Hung Upside Down
Hong Yong Planning, the outfit that handled any job—even murder—if the price was right, had gone above and beyond the payout to target Kim Jun?
That didn't add up.
Which meant someone had intervened midway... to kill Kim Jun.
Jason Tyler grabbed An Ji-hee's shoulder and stared into the eyes of the woman who still looked blissfully happy.
"Listen up. I had nothing to do with that hit. You did it. Got it? It's got nothing to do with me."
"But Team Leader, you gave the order."
Her eyes were still glazed over.
"No, I never did. I just said I was pissed that bastard Kim Jun rammed my car. You took it the wrong way and went to Hong Yong Planning on your own. Understand?"
"...Huh?"
The delusion finally shattered. An Ji-hee finally grasped what Jason was saying.
"Trust me. It was a heat-of-the-moment hit; they'll go easy on you. You won't end up in Haegok. I'll do everything I can to help you out. And I'll make sure the guild doesn't kick you. So don't say anything stupid. Got it?"
An Ji-hee shuddered at the mention of Haegok but said nothing. She just sank onto the sofa, fidgeting with her fingers.
Right then, the doorbell rang—ding-dong.
"Shit, who the hell?"
Jason checked the intercom screen and went speechless. Captain Jeong Myeong-ho was standing outside.
Why the fuck is that pollack bastard here?
Does he know?
No way.
The doorbell rang again.
Jason crept toward An Ji-hee, pressing a finger to his lips. She nodded slowly.
Ding-dong, ding-dong, ding-dong.
It kept ringing insistently—they knew someone was inside.
That's when someone burst through the glass window into the living room.
Startled, Jason unleashed Death Branch. Black branches shot from his palm, coiling around the intruder.
Bam!
Something exploded, shattering the Death Branch into fragments.
Only then did Jason recognize the intruder.
It was Kwon Joo-chan of Jushin!
Kwon Joo-chan smirked at Jason, then strode to the front door like he owned the place and opened it.
Jeong Myeong-ho stepped inside, eyeing Jason and An Ji-hee alternately.
In that moment, Jason realized Jeong Myeong-ho and Kwon Joo-chan knew everything. There was no point hiding it.
"I-I'll tell you everything honestly..."
Thwack.
Jeong Myeong-ho's Water Creation slammed into his solar plexus, and the world went black.
Jason lost consciousness.
The moment he came to, his ankles felt like they were ripping apart... and his head throbbed with dizziness.
He opened his eyes and understood why.
It was an old warehouse, but the floor and ceiling were flipped. No—Jason was hanging upside down.
Tensing his abs and lifting his torso, he saw what bound his ankles.
Water Creation.
The captain's magic.
The height from the floor... a good five meters. The ceiling was at least ten.
"Feeling better?"
It was Jeong Myeong-ho.
"Wh-what the hell is this...?"
Thwack.
A ball of water smashed into his chest.
Jason swung like a pendulum, rising nearly a meter before dropping back, swaying back and forth like a clock's weight... vertigo hit hard. His chest felt like it would explode from the pain.
"Want me to spill what you did? What happens then? If I make it public, no matter how skilled you are, I can get you booted. Sure, you'd think you could just hop to Europe or the States for raids. But what if you lose an arm? If you were as strong as Yoo Wan-seop, maybe, but you're not."
Jason felt a chill. Not just broken bones—an arm severed meant the end of raiding.
Jeong Myeong-ho was the type to do it.
"...What do you want?"
"Smart bastard, head spins fast. And your Korean's damn good. Why the fake broken talk before?"
Jason stayed silent, and Jeong Myeong-ho whipped his back and gut with Water Creation.
"Th-that kinda talk works on girls."
"Girls? Right. You love 'em. But sending a girl who likes you to Hong Yong Planning? Too far. No man does that."
"I-I didn't send her. She overreacted and did it on her own..."
Thwack-thwack-thwack.
Jason nearly blacked out again.
"Cut the bullshit and listen. This raid's crucial—for me and for Jushin's Kwon Joo-chan. Otherwise, you'd be dead here. From now on, you obey my orders without question. Any funny business, and I swear on my name, I'll smash you so you never raid again."
"...Understood."
Jason exhaled in relief.
Jeong Myeong-ho wanted obedience.
Then the water blob sharpened into a blade. The liquid edge slid toward Jason's groin.
"You'll keep causing trouble over women. Want me to fix that now?"
It prodded teasingly.
Jason freaked.
"N-no need for that."
"Do it right. Or I'll slice it off."
"I-I'll be loyal, absolutely."
"Haha, kidding, kidding. Such a scaredy-cat."
Jeong Myeong-ho chuckled and left the warehouse.
Jason gritted his teeth, counting slowly to 300 in his head before unleashing Death Branch to sever the water around his ankles.
He crashed into the muddy puddle.
Too weak to stand.
Lying there, staring at the ceiling, he pondered.
Why were Jeong Myeong-ho and Kwon Joo-chan going this far? Terrorism against an expedition team leader? Not Jeong Myeong-ho's style.
It made no sense.
Something was happening that he didn't know about.
This raid was dangerous. Best to sit it out, but now he couldn't back out.
For the first time in ages, his fighting spirit ignited.
No seductive woman would sway him for a while.
Then Yoo Min-jeong's face flashed—along with the stoic Kim Jun.
The more dangerous, the greater the chance for upheaval.
What would happen in the dungeon?
If a shot came to screw over Jeong Myeong-ho and Kwon Joo-chan, to eliminate Kim Jun and claim Yoo Min-jeong—he wouldn't hesitate.
Jason staggered to his feet and stumbled out of the warehouse.
"Ah! Uh...?"
The mailman spotting Yoo Wan-seop froze, tilted his head, then brushed past, package in hand, turning into the alley.
Yoo Wan-seop smiled faintly.
Thanks to the skill Choi Min-su dubbed AP.
Using AP made ordinary folk within ten meters mistake him—not for Korea's once-top raider, but for some average middle-aged guy—and pass by.
Pouring in internal energy expanded the range manifold, but ten meters sufficed usually.
Among the skills learned post-awakening, AP saw the most use.
Yoo Wan-seop climbed the stairs to Hong Yong Planning's Gangnam branch office.
Jeong Myeong-ho and Kwon Joo-chan had torn it apart first; Dungeon Association investigators had combed it second. No high hopes. Just wanted the vibe.
The sofa was just its frame—leather slashed, stuffing gutted.
Cabinets hung open, some handles broken—forcing locked ones.
No ledgers left.
Yoo Wan-seop gazed out the window.
Bustling road right there, heavy foot traffic.
Five-plus visible CCTVs. No sly operator would pick this spot for a hit. Wayward wives tailing cheating husbands, ajummas chasing loan sharks—regulars were the clients.
Grintree's second buffer had likely stumbled into a place like this for the first time. Truth surfaced in under a day.
The issue was the Bloodsucking Tree.
Who targeted Kim Jun with it?
Not Jushin. They wouldn't risk recklessness sending Mars Team to Sokcho.
One name surfaced.
Maeng Gyu-pil.
The man who infiltrated the Association, killed a staffer to trigger lockdown—the Yeon Un-jae's client.
Maeng Gyu-pil tampered with cores for the Honor Hall ceremony in the Core Country. Wax dolls rampaged; Jushin sent Medici to take out Kim Jun.
On the surface, Maeng Gyu-pil and Jushin allied.
But details showed Ma Jung-hyeon deploying Medici as improv. The meticulous Ma wouldn't let Kim Jun escape if planned from start.
Why did Maeng Gyu-pil do it?
Even without lockdown, stealable cores were few. Rares couldn't leave—yet he boldly disguised and entered.
Thinking of Maeng Gyu-pil furrowed Yoo Wan-seop's brow unconsciously.
"Feels like he's scheming something."
Yoo Wan-seop's mind brimmed with data on the Association, four great guilds, dozens more, companies.
Touch one thread, dozens react. Revealed ongoing plots, movers' aims.
Maeng Gyu-pil was an isolated island in that sea. Did he pull it off solo?
Absurd.
Uncovering his intent needed more data.
Yoo Wan-seop pulled his phone, found the number, held the button.
After rings, a dry voice.
"It's Yoo Wan-seop."
Could practically see the investigator jolt. He loathed fame enough to use skills blocking approaches, but it helped here.
"Guildmaster Yoo Wan-seop of Uramata. Got questions—can you help?"
"Pink Team Leader had a highway crash once—Magic Creeper popped out. Remember?"
Curiosity laced Bang Su-cheol's tone. Yoo Wan-seop calling meant something big. Might link the Bloodsucking Tree to that crash.
"Want to see the files."
"Don't want to bother the Investigation Director."
Hinted he could call higher.
Brief silence.
"Thanks."
Yoo Wan-seop hung up and left for the Association to review files.
Visible foes were tough but manageable.
Invisible ones killed.
"Damn."
Maeng Gyu-pil's heart pounded; couldn't rise. Never dreamed Yoo Wan-seop would visit Hong Yong Planning's Gangnam branch personally. Caught... he'd be nabbed before 100 meters.
Yoo Wan-seop was beyond imagination.
Finally peeking up, checked the office window across.
Yoo Wan-seop gone.
"Phew."
Legs jelly, sat.
Prodding Kim Jun lightly moved Yoo Wan-seop. Meant he knew Kim Jun's value—the memories of Yeon Chung-jae in him, the internal energy in his dantian.
Now understood why Yoo Wan-seop led lowly Uramata.
He coveted those memories and energy too.
"Gotta hurry. Mess up, and I'll lose it all to the dog."
Competitors mounting.
Yeon Family head, now Yoo Wan-seop. Delay shrank his odds.
But Maeng Gyu-pil held edges.
Neither Yeon Un-jae nor Yoo Wan-seop knew how to extract and absorb from a carrier. Only he did. Still ahead.
No complacency.
Monsters like Yoo Wan-seop closed gaps effortlessly.
Maeng Gyu-pil checked morning files on phone. Profiles with photos detailed three lives.
"Who's best?"
First: Pink Team buffer Yeom Sang-taek.
Local guild nobody, lucky client of Crazy Buffer.
Second: Blue Lightning leader Do Jin-yong.
Simple habits, easy mimic; joined Pink Team—watch Kim Jun close entire raid.
Last: An Seong-ho team's buffer Lee Seung-jin.
Safe, but can't enter relic interior.
"This one."
Deleted two, kept one. Whistling, descended rooftop.