Chapter 110
News that Hyuk-min had enlisted in the Divine Power Unit was relayed to Black Label Guild immediately.
Upon hearing it, Hwang Ji-young looked as though she’d just heard the most absurd thing in the world.
“He’s not the type to be persuaded by something like that, so he really went in?”
At Hwang Ji-young’s words, the informant nodded.
“It has been confirmed that he boarded a bus for enlistment five minutes ago.”
“Hmm, is there a [Hidden] in the Divine Power Unit? Or is a Dungeon scheduled to appear there? What on earth is the reason?”
Hyuk-min was the strangest and most extraordinary person Hwang Ji-young had ever encountered while running Black Label Guild.
That was also why Hwang Ji-young, the guild master of Black Label Guild, found herself taking care of Hyuk-min even without understanding why.
Based on everything she had observed so far, Hyuk-min was not the type to waste time on pointless things.
“That girl Hyun-jung, the [Legendary Title], Great Buddha Temple… all of it moved exactly according to his will. So if he’s going this time too, then there must be something for him to gain…”
Even after stroking her chin and thinking it over, Hwang Ji-young, who boasted the best intelligence network in South Korea, still could not read Hyuk-min’s mind.
It was always like this.
“Well, he must have a reason. Thinking about it just gives me a headache.”
So she decided to stop thinking about it.
No matter how much she pondered it, the odds of getting it wrong were high, and even if she guessed right, it would not change much.
But one thing was certain.
“One thing’s for sure, he’s going there to gain something.”
Nodding to herself, Hwang Ji-young brushed off those thoughts and beckoned toward empty space.
Then Left Wing appeared from the shadows.
“What was Ulleungdo like when you went there?”
“Nothing unusual. As expected of a tourist destination, all I found were the usual commercial gimmicks meant to compete with each other.”
“And No Death’s movements? Does it look like he’s heading to Ulleungdo?”
“It was just confirmed that he asked Black Label Guild to look into ferry tickets to Ulleungdo.”
“So he’s going straight to Ulleungdo, huh? Getting to work the moment he comes back from China…”
At Hwang Ji-young’s quiet remark, Left Wing offered his opinion.
“If Bang Hyuk-min is this concerned, doesn’t that mean he could suffer some kind of loss too, so he’s trying to eliminate the threat in advance?”
“That’s probably it. He’s not the type to care this much unless there’s either something to lose or something huge to gain.”
“Then shouldn’t we be preparing our defenses as well? If it’s enough to cause a loss for Bang Hyuk-min, then it’ll probably affect us too, since we’re close to him.”
“It’s not like a missile’s going to fall. How would the two of us both take a loss? Don’t tell me war is going to spread all the way to Seoul. That would mean South Korea was completely finished.”
“If not that, then why…”
Hwang Ji-young shook her head, her eyes sharpening as she spoke.
“From what I’ve seen, Bang Hyuk-min is a little sensitive when it comes to family. Maybe it isn’t some huge loss, but he’s worried the damage might spread to his family?”
Just like always, they were discussing a problem that had no clear answer when it happened.
Vvvvmm.
A text message arrived on the phone lying on Hwang Ji-young’s desk. The moment the sender’s name appeared on the screen, everyone’s eyes widened.
“Bang Hyuk-min!”
“Ooh!”
Hwang Ji-young immediately picked up the phone and checked the message.
“Looks like there was no need to worry after all. Seems he was planning to tell us.”
“That seems to be the case. Since he told No Death, he must want us to make contact too.”
Left Wing was so curious that he ended up standing right behind Hwang Ji-young and reading the message off the phone screen.
“You startled me.”
“My apologies.”
Left Wing lowered his head.
“You were that curious, huh? Doing something you normally never would.”
“I don’t know about anything else… but I was curious about a message from Bang Hyuk-min…”
“I’ll let that one slide.”
Only after Hwang Ji-young nodded did Left Wing finally smile.
“Guild Master, it looks like he’s urgently asking us to investigate the Dungeons on Ulleungdo. Should I deploy the informants right away?”
“We’ll have to. If he’s using the word urgent, then we need to move. How many informants do we have on Ulleungdo?”
“Among all the places in South Korea, Ulleungdo has the fewest of our informants stationed there.”
“Send nearby informants to Ulleungdo and have them investigate.”
Vmm-vmm.
“Wait.”
Another text message arrived.
And this time, the moment Left Wing tried to sneak another look at the phone, he froze.
“You heard that?”
Because the message had asked not for dispatched informants, but for Left Wing himself to personally investigate the Dungeons on Ulleungdo.
“Pfft.”
At last, Hwang Ji-young could not hold back and burst out laughing.
There was no way one body alone could cover all of Ulleungdo.
Of course, Left Wing had gate-based movement, but even so, it was obviously going to be a huge pain.
That was why the thought of Left Wing’s coming hardship made her laugh out loud.
“He says it’s dangerous. We’ll need to hear what No Death says before we can confirm properly, though.”
Perhaps an idea came to him at Hwang Ji-young’s words.
Still frozen stiff, Left Wing raised his index finger and asked,
“If I hear No Death out and there’s some other way, then I don’t have to be the one taking the hit, right?”
“Well, I suppose so.”
“Just a moment.”
Left Wing made a call somewhere.
Not long after, he immediately opened a gate and left. In under five minutes, he returned with No Death.
“You dragged me here, so you’d better make sure you take me to Ulleungdo.”
“Of course.”
“Not Left Wing. The Guild Master has to say it herself.”
Just as expected from someone who had been with Black Label Guild for a long time, No Death was not someone who could be brushed aside so easily.
Hwang Ji-young scoffed and nodded.
“Fine, talk. What in the world is going on?”
“Listen carefully. I’m only saying this once. The war that’s going to break out on Ulleungdo is because of insect-type monsters called Body Eaters, also known as the All-Devouring Insect…”
And so on.
After hearing everything No Death had heard from Hyuk-min, Hwang Ji-young’s expression turned quite serious.
“So it retains all of the target’s intelligence?”
“I didn’t ask all the way to that point. But if it can gather Mana and use it in the form of [Skills], then doesn’t that mean it probably brings the memories along too? The brain is one of the most important organs for both humans and monsters.”
“This is more serious than I thought.”
“He said the best thing would be to evacuate all of Ulleungdo’s residents, but the problem is that there’s no way to tell who’s already been infected.”
“Absolutely no way? Wouldn’t someone with clairvoyance or X-ray-like abilities be able to check?”
“I don’t know that either. Call him later and ask.”
“He’s enlisted. Is he even allowed to use his phone?”
“He’s Bang Hyuk-min. He has an [Inventory]. How are they supposed to inspect his [Inventory]?”
“Ah~”
For Hwang Ji-young, the name Bang Hyuk-min inspired more confidence than the word [Inventory] ever could.
But what No Death said next was even more ridiculous.
“He said if we need him, we should call. He’ll come out.”
“He’s going to desert?”
“He’ll figure it out. What matters is that we don’t need to worry about Hyuk-min’s side of things. Have you ever seen him fail to do what he said he would?”
“Ah~”
The phrase ‘Because he’s Bang Hyuk-min,’ which crushed countless doubts, felt like a cheat key powerful enough to unlock anything, even to Hwang Ji-young, whose nature was to distrust everything.
Having understood the situation, Hwang Ji-young turned to Left Wing.
Then she shrugged.
“Looks like you’ll have to suffer a little, Left Wing. He said the signs are probably already showing. As you know, if even one of our informants gets infected, it’ll spread through our entire line and eventually reach us, and that would turn into a national disaster.”
If the command center of Black Label Guild, which prided itself on possessing the best intelligence network, became infected?
Then it would only be a matter of time before the leaders of the entire country were infected as well.
In the end, there was only one answer.
“Looks like I have to go.”
Left Wing had no choice but to accept it.
“Just bear with it for a little while.”
At Hwang Ji-young’s words, Left Wing sighed and nodded.
Then he grabbed No Death and opened a gate leading outside.
And so, a gate connecting Black Label Guild’s headquarters and Ulleungdo was created.
“Man, this is amazing no matter how many times I see it.”
Left Wing and No Death stepped into the gate and vanished.
“Body Eaters… This isn’t the time to stand around.”
Carefully weighing Hyuk-min’s words, Hwang Ji-young picked up her phone and made a drastic decision.
“Ulleungdo branch manager, effective immediately, all Black Label Guild personnel currently on Ulleungdo are to temporarily withdraw. Yes… all of them.”
= = =
Despite being known as an offshoot of the Karma Unit, the Divine Power Unit was much smaller and more modest than Hyuk-min had expected.
However, if there was one clear difference from the unit Hyuk-min remembered, it was that everything was brand new and felt somewhat more modernized.
Unlike the rear support units of his past life, where they were crammed into containers and made to live there, this place, while small, was properly equipped, which gave Hyuk-min a fresh impression of the military.
“This is where you’ll be staying for the next two years.”
“Do I have to start speaking formally now?”
“Of course. Ah! For your information, the Divine Power Unit is made up entirely of conscripts and volunteers, so there are no privates. That means you’re scheduled to stay the youngest the entire time you’re here.”
Wi Gwakdu could not wipe the benevolent smile from his face, clearly amused by something.
Still, perhaps because they were inside the base, he was nowhere near as playful as before.
He was maintaining the dignity expected of a unit commander.
“Good grief.”
But to Hyuk-min, that only made him seem even more ridiculous.
The power of the name of a holder of a [Legendary Title] really was extraordinary.
To think it had gotten him into the Divine Power Unit as an ordinary soldier.
‘This is actually better.’
Was it around this time?
No, it should have been about half a year later than this.
As far as he remembered, that incident happened after the war had already broken out.
“Where should I unpack my things?”
“That’s unexpected. I thought you’d ask how to get discharged early.”
“I know what has to be done. And I also know why I’m needed.”
“Hm?”
A strange light flickered in Wi Gwakdu’s eyes.
“Actually, that’s why I came here. The KCFC evaluation.”
“You…”
“The first reason is because that deployment is dangerous, and if that doesn’t work, I know you plan to use the value of my name as a holder of a [Legendary Title] to apply for the evaluation.”
“…”
The playful look vanished from Wi Gwakdu’s face.
His eyes filled with deep shock.
‘Actually…’
In his past life, it happened about three months after the war broke out on Ulleungdo.
The situation had become so serious that South Korea’s Divine Power Unit requested support from the World Karma Forces Command, and within a week, support arrived from Divine Power Units all over the world.
Then the members of those Divine Power Units from around the globe entered Ulleungdo, which had been blockaded by sea, and accomplished the feat of retaking nearly half the territory in just two months.
But the problem came three months later.
Because they had lost so many Divine Power Unit members in the earlier deployment and in the Ulleungdo war itself, they were unable to undergo the KCFC evaluation. They kept putting it off again and again, and in the end, they failed the KCFC evaluation entirely, leading to the dissolution of South Korea’s Divine Power Unit.
And once South Korea’s Divine Power Unit disappeared, KCFC’s support was cut off. As a result, the Divine Power Unit members from all around the world withdrew, and Ulleungdo was reduced back to square one.
“That’s why I came. I’m not joking. There will be a war in December, and if we want to win that war without problems, then we absolutely need KCFC’s support.”
Wi Gwakdu could say nothing more.
That was the exact reason he had gone to such lengths to get Hyuk-min into the Divine Power Unit.
But it was still too early for him to be shocked.
Because Hyuk-min was already looking much farther ahead than Wi Gwakdu could even imagine.
Hoisting the bag he had set down back onto his shoulder, Hyuk-min looked at Wi Gwakdu and spoke.
“What you need to worry about, Commander, is what you’ll do for the evaluation after I leave. Because once that happens, I have no intention of helping again, even if you ask.”
He picked up his luggage and headed toward the nearby building that looked like the barracks.
“Should I go in there?”
“Yes, you can go in there…”
Seeing Wi Gwakdu’s somewhat deflated response, Hyuk-min smirked and strode confidently into the quarters.
After Hyuk-min disappeared inside, the orange light of the setting sun brightly illuminated Wi Gwakdu’s face.
“Ha… seriously.”
Wi Gwakdu could only laugh in disbelief.
Letting out one hollow laugh after another, he looked toward the quarters Hyuk-min had entered and shook his head.
“This… is making me greedy.”