The Hero is Hunting me!

Chapter 135: The Kidnapper’s Secret

Without hesitation, Zofia charged straight toward the kidnappers, delivering devastating punches to each of them.

One after another, they were sent flying by the sheer force of her blows.

One of them rushed toward her from behind, clutching a dagger.

He slashed at Zofia.

She reacted even faster.

Although the blade nearly reached her, she lowered her body in time to avoid a direct hit.

In the same motion, she counterattacked by kicking his leg.

Crack!

His leg snapped instantly.

"Aagh!!"

The man screamed in agony.

"Tch... You’re so noisy."

Zofia casually punched him in the face.

He lost consciousness immediately.

Another kidnapper pulled out a handgun and aimed it at her.

He pulled the trigger.

The bullet shot toward Zofia at high speed.

It struck her body—

Yet it didn’t leave even the slightest scratch.

Instead, the bullet shattered the instant it touched her skin, as if her body were made of solid steel.

Zofia glanced at him.

With one hand, she effortlessly uprooted a nearby tree and hurled it straight at him.

The man couldn’t react in time.

The tree crashed into him head-on.

The last remaining kidnapper was completely terrified.

He turned around and ran with all his might.

Unfortunately for him—

Zofia was faster.

She sprinted alongside him with a faint smile.

The kidnapper’s face turned pale with fear.

Zofia swung her fist.

BOOM!

Her punch slammed into his face, launching him straight into a tree.

The impact was so violent that the sound of his spine cracking echoed through the area.

Zofia looked around at the unconscious kidnappers scattered across the ground.

"Huh... I wasn’t expecting much since none of you are superpowered, but this is even more disappointing than I imagined."

she muttered before letting out a short sigh.

Just then, Jinhoo came running over.

"Zofia!? What happened?"

he asked as soon as he arrived.

His eyes scanned the surroundings.

"Who are these people?"

"They’re child kidnappers. They tried to abduct one of the children right in front of me. I taught them a little lesson... but I didn’t kill them."

The moment Jinhoo heard the words child kidnappers, his expression immediately turned cold.

"...I see."

"Why did you leave them alive?"

"Kill them."

"Leave only one alive for me to interrogate."

"...Eh?"

"Alright!"

Although Zofia looked slightly confused for a moment, she couldn’t hide the excitement on her face after receiving Jinhoo’s order.

Child kidnappers deserve no mercy.

No matter how difficult it is to find work or earn money, they have no right to prey on innocent children.

Jinhoo thought.

---

A few moments later...

Inside an empty room in the orphanage.

The remaining kidnapper was tied to a chair.

Standing in front of him was Jinhoo.

"Who gave you this job?"

Jinhoo asked calmly.

"..."

The kidnapper remained silent.

"...Do you think I’ll go easy on you just because I’m trying to get information?"

Jinhoo asked, his eyes icy cold.

Without warning, he kicked the kidnapper square in the chest.

The chair toppled over, sending the man crashing onto the floor while still tied up.

"U-Ugh!"

Jinhoo kept his foot pressed firmly against the man’s chest.

"Answer me."

’...I really don’t like violence.

But if the situation demands it... then I have no other choice.’

Jinhoo channeled his power into his leg.

Instantly, his foot became unimaginably heavy.

The pressure on the kidnapper’s chest increased dramatically.

"AAGH!!"

The man screamed in agony.

Cracks slowly spread across the floor beneath him.

"A-Alright! Alright!! I’ll talk! Please spare me!"

Hearing that, Jinhoo removed his foot.

"I-I don’t know all the details... I’m just someone they hired..."

"But what I do know is... there was a recruitment poster from an organization. It was posted on a wall near where my team and I usually stayed."

"We went to the location written on it."

"They promised to pay us millions of won if we successfully kidnapped several children..."

Jinhoo listened carefully.

He spoke again.

"Where was this location?"

"I-In the forest near Goesan..."

"There’s a large warehouse inside."

"That’s where we met the person who ordered us to kidnap the children..."

"What did they look like?"

"I-I don’t know..."

"I think they were a superpower user."

"They covered their body with some kind of strange element..."

"So we couldn’t even see their fa—"

Before the kidnapper could finish his sentence—

He suddenly cried out in pain.

"AAGH!!"

His face rapidly turned red.

Then it began to swell.

As if—

He was about to explode.

Jinhoo’s eyes widened in shock.

This was the first time he had ever witnessed something like this.

He instinctively stepped backward.

The kidnapper’s body continued expanding.

The ropes binding him snapped apart.

Even the chair beneath him shattered as his body kept growing larger.

Finally—

BOOM!!

His body exploded.

It was completely obliterated.

Not a single organ remained intact.

Blood splattered throughout the entire room.

Jinhoo’s clothes were soaked crimson.

Even his face was covered in blood.

He stood there in stunned silence.

His body trembled slightly.

"W-What... was that...?"

he muttered, half in disbelief and half in fear.

---

A few minutes later...

Jinhoo stood in front of a sink, washing the blood from his face, hair, and clothes.

Even as he cleaned himself, his thoughts remained fixed on what had just happened.

...What exactly happened back there...?

I never imagined something like that could happen...

It’s like they had a way to make sure none of their information could ever leak...

Well... I already know where they’re hiding... but still...

That was the first time I’d ever seen something like that...

His thoughts continued to race.

’In the original story... nothing like this ever happened.’

’Has the storyline already drifted this far off course because of me...?’

Just then, Donghyun walked over and gently placed a hand on Jinhoo’s shoulder.

Jinhoo flinched before turning around.

"Ah... Donghyun."

"Hyung, are you alright?"

"You’ve seemed strange ever since you interrogated that kidnapper."

"Y-Yeah..."

"I’m fine."

"I guess... I’m just a little sleep-deprived."

Donghyun remained silent for a moment.

Jinhoo turned off the faucet and began walking away.

Donghyun didn’t stop him.

He simply watched Jinhoo’s back as he left.

Hyung looks exhausted...

He needs something to take his mind off things...

Oh right! A new restaurant just opened nearby.

It might be nice if I invited Hyung and everyone else to eat there together.

I’ll ask him.

With that thought, Donghyun hurried after him.

"Hyung!"

Jinhoo stopped walking.

"What is it?"

"Hyung, a new restaurant just opened not far from here."

"Do you want to go there together with everyone else?"

...A restaurant?

I don’t really have time for that...

But... I can’t let Donghyun keep worrying about me either... Huh...

"Hmm... Alright."

"Let’s go."

Donghyun’s face immediately lit up.

"Great!!"

"Then I’ll call everyone else too!"

he said excitedly as he pulled out his phone and started contacting the others.

Meanwhile...

Jinhoo’s thoughts remained trapped by what had happened earlier.

The horrifying incident lingered in his mind...

As though it had left behind a small scar of trauma.