The Genius Assassin Who Takes it All

After hearing the whole story from Min Su-hyun, Kang-hoo understood why she had recklessly gone to the liberation district.

He still couldn’t grasp her recklessness in entering without thinking of the consequences, but his conclusion was this:

Min Su-hyun had made a contract with a constellation that only activated hidden effects in certain items.

She could also understand the composition and ownership information of these specific items.

That’s why she couldn’t resist the temptation and had ended up entering the Gimcheon liberation district.

She managed to steal the gloves that Shin Jun-ho had left behind.

However, she had no escape plan and was trapped inside.

Given that she was in the territory of the famously coordinated Ebony Bone, she didn’t dare think about escaping.

When Kang-hoo arrived, she was fleeing because she couldn’t hold out any longer.

Her emergency food supply had run out, and her dehydration was worsening; she was in a desperate situation.

“I was tearing my hair out in regret, ready to die. That’s when you showed up, brother.”

“Seems like you know you’re foolish.”

“It’s not just ordinary foolishness.”

At Kang-hoo’s unexpectedly sharp comment, Min Su-hyun smiled. She agreed with him and was not offended.

For her, she was just grateful that Kang-hoo, whom she was connected with, had come to save her.

She was also left in awe of Kang-hoo’s space teleportation ability that he had demonstrated.

Externally, his appearance and armed state clearly resembled that of an assassin, but his abilities were strangely composed.

“Anyway, once I safely hand her over to her uncle, my part is done.”

“I really want to express my personal thanks. I don’t have money now, but if I ask my uncle…”

“It’s fine. I’ll negotiate that myself with your uncle, so don’t offer compensation arbitrarily.”

“You’re modest.”

“It’s not modesty. Your goodwill would just interfere with my plan to negotiate from a stronger position.”

“You’re quite prickly.”

“Business has to be conducted prickly, so there’s no regret later.”

“Rip off my uncle a lot. I’ll just reimburse him for that amount.”

“Be more careful next time.”

“I plan to be.”

“Let’s limit the old-fashioned advice to this much.”

Kang-hoo handed her a bottle of water he had taken out of his backpack.

She had already finished two bottles, yet she still seemed thirsty.

The words Kang-hoo had just said were definitely not empty.

He intended to make Lee Hyun-seok owe him a favor and to use him thoroughly.

If the world could run beautifully on pure goodwill and kindness, how great that would be.

Unfortunately, this damned world is not so rosy.

Especially for Kang-hoo, whose many emotions have dried up, pure goodwill does not exist.

Everything is a process to strictly pursue profit.

If necessary, he can act as a good person or become the worst human trash.

The Thirteen Stars are exactly like that.

They constantly change their masks, cunningly controlling the world to suit their tastes.

No, it’s already in progress.

Take Chae Gwanhyeong, for example. Despite committing such a terrible act against Jung Yuri,

On television, he actively defends women’s rights and pain, and pledges to lead the fight against sex offenders.

To think of living with just one face in today’s world is certainly a foolish thought.

Meanwhile, as Lee Hyun-seok had not yet arrived, Min Su-hyun kept talking out of boredom.

“Aren’t you interested in my gloves?”

“They’re not my gloves.”

“Still, it’s natural to be curious, right? A Grade 2 item isn’t easily obtainable.”

“If I had intended to kill you, I would have been interested, but that’s not an option now.”

“Uh… then don’t be interested.”

Min Su-hyun shrank back.

Although she was more than three times his level, she felt intimidated by Kang-hoo, about whom she knew almost nothing.

The impression he had made on her from the beginning was so strong that she didn’t want to upset him.

Just then,

“He’s here.”

Kang-hoo, recognizing Lee Hyun-seok first, stood up.

With his dark skin, scruffy beard, and crisply ironed military uniform, he was the spitting image of the character Lee Hyun-seok from the original work.

The shoulder board with a horizontal ‘S’ symbol, representing his organization ‘The Abyss’, shimmered.

“Uncle! Uncle…!”

Min Su-hyun ran toward Lee Hyun-seok.

She looked like a young niece excited to see her uncle.

“Didn’t I tell you to maintain a communication line wherever you go?”

“But… Uncle, inside the liberation district, all signals were jammed, and my smartphone was dead.”

“Then you should have come out to a place where you could make contact!”

“I lost my smartphone later…”

“Forget it. Go over there and stay quiet.”

Lee Hyun-seok pointed to a car where two women in suits greeted Min Su-hyun.

They were probably bodyguards, tasked with escorting Lee Hyun-seok and protecting Min Su-hyun.

“Thank you! Thank you, brother!”

Min Su-hyun waved continuously at Kang-hoo as she moved away.

Would he see her again?

It seemed unlikely at the moment, but just in case, Kang-hoo awkwardly waved back.

Being Lee Hyun-seok’s niece, she might appear often. After all, she wasn’t a powerless hunter.

Then,

Alone now, Lee Hyun-seok politely bowed to Kang-hoo.

“Thank you for rescuing my niece from the liberation district.”

“I was asked by Jeon Se-hyuk. I’m not sure if it was appropriate to accept it privately.”

“I trust Se-hyuk’s judgment, so whoever he entrusts, I trust them too.”

“It seems you had some trouble on your way here.”

Kang-hoo noticed Lee Hyun-seok’s blood-soaked military uniform.

From a distance, he had thought the uniform was dyed red, but up close, it was stained with fresh blood. The smell of blood lingered.

“Oh, this? I just dealt with a traitor inside.”

Kang-hoo’s eyes sparkled.

Was Moon Yu-seok taken care of?

He had sent an email to his secure email address, so it wasn’t entirely unrelated.

But it didn’t seem wise to directly ask if he had killed Moon Yu-seok.

Nor did it seem fitting to boast about sending the email.

He had already made enough of an impression by rescuing Min Su-hyun.

Unexpectedly, Lee Hyun-seok resolved his curiosity.

“An anonymous tip came in. There was a traitor very close to me. It was dark under the lamp.”

“It’s always the trusted axe that cuts the foot.”

Kang-hoo replied slyly, smiling inwardly. It seemed his plan had worked. Moon Yu-seok was dead.

Unless something unusual happened, Lee Hyun-seok wouldn’t die pointlessly within a month.

This meant that Jang Si-hwan’s trajectory in the original story, where he had a smooth ride, could now change significantly.

Lee Hyun-seok would continue to obstruct Jang Si-hwan and the Jeonghwa Guild’s path, both now and in the future.

If he drew ‘aggro’ in various aspects, it would broaden the range of actions Kang-hoo could take.

Additionally, it would help disperse some of the attention that might otherwise be focused solely on himself.

This made Lee Hyun-seok a person of great strategic value. He also possessed remarkable skills in reality.

“First of all, thank you for rescuing Su-hyun. I don’t know how to repay this kindness.”

“You must have some idea in mind.”

Kang-hoo spoke calmly.

Lee Hyun-seok, repeatedly bowing his head in gratitude, was clearly sincere.

“I heard about the situation belatedly. Did you move directly here from the liberation district?”

“Yes.”

“Was this the route you planned before going to rescue Su-hyun?”

“Yes.”

“An unbelievable space teleportation ability. Even Hosaka Kenji, known for space teleportation in Japan, would struggle with such a distance.”

Lee Hyun-seok was right.

Hosaka Kenji.

A hunter in Japan’s magic community, specialized in space teleportation.

He had various space teleportation and position-switching skills.

Among them, his longest-range skill allowed him to teleport within a radius of 10 kilometers.

Even so, Hosaka Kenji was considered an authority in space teleportation.

But Kang-hoo had jumped a distance incomparably farther in a single leap.

Though, of course, it was limited to once a day.

“Well, everyone has their specialty.”

“But judging by your armaments, it seems you’re into assassination. Quite interesting. Very interesting…”

Having experienced many battles, Lee Hyun-seok could tell what type of hunter Kang-hoo was at their first meeting.

An assassin.

And a highly skilled one at that, capable of taking a life with just a touch.

Lee Hyun-seok sensed a very cold but refined murderous aura emanating from Kang-hoo.

At that moment, he was ready to switch from defense to offense at any time.

It was obvious to Lee Hyun-seok. Kang-hoo’s readiness, always with battle in mind.

Lee Hyun-seok continued.

“I keep forgetting the most important part. Let’s discuss how to express my gratitude.”

Kang-hoo had already thought about what he would say to Lee Hyun-seok.

The bounty, that is, the reward for rescuing Min Su-hyun, was set at 5 billion won. A significant sum.

But Kang-hoo wasn’t interested in money this time. He wanted Lee Hyun-seok himself.

Kang-hoo understood his personality.

Lee Hyun-seok was someone who repaid kindness several times over and felt compelled to do so.

He could take advantage of this to make a good profit, but that would be a one-time deal.

However, turning that amount into a relationship? That was a different story.

“I’d prefer to keep it simple.”

“Simple, as in the monetary aspect?”

Lee Hyun-seok nodded.

It was a mission originally tied to money. Kang-hoo’s reply was within expected limits.

His only niece, his only blood relative’s life, had been saved. No amount of money would be too great.

But contrary to Lee Hyun-seok’s expectations, Kang-hoo shook his head and replied calmly.

“Just make time for a cup of tea later. One tea time will suffice for me.”

“Pardon?”

“I mean, I don’t need the money.”

Kang-hoo responded, opting not to accept the life-saving reward in money but in another form.

Lee Hyun-seok’s eyes sparkled, unable to discern Kang-hoo’s intentions.

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