bookpower Chapter 955
Chapter 955
The timing of everything was too coincidental:
A low number of players in Hongcheon.The secret funeral of Seong Hyeong-woo being held there.The escape of a vicious criminal during transport.An emergency summons from the Association.
All of it felt too perfectly timed.
‘If a crisis of this magnitude happens in an area with so few players, Seong Guk-eon and the funeral guests will have no choice but to step in.’
Perhaps due to the long absence of a lifeline in the area, there weren’t many superhumans here. According to Maeng Hyo-don, who had been involved in rescue operations during the typhoon, the number of players who responded to the call was very small. Because there were few capable individuals to deal with superhuman phenomena, Professor Ham Geun-hyeong had to frequently visit this area for assignments.
Given this situation, it was likely that all the funeral guests received the emergency summons and were preparing for combat by now. Once they started moving, the defense around Seong Hyeong-woo's body would weaken.
‘If this is the mastermind’s plan, the main goal is likely to steal Seong Hyeong-woo's body. But the plan feels too shallow. Plus, when I spoke with Heukma, he set up a large barrier around the area — surely they’ve realized Huang Ji-ho is here by now?’
The mastermind knows that Seong Guk-eon and the Hojok, along with the Yong tribe, have aligned. They know there’s a chance that members of these groups will attend the funeral, and sure enough, Huang Ji-ho has arrived.
Would the mastermind try to move against Huang Ji-ho while he's here?
Even if Seong Hyeong-woo's body holds great value, the cost of trying to steal it would be too high.
‘Even if they take drastic measures, the chances of success are slim. The straight-line distance from here to Seoul is about 80 kilometers. If they call for the Hojok or the Yong tribe, they’ll arrive quickly. The Association will be mobilizing too, so the likelihood of the mastermind succeeding in stealing the body is almost nonexistent.’
If the mastermind succeeds in taking the body, they would gain an advantage. However, the true goal might be something else entirely.
I thought carefully about the mastermind's true objective, considering their cautious and cunning nature, and narrowed down a few possibilities before speaking.
“There’s only one criminal recently apprehended in this area who could have requested support from a player. The escaped criminal is probably the fugitive caught by the party Maeng Hyo-don belongs to.”
Huang Ji-ho nodded as if he had heard about the criminal caught by Maeng Hyo-don’s party.
Huang Ji-ho turned off his hologram as he checked the emergency summons and replied, “Got it. I’ll request information right away.”
“There’s something we need to do first,” I said.
Huang Ji-ho tilted his head inquiringly, signaling me to continue.
At this moment, Huang Ji-ho, as the leader of the Jin tribe of the 12 Zodiacs, needed to act.
“We need to contact Heukma.”
It seemed like my suggestion caught Huang Ji-ho off guard. He replied, “Heukma?”
“If this is the mastermind’s scheme, Heukma will likely use the Ma-tribe to interfere and launch an attack.”
“I see.”
Huang Ji-ho quickly grasped the situation.
The Ma-tribe, led by Heukma, had been settled in this area since the interdimensional collision. Despite the frequent attacks they endured, their knowledge of the land remained unmatched.
Heukma, who had immediately recognized Huang Ji-ho’s presence when he appeared unannounced, would certainly notice if the mastermind's plan started to unfold. This made it very likely that Heukma would be able to thwart any attempt to interfere.
There was also another task I needed to ask of Huang Ji-ho.
“You have more to do.”
“Haha! It’s a day full of requests. What do you need?” Huang Ji-ho laughed casually, even as he moved his clone to contact Heukma and organize the Hojok.
It seemed like he was finding it amusing to manage so many tasks.
Even as he laughed, Huang Ji-ho remained unfazed by the intense gaze from Seong Si-wan and Gye Idam, who had been watching us closely.
“Regarding the Jin tribe member who can create clones, I had a vague idea based on what I saw in the old simulator...”
Seong Si-wan seemed to recall the time he saw Huang Ji-ho's clone abilities, remembering from their previous encounter with Gye Idam. Huang Ji-ho had made quite an impression back then, and it seemed like Seong Si-wan had known about this for a while, but it hadn’t fully felt real to him until now.
‘Guk-eon has been showing signs of his ties with the Jin tribe. There’s no way that looks good to anyone.’
Recalling the strange events that had happened when Seong Guk-eon wore his blindfold, they felt deeply unsettling.
They had tried everything to pry off his blindfold, some out of mere curiosity and others with more malicious intent.
The players, seasoned by the dark times they had lived through, had figured out what was going on.
They also realized that one of the mastermind’s objectives was likely Seong Guk-eon, and the escaped criminal was somehow connected to it.
“If we stop him, his grandson won’t just sit quietly.”
“That’s right. The kid’s kind, but he doesn’t listen.”
The veterans, while concerned about Seong Guk-eon, were also worried about someone even younger who might be getting into more dangerous activities.
“The worry isn’t just for Guk-eon, it’s for that other kid too.”
No one specifically named the child, as speaking their name could end up driving them into danger.
At that moment, an explosion rang out in the distance.
It wasn’t close enough to be a direct threat, but they could reach it in under a minute if they rushed.
The smoke from the explosion could be seen rising even with the naked eye.
The first thing that came to their minds was the criminal and the powers they used.
“Is that the escaped criminal?”
“Let’s hurry and catch him!”
As Song Man-seok and Tak Geo-san prepared to move, Hong Gyeong-bok stopped them.
To prevent them from acting impulsively, Hong Gyeong-bok quickly raised his energy.
“Wait!”
His voice pierced the air, and they hesitated instinctively.
Although Hong Gyeong-bok’s call stopped them, Hwang Bo-yun, clearly annoyed, didn’t hide his displeasure.
Once he confirmed they had stopped, Hong Gyeong-bok pointed to an area on the map he had drawn in the air.
It was near the site where the explosion had occurred.
When Hong Gyeong-bok initially provided the search route, this path hadn’t been included.
“What’s there, Gyeong-bok?”
“Now that I think about it, that wasn’t included in the route. The terrain is rugged, and it seems like a good place to hide.”
Song Man-seok and Hwang Bo-yun commented, and Hong Gyeong-bok responded firmly.
“That’s a place we shouldn’t tread. They’re not hostile to humans, but they don’t like anyone stepping on their territory.”
“But with an explosion like that in the mountains...”
“I’ve seen fire there before. I almost lost a hand.”
Tak Geo-san interrupted, and Hong Gyeong-bok spoke decisively.
“That place is within the territory of the Ma-tribe, one of the 12 Zodiacs. We shouldn’t go any closer.”