Yonghoon, who had passed out on the ground, was immediately taken to the hospital by his teammates. The doctor said he had just fainted from exhaustion, and the team let out a sigh of relief.
After confirming that Yonghoon was asleep, the team stepped out into the hallway.
“Um, but people are saying weird things. They’re whispering that the captain was chasing the ant monster, and suddenly he was stabbing it in the head?”
Jimin whispered quietly to the others.
“That’s nonsense. I heard he was hanging onto its head the whole time. Didn’t you see people scolding anyone who said stuff like that?”
Kangwoo adjusted his glasses and replied to Jimin.
“Woo~ Still, there were quite a few people saying it.”
Jimin insisted once again.
“Well, we can just ask the captain when he wakes up.”
Team leader Han concluded with her words.
Sunhee turned her gaze away, pretending not to have heard their conversation.
Lying quietly, Yonghoon smiled at the touch stroking his hair. Her gentle touch waking him made him feel like a new day had begun.
As he felt the hand brushing through his hair, Yonghoon began to return to reality.
Yonghoon opened his eyes. Sunhee was stroking his head.
He was momentarily confused.
Was going to the other world just a dream? Didn’t Sunhee go to Jeju Island?
“Ah, I’m sorry. Your hair was a mess, so I tidied it up a bit.”
It wasn’t her.
Yonghoon lowered his gaze from Sunhee. He felt a bit choked up.
A moment later, he scoffed at his own emotions.
The road ahead was still long. If he got tired already, he’d collapse before ever reaching her.
It must have been the aftermath of the excitement from the daytime battle.
After briefly closing his eyes to gather himself, he opened them again.
Sunhee was watching him with a cautious expression.
Yonghoon looked around. It seemed to be a single room in a hospital. He must’ve been moved here after passing out.
Yonghoon looked at Sunhee and asked,
“How did things turn out?”
Seeing his expressionless face, Sunhee looked slightly disappointed.
She answered his question.
“The ant monster the captain defeated was the last one. Around the same time, the stray dogs at the northern defense line were also taken care of, and after that, a few more F-rank monsters appeared, but no more came. Then, an hour later, the Control Room declared the mission complete. We rushed to the hospital before that and only heard about it.”
At her words, he asked one more thing.
“Was the monster Eunseo was handling dealt with properly?”
At his question, Sunhee replied with a curious expression.
“The captain was right. Instructor Seo really does have assassin abilities. I had run out of Dimensional Power, so I was watching from afar, and it was amazing to see a strike-type Awakened suddenly switch to an assassin-type. Instructor Seo, who had been fighting with a spear, suddenly concealed his presence and corrupted the ant monster.”
Sunhee scratched her cheek apologetically as she looked at Yonghoon.
“I only half-believed what the captain said, but I was wrong. I owe you an apology.”
Yonghoon nodded at her apology and sat up in bed.
His head spun.
It felt just like when he had completely drained his Dimensional Power and gotten sick in the subway.
Sunhee caught the staggering Yonghoon and laid him back onto the bed.
“The doctor said your stamina is completely depleted. You’ll need a few days of rest to get back to normal.”
Yonghoon agreed with her.
Both his Dimensional Power and stamina were fully drained. He definitely needed more rest.
“What’s the current situation?”
At his question, Sunhee suddenly remembered and sat up.
“Come to think of it, it’s time for the news. I don’t know much either. I came straight here after the hunt, so I didn’t hear much.”
Sunhee looked for the remote in front of the TV.
“Did everyone else go home?”
Yonghoon asked as he looked at Sunhee’s back. She had already changed into comfortable clothes.
“Yes, it got pretty late, so everyone went home. It was a tough day, so they must’ve been tired. Since they all live with someone, I decided to stay and watch over the room. We all agreed to come back early tomorrow.”
At her words, Yonghoon looked out the window. The room had been so bright he hadn’t noticed-it was the middle of the night.
“You must be even more tired, Sunhee. You used up almost all your Dimensional Power.”
At his words, Sunhee replied while still searching for the remote.
“Physically, I’m not that tired. And my Dimensional Power is slowly recovering, so it’s not too hard. Ah, found it.”
Having found the remote, Sunhee pointed it at the TV and pressed a button.
The wall-mounted TV on one side of the room turned on.
Yonghoon carefully sat up in bed.
On the screen, a news anchor was in the middle of a broadcast.
[……With this, Seoul now has a Safe Zone with a 10km radius centered around Yongsan. From Jamsil in the east to Mokdong, and from Bukhansan in the north to Gwacheon, these areas are now included in the zone.]
After hearing the news, Sunhee looked worried.
“There are quite a few areas left out. People in those places must be really anxious.”
Yonghoon agreed with her. It wasn’t just a matter of concern. Now, all economic activity would move into that Safe Zone.
Areas outside the Safe Zone would become slums, and prices inside would skyrocket. Extreme wealth disparity was inevitable.
The anchor continued.
[The second round of Safe Zone installations conducted today had two successes and one failure. In Korea and the UK, where D-rank monsters appeared, Korea succeeded in installing the Dimensional Movement Blocking Device thanks to cooperation between the government, Link System Company, soldiers, and Awakened. However, the UK failed. According to a correspondent, there was significant damage in London. Fortunately, Germany, where no D-rank monster appeared, succeeded in their installation.]
Yonghoon frowned. The timing was unfortunate. The D-rank monster appeared right when the device was being installed. If they had known earlier or if it had appeared later, the damage might have been avoided.
[Countries have begun postponing all plans to install Dimensional Movement Blocking Devices. The government has also decided to delay the next installation planned for Busan.]
Yonghoon sighed. In this world, it might take even longer to install Safe Zones than in the other world.
After that, experts appeared on the broadcast, discussing the benefits of Safe Zone installations.
Sunhee looked back at Yonghoon and turned off the TV.
“You need more rest. You look terrible.”
Yonghoon gave a bitter smile at her words. She was right. He definitely needed to rest first.
And a moment later, Yonghoon closed his eyes, and Sunhee, watching over him, leaned against the bed and fell asleep.
The government did not hide the appearance of the D-rank monster. In order to frame the installation operation, which had resulted in many casualties, in a positive light, they had to emphasize the monsters’ strength.
As a result, the government began crafting heroes out of the D-rank Awakened who had defeated the D-rank monsters.
The next day, the members of Team Crazy who arrived at the hospital were a sight to behold. Jimin and team leader Han showed up in full disguise, with glasses and masks, while Kangwoo appeared without the glasses he had never taken off before.
“There are tons of reporters in front of the hospital. A lot of the Awakened injured in this operation are being treated here, so the reporters are checking everyone with burning eyes.”
Jimin shivered, clearly bothered by the reporters’ attention.
As soon as Jimin finished speaking, the team all asked how Yonghoon was doing, and they looked relieved when he said he was fine.
“But unni, what’s wrong with you?”
Jimin asked as she looked at Sunhee, who was standing off to the side with her head down. Sunhee shook her head at Jimin’s question.
Sunhee had been startled when she woke up that morning. She had fallen asleep on Yonghoon’s bed.
As soon as she fell asleep, Yonghoon had moved her to the bed and slept on the spare bed himself. Knowing full well that an assassin-type’s Dimensional Power had been drained, there was no way he would’ve left her like that.
Because of that, Sunhee had been too embarrassed to face Yonghoon since morning and kept her head down.
Jimin tilted her head at Sunhee’s behavior and returned to the team’s conversation.
While they were chatting, team leader Han asked Yonghoon about what happened when he took down the ant monster yesterday.
Yonghoon quietly fell into thought.
He wondered what the best way to handle it would be. Lifting his head, he saw everyone staring at him curiously.
Seeing their faces, Yonghoon realized it would be hard to keep it hidden. He calmly told them what he had told Sunhee. Just like with her, he asked them to keep it a secret.
Yonghoon didn’t think he could keep the secret forever. He would keep it hidden as long as possible, but if it got out, he’d deal with it then.
More people might start to suspect now, but he would just continue on his path.
“Wow! Then you were the one who dropped the moth back then too, Captain?”
Yonghoon nodded at Jimin’s words.
“We definitely need to keep our distance from Link Company. That company has too many suspicious things going on-we need to be careful.”
Kangwoo spoke with a thoughtful expression.
“Huh? Isn’t it an amazing company? I thought it was like the Earth Defense Force or something.”
Jimin looked puzzled at Kangwoo’s words.
Hearing Kangwoo, Yonghoon realized that even ordinary people were starting to have doubts about Link System Company.
It was only natural.
When they were producing monster-fighting equipment and training Awakened that quickly, suspicion was inevitable.
No one knew how far each government was cooperating with Link System Company, but it was clear that more and more people would start looking at them with suspicion.
“So I ask all of you. Please keep it a secret until we’re fully prepared to respond if the truth comes out.”
At Yonghoon’s words, all the team members readily agreed.
Sunhee, who had been listening with the team, let out a quiet sigh inside.
The moment their personal secret became everyone’s secret. She felt a surprising sense of loss in that moment.
After their discussion, the team members returned home.
Sunhee also left with the others after confirming that Yonghoon was okay. On the way back, Jimin gave Sunhee a curious look.
Not long after the team members left, a man came to visit Yonghoon’s hospital room.
“I came to visit you.”
He had a gentle expression, but his naturally fierce-looking face and large build made him imposing.
Yonghoon greeted the man who had come to see him.
“Welcome, Instructor Seo.”
Instructor Seo accepted Yonghoon’s greeting with a slightly apologetic expression.
“Sorry to bother you while you’re resting. That side was being a bit pushy.”
He pointed to his head with his finger.
Yonghoon nodded to show he understood.
When Yonghoon nodded, Instructor Seo’s expression changed completely.
“You’re curious too, but you’re using me as an excuse.”
Instructor Seo muttered to himself, then turned to look at Yonghoon.
In an instant, Instructor Seo became the version of himself from the other world.
Staring at Yonghoon, Instructor Seo asked directly.
“Which division were you in over there?”
From his tone, it seemed like he had already picked up on something.
Yonghoon replied to Instructor Seo with a calm expression.
“Division? What do you mean?”
Instructor Seo stared intently at Yonghoon for a moment. Then he asked again.
“Aren’t you a Linker?”
Yonghoon responded with a confused look.
“A Linker? No, I’m not.”
Hearing Yonghoon’s answer, Instructor Seo fell into thought for a moment.
After a while, he nodded and muttered to himself.
“A hidden dagger… that works too.”
Instructor Seo looked up and spoke to Yonghoon.
“Sorry for the intrusion. Take care of yourself. If the Company starts bothering you, I’ll try to block them as much as I can.”
Instructor Seo waved to Yonghoon and left the hospital room.
Yonghoon kept staring at the closed hospital room door.
After resting well at the hospital for two days, Yonghoon was discharged. Fortunately, the reporters who had swarmed in on the first day left like the ebbing tide the next day.
That was because so many incidents had occurred since the Safe Zone installation that they couldn’t stay here any longer.
Yonghoon passed through the empty hospital entrance and returned home.
The government gave clear rewards to the Awakened who participated in the operation. Every participating Awakened, including the injured, was given an apartment within Seoul’s Safe Zone, and the families of those who died were also given apartments. On top of that, they received a basic stipend.
E-Rank Awakened received those rewards, plus additional compensation based on the number of monsters they handled.
Finally, D-Rank Awakened were each given over 200 million won in extra compensation and the value of the D-rank monster corpses. The amount was substantial.
The government couldn’t afford to alienate the Awakened if they wanted to install the next Safe Zone. So they allocated as much funding as possible within their budget.
The aftermath of pulling Awakened from all over the country to install the Safe Zone in Seoul swept across the nation. The joy over Seoul’s Safe Zone didn’t last long, as angry voices from other regions soon engulfed the country.
In exchange, the value of Hunters skyrocketed beyond imagination. Among them, Team Crazy stood out the most.
From among the many proposals and requests, Yonghoon selected a few ordinary monsters and went hunting with the team. It was a hunt for checking and training the team’s D-rank abilities.
One morning, after spending a relatively peaceful week like that.
Just as they finished clocking in and were moving to the meeting room for a meeting, a visitor arrived.
The visitor stood at the door and called out inside.
“My name is Park Dohyun. I came after receiving Kang Yonghoon’s business card.”
Yonghoon turned his head to look at the door.
Standing at the door was a boy around high school age, staring at Yonghoon.
Floating above his hand was the business card Yonghoon had given him, spinning slowly in the air.