<Episode 102>
NP Investment Partners’ headquarters occupied the entire 23rd floor of one of the tallest and most luxurious buildings in the heart of Gangnam. The gleaming glass exterior felt strangely out of place.
‘So this is the company that funded Nutrafill.’
Taking a deep breath, we entered the building.
The employees in the lobby widened their eyes the moment they saw Hyunwoo.
“Oh my, Hunter Lee Hyunwoo! If only you had contacted us beforehand, I would have personally come down to greet you…”
A sweaty middle-aged man with a protruding belly soon came running out. He was the CEO of Nutrafill, someone I had often seen on the news.
“Doesn’t he look exactly like a figurehead CEO?”
“Yeah, kind of.”
Hunter Suhyeon whispered to Hunter Ria.
Pretending not to hear the conversation, the CEO bowed repeatedly while gauging our reactions.
“Haha, but what brings you here today…?”
“An L-294 variant has been detected in Nutrafill. We would appreciate your cooperation in securing Vice Director Park Seongcheol in relation to this matter.”
“Huh? An L… what variant?”
The CEO’s eyes widened at Hyunwoo’s words. He frantically waved his hands.
“W-We really don’t know anything! Nutrafill is produced entirely by the pharmaceutical laboratory. We only handle distribution…”
“We’ll find out after an investigation.”
Ria stepped forward and summarized the situation.
Meanwhile, Hunter Kang Min, who had been studying the building directory, approached while whistling.
“If we split into two groups and search the basement and upper floors, that should work. I’ll secure the server room CCTV first.”
Just as I was about to nod in agreement with Kang Min’s plan…
WEEEEE-OOOONG!
A piercing siren tore through the lobby’s high ceiling.
At the same time, the emergency warning lights mounted on the ceiling flashed red and began spinning wildly.
“…Fire alarm?”
But neither the employees around us nor even the CEO in front of us seemed concerned.
“Haha, this building does that sometimes. It’s probably just a malfunction, so there’s no need to worry–”
“It’s not a malfunction.”
Catching the faint smell of something burning, I shook my head.
“Huh?”
Ignoring the CEO, who blinked stupidly at me, I looked around for the source of the fire.
Then a shrill scream came from outside.
“Look over there! It’s really on fire!”
“W-What do we do?! It’s huge!”
We hurried outside.
Sure enough, black smoke was billowing from the windows of the top floor.
The acrid smell of burning stung my nose.
I covered my mouth with my sleeve and coughed.
“Isn’t that… the president’s office?”
At someone’s mutter, I turned toward the CEO.
The color drained completely from his face.
“N-No! My daughter is still inside! Hyeonji!”
He screamed hysterically and tried to run back into the building.
But the flood of people pouring out made entry impossible.
The CEO grabbed onto Hyunwoo’s pant leg and began begging desperately.
“H-Hunter! Please help us. My daughter is on the 21st floor. Please, please…”
Crying and sniffling, he collapsed to his knees.
“I’ll cooperate with anything. Hunter, please! Please save my daughter. She doesn’t know anything. Sob…”
Placing a hand on the CEO’s shoulder, Hyunwoo spoke calmly.
“We’ll prioritize rescuing civilians first. We can discuss cooperation afterward.”
I nodded.
Right now, the lives of civilians trapped inside the building were more important than Vice Director Park’s whereabouts.
Hyunwoo immediately began issuing orders.
“Hunter Suhyeon has water-element skills, so she’ll handle fire suppression. Kang Min, support her.”
“Yes, sir!”
“Hunter Ria, stay on the first floor and coordinate civilian evacuation. Watch for falling debris and provide support.”
“Yes, Leader!”
Kang Min hoisted Suhyeon onto his back and raced up the building’s exterior wall.
Ria smashed through the revolving door to widen the entrance and began pulling trapped people outside.
“I’ll search from the lower floors up and make sure there are no civilians who failed to evacuate.”
“Wait! Then… what about me?”
Hyunwoo grabbed the sobbing CEO by the back of the neck and practically tossed him in front of me.
“Sky, please keep an eye on this man. He’s an important witness.”
“Shouldn’t I be helping evacuate people too?”
Hyunwoo shook his head.
“You still lack field experience. The smoke makes visibility difficult as well.”
“But…”
“And if you’re inside the fire zone, I don’t think I’ll be able to focus because I’ll be worried about you.”
He squeezed my hand tightly before letting go and looked into my eyes.
“I’ll take responsibility for rescuing the civilians. Please trust me.”
In the end, I had no choice but to nod.
Grinning, Hyunwoo ran straight into the burning building without hesitation.
I stared blankly at his retreating figure before suddenly smacking both cheeks.
‘Now’s not the time to stand around spacing out.’
First, I tightly tied the trembling CEO to a nearby tree with rope.
Who would have thought the rock-climbing rope in my inventory would be useful for something like this?
“You’re not allowed to run away. Understood?”
“Sob… I’ll stay right here quietly…”
Good. Witness secured.
Then I joined Ria in helping evacuate the people coming out of the first floor.
Perhaps thanks to Suhyeon’s skill, raindrops began falling from the clear sky.
Not long afterward, the sound of fire truck sirens arrived.
“Fire location confirmed! We’re moving in immediately!”
Only after confirming that firefighters were rushing into the building did I finally breathe a sigh of relief.
The acrid air.
The drifting ash.
The screams and cries erupting from every direction.
Only then did the severity of the scene truly sink in.
‘Whew. At least they managed to contain it faster than expected.’
As I wiped the sweat from my forehead and looked around, I sensed an unusual flow of mana coming from an alley behind the building.
Looking more carefully, I spotted a man wearing a hat pulled low over his face.
“…Park Seongcheol?”
Instinctively, I knew it was Vice Director Park.
I wanted to call for help, but Ria was speaking with the firefighters, and the other hunters were still conducting rescue operations inside the building.
‘If I let him go, it’s over.’
In the end, I quietly began following him by myself.
Looking around nervously, Park moved deeper into the alley.
In his arms was a briefcase stuffed with a laptop and piles of documents.
‘So he didn’t burn all the evidence.’
He was obviously planning to stash away important ledgers and confidential documents somewhere else and rebuild once the situation died down.
‘Ah, I should secure evidence first.’
I pulled out my phone and started recording video.
After filming his face and briefcase from several angles, I stepped in front of him.
“Where are you hurrying off to, Vice Director Park Seongcheol?”
“J-Jung Haneul?”
The moment he recognized me, he staggered backward in surprise.
Which was understandable.
Someone had suddenly appeared right in front of him.
“Drugging supplements, hiding evidence, and even committing arson? Quite impressive.”
“Hah, do you have any proof that I did it? I merely took some important documents with me.”
A sense of confidence crept into Park’s voice.
He had realized that neither Lee Hyunwoo nor any other combat-type hunters were nearby.
Setting down his briefcase, he summoned a long spear.
“No matter if you’re an SS-rank, aren’t you still a production-type hunter? Your physical strength should be about the same as before.”
Sadly, he wasn’t wrong.
My strength was weaker than even a C-rank combat hunter.
‘But not everything in the world is solved through brute force.’
I summoned the Slime Gun from my inventory.
Seeing the item in my hand, Park laughed.
“Haha! Surely you’re not planning to fight me with that toy?”
“Then what, did you think I pulled it out to show it off?”
I replied casually and pulled the trigger at his face.
You’re not supposed to give people time to react in situations like this.
Bang!
With a cheerful firing sound, sticky slime shot out from the barrel.
“Good thing I upgraded its performance beforehand.”
After using it to block CCTV cameras in Park Jaemin’s office, I had enhanced the slime’s stickiness just in case.
Though I never expected to use it like this.
Shrugging, I walked toward Park.
“Mmph! Mmph! MMPH!!!”
His breathing holes had instantly become clogged with slime.
Unable to breathe, he writhed on the ground like an insect.
“Thanks for bringing the evidence with you, Vice Director.”
I stepped behind him and struck the back of his neck with the edge of my hand.
Smack!
“Ghk…!”
Hmm.
In movies, people usually get knocked out in one hit.
Maybe my strength really was lacking?
Smack! Smack! Smack!
“Ugh…”
Only after the fourth strike did his eyes roll back, and his body go limp.
“Whew. This isn’t exactly easy.”
Wiping away sweat, I tied Park up.
A little while later, Hyunwoo arrived after receiving my call.
His eyes widened at the sight of the unconscious Park.
“You really captured Park Seongcheol.”
“I spotted him trying to escape during the fire. I got lucky.”
Hyunwoo approached and examined Park’s condition before tilting his head.
“The back of his neck has turned blue, almost like it’s bruised. Perhaps it’s one of the symptoms of addiction.”
“…That could be it.”
A bruise from just a few strikes?
I awkwardly laughed and avoided his gaze.
Well, regardless…
A capture was a capture, wasn’t it?
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