Iron Fort
Iron Fort.
The reason she had caught attention was the moment she obtained a unique skill at level 100.
『Shield Reinforcement』
At first glance, this skill seemed ordinary, yet its true value was immense.
It not only applied a shield to every ally within a certain radius but also absorbed part of the damage they received.
With just this one skill, Han Sohee drew the eyes of Kang Seungho, becoming one of the main members of Red Circle.
And her connection with Dojin was quite deep as well.
Because of that, when Seungho finally struck Dojin down, Sohee did not reveal herself even in his final moments.
But...
‘She has such a youthful face.’
Dojin first met Sohee when she was well over twenty years old.
He had never imagined he would encounter such a young-looking Sohee.
However.
‘As long as I raise her properly, she can become far stronger than others.’
Moreover, he had no intention of leaving her in such a filthy place for long.
“Master, please enjoy yourselves!”
The manager’s words snapped Dojin out of his thoughts.
Sohee backed away, eyes fixed on Dojin in caution.
*Clank.*
The moment she took a step, the shackle on her ankle rattled.
A power-suppressing shackle and handcuffs had been fitted on her, leaving her with nothing she could do.
Dojin gazed at her steadily.
Sohee asked him,
“What… what are you going to do to me?”
Her eyes burned with rage, her voice sharp.
Dojin shook his head.
“Nothing at all. If I had any intention of harming you, I would have done it the moment you entered the room.”
“Pervert.”
“...”
What had I done?
Dojin simply looked at her in silence.
It was pointless to say anything today anyway.
Dojin stood up from his seat.
“Rest here for the time being. There’s no need to return to your original place.”
“...Eh?”
“If you want something to eat, I’ll have it delivered. I’ll tell them to remove those handcuffs.”
Dojin began walking toward her.
Sohee flinched and tried to back away as he approached, but...
“Wait until my mother’s safety is guaranteed. After that, you can leave.”
“...!”
For a split second, Sohee’s eyes widened.
Soon after, she watched Dojin open the door and step out.
“W-wait a minute!”
Sohee shouted, but by then Dojin had already closed the door behind him.
It felt like...
“...What on earth was that.”
She felt as if she had met a ghost.
* * *
To dismantle Red Circle, several preliminary steps were necessary.
One of them was to sever the financial lifeline that sustained the organization.
‘Burning Red holds a significant portion of the capital that flows into Red Circle.’
Its connections at the highest levels made its scale far greater than that of Red Capital.
If they destroyed this place completely, they would have severed half the organization’s funding.
‘Before that...’
*Swish.*
Dojin turned his head to look toward Burning Red.
Han Sohee, whom he had met there.
To take her with him for sure, he needed to secure her mother as a hostage first.
The only reason Sohee was in such an absurd location was to borrow an unimaginable amount of money for her mother’s treatment.
‘Red Capital is already gone, so this part no longer matters.’
But without securing her mother completely, she could not fully escape.
Of course, one phone call to Chairman Gu Jinmo would resolve everything...
‘It would be wise to keep Chairman Gu hidden beneath the surface as much as possible.’
After all, he was one of the most important cards Dojin held right now.
Dojin turned off the car lights as a hospital in the outskirts of Gyeonggi Province, near Uijeongbu, came into view.
This was the hospital connected to Red Circle, one of the places where the bastards played around.
‘As quietly as possible.’
It was crucial to finish everything without anyone noticing.
*Squeak.*
Dojin donned the jacket Seonghyun had given him.
And slipped into the thick darkness where not even moonlight dared to shine.
*Tap!*
Dojin lightly smashed the lock and entered the hospital.
The twenty-four-hour security guards patrolled, but they posed no real threat to him.
*Thud, thud.*
A security guard approached from afar, flashlight in hand.
He seemed well-trained; he did not look away even once.
Most people had gotten used to it, casually ignoring the patrols every day, but...
*Whish!*
*Thud!*
The guard’s body crumpled to the floor without a sound.
He was barely a D-rank hunter.
The sneaky attacker had been taken down and lay unconscious.
Dojin shoved him into a toilet stall and stole his ID card.
*Beep.*
Inside the control room, Dojin spotted the room where Sohee’s mother was being held.
Room 302.
Since she wasn’t a major figure yet, it wasn’t on a high floor.
‘I’ll find out soon, so I have to hurry.’
One security guard on the first floor had disappeared.
They would definitely react soon.
Dojin slipped out of the control room and cautiously moved to the second floor.
Security guards lined the staircase, but...
*Thud, thud!*
*Thud.*
*Thud.*
He suppressed them instantly and hid in a corner.
The third floor was the same.
*Thud! Thud.*
Dojin stood in front of the room labeled 302.
It looked like a hospital room, but it felt more like a prison.
The door was locked from the inside.
*Crack!*
Dojin lightly destroyed the lock and entered.
“W-who are you...?”
The woman lying on the bed stared at Dojin with terrified eyes.
Dojin approached her.
“I’m Sohee’s oppa. I came to take you.”
“S-Sohee? Where is Sohee? Sohee is...!”
She looked as if she might burst into tears at any moment.
He understood exactly how she felt.
“Sohee is safe for now. After we get out of here, I’ll explain.”
“...Yes.”
It didn’t matter whether the man in front of her could be trusted.
Nothing would change whether she was here or not anyway.
Dojin cut the shackle on her ankle.
“Excuse me.”
Then, using a rescue binding strap, he pulled her close and tightly bound their bodies together.
And...
*Crack!*
Dojin sliced through the window covered by iron bars, installed a fixer, and stared at her.
“Don’t scream.”
“Eh? Ah, no.”
She nodded.
Dojin grabbed the rope and jumped out the window.
*Swoosh!*
As she fell, Sohee’s mother tightly shut her eyes.
She nearly screamed but bit her lip shut. Then, when she landed...
*Slice!*
Dojin cut the binding strap and quickly carried her mother toward the car.
Already, chaotic movement could be heard from inside the building.
‘They’re handling it fast.’
They had already realized there was an intruder.
Lights flared across the entire corridor and the emergency bell began to ring, but...
*Whoosh!*
It was already too late.
* * *
It was still early morning, barely dawn.
At a late hour, beneath a bridge on the Han River.
Two cars faced each other, and three people stood between them.
“I’m sorry for the late hour.”
“It’s no problem at all. If you had contacted us earlier, we would have handled it ourselves.”
“No, I didn’t want to cause unnecessary danger.”
Dojin’s words made the secretary’s office manager smile wryly.
“Can I safely escort this lady?”
“Yes. Please take care of her.”
“Don’t worry. We’ll provide all support at the hospital connected to our company.”
Dojin nodded at the secretary’s office manager’s words and looked at Sohee’s mother.
“You can follow me. I’ll bring Sohee soon.”
“...Yes, please take good care of Sohee.”
They had already talked enough in the car on the way here.
Where Sohee was and what kind of situation she was in.
She had turned to loan sharks to pay her hospital bills and it had spiraled out of control.
The illness wasn’t treated, and the debt had ballooned to hundreds of millions.
An impossible situation.
But thanks to Sohee’s special circumstances, no one had reported it.
Even if they had, it probably wouldn’t have changed anything.
In the end, Sohee had agreed to work for them in exchange for partial debt relief.
―Mom, I’m fine. Really.
What kind of sin could such a young child have?
The image of the smiling daughter who turned away made his heart ache.
He had even thought of dying.
If he was gone, Sohee wouldn’t have to carry any more burdens.
But...
―Mom is my only family. Mom... stay by my side.
A flawed parent who couldn’t even harden his heart against his daughter’s desperate plea.
She grabbed Dojin’s hand.
“Please... please save Sohee.”
“Yes, I’ll bring her safely.”
Dojin gently held her hand and answered, then looked at the secretary’s office manager.
“And here is the equipment you requested. However... is this for Dojin?”
“No, for someone else.”
“...I see.”
Dojin received a strangely shaped rectangular bag from the secretary’s office manager.
It looked exactly like an X-Man transformation bag.
But this single piece of equipment was worth over five billion.
Next, the secretary’s office manager told Dojin,
“And this is a gift from the chairman.”
“You didn’t have to do that.”
“He said not to throw it away if you don’t accept it.”
“...Thank you.”
Dojin opened the box the secretary’s office manager had given him.
A high-walker.
It was obvious even at a glance.
‘These are shoes made for assassin hunters.’
Dojin immediately checked the item details.
[Wind Vortex Boots]
―Boots blessed by the wind spirit.
They allow free movement anywhere.
Attack power: 50
Defense: 440
『Additional Effect』
―Strength +6
―Agility +22
―Skill: Warp.
『Restriction』
―Level 50.
―Agility 170 or higher.
“...Hah.”
Dojin was rarely surprised, but this time he couldn’t stay calm.
‘The attack power is tied to the boots...’
Even that alone told him how excellent the item was.
Even with the restrictions, it wasn’t a level-50 item option.
‘Strength +6 and agility +22...’
The additional effects were already impressive.
But what truly caught Dojin’s eye was the skill 『Warp』.
[Warp] Lv.0 (No growth)
―Can teleport to a designated location. (3 people, including the caster).
―Cooldown: 850 hours.
Dojin looked at the secretary’s office manager after checking the skill.
The man offered a faint smile.
“Installing a Warp skill on the item was the world’s first. We succeeded this time, and the chairman wanted me to give it to you.”
Even though the cooldown was 850 hours, it didn’t matter.
Being able to use such a skill just by wearing an item, not a unique skill, was an enormous thing.
Dojin said,
“This is an item I simply cannot refuse. Please pass on my thanks to the chairman.”
“Yes, then shall we prepare only that?”
“Yes, I’ll contact you. Please be ready when I do.”
“Don’t worry.”
The secretary’s office manager left with Sohee’s mother.
Left alone, Dojin loaded the bag he had been given into the car.
‘Now...’
Sohee, too, would be brought back, and Burning Red would be dismantled.