Potential (2)
Lung Xiao’s expression was anything but pleasant right now. That was only natural. Out of nowhere, the Justice Guild had dragged him off to prison under the pretext of investigating incidents he’d kept perfectly hidden. Then came the explosive exposé that shattered the Black Society. And now, in his absence, the foxes were already at each other’s throats, fighting over who would sit on the empty throne.
Fucking bastards. How dare they try to claim the seat of the true king while he was still alive?
Lung Xiao’s rage boiled over at the sheer insolence. It has to be that bitch Chen Mei. Ever since she came back from Korea, she’s been acting strange.
There was clearly a mastermind behind all of this. The sudden appearance of irrefutable evidence for crimes that had been buried for years. The exposure of secrets only Lung Xiao and his innermost circle had known. The only person capable of pulling that off was, as far as he knew, just one woman.
Chen Mei.
That fucking whore… After everything I did for her. She dares shit on me?
Lung Xiao ground his teeth so hard they creaked. If he could somehow get out of this place, he swore he would kill that woman without fail.
But that was only if he could actually escape.
Right now, the Justice Guild was still interrogating him. If he lost control of his anger and tried to break out, he would immediately be charged with escaping during an investigation. More importantly, it would be as good as admitting to every suspicious circumstance they were currently looking into.
If they catch me, it’s straight to the Abyss.
The deepest underground level of the Justice Guild. The place where high-rank, high-danger prisoners were kept. It was guarded with extreme security, and the inmates were fitted with debuff magic tools so luxurious it was almost insulting. And it was buried a full ten floors underground. Even Eagol was said to be unable to escape once locked inside. That was the Justice Guild’s deepest abyss—the Abyss.
Considering the full strength of the Justice Guild and the American guilds they could call in for support, even someone like Lung Xiao would find a complete escape nearly impossible. He was the worst kind of trash—someone who believed anyone who wasn’t Chinese was garbage and that he was the true strongest hunter who surpassed even Eagol—but at least his judgment wasn’t completely garbage.
For now, I’ll drag this out as long as possible. Once the situation in China is sorted, the government will pull me out themselves.
Lung Xiao held on with that thought. Dealing with those lowly, sweat-stinking flat-noses was incredibly unpleasant and irritating, but it was still better than the Abyss.
But then—
“Whoa… You really saw him? Senior, I mean. Park Jihun.”
“Yeah, yeah. That insane growth rate? No joke. B-rank in just two weeks.”
“Right? And his familiars grow too? That’s seriously amazing.”
“Hey, quiet down. We’ve got an interrogation to do.”
“Ah, yes sir!”
Two Justice Guild members entered through the door, chatting as they came in. They were speaking English, but it was simple enough that Lung Xiao could understand every word.
Park Jihun… growth…?
Lung Xiao recalled the man as he listened to their conversation. The one he had ordered Chen Mei to either bring to China or kill. The one he had called a lowly race that was supposedly the world’s first and only of its kind.
Wasn’t that bastard F-rank? Growth?
From F to B in just two weeks since awakening. An absurd speed. And if his familiars could grow as well…
That’s impossible.
Lung Xiao dismissed it as nonsense. How could a lowly race possibly be born with such ridiculous talent? It had to be a bluff meant to anger him and force a confession.
Wait, but how would these guys even know about that?
It had never been made public that Lung Xiao had tried to have Park Jihun killed. The conversation sounded completely casual.
Hold on. Come to think of it, Chen Mei started acting weird right after she returned from Korea.
Suddenly, the pieces began clicking together in Lung Xiao’s head.
What if she made contact with Park Jihun and recognized his true value?
That would explain why she had suddenly betrayed both him and the Black Society.
Because she found a better master.
Chen Mei wasn’t the type of dog who stayed loyal to one owner for life. She was more like a stray cat who would follow whoever offered the most food and treats.
As long as the conditions are right, she’ll betray anyone.
Lung Xiao knew her true nature very well. The Black Society had simply been the place offering the most food and snacks up until now. Because he understood her personality so clearly, he had always instilled fear in her—warning her constantly that if she ever betrayed him, she would be torn to shreds in the most horrific way possible.
It was the standard method for controlling a creature that only cared about profit and loss: make sure fear outweighed any temptation.
So Park Jihun… Park Jihun had something that could overcome that fear.
That something was most likely the insane growth speed that let him reach B-rank in just two weeks, along with the special ability to raise his familiars’ stats.
Lung Xiao was convinced of it.
“…So it was a planned betrayal after all?”
Mana began to rise from Lung Xiao’s body like thick smoke. Deep, burning fury. The woman who had dared betray him had thrown herself at the very lowly race he had ordered her to kill. The sheer absurdity of the situation filled him with uncontrollable rage.
All because of a lowly race. Because that lowly race happened to possess a special ability. Because of that, Chen Mei had betrayed him, and now he was stuck in the Justice Guild, groveling in front of these flat-noses out of fear of the Abyss.
“Chao ni ma.”
He ground his teeth. The mana surged even higher.
I don’t need any of this anymore. I’ll just destroy everything. I’m going to kill those bastards.
Chen Mei and Park Jihun, who had put him in this position, and every piece of trash who dared disturb his China. What use was a prison? He was Lung Xiao. He was undoubtedly the strongest hunter in the world, beyond even China.
With that thought, he shot to his feet.
“Drop that mana right now!”
“Don’t move.”
But the Justice Guild members had already begun responding the moment he started gathering mana. Six of them. All A-rank hunters. And because they were from the Justice Guild, they specialized in hunter-versus-hunter combat.
No matter how strong or talented Lung Xiao was, he didn’t have much experience fighting other hunters. These people, on the other hand, were specialists.
Even if they were only A-rank, six of them together should have been enough to handle even a high-tier S-rank hunter…
Mana Explosion Detected
…Or so they thought.
Lung Xiao’s mana detonated around him. The six Justice Guild members were sent flying. The specially reinforced walls crumpled.
“……”
With an irritated, crumpled expression, Lung Xiao casually swung his hand once.
BOOM!
The wall, coated with anti-mana special coating, shattered completely. Though to be fair, the fact that it had endured a strike from one of the world’s top S-ranks for even a moment was impressive in its own right.
Regardless, news of Lung Xiao’s rampage spread through the entire guild instantly.
CODE RED, CODE RED! Lung Xiao escaping during interrogation. Investigation Room 3, Block B. Immediate response required!
Hunters rushed toward Lung Xiao’s location the moment they heard the broadcast. Because the opponent was who he was, they also sent an urgent cooperation request to the American hunter guilds.
BOOM! BOOM!
“Park Jihun… Chen Mei… You fucking bastards, I’ll kill you all!”
Unable to contain his rage, Lung Xiao smashed through walls as he advanced. Three S-rank hunters from the Justice Guild’s elite “Justice” team surrounded him.
“Slow, Weakness, Bind.”
One of them, an S-rank magic-type hunter, fired off a triple debuff. Slowed, weakened, and restrained. Simple spells, but cast by an S-rank, their power was on another level.
His body, which had been moving to destroy the wall, slowed down. His stats dropped, reducing the power of his strikes. Rings of mana burst from the floor and bound his body.
“Ugh…?”
Even Lung Xiao—one of the world’s absolute top-tier hunters, with estimated average stats around 800—was momentarily caught by the triple debuff combo. Of course, the restraint didn’t last long. He blasted the magic away with his overwhelming mana and quickly overcame it with his high stat resistance.
But in that brief opening—
The S-rank hunter in the tank position charged in. From behind him, the guild master “Hunter Ben” fired arrows precisely into Lung Xiao’s joints.
CRACK!
“Aaaargh! Chao ni ma (You fucking bastard)!!”
“Sorry, I don’t really speak Chinese.”
As expected from three S-ranks. Even if they were slightly weaker than Lung Xiao or Yang Siwu, Hunter Ben’s combat ability—with stats in the 700s—was still formidable. And since they specialized in capturing hunters, they were naturally far stronger in hunter-versus-hunter fights than ordinary hunters. They knew exactly how to counter him.
In the end, Lung Xiao, who had tried to escape in a fit of rage, was subdued by the Justice Guild’s elite members and immediately sent down to the guild’s deepest floor—the Abyss.
“Alright, shall we continue the rest of the interrogation down here?”
They fitted him with two debuff accessories per limb, each carrying a Weakness effect. They hung one around his neck and placed another on his head. Because the equipment was enchanted with magic, each piece cost hundreds of millions of won, but the effect was certain. They had been acquired through donations from various organizations.
His stats had likely dropped by more than 200 points. On top of that, they bound his arms and legs with specially made shackles of magic-stone alloy that even A-rank hunters needed over a minute to break. The moment he pulled on them, thousands of volts of electricity would surge through his body thanks to the connected generator. Finally, they attached devices to his ears that delivered electric shocks at regular intervals along with loud noise, inducing insomnia and deep fatigue so he couldn’t exert his full strength.
It was a horrifying sight—one that would spark debates about human rights—but it was unavoidable if they wanted to contain a non-cooperative, rampaging S-rank hunter. That was exactly why this place, buried so deep underground, was called the Abyss.
“Chao ni ma! Chao ni ma!!”
CRACKLE!
“Grrrrk!”
“Idiot. If you’d just stayed quiet, you wouldn’t have had to go through this.”
Hunter Ben watched Lung Xiao thrash around, spitting curses in Chinese, only to get shocked by electricity. He let out a deep sigh, then turned and left the cell, leaving the man exactly as he was.