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Join the Server“Hey, man. Are you okay?”
“Me? Oh… what’s big bro doing here? I… got a few ribs broken and some internal organs ruptured, but the treatment hunter who came on the first day said I just need to rest a bit. If I didn’t have a reinforcement skill, I would have been dead by now. On top of that, the guild is a mess with reporters right now, so they can’t care about this side… No, bro, that’s not the problem!”
As if suddenly remembering something, Baek Jiwun’s expression changed mid-conversation. He hurried to his bed and started tossing the blankets around, looking for his phone that he had thrown there.
“Do you know how badly the Chinese side is gunning for us, ready to kill us? They tried to kill us first, and now they’re spouting nonsense that we committed a premeditated crime… Here it is! Ah, just see for yourself. Hurry up and turn on the internet and check the news.”
Urged by Baek Jiwun, who quickly unlocked his phone and handed it over, Dokyeom accepted it and opened the news section on the main portal site.
Beside him, Baek Jiwun swallowed dryly, observing Dokyeom’s side profile closely. When his grey eyes stopped moving and fixed on something, Baek Jiwun saw a slight frown form on Dokyeom’s face.
And it made sense,
<"Shanghai/>
The news section was filled with articles influenced by the Shanghai Association. For someone who knew the truth, it was infuriating. Moreover, the comments now showed very little support.
The articles started breaking out two days before today. At first, the public laughed off China’s claims as nonsense, but as the story came to light, their attitude changed.
That’s the public, no matter who it is, they harshly judge right from wrong. Because of that, the domestic view wasn’t favorable either.
[Popular/Latest]
FHK***: It’s been days since the article broke, and Sohyeon Guild still hasn’t made a statement??? Are you crazy??
kkk***: Lol Taeseongyeon just went down like that hahahaha bye bye bro you won’t go far lol
ehf4***: You have two S-ranks and you think you’re untouchable? Is it that hard to apologize? I don’t know what makes you think you can act like this, but this isn’t right. Admit you’re wrong and bow your head or prostrate yourself and apologize.
11de***: These guys seem to have lost all sense of the situation. The whole world is in an uproar, and they think they can just lie around with their legs stretched out. Where’s that problem-solving ability you showed during the gate bribery scandal?
shsh***: So what now lol Taeseongyeon hasn’t shown his face once since the incident hahahaha This is the response from a guild representing Korea? Ridiculous, truly incompetent.
hh1s***: Top 3 guild? Lol stop, let’s just go with top 2 guilds now.
[Expand]
Baek Jiwun glanced sideways at the person sitting next to him. ‘Just as expected.’ Look at that expression that seems about to say ‘Han Dokyeom’. Before, he had read the comments insulting him as if they were nothing, but now he was frowning like a fighting cock ready to pick a fight.
“…No, it’s… bro, calm down first. How should I put it… It’s a long story. After you passed out like that, the guild leader…”
When he got that far, Baek Jiwun bit his tongue. Oh no, I shouldn’t have said that. But when he looked up to gauge the situation, it was already too late. Han Dokyeom had turned his cold eyes toward Baek Jiwun.
“What about Taeseongyeon?”
“…No, it’s just… I meant the guild leader had a hard time cleaning up the mess.”
“Jiwun, where are you going? If you’re that confident, why are you backing away? Come here!”
As soon as Dokyeom reached out, Baek Jiwun yelped and retreated. He even shook his body as if he had seen a ghost.
“Ah, I can’t say it! Just go and hear it yourself. Everyone there was silenced… Ah, anyway, go ask the guild leader!”
“Hey, you punk. When did I ask you to tell me?”
“If that’s not asking me to tell you, then what is it…”
At that moment, Baek Jiwun stopped all movement. It was also when the bedframe lightly touched his calf.
“What about that thing?”
Ah.
Only after seeing that confident smile did Baek Jiwun realize what Dokyeom was talking about. ‘That thing.’ The thing Baek Jiwun had no choice but to take care of while Dokyeom lay in bed for ten days.
For the past few days, desperately protecting it, Baek Jiwun hadn’t had a single good night’s sleep. Afraid someone might take it, he had spent his days hugging the laptop, groaning like a man with a stomachache. That was how important the thing Dokyeom was now asking for was.
The file that captured everything that happened inside the gate that day.
“…You told me not to give it to anyone. So I kept quiet and protected it…”
“Did you transfer it to your laptop and check it?”
Worried that someone might hear, Baek Jiwun looked around the hospital room. Sighing at how cowardly he had become, he spoke as if resigned.
“…It came out well, but…”
The problem was that it contained things that shouldn’t have been recorded. What should he do? If he showed it, there would definitely be trouble, but if he didn’t, the future looked bleak.
“Then let me see it.”
And as expected, Dokyeom demanded bluntly with a calm attitude, opening a water bottle next to him and drinking it down in gulps.
What sin did I commit to be so powerless?
Baek Jiwun eventually shuffled over, pulled out his laptop from under the bed, and presented it. Then, he played simultaneously the video file he had hidden in the innermost spot so no one could find it, and a separate audio file he had been protecting.
[This is Jeong Ilun, the search team leader. Have you confirmed all the briefing items from this morning?]
The video started like that, with Jeong Ilun, the search team leader, approaching Dokyeom while holding out a watch.
The angle was quite low and sometimes shaky. But the lens never once left Dokyeom.
“Dali just kept following you around. I was surprised when I saw this. I was worried it might have captured something else, but when I played the video, it turned out great. Wow, I really am good at breaking through interference waves.”
That was only natural. This plan wouldn’t have worked without Baek Jiwun, and it wouldn’t have been completed without Dali.
Of course, this was only possible because, a few days before leaving for China, Dokyeom had asked Baek Jiwun to get him something. At the time, Baek Jiwun had made a face but nodded without a word and agreed.
What they made was a small camera with a recorder attached. It was so inconspicuous that even a careful search wouldn’t find it.
And they disguised it as a necklace for Dali under the pretense of preventing him from getting lost. That was the truth behind the pendant Dali had been wearing since before departure.
With that, Baek Jiwun used his skill to break through the Chinese hunters’ interference waves, capturing every situation inside the gate on film. When Baek Jiwun couldn’t use his skill, Dali took over, using [Nullification] to deflect the interference waves and continue recording.
That was how they obtained this video that Dokyeom was now fixing his eyes on.
[Me? Me?! No, I can’t fight! I’m only a B-rank in name! I only have a reinforcement skill, so why won’t anyone believe me and keep pushing me forward! Are you crazy?!]
“Do you know how my heart dropped at that moment? I was already using a skill that drained my mana, and they told me to lead the way. I couldn’t even say anything.”
His grumbling voice sounded quite hurt. Dokyeom just lightly tapped Baek Jiwun’s head.
Probably, Baek Jiwun smashed Dali’s necklace as soon as they retrieved the video.
Beside him, Baek Jiwun pouted and grumbled for no reason. He muttered about how precious his head was, and if he did well, couldn’t he get a compliment? But when the video changed, he shut up.
[No, even if you say that… can I ‘fuse’ with that guy?]
In the video shot from Dali’s screaming perspective, a monster appeared first.
Dokyeom examined and observed every single process, taking it all in. In case there might be a clue, he also listened to every word the Chinese hunters said. After a long while, Baek Jiwun swallowed dryly and fidgeted beside him.
“I-I’ll go to the bathroom for a bit. You… keep watching. It might take a while because I have a stomachache.”
When Baek Jiwun stood up awkwardly and entered the bathroom, closing the door, Dokyeom, as if waiting for that, moved the video further back.
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