Ch.147Midori Shower 4

A chilling, dangerous abandoned factory district.

The jingling sound of a bicycle echoes through the area.

“—.”

Tiny wheels race powerfully along the road.

Yeji listened to the sound as she clung to Siho’s back.

The speed was quite fast, so she wrapped her arms tightly around Siho’s waist.

“Um…, Miss Yeji.”

“Yes?”

“I’m sorry, but could you hold on a little less tightly?”

Siho turned around to look at her with a deeply flushed face.

It seemed that between the effort of pedaling and Yeji’s grip, he could barely breathe.

“Oh no… I’m sorry!”

Yeji immediately let go of her arms.

But then she nearly toppled off the bicycle as she lost her balance.

As a result, she grabbed onto Siho again tightly and caught a whiff of a subtle scent.

A nutty, animal-like smell.

Yeji perked up her nose at the scent.

“Do you keep any pets?”

“Pets? All of a sudden?”

Siho tilted his head at the unexpected question.

Yeji shyly explained her reason with some embarrassment.

“I have a dog at home, and you smell similar.”

“That can’t be. I live alone…”

Siho forced a smile and turned his attention back to the road ahead.

There was something bothering him, but he decided to ignore it for now.

First, they needed to escape this factory district.

Anna, Jisoo, and Jeoksa had raided the factory, which meant that Park Shin-ae’s numerous hunters would soon be swarming the area.

Of course, it was unimaginable that those three would lose.

However, Miss Yeji was the person who had reported the factory to those three hunters.

Moreover, she was a witness who had directly seen them fighting.

Park Shin-ae would certainly not let Yeji live.

She was that cruel of a woman.

Siho swallowed hard.

He strained his thighs even more, trying his best to maximize the bicycle’s speed.

“Miss Yeji.”

“Y-yes…”

Yeji mumbled with a trembling voice due to the high speed.

Siho was worried about her, but since he needed to hold the handlebars, he had to ask her for a favor despite the difficulty.

“There’s a storage compartment at the back of the bicycle, right? Could you take out the potion from there!”

“The b-back…?”

Yeji’s hair, which had been tied up, had come loose.

She pushed her hair aside and opened the storage compartment.

Inside were various softly glowing glass bottles of different colors.

“Hold onto them, and when I give the signal, throw them!”

Siho requested, breathing heavily.

Sensing the urgency in his breathing, Yeji was scared but bravely took out the glass bottles.

Blue, red, yellow.

“First, drink the yellow one!”

Yeji wanted to ask about the nature of the potion.

But given his urgent tone, she decided to trust him and drink it.

<Florida Potion>

Grade: ★★★★☆ (Flawless)

Effect: Increases flame resistance by 20. When consumed, blocks flame attribute attacks for 10 minutes.

Information: A refreshing cocktail that can block even the hot heat of Flodia.

Real men use Florida cocktail instead of sunscreen! (Non-alcoholic)

“It’s d-delicious…!”

Though she drank the potion hastily on the moving bicycle,

Yeji’s eyes sparkled as she found it quite tasty.

Sweet orange juice.

Tangy lemon juice blending together in a heavenly mix.

“Of course it is—who do you think made it… *cough*…”

Siho was proudly speaking when he choked.

While drinking and riding, he failed to avoid a stone embedded in the road.

The bicycle jolted.

With yellow cocktail all over his face, Siho grimaced and handed back the empty bottle.

“But why did we drink only this one in advance?”

“Oh, you’ll see soon enough.”

Siho pointed ahead with his sticky face.

Yeji followed his gaze to look forward.

“I don’t see anything…?”

But she soon understood what Siho meant.

From the distant horizon, bright lights began to appear.

“There they are! Catch them!”

Park Shin-ae’s hunters.

Just as Siho had said, they were starting to swarm in to capture Yeji.

And they were also being pursued from behind, the direction they had fled from.

With both front and back blocked, Siho confidently called out:

“Now, throw the red potion!”

“What?! This one?”

“There’s no time, don’t think, just throw it as hard as you can!”

Yeji clutched the red potion tightly in both hands.

Her hands trembled uncontrollably.

What could this possibly be…

But she had to pull herself together quickly.

The numerous hunters visible before her.

In their hands were longswords and axes.

Some even carried massive maces.

If they swung those maces at the passing bicycle…

The two of them would surely die.

So she squeezed her eyes shut.

And when she opened them again,

She assumed a perfect pitcher’s stance.

Her profession was a hostess.

And her specialty was “throwing” liquor bottles at perverted customers who caused trouble.

Yeji’s control was so good that even her madam acknowledged it.

Finally, the potion left her hand.

The red glass bottle flew forcefully through the air.

And the moment it fell in front of the hunters wearing night vision goggles…

“——!!”

The broken red liquid transformed into a massive cloud of flames that spread throughout the world.

A size comparable to the tidal wave of fire that Jisoo had created.

Yeji squinted at the enormous scale.

<Faust Potion>

Grade: ★★★★ (Semi-Artifact)

Effect: Creates a firestorm within a 500M radius when thrown.

Those who enter the storm have all healing effects suppressed for 30 minutes.

Information: A fiery cocktail potion with high alcohol content.

A special potion created by Siho after carefully observing Jisoo’s abilities.

“S-Siho! How are we going to get through that?!”

Intense flames ahead.

Hunters pursuing from behind.

Yeji was at a loss in this impossible situation.

But Siho remained calm even in these circumstances.

After all, she was no longer the clumsy F-rank hunter she once was.

Siho’s bicycle charged straight into the firestorm ahead.

Yeji’s eyes widened as the flames drew closer.

“Don’t worry! I’ve calculated everything!”

Siho put on the goggles from the bicycle basket.

And boldly threw himself into the flames.

“—–!”

Yeji screamed with all her might as the flames engulfed her.

She was certain her entire body would be burned to a crisp.

But…

Her body suffered no burns at all.

Not even a single strand of her flying hair was singed.

Instead, her entire body felt cool, as if she were in the night air.

Amazed by this mysterious experience, she looked down at her hands.

The Florida cocktail she had drunk earlier.

Thanks to that cocktail, a white protective barrier had formed around her entire body.

“How is it? Doesn’t it feel like passing through the sun?”

Siho spoke leisurely, like a pilot controlling a spaceship.

In response, Yeji blankly admired the scenery within the storm.

The whole world was as red and beautiful as the surface of the sun.

The fear that had gripped her body was long gone.

Yeji naturally wrapped her arms around Siho’s stomach and relaxed.

Thanks to this, she remained calm even after they had completely passed through the firestorm.

“Well, what do you think? It’s not so bad escaping, right?”

Siho smiled brightly and held his head high.

By now, he had developed his abilities close to his prime days.

“Yes. Thanks to you, I’m alive.”

Yeji rested her cheek against Siho’s back as if praising him.

Now she could trust both him and this cute little bicycle.

“But, Siho.”

“Yes?”

“Why a bicycle of all things?”

“Ah… well, I don’t have a driver’s license.”

Siho laughed awkwardly.

“Sister Jeoksa told me never to even think about driving a car.”

Memories flashed by briefly.

Siho seemed to still remember the feel of Anna’s Porsche.

Meanwhile, the bicycle had left the abandoned factory district.

Just a little further and they would reach the city.

From a distance, the faint sounds of cars and people began to be heard.

“We just need to cross that bridge.”

Siho points to a bridge stretching across the distant horizon, as if he had calculated it in advance.

The bridge was so long that it would take quite a while to cross by bicycle.

“Wait a moment.”

The bartender frowned despite being so close to their goal.

Barricades had been set up at the end of the bridge.

A group wearing the same night vision goggles as the hunters they had encountered earlier was loitering there.

“They’ve surrounded the factory district already…”

Seeing the impenetrable blockade, Yeji asked worriedly:

“W-what do we do now? As far as I remember, this bridge is the only way to the city from here…”

“Should we get off the bicycle first?”

Siho carefully parked the bicycle by the riverbank.

The bicycle looked much more battered than when they first saw it.

He slowly looked up at the occupied bridge.

Impenetrable security.

The bartender sighed deeply in that suffocating atmosphere.

Eventually, the two walked far along the riverbank away from the bridge.

But no matter how far they went, they couldn’t find any bridge or other means to cross.

“Should we just hide around here?”

Yeji clasped her hands together, not knowing what to do.

Siho shook his head at her concern.

“We still have the blue potion left, right?”

“Yes, here it is…”

Siho took the mysterious glass bottle.

Then he carefully walked to find a spot as close as possible to the opposite side of the river.

“This should be good enough…”

Siho had found a spot relatively close to the opposite bank.

Still about 500 meters to cross.

Even at its narrowest point, it was still a daunting distance.

But the bartender boldly approached the water’s edge.

“I didn’t want to use this…”

Siho pulled out the firmly sealed potion cork.

The refreshing sound of the cork popping echoed along the riverbank.

Soon, he began to pour the potion toward the river, as if serving a drink.

And at that moment,

Yeji’s lips parted at the sight of the most beautiful magic she had ever seen.

The water’s surface where the potion drops fell.

From the point of impact, the surface slowly began to freeze.

<Blue Lagoon Potion>

Grade: ★★★★ (Semi-Artifact)

Effect: Freezes the area where the potion falls. When thrown at others, cools the target for 10 minutes.

Information: A beautiful blue cocktail, Blue Lagoon, made into a potion.

On the day Siho escaped from the laboratory with Jisoo.

It roughly recreates the iceberg he created to get past the second floor of the laboratory.

However, the duration is much shorter, and the ice is not as solid.

“Be careful, it’s still incomplete so the ice might be weak. I’m still not very skilled…”

Siho looked anxious, unlike when they were escaping earlier.

Seeing him like this, Yeji smiled brightly.

“It’s okay, Siho, you’re an amazing hunter! I’m sure the ice has frozen solid!”

“Amazing hunter…”

Siho blushed at those words.

As if not wanting to show this side of himself, he hurriedly turned his head away.

And covering his mouth with the back of his hand, he grinned.

“Well, I am a proper B-rank hunter now… Haha…”

Siho walked slowly across the ice as if entranced.

Fortunately, the ice was solid enough.

But…

“Amazing hun— Whoa!”

While muttering to himself, he slipped on the ice.

As a result, he fell with a loud crack that made the ice sheet creak.

“S-Siho!”

Yeji quickly approached Siho.

However, the bartender didn’t get up from the ice easily.

Extremely embarrassed, he covered his face with both hands.

It seems the “amazing hunter” still has a long way to go.