Chapter 41: Stalker (1)
Shuuut—
A black portal opened in the room surrounded by stark white walls, and a white man was spat out like he’d been ejected.
Jacob Harrison, a 1st-grade villain affiliated with GODS.
To him, it felt like months had passed since he last saw the outside world.
It was the same isolation room he’d briefly emerged from last time, yet just being out felt refreshingly liberating.
Jin-young looked at Jacob, who appeared surprisingly intact, and asked,
“Looks like that place is pretty livable. Your complexion’s good.”
“I gained a lot of enlightenment there.”
“I’m not really curious about that. How’s Lee Ju-hong doing?”
“Lee Ju-hong? You mean that Korean guy? He’s done for. He’s one step away from losing his mind completely.”
Jin-young stroked his chin.
Jacob might have no mana, but as a former 1st-grade, he seemed to be holding up well enough.
Moreover, seeing how oddly compliant he was now, Jin-young wondered if this was simply his natural personality.
In any case, someone with a weak mentality like Lee Ju-hong would never last long in subspace no matter how many days passed.
‘I’ll have to release him in the North Korean contaminated zone soon. He needs to pay the price for staying alive.’
With that thought, Jin-young took out the hourglass he’d stored in subspace.
Quite a bit of time had passed, but checking the time ratio was no issue.
The hourglass displayed the number of flips it had undergone as a numerical value.
“Roughly 100 to 1, huh.”
While 100 hours passed in reality, only 1 hour passed inside subspace.
Jacob spoke up.
“Since I was affected by the flow of time there, even my bodily functions have slowed down considerably.”
Food placed in subspace didn’t spoil easily either, so it was only natural.
The problem was that the time flow in subspace had sped up compared to before its evolution.
In the past, objects stored in subspace had barely been affected by the passage of time at all.
『As subspace continues to evolve, you’ll eventually be able to control the flow of time.』
‘Then could I fast-forward it completely?’
『Most likely.』
According to the tentacle’s words, he could potentially turn a slow-growing hatchling into a full adult in a short period.
Of course, finding a dragon in the first place was the real issue.
Unless one appeared as a boss monster in a danger level 1 dungeon, encountering one wasn’t easy.
That was a matter for later anyway. Jin-young asked the question that had been on his mind.
“I heard there’s an experimental subject with red mana in GODS. Tell me everything you know.”
During the fight with Ma Du-hwan, Jin-young remembered how the man had reacted to Eun Ji-eun’s red mana.
That was why he’d asked Ma Du-hwan about red mana during the interrogation, but he hadn’t gotten much useful information.
All Ma Du-hwan knew was that GODS possessed an experimental subject with red mana—which was why he’d mistaken Eun Ji-eun for one.
Since Jacob was from GODS, Jin-young figured he’d know more details.
“I’ve never seen it in person. Just because we’re both in GODS doesn’t mean we know each other well.”
GODS operated as a decentralized, cellular organization with independent branches scattered across the world.
They all shared the common trait of following the Godfather, but beyond that, there wasn’t much overlap.
Each branch had its own tendencies and operated differently.
Occasionally branches cooperated or members even transferred, but such cases were rare.
After summarizing GODS’s structure for Jin-young, Jacob finished his explanation.
“Then do you know where the Godfather is?”
Jin-young suddenly felt curious about the Godfather.
One of only three black-listed Zero-grade villains in the entire world.
Before the regression, his only connection to the Godfather had been reading news articles about villain crimes caused by fanatics and clicking his tongue.
“I have no way of knowing. The only time the Godfather personally granted me power was when he visited me in England. After that, I never met him directly. All his orders came through the branch leader.”
“You were in the same branch as Layla and Min Hae-joon, right? Where’s the branch located?”
“On an island called Onekotan in the Kuril Islands. Even if you interrogate the branch leader, it would be difficult to learn the Godfather’s location.”
“Still, digging around might turn something up.”
Jin-young thought he’d pay a visit after the monster wave was over.
“Anyway, you really don’t know anything about red mana?”
At Jin-young’s question, Jacob thought for a moment before answering.
“I heard it occurs in mutants with absurdly high resistance to Creep and black mana. When someone forcibly tries to pollute their mana, it turns red and goes berserk—usually resulting in the body exploding and instant death.”
“What if they survive?”
“In the extremely rare cases where someone survives, their mind breaks and they become extremely destructive. I heard the experimental subject you mentioned started out that way too.”
Jin-young thought back to Eun Ji-eun.
She had been mentally unstable at first, but she never showed any destructive tendencies.
The only issue was that her red mana would occasionally lose control and rampage.
Thanks to Hong Jun-su’s recent guidance, she was steadily stabilizing.
“Is that experimental subject under control now?”
“I heard the Godfather succeeded in taming it. Of course, it only obeys the Godfather’s commands absolutely—everything else is uncontrollable.”
Jacob didn’t know anything more, but Jin-young felt that was enough.
Now he knew such an experimental subject existed—and that the Godfather could deploy it at any time.
And if GODS figured out Eun Ji-eun’s true identity, they would definitely approach her.
Jin-young couldn’t stay glued to her side forever, so he needed to help her develop enough strength to defend herself.
With the major event called the Monster Wave coming up soon, there would be more than enough opportunities for her to grow.
But before that, one thing was still missing.
Jin-young dialed someone.
“Soo-ho, I’ve got one favor to ask.”
―What is it all of a sudden…
“I need a flight suit. Something that can withstand extreme low temperatures, made of lightweight yet durable material. And it has to be made as quickly as possible.”
―How am I supposed to just suddenly…
“Shin Young Group exists for a reason. You even had drinks with Chairman Jeon Young-su at that fancy Korean restaurant. Squeeze him properly.”
―Wait a sec…
Click.
Jin-young ended the call and turned to Jacob.
“You like Korean food?”
***
“Layla and Min Hae-joon are dead, but Jacob Harrison, who was part of the same operation, is still missing.”
A short-haired blond man spoke with a cigar clamped between his lips.
A woman in a red cheongsam approached him carrying two glasses of liquor.
It was Zhu Meiling, the Dragon Head of the Red Flower Society.
“He was probably either kidnapped or killed by that secret agent. But if he were dead, Yoon Soo-ho would have used it for propaganda by now. Since that hasn’t happened…”
“Yeah. He must have been captured by that secret agent bastard.”
Dmitri Petrov, the 1st-grade villain infamous under the moniker ‘Stalker’.
He too belonged to GODS and specialized in tracking high-value targets, kidnappings, and assassinations.
Unlike others who stayed rooted in one branch, he usually traveled the world, taking on GODS’s requests wherever they led.
Because of that, he also possessed a great deal of information about GODS’s organization and members spread across the globe.
“If someone could kidnap Jacob, they’re definitely not an easy opponent.”
Zhu Meiling handed Dmitri a glass as she spoke.
“At minimum, a 1st-grade hunter. But like Layla, Jacob was only half a 1st-grade at best. Without the Godfather’s blessing, those two wouldn’t have even reached that level.”
“But you were already recognized by the Godfather as one of the best 1st-grades even before joining GODS. Most of the 1st-grade hunters GODS targeted for assassination were your handiwork, weren’t they?”
“That’s why they’re so desperately looking for busy old me.”
“Sorry about that. But I figured if it’s you, you’d be able to track down a single agent in that tiny country in no time. You’ll do it for me, right?”
She ran her eyes over Dmitri’s body as she spoke.
Dmitri met her gaze and downed his drink.
“Just tracking Jacob’s whereabouts will naturally lead me to the secret agent as a bonus. Starting from the Hongcheon Contaminated Zone—where his traces would be the strongest—makes the most sense.”
“If you find the secret agent… could you capture him alive and bring him straight to me?”
Zhu Meiling asked while lightly tracing a finger across Dmitri’s chest.
In response, Dmitri abruptly grabbed her arm and pulled her into his embrace.
He whispered into her ear.
“As you know, I don’t work for free—even when the client is GODS.”
Zhu Meiling smiled and gently settled herself onto his lap.
“How about this?”
Dmitri stroked her chin and said,
“Kuhuhu. Korea was on my schedule soon anyway. The Godfather wants Yoon Soo-ho’s head on a platter. I’ll find your little agent while I’m at it.”
***
BOOM—
A massive fist slammed down onto the Creep-covered ground.
A Mine whose entire body had been eroded by Creep lifted its head and glared at the woman leisurely fleeing into the distance.
Chae So-young concentrated the psionic energy she had spread around her and fired it toward the Mine.
But the creature paid it no mind and charged at her again.
Psionic energy was invisible and imperceptible to the Mine, so it required no resistance.
Nevertheless, Chae So-young remained calm and drew out even more psionic energy.
Crack—crack!
Finally, she shattered the transparent barrier surrounding the Mine’s head.
The mental barrier that every sentient being possessed.
The instant the mental barrier collapsed, Chae So-young activated ‘Creep Control’.
A skill that allowed her to manipulate beings living on Creep.
Monsters were easy to control, but Mines had been difficult until now because of their mental barriers.
Ssssss—
The skill pierced through the broken mental barrier and struck the Mine.
“Grrrk…”
The Mine, which had been rushing toward Chae So-young, suddenly froze in place.
Focusing her mind, she slowly tried moving the Mine’s arm.
But the Mine resisted, unwilling to obey easily.
Stimulated by the challenge, Chae So-young released even more mana.
Crack—
The sound of the Mine’s bones breaking echoed as Chae So-young forcibly moved its arm.
“Stop.”
Suddenly, her older brother Chae Jin-young seized control of the Mine with psychokinesis, taking over completely.
‘Why all of a sudden?’
Chae So-young sent her confused thoughts to him.
Telepathy—an Esper ability.
It was the first skill she had mastered after gaining some control over psionic energy.
They could speak out loud now without issue, but during training, Chae Jin-young had strictly instructed her to use telepathy only.
The more she used telepathy, the faster her proficiency with psionic energy would grow.
Once she crossed the initial threshold, her mastery over psionic energy had indeed increased at an impressive pace.
The problem, however, was her habit of resorting to brute force whenever things didn’t go smoothly.
“You shattered its mental barrier and still tried to solve it with raw mana? You need to shake the Mine’s mind with psionic energy.”
‘Got it. I’ll do it properly this time.’
“No. Forget controlling the Mine for now. Let’s go back to basics.”
“What?”
Chae So-young’s eyes widened in shock at her brother’s drastic declaration—she even spoke out loud.
“See? You’re not focusing again.”
“Eek!”
She hurriedly covered her mouth, realizing her mistake, but it was already too late.
A massive wave of Chae Jin-young’s psionic energy surged toward her.
Swoooosh— Crash crash crash—
An overwhelming force that no ordinary person could sense, yet to her—who had awakened to psionic energy—it felt like an astronomical amount.
‘Ugh…!’
Chae So-young received the oncoming psionic energy with her entire being.
More precisely, she took it into her mental world, tasting the very limits of her mental strength.
If she slipped even slightly, her own mental barrier could collapse—but Chae Jin-young’s energy control was near divine.
Whenever it neared the breaking point, he shifted the pressure to another part; as soon as she recovered, he slammed it back in.
He was personally demonstrating that tempering wasn’t limited to the body—it could apply to the mind as well.
Since doing it too often would dull the effect, he only pulled this method out when necessary.
Rumble rumble…
Just as her mental strength reached its limit, the psionic energy withdrew.
“Let’s take a short break, then start over with energy manipulation.”
Chae So-young had no energy left even to respond.
Mental exhaustion naturally took a heavy toll on the body too.
But in a contaminated zone like this, she couldn’t afford to let her guard down and lie flat.
Even during this brief rest, she had to constantly circulate mana to block Creep infiltration.
It was truly the ultimate trinity of training: stamina, mental fortitude, and mana control.
‘Now I feel a bit alive again…’
Having grown accustomed to this kind of “rest,” she genuinely found it sweet like honey.
While she recovered, Chae Jin-young used psychokinesis to scoop up Creep from the ground and pour it over the Mine.
Was he experimenting to see if covering it in more Creep would make the Mine stronger?
As she watched idly during her break—
‘Hm? Training starting already?’
Chae So-young sensed an approaching presence and straightened her posture.
Sometimes he began without warning, so she assumed this was another surprise drill.
Whatever it was approached without a sound—and without being visible at all.
Even in an area where the toxic fog wasn’t thick, the unknown entity moved swiftly, like an invisible person.
Since no mana could be felt, even a high-grade hunter would have struggled to pinpoint its location.
But she located it easily.
Even if the body and mana were concealed, the mental world could still be sensed through psionic energy.
Perhaps it was a Mine using some form of invisibility.
‘Where did he dig up something like this again?’
Chae So-young gathered all her psionic energy while waiting for it to draw closer.
The moment it entered striking range—
Crackle crackle crackle—
She pierced straight through its mental barrier with psionic energy in an instant.
“……!”
A blond man with a greatly flustered expression suddenly appeared.
Chae So-young was equally startled by the appearance of a human—not a Mine.
She turned to her brother to ask what was going on.
‘What is this guy?’
Chae Jin-young merely shrugged.
The blond man quickly regained his composure, scanned the two of them, and spoke.
“There’s no need for two people to interrogate… but if I had to choose,”
His gaze landed on Chae So-young, and he licked his lips.
“I’d rather have some fun with the enjoyable one.”
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