Chapter : 47
Confrontation (3)
Suhyeon had said it because he preferred working alone. He could use his powers freely without worrying about anyone’s gaze. However, the other operatives didn’t see it that way. To them, Suhyeon’s ability made him appear as someone who took the lead in dangerous situations.
“There’s no need to go that far…”
“The explanation ends here. Whatever you don’t understand, just accept it. I’m the team leader.”
Suhyeon, tired of explaining, cut the conversation short. The operatives didn’t respond further, but their eyes reflected respect. Respect had nothing to do with age. Whoever stepped forward first in dangerous situations earned the admiration of others, regardless of rank.
In that sense, Suhyeon was perfect. Whenever something looked dangerous, he would step forward first, steadily earning trust and credibility.
The forest had the advantage of providing many places to hide. There were countless spots where Suhyeon could conceal himself and wait. Climbing an appropriate tree, leaving a string for alert purposes beside him, he closed his eyes. At a glance, he might have seemed defenseless, but the moment the enemy appeared, he would know immediately.
“It’s not coming in. Couldn’t they attack during the day?”
“It’s possible, but unlikely.”
These attackers didn’t need to kill anyone. Their objective was only to destroy the forest and retreat, so there was no reason to strike in broad daylight. Moreover, in a head-on confrontation during the day, the defenders had the advantage.
Suhyeon had been waiting in vain for several days. He hadn’t expected an attack to come the moment he arrived, but continually waiting without certainty was tedious.
What concerned him more than boredom was the Jin-dog team. They didn’t have the confidence Suhyeon had. They had moved because of a tip suggesting an attack might happen, nothing more.
Uncle Joe’s company also lingered nearby, so things remained quiet for now, but if nothing happened for long, troop movements could occur.
‘The first logging operation will happen within a month. I thought there’d be an attack before that… Did I overestimate things?’
Organized sabotage of forests, disguised as acts by other species, had once been a popular tactic. Upon hearing rumors of attacks by other species near the city, Suhyeon had instantly sensed it was a disguised operation.
Still, even if it was real, whether they would target newly discovered large forest areas remained uncertain. Suhyeon thought it was possible, but the attackers might have given up to avoid being caught or after seeing reinforced troops.
‘Those who do these things usually don’t give up just because reinforcements arrived… Did the Jin-dog Team 1 overplay it?’
If attacks didn’t come, there was another option: wait until the first logging operation began and sell the area at a high price.
But that felt somewhat unsatisfying. Suhyeon wanted to catch the culprit. Selling the Redwood forest wasn’t enough to make a mark with the authorities. To prove himself, he needed to know exactly how the incident occurred and catch the culprit.
“Don’t let your guard down. They could be aiming for something like this.”
“I know.”
If things unfolded that way, there was nothing to do but respond. Suhyeon consistently kept contact with Kang In-kyu. If this operation failed, he was the only one worth targeting.
Kang In-kyu seemed hesitant to join. Lacking confidence, he didn’t accept bold proposals easily.
‘If I push just right, he might come over… I hope something happens.’
Suhyeon hoped for trouble within the Jin-dog team. The rookie Kang In-kyu’s position was precarious. If he made a mistake or caused an accident, all blame would fall on him, giving Suhyeon the perfect opportunity to step in and extract him.
But the Jin-dog team was a major company. The operatives didn’t harass Kang In-kyu unnecessarily, and he was careful, so no major accidents occurred.
Finally, the opportunity Suhyeon had been waiting for arrived. The attackers appeared.
“!”
Suhyeon, who had his eyes closed, opened them at the vibration he felt on his fingertips. The string had been cut. He immediately grabbed his bow and traced the severed line.
‘Five. This can’t be all. Are they splitting up?’
The attackers wore faintly silver-gray suits, with their faces covered by masks. As they gradually closed in, they activated their suits with a signal.
‘Stealth suits?!’
Stealth suits: advanced equipment with powerful cloaking functions that could hide the wearer’s body. Not perfect, of course; in bright daylight, the contours could be detected. But in the darkness of night, those flaws were invisible. Suhyeon knew the danger of this equipment well. First-time opponents often didn’t even see the attack coming.
Even in Suhyeon’s active days, these weren’t mass-produced; only select factions had access.
‘That means…’
Suhyeon drew his bow. The stealth function was meaningless here; he had already secured the positions. The attackers wouldn’t imagine that someone far away was targeting them.
Thunk!
Psychokinesis combined with his bow made this ancient weapon perfect. The arrow veered midair and pierced an attacker’s back.
“?!”
Their expressions weren’t visible, but Suhyeon could sense their panic. Judging by what they carried, they likely planned to incinerate the forest from the outside.
Thunk!
‘They didn’t expect a preemptive strike, did they?’
Attacks might be happening elsewhere too. Yet no reports of sensor triggers came from the operatives…
‘They’ve already been neutralized. Didn’t even expect it.’
“It’s an attack! Wake everyone! Inform the Jin-dog team.”
Suhyeon immediately refocused on hunting. The attackers floundered in the unexpected assault, trying to move to dodge the shots.
But it was futile.
Suhyeon pierced the remaining attackers with arrows and finished off the last fleeing one. The preparation was complete. Now he could search for other intruders.
Three squads, five per team—this was the number of attackers Suhyeon had taken down with arrows alone. At this point, the attackers realized the situation. They regrouped quickly, deployed smoke bombs, and charged.
Their masks likely had purification functions. These were no ordinary smoke bombs.
“What the hell?! Are they Jin-dog operatives with powers?!”
“No such person was in our intel…”
“Enough. Take them out first! I was going to let it slide, but they’re digging their own graves.”
They had intended to destroy the forest silently and escape. But someone spotting and firing at them from afar changed everything. Bomb placement and movement were now impossible—they couldn’t predict when they’d be shot.
Their attack had already been detected. How it happened was unclear, but they weren’t retreating. They weren’t facing forward due to confidence—they simply had no choice.
“Make sure they’re eliminated!”
‘Oh. They’re coming this way?’
Perhaps having confirmed the Jin-dog team’s position, they charged quickly. Their forest destruction had momentarily halted due to long-range sniping.
Click!
“!”
Suhyeon clicked his tongue seeing the arrow deflected. Psychokinesis couldn’t be applied at range, so the first shot combined with psychokinesis was all that mattered. Knowing this, it wasn’t impossible to defend against.
Still… to deflect like that? Definitely not ordinary.
‘Alright. What now?’
He could join the main battle or move to the rear to disrupt them. He chose the latter.
“Deal with that psychic. Kill him.”
“Yes!”
“?”
Suhyeon frowned seeing some attackers turn toward him, essentially revealing that they had located his position.
‘Ah, did they bring heat sensors…? Whatever.’
The enemies charged irregularly. Seeing the leader deflect an arrow, they assumed they could defend against attacks too.
‘Found you!’
From afar, they saw Suhyeon aiming his bow from a tree and approached while shooting. They had the confidence to dodge the moment an arrow was released.
Thunk!
“Uh?”
“Coming closer makes it easier for me. Dodge this.”
Thunk!
The attackers came into a space where Suhyeon could properly apply psychokinesis—almost helping him. Realizing the strength of his powers, they fired bullets to suppress him.
But the bullets stopped midair.
“He’s a psychokinetic!”
A high-level psychokinetic. They couldn’t beat him with conventional methods.
Yet they knew the leader of Jin-dog Team 1 was here. Naturally, they had means to counter psychics in case of emergency.
“Activate the device!”
“?!”
Suhyeon realized what they had activated: a heavy black cylindrical object. For a psychic, it was almost a death sentence.
‘A psychic suppression device?!’
He had suspected they weren’t ordinary, but stealth suits plus psychic suppression? Suhyeon knew exactly who he was facing. Few on this planet could field such equipment and fight like this.
“Kill him!”
Enraged over the death of comrades, the attackers vented their fury. It made sense—they’d been outmatched by a psychic they hadn’t seen before. Once his powers were nullified, he was just another opponent.
“Ugh?!”
“Thought blocking powers would be enough to win?”
Suhyeon dodged an attacker jumping at him from the tree, lightly cut his neck, and landed below.
“Stealth suits and psychic suppression… A Chinese special forces team, perhaps?”
Though their faces were hidden by masks, Suhyeon felt their expressions shift abruptly.
