Chapter : 86
A Long Road Toward Mastery of Solo Combat (8)
At the same moment he spoke, Suhyun removed the intruder’s mask.
“Elf?”
“Gah… ugh!”
The elf let out a painful gasp, struggling to breathe. Her features were beautiful, but Suhyun didn’t care about that.
‘What…?’
There was something vaguely familiar. Platinum short hair, green eyes… He felt like he had seen someone resembling her somewhere before. Curious, Suhyun decided to ask the most urgent question first.
“I’ve seen your face. You know what that means, right? It means I can make things inconvenient for you if I want.”
“…”
Those of other species operating in human cities inevitably left some data trail. Someone like Suhyun could identify a person just by their face.
But the elf only smirked.
“Came in sneaking? Clever trick.”
“!”
Seeing that the elf in front of him wasn’t afraid of having her identity revealed, Suhyun guessed how she had entered. If she was a teleporter, sneaking in would have been a piece of cake.
“Well… doesn’t matter. I only need to know why. How did you find this place?”
“Because of the same reason as you.”
“I see. And where did you get your information?”
“….”
“Where did you get it?”
Ruiril swallowed hard at Suhyun’s expressionless stare and the force in his hands. She had met many humans and other species, but she had never seen anyone exude such silent intimidation.
“Beijing….”
The words slipped out involuntarily from the pressure and pain.
“Beijing?”
Beijing, on the Cameron planet, wasn’t Earth’s Beijing but a Chinese city established on Cameron. And that’s where the intel came from.
“So it was Chinese contraband after all? What were you planning to do with it? Were you working for the Chinese?”
Suhyun watched the elf’s expression closely while asking. If she was connected to the Chinese side, he would have considered killing her right there.
“I’ve never taken a job!”
Her voice cracked from the pain, but Suhyun instinctively knew she wasn’t lying.
“Then why? For money?”
“I was just… curious!”
An unexpected answer. She wasn’t stealing for money or on someone’s request, but simply out of a desire to collect artifacts. Of course, artifacts had intrinsic value, but on Cameron, few people collected them for such a straightforward reason—most had other motives.
“Stop right there!”
‘Have they started pursuing already?’
The organizers, still recovering from the shock, had obviously released some personnel. Catching her this way was difficult, but those who had just lost an artifact in broad daylight had to grab any chance, even a rotten lifeline.
In the alley, Suhyun, holding the elf by the neck with her mask on, looked blatantly suspicious. The pursuers pointed their weapons at his back and shouted:
“Hands on your shoulders and turn slowly! Move even a finger and you die!”
When a superpowered individual appeared, standard combat tactics had to adapt. One such adaptation was to watch the opponent’s movements extremely carefully before attempting to restrain them. Even superpowered people often showed some signs or gestures before using their abilities.
But there were always exceptions.
“…Should’ve fired first.”
Whoosh!
Two men collapsed forward, crushed by Suhyun’s telekinetic force. In less than a second, he had subdued both.
“Ugh…!”
Thud!
Seizing the moment, the elf in Suhyun’s grip teleported away—so swiftly that it surprised him.
‘She already broke free from the confusion? Impressive.’
Her resistance to supernatural abilities was remarkable. He hadn’t expected her to escape so quickly.
“I’ll repay this debt someday!”
“Such nonsense…”
Suhyun considered pursuing her but stopped. Her identity remained unknown. Chasing a teleporter optimized for evasion was extremely troublesome. Moreover, there were others around desperate to retrieve the artifacts.
‘I need to get out too.’
Back home, Suhyun sank into thought. Originally, he had only planned to smuggle out the artifact quietly, but the unexpected incident gave him a lot to consider.
‘First, Jindo. It’s a well-known, sizable place, but they got involved in something like this… must’ve been a big shock.’
In a way, it was his fault. If Suhyun hadn’t interfered so thoroughly, they wouldn’t have gotten involved in the deal.
‘The Chinese government will probably send people.’
That wasn’t a concern. Likely, the Chinese would only go after the teleportation user, maybe telekinesis too. They wouldn’t suspect Suhyun.
Now, the artifact network belonged to him.
‘Still… that elf is worrying me.’
It wasn’t the first time Suhyun had encountered a criminal of another species. On Cameron, he could track them if he wanted. But someone like that elf was rare.
Her teleportation ability was unusual enough, but her motive was stranger. Most other-species criminals stole for money. She stole simply because she was interested in artifacts.
“Yes, this is Kim Suhyun. Please verify.”
Being recognized by the government’s direct team had its perks: access to their databases. Suhyun looked up recent artifact thefts.
Artifact thefts weren’t usually publicized. Those in possession often hid information, and anyone capable of holding artifacts usually had the means to retrieve them quietly. There was no need to make a fuss.
But nothing stays secret forever. The government monitored artifacts circulating domestically, whether for preventing crimes or preparing cooperation requests. Through this system, artifact thefts ended up in government records—even if the perpetrators didn’t know it.
‘How come this wasn’t publicly known?’
Suhyun searched for incidents based on characteristics and was shocked. Judging from the elf’s skills, she hadn’t done this just once, so he looked into past events. The results were unexpected.
‘Definitely suspicious… and if we add incidents not yet logged, plus cities in other countries… how many artifacts has she stolen?!’
Artifacts vanished like smoke from tight security networks. Given multiple suspicious parties, it hadn’t seemed like a single perpetrator’s doing. Suhyun felt a chill.
To someone like him, determined to acquire artifacts by any means, this elf felt like a key to a treasure trove.
‘Should I have caught her then?’
Chances to meet her again were slim—her abilities were optimized for evasion.
‘Strange. How have I never heard of a superpowered person this strong?’
Even with careful self-management, traces usually remained. From her behavior, Suhyun inferred her personality: confident and proud of her abilities. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have charged straight in.
Such personalities tend to be noticed eventually. Even if not caught, word spreads: “This superpowered person is active lately.” Yet Suhyun had never heard of a teleporter like her.
That meant she disappeared before he started his main activities. A sudden thought flashed like lightning in his mind:
‘Could the Chinese have captured her?!’
The Chinese had already developed superpower suppression devices—but most didn’t know this. If the elf unknowingly ran into a Chinese trap…
‘That cannot happen!’
At the very least, he couldn’t allow the enemy to gain strength. Under Chinese torture, she’d reveal the hidden artifact locations immediately.
“Team leader, what are you doing?”
Kim Dongwook called Suhyun, who had been pondering solutions. Other team members lay exhausted on sofas, watching hologram broadcasts.
“What? Why is everyone inside?”
“Even we need days like this.”
Kim Chang-sik responded, burping with a sickly expression. The alcohol smell was strong despite the distance.
“I don’t want to meddle on a day off, but drink moderately.”
“Haha… sorry. Team leader, next time you should join us. I found a good place.”
“Do you want to drink with your boss?”
“Oh, right.”
“So that’s why everyone looked like death warmed over.”
Except for a few absent members, everyone was suffering from hangovers.
“Here, everyone, have a cup.”
“Thanks!”
Jo Seung-ah brought a tray and served hot tea to everyone. Jeong Seong-jae drank first and grimaced.
“Tastes….”
“What flavor are you expecting for a hangover cure?”
“Why are you making the boss’s daughter serve this?”
Suhyun asked in disbelief. Jo Seung-ah shook her head:
“I’m doing it. You all had a hard time following me yesterday.”
“?”
“…Team leader needs to watch how she drinks. She’s strong…”
Jo Seung-ah was small, with cute features. It was hard to believe she had knocked out the rest of the team with alcohol.
-…the first Orc gold medalist of this Olympics, Tanzak’s acceptance speech…
The Olympics were ongoing on the broadcast. Time had passed, but it remained a festival. For mercenaries risking their lives on Cameron, such events felt distant.
“The Orc won gold?”
“Impressive. Wasn’t there a fuss last time about other-species participation?”
“Gorgan, how do you feel?”
“How I feel? What does it matter that he won?”
Gorgan genuinely didn’t understand. Chang-sik, who asked, looked embarrassed.
“Just because they’re the same species doesn’t mean you feel a connection. If you work on Cameron, you should understand how other species operate.”
“Yes…”
Suhyun simply watched the video. The screen showed the sweaty Orc happily being interviewed.
-Any training secrets? Special routines?
-Not really. I just trained myself regularly.
-Tanzak doesn’t fuss about food. He even ate human meals without issue. That adaptability might be the reason for this result.
The camera panned to Tanzak’s coach, who looked endlessly proud.
-Food? What does Tanzak like?
-He likes everything. Especially red pig mushrooms from his hometown.
-Red pig mushrooms? What’s that?
-It’s a mushroom from Tanzak’s homeland…
“Boring. Let’s watch something else.”
“Agreed. Why watch other people succeed?”
The team grumbled. A gold medalist’s speech sounded like bragging.
-Tanzak insists on red pig mushrooms in meals, ignores other foods.
-Amazing. Any special effects?
-Not sure… Orcs like eating them, apparently…
“Wait, stop.”
Suhyun stopped the others from changing channels.
“What? You want to keep watching?”
“Just a bit longer.”
Interested in Cameron plants, the interview discussed red pig mushrooms briefly before moving on.
“…?”
Suhyun stood and spoke to Jo Seung-ah, who was staring at the screen nearby.
“The boss is at his desk, right?”
“Yes? Yes.”
“Doing business with other species? That’s not our main job.”
“Large mercenary companies handle that too, don’t they?”
“Sure, but they operate through subsidiaries since those organizations are well-structured. We’re just recruiting now. Is it necessary?”
“Impossible?”
“No, not impossible… but is it really needed?”
Jo Su-hyun tilted his head at Suhyun’s request to introduce merchants specializing in other species. Suhyun’s strange requests weren’t new, but this one caught him off guard.
