The S-Classes That I Raised [EN]: Chapter 357

355. In Korea (1)

A golden shadow streaks across the lake. The early morning lake was still. The small island, isolated without a single boat path, was the same. The golden dragon quickly gained altitude and looked down at Nosan Island. Soldiers were moving about the iron fences and watchtowers.

Noah’s stealth skill wasn’t enough to evade the eyes of an S-class Hunter, so he carefully examined the area, concealing himself in the clouds. Fortunately, no one seemed to notice him. There were no people in attire that suggested a particularly high position. Everyone was in military uniform, making it easy to guess their rank with the naked eye.

Confirming that there were no high-ranking officials, Noah transformed into a human, extending only his wings slightly for balance, and held the camera he had around his neck. Simultaneously, he lowered his flight altitude and photographed every corner of the Nosan Island Special Awakened Management Center.

‘…I wonder if Yoojin is okay.’

He wanted to sneak inside and see for himself. But he had heard that there were at least three S-class Hunters stationed there.

– Peep!

Piyak, sitting on Noah’s head, fluttered its wings as if telling him to go there.

“Not yet, can’t.”

Noah abandoned his lingering feelings and turned away. He headed towards the city in the special district near Chao Lake. The buildings, filling the considerably large city, were mostly damaged. Some were broken, cracked, or completely collapsed. It was almost time for people to start their activities, but there were few people on the streets. Moreover, more than half of the people visible were in military uniforms.

Noah approached a shabby five-story building and slipped inside through an open window. As he closed the window and drew the curtains, the man sitting on the bed flinched and looked around, trying to find the invisible intruder.

“I didn’t contact anyone!”

“Thank you. And keep your voice down.”

As soon as he arrived, Noah immediately secured a base. He infiltrated the house of a man living alone, made him sign a contract, and obtained information. The man was an Awakened who had been forcibly sent to the special district and was very cooperative, even without a contract, as he was very dissatisfied with his situation.

“As I already told you, all communication devices are being monitored.”

The man said to Noah, who was taking out the memory card from the camera.

“Not only are unruly Awakeners brought here, but also the families of Awakeners who can be taken as hostages, so contact with the outside world is strictly controlled.”

“But it seems like there are people who resist. There were traces of battle everywhere.”

“Only D-class or lower Awakeners, but they can’t just be trapped here blankly. There have been several attempts to band together and escape, but…”

The man continued, his face slightly pale.

“The results weren’t good. Um, you seem to be a high-ranking Hunter…”

Noah placed Piyak, who had been sitting on his head, on the table. He gave it a small mana stone, which it eagerly accepted.

– Peep!

“Gotta go home, home. To Bellare. Yoojin, don’t go to Daddy, don’t go to Daddy.”

– Peep peep!

The memory card was attached to the ankle of Piyak, who was flapping its small wings. At Noah’s words, ‘Go home,’ Piyak disappeared in an instant. Noah turned his gaze to the man, who was staring blankly at the spot where Piyak had disappeared.

“There will be an opportunity.”

He didn’t have the capacity or the reason to help that man or the people here right now. But soon, a very big gap would be created. Perhaps this place would disappear altogether in the chaos. Noah used his stealth skill again and slipped out the window.

– Peep!

As soon as he heard the sound of a baby bird, Do Hamin, who had been sprawled on the sofa, jumped up. Bellare also hissed and raised its head.

“You came properly!”

Han Yoojin, who had been worried about Piyak using spatial movement recklessly, decided to properly train it after returning from Japan. The top priorities were not to go out alone and not to go to Daddy. Going to Daddy was something it did well even without being taught, which was the problem. ‘Home’ and ‘Bellare’ were followed by ‘Peace’ successfully, but it didn’t go to anyone other than Han Yoojin.

“Yes, Piyak. Don’t go to Daddy for a while. Daddy, no.”

– Piya.

“Eat this mana stone, let me see your ankle. It’s a memory card. Now play quietly with Bellare.”

– Peep peep!

“You went to where Daddy is, didn’t you? Not now.”

Piyak couldn’t use long-distance spatial movement often, so Noah took Piyak with him to quietly deliver the data. Even though he had been trained, he didn’t know when it would disappear, saying it wanted to see Daddy, and if Piyak suddenly appeared next to Han Yoojin, the possibility of both of them being in danger was high. Now that it had moved such a long distance once, it would be safe for a while.

“I don’t know if I did the right thing by agreeing to work with your dad. An informant is just asking for trouble if they act out! And it’s China, of all places. Scary.”

Do Hamin muttered, saying something similar to what he had said before the regression, thinking that if he changed China to Haeyeon Guild, it would be the same. He quickly left the house.

“Master looks terrible. Understandably.”

Park Yerim nodded at Moon Hyuna’s words.

“He was curled up in the Young Master’s room all night, hugging his pillow. I’m really amazed at how he managed to live apart for three years like that.”

“When they first Awakened, everyone underestimated them as minor S-classes and targeted them, so it was understandable. Even the other S-class Hunters thought they could keep them under their control because they were young. Except for Sung Hyunjae. He was busy traveling overseas and wasn’t interested.”

“What about you, Unnie?”

“I thought about giving them advice since they were young, but then I thought, ‘Oh great, another crazy person,’ and backed off. If the Young Master had been even a little sociable, I might have offered to protect Hunter Han.”

Moon Hyuna had Awakened early and became a Hunter with people she could trust. She quickly established herself, and by then, she had enough ability to protect at least one person.

“But the Young Master didn’t trust anyone. In fact, that might have been the right thing to do. Rather than trusting others and entrusting his brother to them, it was better to keep them at a distance and build his strength. And he did well on his own.”

“Thaaat, I also think is pretty amazing.”

Park Yerim said, looking at Han Yoohyun, who was sitting alone, exuding a fierce aura that no one could approach.

“Team Leader Seok was praising Han Yoohyun, saying that he had built a good foundation even before he joined, and I almost flipped the table. Seeing that, I think he’d get along really well with the Young Master.”

There was a subtle distance between the two. Judging by their actions alone, it seemed like they were close friends who had known each other for ten years, meeting two or three times a week and praising Han Yoohyun to the skies.

“It’s amazing. He succeeded in becoming independent at that age without anyone’s help. If he had received help from other forces back then, Team Leader Seok wouldn’t have ended up under Han Yoohyun. I’m jealous.”

“Why? Unnie, you’re amazing too.”

Park Yerim lowered her voice and continued.

“How’s it going? Is the preparation for independence going well?”

“I’m scraping together everything I can. Riet’s acceptance of the request is a big help.”

Digging into other people’s backgrounds wasn’t her style. But in order to extract the guild with as little damage as possible, she needed information to use as a shield.

“I’m tempted to use forceful methods, taking advantage of Chief Song taking a vacation and leaving his position, but I feel bad. And there will be gossip.”

“I think our Guild Leader and the Seseong Guild Leader would have used that a lot.”

“Riet already told me I was being frustrating.”

Moon Hyuna smiled bitterly.

“Saying I’m wasting time trying not to make even small flaws.”

‘You can just sweep them all away. Let those who want to curse, curse. And kill the ones who curse~’ To that, she could only answer that she couldn’t do that. The burden she carried was too heavy to lightly cross a certain moral line.

“Unnie is a Guild Leader, but Riet Unnie isn’t. I heard that Unnie lives recklessly.”

“Yerim, you live recklessly too. You can do that. Don’t ever worry about what other people think.”

Moon Hyuna lightly patted Park Yerim’s back. Just then, a voice announced that the preparations were complete. The official briefing on the disappearance of Han Yoojin, the head of the Growth-type Monster Farm, was about to begin.

In front of the reporters, footage of the incident that had occurred yesterday was displayed. A car that had fallen into the water, a car abandoned near the breeding facility, and a plane grounded at the airport. The conclusion was that those who kidnapped Han Yoojin were likely to be associated with the Chinese mafia, and they had requested cooperation from the Chinese government.

The call records and location tracking records with Han Yoojin were not disclosed. After all, even if they were presented, they couldn’t be used as evidence if China denied them, and they would only make them more wary. Since they had decided to move quietly behind the scenes, it was more advantageous to hide as much information as possible.

The briefing ended with the statement that they would do everything possible for the safe return of their citizen, before mentioning his abilities as an Awakened. Then, interviews were requested from Han Yoohyun and Park Yerim, Han Yoojin’s family. No one could approach Han Yoohyun, so only Park Yerim said with a look of regret that she hoped the Young Master would return safely.

“The PR team must be crying, Guild Leader.”

Han Yoohyun frowned at Park Yerim’s words.

“…I have a bad feeling.”

“Your hand is still safe, right?”

Han Yoohyun looked at the back of his hand and then closed his mouth and walked away. Since last night, his mind had been filled with worry for his brother, making it difficult to think about anything else. He wanted to ignore everything and run to China.

“Seseong Uncle wants you to come to the breeding facility.”

Park Yerim said, looking at her phone. The two headed to the Growth-type Monster Farm without delay. Sung Hyunjae and Do Hamin were waiting in the reception room. Do Hamin looked at Park Yerim, who was easier to deal with, with an expression that said he wanted to escape from here immediately.

“Chief Song, who is on vacation, will arrive soon, so we’ll start talking then.”

At Sung Hyunjae’s words, Park Yerim said she would go out for a while and left the reception room. Do Hamin sat huddled in the farthest corner of the sofa with a tearful expression.

“I heard that data has arrived from Hunter Noah.”

Han Yoohyun said to Do Hamin. Do Hamin nodded.

“There were several photos and videos, as well as photos of memos describing the surrounding circumstances. It was more detailed than I expected.”

“He was trained in that area.”

Sung Hyunjae said.

“Noah’s aptitude is actually better suited for modern times, especially espionage, rather than dungeon raids. Flight, stealth, and even curse contracts. So I had him trained separately.”

However, his lack of motivation was a problem. He also didn’t trust Sung Hyunjae, and although he was bound by a contract, its effectiveness was diminished due to his curse resistance. If someone handling important information were to betray them, it could be a major blow, so he was a useful but difficult card to handle. But as long as Han Yoojin was the goal, there would be no one more suitable for information gathering than him.

Just then, the door opened and Song Taewon entered. Park Yerim also returned, holding a black-haired baby sheep in her arms.

“Chief Song, Songsong!”

Park Yerim approached Song Taewon with large strides and suddenly held out the baby sheep.

“He’s lonely because the Young Master is gone.”

“…It’s only been a day.”

“That’s right, Songisongi.”

– Baaa.

“The Young Master will be relieved if Chief Song takes care of the baby. At least hold him.”

Park Yerim and the baby sheep simultaneously looked up at Song Taewon with pleading eyes. Unable to resist the urging of the two pairs of clear eyes, Song Taewon accepted the baby sheep.

“When the Young Master comes back, make sure to formally take Songi with you!”

Song Taewon let out a soft sigh instead of answering. The sheep in his arms baaed.

“It suits you well.”

Sung Hyunjae turned the laptop screen so that everyone could see it and continued.

“This is the Nosan Island No. 1 Special Awakened Management Center in the Chaohu Special District. It’s also where the phone’s location tracking stopped.”

“It’s in the middle of the lake?”

“It’s a very big lake, little miss.”

“Then we can just flip it over!”

“The problem is that there are three S-class Hunters stationed on this island, and it is estimated that there are more than five S-class Hunters available for support.”

Park Yerim’s eyes widened at Sung Hyunjae’s words.

“Didn’t you say there were nine Chinese Hunters?”

“Officially. In reality, it would be more than three times that.”

“Think about the population. Even three times is too few.”
Han Yoohyun added an explanation. Then Do Hamin also chimed in.

“India, which has the second largest population after China, has more than thirty S-class Hunters. It is estimated that China has about that many as well. In reality, there is a high possibility that there are even more. India, like China, is not completely open, so Awakened statistics are not properly compiled.”

“…Still, it’s by the lake!”

“Don’t think that you’re the only Hunter who is good with water, Park Yerim. Although you are the strongest.”

The photos on the laptop screen changed one after another. Detailed photos of the lake, Nosan Island, and the special district city were shown. Finally, a photo of the messed-up airport appeared.

“This is probably the work of Han Yoojin.”

“…Hyung.”

“Wow, the Young Master must be safe, right?”

Then Sung Hyunjae placed the files on the table one by one.

“The nearest Hefei Airport will be unusable for a while, but Nanjing Airport is still safe. This means that Han Yoojin can be quickly moved to another location at any time.”

“Then we need to block the airport first?”

“And we need to infiltrate as quietly as possible. China is so vast that it will be difficult to find him if he hides properly. The disguises we can prepare are, of course, excluding the military, and first, the mafia.”

Sung Hyunjae’s fingertip opened one of the files and turned it so that Han Yoohyun and Park Yerim, who were standing on the opposite side, could read it easily.

“They are a neutral force, but their numbers are relatively small, so the probability of being caught is high.”

Then the second file was opened.