A rundown commercial building in Seoul.

Opening the dirty glass door reveals a tall staircase.

Climbing the stairs, smelling the food from the Korean Buffet on the first floor, you can see an iron door on the third floor.

That crooked iron door, though seemingly abandoned, concealed highly clandestine activities within.

Inside that iron door, in a spacious room, there were three male staff members.

They were all foreigners, not Koreans.

One was casually slurping Cup Noodles, another was lying on a bed, and the third was sitting in a chair, looking at a laptop screen.

The screen was split into four, each showing a different location.

It looked like CCTV.

“Indeed, Korea makes the best ramen.”

It was when the staff member eating ramen was exclaiming about the broth.

The foreigner looking at the screen quickly took off his headphones and turned to the other staff member.

“The target has left the nest!”

A hurried voice.

“What did you say?”

The staff member eating ramen immediately put it down and approached him.

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, I am. Look.”

As the screen zoomed in and the resolution increased, the person in the passenger seat became visible.

It was clearly the target they had been waiting for.

“Quickly contact…”

It was then.

Bang!

With a sudden noise, the iron door exploded. The iron door, contrary to its name, tumbled to the floor.

The staff members in the room were startled and hid under the desk.

The staff member who was sleeping on the bed also instinctively rolled off the bed.

“Discovered…?”

The eyes of the two staff members hiding under the desk met.

“I need to contact…”

One staff member reached out with only his hand, fumbling for the communication equipment on the desk.

But.

Bang!

“Ugh!”

A rubber bullet flew and accurately struck the staff member’s hand.

The staff member grimaced and could only hold his hand.

“Don’t move. We will fire if you don’t comply.”

An Agent in a black suit, who had approached unnoticed, aimed a Taser Gun.

Behind him, four or five more Special Forces Members, armed with guns loaded with rubber bullets, were entering.

“Damn it.”

The foreigners raised their hands and stood up. The staff member who had gotten off the bed and was hiding behind a cabinet also had no other choice.

The three foreigners were immediately secured. The Special Forces Members took them down to the first floor.

A waiting van was already there. The foreigners were forcibly loaded into the van by the unit members.

The van sped out of the alley like the wind.

Entry, target acquisition, and retreat took only 2 minutes and 10 seconds.

The lone Agent in the black suit went down to the first floor and put his mobile phone to his ear.

“We’ve secured the persons.”

He reported briefly, then hung up. Then he looked around once and went straight into the Korean Buffet.

Because it was still before breakfast.

***

“Understood.”

Kang Haksang, the Director of the National Intelligence Service, who was sitting next to Kim Myeongju in the back seat of the car, hung up the phone briefly.

“Since we’ve even caught Russia, 11 Duke offices are now neutralized.”

He briefly updated her on the progress in addition to the phone call content.

“What about America, China, and Japan?”

“China and Japan’s locations cannot be identified. Ugh… aren’t they close yet distant countries? Even if there are Duke members, we don’t know when they entered…”

“What about America?”

“There is evidence that America sent Hunters.”

“Hunters?”

“Yes. However… we don’t have information on them yet.”

“That can’t be helped. Still, we should be able to ferret out the China and Japan Duke members this time. They’re bound to make a move.”

Operation Truman is not just about ‘preventing Kim Songcheol’s exposure to foreign Duke offices’.

If Kim Songcheol makes a move, they will definitely react.

That’s when they’ll be caught.

Identifying the hidden Duke members was another objective.

Protecting Kim Songcheol is a long-term battle.

The task of weeding out threats in advance was clearly necessary.

Though they didn’t expect to start the operation so early.

“For now, we’re catching all the identified enemies, so you can say we’re starting by eliminating half of them.”

While Kim Myeongju and Kang Haksang were talking, the car entered the underground parking lot of a building.

As soon as Kim Myeongju and Kang Haksang got out of the car, they almost ran to the elevator and went up to the 25th floor.

It was the Operation Truman Headquarters set up by the National Intelligence Service.

Dozens of personnel were already stationed at Headquarters, and multiple screens were being displayed on monitors attached to the wall.

These were the bodycam footage of the Agents in the field.

Kang Haksang and Kim Myeongju stood, watching the screens without even sitting down.

Just then, one screen greatly enlarged, pushing the other screens to an adjacent monitor.

The large screen showed a bus stopping at a bus stop.

After a brief wait, the bus’s back door opened, and Kim Songcheol got off the bus.

Kang Haksang lightly pressed the earphone in his ear and spoke.

Stay alert. We don’t know who might approach. Just a moment.

Kang Haksang’s gaze fixed on the right side of the screen.

It was a female staff member walking towards Kim Songcheol.

A plain shirt and plain jeans.

A female staff member Kim Myeongju hadn’t even noticed.

Grab that female staff member, now! The one with the Rupture shirt.

Kang Haksang’s urgent voice.

One screen began moving rapidly. It left the alley and got closer and closer to the female staff member.

Kim Myeongju could see that agent through another screen.

It was an agent dressed in a matching set of plain training clothes.

He approached her as if he had known the female staff member all along and put his arm around her shoulder.

When the agent whispered something, the female staff member simply walked forward without any particular reaction.

On another screen, Kim Songcheol was seen glancing at the two of them as he passed by.

As Kim Songcheol moved away, other agents appeared, grabbed the female staff member from both sides, and escorted her away.

The female staff member’s indignant expression was captured perfectly on screen.

Was there anything unusual?

Kim Myeongju, who had been quietly watching, asked.

To him, she looked like a perfectly ordinary female staff member.

Her gait was a bit strange to begin with… but the decisive factor was her gaze. She looked directly at each of the undercover agents exactly once. That means she noticed them.

…I see.

Neither the female staff member who found the hidden National Intelligence Service agents, nor Kang Haksang who noticed that she had found them, were normal humans.

Kim Myeongju even wondered if people like them should be the Hunters.

Meanwhile, Kim Songcheol, protected by invisible National Intelligence Service agents, entered a coffee shop.

It didn’t seem like he had an appointment.

He sat alone by the window, sipping coffee and enjoying his leisure.

Kim Songcheol enjoyed a warm spring day for the first time in a while, but conversely, the National Intelligence Service entered a state of tension.

It was the perfect location, time, and place for an approach.

Grab that son of a bitch, that foe!

Why aren’t you moving faster!?

Accordingly, Kang Haksang’s tone became increasingly rough.

Though he acted dignified as the head of the National Intelligence Service, it was clear what kind of personality he had when he was in the field.

Kang Haksang’s eyes, staring at the screen, moved without rest.

There were over 20 agents deployed in the vicinity.

Kang Haksang was performing the incredible feat of checking all those screens and giving individual instructions.

Aren’t you paying attention!? You, you son of a bitch. If a thief breaks into your house, are you just going to watch!?

Under Kang Haksang’s abstract command, any approach to Kim Songcheol was completely blocked.

The members of foreign factions, who hadn’t expected such thorough blocking, were dumbfounded and repeatedly caught and dragged away somewhere.

…

Kim Myeongju quietly stepped back and sat down in a chair.

Honestly, he didn’t think looking with him would help.

After a long time of such urgent situations unfolding.

Kim Songcheol enjoyed a leisurely coffee break and then left the cafe.

He wished he had at least taken a taxi, but Kim Songcheol walked for a long time and arrived at a bustling downtown area.

He greeted a male staff member in front of a restaurant.

Judging by their cheerful conversation, it seemed to be the friend he was going to meet.

Kim Songcheol and the male staff member entered a nearby pork rib restaurant.

12, 13. Enter.

At Kang Haksang’s command, two agents entered the pork rib restaurant and began grilling ribs, which was not their usual task.

Because they were seated nearby, they could faintly hear the conversation between Kim Songcheol and his friend through the microphone.

But why did you quit being an accountant? You’re not old enough to open your own firm.

Well… I’m trying to find myself.

Yourself? What’s with the sudden nonsense? Are you starting a business?

That’s how it turned out.

Is there anything good? If so, let’s do it together.

It’s not something we can do together.

Why? If there’s something, let’s do it together. What is it, then?

Oh, I don’t know. Have a drink. You’ll see it on the news later.

What? The news? You’re not…?

…What?

Are you doing something bad? Are you helping people who do illegal gambling with their accounts or something?

What the hell are you talking about…

It was an ordinary conversation.

Kim Songcheol ate with his friend and played a quick game of billiards before they parted ways.

He headed straight to the bus terminal.

This time, he took the subway, and four or five agents boarded the same car with him.

One faction member was identified by the time Kim Songcheol arrived at the bus terminal, and another faction member was identified while he waited for the bus at the bus terminal.

Kim Songcheol was practically a living trap.

Kim Songcheol took an express bus and drove for a long time, getting off in Cheonan.

It was where his hometown was.

The agents who had followed the express bus by car scattered as soon as Kim Songcheol emerged from the terminal.

Some followed Kim Songcheol, and others headed to the apartment where Kim Songcheol’s parents lived.

Fortunately, there were no approaches while Kim Songcheol entered the apartment.

It seemed they had noticed that the National Intelligence Service was guarding Kim Songcheol tightly and had given up.

Only then did the tension that had gripped the National Intelligence Service Headquarters subside a little.

The National Intelligence Service withdrew most of its agents, leaving a few around building 105.

Once he was inside his home, it was safe to assume there would be no further attempts.

Phew… For now, it’s a lull.

Only then did Kang Haksang slump into a chair.

His face looked incredibly tired.

It had been many years since he had been in the field. It seemed his stamina wasn’t what it used to be.

Please, eat something.

Kim Myeongju offered the delivered black bean noodles to Kang Haksang.

The delivery had arrived earlier, but they hadn’t had time to eat.

The two of them amicably mixed and ate the swollen black bean noodles.

It was about 6 hours later.

The time was 11:20 PM.

It was about time for people to go to sleep.

The lights in Kim Songcheol’s house went out.

It was the moment Kim Myeongju was considering getting some sleep himself.

[Education Director, a magic trace has been found.]

This time, Kim Myeongju’s earphone rang.

What did you say? Please explain in detail.

At Kim Myeongju’s urgent tone, Kang Haksang’s expression instantly sharpened.

[I don’t know what it is either. It’s a mage with a higher circle than me… the detecting magic isn’t reacting well. But it’s definite that magic was used. I suspect…]

What is it?

[It seems to be Teleport. It looks like they entered Kim Songcheol Trainee’s house directly. There are two mana reactions inside the house.]

Teleport…?

Teleport is a 6th Circle Magic.

There weren’t many Hunters of that level on Earth.

What’s going on? Teleport?

Kang Haksang asked urgently.

“It seems… a Hunter directly entered Trainee Kim Songcheol’s house. He was a high-ranking Mage, so we couldn’t stop him…”

“Such… an irresistible force…”

Kang Haksang looked dejected. Despite all the commotion and the arrest of countless Duke members, they were cleanly breached by a single Hunter.

As if mocking his career.

Kim Myeongju’s stomach was twisted, as expected, but there was nothing he could do for now.

A high-ranking Mage was not even considered in the initial operation planning.

Because there was no way such a person would appear for this kind of matter.

Anyway, that high-ranking Mage would make an offer to Kim Songcheol, and if Kim Songcheol accepted the offer, he might just disappear.

After all, the opponent was a Mage capable of using Teleport.

Taking Kim Songcheol alone was no big deal.

“Entering the house… it seems he intends to make a first and final offer.”

“A Mage, a Hunter, that would be America…”

“At least there’s evidence that a Hunter was found in America.”

“Hmm… They’ll offer terms that can’t be compared to any other country…”

“For now, it seems we have no choice but to trust Trainee Kim Songcheol.”

Ultimately, the decision-maker was Kim Songcheol.

As always.

It was then.

[Trainee Kim Songcheol… Mana Reaction has disappeared. It seems he moved by Teleport.]

Kim Myeongju jumped up from his seat as soon as he heard the news through his earpiece.

Disappeared.

Where did he go?

There was no other place that came to mind besides America as a destination.