148 – 148. Trade
In the queue in front of the mirror maze, Ryu Xue wiggled his fingers with a nervous face. Just like a puppy that was ‘waited’ with a snack in front of it, the restless appearance made even the viewer nervous.
Her gaze was always fixed in front of her. To be precise, Ryu Tae-hyun, who was at the head of the group, and the two women who were talking with him.
It was fixed on Ji Ye-won and Kang Ha-neul. Especially Ji Ye-won. Ryu Seol examines Ji Ye-won’s profile with suspicious eyes.
‘What kind of relationship is that silver-haired unnie with her boyfriend?’
Ryu Seol had already cut his face with Ahn Su-ho. That day, the day she watched Ryu Tae-hyeon’s midwinter ranking match, she ran into her in the stands. And at that time, I heard directly from him that Ahn Su-ho was Kang Ha-neul’s boyfriend.
Yes. It’s understandable up to that point. But then, what the hell is that woman who appeared today?
At first, she thought that she was a woman who had a crush on Ahn Soo-ho. Even though he was already dating Kang Ha-neul, he couldn’t give up his feelings for him, so he expected that he might feel like an intruder in the long-awaited date.
However.
“Then how about Suho-hyung’s drinking party? Do you have any strange drinking habits?”
“Drinking habit? Well? It seems that there is nothing. I drank so well in the first place that I’ve never seen him drunk enough to develop a drinking habit. Rather, if you have a drinking habit, the sky is really bad.”
“Is the sky going?”
“Oh, sister! If I say something bad, how bad is it!”
“Don’t you know that when you drink alcohol, you can’t tell what you shouldn’t say and talk a lot? A child who is already weak in alcohol consumption drinks very quickly again……. If you have a drink with Haneul, you’re the tired type.”
“I see. I’ve never had a drink with us so I didn’t know. Every time I drank, I took out that it was okay, so I thought I wasn’t drinking at all.”
“Only in front of your boyfriend! Isn’t it like this?”
“Oh.”
“Oh! What! It’s not like that, so stop teasing me! And that drinking habit isn’t that bad?!
If you listen to the three of them talking from a while ago, the relationship between Kang Ha-neul and Ji Ye-won did not seem particularly bad. Whenever Ji Ye-won said something, Kang Ha-neul was ticklish, but it was cute. At least she didn’t seem to harbor any particular ill feelings.
‘Aren’t they rivals fighting over that guard? But why are you so friendly? Or is it a different relationship?’
Other relationships. At those words, Ryu Xue’s brain spun violently.
“…… Maybe reds? Did you follow him because he liked Haneul, not his boyfriend? … ? That’s why the two of them look so close…….”
“What are you talking about all of a sudden?”
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Looking at the younger brother who is in full bloom of delusion, his older brother Jin Ryu sighed. But it’s not that I don’t understand, he was also interested in those two women who suddenly joined.
‘Like Ryu Tae-hyeon, that guard also seems to have a strong tendency toward women.’
In the Hunter Division, Ryu Tae-hyun was already a model of an alpha male. With a beautiful appearance, an upbeat personality, and even the grades and military power that reached the top of the school. In fact, it was no exaggeration to say that almost all of the girls in the 1st class had a crush on him.
And Ryu Tae-hyeon never refused to be kind to him. Thanks to that, how many people have already become more than friends and less than lovers?
‘Perhaps that guard is of a similar type.’
Thought that far, Ryujin suddenly tilted her head. Come to think of it, the guard hadn’t been seen for a while.
And just in time, at that moment, Ryu Tae-hyeon had a similar question.
“By the way, Suho hyung is a bit late. So, are we going to go in first?”
“The bathroom must be crowded. There were a lot of people when I went a while ago. If he is late, he told me not to wait and to go in first.”
Saying that, Kang Ha-neul cast a meaningful gaze toward the mirror maze. That gaze followed a man who had just entered the maze.
‘I wish you success. Brother.’
A blue timer floated in the corner of the river sky.
***
“Haaa.”
Xiao Mei walked through the maze alone and let out her deep sigh. Her complex face is reflected in the mirrors that fill her walls and ceiling.
She was very tired. Since she left China under the guise of tourism, she has been harassed by public security guards ever since.
She said that she was secretly watching, but in Xiao Mei’s eyes, it was clear where and how the watchers were attached. She was really exhausted from the stares of the men in sunglasses who followed her wherever she went.
‘All you have to do is hand over the goods. After handing over the stuff, you can rest in peace. So let’s try harder. Just a little more……..’
“Whoa, whoa.”
Inwardly, Xiao-Mei, who wanted to work hard a little more, exhaled nervously. Her gaze glided back and forth.
‘Someone is chasing me.’
I was not a watcher. Unlike those of her who at least tried to follow her secretly, those who were chasing her now were openly following her. Just the tailing of untrained ordinary people.
‘If you listen to the footsteps, it’s only one person. Did the paths simply overlap? No matter how many crossroads I’ve passed so far, the fact that I’m still chasing…….’
Xiao Mei quickened her steps, and the one following her sped up as well. She tuts and clicks her tongue a little.
Perhaps a passer-by just followed the person in front of him for no reason. But if that’s not the case, you’ve probably gotten caught up in something troublesome.
-Tak.
Before long, she arrived at her trading place. A dead end street blocked with mirrors on all sides.
-Tak.
And the one who was chasing her stopped just at the corner of the dead end. This made it clear that her tailman had been pursuing her intentionally. If you were a normal passer-by wandering through the maze, you would have made sure that the road ahead was dead-end and turned your steps right away.
‘It’s not public security. Then who is it? Did the person I did business with in the past recognize me and pursue me? But why? There’s no reason for my old customers to come after me. It’s not like you’re passing by and wanting to say hello. The fact that they followed me means that I have a purpose………… Where did the transaction information leak from?’
Xiaomei chewed on his lips. She should have run away in case of emergency, but even if the place was bad, it was too bad. A dead end in a maze that is completely blocked. Because in order to escape, you must pass by the trailer.
At that time.
-Dubuck.
The follower who had been silently watching moved his steps. Towards the direction of Xiaomei.
When Xiao Mei looked behind her, she saw a man in his late 180s approaching her.
A black hat and a black mask. Wearing a hood on top of that, an outfit that makes you think ‘I’m a suspicious person’ even if you look at it.
‘f*ck. What.’
Xiaomei looked up at the man with a tense expression. The man who was trudging forward stopped five meters in front of Xiao Mei, blocking the middle of her aisle as if blocking her retreat.
“… ….”
Silence flowing with heavy tension.
Xiao Mei clenched her fists.
That moment.
“No need to be nervous. Xiao Mei. That’s me.”
With a polite greeting, the man took off his hat and mask. Shao-Mei’s face turned red.
“…… Hangaram?”
The exposed face matched perfectly with what Xiao Mei remembered her dealings with. The man who called his name gently nodded his head.
“Haaa.”
Then Xiao Mei let out a sigh of relief at her. She was worried about an unknown follower, but it was enough to make her lose heart to know that he was her business partner.
“…… There are still about 10 minutes until 2:00. Why did you come so early?”
“I was waiting in front of the maze and I saw you. So I caught up right away.”
“You must have forgotten that I have a watcher attached to me, right? If you follow right away like that, the public security guys might be suspicious.”
“You can rest assured that I knew that and joined right behind you at the right time to line up. In the eyes of the public security, it must have been just an ordinary user.”
“Then I’m glad… ….”
“Did you bring anything?”
As the man asked, Xiaomei’s eyes sharpened.
“Before that, you should first check if you are a ‘real Hangaram’. Maybe the shapeshifter is deceiving me.”
“…… Spiral staircase.”
At Xiaomei’s words, the man immediately began to list words with unknown meanings.
“Bettles. Ruined city. Fig Tart. Beetle. The road of Dolorosa. Beetle. Singularity. Giotto. Angel. Hydrangea. Beetle. Singularity. Secret emperor…… Was it? What the hell is it? This unnecessarily long password of unknown meaning.”
“It’s a password from a cartoon I enjoyed watching a while ago. Why? Are you dissatisfied?”
“No. I saw that cartoon too. Thanks to that, it was easy to memorize.”
“What a strange coincidence.”
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Laughing, Xiao-Mei pulled out a small ampoule from her bosom. Inside the bottle, about the size of a small perfume bottle, was a silvery liquid.
“That’s right… ….”
“The beginning of silver. It is a real exhaust express artifact certified by the Chinese government. Ruler.”
Xiaomei hurriedly threw the ampoule. His attitude was so dry that the word “Special artifact” Was colorless.
“I definitely handed over the items. The balance must be transferred to the account mentioned earlier. Even if you don’t say anything, you know?”
“…… The balance will be paid by the guild for sure.”
The man who received the ampoule said with a meaningful smile. He looked at the primordial silver that slithered in the bottle like mercury, as if he were curious.
“Don’t even think about skipping a dime. If you do, you and I will be in danger. Do you know who your trading partner behind me is?”
“What member of the Communist Party…… I only heard I’m also a carrier, so I don’t know the details.”
“Then it would be useless to explain it to you. Please take care of it to the people of higher ranks.”
Xiaomei trudged and passed the man. Then, without any regrets, she disappeared into the maze. Her attitude was that her job was done once she handed over the goods.
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Left alone, the man looked down at the ampoule for a moment before putting it in his pocket. He waited for about 5 minutes and distanced himself from Xiao-Mei, and then went back the way he came.
-Dubuck. Tboob. Tboob.
Only the sound of his footsteps echoed in the mirror maze.
How far did it go?
“Oh.”
As soon as he turned the corner, a man bumped into a woman. She is a mysterious woman with silky black hair dyed sky blue at the tips.
“Sorry about this. Are there any injuries?”
“Yes? Yes. Fine…… Oh.”
“If you’re going that way, you’d better go back. It’s a tight road over there. Nothing.”
“Ah…… I see… ….”
Kang Ha-neul, who sneakily looked at the man’s path, looked up at the man. A smile leaks out of her mouth, which was filled with bewildered emotions.
“How long will you be like that? There is no one around right now.”
“I was afraid someone might be following you.”
The moment the man said that, his body was enveloped in a bright light. Eventually, when the light went out, it was Ahn Su-ho, not Han Ga-ram, who appeared.
“Did she cheat well?”
“Yes. She can’t help but be fooled Her face, size, and voice were all disguised, and she even spoke the code correctly.”
Ahn Suho slightly took out the ampoule he had put in his pocket. Then Kang Ha-neul couldn’t help but admire.
“Your brother is also really great. Even if the average person can remember the story of a novel, they can’t even remember the password that only appeared in one episode. It’s even very long.”
“The password itself was a parody of another work. So it was easy to remember.”
“So oppa is a jerk, right?”
“There’s nothing I can’t say to you.”
Ahn Suho playfully poked Kang Ha-neul on the cheek. Then, Kang Ha-neul, in return, stared at him with pouty eyes while inflating his cheeks as much as possible. Even so, it was just cute for Ahn Suho to see.
“Did Na Eun-sol do as I said?”
“Yes. I was good at telling them to come this way, so I sent them the other way. The other kids should have been almost to the end of the maze by now.”
“How did you get out of the middle?”
“Nothing special. I lied about losing my wallet and came back. Ah, Yewon unnie is with Taehyun, so don’t worry.”
Did I do well? As if to say, the river and the sky sighed and stretched out her breasts. Ahn Su-ho smiled and tapped Kang Ha-neul on the top of his head as if stroking it.
“Then let’s go out soon. The Black Dragon Hunters should have captured Jin Tanaka by now, but other Dawn members might come.”
“Yes. Let’s go quickly.”
The two walked side by side in the direction of the exit. There were mirrors on all sides, so it was easy to get confused, but it wasn’t such a big obstacle in front of the senses of a superman. Even Kang Ha-neul had already been to the exit right before, so the two of them found their way more easily.
‘I also obtained the original silver. Tanaka Jin is left in the care of Seol Ah-hyun, so it should be fine. There are one or two things that get in the way, such as the assassination team or Miya, but for now, the goal has been achieved. All that’s left is to take Yewon outside the amusement park…….’
-Tiririririri!
At that time, Ahn Suho’s cell phone started to ring loudly. A call from Seol Ah-hyun.
Ahn Soo-ho took the call without thinking, thinking it might be a report on Jin Tanaka.
However.
– Mr. Suho. I’ve got a problem.
Ahn Su-ho’s expression hardened coldly at Seol Ah-hyun’s words.
“There was not one raider, but three?”
-At first there was only one, but later two more joined. Fortunately, our people are unharmed, but one of the additional attackers has kidnapped Hunter Hangaram and escaped. So, I contacted Suho…….
“When exactly was Hunter Hangaram kidnapped?”
-Twenty minutes ago.
20 Minutes. It’s a tight time to get to the amusement park from the location where there is hangaram. However, it was enough time for the kidnapper to get information about the trading location from him and pass it on to a colleague waiting at the amusement park.
“…… All right. Ah Hyun. If there is anything else coming out, please contact me right away.”
-I’m sorry, Mr. Suho. Even though Suho warned me in advance, he showed me such a disappointing side…….
“No. Having three enemies is something I didn’t expect. It’s not Ah Hyun’s fault, so don’t worry. Then.”
When Ahn Su-ho hung up the phone, Kang Ha-neul looked up at him with an uneasy expression. In response, Ahn Soo-ho squeezed her hand tightly.
“…… I guess I’ll have to hurry. Just in case, I’ll return all the abilities I borrowed from you right now.”
Currently, Ahn Su-ho borrowed Kang Ha-neul’s psychic powers and abilities through the effect of the Cherry Blossoms of Love. It was thanks to Kang Ha-neul’s avatar ability that he immediately transformed into Hangaram.
For that reason, Kang Ha-neul, who lent his abilities to Ahn Su-ho, was no different from an ordinary person. If they were attacked by surprise, they would not be able to deal with it.
But.
“No. Don’t return it, keep it.”
“What are you talking about? If so, you-”
“I know what you mean. But once you return the ability, you can’t borrow it again within 24 hours. I don’t know what might happen right now. For now, it stays like this.”
It was an opinion that disregarded her safety. However, it was a valid opinion, and it was also an effective opinion.
Ahn Soo-ho, who had been in conflict for a while, answered with difficulty.
“…… If I think you’re in danger, I’ll return it right away.”
“Don’t do that, you just have to protect me. If you look at your brother’s specs right now, he must be stronger than Ryu Tae-hyun? Why? Are you still not confident?”
Ahn Soo-ho patted her on the back, saying thank you for the consideration she deliberately spoke lightly to lighten her burden. In the end, Ahn Soo-ho did not return her powers to her Kang Ha-neul, but she grabbed her hand and ran towards the exit of her maze.
At last, the moment the two reached the exit.
-Taaang!!
A loud gunshot echoed through the maze.