The Genius Assassin Who Takes it All

It wasn’t just Jung Seon-rak who was flustered.

The expressions of his colleague Ye Jin-bin and the mercenary captains watching from the safety tent also twisted.

It had been so long since they had seen Jung Seon-rak bleed.

Usually, he was the one making his targets bleed, not the other way around.

He had been caught off guard and properly stabbed by an unknown assassin.

It was a bold and terrifying move that no one had anticipated.

The only fortunate thing was that Jung Seon-rak managed to protect himself while taking successive blows.

Amidst his injuries, this was the one positive aspect he could cling to for a mental victory.

Kang-hoo tried to end Jung Seon-rak’s life by linking a leap right after using Blood Flower.

Thanks to Jung Seon-rak gritting his teeth and wildly unleashing his Qi Wall, Kang-hoo’s path of movement was restricted.

Of course, this did not completely stop the chain of attacks.

Jung Seon-rak lost the ring and pinky fingers of his left hand to Kang-hoo, who penetrated the gaps between the Qi Wall.

Needless to say, he also lost the rings he was wearing on those fingers.

Kang-hoo took Jung Seon-rak’s two fingers as if they were trophies and disappeared into the research lab.

Boom!

The door opened just in time to let Kang-hoo in, and then immediately closed firmly.

“What did I just see?”

Ye Jin-bin looked dumbfounded. It wasn’t just about Jung Seon-rak getting hit.

If an unidentified mercenary had entered the research lab from the outside, there was only one reason.

It must have been to deliver the Red Key to activate the protective barrier for the entire lab.

They had kidnapped one keyholder at the beginning, but the security wouldn’t have been lax enough to have no spare key.

Sure enough.

Clang! Clang! Whirrrrr!

As the power supply kicked in, the exterior of the main research lab began to glow blue.

It was a barrier powered by mana supplied from a large number of mana stones.

This would render any attack meaningless for at least two weeks.

Any attempt to attack from outside to inside or vice versa would be nullified.

For the lab, which was more focused on defense than offense, this was a profitable deal.

In the meantime, the lab would wait to deploy external forces. Now, time was on their side.

“We’re totally screwed.”

Another mercenary captain muttered.

With the supposedly invincible Jung Seon-rak taking a hit, all the work done so far had returned to square one.

However, the atmosphere wasn’t blaming Jung Seon-rak. They thought they would have fared similarly if it had been them.

Though not openly stated, everyone acknowledged Kang-hoo’s skills.

No one disagreed that he was no ordinary assassin. It was just bitter since he was an enemy.

“How can someone mess things up so much? This is really annoying.”

Ye Jin-bin frowned.

On the other hand, he regretted delaying the attack point until the client’s deposit was made.

But that’s the nature of mercenaries. They don’t proceed with work out of goodwill. Payment must come first.

In any case, because of that one assassin, the 300 billion won commission turned into nothing.

Pharmaceutical companies must have spent a considerable amount hiring the assassin.

Having protected the lab, technology, and personnel, they had won.

The multinational mercenaries had only a lonely retreat left. Unfortunately, there were no other options.

---

At that time.

“Thank you! Really, thank you!”

The head of the main research lab, Ahn Seong-hoon, repeatedly bowed his head to Kang-hoo in gratitude.

He thanked him so profusely that it was hard to count how many times he bowed.

“That’s enough gratitude. It wasn’t done for free. I understand your joy, though.”

Kang-hoo accepted Ahn Seong-hoon’s thanks with his usual bluntness.

If one were to properly translate his inner feelings, it would mean he was proud to have done his job well.

He always ended up saying things far removed from his true feelings.

However, this had become part of his identity and character, so it rarely changed.

“I can’t believe it. Because of Jung Seon-rak, all the mercenaries who tried to help us have died.”

Ahn Seong-hoon looked out of the lab with an incredulous expression.

He saw Jung Seon-rak in the distance, clutching his severed fingers and bleeding profusely.

The lab’s perception of Jung Seon-rak, who had seemed like a merciless killer, now seemed almost laughable.

At the same time, Kang-hoo, who had landed a proper blow on Jung Seon-rak, seemed even more impressive.

“Director.”

“Yes?”

“I want to thank the sniper who helped me at the last minute. That one shot was crucial.”

He was sincere.

The sniper’s support, precisely timed, had given him the opportunity to target Jung Seon-rak.

Had Jung Seon-rak not felt uneasy about the sniper, the plan might not have worked.

This was because Kang-hoo’s strategy was to make Jung Seon-rak ‘misinterpret’ the sniper’s cover fire as an attempt to buy him time.

Though they hadn’t exchanged a single word or glance, their thoughts had aligned.

“I was going to bring him over, but he refused…”

“Refused?”

“Yes.”

“Isn’t he a lab associate?”

“Technically, he’s a mercenary. Though long-term hired, he is guaranteed solo action…”

“Understood. Please convey my thanks to him if you get the chance.”

“I will definitely do so.”

It was disappointing.

He was curious about the sniper, who seemed as sharp as Ban Se-young, but it seemed a meeting was not desired.

He quickly brushed off his regrets.

Then, he checked the movements of the multinational mercenaries visible through the CCTV again.

Seeing the activation of the protective barrier, the mercenaries were retreating quickly.

It was a wise choice.

An activated barrier was like a giant rock. No matter how many eggs you threw at it, only the eggs would break.

With this, the goal was achieved.

When the barrier was lifted in two weeks, it would be entirely up to Jeongmun Pharmaceutical to decide how to prepare for what came next.

The multinational mercenaries might attack again, or nothing might happen.

Of course, that wasn’t his concern.

The settlement was carried out as quickly as possible at Kang-hoo’s request.

This was because the effects of Mad Solarkium were wearing off, and a damp sensation was spreading rapidly throughout his body.

He had used his skills continuously, without a moment’s rest, while approaching the research lab earlier.

And then, as the final touch, fighting with Jung Seon-rak had overloaded his body.

Mad Solarkium had deferred all physical pain and pressure, fortunately.

Without it, he wouldn’t have been surprised to collapse and cough up blood much earlier.

A commission fee of 55 billion won.

Plus ten Gaksin Pills.

He received all the promised rewards. Checking his bank balance, it was suddenly 140 billion won.

Feeling like a ticking time bomb was about to go off, he quickly said goodbye to Ahn Seong-hoon, the head of the research lab.

Using his teleportation ability, he returned to the safe hotel he had previously checked into.

And after about a minute.

“Ugh…!”

Kang-hoo couldn’t hold back the nausea and began to vomit.

Before the commission, he had only drunk a few sips of water instead of eating, but he even threw that up.

At the same time, he felt a pain in his head as if it was being struck with an axe.

Even with the considerable pain relief effect of the item, it was this bad.

He thought that without the item, he might have fainted or died from shock.

“Hah. Hah. I now realize how much I’ve relied on Mad Solarkium… Ugh!”

Before he could finish his self-deprecating review, the nausea surged again, and he bent over.

It was excruciatingly painful. It felt like experiencing extreme pain that even narcotic painkillers couldn’t suppress.

Thanks to suppressing the pain, he could exert superhuman strength that was unmatched for his level.

But it wasn’t free. His body, pushed to its absolute limits, presented him with the bill.

That was the current pain, and his body was rebelling and breaking down.

Still, on the other hand, he felt proud that he could even face a hunter three or four levels higher than him.

In a normal situation, such a power disparity wouldn’t have even been possible to bridge, even for a moment.

That’s why Jung Seon-rak let his guard down against him and got hit.

The two rings on the table in his room were proof. They were the results of Jung Seon-rak falling prey to him.

“Hoo. Hoo.”

Panting heavily, Kang-hoo came out of the bathroom and headed towards the window.

The sight of the white walls all around made him feel nauseous just by looking at them.

He thought that maybe looking at an open view might help calm the dizziness.

“Damn…”

But unfortunately, the sky he saw was melting like ice cream.

Everything he saw and felt was not normal.

The aftermath of pushing his body beyond its limits was more destructive than he had imagined.

Perhaps because of that.

Crash!

Kang-hoo picked up the glass of water he had poured in advance, but, unable to bear the discomfort, he shattered the glass.

He would need at least a full day of rest. His body demanded it in no uncertain terms.

---

At the same time.

Boom!

A man clutching his neck fell to the ground, looking at two men with a resentful expression.

But only for a moment. The man who had stopped breathing lost focus in his eyes and left the world.

Though it seemed like the scene of a fierce battle, ironically, this was inside Jang Si-hwan’s penthouse.

And the person drenched in the dead man’s blood was Vincent Meyer.

“Dammit, it’s not this guy.”

Vincent swore at Jang Si-hwan as he glared at him.

Even though he knew it was pointless, he wanted to deal with his frustration somehow.

Jang Si-hwan shrugged nonchalantly and asked Vincent again.

“No hidden skill?”

“None… So it really wasn’t there.”

“I thought he was just hiding it even if he had it, but I guess not. Anyway, I need to get paid. You killed a promising talent, thanks to you.”

“I don’t have money. I can give you a dungeon. It’s my dungeon in Romania. It’s properly registered under my name.”

“Then it’s no problem.”

Even though a promising talent raised by Jeonghwa Guild was dead, Jang Si-hwan’s expression remained calm.

It was disappointing, but he thought it was no big deal. They could recruit and raise another promising talent.

That emotion was more akin to losing a possession than a person.

The assassin hunter who was expected to acquire a hidden skill was the promising talent ‘Shin Hee-seong.’

But it had been a miscalculation.

In return, he was receiving an expensive dungeon, so he even felt like it was a profitable deal.

Meanwhile, Vincent, seemingly frustrated with this approach, changed his strategy.

“Give me the list of all the assassins who participated in the Hell of Judgment raid. I need to check them all, even the beginners.”

He planned to take direct action.

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