Chapter 154 – Shin Hye-ri

After finishing the main dish and dessert, Kang Hyuk-su patted his stomach.

“Ah, my stomach is full and I feel good dining with such nice people. Hunter Min Do-jun, let’s have meals like this often when you have time?”

“I’m not sure if I’ll have such opportunities because I’m busy……”

It wasn’t just an empty refusal; he was genuinely busy.

Unlike them who were already in the top ranks, Min Do-jun still had many levels to gain.

“Just how much stronger are you trying to become……”

‘Strong enough to overwhelm you all. I’ll play with you until you feel the gap between us to your bones, and only then will I kill you.’

Hiding his blade inwardly, Min Do-jun smiled and said.

“I need to hunt without rest until I surpass both of you.”

“Haha……”

“That’s a bit scary, isn’t it?”

If a rookie had said this, they would have dismissed it as mere enthusiasm, but coming from Min Do-jun, it felt like it would really happen.

“There’s no need to chase us that desperately, but I understand.”

“Let’s meet in a dungeon someday. I’ll be waiting.”

The two men waved their hands, looking forward to the day Min Do-jun would rise up.

Min Do-jun waved back with a faint smile on his face, but as soon as the two disappeared, he erased his fake smile.

‘Awoo, reverse track Shin Kyung-min’s scent.’

[AWOOOOOO!]

[The summon has used the enhanced tracking skill.]

[Reverse detecting the path the scent has traveled.]

* * *

After reverse tracking Shin Kyung-min’s scent with the ghost wolf.

‘Found it.’

He was able to find his only family member.

‘That house.’

An apartment in Banpo-dong, Seocho-gu, Seoul.

It was an apartment that looked expensive at first glance, with a view of the Han River.

‘Shin Kyung-min’s younger sister must be living in there.’

Though he hadn’t gone inside yet, he could intuitively sense it.

And Min Do-jun’s intuition boasted a 100% accuracy rate.

‘Let’s go, Awoo.’

[Woof!]

Min Do-jun, who had become one with the ghost wolf, passed through the apartment wall.

‘It’s really amazing to pass through walls like this.’

The experience of passing through walls was unfamiliar even to Min Do-jun.

‘The S-grade ghost wolf is truly overpowered.’

If one could dismount from the ghost wolf while passing through objects, it would be a truly overpowered skill that could kill anyone.

‘Like the original ghostification, I can’t attack objects while passing through them.’

That was impossible.

Not that he wished for it anyway.

‘Well, it’s already overpowered enough as it is.’

Not only could he fly riding the ghost wolf, but he could also infiltrate anywhere.

Moreover, it provided absolute stealth that wouldn’t be detected even by top rankers.

What skill could be more overpowered than this?

‘Ah, there is one. Hunter Hunter.’

This characteristic that allowed him to become infinitely stronger by killing hunters could truly be called overpowered.

Following the scent, he climbed the floors of the apartment and soon reached his destination.

‘This is where Shin Kyung-min’s scent lingered.’

The spacious interior of about 40 pyeong was comparable to the new house Min Do-jun had moved into.

‘Is no one home?’

Looking around the house, there was no sign of anyone.

‘But it’s not an empty house.’

As evidence, the refrigerator was stocked with groceries, and the window was slightly open.

‘Did they go out somewhere?’

No sooner had he finished speaking.

Ding-dong-

Someone had just entered.

But Min Do-jun wasn’t flustered.

Since he was still riding the ghost wolf, there was no chance of being discovered.

Instead, he openly watched the person entering from the front door.

A woman around Min Do-jun’s age was taking off her heels with a tired expression.

‘That must be her. Shin Kyung-min’s younger sister.’

It wasn’t just a guess based on her age.

The weakness detection information window that appeared as soon as he saw her provided the information.

[Shin Hye-ri]

-Description: An ordinary person born in 2001. Currently a student at Korea University.

The weakness detection characteristic also worked on ordinary people.

‘It’s useful even against ordinary people, as I can know their name, birth year, affiliation, occupation, etc.’

However, combat styles or weaknesses for exploitation don’t appear.

‘As Shin Kyung-min said, she’s a year younger than me. Same surname too.’

He had finally found his only sister.

Since there was no need to take immediate action, he observed her to gather information.

‘If she’s attending Korea University, she must be academically strong.’

Korea University is a prestigious university in South Korea.

But judging by her clothes, she didn’t seem to be coming from school.

‘Seeing how dressed up she is, did she meet a boyfriend?’

It was a reasonable suspicion given the late hour of her return.

Moreover, her flushed cheeks suggested she had already had a drink.

Thud-

After tossing her handbag on the sofa, she took out a beer can from the refrigerator.

Tsss- Thud!

As if the alcohol she had consumed outside wasn’t enough, she drank the beer like she was inhaling it.

‘She doesn’t look like she can handle alcohol well, why is she drinking like that?’

Though Min Do-jun had no right to interfere whether she got drunk or not, it would be inconvenient for him if the hostage he had found wasn’t in a proper state.

‘I don’t know how much Shin Kyung-min cares for his sister, but she at least needs to fulfill her role as a hostage.’

If she couldn’t function properly as a hostage, there would be no point in finding her.

Swoosh-

After changing clothes and taking a shower, she soon went to bed.

‘Is this my chance?’

Judging by her breathing, she was completely intoxicated.

If he placed a Parasite on her now, he could use her as a hostage to threaten Shin Kyung-min in case of an emergency.

‘There’s another option.’

Instead of using her as a hostage, he could just kill her.

‘If I kill this woman now, it would certainly enrage Shin Kyung-min, but……’

Min Do-jun wasn’t trash enough to kill an innocent civilian.

‘If I kill this woman just because he killed Ye-rin before the regression, I’d be no different from Shin Kyung-min.’

Shin Kyung-min had killed innocent people for the coup.

As much as he despised him, he wouldn’t become the same kind of person.

With that resolve, Min Do-jun looked down at Shin Hye-ri from her bedside in his ghostly state.

‘Though my rule is not to harm ordinary people.’

Using her as a tool for threats shouldn’t be a problem.

“……”

But when he actually tried to take action, his hand wouldn’t move readily.

It wasn’t because of moral issues.

It was because of practical concerns.

‘If I take action now, escaping becomes an issue.’

If he dismounted from the ghost wolf now to place a Parasite, it would be difficult to sneak out of the house.

To ride the ghost wolf again, he would have to wait for the 24-hour cooldown.

‘I wouldn’t be detected if I used invisibility, but she might wake up from the sound of the front door opening.’… There was no way to leave quietly except by riding the ghost wolf again.

‘What should I do?’

After much deliberation, Min Do-jun decided to postpone his plan.

‘I’ll place the Parasite next time. For now, I should be satisfied with having found her house.’

Now that he knew her house, he could follow her anytime, so there was nothing to worry about.

‘Let’s go.’

[Woof!]

Having completed his tracking, Min Do-jun rode the ghost wolf back home.

* * *

As soon as day broke, Min Do-jun visited Shin Kyung-min’s house again.

It was to memorize his sister’s scent.

‘I’m anxious because I don’t know her location.’

While he knew the locations of Shin Kyung-min and Kang Hyuk-su through their scents, he didn’t know hers.

He waited in an invisible state in front of the house until Shin Hye-ri came out.

Since it was a weekday, she would come out to go to school.

‘There she comes.’

Unlike yesterday, she was dressed modestly with a bag, looking like a proper college student.

‘Awoo, remember her scent.’

[Woof!]

[The summon has used the enhanced tracking skill.]

[The summon has memorized the scent.]

[Detecting location in real-time.]

[Currently remembering 3 types of scents.]

He had memorized her scent after Shin Kyung-min and Kang Hyuk-su.

‘It’s good that I don’t have to erase scents.’

The original tracking skill could only remember one scent at a time, so to track a different scent, the existing one had to be erased.

But the enhanced tracking skill had no such limitation and could track an unlimited number of scents.

‘In other words, I can track the locations of all three people simultaneously.’

He could know the real-time distances to Shin Kyung-min, Kang Hyuk-su, and Shin Hye-ri.

Therefore, he didn’t have to worry about encountering Shin Kyung-min while following Shin Hye-ri.

‘Should I follow her for just today?’

Min Do-jun followed her while in his invisible state.

To place a Parasite, he needed to know in advance how she spent her day.

Following Shin Hye-ri, he took the bus and arrived at Korea University.

Following her into the school, Min Do-jun ended up having to listen to lectures like other students.

As well as the conversation between Shin Hye-ri and her friend.

“Hye-ri. Did you get home safely yesterday?”

“Yes.”

“How did it go with the guy from the blind date?”

“No.”

“What? Did you reject him again?”

“Yes.”

“Sigh, I even left you two alone, and in the end, he got stood up?”

“What can I do if he’s not my type?”

“What is your type then?”

“A reliable person who can always protect me by my side.”

“How can you tell that from just one meeting? You need to meet a few times to know.”

“Ah, forget it. When’s the next blind date?”

“Haah…… you’re really…… This is the last one, okay?”

Despite grumbling, her friend told her the next schedule.

“We’re planning a group blind date with medical students in front of Hapjeong Station in two weeks. I’ll make a spot for you, so make sure you succeed this time, okay?”

“Okay. Thanks.”

‘Hapjeong Station? Isn’t that where an A-rank dungeon is nearby?’

Having unexpectedly heard the blind date schedule, Min Do-jun fell into thought.

‘With an A-rank dungeon nearby, it would be a good place to appear as if by coincidence.’

After deliberation, Min Do-jun made a decision.

‘I might need to revise my plan.’

Originally, he had planned to secretly place a Parasite when the opportunity arose, but now a better idea had occurred to him.

‘If I use this situation well, I could make Shin Kyung-min indebted to me.’

Having formulated a plan, Min Do-jun finished his surveillance and made a phone call to someone.

“It’s me.”

-Yes, Boss. What can I do for you?

“There’s a target I need to kill in two weeks.”