Episode 3
And just as expected, Yeongwon was kidnapped by the human traffickers.
Clunk. Clunk.
Yeongwon was stuffed into a sack and loaded into the trunk of a car.
Being thrown into a trunk like a piece of luggage was something she had expected, so she was fine with that.
Using the eyebrow razor she had hidden beforehand, she freed both of her hands and arms a little, making the cramped situation more bearable.
But there was no way she could enjoy the pain of her body repeatedly slamming against the ceiling and floor of the trunk.
Clunk. Clunk.
Could you guys hurry up and come already… You government salarymen…
When Yeongwon had reported the Guide human trafficking to the Awakener Reporting Center a few days ago, the person on the phone had said that Espers from the Center would catch the traffickers in the act when they tried to hand over the Guide at the Incheon docks.
They had told her to endure it until then, because the criminals could only receive a heavier punishment if they were caught after committing the planned crime.
So Yeongwon never doubted that the Espers would arrive at the right time.
She had even seen people who looked like plainclothes police officers entering the building through the window, perhaps to keep an eye on the situation.
But the breaking news she had seen over the caregiver’s shoulder a few hours earlier kept bothering her.
Brrrrrr. Ding. Ding. Ding. Ding.
The caregiver’s smartphone had never done anything like that before.
It had vibrated like crazy and fallen from the edge of the table onto the floor.
Wondering what was going on, Yeongwon had pretended to pick up the smartphone for the caregiver while secretly checking the pop-up notifications.
[Emergency Alert: [Center] Ilsan Gate expansion. Please avoid traveling to northern Gyeonggi Province.]
A series of breaking news alerts containing a familiar name had appeared one after another.
[Breaking News: Kim Yeohyeon (ES3), who entered the Ilsan Gate, has been unreachable for two days… Center leadership remains silent.]
[Breaking News: Ilsan Gate rift expanding, Center restricts access to northern Gyeonggi Province.]
[Breaking News: Center: “There have been no civilian casualties.”]
[Breaking News: Headquarters suspects Esper Kim Yeohyeon has gone berserk inside the Gate… Will take strict action against fake news.]
If she had been in a situation where she could act like a perfectly normal person with a functioning brain, Yeongwon would have immediately asked what was going on.
What the hell is happening outside right now?
And what is this rumor about going berserk inside the Gate based on?
Unfortunately, Yeongwon wasn’t in a position to ask any of that.
All she could do was hand the device back to the caregiver while making a face that said, I don’t know anything.
What is this…? Seriously, what is going on?
The caregiver seemed to be staring at the phone with a serious expression.
She called her middle-school-aged daughter and her husband one after another to make sure they were safe.
From the conversations Yeongwon overheard, it seemed that the entire area around the Gate had been sealed off, so civilians hadn’t been caught up in the rift.
Only Kim Yeohyeon and the other rankers had entered the Gate.
The conversation about the Gate’s rank increasing and other things Yeongwon couldn’t understand continued for quite a while.
Brrrrrr. Ding. Ding.
The emergency alerts and breaking news kept coming.
Even if nobody had died yet, it was obvious that a disaster serious enough to have the entire country watching had happened in this South Korea.
Should I be worried too?
As far as Yeongwon knew, Kim Yeohyeon’s berserk incident happened in Myeongdong, not Ilsan.
So Kim Yeohyeon would eventually make it back alive from this Gate.
They said no civilians got caught up in it, so things will probably get sorted out somehow.
Even so, she couldn’t help worrying about Kim Yeohyeon’s safety, the safety of this world, and her own safety, considering she was about to be kidnapped.
And after spending so much time trapped inside the pitch-black trunk, she felt like her negative thoughts were getting worse and worse.
Clunk. Clunk.
She also couldn’t stop worrying that the Espers might not be able to reach Incheon in time because of the Ilsan Gate.
Wondering if she could get any information at all, she even entered the High Ranker Veterans Chat again.
But she couldn’t find anything useful.
Instead, she only felt like she had somehow made a mistake.
[Anonymous2 has joined the chat / Total participants: 4]
[Lee Changyeol (EA7): Anonymous1 and Anonymous2, I don’t know who either of you are, but if you have enough time to chat, please come to Ilsan.]
[Lee Changyeol (EA7): The situation is extremely bad. I’m begging you.]
Startled, Yeongwon immediately left the Veterans Chat.
She made a mental note to remember that when an important incident happened, there might be very few rankers in the chat.
Surely… my human-trafficking report didn’t cause some kind of butterfly effect, right?
It couldn’t really be considered a major enough incident to cause a butterfly effect.
She hadn’t even been to Ilsan.
Heck, she hadn’t even taken a single walk outside the Awakener Rehabilitation Hospital.
Clunk. Clunk.
No. It can’t be.
It has nothing to do with me.
Wanting to calm herself down, Yeongwon opened her status window and checked her information.
[SSS-Rank Guide]
The glorious, shining SSS-Rank cheat-level upgrade.
Even if a reader had never encountered a modern fantasy novel before, there was no way they wouldn’t realize that this rank was unique.
Even without knowing exactly what it meant, they would probably guess that it was some ridiculously overpowered rank capable of completely breaking the balance of the world.
Yeongwon still didn’t know exactly what kind of power the SSS-Rank guaranteed her.
But she was certain that whatever it was, it had to be absurdly overpowered.
In other words, she probably hadn’t been given a life that could simply end that easily.
Even if she was currently trapped inside a pitch-black trunk.
I’m the one and only SSS-Rank, so I’m not suddenly going to drop dead in thirty minutes… right?
I’m not some extra who’s going to be trapped on a smuggling boat to China the entire time and then get gruesomely killed after reaching the mainland… right?
Besides, that SSS-Rank wasn’t the only thing she could rely on.
The things left behind by the past she kept pretending to forget were still inside her body, too.
Yeongwon relaxed her body and tried to shake off her anxiety.
The stiffer she stayed, the more painful it was for her lower back whenever the car went over speed bumps.
Let’s just sleep…
There was still quite a distance to the Incheon docks.
And she really did sleep like a baby.
I’m seriously an incredible mentalist…
Yeongwon was genuinely amazed as she felt stiffness in her shoulder blades and lower back.
Who manages to sleep this well in a situation like this?
Clomp. Clomp.
While the engine continued running, she heard the sound of shoes stepping on gravel.
Someone was approaching.
Yeongwon positioned herself naturally inside the sack and loosely wrapped the rope around her wrists.
“You drugged her with sleeping pills, right? The ones for Awakeners.”
It was the unfamiliar voice of a man who sounded like he had a slightly hoarse voice.
Probably a smoker in his forties or fifties.
“Yes. Last time, the manager said he gave her the medicine and put her to sleep, but she woke up after thirty minutes and walked around.”
“So I gave her a little more than the normal dose. He said he thought he’d seen a ghost.”
Another unfamiliar voice.
This one sounded like it belonged to a younger man.
The “manager” they were talking about was probably the man at the hospital who had claimed to be Yeongwon’s guardian.
“Then she’ll sleep for another twenty-four hours.”
Yeongwon had been planning to blame her long sleep on the sleeping pills.
But after hearing “twenty-four hours,” she abandoned that idea.
The sleeping pills hadn’t worked.
She had simply been sleepy and gone to sleep.
The hospital had already confirmed several times that the so-called “Awakener medicine” didn’t have much effect on her.
It wasn’t surprising that medicine didn’t work very well on an SSS-Rank body.
“When are those guys coming?”
“The road wasn’t as crowded as we expected, so we got here too early.”
“Maybe because Ilsan is a disaster zone and they’re saying no planes are taking off at the airport, so everyone stayed home.”
“Probably?”
It seemed that the Center was also waiting because the buyers hadn’t arrived yet, meaning they couldn’t raid the scene until the other side showed up.
Yeongwon loosened the rope even more and lay on her back, looking upward.
“Looks like Kim Yeohyeon still can’t contact the Center, huh?”
“Yeah. I wonder what’ll happen to him.”
“The Esper with practically the world’s number-one potential awakened more than ten years ago, and there’s still no Guide with a high enough matching rate to back him up.”
“So every time a big gate opens, the entire country has to shake in fear. It’s pretty damn sad…”
Esper Kim Yeohyeon.
The moment the name of her potential future landlord appeared, Yeongwon’s ears perked up.
“They say there isn’t a single Guide among the entire S-Rank and A-Rank pools who can even reach a 40% matching rate with Kim Yeohyeon, right?”
“At first, Headquarters and the Center tried to keep it quiet, but by now everyone knows.”
“Poor bastard.”
“So it’s true that they give Guides 300 million won every three months, meaning 1.2 billion won a year?”
Yeongwon focused hard so she wouldn’t miss a single word of the conversation mixed in with the sound of the engine.
“Yeah.”
“And that’s after taxes. After taxes.”
“Exactly 300 million in three months.”
“That’s the amount after all of Kim Yeohyeon’s fees to the Center, and taxes have already been deducted.”
“Food, clothing, housing, room service, and all the other convenience fees are handled separately.”
“They even exclude whatever he spends using the black card they provide.”
“Oh…”
In Yeongwon’s mind, her potential future landlord was officially promoted to Lord Landlord.
“Anyway, Kim Yeohyeon is pretty pitiful too.”
“He awakened before he was even ten years old, and all his stats are insane.”
“But there isn’t even one Guide among the Non-Selective Guides who has a matching rate with him.”
“So he can’t enjoy himself at all.”
“He’s constantly being dragged around by Headquarters and the Center, working himself to death.”
“But the Guides who get dragged in despite not even having a 40% matching rate are pretty pitiful too.”
“I wouldn’t go even if they threw money at me.”
But Yeongwon thought differently after hearing that.
Seriously… isn’t this freaking amazing?
Yeongwon sincerely prayed that Esper Kim Yeohyeon, who was currently suffering in Ilsan, would return home safely.
Her determination to somehow get herself into that 200pyeong penthouse overlooking the Han River became even stronger.
The men outside the trunk continued chatting, completely unaware that Yeongwon was listening carefully to every word.
“But do Non-Selective Guides look completely normal?”
“I’ve never seen one before.”
“Normal…?”
“Not really.”
“Not their looks, anyway.”
“Oh, now I’m curious.”
“If you’re curious, take a look.”
Click.
Huh… huh?
Yeongwon’s eyes widened.
Rustle.
The sack was opened.
Both sides were left speechless.
“You…”
I’m screwed.
“You… what the hell?”
“Fuck.”
“You’ve been eating money for medicine at the rehabilitation hospital, and did they put you on some watered-down IV or something?”
The man reached out to grab Yeongwon by the hair.
But somehow, Yeongwon nimbly dodged his hand.
Whoosh.
The man’s hand swept through empty air.
At the same time, countless thoughts flashed through Yeongwon’s mind.
She mentally went through all the backup plans she had prepared, one by one.
She could choose any of them.
But none of them seemed like they would end cleanly.
Especially if someone from the Center was watching.
The awkward standoff continued.
“Um…”
Yeongwon spoke first.
“You’re the people who came to buy and traffic a B-Rank Non-Selective Guide for 3 billion won… right?”
“Where are the people coming to buy me now?”
“…Huh.”
The older man laughed as if the whole situation were ridiculous.
Seeing Yeongwon’s innocent expression, completely unafraid of the situation, he came to the conclusion that something was wrong with the mind of this B-Rank Non-Selective Guide.
“…What the hell is wrong with this idiot?”
The younger man seemed to have reached the same conclusion.
He laughed as if his tension had disappeared.
After hearing what Yeongwon said, they apparently assumed that the person they’d been told was an idiot was simply saying something stupid because she really was an idiot.
“But she really does look like a doll.”
“She’s so pale.”
The men suddenly relaxed their shoulders and began examining Yeongwon’s appearance down to the tiniest detail.
Seriously?
They’re judging my looks right to my face at a time like this?
Could you please stop testing the patience of this extra who’s desperately holding herself back from giving you a refreshing cider shower right now?
Yeongwon tried to think about the delicious candied sweet potatoes she’d eaten a few days ago.
“Why is your skin so transparent, too?”
The older man even reached out as if he were going to touch Yeongwon’s cheek.
Yeongwon really didn’t want to use the power she’d been hiding.
But now she felt like she’d been pushed into a situation where she had no choice.
Vroom.
Just then, a black vehicle approached from far away.
“Oh, they’re here.”
Yeongwon desperately hoped they were people from the Center.
But the people who appeared weren’t on her side.
Three buyers had come to pay 3 billion won for a B-Rank Non-Selective Guide.
Thud.
Yeongwon was thrown onto the gravel along with the sack.
I really hadn’t planned on this happening…
Eating sweet potatoes until she choked was one thing.
Getting physically thrown around was a completely different kind of situation that required a whole new level of preparation.
Life…
Yeongwon looked at the night scenery behind the man.
…Government salarymen, how much longer am I supposed to wait for you?
This wasn’t a movie.
There was really no need for the government workers to wait until the situation had reached the absolute extreme of an emergency within an emergency within an emergency before showing up.
Yeongwon stopped drawing the character for patience in her mind and carefully examined her surroundings.
Little by little, she expanded her senses so she could detect things that couldn’t be perceived through ordinary human senses.
It was the radar she’d desperately avoided using for several years.
So I’m actually using my sensory radar now.
But strangely, she couldn’t sense a single person who felt suspicious.
It didn’t seem like anyone was lying in wait and watching them.
Did they decide my report was fake even though I gave them so many specific details?
Or maybe they’re really short on manpower because of the situation in Ilsan.
The departure time of the passenger ship was getting closer and closer.
This really wasn’t how I planned things…
And then, as if on cue, at that exact moment, from far away…
WEE-OO WEE-OO!
The justice-bringing heroes finally arrived, their sirens blaring.
