Chapter 296 – Part 2 – The Yang Dong-i Gang

“Manager! We’re here!”

Four men entered and looked around the armory.

“Where are you?”

“Manager?”

With only the display case lights sporadically illuminating the area and no sign of Kim Gi-hong, boss Yang Dong-hyeon tilted his head in confusion.

“What’s this? The door’s open though…”

“Boss. This is the right place you told us to come to, right?”

“Hey, are you doubting me now?”

“Not you, boss, but that manager guy seems suspicious.”

“That’s right. Isn’t this a trap?”

At his subordinates’ suspicions, Yang Dong-hyeon frowned first.

“You’re one of the guys who got absorbed into our group recently, right?”

“That’s right. I’m Kang Su-cheol, former boss of the Su-cheol gang.”

“What Kang Su-cheol. From now on you’re Yong Su-cheol.”

“…Isn’t that nickname too carelessly made?”

“You’re thinking too carelessly, bastard. The relationship between me and the manager isn’t that simple and easy, man. We’ve been doing business together for years, tsk!”

When Yang Dong-hyeon scolded him, Kang Su-cheol had no choice but to bow his head.

Even though they were both E-rank hunters, their combat power differed by three times.

“Don’t go around suspecting people carelessly. Got it?”

“…I’m sorry.”

Just then, Yang Dong-hyeon’s phone received a text.

[Kim Gi-hong: I stepped out briefly for business, so when you arrive, go ahead and pick out equipment first.]

Yang Dong-hyeon showed the text to his subordinates, saying “Look at this!”

“See! What trap? Stop talking nonsense and hurry up and gather equipment.”

“Yes sir!”

The gangsters scattered and examined the display cases.

They had only agreed to deal with one E-rank hunter, but since he said he’d lend them any equipment, they looked around with happy hearts.

However, not everyone was shopping with a happy heart.

‘Yong Su-cheol? Damn, does he think that’s funny?’

Kang Su-cheol walked around the armory grinding his teeth with his face scrunched up as much as possible.

He never thought he’d hear a nickname he hadn’t heard since becoming a hunter again here.

‘Yang Dong-hyeon, you bastard. Just wait and see. I’ll grow quickly and crack your skull.’

Although he was currently under the Yang Dong-i gang after being subdued by force, someday he would become stronger and take over the organization.

‘Until then, I’ll use you to go through dungeons. Hehehe…’

While he was grinning with such thoughts.

Stab-!

“Ahhhhh! My, my eye!”

A dagger that flew out of nowhere got embedded in his eyeball.

“What’s that sound?”

A gangster who happened to be nearby heard the scream and walked toward where Kang Su-cheol was.

“Huhuhuk, heuuuk…”

“Su-cheol! What’s wrong…”

Stab-!

“Kyaaahhh!”

The gangster who was stabbed in the back screamed and fell face-first to the floor.

“What? Where’s that sound coming from?”

Yang Dong-hyeon looked around at the screams echoing from somewhere.

Then he spotted a subordinate who was looking around like himself.

“Choi Seung-ho!”

“Ah, boss! Keurk!”

A dagger suddenly flew and embedded itself in Choi Seung-ho’s chest.

Yang Dong-hyeon’s eyes widened at the sight.

The dagger was disappearing smoothly.

‘Th-that’s a dagger throw skill!’

Yang Dong-hyeon, being an agility-focused assassin himself, couldn’t not know.

Although he hadn’t learned it because the damage was low.

‘To deal that much damage with just dagger throw…’

Yang Dong-hyeon looked around with tense eyes.

‘As expected, is this D-rank?’

He was currently mistaking the person who ambushed his subordinates for Kim Gi-hong.

‘Damn it, I never thought that manager bastard would really prepare a trap.’

He told them to come into the armory, then his subordinates were being picked off one by one.

Naturally, he could only think it was Kim Gi-hong’s doing.

‘Why the hell did he betray us? We’ve been doing business well all this time, right? I even gave him marijuana as a service!’

Since it had been a close cooperative relationship, he couldn’t understand the reason for betrayal even more.

‘First I need to survive. I need to survive somehow to get revenge…’

Was it because he was only being wary of his surroundings while walking?

Yang Dong-hyeon only looked down after something caught on his foot.

“Ah shit! That startled me!”

What caught on his foot was a person’s arm.

And someone he knew at that.

“Th-that’s the manager!”

While he was staring at Kim Gi-hong’s corpse in surprise.

Chill.

Yang Dong-hyeon, sensing killing intent, quickly ducked his head.

The dagger that had precisely aimed for his eyeball passed over his head.

“That’s a shame.”

Choi Seong-min, who had been hiding in the darkness, revealed himself with a regretful face.

“That was my best shot.”

It was because it was damage amplified 4 times with the assassin’s mark and First Strike combined.

“You, who are you! Who are you to do this to us…!”

“Wow… You were planning to kill me by joining forces with the manager without even knowing my face?”

“You, could you be…”

Yang Dong-hyeon belatedly realized who the young man before him was.

And the reason he suddenly ambushed him and his subordinates.

“You’re the E-rank hunter the manager mentioned!”

“Ding dong dang!”

“Did you kill the manager and my subordinates?”

“I did kill the manager, but I haven’t killed your subordinates yet. I need them alive to see the trait effect. They’ll die soon anyway though.”

As Choi Seong-min approached with murderous eyes, Yang Dong-hyeon stepped back to maintain distance.

He had no choice.

‘Th-this guy is someone I shouldn’t mess with. If I mess with him, I’ll die.’

Just from his eyes, you could tell who the predator was.

Since the distance wouldn’t close no matter how much he approached, Choi Seong-min let out a short sigh.

“Are you just going to keep backing away and not fight? You should get revenge after I made your subordinates like this.”

‘…I don’t fight losing battles.’

Even though they were both E-rank, he had no confidence in winning.

How could he beat an opponent who killed a D-rank manager and left three E-rank subordinates in critical condition?

‘I’d rather run away like this and wait for another day…’

Yang Dong-hyeon glanced around, measuring the distance to the entrance.

But he didn’t know that moment of carelessness would lead to a mistake.

Stab-

“Ahhhhh!”

A dagger flew and embedded in his shoulder.

If he hadn’t reflexively twisted his body, it would have pierced his throat.

The dagger disappeared and appeared in Choi Seong-min’s hand.

“If you won’t come, I’ll have to go.”

Choi Seong-min, who used the Sprint skill, closed the distance in an instant.

Yang Dong-hyeon, startled, swung his dagger, but he couldn’t hit Choi Seong-min who had raised his agility to 300 with Pack Instinct.

Stab- Stab- Stab-

Chest, back, forearm.

Yang Dong-hyeon, wounded all over his upper body, desperately held on while swinging his dagger.

However.

Stab-

“Keurreuk!”

With his throat pierced, further resistance was meaningless for him.

[You have killed Hunter Yang Dong-hyeon.]

[You have stolen the trait ‘Combat Sense.’]

[You have stolen 8 pieces of equipment.]

[Synchronization Rate 13.4%]

[Trait – Combat Sense]

-Rank: A

-Description: You can intuitively sense phenomena related to combat such as killing intent directed at you, mortal danger, the opponent’s level, etc.

‘Is this similar to the Intuition trait I had before?’

Looking at the description, it was similar to but different from the S-rank trait called Intuition.

‘If the Intuition trait back then could clearly judge right and wrong, this one seems to instinctively know about combat-related aspects.’

The rank was decent too, and he thought it wasn’t a bad trait.

“Now shall I go deal with the fish I’ve caught?”

Choi Seong-min gripped his dagger properly and entered the darkness where groans could be heard.

Soon after, death screams echoed from inside the armory.

* * *

The Hunter Management Department Director’s office at the Association.

Bang-!

A middle-aged man who slammed the desk looked at the center directors in front of him with a grinding face.

“What is the meaning of this! After the F-rank armory, even the E-rank armory has been robbed!”

“…We have no excuse, Director.”

The center directors who were called to the director’s office bowed their heads.

There were three Hunter Management Centers in Eastland: North, Central, and South.

Among them, the armories managed by Central and South had been cleanly robbed.

And within a month at that.

This was not only the responsibility of the center directors, but also of the Association’s Management Department Director who oversaw them.

“To lose such important Association assets as armories like this! Are you telling me to go eat shit right now or what!”

“We’re sorry.”

“We’re sorry.”

“Sigh… How can I hold my head up in front of Secretary Yang Baek-du like this? What face do you expect me to report with?”

“W-we’ll take responsibility.”

“Responsibility? How will you take responsibility?”

“We’ve currently identified the culprit. If we just catch that bastard, everything will be resolved.”

“The culprit? I received a report that no one was caught on CCTV.”

“That’s true, but we recently found decisive evidence at the scene.”

“Evidence?”

Instead of answering, the center director rummaged through his belongings and handed something to the director.

“Isn’t this a phone?”

“Yes. It’s a phone we found at the recently robbed E-rank armory. He must have accidentally dropped it.”

Inside the phone were numerous text records that could serve as evidence.

“The culprit’s name is Kim Gi-hong. As an E-rank armory manager, he seems to have been illegally providing armory items while contacting an organization called the Yang Dong-i gang for years.”

“What?”

The director couldn’t hide his bewilderment at the center director’s explanation.

To think he had been freely siphoning off armory assets for years.

“How is that possible?”

“Well… only the manager can access the armory, and if you want to manipulate entry and exit records, it’s possible to do so indefinitely…”

Bang-!

“Does that even make sense! Indefinitely manipulable! This is why such incidents happen!”

“S-sorry. I’m also learning for the first time that manipulation is possible…”

“So this bastard who would sell out the country is the culprit who robbed the E-rank armory?”

“From the circumstances, it appears so. Not only the E-rank armory, but the previous F-rank armory might also have been this guy’s doing.”

“…”

At the South center director’s claim, the Central center director had something to say but held back.

‘Kim Gi-hong seemed to think Choi Seong-min was the culprit… There’s no need to mention it unnecessarily.’

Since Choi Seong-min was a team member chosen by Yang Jo-young, Yang Baek-du’s son, mentioning it would only create unnecessary trouble.

“So this Kim Gi-hong guy robbed both Central and South armories by himself?”

“Judging by the fact that contact with the Yang Dong-i gang has also been cut off, they probably conspired together.”

The director pressed his temples as if he had a headache.

“South center director.”

“Yes.”

“Please summarize the situation.”

“Yes. Kim Gi-hong, the manager of the South armory, killed Oh Nam-gi who was with Nam Dong-il, an acquaintance and Central armory manager, and robbed the F-rank armory. Then he pretended not to be the culprit, but when the fact that he killed the two was exposed on combat power update day, he appears to have robbed even the E-rank armory with the help of the Yang Dong-i gang and fled.”

“Okay. I’ll report exactly that to Secretary Yang Baek-du. So let’s wrap up the situation with this.”

The center directors quietly sighed in relief, but only briefly.

“That doesn’t mean I won’t hold the center directors responsible, so don’t be happy. Understood?”

“Yes… Director.”

Sighs came from the center directors’ mouths once again.