Chapter 11: Preparation (3)
"Reporting it to the Association would have been a good idea if they didn't have hostages. I had to take into consideration that these criminals who are conducting human experiments could abandon their hideout at any time."
In previous Attempts, Kim Ki-Rok had tried to save the orphanage with the help of the Association but was met with failure. After he had notified the Association, the information was somehow leaked, and as a result, the criminals had been able to erase all the evidence and escape.
"There is a high possibility of information leakage. Although it would be difficult for the Awakened criminals to have spies inside the Association, they can bribe for information or place people outside the building for espionage. The more people know, the easier it is for secrets to spill. That's why I haven't reported this to the Association even though it's been a month since I've known about this."
"That's just a possibility." Kang Ho argued.
"Even if the possibility is less than 1%, wouldn't you say it's a different story when there are 284 children that need to be rescued?" Kim Ki-Rok asked.
Kang Ho stared in disbelief as he gripped Kim Ki-Rok's collar. Lee Yeon-Hwa was equally baffled. The revelation was so overwhelming that it completely overshadowed the horror she felt upon discovering that her son was a part of human experimentation.
"W-what did you say?" she stuttered.
"I said that the lives of two hundred, eighty, four children are at stake."
Lee Yeon-Hwa and Kang Ho were speechless. Kim Ki-Rok was satisfied with their reaction, as this meant that they had not yet lost their purity.
"I said that Awakened criminals are conducting human experiments at the orphanage."
"It seems like they are not operating in just one or two orphanages." Kang Ho said, finally understanding why Kim Ki-Rok had kept this low profile.
"That's right." Kim Ki-Rok gently pried Kang Ho's hand off his collar. "Do you mind letting go?"
"My apologies..."
"It's fine. It would be weirder if you hadn't felt angry after hearing such news."
After receiving the apology, Kim Ki-Rok sat back down.
Kim Ki-Rok gestured for Kang Ho to take the vacant seat next to Lee Yeon-Hwa. "Please sit down if you want to continue the conversation," he said. "Fortunately, the criminal group researching psychic abilities was a domestic group operating within the country."
"Is that fortunate?" Kang Ho had his doubts.
"If they were operating globally, there would have been more victims. Even if the operation to rescue the children ended successfully, a considerable number of children would have been sacrificed in the process."
Kim Ki-Rok wasn't wrong. The scale would have been enormous if the criminal had been part of a global organization transcending national boundaries. Much more children would have been subjected to human experimentation.
***
"Anyway, it seems that these criminals operate on a domestic scale."
"Are they part of Viper's Blood?" Lee Yeon-Hwa chimed in.
Kim Ki-Rok shook his head at her question. "No."
"Then, who are they?"
"I don't know. But, I know their leader." Kim Ki-Rok answered.
"And the name of this leader?" Kang Ho asked.
Kim Ki-Rok raised his finger in response and said, "Ma Ak-Soo."
"An S-Class criminal..."
Lee Yeon-Hwa and Kang Ho immediately recognized the name, as the criminal was famous. They were an Awakened criminal estimated to be S-Class.
Disregarding how they reacted to this news, Kim Ki-Rok leisurely emptied his teacup. "To summarize, Ma Ak-Soo is conducting human experiments to research psychic abilities. Under Ma Ak-Soo's command, there is the leader of Viper's Blood who is managing an orphanage created for human experiments, all while lying low and waiting for people to forget about him. In that orphanage..."
Kim Ki-Rok hesitated at the sight of Lee Yeon-Hwa, who seemed to be on the verge of exploding at any moment.
Lee Yeon-Hwa's missing son, Cha Tae-Hoon, was in that orphanage. Even if it hadn't been mentioned, Lee Yeon-Hwa clearly understood the situation.
"When is the rescue operation scheduled for?" she asked.
"On June 18th." Kim Ki-Rok replied.
"That's in two weeks and three days..."
He continued his explanation. "There are seven orphanages in one city. I will inform you at the briefing on June 15th to prepare for any contingencies."
"Can you at least tell us where they are?" Lee Yeon-Hwa asked, desperate for any information.
"They are located in South Chungcheong Province."
South Chungcheong Province... They couldn't act on this information alone. Her son's life, as well as the lives of many other children, were at stake.
"Why are we carrying out the operation in two weeks?" Kang Ho asked.
"A very famous Hunter with a different agenda will visit South Chungcheong Province during that time."
Kim Ki-Rok was talking about the founder of Golden Lion Guild, otherwise known as Daegu's Protection Guild[1]. Baek Su-Wang will have destroyed the Red Moon Gate at 5:38 p.m. on June 18 and become an S-Class Hunter during his visit to Gongju.
What would happen if it was reported to the Association? Children would die. And if it wasn't reported? Children would suffer from the experiments and die regardless.
So Kim Ki-Rok had investigated. Like a moth diving into an open flame, he had risked his life to gather information which he then used to plan for the rescue on his next Attempt.
***
"It's a bit different from before." Kim Ki-Rok thought aloud.
[The Time Rabbit says, "That's right. It's the first time we're officially revealing ourselves and carrying out a rescue operation."]
Until now, they had only provided information. Kim Ki-Rok had secretly informed the desperate Guildmaster, Lee Yeon-Hwa of Shine Guild, whose son's life was at stake. By chance, she would meet Golden Lion Guild's founder who had visited Gongju, and the both of them would rescue the children.
[The Time Rabbit asks, "So, what's the reason?"]
"To save time," Kim Ki-Rok replied.
[The Time Rabbit tilts his head and asks, "Time?"]
"Yes. We are saving a lot of time by creating a guild and making connections with other guilds. As we become more reputable, we can treat national 'requests' as simply requests rather than orders."
Even with knowledge of the future, raising a guild's reputation was still a challenging task.
[The Time Rabbit asks, "You only have two members in this guild. Won't it be difficult?"]
"It will be difficult. But..."
Kim Ki-Rok took hold of the steering wheel and started the engine. "One of the guild members is a knockoff Doppelganger that copies the physical abilities of others."
Vroom.
"And the other is a Greater Elementalist." He gently stepped on the accelerator and turned the steering wheel. "It won't be too difficult."
They had secured the cooperation of the Shine Guild. They would also obtain the cooperation of the Golden Lion Guild on the day of the operation. There was only one task left.
***
Inside the alley of a bustling street.
"Miss Ji-Yeon." Kim Ki-Rok called.
"Yes, Guildmaster."
"Have you completed the initial training conducted by the Association?"
"Uh... yes."
It was unreasonable for Awakened to enter Gates and fight monsters immediately after Awakening. Therefore, the Association created an education system and recommended that newly awakened individuals participate.
"So, are you prepared for murder? More precisely, prepared to fight Awakened criminals?"
Murder.
Lee Ji-Yeon stared blankly at Kim Ki-Rok who was walking in front of her.
She swallowed dryly and cautiously asked, "Is this an important question?"
"Yes. It is."
"I am not ready yet."
"I thought that would be the case." Kim Ki-Rok nodded as if he understood and drew a dagger from his subspace pocket, holding it as one would when striking from behind.
"Close your eyes," he directed.
Lee Ji-Yeon immediately closed her eyes. Was it because she had anticipated this to happen? Or was it because her senses had heightened to A-Class with the help of her Greater Elemental?
Kim Ki-Rok swung his right arm widely.
Swish! Plunge!
The tip of his dagger, which had momentarily stopped midair, disappeared as if buried in space. Blood spurted out and painted the figure of a man.
"K-kugh...!"
The man who seemed to have appeared out of thin air stared with wide eyes. Kim Ki-Rok plunged the dagger even deeper, then turned to face Lee Ji-Yeon.
"Yoo Do-Ok. Age 23. A criminal who awakened with the ability of invisibility two years ago. Initially, he was just a petty thief, but it didn't take long for him to turn to murder."
Lee Ji-Yeon trembled in shock. Though she still hadn't opened her eyes, she could guess what was happening based on the strong smell of blood. Kim Ki-Rok's explanation only sealed the lid on the coffin.
"There have been over thirty victims. Among them, two are Awakened."
"So, the other twenty-eight are..."
"Civilians. Specifically, eight elderly and five children under fifteen."
Yoo Do-Ok made a weak attempt to grab Kim Ki-Rok's arm with his trembling hands, as if he were demanding to know how this knowledge came to light. It was futile, however, as the dagger was already deeply embedded in his heart. Yoo Do-Ok soon took his last breath.
"Let's move. Ask the Elemental to guide us to a place without people."
"Yes. Ine."
Assisted by the Greater Elemental, Ine, they hid their appearance in a secluded alley adjacent to the now bloodstained one they had been in.
***
A few minutes later, a group of three people appeared in the dim alley where Yoo Do-Ok's body lay.
"Tsk! We're late again this time," one of them said.
"You're right," replied another.
One of the men staring at Yoo Do-Ok's body asked, "How many times is this now?"
In response, a woman armed with a gun hastily took out her smartphone and opened the notepad. "Um... this is the fifth time it's happened."
May 25. A body was found in the alley. A police investigation took place as it had been a murder case. But when the victim's identity was revealed, the case jurisdiction was transferred to the Hunters Association. This was because the victim had been a criminal pursued by Awakened sent from the Hunters Association.
Regardless of whether or not he had been an Awakened, however, murder was murder. The Hunters Association immediately began their investigation, and not even two days had passed when they received another case from the police: another Awakened criminal had been found dead.
After two more days, another murder had occurred. This time, it was a bit different from the previous two cases. The murder took place in an abandoned factory located in a secluded area that people rarely visited, and there were over twenty casualties with fifteen Awakened criminals among them. It seemed like a deal had gone wrong as one side had a briefcase full of money, and the other had a carrier with artifacts.
It was speculated that a conflict had arisen during the transaction. However, the Hunters Association's Awakened Criminal Pursuit Team determined that this incident was related to the murder that occurred in the alley.
Although this hadn't been the case for every casualty, the majority of the deceased were found dead from a single strike, a wound from a short blade that had pierced through their hearts.
Of course, it was a stretch to directly link it to the alley murder case. However, the Awakened Criminal Pursuit Team was confident because the modus operandi[2] was too distinct.
The perpetrator of the alley murder case had a single motive for killing Awakened criminals. Without robbing them of their artifacts or weapons, they only took their lives.
The mass murder case at the factory was no different. Ignoring over a billion dollars and a carrier containing artifacts, the perpetrator had only killed those criminals.
"Team leader, do we have to catch this person?" Kim Jin-Hyuk inquired.
The team leader stifled a deep sigh.
Kim Jin-Hyuk had lost his family to an Awakened criminal. That's why he had been among the first to join the Awakened Criminal Pursuit Team when it was established by the Hunters Association. He had always been more passionate about his work than anyone else.
Knowing Kim Jin-Hyuk's past, the team leader could understand his hesitation. The team leader also sympathized to some extent. However, he could not officially acknowledge this as he bore the emblem of the Hunters Association. The only thing the team leader could do was stare at the cold body of the victim.
1. A Protection Guild is a special category of guilds that guard the region they are based in ☜
2. Latin for "mode of operation": colloquially used to refer to a criminal's pattern of behavior. ☜
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