Arriving at Seoul Airport, Yonghoon felt like he had returned home at the sight of the grim airport scenery.
The area around the runway was covered with several layers of tall wire fences, and short-haired Awakened were patrolling nearby. They seemed to be military Awakened.
Seoul Airport, located in Seongnam, unfortunately was not included within Seoul’s Safe Zone. Thus, the airport was constantly under monster attacks.
However, the largest military airport in the central region could not be shut down. The military authorities had no choice but to block the monsters’ attacks with barriers and Awakened.
Thinking of his teammates’ send-off, Yonghoon smiled.
Everyone had wished for Yonghoon’s safe return.
Hyangseol was entrusted to Sunhee. Although Hyangseol insisted she could guard Yonghoon’s house alone, everyone opposed it, so she ended up staying with Sunhee.
Thanks to that, when Yonghoon departed in the morning, he was sent off by both women.
Originally, Link System’s London recapture operation was an event that would have drawn intense media and internet attention.
However, unexpectedly, Link System did not promote it much, and the recent news about the limit level breakthrough diverted people’s attention.
Even in these harsh times, the power of the internet proved its worth. The story of the limit level breakthrough that started in Korea swept across the globe.
Not only Awakened stuck at their limit levels but also other Awakened showed great interest, and governments around the world began to seek a systematic method to overcome the limit level after verifying the facts.
Thanks to that, Yonghoon’s entry into Seoul Airport went smoothly. Although quite a few reporters were seen at the entrance, it was significantly fewer than initially expected.
Yonghoon used a car with tinted windows to avoid people’s gaze and entered the airport.
Parking the car on one side of the runway, Yonghoon got out and looked around. In the distance, he saw a giant transport plane standing at the end of the runway.
Scratching his chin at the seemingly far distance, Yonghoon thought it would be too much to walk there.
It was at that moment.
Yonghoon heard the sound of a car behind him.
Turning his head, he saw a military jeep approaching. In the backseat, a woman with long black hair fluttering in the wind was seated.
Eunseo waved her hand at Yonghoon.
“I came to pick you up.”
As Eunseo spoke, the car stopped in front of Yonghoon, and he tossed his weapons and equipment into the back seat before climbing into the passenger seat next to her. The car immediately headed toward the transport plane parked at the end of the runway.
“It’s been a while.”
Eunseo said while tidying her wind-blown hair.
“Right. It’s been almost two months since we met during the B-Rank monster operation.”
Yonghoon nodded at Eunseo’s words.
Eunseo, seemingly happy to see Yonghoon after a long time, asked him various questions, and Yonghoon calmly answered her.
After spending a short time like that, the car soon arrived behind the transport plane.
Eunseo turned her head to look at Yonghoon.
“You haven’t changed at all since I first saw you a year ago. You’ve hunted a lot, gained teammates, and become one of the strongest Awakened not just in Korea but in the world, yet you’re still the same.”
At Eunseo’s words, Yonghoon turned his head toward her.
“You still seem to have many hidden secrets, and even after achieving so much success, you keep rushing at monsters without resting.”
As she spoke up to this point, Eunseo brought her face close to Yonghoon’s.
“You’re still not in a relationship with Sunhee, right?”
Yonghoon nodded at her words, and Eunseo smiled like a cat.
Jumping down from the car, Eunseo looked back at Yonghoon.
“Let’s get along well for the next week.”
Yonghoon let out a small sigh.
He recalled the time last year when he had been pestered by her. It seemed he would be pestered again during this trip.
Carrying his luggage, Yonghoon boarded the transport plane with Eunseo. Entering through the rear ramp that was open at the back of the transport, he was surprised by the unexpectedly comfortable interior.
He had ridden a C-17 transport plane in the other world before. Back then, it felt like being a cow loaded into a freight train.
However, the interior of this transport plane looked like that of a passenger plane.
Inside the transport plane, many seats were arranged, but only a few were occupied, and most were empty.
“You’re late.”
Instructor Seo grumbled upon seeing Yonghoon.
Yonghoon looked around inside the transport plane.
He saw Instructor Seo turning his body and grumbling toward him, and across from him, Grace was waving at him.
A little farther away, he saw a young man. Judging by the aura he exuded, he seemed to have just recently reached C-Rank.
The man bowed his head to Yonghoon, and Yonghoon recalled seeing him among the Awakened from Link Corp. He was probably the team leader of Team 3 or Team 4.
Instructor Seo gestured to Yonghoon, and Yonghoon and Eunseo sat beside him.
“Is this everyone?”
Yonghoon tilted his head at the small number of people compared to the number of seats.
“Well, this is almost all the C-Rank Awakened affiliated with the company. There’s one more, but we have to leave someone behind too.”
“Then, compared to the number of people, the plane is huge.”
At Yonghoon’s words, Instructor Seo grinned.
“Since it’s equipment we don’t use anyway, we might as well put it to good use.”
At Instructor Seo’s words, Yonghoon gave a wry smile.
As he said, conventional weapons were becoming scrap metal. Thanks to assassin-types, there were still some uses against monsters, but fundamentally, conventional weapons were made for wars between humans.
Now that wars between humans had disappeared, many weapons were left to rot in warehouses.
“But isn’t Grace the spokesperson for Link Corp and the government’s Monster Countermeasure Headquarters? Is it okay for her to go abroad like this?”
At Yonghoon’s question, Grace answered.
“Well, the Korean government was very supportive. They even pushed me, saying it would be good for publicity.”
Grace shrugged at Yonghoon.
“It seems a lot of Linkers are gathering. They probably want to handle the monsters as safely as possible. I think that’s the right idea too.”
At Instructor Seo’s words, Yonghoon showed a slightly worried expression.
“Still, if all the high-level Awakened leave, there will be countries that struggle to defend against C-Rank monsters.”
Instructor Seo raised both hands at Yonghoon’s words.
“Well, they probably distributed them appropriately. In our country, we left one C-Rank with the government, one with the company, and two with Team Crazy. Other countries will probably match that level too.”
Yonghoon nodded at Instructor Seo’s words.
The rear ramp of the transport plane began to close.
It seemed the plane was about to depart soon.
Yonghoon and the others stopped talking and began fastening their seat belts.
Shortly after, the giant transport plane took off from the runway.
Fortunately, there was no monster attack during the plane’s departure. The transport plane left Seoul Airport and began flying northwest.
The transport plane flew 4,800 kilometers westward and arrived at the airport in Omsk, Russia. Luckily, Omsk City’s airport was included within the Safe Zone, so they could land and take off without worry.
The transport plane refueled there and headed west again.
Departing from Omsk, the transport plane arrived six hours later at its destination, Schiphol International Airport in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Schiphol Airport was within Amsterdam’s Safe Zone, so they could land without concern.
Amsterdam was the Netherlands’ only Safe Zone.
Now, less than 400 kilometers remained to reach London.
However, the group was not heading straight to London from here. They boarded military helicopters prepared at the airport. The helicopters took off immediately, heading west.
The helicopters soon entered the sea, and as they continued flying west, the sight of Britain began to appear in the distance, prompting them to lower their altitude.
A giant aircraft carrier was waiting below the helicopters.
As Yonghoon and the group disembarked from the helicopters, they saw a huge black man welcoming them.
“Welcome aboard the United States’ latest aircraft carrier, the Gerald R. Ford.”
Greeting everyone, he approached Instructor Seo and gave him a rough hug.
“It’s been a while. You went back home and completely cut off contact.”
Thanks to the black man’s massive size, Instructor Seo didn’t look very big. Instructor Seo also showed a happy expression at his greeting.
“It’s been a while.”
From the side, Grace also greeted the black man.
“Oh, welcome. I heard you went through a lot.”
The black man lightly hugged Grace as well.
“Since the operation is tomorrow anyway, let’s gather tonight and catch up.”
Delighted to see his old comrades, the black man laughed heartily.
Instructor Seo shook his head and began introducing the people.
Instructor Seo introduced Eunseo and the Awakened from Link Corp to him, and lastly introduced Yonghoon.
“This is the famous B-Rank Awakened, Kang Yonghoon.”
The black man’s eyes lit up at Instructor Seo’s introduction in English.
“And this guy is Dennis Martin, a director from HQ. Seems he recently became B-Rank.”
Yonghoon shook hands with the black man who had been introduced by Instructor Seo.
Yonghoon knew the man in front of him very well.
He was a man who had frequently appeared in Link System videos until recently, was famous as a director of Link Corp, and had been well-known as a powerful Awakened even in the other world.
“Nice to meet you. First, let’s head downstairs and get some rest. You must be tired after flying such a long way. I’ll guide you to your accommodations.”
The Awakened named Dennis led the group across the deck of the aircraft carrier.
“Are there more Awakened coming after us?”
Seeing the helicopter that dropped them off take off immediately, Instructor Seo asked Dennis.
“Yeah, a few countries haven’t arrived yet. But I think everyone will be here by today.”
At Dennis’s answer, Instructor Seo asked further.
“Just how many did you gather? Even on our side, it’s quite a number.”
“All the Linkers and every C-Rank or higher Awakened from the Company, excluding emergency personnel from each country. About forty or so.”
At Dennis’s words, not only Instructor Seo but also the others showed surprised expressions.
“Isn’t that too many? Even if the monster is B-Rank, with this many, we’ll overwhelm it rather than just fight it.”
“It was Robert’s suggestion. President Arthur agreed too.”
Instructor Seo’s face twisted.
“That snake bastard isn’t planning something, is he?”
At Instructor Seo’s words, Dennis gave a bitter smile.
“Well, could it really be something big? I agreed too because it meant I could hunt safely.”
Dennis’s response grew smaller, as if he wasn’t completely confident himself.
“Damn it, whenever that guy does something, he always has another agenda. Don’t tell me he’s planning to pull all the Company’s Awakened out so that governments have no choice but to rely more on the Company?”
Instructor Seo’s voice echoed loudly through the narrow cabin corridor.
“There’s no such agenda. Mr. Seo, you don’t need to worry.”
A man appeared in front of the group. He had brown hair and was neatly dressed, but his expressionless face looked extremely cold.
“Well, it’s a relief if you say so. You’re not the type to lie, even if you don’t say everything.”
Instructor Seo muttered as he looked at the man who had appeared before him.
“But why did Robert come? He’s not even a combat Awakened.”
“He’s here to observe the hunt.”
Dennis answered Instructor Seo’s question.
The man who appeared in front of the group scanned the people. As his sharp gaze passed over them, both Grace and Eunseo got goosebumps.
“Nice to meet you too, Miss Grace.”
“Ah, yes.”
Grace responded to his words and averted her gaze. She found the man before her quite uncomfortable.
After scanning the people, the man’s gaze stopped on Yonghoon.
He extended his hand to Yonghoon and said,
“I am Robert Louis Stevenson, a director of Link Corp. Nice to meet you, Mr. Kang Yonghoon.”
He already knew Yonghoon’s name.
Yonghoon shook his hand and replied.
“Nice to meet you. I’m Kang Yonghoon.”
Yonghoon also knew who he was. He was the second-in-command under the chairman of Link System.
Yonghoon had finally met a direct subordinate of the president of Link Corp. Yonghoon and Robert shook hands, staring at each other expressionlessly.