The Genius Assassin Who Takes it All

The next day.

Specifically, it was around the time when the cooldown period for the teleportation ability had ended.

Kang-hoo arrived at the northern part of Chuncheon. It was the location of the First Research Institute of Jeongmun Pharmaceuticals.

In terms of physical distance, Ground Zero was not as far away as expected.

Meanwhile, about 500 meters north of Kang-hoo’s location, an area was under control.

It was not governmental control but private control carried out by mercenaries.

There was even a makeshift sign that prohibited entry, stating it was a dangerous area.

The name of the controlling group was written on the sign, and it was ridiculous.

[Defenders of Justice]

The more one talks about justice, the less likely it is that they are truly just.

A prime example is Eclipse.

They have two main slogans.

One is the well-known ‘Turn useless human trash into useful workers.’

The other is ‘Let the lost justice take root in this land.’

It is a form of inferiority complex. They engage in all sorts of injustices and try to erase that color.

In contrast, Abyss, which is often labeled a terrorist organization, was better in that regard.

Abyss’s slogan is ‘With true faith, we offer truth; with false beliefs, we bring death.’

Lee Hyun-seok, when opposing the Jeonghwa Guild, never spoke or emphasized justice.

Anyway, seeing the signs set up by the multinational mercenaries surrounding the research institute was laughable.

Around the area, there were many broken vehicles of the Hunter Public Safety Bureau. Naturally, there were no corpses to be seen.

Despite the mercenaries wreaking havoc to this extent, the Jeonghwa Guild or Hunter News said nothing.

This made him certain that the Jeonghwa Guild was backing them up. He was 99.9% sure.

‘I’ll do my best till the end.’

Kang-hoo exhaled a hot breath.

He had already told Lee Ye-rin that he might have to give up the commission midway, depending on the situation.

In such a case, he also promised to return the Red Key.

Although he didn’t come here with the intention of failing, he had secured insurance for the worst-case scenario.

‘The Qigong Masters are the problem…’

Kang-hoo was most wary of the ‘Qigong Masters’ among the mercenaries guarding the research institute.

Qigong Masters, a class systematically nurtured in China, excel at manipulating space or attacking opponents with intangible energy.

As experts in creating variables, they were a headache for Kang-hoo, who enjoyed calculated plays.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

Kang-hoo checked the on-site map on his smartphone again.

It was the final check of the route.

Closing his eyes, he pictured the situation.

No matter how he pictured it, the scenario was always urgent. There was no leisurely picture.

Although it was dangerous, the reward for the commission, the ‘Gaksinhwan,’ was too tempting to give up.

Once commercialized, its price would be ten times higher than now, becoming a must-have for hunters.

Using it before commercialization would help create variables in his favor.

‘No matter how money-driven they are, they must value their lives. Yes, I’ll go with this route.’

Kang-hoo, having chosen the best route, immediately hid in the darkness with a horizontal movement.

An assassin lives and feeds on darkness.

Not only had it gotten dark, but the cloudy weather also started to drizzle slightly, making it the best time to approach.

Delaying further was not an option, as the multinational mercenaries could move at any time.

Meanwhile.

The leaders of the multinational mercenaries surrounding the First Research Institute were having a meeting.

They exchanged information about the tasks assigned to their hunters and the current situation.

“Our side has secured all the existing points without missing any. Snipers are meticulously placed.”

“We, handling the outer perimeter, have dealt with and cleaned up seven hunters who approached with malicious intent.”

“We are requesting contract renewal with the client and have received a reply that it will be processed within an hour.”

“Hmm. It looks like all the gears are fitting together. Once the contract is renewed, we can enter through the western gate, right?”

“Yes. The western gate is already heavily damaged. We’ve placed many snipers there, so they won’t dare to come out carelessly.”

“It doesn’t matter if all the internal information is destroyed. Information is also in people’s minds.”

The man leading the entire multinational mercenary group, composed of numerous mercenary corps, tapped his temple with his index finger.

His name was Jung Seon-rak.

A level 550 Qigong Master Hunter and an executive of China’s Shinsu Guild.

Shinsu Guild is a satellite guild of the Shinto Guild and has a polarizing public image.

Shinsu Guild has arbitrarily punished those called ‘villains,’ stepping far outside the bounds of the law.

They would catch and kill any hunter who had once committed violence against civilians, regardless of the reason.

They were also the guild most actively capturing and ‘executing’ hunters wanted by the Chinese government.

As they dealt with criminals based on their own rules rather than the state’s legal judgment, public opinion was sharply divided.

However, most people, disillusioned with lenient law enforcement, welcomed their ‘justice.’

This time was no different.

Soon, the media in Korea would be filled with reports on the corruption and crimes of Jeongmun Pharmaceuticals.

Accusations of drug distribution and production, never touched by the pharmaceutical company, were meticulously fabricated.

Since the stage was set, it was natural to play their best.

Jung Seon-rak was waiting for the final contract renewal with the client to be completed.

When the final payment is made, Jeongmun Pharmaceuticals’ First Research Institute will be the target of a full-scale attack.

They planned to kill all the hunters and personnel, leaving only the key members.

As long as the memories are alive, they even decided to cut off their hands and feet if they resisted poorly.

Just then.

“An intruder detected! A hunter has entered through the ‘Heuksun’ line in the southeast and is rapidly moving northwest!”

The alert reporting the appearance of an uninvited guest approaching from outside was heard.

Every hunter who had appeared before had boarded the express train to the afterlife without exception.

It seemed there were still foolish hunters who had not learned the fear and dread of death.

“Looks like another idiot has come.”

Everyone heard the alert report but did not think much of it. Jung Seon-rak felt the same.

Instead, he saw it as an opportunity to make some money. Even if the hunter died, the items would remain on the site.

Whoever took the dead hunter’s items would own them. Naturally, the leaders here had priority.

In fact, they had already had quite a bit of fun getting items from hunters who recklessly approached the site and died.

But at that moment.

“……?”

Jung Seon-rak’s expression changed as he watched the ‘intruder’ on the CCTV screens installed everywhere.

The intruder’s position was changing rapidly, much different from what he had expected.

Using leap-type skills to move several meters in an instant was basic.

When there were structures that could be targets, the intruder used horizontal movement to hide.

The fact that horizontal movement and concealment were activated indicated maximum skill proficiency.

It seemed highly likely that the intruder was at least a level 200 skilled assassin. Perhaps even higher.

Bang! Bang!

With a time difference, the magic bullet snipers continued their shots.

Since they were targeting from hidden points, it was the most difficult suppression to avoid.

Most hunters who had tried to approach the research institute were almost dealt with at the ‘sniper interception line.’

The quiet sniping of experienced snipers was as deadly as the Grim Reaper.

There’s even a common saying among hunters, “The most f***ed up thing is a sniper who has taken position.”

“Wait. What is this?”

Jung Seon-rak’s expression became more distorted.

The intruder on the screen was quickly updating his position.

Everyone spent time being astonished, looking at each other’s faces. They couldn’t believe their eyes.

For some reason, not a single magic bullet hit the intruder.

They didn’t even miss.

Even the group of mercenaries placed to slow down the intruder’s speed at the midpoint were injured.

They were mercenaries placed to physically obstruct the intruder’s movement in case the sniping was breached.

But they were scattered in panic by the unbelievable wide-area attack executed by the intruder, who seemed to be an assassin.

Suddenly, a circular magic circle appeared, and a storm of electricity swept through the air.

Even Jung Seon-rak, who had been through all sorts of battles, thought it was an absurd combination of skills.

Deploying a curtain to enter a perfect concealment state. Pulling structures to use as a defensive wall!

On top of that, creating a defensive barrier to protect oneself and even using illusions!

All of these skill combinations were derived from a single assassin. He was not an ordinary person.

“Damn, this is messed up. Ye Jin-bin! Clear the way! Hurry!”

Jung Seon-rak, who had been overly confident in the boundary line he had set up, shouted, realizing he had been caught off guard.

Ye Jin-bin, Jung Seon-rak’s closest colleague and the leader of another mercenary group, had space manipulation abilities.

Ye Jin-bin immediately entered a ‘hyper-focused’ state and opened a path covering a considerable distance.

Since this skill was used externally, it was not affected by the fifth constellation perk of space movement skill suppression within a 15-meter radius of Kang-hoo.

And in the next moment.

Jung Seon-rak appeared less than 10 meters from Kang-hoo.

‘A big shot has appeared.’

Kang-hoo bit his lip tightly.

From the constellation information alone, he could tell that a skilled person over level 500 had appeared.

Even in this situation, Kang-hoo continued to mix leaps and accelerations to keep moving.

Jung Seon-rak also accelerated his movement by releasing a strong force backward. It was his own form of acceleration.

‘A Qigong Master.’

He immediately recognized Jung Seon-rak’s essence. A high-level Qigong Master was impossible to face one-on-one.

Moreover, his body was in bad shape due to pushing his skills to the limit during the approach.

Although he had taken Mad Solarkium to delay the aftermath, the strain on his body was not gone.

Because he had used mana excessively like a berserker, his entire body felt extremely heavy.

At that moment.

Swoosh.

Kang-hoo noticed Jung Seon-rak’s finger motion, bringing his middle fingernail to the thumb’s fingerprint side.

It was a gesture as if he were flicking something off his finger, making a circular motion with his fingers!

Without time to think further, Kang-hoo immediately deployed a protective barrier. It was an instinctive defensive response.

And then.

Bang!

Crack!

Jung Seon-rak’s single flick of a Qigong Bullet shattered Kang-hoo’s protective barrier into pieces.

“……”

A monster stood before him.