Chapter 233: There’s No City For Trash Mob (4)

“The view is nice.”

Yeomyeong turned his head to follow Seti’s voice and looked towards the walking path.

First, a warm breeze from the lake brushed against his cheek, followed by the sight of the red-tinted horizon of Lake Michigan, lit by the slanting sunlight.

Seti, who was looking in the same direction, subtly reached out and linked arms with Yeomyeong.

Click.

The perceptive Neti didn’t miss the moment and took a photo.

Though they looked more like tourists than people searching for a missing person, Yeomyeong said nothing and struck a natural pose, ‘pretending’ to be a tourist.

Was it because it felt like a date with Seti? Or perhaps because he couldn’t use his mana in the midst of hundreds of tourists around? No, it wasn’t either of those.

The reason he was pretending like this came from the mouths of the two sisters, who, with sunglasses on, were scanning their surroundings relentlessly.

“Top right, the black tourist with the backpack. Superhuman.”

“Under the row of trees, the elderly man drinking coffee. Mage.”

“In front of the fountain, a little kid dozing off with a young Asian man. Superhuman. The kid is a mage.”

There were mysterious superhumans scattered across Navy Pier.

Yeomyeong hadn’t noticed them when they were heading to the hotel, but as soon as they began their investigation, numerous superhumans became detectable to his senses.

Most of them were superhumans that Yeomyeong’s group could find if they were looking for a particular angle, but… if there were more than ten of them, things would be different.

It was fortunate that Yeomyeong’s group had been hiding their mana. If they had been discovered first, things would have become complicated.

“…Didn’t you say this was a tourist spot? It’s as tight as the facility where we, the sisters, grew up.”

Neti whispered as she drew closer to pretend to show Yeomyeong the photo.

“Could it be because we are in front of the Dimensional Portal?”

Neti said that and glanced northwest, towards the direction of the artificial island with the Dimensional Portal floating above it.

Yeomyeong shook his head.

“Then they should be at the Dimensional Portal itself. Or maybe it’s like the LA Dimensional Portal with a military base hidden nearby…”

Yeomyeong trailed off, but both Neti and Seti nodded as if they had heard the rest of his thought.

The U.S. wasn’t stupid. They wouldn’t hide superhumans, let alone ordinary people, as tourists and scatter them around a popular attraction.

“…Looks like it’s not going to be easy.”

Seti sighed, and Neti grinned as she replied to her sister’s comment.

“Wherever you and brother-in-law go, that’s always how it is.”

“…?”

Instead of Seti, it was Yeomyeong who gave Neti a flick on the forehead, then asked the two of them.

“So, what now?”

Originally, they planned to explore the movie theater and shopping mall at Navy Pier, then sneak around the hotel in the late night…

“I don’t mind. I’ll go wherever you go.”

Neti shrugged her shoulders, but Seti spoke while scanning her surroundings.

“Let’s check everything. We might find something at the shopping mall or the movie theater.”

“…Then let’s hide our mana as much as possible. Don’t forget we’re pretending to be tourists.”

Yeomyeong said that as he took the lead. The three of them headed towards the shopping mall, leaving the gaze of the superhumans who were subtly following them behind.

Following the bustling tourists, they entered the first floor of the shopping mall, where, as expected, there were superhumans hiding their identities.

“…Hey, that burger place looks good.”

Seti pointed to a restaurant while pretending to be as natural as possible.

There was a bald white man serving burgers there, and he, too, was a superhuman hiding his mana.

Not a tourist, but an actual employee?

In other words, this entire facility or the managers of the facility were connected to these superhumans.

Feeling that things were getting messier than expected, Yeomyeong immersed himself in the act.

“Isn’t it still a bit early to eat? Let’s go to a proper restaurant later. How about that?”

“Well, if you want to… but you’re buying dinner tonight?”

“Yes, yes.”

Ignoring Neti, who was frowning at their acting, the group continued to wander around the mall.

It wasn’t a particularly impressive shopping mall, and as expected for a tourist spot, most of the stores were selling jewelry and souvenirs.

The problem was that Yeomyeong had discovered two more hidden superhumans between the stores.

At this point, there was no need to visit the movie theater.

If there was one, it was fine, but with three superhumans disguised as employees, it was almost certain that the Navy Pier managers were up to something.

“This… it’s not just about saving someone or anything like that, is it?”

Neti, who had returned to the walking path, spoke in a slightly scared voice. She kept glancing around, and it was understandable.

Hidden superhumans, twelve to be exact, were like a large mercenary group or a military unit hiding around.

“…What exactly is going on here?”

Seti asked, and Yeomyeong also shook his head, unable to find an answer.

At that moment, his golden eyes, hidden under his sunglasses, caught sight of three men walking among the tourists.

They were dressed in comfortable travel clothes, carrying large bags.

They looked like typical backpackers, but Yeomyeong kept watching them closely. Was it because their hair was an unusual green color for Earth?

No, it was because of the masks hanging from their bags.

The masks weren’t anything special, nor were they well-made—just crude snake masks… something Yeomyeong had seen before.

…Black market?

Puzzled, Yeomyeong didn’t explain to the two sisters but instead checked the smartphone Sancho had given him.

The smartphone had contact information and details about the Chicago black market, as well as information from Kahal Magdu.

Although he had already read the information during the flight to Chicago, Yeomyeong meticulously went over the contents again.

However, no matter how much he checked, the location for the Chicago black market was listed as an underground parking lot near a hotel by the Chicago Canal, not here.

…But maybe Sancho’s information is wrong.

Considering the distance between LA and Chicago, it wasn’t that strange. Or, perhaps the location of the market had changed in the meantime.

Either way, it was worth checking out.

After organizing his thoughts, Yeomyeong turned to Neti.

“Neti, sorry, but you’ll have to head back to the hotel alone.”

“Now? Did you find something?”

“…I’m not sure, but it looks like it could be dangerous.”

No further explanation was needed. Neti nodded quietly.

She left Yeomyeong and Seti with a parting remark, “Have fun on your date. Just don’t do anything too dirty,” before dodging a hit on the forehead and quickly running back to the hotel.

As they watched Neti’s retreating figure, Seti turned to Yeomyeong and asked.

“So, what did you exactly find?”

Yeomyeong gestured toward the three travelers disappearing into the mall and answered.

“…The black market mask.”

Yeomyeong and Seti followed the three masked travelers back into the mall.

The men were entering the same restaurant where Seti had first spotted the disguised superhuman employee. And, more suspiciously, they exchanged peculiar glances with that employee.

“…Well, that confirms it.”

“It’s too early to jump to conclusions. Let’s watch a little longer.”

With that short exchange, the two entered the restaurant as well, choosing seats with a clear view of the masked men while acting as naturally as possible.

“Would you like to order?”

A regular waiter approached and asked for their order. Yeomyeong pointed at the travelers’ table and replied.

“We’ll have whatever they ordered.”

The waiter glanced at the travelers’ table before confirming.

“Two burger sets with extra chilli cheese fries. That okay?”

“Yeah, we’ll take that.”

As Yeomyeong responded, the waiter returned to the kitchen while the soft glow of the late afternoon sun trickled in through the windows.

The three men who ordered the burger sets weren’t eating. Instead, they were leisurely chatting.

Yeomyeong and Seti pretended not to watch them, making small talk to pass the tim—

“What will you do about the Saintess?”

…Or at least, that was Yeomyeong’s intention.

Seti’s sharp eyes scanned his face.

“Are you just going to keep avoiding her until your revenge is over? Or…”

“…Seti. What are you talking about?”

Yeomyeong cut her off before she could continue. In response, Seti smirked and reached out, gently stroking his cheek.

“I’m only saying this because I don’t mind.”

“…?”

“So, if you’re ignoring the Saintess because of me… you don’t have to. You can return her feelings if you want.”

“…What?”

“What do you think? It’s called confidence in being first.”

The waiter arrived with their burgers before Yeomyeong could process the shocking confession. Seti took a big bite but looked slightly disappointed.

“…This is not as good as I thought. Well, food in tourist spots is always like this.”

“…”

“Are you not eating?”

Snapping out of it, Yeomyeong took a bite as well. Just as she said, it wasn’t anything special.

A moment later, the masked travelers finished their meal and stood up.

They pretended to leave a tip but discreetly handed something to the superhuman waiter.

A rectangular, luxurious piece of paper with elegant golden embossing.

What was that? As Seti narrowed her eyes to decipher its purpose, Yeomyeong spoke.

“…A business card.”

“A business card?”

“I can’t read what it says, but judging by how it looks… yeah.”

Most likely, that was a ticket to the black market.

Having made his decision, Yeomyeong quickly finished his burger, stood up, and started chasing after the travelers.

Seti, who had already finished eating, leisurely followed him with her arms crossed. She continued the conversation from earlier.

“Was what I said really that shocking? I thought you’d like it.”

“…Do we really need to talk about this right now? And what do you mean about ‘like it’—me?”

“Hmm? You’re not?”

Before Yeomyeong could respond, Seti cut him off.

“Once the revenge is done, I want to take my siblings and the Saintess and move beyond the Dimensional Portal to live together.”

“…”

“We could live in Gemini City or Apollo City, but it wouldn’t be bad to go down to the countryside and buy a farm. And… oh, by the way, did you know that polygamy is still legal in the Empire?”

Unsure of what she was talking about, Yeomyeong sighed and replied.

“…Polyandry is legal too.”

“So what? I don’t need any other man.”

“…”

Yeomyeong fell silent, unable to think of a response to Seti’s sudden confession.

He almost conceded, but upon noticing that Seti’s earlobes were turning red, he smiled softly.

So, they were both shy, after all. Yeomyeong gently lowered his crossed arms and held her hand.

The warm sensation of their tightly interlaced fingers melted his heart.

Had they not been tracking the travelers, Yeomyeong might have kissed her right there.

…Anyway.

As their impromptu act(?) of affection deepened a little more, the travelers briefly glanced around before turning into a hallway, disappearing from sight.

It seemed like they were heading toward the bathroom area, so Yeomyeong and Seti decided not to follow immediately but to explore the nearby shops and wait for them to reappear.

They spent some time browsing through souvenirs like faux gemstone necklaces and Chicago White Sox Team T-shirts.

As sunset faded and the time of stars approached, Yeomyeong and Seti realized something was wrong. They headed down the same hallway where the travelers had disappeared into the bathroom.

“…There’s nothing here. It’s like they disappeared into the ground.”

Seti, who had checked both the hallway and the women’s restroom, reported. Yeomyeong, who had checked the men’s restroom, frowned.

“Teleportation?”

“…Would they really use such advanced magic just to go to the black market?”

“Unless they were unexpectedly mages…”

Yeomyeong trailed off, scanning for mana. At that very moment, while checking every crack in the wall and even the smallest speck of dust on the floor…

He discovered a faint magic circle etched across the entire hallway, extending beyond the walls and floor.

“…So, it’s not just a mere black market.”

Standing before the massive, unidentifiable magic circle, Yeomyeong realized there wasn’t much he could do.

He lacked the magic knowledge to decipher or dispel the circle, and destroying it would mean fighting every superhuman in the Navy Pier.

So, Yeomyeong decided to use a more traditional approach.

Infiltration. To be exact, use an Invisibility Cloak and simply wait in the hallway near the restroom.

The problem with this plan was…

“…This corridor’s narrower than I thought.”

It wasn’t easy hiding under the cloak with Seti.

They had to avoid any regular customers who might walk through the hallway, meaning Yeomyeong and Seti had to stick close together, almost like glue.

“If it’s too hard for you, I can go alone.”

“Who said it’s hard? I’m just saying it’s narrow.”

“…”

“By the way, Yeomyeong? I’ve been thinking for a while… your skin smells really good.”

With a sly grin, Seti buried her nose in the back of his neck, and Yeomyeong had to chant the Heart Sutra in his head.

After reciting the sutra more than ten times from beginning to end…

Finally, a man appeared before the magic circle.

He didn’t seem like a typical tourist; rather, he was dressed as if heading to a high-end restaurant. The man pulled out a piece of paper from his coat—exactly the same kind of business card the travelers had earlier.

…Something’s happening.

Seti, who had been playfully teasing Yeomyeong, now held her breath, watching carefully from under the Invisibility Cloak.

The man ripped the business card.

Ripppppp—

As the business card tore, mana spread through the area around Yeomyeong, Seti, and the man, creating a thin barrier.

It was an invisibility spell that erased the sight of the CCTV, the sound, the dust, and even the presence of people.

Before the spell even ended, the hallway walls creaked open with a sharp sound.

Behind the walls, a narrow yet luxurious white marble staircase appeared, with sparkling lights from below, indicating that it wasn’t too deep.

Let’s follow.

As the man descended the stairs, Yeomyeong and Seti quietly followed, staying close behind him.

“Customer 73. You’re earlier than expected.”

At the bottom of the stairs, they arrived at a large hall.

The spacious room resembled a high-end performance hall, with luxurious seats arranged around a grand stage.

More than ten superhuman security guards were waiting in the hall, which seemed less like a black market and more like…

An auction house?

As if she had thought the same thing, Seti wrote words on Yeomyeong’s palm with her finger.

– Risky, escape? Infiltration?

Yeomyeong quickly wrote his response.

Having made up their minds, the two of them immediately began walking toward the stage.

Though the invisibility cloak concealed them, their footsteps couldn’t be muffled, so they moved as quietly as possible.

They avoided the guards, walked through the seats, and reached the stage. The person standing on stage turned around and surveyed the audience.

Perhaps there was another entrance elsewhere, as dozens of people were already seated, waiting for the auction to begin.

– The three from earlier… Not visible. There is space. Behind the stage.

Yeomyeong, who had explained with his fingers, proceeded to move behind the stage.

Unlike the glamorous front stage, the back was like a vast warehouse. The problem, however, was with the items stored there.

Inside the glass cases were all sorts of magic items and weapons, along with unrefined elixirs—herbs, entrails, eyeballs—and a variety of potions.

Even Yeomyeong, without specialized knowledge, could immediately tell this was an auction house.

Yet, there were no guards in sight. Perhaps these items were too valuable for regular security? Or maybe…

“Who’s there?”

There was only one guard visible.

Yeomyeong squinted as he saw the person emerging from behind the glass cases.

An East Asian man with a ponytail, exuding a sharp aura like a finely honed sashimi knife.

With mana clearly radiating from him, he was undoubtedly a superhuman. However, the way his hand rested on the katana at his waist was anything but ordinary.

At the very least, he was leagues above the common thugs outside.

– Let’s back off. No signs of KGB or Moryne here.

Yeomyeong said to Seti. Seti, seemingly in agreement, was about to retreat with him. However…

Srrrgggg— The man drew his katana, and a flash of light burst from it.

In an instant, Yeomyeong burst out from beneath the Invisibility Cloak, drew his sword from his inventory, and effortlessly deflected the Sword Aura his opponent had unleashed.

The flying Sword Aura slammed into the warehouse wall and made no sound as it burrowed deep into it—cutting so cleanly, it was as if it had carved the wall itself.

“Oh… An invisibility cloak? I guessed right.”

The man had already unleashed his Sword Aura, even though he wasn’t entirely sure of his target—he was either crazy or extraordinary, or perhaps both.

However, Yeomyeong didn’t care either way. He raised his sword and spoke.

“Wouldn’t it be easier if you just let me go? I didn’t steal anything.”

“Of course not. There’s a reason the ‘No entry for outsiders’ zone exis—”

Before the man could finish his reply, Yeomyeong struck the ground in a surprise attack. He planned to decapitate him before anyone outside noticed.

A red aura surged from Yeomyeong’s blade, and the moment his sword swung down toward the man’s neck, another flash erupted from the katana.

The clash of their Sword Auras, charged with mana, should have caused an explosion of noise, but just before their blades collided, Yeomyeong’s Sword Aura expanded multiple times over.

Like a wave swallowing ordinary ripples, the massive Sword Aura surged forward. The crimson tide engulfed the gleaming arc of the katana—and split the man’s body in two in an instant.

Or it would have.…

However, at the last moment, the man dropped his katana and threw himself backwards.

As Yeomyeong’s sword sliced the katana in half, the man barely managed to roll across the floor, his collar narrowly grazed by the blade.

The keen instinct and skill to evade Yeomyeong’s strike, along with martial arts that allowed him to retreat at speed rivaling the Flying Kick technique—

If they fought properly, Yeomyeong would’ve had trouble, but…

That was all.

Just as the man was about to spring up and shout, Seti, who had positioned herself behind him, aimed a pistol at his temple.

Click.

The cold muzzle of the gun pressed against his face, and the man slowly closed his mouth, which had been wide open, and spoke.

“If you shoot, the guards will come running.”

“Before that, we’ll just escape using the Invisibility Cloak.”

“There are over forty emergency sensors in this auction house. If the alarm goes off, you’ll be trapped like rats in a cage.”

“You talk too much.”

“Let’s go back to the first thing you said.”

“…”

“I’ll let you go—just leave now. Consider it repayment for cutting my sword.”

The words were unclear—whether a threat or a plea—prompting Yeomyeong to lower his sword slightly as he approached the man and spoke.

“I refuse.”

“What?”

“How long do you think it’ll take me to kill all the guards here and everyone outside as well? Five minutes? Ten minutes?”

“…”

The man smiled ambiguously as if imagining what Yeomyeong had just said. He raised both hands over his shoulders and spoke.

“Well, I’d say it’ll take about twenty minutes. This place is close enough for the incompetent Chicago police to arrive in ten minutes. And above all…”

“Above all?”

“The VIPs are waiting outside. I don’t know who you are, but you definitely can’t handle them. Some of them are even congressmen.”

“…”

As Yeomyeong approached the man, without saying a word, he raised his sword. The VIPs and the rest didn’t matter because he could use his invisibility cloak and Blood Tears illusion to handle this matter.

After all, unless there were KGB here, no one would be able to figure out his identi—

At that moment, as if it were a twist of fate, the door at the back of the warehouse opened.

From what seemed like a waiting room for the warehouse manager or the auctioneer, three snake-masked travelers Yeomyeong and Seti had been chasing, along with an elderly man, stepped out of the room.

– What… what’s going on?

– Dokgo’s been taken down?

– Shut up and call security! Call security!

While the three were making a fuss, Yeomyeong and Seti didn’t react at all.

No, they couldn’t because the elderly man who had come out with the travelers was all too familiar.

“Enough, everyone, be quiet.”

The elderly man, who had been looking at Yeomyeong for a moment, raised his hand and shut the mouths of the three travelers.

At that moment, with everyone silenced, the elderly man smiled at Yeomyeong.

“I didn’t expect to run into you here. Dung… no, Yeomyeong.”

Yeomyeong, who had withdrawn his sword that was aimed at Dokgo, lowered his head slightly in respect and answered.

“…I didn’t expect to meet you here either. It’s been… a long time, Mr. Jang Man.”