Ambush at Seorae Port
It was dawn in Incheon Seorae Port. Fishermen gathered at the small harbor where modest fishing boats clustered together. Orange streetlights shimmered ethereally through the darkness. The men pulled on rubber boots and gathered their nets. The early morning air was so cold that white breath misted from their mouths.
"Let's move it!"
A middle-aged man shouted, and the foreign laborers replied in halting Korean.
"Got it."
Chug-chug-chug.
The little fishing boats chugged toward the sea. The distinctive irregular rumble of their engines signaled the true start of the fishermen's day.
The harbor wasn't just for fishermen, though. Another figure lurked there—one wearing sunglasses and a mask. It was Bae Jeongmin, the scout for the Free People. He was only about 25 years old. The ring on his finger was ostentatious, embedded with a massive purple gem. It was unmistakably a Space Diamond.
As the Free People's broker, Bae Jeongmin kept his face hidden. He glanced at the ring.
With this cheating item, I can escape even if the cops or HA come swarming.
That was why he wasn't worried, even as the net of investigators tightened.
They'll never find our hideout. It's in a place no one would ever imagine.
He smirked.
The Free People's hideout was inaccessible without a Space Diamond.
Rustle.
Bae Jeongmin held a morning newspaper. The front-page headline, splashed across it like a billboard, caught his eye especially.
The gist was simple: Free People operative Im Youngsu had slipped through the HA and police surveillance net and escaped.
Bae Jeongmin read the paper and chuckled softly.
Caught by the HA and already escaped? Lucky bastard.
He tossed the newspaper into a harbor trash bin.
Time to get to work.
Bae Jeongmin slipped his hand into his coat pocket. He felt the hard grip of his pistol.
Time to kill Im Youngsu.
No telling how much the guy had spilled to the cops and HA. Plus, with his face already blown, taking him back would just hand them a lead.
At least we're set up as a cell structure.
Cell organizations had two key traits: tails could be cut off easily, and linked pursuits were nearly impossible. Killing Im Youngsu alone solved everything.
He's gotta be at this harbor. It's where I first met him. An escapee has nowhere else to go. He'll scramble back to the Free People.
That's what Bae Jeongmin figured. He strolled casually around the harbor, then spotted a suspicious man glancing about. His clothes were ragged. Bae Jeongmin lowered his sunglasses slightly and eyed him closely.
Im Youngsu.
He approached slowly.
"Im Youngsu? That you?"
"Wh-who the hell are you?! Cops?!"
"Nah, nah. Don't you remember me?"
"What? No way... the broker? Still hiding your face like always. You scared the shit outta me."
Bae Jeongmin chuckled and pointed to a rundown building without CCTV.
"Let's talk somewhere private. There's an abandoned building over there. Perfect for secrets."
Im Youngsu followed his gesture. A gray husk of a structure loomed, its empty window frames giving off a gloomy vibe.
Bae Jeongmin led Im Youngsu into the ruin. No one else was around.
Squeak-squeak.
Rat pups nesting in the ruins fled in panic at the intruders.
On the second floor of the abandoned building—a memorable spot littered with trash and cracked walls everywhere. Bae Jeongmin reached into his coat pocket. He'd already gripped the pistol, planning to draw and fire at the right moment.
Can't murder in public. Gotta handle it here in this dump.
He found Im Youngsu amusing.
Doesn't even realize I've brought him here to die. Blissfully follows along. Idiot. Yeah, he always seemed a bit dim from the start.
Bae Jeongmin halted.
Clank.
He drew the pistol from his pocket. All he had to do was aim at Im Youngsu and pull the trigger...
What the—?!
Suddenly, Im Youngsu moved like lightning. No time to aim or shoot. His movements were beastly, his eyes brimming with killing intent.
Shing.
A dagger slid fluidly from Im Youngsu's sleeve.
Slash—!!
Bae Jeongmin felt searing pain in his wrist. He looked down. It was severed. His hand had dropped to the floor—with the Space Diamond ring still on it, no less.
"Gaaah!!"
Bae Jeongmin screamed. Blood gushed out, staining the floor. His strength ebbed away.
Im Youngsu kicked Bae Jeongmin's other wrist, sending the pistol flying far off. Now weaponless, Bae Jeongmin's knees knocked together before he collapsed.
"Who... who the hell are you?"
"Hm?"
"You're not Im Youngsu. That moron wouldn't have clocked an assassination attempt."
"Sharp eyes."
Im Youngsu—no, the man disguised as him—sneered. His skin rippled like paper, transforming into another face.
Im Youngsu had been Nam Gyuil using a Form Change item.
"You idiot. Walked right into a sting operation without a clue. It went off too perfectly—almost ridiculous."
Nam Gyuil pried the Space Diamond from the severed hand, wiped the blood on his clothes, and slipped it onto his own finger.
Thoroughly stung, Bae Jeongmin spat curses.
"Fuck... you... sh..."
He passed out and crumpled to the floor.
Soon, people swarmed the scene: police, Seoul Hunter Agency's 01 Team, HA. They all stared at the fallen Bae Jeongmin. He was carted off to the hospital first. Interrogation questions piled up for after treatment.
Jo Heeyoung looked amazed.
"An item that lets you transform into someone else. You've got some incredible gear."
"Got lucky in a gate."
"Is that ring the key to their hideout?"
"Gotta test it."
Nam Gyuil nearly confirmed it but quickly pivoted to say he'd try it out. Answering too directly would raise Jo Heeyoung's suspicions.
He tapped the ring with his finger. Two arrows appeared—visible even to Jo Heeyoung.
"My god, pressing the arrow teleports you?"
"Seems like it."
Nam Gyuil gave short answers to her questions.
There were three Space Diamonds total, teleporting only between paired ones. One led to the Free People's hideout, another to their allies' spot. Either way, he'd wipe them out.
As he reached for an arrow, Jo Heeyoung called out.
"Sergeant Nam Gyuil. Hold on."
"What is it?"
"Just sneak a tracker onto their hideout and get out. No need for risky fights. Got it?"
"Yes, understood."
Nam Gyuil replied, opening his robe's inner pocket to reveal a pistol.
"If it gets dicey, I'll use this. Back in the army, they even praised my marksmanship."
Jo Heeyoung chuckled at his joke. This was still an era where guns could kill hunters. Pistols packed plenty of punch.
But Nam Gyuil, honed by proper training, could handle firearms to a degree. Move fast enough to throw off their aim, and he was good—especially with a bulletproof vest under his outer layer.
Once I get a bit stronger, guns won't touch me anyway.
That was his inner thought. Apply Mana Sword principles to armor, and defense skyrocketed, rendering bullets useless. Of course, for Nam Gyuil—who couldn't wield Mana Sword properly yet—that was distant.
He activated Form Change again, this time disguising as Bae Jeongmin.
Jo Heeyoung gave her final words.
"Then, we look forward to your success, Mr. Nam Gyuil."
Nam Gyuil pressed one of the Space Diamond's arrows with confident flair.
"You can count on it."
His body vanished in a brilliant swirl of light.
Nam Gyuil arrived via Space Diamond in a stark, barren space. No windows. A ceiling bulb flickered unstably. The floor was thick with black dust.
He turned to see operatives seated on hard metal chairs. A woman at a desk stood out—she wore a Space Diamond on her finger.
Nam Gyuil eyed her.
She's the Free People's number-two boss? Sharp eyes.
He cautiously scanned the room.
Something felt off.
Where the hell is this? Building's a wreck inside?
Astonishingly, no entrances or exits. Unnaturally chilly and damp air. Only a single vent in the ceiling.
As he stood still, an operative approached casually.
"Did you kill Im Youngsu?"
The man used polite speech, assuming Nam Gyuil was Bae Jeongmin. That alone revealed Bae's rank in the group.
Nam Gyuil deepened his voice.
"Handled him perfectly."
"What about your usual mask and sunglasses?"
"Smashed in the fight."
The operative nodded. To extract info, Nam Gyuil dragged out the chat.
"Air's stuffy here today, huh?"
"What can you do? Buried underground in a sealed room—cozy would be weirder."
"...Yeah."
Nam Gyuil's eyebrow twitched. Now he got why the Free People's hideout was so elusive.
It was a concrete bunker buried underground—no doors. Who'd imagine a sealed underground chamber?
Normal life here was impossible, of course. Power from a charged generator, food just instant rations. A mountain of aluminum cans piled in one corner.
Space was cramped.
Inconvenient living, but a perfect hideout.
The only way in or out was Space Diamond. He counted heads: just five. Exploitable gaps—he could take them.
Nam Gyuil slipped a hand into his pocket. A knife waited there.
He approached the number-two boss slowly.
"Got something to say."
"What?"
"It's just that..."
"Just that?"
The moment the number-two boss echoed him, Nam Gyuil whipped the knife from his pocket like an arrow.