Insurance Fraud! That Was Tae-hyun's Goal.

"That's literally insurance fraud..."

"Uh-uh. Quiet."

Cain started to speak but quickly shut his mouth.

It is insurance fraud, though...

Gardu, who had been tricked by Tae-hyun time and time again, would undoubtedly lose his mind the moment he laid eyes on him. He would definitely throw a punch first and ask questions later.

If that happened, Tae-hyun could easily manipulate public opinion by crying out, "Oh my goodness! Look at him! He just attacked our peaceful Uruk pirates! That's the kind of villain he is, everyone!"

The only problem was Gardu's current whereabouts. Locating a boss monster like Gardu was no easy feat.

Tae-hyun had asked Lee Da-bi for help, but even he didn't have high expectations. At best, he hoped for a vague clue.

Then again, considering the sheer size of the Power Warrior Guild, it wasn't entirely impossible that some random member visiting a remote coastal village might have spotted Gardu's fleet.

"I found him!"

"Oh. Already? What kind of clue is it?"

"No, not a clue. His exact location."

"?!?!"

For the first time in a long while, Tae-hyun was genuinely taken aback.

Upon seeing this guild announcement, Choi Min-soo and several other Power Warrior guild members wore deeply uneasy expressions.

"This..."

"No matter how you look at it..."

"It feels like they're targeting us, right?"

It was far too precise to be a mere coincidence. It was as if the notice had been posted with their exact situation in mind!

"B-but we don't have anything to feel guilty about, do we?"

"Well, we are here without reporting to the Guild Master..."

It was a bit embarrassing to report that they had gone fishing with Chairman Yoo, only to get kidnapped by Gardu and dragged away.

Aside from saving face, they had hidden the truth out of pure greed in the first place.

After all, if they had told the truth, countless other guild members would have swarmed them, shouting, "Me too! Let me in on this!"

Delicious food was meant to be enjoyed alone. The members of the Power Warrior Guild understood this fundamental truth all too well.

"So, did we get caught?"

"Of course we did. That's why she posted it. You know how petty our Guild Master can be."

"Hey, but our Guild Master is still way nicer than other guild leaders, isn't she?"

"Well, that's true, but she's definitely not someone who lets things go... Wait, you bastard, why are you suddenly praising the Guild Master? Did you snitch?!"

"W-what?!"

"You're the spy! There's no way the Guild Master would know we're here otherwise!"

"Look at this guy! He makes all the mistakes and then tries to frame me as a spy!"

In the end, the two grabbed each other by the collar! However, they didn't escalate to actual PvP. They both knew all too well just how weak they were.

"Pant, pant... I'll let it slide this time..."

"Same here..."

The pathetic argument came to an end, and the other guild members exchanged glances.

Can we really trust these guys?

Wouldn't it be better to just confess to the Guild Master and turn ourselves in?

My thoughts exactly.

In that case...!

With everyone in agreement, only one thing remained.

The guild member who had been bickering with Choi Min-soo was puzzled by the sudden silence of the others. Why are they acting like this? But he quickly realized the truth. These bastards are snitching right now!

"Hey! What are you guys doing!"

"You dirty cowards, keeping it all to yourselves!!"

In the end, Lee Da-bi received a complete and detailed account of the situation.

"Wait, how on earth did the Chairman end up dragged over there?"

Even Tae-hyun found the situation utterly absurd.

"Are you going to rescue him?"

"We aren't exactly that close..."

"..."

Lee Da-bi stared blankly at Tae-hyun.

Feeling a bit embarrassed, Tae-hyun cleared his throat. "Ahem."

"Well, he'll probably find a way to escape on his own once the fighting starts anyway. You said there are Power Warrior guild members there too."

"Our guild members are a bit..."

"..."

This time, Tae-hyun stared blankly at Lee Da-bi.

"Ah! But they said a ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠rescue team ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠has been organized."

"...A rescue team?" Tae-hyun asked back, dumbfounded.

"Someone who knows the Chairman organized it..."

"Ah. That makes sense." Knowing what kind of person Chairman Yoo was, Tae-hyun understood.

"Sigh. The boss gets stupidly captured, and the subordinates have to suffer."

If Chairman Yoo had heard this, he would have exploded in anger. Whose fault do you think this is?!

"But who is in the rescue team? If they're going after Gardu, ordinary players won't stand a chance."

"They won't just take the money and run, right?"

Lee Da-bi worried that Chairman Yoo might be getting scammed. A naive worry born of not knowing Chairman Yoo's true identity!

"Don't worry. He's not the type of person to get scammed."

"...?"

"Anyway, since a rescue team has been formed, it takes a load off my mind. I can focus on my own task."

Tae-hyun spoke shamelessly, as if he had ever carried a single ounce of worry.

Now that they had Gardu's location, all that was left was to go, get hit once, and run.

"But can you really get hit and escape?"

"Yeah. Gardu was terrifying back then..."

"Hmm. That's true."

He planned to use Archisus-related skills to dodge, but even considering that, Gardu's fleet was formidable.

Gardu was currently a boss monster that players couldn't defeat!

Most player sightings were along the lines of: "I met Gardu while sailing and died instantly T_T" or "Gardu sank a kingdom's navy ship and left."

His level must be well over 300, maybe 400... or even 500? Surely not 500. If he's over 500, he'd be completely impossible to defeat no matter what.

Indeed, relying on just one backup plan was worrisome. The reason Tae-hyun had survived despite making countless enemies was because he always prepared for contingencies!

"Hmm, but you just need to get hit, right? Do you really have to be the one to go and get hit, Tae-hyun?"

"Huh? What do you mean?"

For Gardu to lose his mind and attack, Tae-hyun had to go himself. Otherwise, Gardu might make a rational decision.

"Can't we just make him think you're there? Given his grudge, I feel like he'd attack to kill just by hearing your name."

"Hmm..."

Tae-hyun fell into thought. Impersonate him?

Indeed, they weren't on land, and from a distance on a ship, his face wouldn't be clearly visible anyway, so impersonating him...

"Hrmmm..."

Tae-hyun stared intently at Cain.

Cain let out a deep sigh. Then he shouted:

"I am Kim Tae-hyun! I am Kim Tae-hyun!!"

"W-what are you doing?"

Choi Sang-yun, who was listening nearby, asked in bewilderment.

"Practicing what I'll be doing."

"What a magnificent slave! Pelmas needs to watch and learn from ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠this!"

Galakpad slapped his knee in admiration.

Regardless, Cain was preparing with a look of utter defeat.

"Cain looks like he's half-given up on life lately."

"We should treat Cain a bit better."

Tae-hyun and Lee Da-bi whispered to each other in the back.

You bastards... I can hear everything...

Those two could make even a resigned heart flare up with anger!

"Listen carefully. We approach at night. That gives you a much higher chance of survival. We'll be waiting on a rowboat, so you steer this pirate ship straight ahead and impersonate me. After that, just use your skill to fly back to me."

The plan sounded plausible.

Cain was momentarily tempted, but he shook his head.

No, no! I can't fall for this!

Plans always went awry. Falling for this again would make him an idiot!

Surely the plan will fail again, and I'll end up captured by the pirates or something!

"You're thinking of something weird, aren't you?"

"N-no, I'm not."

"Don't think useless thoughts and just follow the plan. The important thing is for those pirates to sink the pirate ship flying our flag, so just draw aggro and run. Got it?"

"Got it."

"Good. As long as there are no unexpected variables, everything will go smoothly."

"As expected, night is best."

"Definitely better at night."

"Definitely..."

The rescue team players discussed and nodded in agreement.

Indeed, night was the best time for a rescue operation!

The pirate ships would be anchored and resting, and their guard would be down, making it easy for rankers like them to approach.

"I believe Crawford was the one who encountered Gardu here before, correct?"

"Yeah. I boarded a ship to go to the Southern Continent, and he suddenly chased us like crazy."

Crawford frowned as he recalled that time.

Gardu had chased them like a madman as if he'd eaten something wrong, forcing Crawford to use a precious teleportation scroll he'd been saving. Do you know how much that cost!

"Since Alcott and Roy have the highest stealth skills here, you two take charge of the infiltration. Is that fine?"

"Hmph. Guess I have no choice."

"I-I'm fine with that."

"Evangeline and I will wait in the middle and move in if there's trouble."

Alcott and Roy would infiltrate, while the tanks, Smith and Evangeline, would standby in the middle.

If trouble arose, the two planned to climb onto the pirate ship and run wild.

As top-tier rankers and tanks, they could easily hold their ground on a pirate ship.

"Crawford, you wait at the very ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠back..."

"I know. If anything goes wrong, I'll just blow everything to pieces."

As a pyromancer, Crawford's fire magic was incredibly powerful. If he unleashed it on the pirate ships, it would cause massive chaos in the night.

"A direct confrontation with Gardu will be difficult. Don't think about recklessly fighting the boss monster; let's just focus on carrying out our assigned roles."

Everyone nodded at Smith's words.

Though there were differences, everyone here was a ranker. Dying once carried a severe penalty.

Yet, the fact that they were here meant they were all confident they wouldn't die.

No matter what happened, they were confident they could save their own skins and escape!

Evangeline thought to herself:

Focusing on the task is fine, but I need to make sure I don't get scapegoated.

Suddenly, Tae-hyun came to mind.

An atrocious human being who would exploit someone to the bone the moment they let their guard down!

A man who would never live at a loss, no matter where he went. What she needed right now was an attitude like Tae-hyun's.

If things look bad, I won't hesitate to run away first.

I won't live like a pushover anymore!

Evangeline resolved.

Though she had been a victim, there was a lot to learn from Tae-hyun's methods.

Play Pan-On like Kim Tae-hyun!