Chapter 42: Punishment (2)
The moment Kang-hoos cold words set the scene, Jo Gu-bins ordeal began.
With his vital muscles and nerves for combat severed, Jo Gu-bin was no more than a living corpse.
He tried to twist his wrist slightly to target Kang-hoo, but even that was rendered impossible.
What the hell, you bastar Aaaah!
Jo Gu-bins shout echoed loudly as he saw Kang-hoos video call, broadcasting him live.
He had not realized that the person on the other end was the father of the child he had abducted and murdered.
He is the father of the child you killed. You will not die until you apologize for your crimes.
Damn you, you bas Aaaah!
Before Jo Gu-bin could complete his curse, Kang-hoos dagger sliced through his Achilles tendon once more.
Strength left his legs, and the agonizing pain became unbearable.
However, as Kang-hoo had pointed out, these wounds were not lethal.
Somewhere beyond the screen, the father, witnessing Jo Gu-bins plight, wept incessantly.
It was likely because he kept remembering his precious daughter, who had fallen victim to such a vile being.
Even if Kang-hoo was emotionally detached in many ways, he was not oblivious to the fathers anguished emotions.
He could feel it.
The impulse to surrender everything, countered by the extraordinary effort to persevere for the sake of his daughter.
You can choose to cooperate or not. But your writhing in pain is not your choice.
Slash!
Aaaah!
Another cut was added.
This time, it went deeper into the armpit.
Kang-hoo hoped Jo Gu-bin would experience a searing agony.
Jo Gu-bin convulsed wildly.
Without any means to become desensitized to the pain, his torment must have seemed like insanity.
Kang-hoo watched dispassionately as Jo Gu-bins left leg bled profusely.
However, the bleeding wasnt as severe as he had expected.
That was due to the properties of the Blood Flower.
It would detonate using blood as a medium.
It seemed to temporarily cauterize the wound, acting as a makeshift hemostasis.
Of course, the wound would reopen and bleed later, but it momentarily stopped the bleeding.
Jo Gu-bins condition was exactly like that.
He still had some time before he would suffer from excessive blood loss.
You will eventually apologize. Its just a matter of how you die, Jo Gu-bin.
Kang-hoo infused his dagger with flame attributes.
Now it was Jo Gu-bins turn to experience the pain of being scorched by fire and torn by metal simultaneously.
He had no desire to become an expert in torture, but he deemed it fitting for human trash like Jo Gu-bin.
And so, Jo Gu-bins lonely journey towards death began, taking the long way around.
10 minutes later.
Ah, father, sir Im, Im sorry I, I killed your daughter. Im really, really sorry Cough!
Jo Gu-bin, coughing up blood, conveyed his apology to the father of the child.
Whether it was sincere or not was irrelevant to Kang-hoo or the father.
What mattered was that Jo Gu-bin, on the brink of death, writhed in pain, experiencing agony worse than death.
Thats enough Hyemin must have heard it. I believe she did.
I will inform a mercenary group about where this guy is. You can handle it afterward, or do as you see fit.
Thank you. Thank you so much Im truly grateful. You did what the Hunter Public Safety Bureau and the law couldnt do.
I merely executed the task I was given. I sincerely hope your daughters soul rests in peace.
This statement was genuine.
Even if Kang-hoo was indifferent to death, he didnt take the death of a child lightly.
I will never forget your kindness. Thank you.
With that, the video call ended.
Having recorded the call as a precaution, there would be no problem in receiving the commission for the task.
Now, Kang-hoos business with Jo Gu-bin, in terms of the request, was concluded.
What remained was to deal with him and seize his items.
Sort of like spoils of war.
Jo Gu-bin.
You, you bastard Cough! Cough!
Now that youve served your purpose, you can die.
Thwock!
!
Jo Gu-bin, having fulfilled the purpose of the request, was of no further use to Kang-hoo.
He plunged the dagger deeply into the back of Jo Gu-bins neck.
He didnt forget to follow up with a decisive beheading skill blow.
He wanted to ensure there was no chance of survival.
Thus, Jo Gu-bin met his end on the cold ground, his eyes wide open.
[You have killed the target and seized the contract with 'Ice Witch'.]
[You have killed the target and seized the contract with 'Frenzied Murderer'.]
Two constellations were added.
Unexpectedly, along with the flame attribute, he gained abilities related to ice.
Of course, without specific ice magic skills, the effects wouldnt dramatically change.
But, he would enjoy using the ice attribute as a counter to monsters specialized in flame.
Having attribute-related abilities was always beneficial,
especially as he ascended to the upper echelons of hunters.
[One trashy constellation has been added. This guy might need some training.]
The Dimension Plunderer expressed its displeasure.
A constellation that caused chaos in the world of constellations was undoubtedly an entity they preferred to avoid.
Afterward,
Kang-hoo swiftly collected all of Jo Gu-bins items.
He stripped the corpse of its clothes and carelessly threw it in front of a nearby tree.
Respect for the dead?
Jo Gu-bin had no right to such respect, so Kang-hoo didnt bother with it.
Items that were awkward to wear or unnecessary were stored in the backpack he had brought.
The estimated value was one billion won
a significant amount.
These items had likely been stolen from the hunter who lived here before Jo Gu-bin.
Kang-hoo wore only one item:
[Robust Will - Ring]
[Grade: 4th Grade]
[Strength +100]
[The ring could be worn to increase stats, but it also could be absorbed permanently into the body.]
This means I can free up a slot for items if necessary.
The Robust Will Ring was a body-absorption item.
In other words, it could transform into a form that the body absorbed as needed.
Such body-absorption items could be solutions when difficulties arose due to overlapping item slots.
However, since there was no urgency to absorb the ring, he decided to wear it for the time being.
Just as he finished up, Kang-hoo received a video call from Lee Ye-rin.
It seemed to concern the settlement for the recent request.
She must have heard the news from the client.
Yes.
Youve worked hard. Ive received the report and checked the content. Are you hurt anywhere?
As you can see.
Kang-hoo showed off his entire body through the screen.
Apart from some of Jo Gu-bins blood, Kang-hoos body was spotless.
Youre amazing, Mr. Seon-gyu. Your success rate for requests is 100%, and youre the fastest among all the requesters I deal with.
Is that so?
Yes. Usually, tasks like tracking criminals or finding missing hunters are calculated in months.
A month, I see?
Right! You never know where they might be or how they might be hiding. I never imagined the request would be completed so quickly.
Lee Ye-rin on the screen continuously expressed her amazement.
It almost seemed as though she was rationally suspecting Kang-hoo had some sort of navigator for locating his targets.
After all,
the last clue was that he was last seen at Imjin River Station.
Considering the vastness of Ground Zero and its dangers, tracking wasnt an easy task unless one had broad knowledge, judgment, and intuition from a wide perspective.
Anyway, I handled it well. Dealing with the body isnt my jurisdiction, so youll have to arrange that.
Got it! Oh! The father added an extra reward. The total is now 2.5 billion won.
Oh.
The original amount was 1 billion won.
There was a promised additional reward for finding the daughters remains or belongings, but, unfortunately, no trace of them was found.
Yet the father, expressing his gratitude, added an extra 1.5 billion won.
With such wealth, it wouldnt be difficult to identify who he might be, but Kang-hoo had no intention of doing so.
It didnt seem likely that they would meet again.
Avenging the child was enough.
Meanwhile,
Cha So-hee was reviewing gathered information in her office.
Eclipses base of operations was at Daejeon Station, but their informants were scattered across the country.
Having spent time in Cheongmyeong Detention Center, she was certain to recognize Kang-hoos face.
Of course, when she first distributed the details of Kang-hoos appearance to informants nationwide, it was just a vague feeling.
You never know where a hunter might go, when, or how.
It was impossible to pinpoint a specific location or place.
But things had worked out well.
An informant in Seoul had reported Kang-hoos personal details.
This informant, a hunter working at Seoul Station, had access to the CCTV inside and outside the station.
He had spotted Kang-hoo while reviewing past CCTV footage.
This information was immediately passed on to Cha So-hee.
The last sighting was inside Seoul Station, waiting for a train. Given the trains route, it was heading north.
She had a hunch about where he was headed.
North meant Ground Zero.
She didnt know why he was going there, but given the circumstances, it was probably Ground Zero.
The CCTV footage was from the day before.
This meant he might have finished whatever he was doing and would likely return to Seoul Station.
But she didnt know when.
That rat bastard.
Cha So-hee clenched her teeth.
Had it not been for the capture order from Kang Dong-hyun, she would have wanted to kill him as soon as she found him.
Among those who had escaped Cheongmyeong Detention Center, Kang-hoo was the only one she had tracked for such a long time.
The thought that he was increasingly consuming her time filled her with growing anger.
She made a phone call.
The recipient was Kang Dong-hyun.
The connection was immediate.
Oh, So-hee.
Its Seoul Station.
Looks like he went that way?
He was confirmed at Seoul Station yesterday. Not sure, but it seems like he might have headed towards Ground Zero.
A guy who escapes the detention center and heads to Ground Zero not long after He really is something.
Youre praising him?
Haha. Gotta praise where its due. He might become your colleague someday.
Anyway, Ill wait at Seoul Station. Ill catch him right here and bring him in.
Bring him alive. I want to take a serious look at what kind of guy he is.
Ill bring him in alive, just know that.
Good. Just alive. Bring him in.
The call ended shortly after.
Damn it!
Cha So-hees face reddened as she pushed her chair back and stood up.
She felt like a dog chasing chickens, eager to finish this tedious pursuit.
Honestly, she felt that she could only be satisfied if she could cut his throat the moment they met.
And so.
The shadow of her pursuit, closing in on Kang-hoo, was drawing ever nearer, darkening around him.
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