READ NOVEL ONLINE Chapter 275. After the Destruction (4)
I couldn’t believe it. How was it possible to experience a kidnapping incident three times after reincarnation?
At this point, even as the victim, I was getting tired of the scenery.
With my eyelids heavy from being overweight, I expressed faint dissatisfaction.
“Do you know?”
But Kang Chang-ho only continued the conversation in his usual tone.
“Nachalsawon. It’s a name you can’t forget no matter what.”
The atmosphere felt uneasy.
“Don’t tell me you forgot? Nachalsawon. Anyway, during the time Su Ye-hwi was captured, the cult’s hideout became a must-visit for thieves for a while.”
“….”
“They’re really popular in the Black Market.”
“….”
“In the past, one could solve mysteries during wartime by taking hostages, but these days, if you mess with people, it gets noisy both domestically and abroad. Do you get what I mean?”
Suddenly, the mention of Nachalsawon caught my attention.
I wanted to ask the person dragging the conversation along what the main point was.
But in that moment, I sensed something unusual about my body, and while I was silent in shock, the financier in front began to speak again.
“Actually, results from applying psychic powers on people get a high price from information agencies.”
“….”
“And by chance, I recently checked a copy of the cult leader’s notes obtained from the main hall of Nachalsawon. Now, here’s the introduction.”
Kang Chang-ho was cleaning a small object with a clean cloth.
The thick cloth covered most of the surface, so it wasn’t easy to see, but I had a feeling the small item he was working on was related to ‘that’ through the flow of magic…
“Kim Gi-ryeo.”
It was in that moment.
Kang Chang-ho stopped cleaning and turned to me.
“This might not be your real name, but anyway, you don’t have any other options right now, so let’s just roll with it.”
Despite his needless musing, the topic quickly changed.
“I’m telling you this because I think you want to know. Generally, a Gate bursts when the internal entity density meets conditions.”
“…….”
“So, that cultist named Su Ye-hwi did an experiment. If you fill a jar with tiny monsters like ‘Fireflies’ and roll them into the Gate, the break conditions get met in no time.”
“Whoa.”
“Anyway, since the number of monsters will increase, whoever made it is quite sloppy.”
“Cough, whoa….”
“But thanks to the Gate being so dumb, it’s thanks to you that we saw the Gi-ryeo Hunter out here. Anyway, besides the break methods, the cult leader’s notebook had lots of good research written in it.”
Su Ye-hwi.
I never thought this Earthling would continue to be such a nuisance after being dealt with.
What Kang Chang-ho was describing was the principle behind an incident that occurred in a studio apartment in Mapo-gu.
He continued saying, the existence of Gates on Earth has many more manipulatable elements than one might think.
‘Maybe he was so focused on finding the mind controlist’s hiding spot that he never thought about searching the cult’s hideout back then.’
Just like the previously mentioned example, using Fireflies (or the silent insects from the Unknown Cave) could quickly meet the dungeon break activation condition.
Additionally, the method of removing the path with [Collapse Particles] was also a problem.
First, push a Hunter to maintain an alternate world inside a sealed Gate.
Then, forcibly close the Gate and use a special skill of someone with space-moving abilities on that Hunter.
Or employ a marking method like [Ariadne’s Thread] meant for ‘contacting a pre-defined target.’
And then.
‘Looks like the outcome I went through with Seonwoo-yeon is about to show up.’
Strangely enough, the Earthling explained that a dungeon exit could be opened from the outside.
The new path location created at this time would be near the target from within the dungeon and roughly near the caster from the outside, making it convenient in various ways.
‘Did he just acquire this information pretty recently? Or did it take time to prove it?’
If I had known such good information, I would have appreciated it if they had slipped a piece of that Ariadne’s Thread item into the spare skill stone back then.
Learning this emergency Gate escape method almost made me overwhelmed with joy.
However, the other party did not provide this information to make me happy.
“Well, now the main point is…”
That Earthling used the information obtained from Su Ye-hwi’s belongings specifically for kidnapping people.
By the way, I just remembered, wasn’t that Earthling present during the first and second incidents too?
‘Oh.’
Somehow, it seemed like a bad omen was born every time I confronted Kang Chang-ho.
As those random thoughts swirled through my mind, I again focused on the other party’s words.
“- This isn’t tested very much, so Su Ye-hwi probably didn’t know it either. Originally, after filling a jar with small monsters, if you drilled a hole from the outside after completely filling the required number of entities, and the last attacker escapes, a break occurs in that direction.”
“…….”
“This was the method for creating a Gate by your studio apartment. However, this method had a small problem. Instead of being vertical, because the Gate was drilled horizontally, the passage ended up becoming as large as the adjoining structure.”
“…….”
“Because of that, it unintentionally sunk a building. This is really full of unnecessary malfunctions, making it tough with Gates.”
However, the subsequent explanation was information that could be easily inferred from the preceding introduction.
Simply put.
Kang Chang-ho had been pondering how to get me, who was hiding in the room, out. As a result, it seemed like he decided to outright attack a specific building with intentional breaks.
“Ha…”
It was then. A sudden metallic smell wafted through the area.
This didn’t come from the kidnappers or the objects that person was holding, but rather, it was a stench that erupted from someone’s throat.
“Really, my mind is… gone… Seriously, to bring one person out from that huge building…”
Since a stream of blood had been flowing from my throat since earlier.
Guh-hah, kahhh.
At last, I let out my first words as a victim.
However, as soon as I attempted to express my opinion, I abruptly coughed violently.
I attempted to clear my throat like a patient filled with phlegm.
Because at that moment, I was.
“Kahh! …Cough, cough!”
While my throat might seem thick compared to entities like Seonwoo-yeon, it was in a state pierced by sharp stakes.
Of course, this caused problems when trying to complete sentences.
“Ugh.”
Seeing as he hadn’t blocked my mouth, Kang Chang-ho had prepared in advance for the victim’s counterattack.
The object lodged in my throat appeared to be about two and a half fingers wide.
Also, I had already seen the parent material of this stake in the past.
‘The weapons I saw in the Unknown Cave. That blue stake carved down to become such a small needle…!’
The identity of the wedge-tool rarely held by that S-Class body enhancer was precisely meant to hinder the magic aggregation reaction of the target.
In simpler terms, a magic casting interference device.
‘Oh my, because of this, it’s extremely potent by Earth standards, isn’t it?’
It was only later, thanks to pain immunity, that I realized the injury in my throat.
Could it be that this Earthling was not inexperienced with such attempts?
It was almost like suspicion arose as the other party skillfully inserted the blue stake in an area that wouldn’t interfere with life and response.
As I kept moving my throat, feeling the discomfort of the foreign object, the kidnapper made the next move.
“Well, usually one would be enough, but you’re breathing too comfortably this time.”
Ah, let’s clear things up.
Looking at the chosen words, this guy definitely had done this more than once.
Right after speaking, Kang Chang-ho lifted the precision stake he had been cleaning and, additionally, I had no clue what intention lay behind this action, but he lit a disposable lighter commonly found in convenience stores and heated the tip of the stake for a while.
For a moment, I wondered if it was some modern torture technique reminiscent of historical dramas, thanks to the brain of a corpse recalling it.
‘Gi-ryeo. I really don’t need to know that kind of information right now!’
After shaking the heated tip of the stake in the air a few times, Kang Chang-ho finally moved on to the next action after it had cooled to a suitable extent.
-Kawk!
He additionally secured a magic interference object somewhere between the alien’s trapezius and clavicle.
‘If you were going to do that, then why even heat it up?’
The Earthling’s strength was immense, coupled with the fact that the tip of the wedge was sharp as a needle, the impact was concentrated on a single point, effortlessly piercing through the skin.
No, to be precise, it could be blocked by concentrating [Guardian], but there was no reason to do so.
If it were mere riffraff, it might have been a different story, but this side had been handling natural mana as a companion since birth, so a seal or two wouldn’t matter at all.
‘It’s funny how, sadly, my innate talent ended up being a joke.’
With two stakes embedded in my upper body and my whole body physically restrained to the chair, I lowered my gaze.
While I was busy acting like I was hit, I also made sure to listen to the kidnapper’s utterances.
“By the way, you just mentioned that you lost your mind, didn’t you?”
What a surprise.
I didn’t expect him to bring up that topic himself.
Kang Chang-ho momentarily paused his words and focused on me with a subtly twisted smile.
Desperate to break this uncomfortable silence, I squeezed out an answer.
“…How could you do such… bad things…?”
In this situation, where my whole body was suppressed, it vaguely resembled the trials I went through in my previous life, but I didn’t feel particularly anxious.
As I mentioned earlier, this side had hardly been affected by Kang Chang-ho’s magic sealing attempt.
[2.??.?? Update]
●[Emergency Escape] added.
●Activation Conditions: If the vital organs necessary for physical movement magic (brain, lung tissues) are separated from their original positions by more than 10 cm.
●Or if any of the following conditions are met, the spellcaster’s spirit separates from the body regardless of their will. (ex. failed mental control resistance…)
At the end of my previous life, my job usually involved calculating the odds of success in various scenarios. I assessed that the probability of another Alphauri appearing on this planet was merely 0%.
However, Earth was filled with miraculous beings beyond just the Alphauri.
I had indeed preemptively engineered such additional modifications just in case strange situations arose. Originally, I had intended to set this safety device immediately after reincarnation, but I managed to achieve my goal even after gaining the Dragon’s Lung.
‘It’s too bad I couldn’t create a bacterial bomb due to time constraints. If I had successfully completed it, I would have hidden it inside me as a backup.’
Now, even without the Pyromancer Necklace, I could find an excuse to get out of any hopeless situation at any time.
With a much lighter heart, I continued speaking.
Part of me was also hoping that, while I stalled for time, Seo Esther or Jeong Ha-seong would come to help me.
“…What wrong did the landlord do…?”
Yet surprisingly, upon saying this to evoke some conscience, the other side didn’t even flinch.
“Oh, you didn’t know?”
Instead, he returned my remark in a calm tone.
“I bought that studio building not too long ago. I’ve already transferred the rights from the previous owner.”
“…?!”
“Just that the tenants haven’t been informed of the fact yet.”
No way, this can’t be.
He bought the entire building.
“If you check later, my name will come up on the land registry. It’s under Hwang Dong-hyuk. I’ve already purchased it separately in that person’s name, so you don’t have to worry about building expenses.”
Who on earth is Hwang Dong-hyuk?
‘The landlord I know had the surname Yoo…’
I was left utterly dumbfounded by the other party’s words of having bought the place outright. But there was still something I wanted to say.
‘In that case, never mind the house; what about the stuff inside?’
If the tenants had left behind valuables, then those had all been buried in the Gate. What a tragic affair from the perspective of the residents losing their possessions.
“By the way, the compensations for the people living there…”
But just at that moment.
Kang Chang-ho, as if reading my thoughts, casually replied with a relaxed posture.
“I can just donate around 3 billion in the name of a celebrity to compensate for the disaster, and that should resolve it. It’s not difficult since I’ve done it before.”
A seasoned criminal.
Moreover, the fact that he had even considered the losses to the residents while kidnapping someone.
“Did you think that was unexpected?”
The corners of his mouth lifted.
“But I’m sorry, but the one who’s more perplexed than anyone right now is me. At that time, I simply intended to overlap break monsters through the building walls and only dismantle the barriers of one person’s home.”
“….”
“But suddenly the Gate malfunctioned, and when I heard corrupted stories from my underlings, I was trying to seal the opening desperately using Collapse Particles. But, lo and behold. The guy hiding in the corner jumped out and wasted time for the residents to escape.”
Kang Chang-ho narrowed one eye as if deep in thought.
And after a long pause, he finally said this.
“Everyone usually misunderstands. The truth is, I’m not that bad of a person…”
“What?”
“Rather, if anything, I’m closer to being beneficial. You’re the bad one.”
Taking a few steps forward, the main perpetrator of the third kidnapping closed the distance.
The S-Class Awakened straightforwardly stood in front of the iron chair where I was tied up, crossing his arms lightly as he revealed the culprit behind it all.
“You’re fundamentally not on our side.”
Despite maintaining overall composure, Kang Chang-ho’s reaction was extreme when faced with the outcome of Justitia.
I realized then why he showed hostility beyond the annoyance of feeling deceived.
And finally, how an Earthling managed to corner an alien.
“With a monster before you, creating chaos through Gates and vying for human forms, how can it be wrong for a person to stop you?”
As the mention of the Gate occurrence process came up, I understood.
‘Ah!’
Damn it, this bastard, Kang-ho, thought of me as a [Ki-simche]!