Chapter 15

The location was somewhat removed from the residential area.

Still, it was close enough that one could easily flee into the neighborhood.

Given the size of their group, Siyoon had expected them to hide somewhere else.

They were more cunning and audacious than he had anticipated.

‘A battle in an urban area. This will be tricky.’

There were plenty of structures and places to take cover.

An abundance of blind spots was both an advantage and a disadvantage for a shooter.

While he could conceal himself, so could the enemy.

He knew it wouldn’t be easy.

Still, the difficulty of his very first commission was quite considerable.

However, it wasn’t an entirely unexpected location.

He had already formulated a plan.

Seuk.

Siyoon put on a pair of glasses.

Glasses fitted with non-prescription lenses.

An item he had personally enhanced.

[ You have equipped ‘Half-rim Glasses +2’. ]

[ The surrounding darkness clears from your vision. ]

[ You can now observe distant objects in detail. ]

An item capable of completely replacing night-vision goggles.

Calling them night-vision goggles was merely an analogy.

In reality, their performance was far superior.

The surroundings appeared far clearer, without any blurring.

Cheolkeok.

Siyoon picked up his rifle.

A sleek design paired with a gleaming scope.

A mysterious aura rippled from the pitch-black barrel.

The mark of a +4 enhancement.

And it wasn’t just the weapon.

[ ‘RTB-201 +4’ ]

[ ‘RTB-201 Ammunition +4’ ]

[ ‘Black Matte Cord +4’ ]

[ ‘Black Matte Pants +4’ ]

[ ‘Black Matte Jacket +4’ ]

All of his issued equipment had been enhanced to +4.

This was only possible because he had spent the past two days doing nothing but enhancing.

Cheolkeok.

Siyoon steadied his posture and aimed his rifle.

His sniping form was somewhat clumsy, lacking practical experience.

Still, he had studied the basics, mimicking tutorials he found online.

Not that it mattered much.

[ You have equipped ‘RTB-201 +4’. ]

[ Aiming is significantly corrected. ]

[ Noise is significantly reduced. ]

[ Reload speed is increased. ]

[ Recoil is significantly reduced. ]

[ ‘RTB-201 Ammunition +4’ is equipped. ]

[ Penetration is increased. ]

[ Damage is increased. ]

[ Slight homing effect applied to targets. ]

[ Accuracy is increased. ]

[ The effects of ‘Hot Seven +2’ are active. ]

[ The effects of ‘Special Vitamin +2’ are active. ]

The sniper rifle and ammunition, both enhanced to +4, corrected his aim and improved his accuracy.

Furthermore, consuming the Hot Seven and Special Vitamin had boosted his concentration.

Preparations were complete.

All that remained was to pull the trigger.

Seureuk.

At that moment, a figure entered his scope’s field of vision.

A familiar face.

Someone documented in the files.

A hunter designated as a target.

“Haa.”

Siyoon exhaled.

The pounding beat of his racing heart.

The rush of blood through his veins.

Feeling every sensation, he minimized the trembling of his body.

The moment the fluttering wind finally died down.

The index finger that had been tracing the cold metal of the trigger moved quietly.

Tung—

No gunshot, no flash of light.

He hadn’t even attached a suppressor.

The fired bullet flew through the air with a faint sound.

A single trajectory bisecting the cool night sky.

Peogak!

The bullet embedded in the temple pierced straight through the target.

Red splattered violently within the scope.

Siyoon’s eyelids twitched as he watched.

“……”

His first kill.

It would be a lie to say he felt nothing.

But these men were criminals.

Scum who had secretly stolen and peddled a corporation’s new drug.

There was no need for misplaced compassion.

He steadied his nerves and focused on the situation at hand.

-…!!

The hunter standing next to the victim jumped in fright at the sudden sniper shot.

Before the commotion could grow any louder, Siyoon shot and killed him too.

After this, the enemy would certainly notice something was wrong.

‘Strike from a distance without ever letting them close the gap.’

He was at a disadvantage in close combat.

A party of fifteen.

Eighty percent of them possessed close-combat skills.

Once discovered, they would undoubtedly charge at him.

It was the right call to thin their numbers before that happened.

Cheolkeok.

Siyoon readjusted his stance.

And aimed at another hunter.

Right now, this place was entirely in the palm of Siyoon’s hand.

* * *

At that exact moment, inside an abandoned building.

Amidst a quiet atmosphere, a man spoke.

“Has there been any movement from Haind?”

“No, sir. We’ve been continuously scouting the perimeter, but it’s been quiet.”

A man reported back in response to the question.

A group of hunters who had stabbed the mid-sized pharmaceutical company Haind in the back and embezzled their new drug.

Their leader was Kim Chulwon.

“Don’t let your guard down. We never know when or where they might strike.”

“Oh, come on. They’re probably struggling just to contain the internal fallout right now. Do you really think they have the resources to spare for us?”

Sub-leader Park Jaehyun chimed in.

He had a point.

They had completely trashed the laboratory while stealing the new drug this time.

Haind would be incredibly busy dealing with data recovery and internal issues.

Even so, they couldn’t afford to be careless.

“Don’t underestimate them. They are a proper corporation.”

The new drug Haind had recently developed: Filester.

A product they had poured a full five years into.

Considering the research costs and byproducts, a significant amount of money must have been burned.

Having stolen the fruits of their labor, Haind wasn’t just going to give up.

Thinking about the very nature of corporations in this era made it even harder to let down one’s guard.

Ever since the emergence of hunters, the government’s power had weakened, and corporations and guilds had long since grown stronger.

Hell, wasn’t that exactly why they were pulling this kind of garbage stunt themselves?

“At the very least, they’ll try to get revenge. They’ve probably already put out a subjugation request to hunters.”

“Then shouldn’t we leave immediately?”

“If a corporation put out a commission, a high-rank hunter will definitely come…”

At Kim Chulwon’s words, his subordinates stirred briefly.

They were all D-Rank hunters.

They could handle one or two C-Ranks.

After all, they had a whopping fifteen men.

But from B-Rank onward, it was a different story.

The difference in skill levels and experience was overwhelming.

That was why his subordinates were anxious.

“Quiet.”

Kim Chulwon exuded a chilling aura.

Silence instantly fell over the room.

“Worrying in advance is meaningless. Why did we set up a temporary base here in the first place?”

“To kill the hunters they hired and then disappear, boss.”

“Exactly. Furthermore, the hunters coming to raid us won’t be that high-ranked. Their financial situation isn’t that comfortable.”

Kim Chulwon was no fool.

He had been working under contract with Haind for three years now.

After that long, he was bound to hear rumors floating around.

Haind had overextended itself with this new drug development.

They had risked everything on the project, leaving their finances far from ample.

Which meant they couldn’t afford to hire high-rank hunters.

Hiring a high-rank hunter cost at least hundreds of millions, if not billions, of won.

Would they really hire one just to take down fifteen D-Rank hunters?

Kim Chulwon didn’t think so.

‘They could barely even afford to buy the byproducts we brought them. There’s no way they’d do that.’

There would be some casualties, of course, but finishing things here was the best option.

An abandoned building where people rarely passed by.

Wasn’t it the perfect place to bury a hunter and disappear?

“Strengthen the perimeter guard. Be ready to respond immediately if anything happens.”

“Yes, sir!”

At his command, his subordinates headed outside.

That concluded their preparations.

All that was left was to wait for their enemies to step into the trap.

‘It’s already been a week since we stole and sold the new drug. They should make a move by today or tomorrow at the latest.’

Thinking ahead, it would be more beneficial to wrap things up cleanly here.

Afterward, they would slip away in the midst of the chaos.

A flawless plan.

Just then, a scream echoed from outside.

Teolseok.

“Ugh, uaaagh!”

The sound of someone collapsing.

The scream didn’t last long either.

Puk.

Soon, the sound of flesh bursting rang out, followed by silence.

Sensing something amiss, Park Jaehyun and Kim Chulwon drew their weapons.

“Boss.”

“I know. They’re here.”

Kim Chulwon heightened his senses.

They had barely finished talking, and the enemy was already attacking.

Yet, contrary to expectations, there were no footsteps approaching from outside.

More precisely, he only sensed the frantic commotion of his subordinates.

“I’ll go check it out.”

Park Jaehyun stepped out cautiously, his gauntlets equipped.

As a fist fighter, he should be able to hold his own in close combat.

Puk.

Teolseok!

But the sound came again.

The sound of someone collapsing.

Park Jaehyun had been taken down without even getting a chance to fight back.

Sensing something seriously wrong, Kim Chulwon’s brow furrowed.

‘A sniper?’

The noise he had heard right before the man fell.

It was the sound of a body being pierced by something.

If so, the list of suspects narrowed.

A shooter. Someone using a gun or a bow.

“It’s an ambush!”

“Looking at the body, it’s a sniper! Everyone, be careful!”

Around that time, subordinates who had seen the corpse shouted and scrambled.

Kim Chulwon also kicked the door open and rushed out.

“Which direction did the sniper fire from?”

“Judging by the wound, it looks like the rooftop of the building across from us!”

Seo Kihyun, the gunner in charge of reconnaissance for the team, reported.

The corpse he was pointing at was none other than Park Jaehyun, who had just stepped out.

The man had been pierced precisely between the eyebrows.

Unless it was a special skill, it was a perfectly straight frontal shot.

Puk.

“Aagh!”

At that moment, a shield-bearing hunter’s knee was pierced.

The bullet had cleanly penetrated the joint where the bones connected.

Peogak!

As his balance faltered and his head was briefly exposed, it was instantly blown apart.

A precise sniper shot executed in a fraction of a second.

Even with his subordinate dying right next to him, Kim Chulwon didn’t bat an eye.

“The rat is over there.”

The previous sniper shot had revealed the bullet’s trajectory.

Having pinpointed the location, Kim Chulwon calmly issued orders.

“Shooters, lay down suppressive fire so that bastard can’t shoot freely.”

“Understood!”

“You don’t need to hit him. Just keep him pinned down. And…”

Kaang—

In a flash, Kim Chulwon swung his weapon swiftly.

A crushed bullet fell with a clatter from his massive halberd.

“The rest of you close-combat fighters, follow me.”

“Yes, sir!”

“Got it!”

A few subordinates had died, but it didn’t matter.

What mattered now was killing that son of a bitch.

Sniping of this caliber meant the attacker was, nine times out of ten, a shooter.

And shooters were at a disadvantage in close combat.

Normally, they would be riddled with bullets before they could even close the distance.

But they had shooters on their side too, making it difficult for the enemy to snipe recklessly.

In other words, closing the gap was only a matter of time.

“We move immediately.”

Kim Chulwon cracked his knuckles and kicked off the ground.

The hunters sprinted after him.

Heading straight for the building where Siyoon was located.

* * *

“They’re coming this way.”

Siyoon observed their movements.

The largest man, who appeared to be their leader—Kim Chulwon.

He was leading the close-combat warriors straight toward Siyoon’s position.

He would have loved to snipe them right then and there, but…

Pakak!

Taang, tadadadang!

The shooters left behind at their base were hindering his efforts.

‘Three shooters. One uses a bow, and the other two are gunners.’

Siyoon hid himself and calmly analyzed the situation.

The drawback of sniping was that once your position was compromised, attacking became significantly harder.

Aiming at enemies from a long distance and securing the first strike was an advantage.

By compressing immense firepower into a single shot, he could end a life in one blow.

In a way, it was akin to assassination.

However, once they started laying down suppressive fire, the power of sniping dwindled.

He needed to aim precisely before firing, but aiming itself became difficult.

While a single shot was powerful, the low rate of fire made it hard to counterattack.

‘Well, it doesn’t matter. I expected this much.’

Siyoon crouched and moved toward the rear of the rooftop.

As he straightened his back again, something peculiar happened.

His silhouette blurred, as if merging with the darkness.

This was a characteristic of the coat Siyoon had enhanced.

[ The effect of ‘Black Matte Coat +4’ has been activated. ]

[ For 1 minute, the wearer’s presence is significantly obscured. ]

A trait that could nearly erase his presence once a day.

A newly acquired ability upon reaching +4 enhancement.

Testing it out had shown that an ordinary person wouldn’t notice him even if he walked right past them.

‘I probably can’t completely fool a hunter with sharper senses than that.’

A brief window was all he needed anyway.

Siyoon only needed a momentary opening.

And that opening would become the dagger that killed them.