Chapter 91
Chapter 91
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ace
Chapter: 91
Chapter Title: Blue Zone Scout
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Thud-.
The slow sound of footsteps echoed unusually loudly. When emotions run high, they often reveal themselves not through expressions or words, but through the gait alone.
That was Unhyang right now.
Watching her seemingly calm demeanor, Soo-hyuk was certain.
She was angry.
"You…"
The pupils of Jeong Yu-han's eyes widened at the familiar face.
She was definitely the beauty he'd seen on the first floor of Lee Soo-hyuk's dorm. Having fallen for her at first sight and tried to hit on her, her face was firmly etched in his memory.
But her being here meant…
"What’s your relationship with Lee Soo-hyuk?"
Unhyang answered Jeong Yu-han's question.
"Manager."
"Manager? His?"
She hadn't said anything like that when they met before.
He frowned in displeasure.
"You tricked me."
"I just didn't say anything. Never tricked you. Don't get the wrong idea."
It wasn't wrong. But in this brief, unremarkable exchange, Jeong Yu-han felt a strange sense of dissonance.
What was the difference? For some reason, the woman before him seemed like an entirely different person despite the same appearance. As if someone's soul had slipped into her body.
The chilling atmosphere made Jeong Yu-han unable to approach her as boldly as he had that morning.
"You said you're from Blue Zone?"
At Unhyang's question, Jeong Yu-han made a troubled face.
Back then, the name of a massive guild had been his calling card, his halo.
Now, that same massive guild's name had boomeranged back as a weakness.
A giant guild like Blue Zone forcibly recruiting players was something that absolutely could not be exposed.
Why else would Blue Zone have sent him?
They'd chosen someone with the 'Night of Silence' skill precisely for situations like this.
But…
'Baehae is a big company. If they start spreading rumors, this blows up way too much.'
Incidents like this needed to be handled as quietly as possible. Giant guilds didn't just do good, legal things, but that didn't mean they could come into the light.
If this got out…
'…It won't end with just falling out of favor with the vice guild master.'
Swoosh-.
Jeong Yu-han's gaze alternated between Soo-hyuk and Unhyang.
There were two options.
Seal their mouths through persuasion.
Or…
"Can you handle it?"
As that thought continued—
"Who do you think you are?"
Unhyang's voice whispered close by.
A voice sweet like honey in his ear.
The moment he felt her breath mixed in, a crack echoed from Jeong Yu-han's neck.
'What…'
Feeling his mind fade, Jeong Yu-han took in the sight of Unhyang who had snapped his neck one last time.
'How did this…'
Thud-.
Jeong Yu-han collapsed to the floor.
Soo-hyuk was just as shocked by the instantaneous event.
'How did she even move?'
Even his dynamic vision couldn't catch it properly.
It looked like she kicked the same spot several times, and suddenly she was behind Jeong Yu-han.
It felt like watching magic. Some kind of footwork technique, but he couldn't identify it.
The Master of Lightning didn't need to be used.
Soo-hyuk stared at Unhyang in astonishment.
'I figured she was skilled, but…'
Despite being injured and exhausted from their fight, she'd taken down a quasi-ranker in one move.
A feat even most rankers would struggle with, and Unhyang handled it effortlessly.
For someone with that level of skill to be playing manager.
She was truly inscrutable.
"Why are you staring at me like I'm a monster?"
Had she noticed his gaze?
"You could do this much too, Soo-hyuk-ssi. Give it another half year or so."
Half a year.
A generous assessment. He didn't know her exact level, but it was clear she was in a realm ordinary players couldn't reach with just time and effort.
That was the domain of talent.
"I've never looked at you like a monster."
"It felt like you did…"
"Just surprised. You're even better in a fight than I thought, and I wondered how you got here."
At Soo-hyuk's words, Unhyang glanced down at Jeong Yu-han on the floor.
"I met him this morning."
"This guy?"
"Yeah. He shows up out of nowhere trying to hit on me, and I wanted to punch him."
The murderous aura from moments ago was gone; Unhyang was back to her usual self.
"Why didn't you? You could've handled it easily."
"He hands me his card right away, says he's from Blue Zone. I figured I'd hear him out…"
Unhyang briefly explained what happened with Jeong Yu-han.
Including the worries she'd been mulling over until now.
"Now I see it was pointless worrying. Seeing you two fighting, it looks like you've already made your decision, Soo-hyuk-ssi."
"That decision? I made it ages ago."
"Still, you never know? They might offer insane terms and sway you. And in my eyes, you're worth it, Soo-hyuk-ssi."
For someone confessing their worries, Unhyang's face looked oddly relieved.
Thanks to the resolution of the dilemma she'd been stewing over.
"But I was wrong. Even if you wanted to go to a guild like that, I wouldn't let you."
"I already turned them down."
"Oh, right. Yeah. Hehe."
Realizing belatedly she'd worried needlessly on her own, Unhyang laughed awkwardly.
The desire to be together and the wish for someone she genuinely liked to go to a better place.
She'd agonized between the two, but Soo-hyuk had already decided.
"Anyway…"
A beat late, Unhyang realized the gravity of the situation and nudged Jeong Yu-han with her foot.
"What do we do with this? We should report to the company first, right?"
Blue Zone had attacked a streamer.
No, setting aside the streamer part, a giant guild bullying a regular player was huge news.
If this got out, it'd deal a serious blow to Blue Zone's image.
"They need to be publicly humiliated…"
"We'll report to Team Leader-nim. But hold off on going public."
"Pardon? Why?"
"It'd mean all-out war with me, Baehae, or Blue Zone."
Blue Zone was a giant guild.
In this tower, giant guilds were nation-like behemoths, massive power blocs.
Going up against them was never a good choice. But letting it slide wasn't an option either.
An earthworm that doesn't twitch when stepped on just gets crushed to death.
They needed to show they had fangs hidden too.
"Being a streamer comes in handy at times like this."
Soo-hyuk grinned and looked around.
The vacant lot turned to ruins from the fight.
Seeing the scorched ground from lightning and the shattered, burned chairs and flower beds here and there, Soo-hyuk continued.
"Let's stream. Right here."
Late into the dawn hours.
Lee Won-jae opened his eyes in the pitch-black room.
Bzzz, ring-.
His kit buzzed at this late hour. Something that would never happen normally.
Lee Won-jae didn't get annoyed or angry.
Instead, he hurriedly checked his kit. A call at this hour meant it was urgent.
"What is it?"
-V-Vice Guild Master-nim. There's something you need to see.
"See? At this hour?"
The caller was his dedicated aide, handling everything from operations to miscellaneous tasks. He wasn't the type to make a fuss like this.
-Yes. That streamer Lee Soo-hyuk…
At his continued words, Lee Won-jae sat up in bed.
"Hang up."
Lee Won-jae checked the ongoing streams.
He'd been keeping tabs, so Lee Soo-hyuk's stream was subscribed.
Despite the late hour, quite a few viewers were tuned in.
A number well over 5,000.
A lot for the late hour, but considering Lee Soo-hyuk's average viewers, it was actually low.
But what really caught Lee Won-jae's eye wasn't the viewer count—it was the title.
An ominous title.
He'd just ordered Jeong Yu-han to bring in Lee Soo-hyuk not long ago. Timing-wise, they'd likely meet today or tomorrow.
Lee Won-jae entered Soo-hyuk's stream.
Lee Soo-hyuk wasn't streaming from the trial grounds.
A vacant lot on the 4th floor. One charred black all around, shattered and destroyed in places.
"Assassins after me in the trial, and I didn't expect one here too."
The stream was ongoing.
It hadn't been long since it started.
That probably explained the lower viewer count.
As expected, the viewers were going wild.
Their favorite streamer had been ambushed. Fans had every reason to be furious.
'Did it fail?'
This was outside his calculations.
Persuasion might fail, but outright failure wasn't anticipated.
No matter how talented, talent had limits.
Even if he truly had Lee Soo-hyuk-level brilliance, a 4th-floor player beating a quasi-ranker was impossible.
So then.
'Baehae must've assigned a bodyguard.'
That was the only explanation.
And surprisingly, it was close to the truth. The only difference was that it was a manager, not a bodyguard.
'This is trouble.'
He could see why they'd woken him at this hour.
Lee Soo-hyuk was a fairly popular streamer.
Plus, Jeong Yu-han probably hadn't gone all out from the start, so Lee Soo-hyuk likely knew who was behind it.
If this spread through his stream…
Blue Zone would be on the hot seat in an instant.
Lee Won-jae's brow furrowed.
'No way…'
His eyes and ears focused on the stream.
Lee Soo-hyuk's mouth slowly opened.
"I don't know who’s behind it yet."
Good.
If Blue Zone's name dropped here, public opinion would explode.
But not yet.
Lee Soo-hyuk's words continued.
"I have suspicions, but nothing confirmed, so I can't say."
Was that true?
It was odd. If so, Jeong Yu-han had tried recruiting without revealing the backer.
No matter how he thought about it, that didn't make sense.
'What the hell happened…'
And then.
Bzzz-.
A call on his kit.
His dedicated aide again.
"Yeah. I'm watching now."
-S-Sir… it's not about that.
"Then what?"
Interrupted sleep plus irritating news had piled up. Lee Won-jae's voice sharpened like a blade.
-S-Someone wants to meet you, Vice Guild Master-nim.
"Me?"
-Yes.
Before Lee Won-jae could ask who, the aide hurriedly added.
-Baehae's Management Division Team Leader, John Tail…