Ch.97Angel Tip 1

“Haa…”

I don’t know how long I’ve been running.

I sprinted like a madman on the cold asphalt road, falling countless times.

My knees were scraped raw, and my toenails had come off.

But I couldn’t stop.

Only after the silhouette of the mountain I’d descended from completely disappeared could I finally catch my breath.

But it’s still not time to feel safe.

The woman who was captured in my place, Siho.

I need to save her.

“Once I get out, I’ll tell you everything.”

Those words meant she knew something about the missing Dohyun.

After running and running again until sunset,

I finally managed to hitch a ride with a passing car.

As luck would have it, the man who picked me up was also heading to Seoul.

I asked if he could drop me off at Sindorim on the way.

Fortunately, he agreed to not only take me to Sindorim but also drop me off near the bar.

“The bartender there has amazing skills.”

The man wore an enraptured expression, as if he had tasted drinks there before.

Is that so…

I knew Moment was a somewhat famous bar, but I didn’t realize its reputation had spread this far.

After driving for about an hour, I could see the collapsed Sindorim sign.

The man dropped me off nearby.

“The bar Moment is over there, toward the back.”

“Thank you…”

I staggered as I got out of the car.

Fortunately, the man didn’t ask any questions despite seeing my disheveled state.

He simply told me to “hang in there.”

“Strength…”

Can I really save her?

My opponents are Rankers…

And I’ve already been pathetically defeated by them once.

In contrast, I’m all alone.

Can I face them by myself?

With tightly pressed lips, I opened the door to Moment.

The place I was supposed to visit with Dohyun and the others.

And here I am… arriving alone.

“Welcome.”

A tall, handsome man I’d never seen before greeted me from the counter.

Soon, his lips parted as he noticed my appearance.

“Is there a monster outside? You’re badly injured….”

“Siho sent me.”

I cut off his words.

When I mentioned the “name,” the Moment employee’s expression became troubled.

“She’s in danger. She told me to come here if there was a problem…”

The employee’s name tag read “Jiuk.”

After hearing my words, he clutched his head with both hands.

“What should I do… They haven’t arrived yet…”

“They?”

“Yes, there are two Rankers who are really close to Siho. But they haven’t come yet…”

I swallowed hard.

Then I carefully asked him:

“Those two people, where are they now?”

I stood in front of an enormous company building.

Below the building, a majestic stone monument caught my eye.

‘Ilshim.’

To think I’d come to Korea’s most ruthless organization on my own feet…

But what choice did I have when someone who could help Siho was here?

I checked my appearance in the borrowed clothes.

It was a Moment employee uniform.

It was all they had available at the bar, so I had no choice.

Wearing that outfit, I boldly headed toward Ilshim’s entrance.

“Hey, wait!”

A man in a black suit stopped me.

With his arms crossed, he looked down at me intimidatingly.

“What business do you have here?”

“I need to meet someone.”

“Do you have an appointment?”

I don’t have time for this…

This is urgent!

“I didn’t have time for that, I have urgent news to deliver!”

“To whom?”

The man dismissively ignored my words.

So I shouted in a loud voice:

“Jeoksa!”

I just called out the name.

But the moment he heard it, the man’s face turned extremely hostile.

“How dare you use the Team Leader’s name so casually…”

He rolled up his sleeve as if offended.

Moreover, his colleague who had been standing at a distance approached quickly upon hearing the name Jeoksa.

They looked ready to beat me to a pulp.

But taking a few hits is nothing compared to what she might be enduring right now.

The man grabbed me by the collar.

Caught in his grip, I shouted even louder:

“There’s no time! Siho is in danger!”

At the mention of Siho, his raised fist froze in mid-air.

With wide eyes, he asked me:

“Did you say Miss Siho is in danger…?”

Sangmun’s expression turned pale.

His brother, who had followed from behind, also looked deeply troubled.

“Did she just say Miss Siho is in danger, brother?”

“Dongchun… watch the gate for a moment.”

Sangmun muttered.

Understanding the gravity of the situation, Dongchun silently nodded.

Soon, Sangmun took the lead ahead of me.

His expression had become even more tense than mine.

“What are you doing? Hurry up!”

He started running frantically, his dialect mixing with standard Korean.

I hurriedly followed him into the headquarters.

Past the massive stone monument inscribed with ‘Ilshim.’

The man thundered up the central staircase.

Seeing this, other organization members followed in a rush.

We became a massive procession heading to the top floor of the building.

And at the very top was a conference room that looked like it would house important people.

Sangmun knocked on the door without hesitation.

Then, perhaps feeling there was no time to waste, he simply flung it open.

I followed him into the conference room.

Inside, four executives and a woman who appeared to be the leader were seated at a long table.

“What kind of insolence is this…”

A middle-aged man looked at Sangmun with displeasure.

But a woman with green eyes stopped him.

“It seems urgent, let’s hear it first.”

“I apologize. But I thought you needed to hear this…”

Sangmun answered, breathing heavily.

He gestured for me to report what had happened.

Responding to his cue, I placed my hands on the table and exclaimed loudly:

“Siho is in danger!”

“Siho…?”

The vice chairman furrowed her brow.

The other executives did the same.

But just one person—

A woman with black hair and red eyes had a different expression.

Her red eyes widened completely as she stared at me.

I almost stepped back from her overwhelming gaze.

“What are you saying?”

“She was captured by Association Rankers… while trying to save me.”

At the mention of the Association, all the executives’ expressions hardened.

“Our daughter-in-law was captured by the Association?”

The vice chairman rose from her chair.

The red-eyed woman also seemed shocked, her mouth agape.

“How did this happen…?”

I explained everything that had happened to us.

From the Counter’s Rankers attacking and killing hunters to using me and other victims as test subjects…

And now it was Siho’s turn.

After hearing my account, Vice Chairman Na-hyun’s expression turned cold.

“Vice Chairman…”

Jeoksa’s expression was particularly pained.

She looked up at her superior with sad eyes.

“Team Leader Han, don’t worry…”

The vice chairman picked up a long sword placed at the back of the conference room.

Then, with the sword drawn, she looked down at all the executives.

“Everyone.”

“Yes, Vice Chairman.”

“The Association bastards have kidnapped one of our people.”

The executives all attentively listened to their superior’s words.

Her sharp sword gleamed like teeth.

“Isn’t this a declaration of war against us?”

“It is.”

Jeoksa was the first to answer.

She clenched her teeth as if ready to tear the Association members apart.

“What did our Chairman teach us to do in situations like this?”

“To respond immediately.”

The middle-aged man spoke in a resolute voice, as if reciting a rule.

The yellow-haired man sitting next to him also wore a determined expression.

“Let’s go.”

The sword was fully drawn from its scabbard.

She held the sword in one hand and headed out of the conference room.

“Miss.”

“Yes…”

“Where did they take our daughter-in-law?”

“It was… some mountain in Ilsan. There’s a large resort there…”

“Resort?”

The vice chairman’s eyebrow twitched.

Jeoksa immediately explained to her where it was.

“It’s a place that went bankrupt during the monster crisis. The Association owns it now.”

“My, those Association bastards are so sinister. Thinking of kidnapping people in such a place.”

Vice Chairman Na-hyun rested the sword on her shoulder.

Then she gracefully descended the central staircase.

Following her, dozens, no, hundreds of organization members calmly exited the building.

They all rose from their massive nest for one person alone:

To save Siho.

“Miss, ride in my car.”

The vice chairman pointed to a black Mercedes.

I got in with the woman called Jeoksa whom I had seen earlier.

Sangmun in the driver’s seat, Jeoksa in the passenger seat.

Finally, the vice chairman and I sat in the back.

“Excuse me… this isn’t the way to Ilsan.”

“Ah, I know that.”

The vice chairman answered my comment firmly.

Jeoksa turned her head to explain on behalf of her superior.

“We’ve already asked our Ilsan members to investigate the place.”

“And what did they find?”

“There was no one at the resort.”

The woman’s red eyes stared at me.

But I didn’t back down and responded with an even more determined gaze.

“That can’t be… Did they check underground? There was a research facility where they kept me.”

“Don’t underestimate Ilshim’s investigative abilities. They searched thoroughly but found the facility had already been closed and abandoned.”

“Damn it…”

It’s too late.

If only I hadn’t stupidly wandered on the roads…

“Then where are we going now?”

“I’ll answer that for you.”

The vice chairman spoke while supporting her sword with both hands.

“Have you ever been in a gang fight, miss?”

“A gang fight…?”

I shook my head.

Even during my school days, I had never been in a fight…

“In gang fights, you see, if you take down the boss—the rest will scatter on their own.”

Her green eyes twinkled with a smile.

I involuntarily swallowed at that look.

“The research director who captured your friend is just a lackey of the Association.”

Could it be…

I rolled her words around in my mind carefully.

By the time I understood the answer, the car slowly reduced its speed.

The vice chairman opened the car door before the driver could do it for her.

“Yes, we’re going to take down their boss now.”

She stepped out of the car.

Soon, we faced an enormous building.

The Korean Hunter Association.

I never thought I’d visit both Ilshim and the Association headquarters in my lifetime.

I observed the majestic building’s appearance while breaking out in a cold sweat.

Soon, Association hunters who spotted us hurriedly blocked the entrance.

They frantically contacted their headquarters and began setting up barricades.

“Sangmun, did you bring that?”

The vice chairman commanded her driver with a determined expression.

He took out a black walkie-talkie from the trunk and handed it to her.

Na-hyun put the walkie-talkie to her mouth and began a mic test.

“Ah-, ah. Can you hear me?”

It was just one phrase.

After her “can you hear me,” I had to cover both my ears.

Because…

“Yes, Vice Chairman!!”

Hundreds of voices united in response behind us.

I slowly turned around.

A procession of countless black cars.

Like a funeral company that had come to clear away the pile of corpses that would soon emerge from the Association.

“Well, if our children can hear me, I’m sure you can hear me too.”

“Listen up, you Association bastards. Today you kidnapped someone very precious to us.”

“You know how dearly we cherish our family. So this is a declaration of war, isn’t it?”

The vice chairman’s voice penetrated into the Association headquarters.

The Security Chief and Guard Captain on the first floor looked at each other in confusion.

“What’s going on all of a sudden?”

Dae-eun asked Eun-chan.

Eun-chan could only shake his head at the question.

“How would I know? What kidnapping are they talking about…”

“Bring out our daughter-in-law now!”

“Daughter-in-law…?”

Dae-eun tilted his head at the unfamiliar term.

Eun-chan did the same.

“Bring out Siho!”

Only then did the two men understand the vice chairman’s words.

Especially Eun-chan, who laughed dejectedly.

“Wow—so those two really were in that kind of relationship…”

“What are you talking about?”

“Nothing, anyway, it seems something has happened to Siho.”

“But why are they looking for her here?”

“I don’t know… Ah, could it be….”

Eun-chan stared at the Security Chief as if something had occurred to him.

The Security Chief also looked at the Guard Captain as if something had clicked.

The two spoke simultaneously:

“Councilman Park…?”

“I’m counting to three. If you don’t bring her out, we’ll settle this here and now. One…”

Someone began running out from the first floor.

Seeing this, Vice Chairman Na-yeon slowed her countdown.

“Twooo…”

“W-wait a moment!”

The two Rankers rushed out and stopped in front of the gate.

They waved their hands frantically.

“That was quick. And you’re not even the bosses.”