130. Yes. It's Possible.
Mr. Jo, who had sneaked into Sinuiju, approached the vicinity of the Prison Village.
As Hyeon Jeong-geon had warned, the area around the Prison Village was under tight surveillance. Hunters cloaked in all sorts of detection skills stood guard at every choke point, and that wasn't all—expensive detection devices and booby traps were laid out everywhere.
Well, well, aren't these the kind of things only an A-rank guild would use? They've got money to burn. What the hell are they so scared of just to catch two people? Bunch of amateurs. And what's that? Pig-snouted moles?
What Mr. Jo spotted was a monster.
Pig-Snouted Mole.
A quadrupedal beast two meters long, resembling a mole with a snout like a pig's nose.
That nose, which took up half its face, functioned exactly as it looked.
Those bastards have an insane sense of smell. If I'd just waltzed in, I'd have been busted right away.
Mr. Jo opened the leather pouch on the opposite side of his belt from the ampoule kit set and pulled out a small spray bottle. He spritzed it all over his body. It was a special hormone extract that jammed up monsters' senses of smell—a Mr. Jo original recipe, not sold anywhere on the market.
Worse than Hyeon said. These guys aren't pushovers. Taming monsters, even.
He'd heard rumors of hunters who could tame and control monsters. The trait hadn't been discovered in Korea yet, so little was known about how it worked, but just the fact that you could wield monsters like limbs gave it massive advantages in hunts.
Nothing beats exploiting each monster's traits and skills. Theoretically, it's like handling dozens of traits at once.
With his guard way up, Mr. Jo scanned the surroundings in detail, memorizing every risk factor before making his move.
His target was the lodging where the hunters took breaks after shift changes.
They'd rented out a motel and rotated shifts there. With multiple rooms, they didn't have to cram together—they rested separately.
No one dreamed an enemy could pierce the perimeter and reach the rear lodging, so security was lax.
Mr. Jo slipped into a room where a lone low-rank female hunter was sleeping alone.
Before entering, he'd slipped in some special sleep gas. The thick fumes would overwhelm any C-rank.
He waited five minutes for the gas to dissipate, then opened the door. The hunter was out cold, dead to the world.
"Cute enough. Perfect for this."
Mr. Jo placed a hand on the female hunter's forehead. Moments later, a hunter with the exact same face as the one on the bed looked down from above.
"Oh right, gotta copy the clothes too."
Mr. Jo put his left hand on his own clothes and his right on the hunter's on the bed.
In an instant, the clothes he wore transformed to match the ones under his right hand.
"Worth all the hassle making this."
The outfit looked ordinary on the surface, but it was actually a rare artifact. A masterpiece woven from his doppelganger trait-infused hair and special fibers.
Its ability: Costume Copy.
Took forever to make. Collecting my hair was a nightmare.
He'd gathered every strand that fell out when washing his hair, scoured the room for ones shed while rolling around.
He even bagged clippings from the barber and bought porn mags to speed up growth. Got teased mercilessly by his business partners when they found out.
All because of Kang Moo-hyuk.
The trigger for deciding to craft a costume-copy artifact was Kang Moo-hyuk.
While disguised and working at Titan to evade Slayer Guild pursuit, who'd have thought he'd run into a pervert who remembered every outfit he'd worn over months?
Kang Moo-hyuk had grown suspicious of him wearing the same occasional outfits multiple times under different faces, tailing him and leading to their current partnership.
Mr. Jo had been inexperienced back then, but he'd never imagined someone checking guild staff uniforms that closely.
After that, he'd thrown himself into creating an artifact to disguise even his clothes on sudden changes—and finally completed it recently.
"Alright, time to head in."
Mr. Jo pulled the ID from the hunter's wallet, noted the name, and boldly stepped out of the motel. No one in the hall, but right outside, he bumped into another hunter.
"Hey, Shizhenlei."
The man waving made Mr. Jo's face freeze.
Shit, Chinese.
A critical screw-up.
Am I an idiot? Copied the face, the clothes... forgot the language.
His ops were Korea-only, so he never transformed into foreigners. Rookie mistake.
"What's up? Why the face? Still mad about last time? That wasn't me, swear. I ain't cheating. Misunderstanding. Hear me out, yeah?"
Still clueless, Mr. Jo gave an awkward smile.
Smile it off. Can't spit on a smiling face.
The man grinned back at her smile.
"That smile means you forgive me? Whoa, what a woman. My bad this time. I'll do better. So, to celebrate... heh, how 'bout it? Over there."
Pointing to a shady alley with a smirk, Mr. Jo smirked back.
Why's this creep grinning like that?
The man slung an arm over Mr. Jo's shoulder, pulling her along. She had no choice but to follow, smiling.
And then.
"You little shit!"
"Shizhenlei? You just spoke Korean... guk!"
Mr. Jo palm-struck the guy out cold, then stomped him a few more times for good measure.
"You bastard, turns out you're a total perv. Who the hell do you think you are?"
Realizing too late she'd attacked reflexively without checking surroundings, Mr. Jo whipped around. Clear. She sighed in relief.
"Almost blew the op on a perv. Tsk. After this, I'm buying a translation item, no matter what."
Mr. Jo touched the man's body. Her face soon became his. Her build bulked up, voluptuous frame turning muscular.
Like with the motel room, she rifled his pockets for the ID, confirmed the name, dragged the unconscious man to a dumpster, and forced sleep meds up his nose to keep him out for hours.
"Lemme see. This guy's name... how do you read this hanja? Damn, no English notation. Phone's dead here, can't search. Should I carry a dictionary? Who studies hanja these days? Oh, right, Chinese guy."
Grumbling in a gravelly voice, Mr. Jo vanished into the darkness.
When Hwang Dong-soo came down from the attic, the young hunters occupying the floor and main room stood and bowed their heads.
"Boss, ya here?!"
Hwang ignored the greeting, so they peeked up cautiously.
Huh?
They all stared at Hwang with the same thought. Then spotted the man he was supporting.
Who's that guy?
Skinny as a sick chicken, why's boss babying him?
Don't look like a hunter neither.
As questions swirled, Hwang Dong-soo, supporting Kang Moo-hyuk, spoke.
"This here's the one I serve."
That single line turned every face in the room to shock.
"Didja say wrong? I musta misheard."
"Boss, how come? My ears gone bad or somethin'."
The young hunters, gathered expecting Hwang to lead them, were dumbfounded and confused.
"'Serve'? Ya say it so casual, no wonder the mood's weird."
"Sorry, Boss."
The young hunters gawked again at Hwang bowing in apology. Speechless. Hwang was no ordinary boss—the spiritual pillar of the village after Kim Byeong-ju. Top-notch skills. If not for his mom's illness, Kim Byeong-ju swore he'd take over the village.
And now this guy, just stretching and stepping up, was bowing to a non-hunter?
Shock. Massive shock.
Before they recovered, Kang Moo-hyuk spoke.
"I'm from down south, Bukpocheon. Kang Moo-hyuk, raid leader of Iron Will Guild, where Joo Se-ah is guild master."
Simple intro, but it hit the local hunters hard.
"Joo... Joo Se-ah?"
"Korea’s top hunter!"
"Why'd she send a girl like..."
"Quiet!"
Hwang's bark silenced the murmurs.
"Go on."
Now even Hwang's polite speech didn't faze them. They listened intently to Kang.
"Straight to the point. I'll get resident registration for everyone in this village."
"!!"
"Hunters get certificates marking you as Republic of Korea hunters, state-affiliated."
"!!"
"Kids get education. Elders get medical benefits. You'll reclaim your rights, fulfill duties as citizens. You're no longer unaffiliated hunters. If you want, Iron Will will make a place for you. Chance to be reborn as Republic citizens and Iron Will members."
"Th-that... possible?"
A trembling voice asked. Hearing their long-cherished dream from a stranger's mouth, it was impossible to believe.
"I guarantee it."
"Even if ya say so, boss, that possible?"
Not even Hwang's vouch convinced them.
Made sense. Descendants of traitors, ostracized for decades in inequality and neglect. Who'd believe? Not the government, not citizens remembering the old tragedy.
That's why no one here dared dream it.
A dream no individual's bold words could achieve.
"You there, speak. Really possible?"
Kang turned to the questioner.
"Yes. It's possible."
Dawn was breaking.
Hwang Dong-soo sent messengers to Cheon Deok-su and Ryeon Jeong-mun at rooster-crow.
"Whaddya mean? Dong-soo's forming a gang?!"
"Means we're making factions now."
"Ya all lost yer minds! Watch yer mouth!"
"Just passin' boss's word. First day, no hard feelings—join us for breakfast. Seven at Byeong-ju bro's place."
After the messenger left, Cheon Deok-su pondered.
The lone wolf suddenly forming a crew?
Word of Hwang spread fast through Cheon Deok-su's gang.
"He lost it? Sent him to kill Hyeon Jeong-geon and the Seoul guy, and now this?"
The man who'd commissioned Hwang to assassinate Hyeon Jeong-geon and Kang Moo-hyuk bellowed.
Cheon Deok-su, out cooling his head, overheard.
"What?! Ya told Dong-su to kill Hyeon?!"
"N-no, boss. Not like that."
Pow!
"Guk!"
"Ya bastard! Ignorin' me? Toldja leave my Dong-su alone! No matter what!"
"S-sorry. But to take out Hyeon without blood... kack!"
"Still?!"
Cheon pummeled him a few more times. Brutal on surface, but not crippling. All familiar faces—family, bros. Just a lesson.
Cooled off, head clear, he summoned another subordinate.
"Run to Ryeon Jeong-mun. Tell him meet now."