54.
The assassination plot against the Crisis Management Division Chief, orchestrated by the Support Development Division, had unfortunately ended as a pipe dream.
“No! Our Kill-Kill…!”
“You cruel monster! Not satisfied with the office, now you’ve frozen our child made of our very blood!”
“Is something wrong with my ears?”
Gi Tae-yeon sighed and flicked his fingers.
Crackle!
Frost covered the rooftop garden. Transparent ice spears shot up between structures frozen white.
Ice spears brimming with killing intent aimed their tips precisely at one spot.
A grotesque machine installed on the railing. According to the Development Division, it was nicknamed “Kill-Kill.”
“…Isn’t that a Gatling gun?”
Han Cha-su, who had been watching from afar, finally realized the identity of the cloth-covered object. Not a normal sniper rifle or a medium machine gun, but a real, old-fashioned Gatling gun.
‘They really are lunatics.’
With so many modernized machine guns available, why on earth were they sitting around making a Gatling gun?
‘And they thought they could catch Gi Tae-yeon with that?’
They had to be completely out of their minds.
As Han Cha-su marveled at the Development Division’s mental state, Geum Myeong-gyeol softly added his opinion from the side.
“Hmm, I heard they were developing a weapon that uses enhanced mana stones as ammunition. So that’s it, I suppose.”
“…Not normal bullets, but bullets loaded with enhanced mana stones?”
“The Development Division chief made a huge fuss at a conference last time, saying he would prove a new use for mana stones, and got kicked out.”
Mana stones were items obtained with a certain probability upon defeating monsters, and one of the main sources of income for guilds and hunters. This was because the highly concentrated energy within mana stones could be used in place of electricity.
But to think they enhanced such mana stones and used them as bullets. In other words, wasn’t that like stuffing cash directly into the magazine?
“Impressive.”
Truly, it was just like them to think they could blow away the Management Bureau chief with a Gatling gun because they had a screw loose.
While Han Cha-su was admiring them, Gi Tae-yeon’s Kill-Kill dismantling show began.
Screech.
—Grind, clang!
The frozen white body easily broke off after a few kicks. Those who saw the Gatling gun become a scrap metal heap in an instant roared.
“No!”
“Our Kill-Kill!”
“You’re a murderer, you demonic person!”
Screams and cries burst out from here and there. Of course, Gi Tae-yeon didn’t care at all.
Shhk, shhk. After roughly clearing away the shattered machine, he headed for a corner.
A moment later, he emerged from behind a pile of large flowerpots carrying heavy bags.
Clatter.
—Clink, clang!
Bullets containing enhanced mana stones piled up on the floor like a mountain. Han Cha-su was at a loss for words.
‘Right, there was no way there would be just one bullet.’
They had made a Gatling gun, not a pistol. They would need at least a few hundred rounds to even use it, wouldn’t they?
‘Wait, if they had so many bullets, why did they make such a fuss with just one earlier?’
The truth was, there was a sad story behind it.
The Development Division staff had brilliant minds but physiques worse than puppies that went on daily walks.
They didn’t have the strength to carry the bullet bags, so they had held a ceremony with a single representative bullet they had first made.
Of course, Han Cha-su had no way of knowing this. Even if he had, it wouldn’t have been particularly moving.
“No wonder there was barely anything worth looting in the research building. They must have spent all their research funds on this?”
Gi Tae-yeon examined the bullets with an interested expression and then pocketed them all.
“I’ll put them to good use.”
The Development Division was helpless against such blatant looting.
“Uheuheuheuk.”
“Aah, Kill-Kill. Our darling, Daddy’s sorry he couldn’t protect you….”
With their knees forced down and their lower bodies completely frozen, all the Development Division could do was wail. With their hair let down and howling, they looked somewhat pitiful.
“Should I report this directly to the Bureau Chief so you all get what’s coming?”
“…Hic.”
“…….”
“Consider yourselves lucky it ended here. Especially you, Im Cheong-mun.”
“Kuek.”
The Development Division chief shouted, shaking his long hair.
“Even though we have lost today like this, we will never surrender. You, you beast worse than an animal—.”
“Chief Im, would you feel better if I revealed where your secret laboratory is with my own mouth?”
The goggle-wearing Development Division chief sank at Gi Tae-yeon’s words. However, his fury didn’t seem to have subsided.
Crack, grind.
These thin sounds resonated endlessly through the frozen air, and Han Cha-su covered his ears.
“Oh dear, our delicate Han Cha-su.”
Clicking his tongue, Geum Myeong-gyeol asked Gi Tae-yeon.
“Is it all over now?”
“Ah.”
Gi Tae-yeon, who had been trying on Im Cheong-mun’s goggles, turned his head. Seeing Han Cha-su’s pale face, he frowned.
“Oops, I didn’t mean to make you wait so long.”
“If you were even one minute later, I was going to leave immediately, Chief Gi.”
The doctor who had been sticking by Han Cha-su’s side the entire time spoke in a cold voice. Han Cha-su chewed the energy bar she handed him and nodded.
The fact that he hadn’t left the rooftop garden and watched this farce was largely due to Gi Tae-yeon. Because Gi Tae-yeon had asked him to wait instead of returning to his hospital room.
What did he say? That his energy was unstable, so he should wait and receive treatment before going back?
‘Status abnormalities that don’t appear in the system window are inconvenient like this.’
Han Cha-su unknowingly furrowed his brows.
“I said I’m sorry.”
Gi Tae-yeon, who had approached before he knew it, grabbed his hand. His bright blue eyes sparkled as though he was in a good mood from destroying the Development Division.
“I said I would take responsibility.”
Saaaah.
—Where their skin touched. From the core that should have been connected by warmth, an energy cold as ice spread outward.
“Mm.”
Han Cha-su slightly furrowed his forehead. Even feeling it again, it was truly tremendous energy.
Thump, thump.
‘So this is what it means to be S-rank after all.’
Gi Tae-yeon’s power merely brushed through his body. And yet, the immense vitality seated behind it could be felt so clearly.
The heat that had slightly risen in the sunlight gradually subsided. Han Cha-su closed his eyes while sitting on the bench.
“Hmm.”
Geum Myeong-gyeol, who had been quietly watching that sight, tilted his head. A sly light flashed through his golden pupils.
“Doctor.”
“Yes?”
“May I ask why the Crisis Management Division Chief is personally treating Mr. Han Cha-su?”
“Ah.”
The doctor, who had been silently watching Gi Tae-yeon do as he pleased, opened her eyes wide.
Gi Tae-yeon had stepped in to treat Han Cha-su purely of his own will.
“The Cheonnyeong Guild side agreed not to raise issues regarding mistakes in the treatment process on the condition that I take responsibility.”
The medical center was startled. Because they had thought it was a mistake caused by their own lack of diligence during the treatment process.
“We will take responsibility!”
“That’s right, why would the chief volunteer to be our scapegoat instead of us?”
The staff insisted they would apologize in his stead, but Gi Tae-yeon did not back down.
“Hmm, it’s because I’m confident I won’t get hurt even if bullets fly at me? If it really bothers you, fight me. If you win, I’ll let you take responsibility instead.”
“How could we defeat the chief!”
“Then give up.”
It was then that the doctor realized why Gi Tae-yeon wasn’t fired despite turning the Management Bureau upside down. He had a nasty temper, but wasn’t he truly a reliable person?
But there was no reason to tell this splendid heroic tale to the Exilis Guild Master.
‘The Cheonnyeong Guild Master and the Phyloso Vice Guild Master at least stayed by Mr. Han Cha-su’s side while he was hovering between life and death. This person didn’t even do that.’
She had heard that he drove an armored vehicle and crashed into the Management Bureau’s main gate, saying he had to check whether Han Cha-su was dead or not.
In the doctor’s eyes looking at Geum Myeong-gyeol, distrust dwelled.
To be exact, it was a gaze that said, “What business is it of yours what treatment our delicate Han Cha-su receives?”
“I cannot disclose patient-related information to outsiders.”
Geum Myeong-gyeol frowned at the firm answer. He pouted and muttered in annoyance.
“Did I ask for classified information? You’re being too stiff.”
“Any information related to a patient’s health is confidential, no matter how trivial.”
“Goodness.”
Geum Myeong-gyeol shrugged as if he had no choice. He had picked a fight for nothing and was about to lose even his principal. He shook his head and took a step back.
‘So it’s true what they say about the medical center overprotecting Han Cha-su as if they were his parents.’
The doctor’s reaction was fiercer than expected, but he wasn’t surprised. Because he hadn’t asked out of genuine interest in the treatment method anyway.
Geum Myeong-gyeol’s gaze reached Han Cha-su. With both hands held by Gi Tae-yeon, his expression was as indifferent as always.
‘As expected, there’s no one quite like him….’
After obtaining the earring he had longed for, he had signed a partner contract with one of the people he had scouted in advance. He paid enough money to get by and even stamped the contract containing confidentiality clauses.
And this dawn, the partner died.
It was already the fifth one.
‘I’m sick to death of waking up and looking for the earring that fell off.’
The causes of death were varied. Someone died in their sleep, and someone else choked on their food during a meal and absurdly passed away.
Still, it was inevitable to find it suspicious. Geum Myeong-gyeol had investigated their deaths as thoroughly as possible in a short time.
Unfortunately, nothing suspicious was found. There were no traces of someone ordering a hit, and it wasn’t poison or a curse. However, if there was something he had found, it was that the higher the rank and the stronger the power, the faster they died.
That was why he had sought out Han Cha-su.
A frail body of a B-rank production-class who could die at any moment. An orphan with no family to protest even if he died right away.
Moreover, unlike the previous partners, Han Cha-su had personally owned the earring. So wouldn’t it be fine to make him a partner?
A hunch close to certainty had made Geum Myeong-gyeol seek out Han Cha-su.
‘Since he’s an orphan, perhaps he longs for a warm family atmosphere.’
His mother had come to Korea quite some time ago anyway. Calling Han Cha-su out while he was with his mother might work well.
‘If that doesn’t work either….’
He would just seduce him.
Whether woman or man, there had never been anyone he couldn’t seduce once he set his mind to it. That didn’t mean he had lived a particularly promiscuous life. He had never dated more than two people at once, so wasn’t he rather pure-hearted?
‘I hope Han Cha-su accepts quickly.’
Until he accepted, he had no choice but to go through other partners. It was a hassle, but it couldn’t be helped.
Choosing a partner to last a lifetime was originally a difficult task, wasn’t it?
Geum Myeong-gyeol swept back his hair and raised his head. Han Cha-su was still holding Gi Tae-yeon’s hand, lightly furrowing his brows.
It was an expression he liked no matter when he saw it.
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