I once saw my coach kick an opponent there during a sparring session.
I even saw my coach collapse on the spot, unable to breathe.
But!
‘I didn’t know it would hurt this much!’
A heavy, throbbing pain that started in my lower abdomen surged up through my entire body.
Feeling like I couldn’t even breathe properly, I grabbed my crotch and retreated backward.
‘Forget about being a C-rank Hunter!’
In that state, my original body—Lee Yuji—attacked me again with a spinning back kick.
Because I was using the ‘Focus’ skill, I could see the original Lee Yuji’s heel getting into an attack stance in slow motion, yet a situation where I could defend against the original body’s attack simply didn’t arise.
‘Because it hurts too much!’
Smack!
Thanks to taking a direct hit, Seo Gilsoo’s body went flying and slammed into the windshield.
The windshield cracked, and blood flowed from my head, no, Seo Gilsoo’s head.
And yet it still hurt!
Not my head, but ‘there’!
How could this be!
This was the result of ordering the original Lee Yuji to strike Seo Gilsoo recklessly starting 5 minutes after possession.
It would be great if I could stop the bus by controlling Seo Gilsoo’s body, but that might not work out, and above all—
I looked at the CCTV inside the bus.
‘Gamer will be watching all of this.’
In the original work, Gamer was also watching the bus’s internal CCTV.
Even while wheezing and unable to make a sound, I checked the direction of the CCTV.
However, the original Lee Yuji, with an emotionless expression, showed no mercy for my situation and immediately grabbed me, launching a palm strike.
The moment my chin was hit by her palm, or more precisely, the heel of her palm connecting to her wrist, I saw stars.
‘There are nerves in the chin!’
I wanted to scream that out, but I could only helplessly let nosebleeds pour down.
In the first place, the original Lee Yuji must be attacking based on instinct, knowing everything.
I almost took a counter-attack stance out of instinct, but I held it back.
With the blood flowing from my head adding to it, my vision was dyed red.
As I collapsed, the original Lee Yu-ji stomped down on me—no, Seo Gilsoo—a few more times.
‘No, wait a minute… I told her to put handcuffs on me first once I’m incapacitated!’
Time remaining: 00:57
The thought of getting beaten up for the remaining 1 minute was terrifying.
‘Isn’t it a crime for a former national team martial artist to beat up a civilian!’
Seo Gilsoo was a C-rank Hunter who could hardly be considered a civilian, but my mind was inexplicably filled with a sense of injustice.
‘One minute feels like an hour!’
I tried not to make a sound so that the original Lee Yuji would judge me to be incapacitated as much as possible, but—
“Ehehehe…”
Laughter leaked out again.
Still, fortunately, as I didn’t move my body, the original Lee Yuji looked down at me and then took off her ring.
The moment the ring, which had transformed into handcuffs, was clasped onto Seo Gilsoo’s wrists.
Sizzle—
Time remaining: 00:00
The possession broke, and the pain vanished.
Before I knew it, I was no longer Seo Gilsoo, but Investigator Lee Yuji, who had mercilessly beaten down Seo Gilsoo as he groaned in terrible agony.
The faintly lingering unpleasant hallucinations and the strange joy controlling my brain also disappeared.
Kwon Ikseong’s skill seemed to have gone on cooldown as well, leaving me with a feeling that everything had grown quiet.
In that silence, Seo Gilsoo, his nose bleeding, looked up at me and shook his head.
“What the. You… How did you…”
“I guess the laughter stopped a bit since you got beaten up?”
“Ehehehe…”
He’s still laughing even in this situation, this bastard.
[It is forbidden to undo your seatbelt and walk around, or to engage in actions that may offend others inside the bus.]
It was then.
The bus’s recorded announcement played.
‘Suddenly?’
Just as I was wondering.
The announcement changed, keeping the friendly tone of the bus recording.
[Oh my. No seatbelt, and randomly beating up another passenger. This won’t do. Investigator Lee Yuji.]
I immediately knew who it was.
Choi Woojin.
It’s Gamer.
[Is it okay for an investigator to beat someone to a pulp like that, Investigator Lee Yuji?]
Even the evil expression forming on that face seemed to be clearly drawn in front of my eyes.
[It makes sense for you to be out of your mind after inhaling that much Funny Powder, but how on earth did you do that?]
I tied the resisting Seo Gilsoo to a bus pole with another pair of handcuffs and answered.
“…I don’t think that’s what’s important right now.”
I pushed through the gleeful people, opened as many windows as possible, and removed the bubble gum covering my mouth and nose.
On the small electronic display next to the driver’s seat indicating the next stop, a pixelated image also appeared.
An image of a fox wearing sunglasses lying on a sunbed.
It’s the character the Gamer in the original work always used as his own seal.
‘A fox wearing sunglasses.’
Such bad taste.
[Uh-oh, but is it really okay to neglect the steering wheel like that?]
Screeeeech!
Along with Gamer’s voice, the neglected bus began to scrape against the guardrail.
At the same time, the bus shook, causing some people to pitch forward and fall over. Of course, they just giggled even as they fell.
“Hehehe! Hehehe!”
Instead of fastening their seatbelts, I first returned to the driver’s seat and grabbed the steering wheel.
I snapped the loosened shoelaces and controlled the steering wheel.
Then, I took out the smartwatch I had kept in my back pocket and turned it on.
As soon as I turned it on, a call rang.
Team Leader Pi Sowon
…Why do I feel like I don’t want to answer it?
[Lee Yuji, you crazy b*stard! Just where do you think you are! Get off right now!]
It was Pi Sowon’s highly agitated voice.
Ugh. I knew I was going to get cursed at.
No, but! Is it my fault I’m here? Huh?
Well, of course, I did get on purpose, but Pi Sowon doesn’t know that!
If I really make it back alive, I’m definitely going to butt heads with her.
She never even treats me like a partner and only curses at me!
“I-I want to get off too. For now…”
I looked at the national highway through the cracked windshield and answered in a fading voice.
“The car won’t stop…”
[…Then just you jump off, you b*stard!]
“We’re running at 100 km/h, you know?”
[Just jump off. If your face gets scraped a bit, I’ll take you to a Healer hospital and get you treated. As long as you’re breathing, I’ll pour a potion on you.]
This person, seriously.
And if I’m not breathing? Huh?
I have an EX-rank skill, but my stats are F-rank, I’m a trash Hunter!
“Um, but Team Leader Kwon Ikseong has been calling me constantly for a while now, what should I do?”
Team Leader Kwon Ikseong’s call was also popping up on the smartwatch.
[…You can do simultaneous calls, so answer him too. They’re also following you. The situation room is controlling the surrounding vehicles. Just don’t crash into the center line and keep coming straight. Don’t… worry.]
Pi Sowon’s voice softened slightly.
Hearing the word ‘worry’, I felt a bit strange.
Could it be that Pi Sowon got angry because she was worried about me?
Because I am her ‘partner’ after all?
The words Ma Deokho had told me came to mind.
The story about Pi Sowon’s deceased former partner.
‘She never even treats me like a partner, but only at times like this…’
While grumbling, I answered Kwon Ikseong’s call anyway.
[Investigator Lee Yuji, are you alright?]
Kwon Ikseong’s voice came out from the smartwatch.
I flinched for a moment, remembering the hallucination of him stroking my chin, but quickly checked the condition of the passengers through the rearview mirror and answered.
“Yes. Well, considering the passengers are still giggling, it doesn’t seem like they’ve suffered brain damage yet. And no one seems to be having trouble breathing.”
At my answer, Team Leader Kwon went quiet for a moment.
Then, soon after, he opened his mouth.
[What I am asking is, are you okay, Investigator Lee Yuji?]
Ah.
He was talking about me.
“Um… I… uh… I think I’m okay.”
At my answer, Kwon Ikseong spoke in a low voice.
[Thank goodness. I was worried.]
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