chapter 120 sophie a puppet
The Search Radar pulsed in Sophie's grip, the holographic map flickering with dozens of markers.
But she wasn't looking at any of them.
Her eyes were locked onto one name.
Frost Eye.
That bastard.
He had ruined everything.
He had manipulated the market.
He had stolen their profits.
And now, because of him, K was slaughtering Dark Solution's members.
Sophie's breathing was sharp, uneven. Her fingers dug into the radar's metal casing, her knuckles turning white.
She had given away everything—months of work, resources they couldn't replace—just to survive.
And Frost Eye was the reason why.
Her vision blurred with fury.
Sophie: (low, seething) "I'm going to burn him down to nothing."
---
A Reckless Order – A Dangerous Decision
Vance took a cautious step forward.
Vance: (tense, concerned) "Sophie…?"
She barely heard him.
Her thumb slammed down on the radar's activation switch.
A pulse of energy rippled through the air.
The map zoomed in, locking onto a single, glowing marker.
Frost Eye's exact location.
A rush of raw satisfaction flooded Sophie's veins.
She didn't care about strategy. She didn't care about patience.
Not this time.
Sophie: (snapping, furious) "Every available member—NOW."
Her officers hesitated.
Sophie slammed the radar onto the desk.
Sophie: (shouting) "I SAID NOW!"
The room burst into movement.
Weapons were drawn. Skills were prepped.
Dark Solution was moving out.
And Frost Eye?
He was about to learn what it meant to cross Sophie.
As Sophie confirmed the 20 gold payment for the System Radar, a sharp flicker of irritation ran through her.
Twenty gold.
That wasn't a minor expense, and the fact that she had to wait 30 minutes before seeing any results only deepened her annoyance. If she were spending this much, she expected instant intelligence, not some delayed report.
Her jaw tightened as the System Notification appeared before her eyes.
[System Notification]
You have activated System Radar. Target locations will be revealed in 30 minutes and will remain visible for up to 6 hours, tracking movements in real time.
Sophie let out a slow breath, but her irritation didn't fade. Instead, her mind began to moil, thoughts twisting and turning in agitation.
Would this be worth it?
She hated uncertainty, yet here she was, gambling gold on information she hadn't even seen yet. What if her targets moved unpredictably? What if this wasn't enough to trap them?
Her fingers tapped against her arm, a subconscious tick of frustration. 30 minutes. A short wait in the grand scheme of things, but it felt unbearably long when she needed answers now.
Still, she forced herself to calm down. Six hours of real-time tracking—that was the real prize. Every step they took, every change in position, she would see it. They wouldn't be able to hide.
Her lips curled into a smirk, but the tension in her chest remained. She had already paid. Now, all she could do was wait—and make sure when the time came, she made the most of it.
As the system message flashed across Frost Eye's vision, his breath caught for a second before his mind kicked into overdrive.
[System Notification]
A player, Sophie, has activated Search Radar on you. You have 30 minutes to leave the safe zone. Failure to do so will result in a one-level penalty.
A sharp wave of irritation surged through him.
"So, I was discovered… so soon?"
That was impossible. He had moved carefully, covered his tracks, avoided attracting too much attention. There was no reason for someone to be hunting him this early—unless someone had been pulling strings behind the scenes.
His mind immediately jumped to the Garrett matter. That was the only serious move he had made so far. Had Sophie somehow connected him to it? Did she have proof?
No. That didn't add up.
If Sophie had discovered his role in the Garrett incident, she wouldn't be using Search Radar—she'd be sending a full-blown assassination squad or rallying a guild to hunt him down.
This wasn't about Garrett.
His annoyance deepened as he forced himself to think. If not Garrett, then why? Who would want to mess with him? Who would gain from putting him in this position?
And then, the realization hit him like a brick.
"Rainbow Solution… Cute Mist!"
His teeth clenched. That damned trickster.
Frost Eye had annoyed Cute Mist back in Rainbow Solution, brushing him off, underestimating him, treating him like an eccentric nuisance rather than a serious threat. It had been nothing more than an irritation to Frost Eye at the time.
But to Cute Mist?
It was the perfect excuse for revenge.
A slow, simmering frustration built in his chest. Cute Mist wasn't the type to attack directly. He was a shadow, a manipulator who preferred indirect payback—the kind that left his enemies scrambling, unsure of who had even set them up.
And he had done exactly that.
Cute Mist hadn't come after Frost Eye himself. Instead, he had pushed Sophie into doing it.
"Damn it. He played me."
By nudging Sophie toward him, Cute Mist had created a win-win scenario for himself.
If Sophie killed Frost Eye, Mist would get his revenge without lifting a finger.
If Frost Eye stayed in the safe zone, he'd be humiliated by losing a level—a punishment worse than death in the early game.
If Frost Eye fled, Sophie would still be on his trail, making his movements harder and forcing him into a defensive position.
"He boxed me in like a damn rat."
The worst part was that Sophie probably had no idea she was being manipulated. She thought she was acting on her own intelligence, her own strategy—when in reality, she was carrying out Cute Mist's revenge without even realizing it.
30 minutes.
His eyes flicked to the countdown ticking away in his vision.
30:00 → 29:59 → 29:58…
His hands clenched into tight fists.
He had to make a decision.
Stay and lose a level? Not an option.
Run and play into Sophie's trap? Unacceptable.
Find a way to turn this around?
His frustration burned into determination.
Cute Mist thought he was untouchable, that he could toy with people from the shadows without consequences.
Frost Eye was about to prove him wrong.