Unexpected Kindness

Someone approached Cha Eui-jae, who was soaking wet from seawater, both in body and mind. A man cracked his knuckles, making bone-cracking sounds, and barked at him.

"Hey, you bastard, I can see you rolling your eyes under your eyelids. If you're awake, get up quickly…"

Something flew toward his face this time. Judging by the speed and the flow of the air, it seemed to be a fist. Cha Eui-jae remained seated, eyes closed, only wiggling his toes.

"Open your eyes!"

Thwack! A feather-light punch landed on his cheek. One second, two seconds, three seconds.

"Ahhh!"

The scream erupted from somewhere other than Cha Eui-jae's mouth. Cha Eui-jae finally opened his eyes slightly. The skinhead who had thrown the punch was hopping in place, clutching his reddened, swollen fist. The dim lighting reflected off his closely shaved head, flickering like a chaotic strobe light.

"My, my hand!"

As he hopped around as if his feet were on fire, the other thugs surrounding him jeered.

"Hey, stop whining, you bastard!"

"What's with the fuss after hitting his face with your fist?"

"It's not fussing, I'm telling you!"

The skinhead, clutching his fist, tearfully explained, while one of the men in the group laughed loudly.

"If it's fussing, you're dead. Let's see."

"I'm serious! Ah…"

"…Huh?"

The face of the man checking the fist, who had been grinning slyly, stiffened a bit. He scratched his head in disbelief as he turned the hand back and forth.

"This guy's hand really seems broken."

"What?"

"No, did he coat his face in steel? Why is his fist shattered after hitting his face?"

"Now that you mention it, I did hit that guy's head with a wooden plank earlier, and the plank broke."

"What the hell? Is he a stone head? Is stone head a skill?"

The thugs around him gathered and murmured in confusion. This situation was troubling. Some weakling hitting him for the first time…

At that moment, a man with a mustache grabbed Cha Eui-jae's wet hair and tilted his head back. Although wet, his face was unbelievably clean for someone who had been punched. After scrutinizing his face carefully, the mustache guy smirked evilly.

"Hah, this bastard. He came in here so confidently. Must be relying on something, huh?"

"…"

"Hey, hey. It's nothing to mess up your pretty face. Even if we're busy, we can still throw you into a drum and cement you up real quick, you bastard."

"…"

"Still keeping your mouth shut… Hah, you're a terrible actor."

If nothing else, being called a bad actor touched Cha Eui-jae's pride. As J, or EZ, at the center of attention in the Korean Hunter world, he had overcome numerous adversities and hardships using his acting skills. Though the poker face trait helped.

Calling me a bad actor? In indignation, his fingers tied behind him twitched slightly. The mustached man flicked his hand.

"Fine, let's make you want to talk. Hey, bring the tools. This guy seems to have some strange skill, so beat him with tools."

"Yes, boss!"

Burly men wielding crowbars, baseball bats, and planks approached, cracking their necks and arms. The mustached man, stepping back, smirked.

"It's gonna hurt a bit."

The big guy at the front twisted his lips as he got closer. And then—

Crack!

The sound of bones breaking was clearer and more resonant than expected. The man who had kicked Cha Eui-jae froze, eyes wide open, before collapsing and clutching his shin, rolling around in pain.

"Ah! Ahhh!"

"Shit, what the hell?"

"That idiot bastard, why kick with his own leg instead of using the tool?"

"This guy's weird! Use the tools to beat him!"

"That's what I said, you moron!"

"Dammit!"

The big guy squeezed his eyes shut and swung the nailed bat at Cha Eui-jae's small head.

Thwack!! The dull sound was quite loud, but it wasn't the head that broke. The bat hung loosely, broken in the middle! Cha Eui-jae, apart from his slightly tilted head, was unscathed.

'Is this guy really stone-headed?'

Kicking broke the kicker's toes, punching broke the puncher's knuckles. Crowbars, hammers, baseball bats, and planks— all tools broke. After gathering the injured in one spot, there was enough for a soccer team. The kidnappers finally noticed something was off. They clung to the wall, whispering among themselves in low voices.

"Shit, does this make sense? Why does it seem like the attacker is in more pain than the guy getting hit?"

"Yeah, what's this? Potions are damn expensive these days, and we're gonna use them all up."

"Boss, this really hurts."

"Dammit, just hold on a bit."

"Even with a dislocated bone?"

"My bone is broken, boss."

"Ah, go lie down over there!"

"But wasn't he supposed to be D-grade? Shit, did we mistake an A-grade for a D-grade? Why does the wrist of a B-grade break when hitting a D-grade? Is this according to the laws of physics?"

"This is the collapse of the Hunter society, seriously."

Of course, Cha Eui-jae heard it all. Hearing conversations about the collapse of society while beating people up made him feel restless as well.

'Why are these guys so weak?'

The kidnappers were much weaker than Cha Eui-jae had expected. Trying to extract information by playing along was futile as they kept missing. How did such weaklings have the nerve to smuggle drugs? Was there no point in getting captured and soaked in seawater?

The mustached man, standing back, yelled angrily.

"Hey, you bastards, finish up quickly and move before dawn! Why the hell can't you handle a single D-grade?"

Before dawn. That word triggered Cha Eui-jae.

He had a mission to serve hangover soup to the zombies that showed up early in the morning. Having wasted precious time getting captured, these guys failed at both threatening him and extracting information.

'What's with these incomplete bastards?'

Getting annoyed at the lack of valuable information and watching them tap dance around with broken legs was frustrating. Finally, Cha Eui-jae muttered like a sigh.

"Guys, this won't do."

It was clear to everyone that the words spoken by the kidnapping gang leader were now coming from the kidnapped victim. The kidnappers, clinging to the wall, whispered in confusion.

"Why is he saying that?"

"I thought the boss said that."

"I don't know, I'm scared now."

"I wanted to play along, but you guys are too low-level."

Regardless, Cha Eui-jae stretched his arms, tightly bound with cable ties to the metal chair, upwards. Snap! The multiple layers of cable ties tore apart with a single raise. He then lifted his legs, breaking the ties binding them as well.

The kidnappers' faces turned to shock as they watched dozens of cable ties break in an instant. Cha Eui-jae stood up from the metal chair, pushed back his wet hair, and then grabbed the chair, folding it in half.

He threw it at the mustached man!

Crash!

"Ugh."

Once again, Cha Eui-jae thought he should have pursued a career as a baseball player.

The mustached man, hit squarely in the face with the metal chair, rolled his eyes and collapsed. Blood streamed from his flaring nostrils.

Pushing his disheveled wet hair back again, Cha Eui-jae strode toward the thugs clinging to the wall. Sharp murderous intent poured toward the kidnappers. His black eyes gleamed menacingly.

"Come at me all at once, you pieces of shits."

***

The Combat Support Team 1 of the elite guild, Pado, might sound like a department that supports the combat team by name.

But in reality, it was different. The Combat Support Team 1 typically handled ordinary guild affairs but prioritized executing Lee Sa-young's orders as a special team when they came.

At this point, there were two rankers among the hunters in Pado Guild's Combat Support Team 1.

First, ranking 34th, Seo Min-gi, the master of stealth, infiltration, information gathering, and manipulation, known as 'A Small Miracle'.

Second, ranking 50th, Choi Go-yo, a young man nicknamed 'Romantic Opener', famous for his lock-picking skills.

Choi Go-yo, hunter name Romantic Opener, was performing a very important secret mission while Seo Min-gi was on an overseas trip, which was to monitor and report every move of a hangover soup shop part-timer to Lee Sa-young!

His target, the hangover soup shop part-timer, headed to Incheon Port every morning for some secret mission given by Lee Sa-young. Consequently, Choi Go-yo also had to give up his early morning sleep and head to Incheon Port every dawn.

Using a phone camera capable of 10,000x zoom, he took pictures from a very long distance and reported to Lee Sa-young. It was a tip given by Seo Min-gi. The part-timer had an annoyingly keen sense, so getting close would get him caught.

Today, after taking and sending a photo of the ant-sized part-timer, he was watching a YouTube comedy show on his wireless earphones. But then, unexpectedly, he received a message from the Guild Leader!

Guild Leader: Check the target's status

He was just at the fun part. Grumbling, he zoomed in on the container rooftop where the part-timer had been.

"Shit, where did he go?"

Seeing the empty rooftop, Choi Go-yo's mind went blank. He quickly and quietly made his way toward the container where the target had been. Luckily, it was so early that the harbor was still asleep, and he didn't encounter anyone.

He was now clinging to the wall of the container opposite, like a cicada. Pressing his ear to the container, he focused on the sounds coming from inside.

Thud, thud, thud. There were regular sounds of something hitting, the dull thud of flesh striking flesh, something flying through the air, and groans, grunts, and gasps as if someone was choking.

Choi Go-yo began to tremble with fear. The target must have been caught watching and dragged inside! These garbage thugs were undoubtedly beating up the newly awakened D-grade Hunter.

Time to go, Go-yo! Time to show the most spectacular last dance of your 20-year life. With the incredible leg strength of an A-grade awakener, Choi Go-yo kicked open the iron door, rolled nimbly through the open gap, and struck a pose as he entered the container.

"Hey, you cowards! Stop beating up the weak!"

Choi Go-yo had imagined a scene where his target, the part-timer from the soup restaurant, was lying helpless on the floor, surrounded by bad guys beating him up. A typical scene in a kidnapping. He would then take down the thugs with a few swift kicks and dramatically rescue the part-timer.

The admirable, stylish Hunter, Choi Go-yo. His gratifying imagination concluded with a pay raise offer from a grateful Lee Sa-young.

However, the scene inside the container was a bit different from what he had imagined. Choi Go-yo found himself locking eyes with a man whose face was so swollen from being hit that it looked like a steamed bun. Time seemed to move in slow motion.

"…Huh?"

The scene before him was…

Quite different from what he had imagined.

Crash! The steamed bun man flew out of the container, rolling and tumbling until he hit another container and finally stopped. Is he dead? Choi Go-yo, seeing this bizarre sight for the first time, gaped and turned his gaze back inside the container.

Someone was indeed…beating someone.

'…Is this real?'

The part-timer from the soup restaurant was demolishing the kidnappers.

Utterly destroying them.