Episode 24
Nam Gyuil put on a robe with stripes like a zebra.
Jewels adorned the buttons fastening the robe.
Flutter.
Nam Gyuil put on the robe and stood before the hallway mirror, examining his appearance.
'It's complete.'
The robe he wore was precisely the transformation item, 'Form Change.'
He had mastered its method of creation from the Akashic Records and made it.
'Shall I test its performance?'
Nam Gyuil donned the robe's hood.
And recalling Lee Chanwoo's appearance, he infused mana into the Form Change.
Srrrk.
The robe clung to his body.
It covered all parts of his face save for his eyes, nose, and mouth.
And its color began to change.
It seemed to gradually turn to a flesh color, and in an instant, Nam Gyuil's outward appearance changed into that of Lee Chanwoo.
Nam Gyuil examined his reflection in the mirror.
"Oh?!"
An exclamation burst from him unbidden.
'So it transforms automatically just by thinking of the person I want to become?'
He had truly transformed flawlessly.
If he went outside in this state, no one would ever think he was Nam Gyuil.
'This will be useful in combat.'
Nam Gyuil smirked and cut off the mana he had infused into the robe.
At that, he returned to his original form.
Form Change was truly an amazing item, but it had one drawback.
'There's a limit to the total usage time.'
And it was only twenty-four hours. If that time was exceeded, Form Change would lose its effect and become an ordinary robe.
From now on, he couldn't transform carelessly.
He had to save as much time as possible and use it only when truly necessary.
Nam Gyuil took off the robe and draped it over a chair.
'If it weren't for the Akashic Records, I would have passed by the materials to craft Form Change even if they were right in front of my eyes, wouldn't I?'
Training methods to grow stronger.
Item crafting.
Truly, gaining access to the Akashic Records had been an enormous stroke of luck.
It had brought him many benefits in various ways.
Nam Gyuil lay down on a soft sofa.
He turned on the TV with the remote and took a brief rest.
An announcer on the LED monitor delivered breaking news in a calm voice.
— Deserted National Hunters have formed an organization and are committing various crimes.
— They are committing various crimes including illegal drug sales, contract killings, kidnapping, and more, so citizens are urged to exercise special caution.
Nam Gyuil, watching TV, shook his head.
'What grim news. A National Hunter deserting to even form a criminal organization.'
No longer wanting to watch, he changed the channel.
***
The President had called the Minister of Defense and key generals of the military to the conference room.
A sinister atmosphere permeated the area.
The President, who had been sitting in his chair in silence, finally broke it.
"Why can't we catch the deserted National Hunters?"
The generals could not answer.
They were in a situation where they didn't even know where the deserted National Hunters' hideout was.
The President suddenly raised his voice.
"Why aren't any of you saying anything!!"
He roared, pounding his fist on the desk in an undignified manner.
There was a reason he was reacting so sensitively.
Until last week, the President's approval rating had been 32.5%.
It was already a low figure, but when the deserted National Hunters began committing crimes, a flood of public criticism poured forth—asking what on earth the government was doing.
As a result, this week's approval rating had plummeted to 21.7%.
The opposition party was gleefully launching political attacks, while the ruling party was unable to even properly refute them.
The President was incredibly desperate regarding his approval ratings.
With the general election approaching, he couldn't help but react sensitively to everything.
He furrowed his brow deeply.
"Announce that I will give a reward to whoever makes the greatest contribution in resolving this incident. Say that no matter what that person wants, I will make it happen in the President's name."
"Understood."
"Don't just answer—show me through action!! Deploy the Hunter Agency or mobilize the National Hunters, just resolve it!"
"Yes, sir!"
The general-grade officers shouted promptly.
The President gulped down the water in his cup; perhaps his throat was parched.
***
A day passed.
Nam Gyuil went to work at the Hunter Agency.
The moment he sat in his chair, the phone rang loudly.
He picked up the receiver.
"Communications security, this is Sergeant Nam Gyuil, team leader of Team 01, Seoul Hunter Agency."
—Communications security, it's Park Huiryeong.
"Loyalty! What business do you have, sir!"
—It's difficult to say over the phone. Come to my office.
"Understood."
Nam Gyuil clicked his tongue as he hung up the phone.
'Is he calling me to nag me about re-enlisting again?'
The memory of the long-term service application came to mind, and his expression scrunched up.
For now, Nam Gyuil headed to his office.
As soon as he opened the door and entered, Park Huiryeong stated the reason for calling him.
"HA has sent a support request to Team 01."
Nam Gyuil was momentarily at a loss for words.
He merely blinked repeatedly.
He tilted his head slightly and asked a question.
"Isn't HA the place that catches deserters? I don't know why they would look for our team."
"Well... you've heard the rumors, haven't you?"
"What rumors, sir?"
"The news that deserted hunters have formed a criminal organization and are operating."
"Ah, I saw it on the news."
"Yes. The situation is growing more serious by the day. It's time to move proactively now. Honestly, I hesitated about refusing when HA contacted us, but a Presidential order has even come down to resolve this case by all means."
A weighty gravity seeped from Park Huiryeong's voice.
Moreover, it wasn't just anyone—it was National Hunters who had deserted the Hunter Agency committing these crimes.
This was also a matter of the Hunter Agency's prestige.
"Nam Gyuil."
"Sergeant Nam Gyuil."
"From this moment, Team 01 is to actively support HA. Understood?"
"Understood."
Nam Gyuil responded crisply to Park Huiryeong's command.
Perhaps his voice was to Park Huiryeong's liking.
Park Huiryeong let out a short laugh and added a word.
"They say there's a reward for the person who makes the greatest contribution, so do your best. Whatever you want, it will be done by Presidential order, they say."
"Understood."
With a hearty answer, Nam Gyuil left the office.
Click, click.
He walked down the hallway, lost in thought for a moment.
The order to support HA was sudden enough, but to think the President had even declared a reward for the greatest contributor.
'The situation must be that urgent.'
He chewed over Park Huiryeong's final words.
'Saying that whatever I want will be done by Presidential order.'
A snicker escaped him.
'Could this be an unexpected windfall?'
He was thinking of demanding something tremendous as a reward.
'Looks like I'll have to take the spot of greatest contributor. And quite perfectly, at that.'
He was overflowing with confidence to do so.
Because he possessed a very useful item that no one else had.
***
The next day.
Team 01 assembled at HA.
The team leader there, Jo Huiyeong, welcomed them.
"Nice to meet you. I'm Sergeant Jo Huiyeong, team leader of the Apprehension Division."
She shook hands with Nam Gyuil.
"Nice to meet you. I'm Sergeant Nam Gyuil, team leader of Team 01. I look forward to working with you."
Jo Huiyeong looked him up and down.
She had put in the support request upon hearing that he was continuously breaking records for incident-free operations, but she wanted to properly gauge what kind of person Nam Gyuil was.
For starters, his appearance was neat.
His speech was polite as well.
He seemed a bit serious, but....
'Well, I'll find out bit by bit as we talk later.'
She thought so.
Jo Huiyeong had the HA team members and Team 01 personnel introduce themselves to become acquainted.
Then they entered the operation meeting.
Police officers were also seated in the conference room.
As the situation was growing increasingly serious, they explained to Team 01 that HA was conducting a joint investigation with the police.
Nam Gyuil greeted the police officers as well.
"I'm Sergeant Nam Gyuil, team leader of Team 01, Hunter Agency. I look forward to working with you."
"I'm Superintendent Park Huisun."
The greetings ended shortly.
Since the matter was quite serious, the operation meeting began immediately.
Everyone received documents and took their seats.
Jo Huiyeong took charge of the briefing.
She turned on the projector and opened PowerPoint.
"The criminal organization created by the deserted National Hunters is called 'Jayumin.' We arrested one criminal who had been active in Jayumin."
When she pressed the remote, the screen changed.
A photo of a man with a rough impression and a shaved head appeared.
"Name: Im Yeongsu. Age 23. He was arrested while fleeing after an attempted contract killing. But currently, he isn't divulging any meaningful information."
Nam Gyuil raised his hand as a question came to mind.
Jo Huiyeong nodded.
"Yes, please ask."
"If he hasn't given any meaningful information, does that mean he has given other information?"
"That's correct."
Jo Huiyeong nodded.
She resumed her interrupted explanation.
"Im Yeongsu keeps repeating the statement that the moment he joined Jayumin, he was suddenly moved somewhere. He claims he doesn't know where the hideout is or who the boss is."
"Is there no way to make him tell the truth?"
"Starting from a lie detector, we assigned interrogation to profilers, and later even called in his family to persuade him, but it was no use. In this case, it's one of two things."
"One of two things?"
"Either Im Yeongsu is a tough one who won't talk, or 'Jayumin' is a cellular organization that uses its members as disposable pawns. In which case, he truly doesn't know anything."
Nam Gyuil furrowed his brow.
Jo Huiyeong continued the briefing.
"We tracked Im Yeongsu's movements using every method—CCTV, cell phone location tracking, and so on—but no movement trail showing how he got to the hideout has appeared."
"I see."
"If it were Team Leader Nam Gyuil, would you be able to predict how Jayumin is operating?"
"Me?"
"Yes. As a fellow Awakened, how do you think you would act if you were the boss of Jayumin?"
At Jo Huiyeong's question.
Nam Gyuil fell into thought for a moment.
Honestly, he didn't know.
'How would I know? Even if we're both Awakened... I don't know their inner workings.'
To begin with, if it were him, he wouldn't have deserted his comrades.
He wouldn't have formed a criminal organization either.
Nam Gyuil didn't even want to understand Jayumin.
They were completely different types of people from himself.
Therefore, he threw a question back instead.
"Is there no more information on Jayumin?"
"There is a broker who arranges for deserted National Hunters to join Jayumin, and he is said to wear a unique ring."
"A ring?"
"According to Im Yeongsu, from the first time they met, he was wearing a ring with a purple gem embedded in it on his index finger."
In that instant, Nam Gyuil's expression changed.
As if he had caught a clue, he subtly raised the corners of his mouth.
'A purple gem? The moment he joined Jayumin, he was suddenly moved to some space?'
Nam Gyuil had a guess.
He couldn't be certain yet, but everything would be solved once he met Im Yeongsu.
"I'll meet Im Yeongsu."
At Nam Gyuil's request, Jo Huiyeong repeated what she had said before.
"Starting from a lie detector, we assigned interrogation to profilers and even called in his family to persuade him, but it was no use."
It was the same words, but this time the underlying meaning was different.
It contained the implication: the experts failed too, so what can you do?
The police officers thought the same.
But Nam Gyuil insisted without backing down.
"Still, I'd like to meet him and talk. It might be an opportunity to interpret Im Yeongsu's statements from a different perspective, mightn't it?"
Jo Huiyeong fell silent for a moment, but
soon nodded and gave permission.
"Yes. Very well. I hope you extract the necessary information from Im Yeongsu."
"Don't worry about that."
Because.
Between himself, who had acquired information from the Akashic Records, and those who hadn't, there would clearly be a difference in perspective.