Against the Clock: The Team Leader’s Pursuit of Glory

Mr. Cho, who had secretly infiltrated Sinuiju, approached the vicinity of the prison village.

As Hyun Junggeon had said, the surveillance around the prison village was tight. Every checkpoint had several Hunters with various surveillance skills stationed there. On top of that, there were expensive detection devices and booby traps.

'Look at them. Normally, a guild of at least A-rank would be using this stuff. They must have tons of money. What are they so afraid of that they're making such a fuss just to capture two people? Oh, what's that? A Snub-Nosed Mole?'

Mr. Cho saw a monster; the Snub-Nosed Mole. A four-legged, 2-meter-long creature that resembled a mole with a pig-like snout. Its nose, which occupied half of its face, functioned exactly as its appearance suggested.

'Those guys have an incredible sense of smell. If I just go in there, I'll be caught immediately.'

Mr. Cho opened the leather pouch on the opposite side of his ampoule kit on his belt. He took out a small spray bottle and sprayed it on himself. It was a special hormone extract that disrupted the sense of smell of monsters. Mr. Cho made the recipe himself and it was not available on the market.

'It's worse than Hyun said. These guys aren't easy opponents. To think they can tame monsters to this extent.'

He had heard rumors about Hunters who could tame and handle monsters. Since this trait was not yet discovered in Korea, little was known about how it worked, but the mere ability to command monsters provided a significant advantage in hunting.

'There's nothing as convenient as being able to use the traits and skills of monsters. In theory, it's like handling dozens of different traits.'

Mr. Cho paid extra attention, carefully examining his surroundings to identify all potential threats before making his move. His target was the lodging where the Hunters rested after their shifts.

It was a motel rented for them to rest in rotation. Since there were many rooms, they didn't have to gather in one place. They didn't expect anyone to breach their perimeter and infiltrate the rear lodging, so the security was lax.

Mr. Cho sneaked into the room where a low-ranking female Hunter was sleeping alone. Before entering, he had already filled the room with his special sleep gas. The potent gas, which a C-ranker couldn't withstand, had filled the room.

He waited about five minutes for the gas to dissipate before opening the door. The Hunter was completely unconscious, deeply asleep.

"She's decently pretty. Just the right person to use."

Mr. Cho placed his hand on the female Hunter's forehead. After a moment, a Hunter with the same face as the one lying in the bed was looking down from above.

"Oh, right, I need to copy the clothes too."

Mr. Cho placed his left hand on his own clothes and his right hand on the Hunter's clothes on the bed.

In an instant, the clothes Mr. Cho was wearing changed to match the clothes he touched.

"This was worth the effort."

The clothes Mr. Cho wore looked ordinary but were actually a rare artifact. They were a masterpiece made from his own hair with the doppelgänger trait and special fibers.

That artifact had the ability of 'copying clothes.'

'It took a lot of effort to make this. Collecting all that hair.'

Mr. Cho smirked, thinking back to the time and effort he had invested in creating this unique tool.

'Well, let's get to work.'

With his disguise complete, Mr. Cho quietly slipped out of the room and began his infiltration mission.

Mr. Cho collected hair strands that fell out while washing his hair and picked up the ones that dropped when he rolled around. He even collected hair clippings in a bag when he went to the hair salon, and he even tried buying adult magazines claiming they would help his hair grow faster. He was teased a lot by his work partners when they found out.

'This is all because of Kang Mu-hyuk.'

The reason he decided to create the clothes-copying artifact was because of Kang Mu-hyuk. When he was undercover at Titan to avoid the Slayer Guild's pursuit, he never imagined he'd meet a weirdo who remembered every outfit he had ever worn.

He had been suspiciously wearing the same clothes a few times with different faces over several months, which Kang Mu-hyuk noticed, leading to their current relationship.

Mr. Cho was still inexperienced at the time, but he never imagined someone would be keeping track of the guild employees' outfits. Since then, Mr. Cho started working on an artifact that could disguise not just his face but his clothes as well, and he had finally completed it recently.

"Well, let's go now, shall we?"

Mr. Cho took the ID card out of the Hunter's wallet to check the name and boldly left the motel. He didn't encounter anyone in the hallway but ran into another Hunter as soon as he stepped outside.

"Hey, Xu Jing Lei."

The moment he saw the man waving at him, Mr. Cho's face stiffened.

'Damn it, Chinese.'

He realized a critical mistake.

'Am I an idiot? I changed my face and copied the clothes but forgot the language.'

Since his activities were limited to Korea, he had never had to disguise himself as a foreigner, which led to this mishap.

"What's wrong? Are you still upset about what happened last time? I swear it wasn't me. I wasn't cheating. It's a misunderstanding. Please listen to me."

Not understanding a word, Mr. Cho responded with an ambiguous smile.

'Just smile. Smile. No one hits a smiling face.'

Seeing her smile, the man smiled brightly as well.

"Does that smile mean you forgive me? Wow, you're a real trooper. I was wrong this time. I'll do better from now on. So, how about we, um, you know, over there?"

The man pointed to a shady alley while grinning, and Mr. Cho smiled back.

'Why is this guy's smile so creepy?'

The man put his arm around Mr. Cho's shoulder and started dragging him. Mr. Cho could only follow along, smiling.

Then--

"You bastard!"(in Korean)

"Xu Jing Lei? You're speaking Korean...Ugh!"

Mr. Cho struck the man unconscious with a single blow and stomped on him several more times.

"This guy is a real pervert. How dare he?"

Realizing he had attacked reflexively without checking his surroundings, Mr. Cho looked around. After confirming no one was around, he sighed in relief.

"Almost ruined the operation because of a pervert. Tsk. I swear I'll buy a translation item after this job."

Mr. Cho touched the man's body. Her face soon transformed into his. Her frame also expanded, turning her slender body into a muscular one.

Just like at the motel, Mr. Cho rummaged through his pockets and checked the ID of the unconscious man. Then he dragged the man and stuffed him into a trash bin, ensuring he wouldn't wake up for several hours by making him inhale a sleeping agent through his nose.

"Let's see. What's this guy's name... How do you read these characters? Damn it, no English transcription on this one. And my phone doesn't work here, so I can't even look it up. Do I need to carry a dictionary around? Who even learns Chinese characters nowadays? Ah, this guy is Chinese, right?"

Grumbling in a rough voice, Mr. Cho disappeared into the darkness.

When Hwang Dongsu emerged from the attic, the young Hunters occupying the maru and the main room stood up and bowed their heads.

"You're here?!"

When Hwang Dongsu didn't acknowledge their greetings, the Hunters cautiously raised their heads.

'Huh?'

They all looked at Hwang Dongsu with the same thought. Then they noticed the man he was helping stand up.

'Who's that guy?'

'Why is he taking care of someone who looks like a sick chicken?'

'He doesn't look like a huntsman.'

As questions filled everyone's mind, Hwang Dongsu, who had helped Kang Mu-hyuk down, spoke.

"He is the one I serve."

With that one sentence, everyone present was shocked.

"Did I hear that wrong?"

"Brother, what's going on? Did I hear that wrong?"

The young Hunters, who had gathered with the hope that Hwang Dongsu would lead them, were left bewildered.

"Serve me? You said that so weirdly out of the blue. Of course, they reacted this way."

"I apologize, Guild Leader."

Seeing Hwang Dongsu bowing and apologizing, the young Hunters were shocked again, unable to speak. Hwang Dongsu was someone highly respected, a cherished younger brother of Kim Byungju, the anchor of the village. His skills were exceptional, and if it hadn't been for his mother's illness, Kim Byungju had claimed he was the one to lead the village after him.

They thought such a person was finally stepping up, but suddenly, he was bowing to someone who wasn't even a Hunter?

It was a huge shock.

Before they could recover from the shock, Kang Mu-hyuk began to speak, "I'm from down south, North Pocheon. I'm Kang Mu-hyuk, the leader of the Iron Will Guild, where Hunter Ju Se-ah is the Guild Master."

His brief introduction was enough to make an impact on the Hunters here.

"J-Ju Se-ah?"

"The top Hunter in Korea!"

"Why would you come here...?"

"Quiet!"

At Hwang Dongsu's command, the murmuring subsided.

"Please continue."

By now, Hwang Dongsu's polite speech wasn't even surprising. The Hunters focused on Kang Mu-hyuk's next words.

"I'll get straight to the point. I intend to make sure that everyone in this village receives a resident registration card(government ID)."

"!!"

"Hunters will receive certificates indicating their affiliation with the Republic of Korea as official Hunters."

"!!"

"Children will get educational opportunities, the elderly will receive medical benefits, and everyone will be able to find their rights and fulfill their responsibilities as members of the nation. From now on, you will no longer be Hunters with no affiliation. If you wish, Iron Will Guild will make a place for you. I offer you the chance to be reborn as citizens of Korea and as members of the Iron Will Guild."

"I-is that... really possible?"

Someone asked in a trembling voice. Hearing their long-cherished wish spoken out loud, they found it hard to believe.

"I guarantee it."

"Even if it's you, is this really possible?"

The attitude showed that even Hwang Dongsu's guarantee wasn't enough to convince them.

It was understandable. They were descendants of traitors who had been marginalized, endured inequality, and survived through isolation for decades. Who would believe them? Not the South Korean government, nor the people who still remembered the old tragedies.

Because of this, none of the Hunters here ever dared to dream of such a thing. It was a dream that couldn't be achieved with the bravado of an individual.

"Tell us. Do you really think this is possible?"

Kang Mu-hyuk addressed the Hunter questioning.

"Yes. It's possible."

Dawn was breaking.

Hwang Dongsu sent people to both Cheon Deok-soo and Yeon Jung-moon at the crowing of the morning rooster.

"What did he say? What's Dongsu up to?"

"He's saying they're forming their own faction now."

"You guys must be out of your minds! Are you just running your mouth without thinking?"

"We've delivered Dongu's message to you. Since it's the first day, let's not get into a fight and have breakfast together. Come to Byungju's place at seven."

After the messenger left, Cheon Deok-soo was deep in thought. That loner suddenly wanted to form a faction?

The news of Hwang Dongsu's actions quickly spread among Cheon Deok-soo's group.

"What? Did he go crazy? I sent him to kill Hyun Junggeon and the Seoul guy, and now he's doing this?"

The man who had ordered Hwang Dongsu to assassinate Hyun Junggeon and Kang Mu-hyuk shouted.

Cheon Deok-soo, who had come out to cool his head, heard the voice.

"What?! You told Dongsu to kill Hyun Junggeon?"

"N-no, Deok-soo. That's not it."

Whack!

"Ugh!"

"You little punk! Did you ignore my orders? Didn't I tell you not to mess with Dongsu no matter what?"

"I'm sorry. But we needed to handle Hyun somehow without shedding blood... Gah!"

"You're still speaking?!"

Cheon Deok-soo hit his subordinate several more times. It looked fierce, but it wasn't enough to cause serious injury. Even though they were his subordinates, they knew each other, whether it be parents or siblings. He ended it with just enough of a display to set an example.

After using some force, he felt his head cooling down. He regained his composure and called another subordinate.

"Go immediately and tell Yeon Jung-moon I need to meet him now."