gave one warning, and if it didn’t work, he’d detonate the bomb right away. Wu Shangkai knew that all too well.
‘That damn Jin Ruogong…… What the hell did I do in my past life to end up with a guy like him?’
Liu Xin was meticulously managing himself and steadily building up achievements, but the guy under him was causing all sorts of chaos, making his stomach churn.
On top of that, his superior, Li Hejun, was pressuring him to produce results that wouldn’t let him fall behind rival factions……
And now Suhyun was yanking the leash tight around his neck. It felt like he couldn’t breathe.
Wu Shangkai shook his head. No matter how messed up the situation got—like a dog’s breakfast—Suhyun wouldn’t cut him any slack. He had to deal with what needed fixing first.
‘Right… starting with Jin Ruogong? Damn it. How much does that bitch Xiao Mei know? No way Kim Suhyun spilled everything. If he’s recruited her…….’
Now he had to worry that even his own subordinates might be spies.
“Jin Ruogong, where the hell is Jin Ruogong? Get him to my room right now.”
“Jin Ruogong, that bas— I mean, Sir Jin Ruogong went outside.”
“What?! I told him to stay put inside the base!”
‘What am I supposed to do if he won’t listen to a word I say?’
The subordinate, stuck taking the heat in Jin Ruogong’s place, grumbled inwardly. All he could do was pass on orders to Jin Ruogong.
If he tried to grab Jin Ruogong by the ankle on his way out, the guy would blow his face off without a second thought. And even then, Jin Ruogong wouldn’t get punished. He was a valuable superpower asset. Far more valuable than this guy.
“Where’d he go? Bring him back now!”
“He went out with a few other superpower users from the base…….”
“Where?!”
“I’ll go find him.”
Better to at least pretend to go out and dodge the boss’s wrath. That’s what the man decided.
* * *
“We took care of everything. The orcs won’t come back, but if they do by some chance, just let us know. We’ll handle it again.”
“You’re saying it’s really settled just from you going and talking to them?”
“They listened once I explained nicely.”
Eirum, listening from the side, couldn’t believe Suhyun’s words. No matter how he looked at it, that guy didn’t seem like someone who’d settle things with words.
But Jerwen looked deeply moved. She bowed her head to Suhyun and said,
“We were wrong to think otherwise. Thank you for going in our place and handling it. If you need any help or something comes up, just say the word. We’ll assist however we can.”
“Hey, hey! That guy’s not someone you should trust like that……!”
“Can’t you just shut up? When someone helps you, you should be grateful.”
Eirum tried to butt in and immediately got scolded, slumping his head in dejection. Suhyun clicked his tongue at the sight. Eirum glared at him in a huff, but Suhyun wasn’t the type to care.
“Sir, I feel uneasy that we couldn’t help you. After all you’ve done…….”
“It wasn’t really something you needed to help with, okay? How’s your little sister doing?”
After hearing about her origins, he couldn’t help but worry more. Aida nodded at Suhyun’s question.
“I plan to stick around here for a while and help with her training.”
“Wouldn’t it be fine to go back home?”
“It’s not just the medicine—Uncle knows her condition best…… If something happens after we go back, we can’t just keep coming and going. Better to stay for now.”
Aida stroked her dozing sister’s hair.
“She’s already growing slowly, and having a useless big sister like me just makes her suffer. It breaks my heart.”
“Families that care that much are rare, so don’t think like that. By the way, from what Eirum said, it sounds like she needs to keep using her superpower. What kind does Erendil have?”
“Well… I don’t know.”
“What? If it’s a secret, just say it’s a secret. Why the half-assed lie…….”
“No, really! Why would I lie? I truly don’t know!”
Aida flailed her hands in a panic. She was genuinely flustered, her eyes even welling up with tears.
“What’re you doing? Hold on. Why’re you making Aida cry?”
That’s when Luiril appeared. She held teacups in both hands, with an elven favorite snack in her mouth. She looked like a native elf.
“I didn’t do anything? Anyway, you don’t know Erendil’s superpower? Why not?”
“Oh, we were just talking about that? Erendil is definitely a superpower user, but I’ve never seen what kind she uses. Maybe she hasn’t figured out how to control it yet?”
“Then how’d you know she’s a superpower user? She grew up in an elf village, not a human city……. Do elves have testing methods too?”
“We tried an artifact on her, and she handled it at superpower user level.”
“Luiril sis brought an artifact one day, and Erendil used it better than I could.”
Aida nodded, recalling the moment.
“Hmm? Come to think of it, where’d you get that artifact from, Luiril sis?”
“N-Now, now! That’s not the important part!”
Suhyun gave Luiril a pitiful look. She ignored it and tried to change the subject.
“The important thing is figuring out Erendil’s superpower, right? Perfect timing. There are plenty of empty spots around here, and Suhyun’s an expert on superpowers?”
“I’m not the expert—that’d be Choi Ji-eun over there…….”
“Always so modest! We’ve got time, so let’s find out!”
Aida got swept up in Luiril’s enthusiasm and nodded. The artifact’s origin had already vanished from her mind.
“Sounds like a great idea.”
“Wouldn’t it be better to just train her with artifacts? We’ve got more than enough.”
It would’ve stunned other mercenaries scraping by for artifacts, or even Suhyun from the past, but it was true now. The artifact Luiril brought was one thing, but the government would supply them anytime if asked.
As a result, Suhyun’s standards had risen naturally. The artifacts he wanted were national treasures under direct government control.
Like the one-time Dragon Breath the Heimken orcs had last time.
Of course, expecting to get something like that on demand would make him a thief at heart……
“If she has a superpower but doesn’t know it, isn’t that a total waste? We should help her find out!”
“You’ve got a point there…….”
Suhyun felt uneasy for some reason. Like he was digging his own grave. He couldn’t logically explain why.
‘Is it because the kid’s so strong?’
Suhyun could now gauge a superpower user’s level just by looking, sensing the aura around their body for a rough estimate.
And Erendil was emitting a terrifying aura even without using hers.
If she couldn’t control it, it could turn into a disaster.
‘Hmm… Better to train her early. Yeah.’
“Alright. Let’s give it a shot.”
Suhyun decided and prepared to move with Erendil. Testing powers in this forest wasn’t ideal. A fire-based one could get out of hand.
“Hm?”
Suhyun frowned at the incoming message. He’d given Wu Shangkai a way to contact him, but it was rarely used. No point risking exposure.
‘Did he finally set up a meeting with Jin Ruogong?’
-Really sorry. I tried my absolute best to track down Jin Ruogong and arrange a meeting…… But that guy’s completely uncontrollable……
“…How many ‘reallys’ are you gonna cram into that excuse?”
-Just give me a little more time, and I’ll definitely drag him to you!
Suhyun shot back asking what scheme he was pulling. The reply came instantly.
-Absolutely not! Do I look insane?!
-Fine. Find him and bring him within a week. No more extensions.
Seemed like Jin Ruogong was giving him real headaches. Suhyun felt a slight pang of conscience. He was the one who’d made the guy even more unhinged.
‘Well, even without me, he was always a rotten bastard…….’
* * *
“In my case, I focus my mind, like awakening the senses inside…….”
“Maybe it’s better to feel like releasing the blood flowing within.”
“What’re you talking about? My way’s better!”
“Even if you’re my sis, wrong is wrong…….”
“Both of you, shut up.”
With the two bickering loudly, Erendil plugged her ears and clung to Suhyun.
“Erendil. Don’t overthink it. Just relax and let it out, like emptying yourself. If it doesn’t work, no big deal. We’ll use artifacts.”
But Erendil shook her head.
“Don’t wanna.”
“Why?”
“Just…….”
“Bad feeling?”
Erendil nodded. Suhyun trusted superpower users’ instincts. If she felt off about using it, that meant a bad outcome was likely.
‘Anti-personnel type?’
His team had one that only worked on people: curse user Kang In-gyu.
“Mercenaries over there? What to do?”
“Where?”
“Over there. See the movement on the horizon?”
“Pretty far, so no issue, right? Leave ’em be. They’ll pass.”
With all the mercenaries in the Anes region, it was practically an army, so Suhyun didn’t sweat it. No reason to grab every passerby unless they were loitering.
“More passing by? What’s going on?”
“?”
Luiril, bored while waiting, had been scanning with electronic binoculars. More mercenaries appeared.
“More passing?”
Suhyun, who’d been soothing Erendil, activated far sight at her words.
“Those aren’t passing—they’re fleeing!”
“!”
Suhyun could tell at a glance where the convoy was headed—or what they were desperately running from. A veteran like him knew it instantly.
The mercenaries were crammed into off-road trucks, flooring the gas in panic. Their faces said it all.
‘Well-armed, not rookies. So why the terror? No monsters like that in Anes.’
Suhyun recalled the stray orcs from before. Should’ve asked why they came here. Now it nagged at him.
But their pursuers weren’t monsters.
“…Hand me the rifle.”
Suhyun sighed in disbelief and held out his hand. Luiril pulled a case from her gear.
“Too far, isn’t it? Shouldn’t we get closer?”
“This range is fine……. Geez. What the hell are they doing here?”
Suhyun prone-aimed. Chasing the mercenaries weren’t monsters, but superpower users. And leading them was someone Suhyun knew well.
Jin Ruogong was roaring atop a heavy motorcycle.
Bang!
Kilometers away, but Suhyun hit without a wobble. Even Cameron-forged tough, a bike was a bike. The wheel shot blew it into a flip.
“Arrrgh?!”
Reload. Suhyun targeted the panicked drivers. They didn’t even know what hit them. All bikes flipped in seconds.
On the plain, a gang of superpower users sprawled amid wrecked bike debris. Suhyun stood and said,
“Let’s go catch those bastards.”
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