Observer (1)

He checked the detailed tooltip.

The method was simple.

He did not even need to enter the dungeon directly. It said that once he visually recognized the dungeon’s location and existence, that would be enough.

Several of Jang Si-hwan’s core dungeons immediately came to mind.

Although the surrounding security was tight, they were dungeons that could be sufficiently seen from afar.

‘What a happy dilemma. I’m in a situation where I have to think about which of the prime ones to take.’

Kang-hoo rarely smiled, but the thought of giving Jang Si-hwan a great sense of deprivation made him excited.

Of course, it was not a simple, one-dimensional excitement. Jang Si-hwan needed more harassment like this.

This was only the beginning. He thought that he needed to devise even more diverse methods going forward.

The underground dungeon in Japan that Underground Adventurer had discovered ended with such a short clear.

Since the reward was definite, rather than feeling disappointed that the time was short, he actually liked it. It was fine even without a boss.

Because the clear ended earlier than expected, his farewell with Takashi was also moved up.

When he heard from Takashi, he apparently had a meeting scheduled with Rikou Guild. It seemed he had come up here partly for that as well.

However, there was a little time left in between, so they had a tea time, sharing a cup of coffee with each other.

This time, it was not the clone merely pretending to sip coffee, but Takashi himself who directly appeared again.

And they sat facing each other in a cafe, talking, while drinking cafe lattes filled with plenty of syrup.

“Kang-hoo.”

“Yeah.”

“I don’t approach Cheonghwa’s matter through the concept of good and evil. I’m simply helping Cheonghwa. Since you’ve decided to help that Cheonghwa, I’ll help you with all my power. I’ll give you every piece of information that might be useful.”

“Thanks, Takashi.”

“Since I received your consent, I left your contact information with Cheonghwa. If there’s anything further to discuss, you’ll probably be contacted through a secure phone.”

“I was already waiting. I’m looking forward to seeing what she’ll present as motivation worth starting over.”

“Well…… she’ll probably give you a few items from the Seoul Market, won’t she? She might give you a strong one that tempts you.”

“That would be even better.”

It was a bet both sides had to make with their lives on the line. There was no reason to save money. If one died, all that money would be useless.

The “reward” Yu Cheonghwa presented could become an important standard.

Because he could see her attitude toward the bet through it. The more desperate she was, the more she would have no choice but to show a “larger” sincerity.

Once he parted with Takashi, it might be difficult to meet him again for a while.

Ayane was scheduled to come over to Korea soon, and then they would set out on the planned clear north of Ground Zero.

On top of that, he also had to settle accounts with Lee Ye-rin afterward in Daejeon. It was time to present the bill for the assassination of Gwak Hyeong-su and Gwak Hyeong-seok.

Since there were various reasons why he could not promise the next meeting, Kang-hoo brought up something he had truly wanted to say to Takashi.

“Takashi. You’re not someone’s friend. You shine the most when you exist as Akiyama Takashi himself. There’s no need for even you to get stained. So live however your heart leads you. That’s the most like you.”

“…….”

After hearing Kang-hoo’s words, Takashi remained silent for a long while, lowering his head slightly as he sank into thought.

It was because he felt that those words contained quite a lot of meaning.

Rather than feeling his own value when he occupied the position of someone he liked as a friend, he thought it was advice telling him to highly value himself, who could become someone’s friend.

Was that why? Although it was something new to hear, he was grateful to Kang-hoo for saying such words.

“Thanks, Kang-hoo.”

“What are you thanking me for? It was something I really wanted to tell you.”

“I think this labyrinth clear is only the beginning. Let’s go around together more often in the future. I know a lot of places, you know?”

“I’d always welcome that.”

“So just wait! Whenever I have free time, we’ll go to other places like this time, all right?”

“Yeah. I’ll make sure to free up time.”

Kang-hoo nodded.

Perhaps Takashi might bring him even more opportunities and benefits that even Kang-hoo did not know about.

Since they had never appeared in the original work, paradoxically, it was also a hopeful circuit he could turn with all his might.

After returning to Korea, Kang-hoo immediately called Park Dong-jae.

The matter was simple.

He told him to come north together with Ayane as soon as she finished unpacking and organizing at the new house.

According to Park Dong-jae, considering the process before and after, it seemed like it would take about two days.

That much was enough.

Because before going to Ground Zero, Kang-hoo also had a schedule to meet Lee Ye-rin.

For the trip to Daejeon, everything was arranged as a full course from the airport without Kang-hoo needing to lift a finger.

Lee Ye-rin sent her trusted subordinate Hwang Gyo-seon to safely escort Kang-hoo to Daejeon.

It was not just one safe limousine driven by Hwang Gyo-seon, but a reliable escort with several vehicles attached.

Thanks to that, Kang-hoo could enjoy a comfortable ride inside the safe limousine and watch TV comfortably.

As always, the fixed channel was a hunter-related news channel. As expected, breaking news was being reported today as well.

The internal conflict of Haeyeong Guild, which has fallen into great chaos, is intensifying.

Some hunters who were persuaded by the Glory Alliance have left Haeyeong Guild and joined the Glory Alliance.

In the process, the Glory Alliance made a bloodless entry into five dungeons and jurisdictional buildings.

The currently fierce exposé war taking place on SNS is practically a one-sided exposure of Haeyeong Guild.

The reactions of Busan citizens who have come across Haeyeong Guild’s accumulated atrocities are rapidly growing cold.

‘They were exquisitely designed from one to ten. If even traitors have emerged from the inside, the situation is already over.’

Haeyeong Guild’s collapse was accelerating much faster than he had thought.

Even to Kang-hoo, the speed at which the Glory Alliance dug into Haeyeong Guild’s gaps felt surprising. Shaking them from every direction was a given.

This morning, Jeonghwa Guild issued a statement condemning Haeyeong Guild. At the same time, they officially declared support for the Glory Alliance.

Meanwhile, after hearing Jeonghwa Guild’s declaration of support, the Glory Alliance immediately released a statement.

The Glory Alliance stated that they did not want Jeonghwa Guild’s support and criticized Jeonghwa Guild as nothing more than a deep-rooted evil guild, just like Haeyeong Guild.

‘That’s strong.’

The level of wording and aggression chosen by the Glory Alliance was higher than he had expected.

The Glory Alliance’s spear and sword were not aimed only at Haeyeong Guild. They were also aimed at Jeonghwa Guild, which had tried to subtly put a spoon on the table.

He thought the breaking news would end around there, but there was more content related to the Glory Alliance.

The Glory Alliance has made an official proposal to The Abyss, a core warlord force in northern and northeastern Gyeonggi, and to the Cheong-an Mercenary Corps, the hegemonic force of Daejeon.

The Glory Alliance’s position is that it wants to establish an anti-Jeonghwa united front connecting Busan, Daejeon, and the capital region.

However, unlike the warlord group The Abyss, which has a deep-rooted bad blood with Jeonghwa Guild, the Cheong-an Mercenary Corps led by Lee Ye-rin is known as a “pro-Jeonghwa” guild force, so whether the Glory Alliance’s proposal will be realized remains unknown.

‘Was this Kang Bok-hwa’s big picture up to here? Is she arranging the domestic power structure in this way?’

Kang-hoo’s eyes shone.

The news report classified Lee Ye-rin as part of the pro-Jeonghwa line, but well, that had been old news for a long time.

Of course, the cunning Lee Ye-rin had never once revealed hostility toward Jeonghwa Guild until now.

Rather, “on the surface,” exchanges had become more active than before, and item transactions were also active.

However, from the position of someone who knew Lee Ye-rin’s true feelings, he already knew that it was an exquisitely disguised front.

He thought that perhaps Lee Ye-rin and Kang Bok-hwa had been in contact beneath the surface for quite a long time.

If Lee Ye-rin showed a lukewarm reaction here, the completeness of this plausible story would become even higher.

Sure enough.

This is breaking news that just came in.

The Cheong-an Mercenary Corps has clearly stated that the Glory Alliance’s proposal was a unilateral proposal and that nothing had been discussed.

They also expressed deep displeasure at the inclusion of the Cheong-an Mercenary Corps’ name in a proposal that had not been agreed upon.

In addition, the Cheong-an Mercenary Corps repeatedly emphasized that they would do their best to stabilize Daejeon City and had no interest in any external matters beyond that.

‘They work very well together.’

With this, Jang Si-hwan, who had been looking at Daejeon through narrowed eyes, might open them a little.

Of course, since their name had been mentioned once, he would be suspicious, but there was no handle to grab onto, so he would stop at that point.

The news content afterward was also interesting.

It was news that Eclipse had completely stopped its activities in Daejeon and was continuing its southward advance.

For now, he intended to withhold judgment on Eclipse for a while and watch.

Unlike his younger brother Kang Dong-hyun, Kang Tae-yang was a leader whose mind worked quickly.

Since he had not yet clearly grasped him, it seemed better to spend a little more time exploring.

Kang-hoo met Lee Ye-rin at Cheong-an Building while receiving an extremely courteous escort.

Unlike what he had expected, thinking only she might come out because it was quite late, all the mercenary corps executives had come out.

“Welcome, Shin Kang-hoo-nim!”

“…….”

They all bent their waists at a right angle, to the point that it made him wonder if they were welcoming the boss of some criminal organization.

At the very front was Lee Ye-rin. She too was bowing her head so deeply that her long hair nearly touched the ground.

“Thank you so much. Everything now is all thanks to you, Kang-hoo. Everyone thinks so too, right?”

“Yes, that is correct!”

“We will not forget this grace!”

“Long live Shin Kang-hoo-nim!”

“……Let’s stop around here. I understand the commander’s feelings well, so let’s end this embarrassing welcome here.”

If he received any more welcome, it felt like his fingers would not survive.

It was a pleasant welcome, but with Kang-hoo’s personality, the more he chewed it over, the more it felt like his fingers were curling up.

“Everyone, go inside!”

“Yes, please have a good time!”

“Hoho. Everyone got quite fired up. I told them they’d die if they didn’t, so they’re all trying hard.”

“I suppose they have no choice if they want to live.”

Before Kang-hoo arrived, Lee Ye-rin seemed to have gathered all the executives and given them a short and strong warning.

He had not heard it directly, but it was probably words awakening their gratitude and appreciation toward Kang-hoo.

Since Kang-hoo knew better than anyone that Lee Ye-rin was clear about debts and grudges, this reaction was not particularly surprising.

‘The Abyss, a potential ally. Lee Ye-rin’s Cheong-an. Myeongga Guild of Gangwon-do. And now even the Glory Alliance. It feels like everything I’ve worked on so far has become one mass.’

Of course, they had not reached the level of physical union where they could be called perfectly one mass.

However, since Kang-hoo himself existed as the intersection point between them, he thought there was a high possibility they could become one mass depending on what he did from now on.

At the very least!

There was no way The Abyss, Cheong-an, Myeongga, and Glory would stand on Jeonghwa Guild’s side. He could be 100% certain of that much.

‘The picture of trapping Jeonghwa Guild in Seoul and surrounding it. That’s the picture I’ve dreamed of so much.’

The rough sketch had clearly been drawn.

Now it was time to fill in the colors.