No. 95
Liang Yung noticed the Spider Web first.
It wasn’t because he was more skilled than Hol-cheon. He simply felt it first because he was bigger.
Koo-
Yoo-seong’s thread instantly tightened around his body. Rather than being embarrassed, Liang Yung was angry about it.
‘This bastard!’ he thought as he quickly covered his skin with Aura to prevent the webs from digging through.
He possessed skills worthy of being one of the Ship Zones. At the same time, Hol-cheon also protected himself with Aura.
Although the webs were sharp enough to cut flesh, the hunters coated their skin just in time.
Then the two Ship Zones prepared their Techs at the same time.
Hol-cheon charged his main specialty: Cactus. Liang Yung used his fists to prepare his Tech: Gravity.
Although their movements were limited, they could move enough to attack Yoo-seong.
Go-oh-
The pressure from their energy could cause the space around them to appear distorted.
Yoo-seong was prepared for it. He focused Aura on his throat and chest, then…
“Aaaaaaaah!” he yelled out.
The sound wasn’t an attack, but it was loud enough that even Seoyu had to cover her ears, even though she was at a distance from Yoo-seong. He was successful.
“Yung, stop it!” Hol-cheon yelled as his Tech dissolved.
Then his eyes turned left and right to check the situation around them.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64ce79d606107d003c23ea27", id: "pf-5140-1"}) The sound would hamper their plan.
From the streets below them, people were looking up, curious about the strange noise. It was the same in the buildings around them. People on the same floor or above them on nearby buildings opened their windows to check where the sound came from.
Hol-cheon gritted his teeth.
After what happened last year, when Team Quarts tried to harm Yoo-seong on orders from a Chinese hunter, the South Korean government’s attitude toward Chinese hunters had become stricter.
A Chinese hunter could easily be deported if he was caught fighting, even without using Aura.
That was the reason Tenz had sent two Ship Zones to Yoo-seong. They needed hunters who could subdue Yoo-seong as quickly as possible without getting noticed.
However, Yoo-seong’s scream was like a siren that alerted the people around them. Along with Yoo-seong’s Spider Web, it was another two Chinese hunters had not expected.
Yoo-seong’s webs tightened around them, with more pressure than before.
“It would be wiser to stay still,” Yoo-seong advised them. “Because I know the Techs you use. Fifth in the Ship Zone, Hol-cheon. Your Tech has a wide range of effects.”
Then he motioned toward Liang Yung with his chin.
“Liang Yung, ranked ninth. You use the Psy of Gravity to immobilize your target.”
The two hunters’ Techs had the same thing in common.
When cast with full power, noise and destruction inevitably followed.
With people watching them, they would never be able to unfold their powers now.
“Quite a few people are looking at us right now. If you wish to fight, we will find ourselves on the front page of the newspaper tomorrow,” Yoo-seong warned.
“You studied a lot about us,” Hol-cheon’s voice was cold. “Did you spy on us while you were in China?”
“No,” Yoo-seong said. “Rather, I studied you even before I came to China.”
When Yoo-seong had decided to go to China, he began to obtain and watch videos of famous Chinese hunters, including those in the Ship Zone. At first, it was just for knowledge, but after Lee Hwi-min had ambushed him at a hotel, he developed a different purpose for watching their videos.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64cc9e79c7059f003e4ad4b0", id: "pf-5109-1"}) In order to hunt a monster, he had to collect all the information he could find about it.
At this, Hol-cheon bit his lip. “So what do you want, bastard?” Liang Yung asked. “This web? I can break it anytime. Do you think this could really wound me? I can keep my Aura on for a very long time.”
“No.” Yoo-seong shrugged. “I assume that you studied about me, too. Did you see what I did today?”
Hol-cheon nodded.
Everyone in the country had seen it.
All TV, radio, and newspapers in the country had featured it all afternoon. Video-streaming sites were full of footage taken by countless people around the area.
A Typhoon-class crack had been closed by Yoo-seong alone.
“Let’s just say that I have a switch,” Yoo-seong began to explain.
“What do you mean?”
“When I switch it on, you’ll wind up exactly the same as the beasts on TV.”
A chill ran down the two Chinese hunters’ spines. Only now did they recognize the situation they were in.
“You are free to move,” Yoo-seong said. “But if I feel a thread breaking or moving towards me, you’ll burn right away.”
Hol-cheon gulped.
It was as if they had given up their lives by walking into Yoo-seong’s trap.
At this realization, he tried a different approach.
“I… know about you.”
“Yes?” Yoo-seong raised his eyebrows.
“You’re not the sort to resort to unnecessary violence and killing.”
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "663633fa8ebf7442f0652b33", id: "pf-8817-1"}) “Are you risking your life on assumptions rather than facts?” Yoo-seong laughed sarcastically.
Seoyu, who was listening, knew Hol-cheon was right. Yoo-seong, who had removed his mask in front of her when they last saw each other, was exactly as Hol-cheon described.
He was an upright man.
However, he was also someone who used a mask and wore it well, according to his opponent and his environment.
“You know what?” Yoo-seong seemed to realize something. “There are a lot of people looking at this rooftop, but no one can have noticed that we are hunters. Yet.”
Hol-cheon wondered where Yoo-seong was going with this. Then another chill ran down his spine as he realized.
No one who was watching them would think that they were hunters. This was because there was nothing obviously dangerous about their situation.
However, they were now in Yoo-seong’s Spider Web. This was the power of an invisible Tech.
“I can break your legs right now,” Yoo-seong said casually, “and keep you standing.”
Hol-cheon and Liang Yung’s eyes widened with shock.
“I have been patient enough. I also warned you. But you ignored it and provoked me. So you are responsible for the consequences.”
The Chinese hunters felt a strong pressure on the joints of each limb.
“Two arms and legs, a total of eight,” Yoo-seong considered. “Now I’m going to heat the web up slowly. It won’t be enough to amputate, but I will burn your nerves and veins until they are paralyzed.”
“Then,” Yoo-seong smiled coldly, “I’ll let you go.”
“You think… you think we would just allow this?” Hol-cheon growled.
“Don’t just talk,” Liang Yung bluffed. “Go ahead and prove it.”
Go-oh-oh!
The pressure on their arms and legs was steadily getting stronger.
“Hol-cheon!” Liang Yung cried out urgently.
They had to choose. Were they going to attack Yoo-seong now, with the possibility of eyewitnesses and risking their lives against his counter-attack? Or should they just stay still while Yoo-seong paralyzed their limbs?
The threads were tightening with every second. Hol-cheon was feeling the heat on his forearms. “Wait a minute, Oh Yoo-seong!” he cried out. “I apologize!”
Liang Yung couldn’t believe it. He turned to Hol-cheon with wide eyes.
“Hol-cheon… what did you just say…?”
“Oh Yoo-seong is right. We were in a rush and proposed a ridiculous condition. So… I apologize on behalf of Tenz. In addition, I will communicate your request to the headquarters.”
Seoyu, who was watching everything, couldn’t believe it either.
Hol-cheon was Jin Wei-baek’s close assistant and the CEO of Tenz in the public’s eyes.
She never expected him to apologize to anyone, except Jin Wei-baek.
However, Yoo-seong simply stared at Hol-cheon with uncaring eyes.
“Just words…”
“Of course not. There is a jade inner armor in my right pocket.”
“Hol-cheon!” Liang Yung exclaimed.
“Be quiet,” Hol-cheon told him.
Yoo-seong put his hand into Hol-cheon’s pocket and took out a rectangular box. It was roughly the same size as a fountain pen box.
“So, you were going to give me this instead… Are you giving it now as an apology?”
“Exactly. With my authority, it is now your rightful possession.”
“You tried to exchange the item I got from the crack for something that you can easily give away,” Yoo-seong remarked. Hol-cheon wanted to curse.
Obviously, it was less valuable than the Golden Pill, but it was a valuable item that could soothe Oh Yoo-seong inside his armor.
“Please… I hope you accept our apology,” Hol-cheon said instead.
It was a mistake to step into Yoo-seong’s trap. Therefore, this was the best way to end the situation without any risk.
Fortunately, Yoo-seong’s expression seemed to gradually relax as he inspected the jade inner armor in his hands. Then Yoo-seong opened his mouth. “In ten seconds, the webs around you will loosen. It would be better to leave without trying to do anything else. Do not run down the building walls as you did earlier but use the stairs.”
Hol-cheon nodded. However, before he and Liang Yung could move away…
“Don’t think you can just go without saying it.” Yoo-seong stopped them.
“What do you mean?” Hol-cheon was genuinely confused.
“There is a person you need to apologize to other than me.” Yoo-seong pointed behind him with his thumb.
“Do it properly. The spider webs are loose enough, so bow your head properly and apologize to her.”
Seoyu felt stunned.
She didn’t know how long the moment lasted. However, what was certain was that people who had looked down on her all her life were now bowing in front of her.
And, with quiet voices, she heard them say…
“Sorry.”
When it was finished, Hol-cheon and Liang Yung walked away without even looking back. The two Chinese hunters went down the stairs quickly, without even using Aura. Their footsteps echoed and resonated in the stairway.
***
After the footsteps had died down, Yoo-seong sighed with relief.
“Hoo!”
He walked to one side of the balcony and sat down.
Seoyu approached him carefully.
“Were you really going to paralyze them?” she asked.
“Huh?”
There was a slight smile on his face.
To be honest, he hadn’t really been going to.
The fireproof Queen’s Hug was in his slot.
He could have put it on by simply blinking and burned the two hunters in close range very quickly.
But if he had, he would have been in trouble.
The people watching them would immediately have recognized his armor.
For Oh Yoo-seong to hurt someone would cause such a great scandal, let alone if someone witnessed him killing two people.
In addition, he had never actually learned how to burn veins and nerves by applying heat gradually.
In other words, he had simply been bluffing.
This was a unique skill Yoo-seong gained through his short experience in China. In the end, both he and the Ship Zone hunters were bluffing each other out.
However, it was he who had won.
‘Once you learn about this, you’ll be kicking in your bed tonight, right?’
Yoo-seong smiled as he thought about Jin Wei-baek.
‘Why would you try to mess up our agreement with this kind of thing?’
No matter how much he thought about it, there could only be one reason.
***
The next morning…
After having a simple breakfast, Yoo-seong checked the documents he received from Seoyu and signed them.
Just as he signed the last documents…
An unexpected guest arrived.
