Chapter 29

“Alright, alright… here!”

Kang Taesik sighed and reached beneath his desk.

“I’ve got a paper temp agency I set up a while back for laundering identities. The name’s Blue Fin. I’ll print your IDs under that affiliation, so get your photos ready.”

A moment later, two crude plastic ID cards popped out of the machine with a sharp clack.

Kang Taesik handed them over with an air of exaggerated generosity.

“Lee Juwon is ‘Joo Iwon,’ and Baek Ihyun is simply ‘Ihyeon.’ I left your ranks as S-rank Esper and S-rank Guide. You shouldn’t have any trouble getting through checkpoints with these.”

Ihyun narrowed his eyes as he accepted the IDs.

He held one up to the light.

Then, without warning, he grabbed Kang Taesik by the back of the neck and slammed his face into the desk.

Bang!

“Boss Kang, are you playing games with me? The hologram angle is wrong. Are you trying to get us caught the moment someone scans these?”

“A-Ack! No! It’s just because the machine is old!”

“Old? You want to die?”

Ihyun tightened his grip.

“Reissue them. And put proper anti-counterfeit embossing on them this time. You know you can’t fool my eyes, right?”

“Ah, fuck… What kind of dream did I have last night? Why is my luck so damn rotten today?”

Kang Taesik groaned and complained as he was forced to run the machine again.

Finally, Ihyun held up the flawlessly forged IDs and quietly glanced at Juwon standing beside him.

An overdeveloped, muscular frame.

Broad shoulders.

A massive body well over two meters tall.

Even in the criminal underworld, someone built like a walking mountain was rare.

“Juwon, you need a disguise.”

“A disguise? Hyung, I’m really bad at that kind of thing…”

Ignoring his protest, Ihyun shoved a pair of sunglasses, a cap, and a mask onto Juwon.

He stepped back and examined him.

To Ihyun’s eyes, however, Juwon still looked exactly like Lee Juwon.

Just with a cap, sunglasses, and a mask.

“Hyung, no one will recognize me now, right?”

“…”

“Hyung?”

“Juwon.”

“Yes?”

“If we run into pursuers on the way, let’s just beat them all unconscious.”

“Yeah. Let’s go with that.”

Watching their reckless exchange, Kang Taesik clicked his tongue and looked at them as if they were hopeless.

Ihyun jerked his chin toward the outside.

“And you. Go treat the people lying around out there.”

“What? Why me?! Do you think money grows on trees?! If I help them once, a hundred people will start swarming this place tomorrow!”

Kang Taesik jumped up and yelled.

Ihyun calmly pulled another thick wad of cash from his pocket and tossed it onto the desk.

The moment Kang Taesik saw the bundle, his eyes narrowed.

“T-That’s not nearly enough. Supplies have been tight lately…”

“I’ll bring you more depending on how well you do.”

Ihyun gave him a cold look.

“So treat them properly.”

As if those were the exact words he had been waiting to hear, Kang Taesik immediately stuffed the money into his clothes and smoothly changed his tune.

“…Come to think of it, I’m fundamentally a man overflowing with humanity.”

He smiled awkwardly.

“Sure. Passing out a few medications isn’t impossible. So please, get out of here now.”

Wiping away his cold sweat, Kang Taesik hurried to see off the monstrous duo.

Then, just before they left, he lowered his voice.

“And one word of advice. The border region just a little way past here…”

His expression turned serious.

“Don’t go anywhere near it.”

“The border region? Why?”

At Ihyun’s question, Kang Taesik lowered his voice even further and glanced around.

“Rumor has it those DUST bastards are raiding a Gate over there right now. Some say Han Taeyoon himself showed up.”

He swallowed.

“If you get caught up in that, forget about a government wanted bulletin. They won’t even find your corpse. Got it?”

Ihyun froze.

“What did you say?”

“I said they won’t even find your corpse.”

“No. What did you say before that?”

Kang Taesik blinked.

“Uh… that DUST is raiding a Gate?”

“No. Before that.”

“What did I say?”

Kang Taesik racked his brain.

“The government wanted bulletin?”

Ihyun shook his head.

Kang Taesik stared at him, trying to figure out what the hell he was looking for.

After a moment, he tentatively offered,

“Um… Han Taeyoon?”

Ihyun’s eyes immediately lit up.

“…Crazy.”

Kang Taesik stared at him in disbelief.

“No, seriously. You’re definitely not normal…”

Terrified by the madness gleaming in Ihyun’s clear eyes, Kang Taesik pointed to his own head and slowly twirled a finger beside his temple.

Juwon let out a deep sigh.

“Hyung, running into Han Taeyoon already is a bit much…”

He rubbed his forehead.

“I’m not mentally prepared for that yet.”

Ihyun checked his fake ID one more time before shoving it into his pocket.

“Why do you need to be mentally prepared?”

He glanced at Juwon.

“Are you going on a blind date?”

“No, but still…”

“Juwon.”

“Yes?”

“Do you still not know me?”

“Huh?”

“When someone tells me not to go somewhere, basic human nature dictates that I have to go.”

Ihyun grinned.

“And besides, you said Han Taeyoon is there.”

He walked out of the safe house without another word.

His footsteps were noticeably lighter than before.

On the way to the border region, Ihyun and Juwon bounced along an unpaved road in a beat-up SUV.

Eventually, a massive barricade appeared ahead.

A temporary Supernatural Bureau checkpoint.

And it was being guarded by roughly three times the usual number of personnel.

“Hyung, something feels off.”

Juwon pointed ahead.

“Look at that display board.”

Ihyun turned toward the window.

On the enormous screen beside the checkpoint, the faces of Baek Ihyun and Lee Juwon were being broadcast in full resolution.

[EMERGENCY WANTED: S-rank Guide Baek Ihyun kidnapped. Secure suspect immediately upon discovery.]

[Suspect: S-rank Esper Lee Juwon.]

[Presumed DUST spy.]

[AUTHORIZED TO KILL ON SIGHT.]

Ihyun let out a scoffing laugh.

That pompous Director of the Supernatural Bureau must be sweating bullets by now.

The day when he could completely brainwash Baek Ihyun and fasten a leash around Han Taeyoon’s neck had been right around the corner.

And now his precious control device had simply vanished.

No wonder he was losing his mind.

“Hyung, can we actually get through this?”

Juwon stared at the giant wanted poster.

“My face is plastered up there like a billboard…”

“Hey, if it doesn’t work, we just beat everyone unconscious.”

Ihyun shrugged.

“What, Juwon? Scared?”

Before Juwon could answer, armed security agents approached the vehicle with their guns trained on the windows.

Ihyun hurriedly put on the cap and mask he had taken from Kang Taesik’s hideout and ducked his head.

“We’re mercenaries Joo Iwon and Ihyeon from Blue Fin. We’re on our way to reinforce the mercenary forces in the border region.”

One of the agents took their IDs.

He tapped them against his scanning terminal and peered inside the vehicle.

Ihyun and Juwon casually looked out their respective windows, pretending not to care.

Beep.

The agent bent down and tried to get a better look at Ihyun’s face beneath the cap and mask.

A tense strength coiled through Ihyun’s fingertips.

Beside him, Juwon was already channeling mana, ready to smash straight through the car door at a moment’s notice.

Then—

“Huh? What’s wrong with this thing all of a sudden?”

The agent frowned and slapped the terminal.

The screen went completely black.

Then rebooted.

Error windows immediately began popping up one after another.

Bzzzt—CRASH!

Power surged violently throughout the checkpoint.

Sparks showered from the equipment.

The agents jumped in surprise and raised their weapons.

Behind them, the massive display flickered violently with static.

The wanted poster showing Baek Ihyun and Lee Juwon disappeared.

The screen went black.

Then strange text began flooding across it.

[ System : ( D@TA C0RRUPT#D — ]

[ (ﾉ´ヮ`)ﾉ: ･ﾟ ☆★ HELLO WORLD! ★☆ ]

[ Admin privileges successfully acquired (・ω・)ノ ]

[ This is a prison-release gift 凸 ]

“W-What?! Is it a virus?!”

A dizzying cascade of obnoxious emoticons danced wildly across the display.

The agents’ handheld terminals were suffering from the exact same problem.

“H-Huh?! Sever-link is completely cut off!”

“Comms team! Get the comms team on the line right now!”

The checkpoint descended into chaos in an instant.

Agents frantically grabbed their transceivers and shouted orders over one another.

Inside the SUV, Ihyun looked up at the display and silently burst into laughter.

Those shamelessly cheeky emoticons made it obvious who was behind this.

There was only one genius who could treat the Supernatural Bureau’s main server like a toy.

Yeonwoo.

“…Requesting immediate backup from the senior mobile unit stationed in the rear. Send them to the main checkpoint building.”

A confused voice came through the radio.

“—Huh? Backup? That side must be in complete chaos because of the server, too. Besides, it’s difficult to spare personnel. They’re keeping DUST in check over at the border region.”

The agent glanced toward Juwon through the car window.

Something about the situation clearly didn’t sit right with him.

“Something smells fishy, so stop talking nonsense and call them over.”

His voice hardened.

“And have the barrier deployment squad stand by as well.”

He cut off the transmission.

Then he turned back to the SUV and forced a smile at Ihyun.

All the while, he subtly nudged the muzzle of his gun closer to the window.

“Ah, mercenaries. Sorry about this, but there’s been a temporary glitch with the main office server. Please wait here until we can confirm your identities.”

He smiled stiffly.

“Turn off the engine, please.”

His intention was obvious.

Stall them.

Keep them trapped until the mobile unit arrived.

Ihyun’s brow furrowed.

If they stayed here for another five minutes, the surrounding forces would have enough time to form a complete encirclement.

But before Ihyun could even clench his fist—

The human bomb sitting in the driver’s seat moved first.

Juwon leaned forward so violently that his mask and sunglasses jolted.

At the same time—

A terrifyingly heavy wave of mana crashed down over the entire checkpoint.

The vehicle itself groaned beneath the pressure.

“Gagh…!”

The sudden weight crushed the breath from the agent’s lungs.

His hand trembled violently around his pistol.

Fear swallowed his thoughts.

Because he understood one thing with absolute clarity.

If the hulking mercenary sitting in front of him felt like it, he could turn both the agent and the entire barricade into a pile of tenderized meat.