The Assassin Hunter Stops Time
The siren wailed as ambulance sirens joined the wail of police cars racing toward the scene.
The heart of Seoul.
A sudden explosion had ripped through a private mansion, that was the first word that had come in.
In the blink of an eye the entire mansion was engulfed in roaring flames, and the firefighters on the scene rushed to put the fire out in a panic.
“……”
Red Byte’s hideout.
Dojin moved a short distance away from that place and stared at the flames that had swallowed the entire mansion.
‘With this… the executives of Red Circle can no longer cover up the incident.’
Red Capital and Burning Red.
Just the fact that these two main bloodlines had been cut would deal a huge blow.
‘The hunting dog is dead, so they can no longer take it lightly.’
He could turn away, but he couldn’t turn away now.
Strong Seungho would intervene because of this.
That would clean everything up, but it would give new problems to those bastards.
“But more than that…”
Whoosh.
Dojin pulled his hand away from his side.
That final shot of Yang Jin-ho.
Even though four people jumped him at the same time, he hadn’t managed to avoid the attack during that short moment.
If it had gone in just a little deeper…
‘I might have been dead.’
Dojin bit his lip hard.
He had rushed forward to stop Red Circle from growing, but only a month had passed.
In that short time so many things had happened.
And…
“I’m still too weak.”
He couldn’t deny that compared to his awakened state, it was an enormous growth that might never come again.
But right now, fighting Red Circle head-on was impossible.
Just facing Red Byte’s hunters simultaneously was already impossible, wasn’t it.
Even when he had killed two of them and still managed to survive.
‘If I had been a little sloppier, I might have died.’
There had been dangerous situations several times.
Right now, above all else, he needed to get stronger.
Eventually, he had to completely crush Red Circle and kill Strong Seungho.
“And now it’s time to start… preparing.”
Fortunately, thanks to Chairman Gu Jinmo’s help, he had managed to bring his parents to a safe place.
No matter when the Dungeon Break in Yongin happened in March, his parents would be safe.
But…
‘I have to block that off, or it will tighten their nooses even more.’
Those bastards who earn massive wealth through Dungeon Breaks.
People who wouldn’t even blink an eye even if thousands died.
“I can’t give them that chance.”
Given that the Yongin Dungeon Break seemed to be happening around the middle of March,
“The remaining time is probably about a month.”
If he considered the time to execute the plan, he had only about a month to work with.
Within that,
‘I have to become stronger than I am now.’
Now he was in a position to negotiate on equal terms with Gu Jinmo.
Dojin turned his feet.
* * *
“……Explain.”
“T-that is… I can’t contact Hunter Moon Seok-min.”
White Seong, stuttering, made that excuse, but Jang Junyeong turned his eyes to the TV.
Firefighters were entering the mansion engulfed in huge flames.
Even within the guild, there were almost no people who knew it was Red Byte’s hideout.
And the fact that he couldn’t reach Moon Seok-min meant…
‘……He failed?’
Those hunting dogs?
It was impossible.
Even someone who thought Red Byte’s power ranked within the top five in the guild would be hard-pressed to accept that.
Red Byte…
Jang Junyeong leaned back on the sofa and touched his forehead, rubbing it with his fingers.
It wasn’t a big deal to have White Seong killed right now, but that didn’t change anything.
He didn’t feel like the anger would go away.
“……White Seong.”
“Yes, Chairman.”
“How much has the Burning Red side been handled?”
“The books are somehow being covered up, but since there are children of high-ranking managers among the dead… it keeps dragging me down.”
“I don’t care, they ate my money anyway. Just make sure the books are clean and protect those bastards at all costs. They won’t go crazy over a few dead guys.”
“Understood.”
“What place did you investigate?”
“I’ve already moved in that direction. But because of this incident, the media’s attention is too concentrated, so it looks like it will take some time to resume business.”
“How long?”
“I-I don’t know… about three months.”
“Hoo.”
A sigh escaped Jang Junyeong’s lips.
If the bloodline coming out of Burning Red was tied up for three months, the damage would be huge.
Not to mention that this time the trust of the remaining VIPs at Burning Red had completely collapsed.
From what he had learned, it looked like half of the remaining VIPs had already left.
“Hurry up. And make sure there is never another incident like this again. And bring back the VIPs who turned their backs on us.”
“Y-yes, understood!”
White Seong’s eyes were sharp and his posture alert as he shouted loudly.
Jang Junyeong could sense it instinctively.
This was his last chance.
Even if it was a level 160 White Seong, he couldn’t fight back against Junyeong.
He could barely last a minute, and if Junyeong really wanted to, he could have been dead in ten seconds.
And at that moment.
Ring, ring, ring!
Jang Junyeong’s phone rang.
White Seong’s expression twitched slightly when he checked the phone.
“Go.”
“Yes!”
White Seong left like he was running away, and Jang Junyeong picked up the phone.
“Yes.”
“—It will be resolved?”
A short question.
But the dryness and sharpness embedded in the voice cut straight into his heart like a blade.
Jang Junyeong answered.
“The business side seems like it can be somehow resolved… but handling that bastard right now seems impossible.”
He had set the hunting dogs loose, and now they were all dead.
There was no way to quietly deal with the guy backed by SW.
Silence came from the other end of the line in response to Jang Junyeong’s words.
Time stretched so much it felt like he couldn’t breathe.
Jang Junyeong waited in silence for the answer.
Eventually.
“—I’ll handle that part myself, so start the business again.”
“Understood.”
Click!
As the call ended, Jang Junyeong felt like a weight had been lifted off his chest.
Jang Junyeong let out a small sigh and tilted his head back on the sofa.
Anger welled up again.
He had thought about calling White Seong to kill him, but
“First, let’s handle what has to be done right now.”
If this wasn’t cleaned up, there would be more bastards to kill, and
‘It looks like I have to worry about my own neck first.’
Jang Junyeong stood up from his seat and straightened his suit.
He couldn’t afford even the slightest mistake in anything he did from now on.
His footsteps, which had once been light, now felt heavy and urgent as he walked somewhere.
* * *
Gu Jinmo looked at Dojin sitting on the bed.
Late at night.
The sight of him, suddenly covered in blood, was enough to startle even the ever-calm Gu Jinmo.
Thankfully he had called the doctor right away, but if he had been a little later, it might have been dangerous.
But…
“I really can’t believe it even when I see it with my own eyes.”
“It was dangerous.”
“But you succeeded. And you’re alive.”
Red Byte.
Anyone who knew the terror of those bastards wouldn’t be able to speak lightly about it.
Even Gu Jinmo had thought Dojin was being reckless for this incident.
Facing Red Byte head-on, he thought they would die and come back.
Honestly, he had thought about cleaning up the mess with Red Circle first.
But Dojin had come back.
And now it was time to pay the price.
“It looks like we need to rethink our relationship with you.”
“Does that mean you accept me in the sense of positive terms?”
The corner of Gu Jinmo’s mouth lifted slightly at Dojin’s question.
“Of course. From now on, you can be someone who just supports me, or we can be equal partners.”
Dojin had proven himself.
With skill.
Then it was only right that he receive treatment worthy of that.
And Dojin probably thought the same thing about this matter.
‘All those trivial requests I made before must have meant something.’
There was a part where he had to use public power, but that wasn’t a big deal.
It was just a bit bothersome.
Ginmo thought back over all the things he had done with Dojin and gave a faint smile.
And then.
“So what are you planning to do now?”
The hunting dog was dead.
The owner wouldn’t stay quiet.
Gu Jinmo’s expression had grown serious.
But Dojin’s answer was without hesitation.
“I think I need to build my strength.”
“Strength?”
“Yes. It’s impossible to fight head-on in my current state anymore.”
It was almost the right answer.
Gu Jinmo nodded.
“Then it looks like I have to do what I have to do.”
“I’ll be in your debt.”
As expected of Chairman Gu Jinmo.
He didn’t say a word, but he understood exactly what he had to do.
Gu Jinmo shook his head at Dojin’s words.
“From now on, everything I do can be seen as an investment in you. We’re partners now, aren’t we?”
“Then there is one more thing I want to ask.”
“Speak.”
“I’d like you to acquire one guild. The support form is fine too.”
“It seems related to your growing strength.”
“Yes.”
Dojin, who hadn’t even registered with the Association, had gone all the way to Gangwon-do to find hidden dungeons, but he couldn’t keep doing that forever.
Or creating a new guild under SW Technology?
That wouldn’t work either.
It would be advertising Dojin too openly.
He had to acquire one moderately sized guild and let it blend in naturally.
He couldn’t let his identity be exposed to those bastards yet.
Gu Jinmo accepted without hesitation.
“Actually, compared to what has to be solved right now, it’s an easy task. Then I’ll have to look into a guild… Do you happen to have a place already investigated?”
Given Dojin’s personality, there was probably already a place in mind.
As expected, Dojin nodded.
“There is one place.”
If it connected to SW Technology, it could become a troublesome relationship with Red Circle.
But weren’t there guilds with bad financial conditions because they were already in a bad relationship?
A guild that could get wings if SW Technology supported it.
“Firebird Guild.”
* * *
“What dungeon bids are currently open?”
“There are no problems with the mid-tier dungeons, but for the high-tier ones, even if they bid, there is no hunter who can clear them.”
Lee Hyejin, Master of Firebird Guild, looked at Dungeon Management Team Leader Yoo Jong-hyuk’s words with a gloomy expression.
In that short time of less than a month, nine high-level hunters had left the guild.
They had given other reasons, but upon investigation, they had all joined Red Circle.
They must have been offered good conditions.
Thanks to that, Firebird Guild’s power had plummeted in an instant, and now there were even fewer hunters who could enter high-tier dungeons.
“How many hunters are there who are over level 150 right now?”
“Three. If I include the level 130 hunters, it’s about twelve.”
They were no longer at the level of a major corporate guild.
Because a hunter over level 150 in a hunter guild was a huge asset on their own.
‘Was my greed… too much?’
The judgment was clear.
He hadn’t let go of the connection with Red Circle even after the Red Capital incident.
Red Circle had hated it that much.
‘Even if so, to retaliate in this way.’
It was one of the dirtiest methods in the industry.
But the effect was also the most certain.
Hyejin let out a large sigh.
“Bid on the high-tier dungeons too. For now, I’ll go into the dungeon myself.”
“M-Master?”
“There is no one, so what do I do? I have to do it myself.”
Hyejin’s level was in the 170s.
The strongest in the guild.
If she joined, it would be possible to try a high-tier dungeon.
But if the Master went into the dungeon personally, it would disrupt guild operations.
Hyejin knew that fact, but didn’t she have to accept the situation right now?
Hyejin’s sigh deepened.
But at that moment.
“Master!”
Park Seong-gwang, the head of the Scout General Team, rushed into Hyejin’s office.
Hyejin asked.
“What’s wrong now?”
Incidents keep popping up one after another in a day.
The unease keeps surging.
But this time it was different.
“SW Technology… they want to talk about a business related to guild support.”
“……What?”
An unexpected big good news had occurred.