Chapter 35: Episode 35 - Blood on the Wall

Chapter 35: Episode 35 - Blood on the Wall Episode 35 - Blood on the Wall The warehouse was buzzing with electricity, not the kind that ran through cables or circuits, but the kind that clung to the air just before something exploded. Kim Do-hyun (김도현) sat on a bench inside the back office of WN Agency’s temporary field base, still catching his breath after another successful hunt. The warehouse lights flickered lazily above, throwing hazy glows over the dusty floor and towering shelves stuffed with low-grade gear, expired healing potions, and empty monster cages. From outside the tinted windows, he could faintly hear voices—shouts of laughter, arguments, and the usual post-hunt chatter. But none of it mattered. Not after what he just saw on his bank app. Thirty-two million won. Not points, not fake currency—real hard cash. Deposited directly into his account. That was nearly a hundred and twenty thousand in USD. Kim Do-hyun blinked again, tilting his phone toward the flickering light, as if expecting the number to disappear. His fingers tightened around the screen. "Oh... you sent it," he mumbled, half in disbelief. Across from him, Han Jin-woo leaned back on a folding chair, arms crossed with a cocky grin stretching across his face. "Yeah. And they gave a little extra. Turns out you’re making waves out there. Word’s spreading. Even the local association officials are noticing your stats." Kim Do-hyun’s jaw remained slightly slack. "Was I supposed to get this much?" Han Jin-woo chuckled and rubbed the back of his neck. "Well, not really. But your performance’s been... unconventional. Monsters cleared, resource extraction on point, even your clone is pulling numbers. I think someone high up took interest and decided to pad the reward. Don’t ask who. I’m just the middleman." Do-hyun’s eyes didn’t move from the screen. For once, he felt the weight of real value behind his efforts. All those hours grinding in muddy caves, the nights practicing with his clones until he passed out from exhaustion, the countless moments of doubt—all of it felt worth it in that moment. The zeros on the screen weren’t just currency. They were validation. But then, as quickly as the warmth bubbled in his chest, a cold memory slipped in. [System override detected.] [Private channel compromised. Monitoring advised.] He blinked away the notification that had appeared briefly in his peripheral HUD. That was from earlier. A small sign, maybe, that someone—some group—was watching. And not just watching. They were involved. Feeding the rewards. Sweetening the pot. Kim Do-hyun didn’t like free candy when he didn’t know who left it on his doorstep. Before he could dwell further, a sharp voice rang out from the hall beyond the warehouse bay. "Hey! You little punks messing around back there again?!" The door burst open, slamming against the frame hard enough to make the wall tremble. A bald man stormed into the room, veins bulging from his temples like thick, angry roots. His nose was wide and flared, his shoulders like sacks of stone, and his combat jacket looked one size too small for the barrel of his chest. Kim Do-hyun blinked. "...Who the hell?" Han Jin-woo stood slowly, clearly trying to deescalate before anything snapped. "And you are...?" The man jabbed a thick finger toward Do-hyun. "You the handler of this bastard?" "Handler?" Han’s eyes darted between them. "I’m his manager. Why?" "Name’s Carvo. Rank C Hunter. Don’t act like you haven’t heard. This prick’s been stealing all the frogs I was tracking in Zone 9. Every time I got close, they were already dead. My whole quota for the week is blown. Now you’re gonna pay for it." Kim Do-hyun raised an eyebrow. "Frogs?" Carvo snarled. "Red-eyed toadlings. A whole pack of them. Three-star contract. Gone. You think that’s a joke?" Han Jin-woo looked visibly uncomfortable now. He whispered out the side of his mouth, "This... could be bad. If he reports this to the zone council, we’ll have to stall hunting ops." "I didn’t even know someone else was there," Do-hyun muttered. "I was just... doing my thing." But Carvo wasn’t buying it. He stepped closer, eyes narrowing like twin rifle scopes. "You know the rules. You take another man’s game, you pay a penalty. Ten percent of what you earned from that run. That’s fair." Do-hyun scoffed. "You want ten percent of my hunt because I was better at it?" "Principles, punk. I live by them." Do-hyun raised a hand and gently patted the shoulder of the man beside him—Number 1, his clone. "This guy won’t be hunting the next few days anyway. Let’s not get heated. Come on, Han. Coffee time?" The manager hesitated, eyes darting nervously between the two. But Carvo wasn’t finished. As Do-hyun turned his back, the bald hunter growled and threw a punch. He moved like a thrown hammer. Muscles twisted, bones creaked, and the strike carried the weight of a grown bull. But the target wasn’t Do-hyun. The blow connected solidly with the face of Number 2, who had just stepped into place. The clone’s head whipped sideways as the full force of the punch crashed into his cheekbone. There was a meaty crunch—a sound that echoed across the metal walls—and the clone’s feet left the ground. He soared backward like a broken kite, smashing into the warehouse wall with a dull, final thud. A bloom of red splattered against the steel surface behind him. Then, slowly, Number 2 slumped to the ground, leaving a thick smear of blood where his skull had met the wall. Kim Do-hyun stood perfectly still. Not flinching. Not panicking. Just watching. And beneath his breath, barely audible, he whispered: "...Go." [End of Episode]