The next morning, Yonghoon discussed while holding a map of Europe with the two women. They were looking for a place to use as a trap to capture Eunseo of this world.
As they talked, if they needed confirmation, they sought advice from Robert. Although Robert didn’t know why Yonghoon was asking, he answered diligently.
After investigating several locations, Yonghoon moved to verify them, leaving Sunhee and Eunseo on the island.
There was no need to worry about leaving Eunseo and Sunhee on the island. They were both B-Rank Awakened. Except for powerful A-Rank Hunters, there was no one who could handle them.
Yonghoon asked them to gather more information from Robert and began leaping across space.
Yonghoon first continued heading west. He passed through the regions that had once been Germany, then through New Warsaw in Poland, and finally arrived at the place where he had first fallen into this world.
A desolate plain where not a single blade of grass could be seen, with piles of rocks in the center-Yonghoon appeared atop them.
Yonghoon gazed far west. A black line was drawn along the horizon.
Just looking at it made him feel disgusted.
But Yonghoon endured it and opened a dimensional tunnel. He planned to get as close as possible. However, the dimensional tunnel twisted into a grotesque shape and shattered on the spot.
“Does that mean the space itself has been destroyed?”
Yonghoon stared ahead with a dumbfounded expression. At this rate, it couldn’t be used as a trap. It was a place where even creating a dimensional tunnel was impossible.
The plan to lure her near the Dead Zone, which he had thought of first, seemed impossible.
Yonghoon shook his head and unfolded the map.
He still had a few more plans.
He checked several marked locations on the map and leapt through space again.
He traveled across all of Europe for several hours.
Yonghoon confirmed from a distance that there was another Warp Zone in Paris. Like New Berlin, the old city center outside the fortress city in Paris was a ruin from World War II. It felt like looking at a scene from history.
However, the fortress city and the Warp Zone were built extremely sturdily. Moreover, Paris’s Warp Zone was located very close to the fortress city. It looked difficult to defeat them separately like in New Berlin.
Yonghoon looked at the Eiffel Tower visible beyond the wall and leapt through space again.
After that, Yonghoon climbed to the summit of Mont Blanc, the highest mountain in the Alps, to check the surroundings, and also visited the Verdon Gorge, the second largest gorge in the world and the largest in Europe.
Finally, he crossed over to the United Kingdom and gazed from a distance at London, the capital of the only nation in this world.
London was clearly different from other cities.
While other cities seemed to have fortress cities only around their central areas, London was a city surrounded by a massive wall about 10 kilometers in diameter. A significant portion of London seemed to be included in the fortress city.
What was even more surprising was that people were living in the old city center outside the fortress. It seemed they had cleared out all the Deathmen from the old city.
Beyond the old city center stretched endless wheat fields. This meant they had even cleared out the monsters near London.
Yonghoon tried opening a dimensional tunnel into the city. Intense sparks burst from the air.
Yonghoon made a dumbfounded face.
Seeing the sparks, it seemed that the entire city was equipped with Dimensional Movement Blocking Devices like those he had seen in the Warp Zone buildings.
With this level of defense, he could still break through. However, he couldn’t even imagine how much equipment and manpower it would take to set up blocking devices across the entire city.
Yonghoon closed the dimensional tunnel and glared at the city.
There was surely a dimensional tunnel leading to the B dimension inside.
But it wasn’t time yet.
Yonghoon gritted his teeth and turned his head. He opened a dimensional tunnel toward the island.
Upon arriving at the island, Yonghoon checked the time. About five hours had passed since he had departed; it was now afternoon.
He had traveled across all of Europe in just five hours.
But Yonghoon’s expression wasn’t bright. Although he had found a few places suitable for traps, he also confirmed that the country he was fighting against was powerful despite its small population.
After a moment, Yonghoon shook his head, finding his own thoughts ridiculous.
The opponent was an absolute nation ruling over an entire dimension. It was laughable for an individual to evaluate such a country. He had no choice but to clash with all his might.
Yonghoon met with Eunseo and Sunhee at home and informed them of what he had scouted. There was no alternative. After some hesitation, they agreed to the trap Yonghoon had thought of.
Once the trap was decided, Yonghoon contemplated whether to lure her in by heading to a nearby city or to gather more information by looking for the Rebels in New Prague.
Each option had its pros and cons.
After thinking for a moment, Yonghoon looked at the two women before him. Three lives depended on this decision. Unlike when he moved alone, he couldn’t act impulsively. He decided to go to New Prague.
After telling them his decision, Yonghoon approached Robert and tossed him a bag filled with goods. Robert, who had been spying on the group from a distance, was startled and looked at Yonghoon.
“These are daily necessities and some preserved meats. Hold out for a few more days, and I’ll come back for you. Then, I’ll take you off this island.”
At Yonghoon’s words, Robert let out a sigh of relief. He didn’t want to stay here any longer. Anywhere else would surely be better than here.
Only then did he pick up the bag Yonghoon had thrown.
That bag was something Yonghoon had picked up when he visited the village where he met Elena during his morning travels. The village still had abandoned modified cars and trucks.
Yonghoon had gathered usable items from those vehicles.
Fortunately, the cars also contained a good amount of local currency, which would be useful when entering cities.
Leaving Robert checking the bag behind, Yonghoon approached Sunhee. Eunseo was changing into clothes Yonghoon had brought from the village.
When stopping by the village, Yonghoon had separately hidden a few items he had brought from the other dimension.
A few firearms and supplies in case of emergencies, and among them was a nuclear battery.
It was a device once used as a power source for artificial hearts and was now emerging as a next-generation power source.
Yonghoon had brought it across dimensions for a specific reason.
It was an experiment to see if he could bring and use a nuclear bomb.
If the battery could operate safely, it meant a nuclear bomb could work too. In that case, he could simply throw in a nuclear backpack and achieve tremendous results.
However, whether fortunately or unfortunately, the nuclear battery stopped functioning as soon as he crossed dimensions.
Whether radiation materials changed upon crossing or the dimensional wall blocked items above a certain danger level, he couldn’t be sure, but in any case, Yonghoon could only let out a strange sigh at the fact that he couldn’t use such a terrifying device.
However, there were still usable items. Yonghoon, Eunseo, and Sunhee each put tiny earpieces into their ears. They were miniature radios. The communication range wasn’t far, but they were quite useful.
After confirming communication between themselves, Yonghoon and the two women jumped into a dimensional tunnel.
Their destination was New Prague.
New Prague was a beautiful city filled with red rooftops.
It seemed that the ravages of World War II had not swept through this city, as even the old city center outside the fortress city retained the atmosphere of the old town.
Yonghoon and the two women appeared on the rooftop of a building from which they could see New Prague’s main gate. It was the same building where Yonghoon had greeted Elena.
Yonghoon hid in the rooftop’s shade and observed the city’s entrance. Many people were passing through the massive gate.
However, the scene now was very different from what he had seen before. It seemed the city’s security had been strengthened.
Soldiers were inspecting everyone entering and exiting. It seemed inspections had become even stricter since Yonghoon had escaped from the Warsaw fortress city yesterday.
“What should we do? With inspections like this, it’ll be hard to get in.”
Sunhee’s words were correct. Although Eunseo and Sunhee’s pronunciation was nearly native level, the English spoken here was old British English. The chance of being caught during inspection was high.
Of course, there was no need to even mention Yonghoon, whose pronunciation was poor.
Yonghoon racked his brain to find a way.
Spatial movement was impossible, and forceful entry was out of the question. Asking someone entering the city for help like in movies or novels was also impossible.
After much deliberation, Yonghoon thought of Elena, who was in this city.
Just in case, Yonghoon checked where Elena was. His Dimensional Power crossed space and told him her location.
“Huh?”
Elena wasn’t inside the city. She was approaching the city from several dozen kilometers away.
It was a relief.
“Elena, whom we met last time, is outside the city. If we talk to her, we might find a way.”
At Yonghoon’s delighted words, the two women’s expressions turned subtle.
However, since a method had appeared, they couldn’t object.
Yonghoon moved through space with the two women toward Elena’s location.
Just in case, Yonghoon appeared a few kilometers ahead of the target and narrowed his eyes to look ahead.
In the distance, cars were approaching.
The place where Yonghoon had teleported was a deserted national highway outside the old city center. Judging by the worn and damaged road, it seemed rarely used.
Five trucks were approaching the city along the highway.
Other than the approaching trucks, no people or cars were visible on the road.
Yonghoon sensed Elena’s Dimensional Power from the approaching trucks.
Concentrating his Dimensional Power into his eyes, Yonghoon examined the trucks and spotted her in the passenger seat of the lead vehicle.
After a moment of thought, Yonghoon decided to stop the car. If things went well, he might be introduced as an acquaintance of Elena.
“What if she and the people around her become hostile toward us?”
Eunseo asked in response to Yonghoon’s words. It was certainly a possibility. Elena’s feelings might have changed over time.
Yonghoon shrugged.
“We’ll try talking first, and if that doesn’t work–“
“Surely, you don’t mean we have to kill them all?”
Sunhee asked Yonghoon with a grim expression.
Yonghoon turned to look at her.
He could feel her resolve from her expression.
It seemed that her resolve had changed after her parents had fallen into a vegetative state.
However, if it actually came to killing, it was clear she would struggle greatly. It would be necessary someday, but now was not the time.
“No, we’ll just toss them all onto an island. Robert won’t be so lonely then.”
At Yonghoon’s words, Sunhee let out a sigh of relief, while Eunseo’s expression turned ambiguous.
“That’s quite the villainous tone.”
At Eunseo’s comment, Yonghoon shrugged.
“We’re enemies anyway. Not much different from villains.”
Eunseo fell silent at Yonghoon’s cynical words.
While the group was talking, the trucks drew closer, and soon the other party could recognize them as well. Elena’s face brightened when she realized the person standing ahead was Yonghoon.
Seeing her expression, Eunseo tilted her head.
“That’s a complicated look.”
At her words, Yonghoon let out a sigh.
After a moment, the trucks approaching them came to a stop in front of Yonghoon, and people began to get off.
Elena was the first to get off the truck, and she ran toward Yonghoon with a bright smile.
“Welcome.”
After greeting Yonghoon warmly, she looked at the two women and showed a puzzled expression.
“They’re my companions.”
At Yonghoon’s explanation, Elena’s face turned puzzled.
During the time she had been with him, she had felt that he seemed to have been stranded here alone. So the sudden appearance of Yonghoon’s companions left her somewhat bewildered.
Yonghoon greeted her and turned to look at the people getting off the truck. His expression sharpened.
Yonghoon had thought they were members of the hunting party who hunted with Elena, but the atmosphere they gave off was different. The people getting off were all holding automatic rifles and were wary of them.
“Who are the people you brought with you?”
“Ah!”
Elena’s face brightened at Yonghoon’s question.
“Right. I succeeded in finding these people based on your advice, Yonghoon. These people are–“
It was at that moment.
A middle-aged man with a seasoned look, who had been riding with Elena in the truck, suddenly shouted.
“It’s a trap! They’re Hunters! Open fire!”
Shocked by the man’s words, Elena shouted.
“No! They may look like Hunters, but they’re really not!”
Elena shouted, but her voice was drowned out by the hail of bullets.
Tutatatata!
The gunfire continued, and even grenades were thrown at them.
Boom!
Even as he unleashed a massive barrage of bullets, the middle-aged man’s expression remained grim.
“Everyone scatter! It’s the witch, Eunseo Lee! Scatter in all directions! At least one of us must survive!”
At his words, the people, except for a few who kept firing, began to flee in all directions.
It was then.
From within the dust kicked up by the grenade explosion, a voice rang out.
“Capture them all! No one must find out.”
It was Yonghoon’s voice.
“Yes!”
“Yes!”
Voices responded to Yonghoon, and two people leapt out from within the dust.
“Damn it, so it doesn’t work after all!”
The middle-aged man muttered in despair.
Eunseo charged at him.
“Who are you calling a witch?”
Eunseo’s fist flew toward his face.
Thud!
Though no Dimensional Power was used, the punch from a powerful Awakened struck his face hard, and he was flung backward.
After he collapsed, Eunseo ran around, knocking down the people who were firing guns.
Sunhee was different from Eunseo.
After escaping the smoke, she stopped in place and surveyed the fleeing people.
Sunhee raised her hand forward and clenched her open palm tightly. Dimensional Power burst from her hand.
The people running in all directions were all thrown to the ground. They fainted on the spot.
The middle-aged man, who had been knocked down by Eunseo earlier, lifted his head while bleeding profusely from his nose and was left stunned by the sight around him.
Yonghoon walked up to him, holding Elena with one arm.
“Shall we hear why you attacked us?”
Yonghoon infused Dimensional Power into the spear he held. The spear shone brightly.
Seeing the glowing spear, Elena managed to regain her senses. Yonghoon had shielded her during the hail of bullets and explosions, allowing her to survive. Thanks to that, she was half-dazed but had to pull herself together due to the urgency of the situation.
She hurriedly spoke up.
“These people are members of the Resistance in this city. There must have been some kind of misunderstanding!”
At her words, Yonghoon withdrew the Dimensional Power from his spear. He roughly understood the situation.
“Huh? Is it because of me?”
Nearby, Eunseo, who had just punched another Awakened, froze with an awkward expression.