Chapter 24
Chapter 24
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 24
Chapter Title: Proposal to Banshee
-----------------------------------------------------------------
That instant.
“Keuk!”
“Keurk!”
“Kuhk!”
The three people approaching Su-ho froze in place for a moment.
It was because of the S-rank intimidation from Dragon Blood, locking their bodies as if they’d been hit by monster fear.
‘At their current levels, the Banshees probably couldn’t even breathe properly right now.’
That was why Su-ho approached them slowly without further action, removing their hats and masks one by one.
After pulling off the first man’s mask, Su-ho looked at his face and said.
“Kim Hyun-min. In charge of mobility with your teleportation skill, job’s a delivery driver.”
Next, he removed the second man’s mask and said.
“Seo Gyo-won. Handles bomb-making for terror ops, job’s a middle school science teacher.”
Finally, he took off the last man’s mask and said.
“Gwak Du-ho. Scrapes by as a day laborer, but despite your skinny build, you’re the team’s heavy lifter.”
Now only one remained.
The team’s sole female member, the founder who created the Banshees, their leader, and the brain behind every operation and protocol.
Su-ho removed the mask from the last member, pinned immobile in the Shadow Prison, and said.
“Gu Yeon-hwa, Korean Women’s University student, the real boss of the Banshees you created, and an EMP ability user who disables electronics and mana items, right?”
“Hahk, hahk…… How did you……!”
“Anyone who wants to know can find out. More importantly, take a good look at my face. Guess who I am?”
“We just met today, how would I…… Huh?”
Surprise flashed across Gu Yeon-hwa’s face as she spat out her response.
Yeah.
You’d recognize me even if no one else does.
You’re the team’s brain, after all.
Gu Yeon-hwa stared in disbelief and said.
“You’re…… An Su-ho?”
“That’s right. As expected from the brain—you got it right away. So why don’t you talk some sense into them. Tell them I’m not some weirdo.”
Su-ho lifted the intimidation and shadow effects on Gu Yeon-hwa.
Her ragged breathing steadied at once, and after catching her breath in relief, she raised her head and asked.
“What the hell are you?”
“Don’t you recognize me from my face? We can get into details later.”
“How can we trust you?”
“Don’t then.”
“What?”
“Including today’s terror attempt, you’ve pulled off three in total so far. No civilian casualties yet, but property damage counts as a crime, doesn’t it?
The police haven’t caught a whiff of your attacks. But I know everything—how you carried them out, how you covered your tracks. I even know where you live and about the people around you. So, feel like talking now?”
Gu Yeon-hwa’s pupils trembled violently.
Yeah.
No matter how much of a future terror powerhouse Banshee’s leader you’ll become, right now you’re just a college girl who’s barely gotten started.
Su-ho released the intimidation on the other three and said.
“Listen up, all of you. Like I said, I’m not with the government, and I’ve got no intention of catching or harming you. So let’s talk. Peacefully.”
At his words, the four exchanged glances with Su-ho in the middle.
Then Gu Yeon-hwa nodded and said.
“……Fine.”
“Good. But first, let’s relocate. We can’t have a sensitive chat here, right? Your hideout would be the safest spot for that. Hyun-min, open the door. We can’t exactly take a taxi that far.”
Kim Hyun-min, the team’s mobility specialist, muttered in disbelief.
“……Crazy.”
***
Banshee’s hideout on the outskirts of Seoul.
Su-ho arrived and plopped down naturally on the sofa inside, saying.
“It’s your hideout, so make yourselves comfortable. I’m fine—grab a drink if you’re thirsty.”
Su-ho acted right at home, and though Gu Yeon-hwa was thrown off by his brazenness for a moment, she quickly composed herself and sat across from him.
“Anyway, who the hell are you? Why’s a famous celeb we’ve only seen on TV suddenly show up here? And how do you know our identities?”
“It’s my personal skill.”
“What?”
“My personal skill. Showing up here, knowing your secrets—all of it.”
“What does that…….”
“What? You’re all hiding skills yourselves to pull off these terror ops. I’m the same.”
Gu Yeon-hwa shut her mouth.
She had no comeback.
So she changed the subject.
“……So what do you want from us?”
“Work with me.”
“Work?”
“You see my interview article? I told that PBS reporter about my future plans.”
Gu Yeon-hwa nodded, so Su-ho nodded back and said.
“Makes this easier then. You know my goal is to join the National Hunter Association? That wasn’t just interview talk—it’s real.”
“……What?”
Gu Yeon-hwa’s face crumpled again.
It made no sense.
But Su-ho brushed it off casually.
“Don’t make that face. Everyone I meet asks if I’m serious.”
“So you are serious?”
“You ask again? Yeah, I am. I’m even planning to take the Grade 5 Public Recruitment this time.”
Gu Yeon-hwa and the other three’s eyes widened again.
The National Hunter Association’s Grade 5 exam was notoriously tough—they wouldn’t hire anyone if they didn’t meet the bar.
“From your faces, you all know how brutal the Grade 5 is. But it’s true—I’m taking it, and I’ll pass for sure. Then I’ll climb through a post or two and end up in the Special Division.”
Special Division.
The air grew heavy at the words.
Banshee had formed precisely because of the National Hunter Association’s core unit, the ‘Special Division.’
Su-ho knew.
He’d worked there once.
But he pressed on undeterred.
“You’re terrible at hiding your reactions—how do you keep your secrets in daily life? Don’t worry, I want into the Special Division for reasons like yours.”
“Like ours?”
“You saw the interview—I’m a Gate orphan. At first, I thought it was just bad luck getting caught in that disaster. Gates are unavoidable calamities, right? But later I learned it was man-made.”
Gates varied, but some triggered a Gate Shock on emergence, devastating the surroundings before spewing monsters.
A prime example was Greenred, the first gate Su-ho had soloed at Sindorim Station.
The nation had created the Gate Division in the Association to monitor emergence signs and prepare for shocks, but Su-ho had always assumed his family’s tragedy came from an unpredictable ‘Sudden Gate.’
He’d blamed only the Gates and the System, making their eradication his ultimate goal.
But after joining the Association and rising high, he learned the truth.
That incident was pure man-made disaster.
“You know the saying: no shell falls twice in the same spot?”
“Yeah. Same applies to Gates.”
“Right. Once a Gate appears, no second one spawns there. Processed areas become Safe Zones, and land prices skyrocket.”
Gu Yeon-hwa’s eyes widened as Su-ho spoke.
“No way?”
“Yeah. The government knew about that Gate Shock ahead of time. But they let it happen on purpose. That area had all sorts of development projects tied to it. I know who was involved. That’s why I’m joining the Association.”
“To go in and kill them all?”
“Nah? This is a nation of laws—murder’s off the table. I’d have prepped quietly if that was the plan. I’ll get revenge another way. And you’re the same, right? You all hold grudges against the Special Division, so you target places connected to them for terror. That’s why I came to you.”
It was all true.
What happened to Su-ho, why Banshee formed—none of it fabricated to lure them.
Everyone’s faces turned deadly serious at Su-ho’s words.
He continued.
“The Special Division wields the Association’s strongest power. It influences other government branches too, and has investigative and prosecutorial authority over Players. I’ll become its chief and make them pay properly.”
Su-ho met Gu Yeon-hwa’s eyes directly.
“I’ll help you with your revenge—more concretely, more surely. But it needs prep. That’s why I sought you out. I need people outside the Association to be my hidden hands and feet. Sound like an intriguing offer?”
He’d said his piece.
No lies, and his purpose in seeking Banshee laid bare.
But Gu Yeon-hwa hadn’t seen this coming—her mind reeled.
The others too.
Then she asked.
“But the Grade 5 exam’s insanely hard, right? They don’t hire if you’re not up to snuff.”
Su-ho chuckled.
“I’m An Su-ho. You think a measly Grade 5 can stop me? Plus, you forget it’s all run by people in the end.”
“What’s that mean?”
“Grade 5’s written and practical matter, but the final interview’s king.”
“Interview? Don’t you just pass if you clear the first two?”
“Ha…… At Grade 5, the Association President and Vice President’s influence is huge. That level starts at team leader minimum. Meaning they sit in on interviews to pick their own people. Who do you think they choose? Ones who impress them most.”
“So? You gonna kiss ass?”
“Why not? And…….”
Su-ho shared part of the next step he’d told Jo Jin-hwi with Banshee.
Their eyes bulged, and Su-ho smiled, placing a paper with his second number on the table.
“Think it over. Or wait till I pass the Grade 5 and decide then. But if you pull another terror before that, offer’s off—I’ll hand you to the Special Division myself. See ya.”
With that, Su-ho coolly exited the hideout.