Chapter 58
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 58
Chapter Title: The Tame Cat Smiles
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The tame cat smiles.
Hwoooosh!
"...!"
With its characteristic sound, everything around Lee Ji-ah began to freeze.
It felt just like time itself had come to a standstill.
The sunlight pouring down onto the desolate highway vanished in an instant.
In its place came a bone-chilling cold that cut like knives, along with blankets of white frost.
'W-what the hell is that woman?!'
The dozens of thugs encircling them were overcome with terror.
"A-attack!!"
Someone screamed in raw panic.
But no sound reached their ears at all.
'My hand... it's frozen...?'
The attacker who had been aiming his gun couldn't pull the trigger.
He had definitely tried to squeeze it, but sensation had vanished from his fingertips.
Another tried to draw up mana and manifest a spell, but his body refused to obey his will.
A good number of them had their entire bodies locked in ice, and soon even their eyeballs ground to a halt.
"Insolent fools."
White vapor drifted from between Lee Ji-ah's lips.
She swung her hand lightly.
Paaaaah!
With that single gesture, the asphalt road transformed into a vast sheet of ice, while moisture in the air froze into glittering crystals that adorned the empty sky.
The profusion of ice crystals resembled a floral offering to the dead.
"U, uwaaa...!"
The attacker at the front screamed, but his voice cut off midway.
His mouth stayed agape as he froze solid in a blink.
Pajik, pajijik.
Another pulse of frigid energy erupted from Lee Ji-ah like an explosion.
"...Die."
Kwadeuk! Kwajik!
A few of the attackers were fairly strong; they began resisting by channeling mana.
"U...uwaaaa!"
A hulking man cloaked in mana shattered the ice encasing him and charged straight at Lee Ji-ah.
But the instant he took a step forward.
Jjejeok-
Frost gripped his leading foot, rooting it to the ground.
He panicked and tried to yank it free, but the cold had already climbed to his waist.
"N-no! No!!"
As he shrieked, another attacker channeled mana and hurled a fireball at Lee Ji-ah.
Lee Ji-ah didn't dodge the incoming fireball. She simply watched it approach.
Chiiik.
The blazing orb bleached white in midair and froze over.
Tuk, tududuk.
The flames scattered across the ground as hailstones.
"H-how can fire..."
The villain who'd launched the fireball twisted into a mask of despair.
As he let out a sigh, he couldn't halt the ice devouring his body.
Soon his pupils frosted over white too, sealing him in utter silence.
The view ahead of Lee Ji-ah had become a frozen white hellscape.
The only survivors were Si-woo and his group behind her.
Baek Chang-gi climbed out of the car, clucking his tongue in amazement.
"Damn. First time I've ever seen Ji-ah this furious."
He shook his head in disbelief.
She'd always been the relatively docile type.
Unlike Kim Ye-eun, she stayed within the bounds of normalcy.
But right now, she looked every bit the Snow Queen descended upon the earth.
"We gotta rein her in or something? She's liable to freeze the whole damn country."
True to Baek Chang-gi's words, Lee Ji-ah's rampage showed no signs of stopping.
If anything, she was expanding her range, hunting for more prey.
Si-woo stared at the icy vista and activated his skill.
'Heart's Eye.'
Si-woo's pupils glowed an unearthly blue.
Name: ???
Rank: B
Potential: C
Special Notes: Body Modification / Modified Human
Name: ???
Rank: A
Potential: B
Special Notes: Body Modification / Modified Human
'Villain Alliance.'
Every last one was a B-rank or higher modified human.
'No bluff.'
The details visible through Heart's Eye corroborated everything Director Miller had said.
"They're trying to overwhelm us with sheer numbers."
Even after Lee Ji-ah wiped out the vanguard, modified humans kept pouring in without end.
Undeterred by the carnage, they barreled toward their target.
"Grab 'em!!"
They smashed through ice and trampled their own frozen allies in a relentless surge.
Every swing of Lee Ji-ah's hand froze dozens more, but they just kept coming.
Baek Chang-gi rolled his neck and stepped forward.
"Hah, these punks really picked today to die."
A grin tugged at his lips.
"Hey, Ji-ah! Save some fun for me!"
Baek Chang-gi cloaked himself in crimson battle spirit and plunged into the heart of the enemy ranks.
Kwaaaang!
A shockwave detonated from his landing spot.
Modified humans scattered like bowling pins, flung into the air.
"Aha!"
Baek Chang-gi snatched the head of one lunging at him with a single hand.
Pajik!
The skull burst like overripe fruit.
He tore, smashed, and pulverized everything in reach.
While the beast rampaged, Kim Ye-eun stuck tight to Si-woo's side.
Her blade trained outward, she scanned every direction warily.
"... ."
Kim Ye-eun twitched like she was dying to charge in, but her duty to guard Si-woo held her in check.
'Like a pup itching for walkies.'
That was Si-woo's thought as he watched her.
He showed zero tension, even smack in the middle of the fight.
Lee Ji-ah was flash-freezing attackers right in front of him. Baek Chang-gi was caving in skulls left and right.
Status info for the fallen and frozen scrolled across his vision.
Among the frozen corpses, some were playing dead, holding their breath.
Name: ???
Rank: S
Potential: A
Special Notes: Body Modification / Modified Human
Modified humans that Si-woo dismissed as fakes.
Yet even S-ranks lay helplessly frozen.
'Without these eyes, I'd have been completely duped.'
No matter how mighty Lee Ji-ah's magic was.
S-rank modified humans icing over in one shot? Didn't add up.
They'd camouflaged themselves as frozen solid, biding time for an opening.
'Five.'
Exactly five lurkers holding their breath.
Si-woo quietly called out.
"Ye-eun."
"Yes? Yes!"
"Over there—ice at two o'clock. Nine o'clock position. Rock crevice at eleven..."
Si-woo pointed precisely at all five spots.
"You see 'em?"
Kim Ye-eun's eyes followed his fingers.
Her lips split into a grin that reached her ears.
"Want me to kill 'em?"
"Yeah."
"On it!"
The words had barely left his mouth when Kim Ye-eun shot forward.
Her gleeful dash traced a black streak through the air.
Shiiik-
First mark.
The S-rank modified human lying in wait, frozen like a statue, never got a chance to react.
Seogeok.
His head sailed through the air.
His face betrayed no awareness of the decapitation.
She didn't pause, streaking across the battlefield to hit Si-woo's coordinates one by one.
"Found you."
Her blade plunged into the heart of another who'd been frozen in wait, just like the first.
"You too!"
The one huddled in the rock crevice cleaved in half alongside the stone.
Black mana rippled along her sword.
Her Ghostly Aura neutralized their regeneration, dooming the modified humans who'd banked on it while playing possum.
The instant the battlefield turned into a stage for Kim Ye-eun, Baek Chang-gi, and Lee Ji-ah.
'Now!'
The gap as Kim Ye-eun peeled away from Si-woo's side to handle the S-ranks.
Baek Chang-gi tied up fending off the mob.
Lee Ji-ah blasting ice magic indiscriminately.
Seizing that split-second void, the sixth predator stirred from hiding.
Right behind the limousine—a shadow launched from cover.
"Boss!!"
Kim Ye-eun's belated scream rang out as she whipped around and bolted back.
Baek Chang-gi was swarmed too.
The assassin closed on Si-woo's back in a flash.
A combat dagger gleamed in his grip.
'Dead.'
Elation flashed in the assassin's eyes.
At this range, no one walked away. Absolute certainty.
Hell, Han Si-woo hadn't even flinched—just stared dead ahead.
"Don't worry. Just a quick nap."
His hand grazed Si-woo's nape.
Hwoooosh-
The air around Si-woo locked solid in an instant.
It tricked the senses into believing time itself had halted.
The assassin's pupils quivered.
'Hand... won't move.'
Dagger tip a mere 1cm from skin—yet it felt like an eternity away.
Sususu...
White frost bloomed from his fingertips.
Fingers. Wrist. Elbow.
Frost everywhere his eyes fell.
"Wh-what...?"
Panic choked his scream attempt.
The moment his jaws parted, a crack split from his chin—ice shattering.
'...My jaw!!'
His gaze caught a woman striding toward him.
Lee Ji-ah advanced slowly, one hand outstretched.
Cold extended from her fingertips, latching onto the assassin.
Through the entire fight, she'd never once let Si-woo out of her sight.
She'd known.
The second his guard dipped, someone would pounce.
So she'd pretended utter disregard for her rear while mowing down foes ahead.
Total focus on icing the front lines.
And her hunch nailed it.
The assassin had exploited the chaos in that gap—the precise moment she'd anticipated.
Unlike beasts thrashing on instinct, this was her chance to prove her worth.
A feat only she could pull off. Goosebumps prickled her skin.
'...See? The boss needs me.'
"...I absolutely."
Lee Ji-ah fixed the assassin with her signature blank white stare.
"won't let you touch him."
Paaang!
She clenched her fist. The ice shrouding the assassin ballooned explosively.
Dagger in hand, triumphant grin frozen mid-celebration.
Trapped like a specimen in crystal-clear ice.
He never made contact—his hand locked midair.
Si-woo shoved the frozen modified human aside with mild annoyance.
"Thanks. You just saved my skin."
At his quiet words, the corners of Lee Ji-ah's mouth curved ever so slightly upward.
She closed the distance to Si-woo and planted herself squarely in front of him.
"Just doing my job."
For the first time since the battle kicked off, a flush colored her cheeks.