Chapter 29
Chapter 29
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 29
Chapter Title: Pursuit and Decision
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“Ready to head out?”
At Hayoung’s question, I nodded absentmindedly from the passenger seat.
“Okay!”
Hearing her enthusiastic shout, I realized something was off.
Should I move to the back seat right now?
That’s where Jina was, crunching away on her eyeball candies.
It’d be way safer there.
The passenger seat is the most dangerous spot in a car, after all.
Normal drivers swerve the wheel away from themselves in a crash.
Which means the biggest victim is obviously…
Gulp.
I snapped out of my grim imaginings and opened my mouth.
“Hang on. Actually, I should sit in the back…”
Click.
But Hayoung was faster. Her finger pressed the round button.
No engine rumble—thanks to the blue license plate. Instead, a digital display lit up on the dashboard.
“Phew… Let’s go!”
Hayoung gripped the wheel with all her might, veins bulging dramatically.
My hands clenched too.
“…….”
I tried squeezing the seatbelt hard, but my soft grip had its limits.
So to survive, I had to stretch out my right arm.
For the first time in my life, I grabbed the handle above the door. It hurt to reach, but oddly enough, it calmed my nerves.
Vroom!
Hayoung floored the accelerator.
The car glided forward smoother than expected.
“Don’t be so scared. She handles driving decently enough.”
Jina poked her face next to mine. A sweet scent brushed my skin. Candy…? Or maybe vape.
“Yeah, Dawn. I’ll drive safe and sound.”
“…Didn’t you say you had driving experience?”
“Well… I’ve got some. Sort of.”
A vague answer. Hayoung’s eyes darted around.
I couldn’t tell if it was guilt or desperate focus on the road ahead.
Luckily, Jina cleared it up.
“Hey, Dawn, you know what she did?”
“What?”
“Y’know, she bought one of those toy steering wheels to play racing games and stuff.”
“Oh…….”
Yeah, that tracked.
There were those casual wheels for truck sims or racing games.
“She claims she’s logged over a thousand hours on it. That… truck driving game?”
A thousand hours was enough to call her a vet.
Even an idiot would hit average after that much time.
But hearing that tanked my trust in Hayoung even more.
“Hey…! Why’d you spill that? What’s Dawn gonna think of me now?”
“Uh… newbie driver?”
“No. I’ve got talent for it, okay? I even did the training properly.”
Bump!
“…….”
“T-That was a mistake. Mistake. The car’s too small. I’m used to trucks…….”
Bump!
“Width perception. Yeah, not used to the width.”
“Look ahead. Ahead. Light’s changing.”
Bump!
“Anyway, Dawn, it’s fine. Totally fine. You can nap. You’re at that age where you need lots of sleep. Gotta rest up to grow tall like your big sis. I’ll get you home comfy.”
“No way. I like you just like this, Dawn. Don’t grow any more. Won’t allow it.”
“Hey…! Shut it.”
“It’s thanks to me we haven’t crashed yet?”
“Y-Yeah. Dawn, no accidents so far, so no worries.”
No accidents…? Then what about all those scratches on the car…?
“Those are just from brushing walls and stuff. I never scratched another car, right?”
“Fair point. Anyway, accident-free~”
“You, stay quiet…!”
…This is why Seojin should’ve come.
He said he was a division commander’s driver in the army? Different league.
[Seojin (Solho): Yeah, family trip all week.]
Of all the bad luck, he’s tied up with family stuff.
**
Tap. Tap.
The man hammered the keyboard.
Mana flowed from his eyes, locked on the monitor.
It rippled leisurely, then soaked into the screen.
Zzz…
The blurred pixels in the zoomed photo sharpened under the mana’s touch. No—mana didn’t just restore; it recreated.
Like upscale tech. Illegible text grew crisp.
“Ugh……!”
His head throbbed. Shoulders ached. Hands shook uncontrollably. Eyes burned like they’d pop.
Finally, he flung his arms skyward.
Crack. Pop!
Muscles screamed in protest.
More pain than relief.
“…….”
Glancing at the clock: nearly 24 hours. Exactly one day since getting the photo.
‘This should be on time…’
Worth grinding his body for. But to be safe, he bent down and reached for the trash bin.
Inside was what he wanted.
He fished out the pill bottle he’d dropped by accident hours ago.
Clatter! Snap!
He popped a pill dry.
Even briefly on his tongue, the bitter tang clamped down.
But satisfaction flooded him deeper.
“Finally… feeling alive.”
His fleeing focus snapped back. Headache vanished.
Special caffeine pills, alright. Best for info backlash.
No wonder researchers loved them. One pill, and sleep was off the table.
Creak.
The door opened. A visitor.
He guessed: progress check.
“How’s it going? Any results?”
Close enough. But the voice was unfamiliar—heavy, mature timbre impossible to hide.
“Yeah. Found something, but……”
He started casually.
Thunk!
“…Guild Master!”
He shot up, bowing slightly. Pitch-black eyes bored into him.
A face he’d seen three times: pre-Hwayeon recruitment, some party, and when assigned this job.
“…….”
Guild Master Choi Seonghan flicked his eyes over the monitor.
Nothing wrong, but he shrank anyway.
Made sense. Hwayeon’s boss. Could kill quietly, no questions.
Not that he had, of course.
Creak.
Seonghan sank into the rear sofa, polished shoes grinding the carpet.
“…….”
The man was barefoot. This room was strictly no shoes.
No one had ever tracked soles here.
“What’s up?”
“…Nothing.”
He wasn’t rigid enough to complain over this. Just a slight frown.
“So, you found it?”
Seonghan rummaged his suit pocket.
Out came a rectangular something; he popped it in his mouth.
His jaw worked a few times.
“Whew…….”
Pale smoke billowed.
Chewing tobacco. Brutally strong.
Face heated, eyes watered.
Still, unsatisfied, he shoved in another.
“…Couldn’t find it?”
“No! Got it!”
The man’s fingers flew. Mana traced paths, filling in nonexistent photo details.
This power got him into Hwayeon.
Only him in Korea. Top ten worldwide, maybe.
“Here.”
Restored photo.
A new object at the edge: blunt protrusion, utility pole tip.
Partial serial number visible.
“Best you can do?”
“For now… yeah. Shooter was careful, aware of exposure. Tough to get more.”
Unsatisfied?
Seonghan stroked his chin slowly, staring, then exhaled long smoke.
“…….”
The man couldn’t read him.
Couldn’t help asking.
“What… will you do?”
“What else? Tear the place apart till we find ‘em.”
**
“Here… right?”
“Told you. No other roads anyway.”
The car pressed on along the winding single lane.
Nothing but forest. More forest.
Wildlife signs instead of lights.
Paved was a mercy; could’ve been no road at all.
Ten-plus minutes slicing through woods later.
[Arrived at destination. Navigation ended.]
We got out safe.
“Building’s surprisingly clean?”
Gyeonggi outskirts.
A lone factory-like structure greeted us.
“Yeah. And bigger than I thought?”
Two stories, but dwarfed my guess.
“Plot’s about a thousand pyeong? Includes the back land.”
“You know some spot.”
“Used to train info awakeners like me here.”
“Like a school?”
“School…? Kinda. Vibe was off, though.”
Teaching/learning screamed academy.
I stood blankly, pure curiosity on my face. Jina elaborated.
“They did everything to max our powers. Eye injections with chemicals, starting from…”
“Okay. Stopping there.”
Got it instantly.
“No wonder you trained there…….”
“It was alright.”
Jina smiled lightly, but couldn’t hide the bitterness.
Everyone’s got a story.
I scanned inside, mentally plotting.
“…….”
Giant slimes here.
Monsters later there.
Playground for them this side?
Plants in the backyard yard.
“Wanna check the second floor? Weird layout up there.”
“Let’s go.”
We followed Jina up the stairs.
Hit the second floor and above.
I made my call.
“This place. It’s perfect.”