Episode 3
And just as expected, she was kidnapped by the human traffickers.
Thump. Thump.
Yeongwon was wrapped in a sack and thrown into a car trunk.
It was fine since being tossed into a trunk like cargo was part of the plan. She used a hidden eyebrow razor to free her hands and arms, relieving some of the stuffiness.
But she couldn’t exactly enjoy the pain from her body repeatedly hitting the ceiling and floor of the trunk.
Thump. Thump.
‘Can’t you guys hurry up and deploy… you iron rice bowl bureaucrats…’
A few days ago, when she reported the Guide human trafficking to the Awakened Reporting Center, the person on the phone said that the Center’s Espers would bust the Guide handover at the Incheon dock.
They needed the criminals to commit the planned crime so they could be severely punished, so she was told to just hold out until then.
She didn’t doubt the Espers would show up at the right time. She had even seen people who looked like plainclothes police officers entering the building from her window, maybe to check the situation.
But she kept thinking about the breaking news she’d glanced at a few hours ago over the caregiver’s shoulder.
Ding. Ding. Ding. Ding.
It hadn’t happened before, but the caregiver’s smartphone vibrated wildly and tumbled from the edge of the table to the floor.
Curious, she pretended to pick up the phone to call the caregiver and checked the pop-up notification.
[Emergency Disaster: [Center] Ilsan Gate expanded. Please refrain from entering northern Gyeonggi Province.]
Breaking news articles with familiar names poured in one after another.
[Breaking: Kim Yeohyeon (ES3), who entered Ilsan Gate unreachable for two days… Center leadership silent]
[Breaking: Ilsan Gate rift widens, Center restricts entry to northern Gyeonggi]
[Breaking: Center: “No civilian casualties”]
[Breaking: Headquarters on Esper Kim Yeohyeon’s Gate-interior rampage rumor… will strictly deal with fake news]
If she were in a situation where she could act like a mentally sound person, Yeongwon would have asked without hesitation what the heck was going on.
What in the world was happening outside? And what was the basis for the rumor about the rampage inside the Gate?
But unfortunately, Yeongwon wasn’t in a position to ask. All she could do was give the device back to the caregiver with an ‘I don’t know anything’ look on her face.
‘What is it… Seriously, what is it?’
The caregiver seemed to be looking at the phone with a serious expression. She then called her middle school-aged daughter and husband, who, in turn, checked on their safety.
Eavesdropping on the call, it seemed the areas around the Gate were all controlled so that civilians weren’t caught in the rift, and only Esper Kim Yeohyeon and other Rankers had entered the Gate
Talk of rank promotion and other incomprehensible things went on for a while.
Vvvvv. Ding. Ding.
Disaster texts and breaking news kept coming.
Even if no one had died yet, it was clear that a national disaster, which the entire country was focused on, had broken out in South Korea.
‘Should I be worried too?’
As far as Yeongwon knew, Kim Yeohyeon’s rampage happened in Myeongdong, not Ilsan.
So, Esper Kim Yeohyeon would eventually return alive from this Gate.
‘Since civilians weren’t caught up, it will eventually get sorted out somehow.’
Even so, she couldn’t help worrying about Esper Kim Yeohyeon’s safety, the safety of this world, and her own safety, which was scheduled for kidnapping.
Plus, being stuck in the dark trunk for such a long time amplified negative thoughts.
Thump. Thump.
She worried that the Espers might not be able to get to Incheon on time because of the Ilsan Gate.
Hoping to get some information, she even entered the High Rankers’ Veteran Chat, but couldn’t get anything useful.
Instead, she just felt like she had made a mistake.
[Anonymous2 joins the conversation / Total participants 4]
[Lee Changgyeol(EA7): Anonymous1 and Anonymous2, I don’t know who you both are, but if you have time to chat, please deploy to Ilsan.]
[Lee Changgyeol(EA7): The situation is very bad. I urgently beg you.]
She was so surprised that she immediately left the Veteran Chat. She mentally noted that the number of Rankers participating in the chat room could be small when a major incident broke out.
‘No way… My human trafficking report didn’t cause a butterfly effect, did it?’
It wasn’t a big enough incident to cause a butterfly effect, was it? She hadn’t even gone out for a walk outside the Convalescent Hospital, let alone gone to Ilsan.
Thump. Thump.
‘No, it couldn’t be.’
To find some peace of mind, Yeongwon opened her Status Window to check her own information.
[SSS-Rank Guide]
The SSS-rank overpowered patch glowed proudly.
Even a reader new to modern fantasy novels would understand that this rank was unmatched. They’d guess, even without knowing the details, that it was a cheat-level rank that would break the world’s balance.
Yeongwon, too, didn’t know exactly what power the SSS-rank guaranteed yet, but she was confident it would be at a cheat level.
In short, she probably hadn’t gained a life that would easily fade away. Even if she were trapped in a dark trunk right now.
‘Since I’m the one and only SSS-rank, I probably won’t get an ending where I just poof die in 30 minutes…’
‘I won’t be some extra who’s tragically killed, trapped on a smuggling ship to China and meeting my end on the mainland…’
Plus, that SSS-rank wasn’t her only reliable card.
The things left behind by the past she tried hard to forget were still within her body.
Yeongwon shook off the anxiety and relaxed her body. The stiffer she was, the greater the pain in her lower back when they passed over a speed bump.
‘Time to take a nap…’
It was still quite a distance to the Incheon dock.
And she had a deep sleep.
‘I’m seriously an amazing mental health queen…’
Yeongwon felt a dull ache in her shoulder blades and lower back, purely marveling at herself.
‘Sleeping soundly in this situation? Am I crazy…’
Stomp. Stomp.
Amidst the constant engine noise, the sound of shoes crunching on gravel mixed in. Someone was approaching. Yeongwon nestled deeper into the sack and loosely twisted the rope around her wrists.
“Did you give her the sleeping pill? The one for Awakened?”
A strange, slightly hoarse man’s voice. Maybe a smoker in his 40s or 50s.
“Yes. Last time the director said he drugged her and she woke up and walked around after 30 minutes, like he saw a ghost, so I put in a bit more than the usual dose.”
Another strange voice. She figured it was a younger man. The ‘director’ they mentioned seemed to be the man who pretended to be her guardian at the hospital.
“Then she’ll sleep for another 24 hours.”
Yeongwon had been trying to blame her deep sleep on the sleeping pill, but she retracted that judgment upon hearing the ’24 hours’ part. She slept because she was tired, not because the pill worked.
They had confirmed multiple times at the hospital that the ‘Awakening-use medicine’ they mentioned didn’t have much effect on her. It wasn’t surprising that medicine didn’t work well on an SSS-rank body.
“When are those guys coming?”
“The traffic wasn’t as bad as we thought, so we arrived too early.”
“Maybe because Ilsan is in chaos and they’re not letting planes fly at the airport, so everyone stayed home.”
“Probably.”
It seemed the buyers hadn’t shown up yet, so the Center was probably waiting without raiding the scene.
Yeongwon loosened the rope more and lay facing up.
“Did you see the news? Kim Yeohyeon still hasn’t contacted the Center?”
“Yeah. I wonder what will happen to him.”
“It’s something, isn’t it… The Esper with practically world-ranking potential has been Awakened for over 10 years, but there are no highly compatible Guides to back him up, so the whole nation trembles every time a slightly large Gate opens…”
Esper Kim Yeohyeon.
Yeongwon’s ears perked up at the sound of the potential landlord’s name.
“They say Kim Yeohyeon doesn’t even have a Guide with even a 40% match rate among all S-rank and A-rank Guides?”
“The Headquarters and Center tried to hush it up at first, but it’s spread everywhere now. Poor guy.”
“So, is it true he pays 300 million won every three months, or 1.2 billion won a year, to Guides?”
Yeongwon concentrated, not missing a single piece of the conversation mixed with the engine noise.
“Yeah. And that’s after taxes, after taxes. Exactly 300 million for three months. This is the amount left after deducting all the fees and taxes Kim Yeohyeon pays the Center.
It also excludes costs for living expenses, room service, and other amenities, even the amount she swipes with the Black Card he provides.”
“Oh…”
In Yeongwon’s mind, the potential landlord candidate was instantly upgraded to confirmed landlord-nim.
“Anyway, Kim Yeohyeon is pitiful. He awakened before he was ten, and all his abilities are great, but he doesn’t have a Guide with a good match rate even among the Non-Selectives, so he can’t have any fun.
He’s constantly dragged around by the Headquarters and Center, working his butt off.”
“But the Guides who get dragged in, even with a match rate of less than 40%, are truly pitiful. I wouldn’t go, no matter how much money they gave me.”
But Yeongwon, listening, thought differently.
‘Seriously… Isn’t that a total sweet deal?’
Yeongwon genuinely wished for Esper Kim Yeohyeon’s safe return from the hardships in Ilsan.
Her resolve to get into that 200-pyeong Han River-view penthouse deepened even more.
The men outside the trunk continued their chatter, completely unaware that Yeongwon was intently listening to their conversation.
“So, do Non-Selectives look ordinary? I’ve never seen one.”
“Not ordinary… The visual is something else.”
“Ooh, I’m curious.”
“If you’re curious, look.”
Click.
‘Uh… Huh?’
Yeongwon’s eyes widened.
Shhh.
The sack was pulled back.
“…”
“…”
Words failed them both.
“…”
“You…”
It looked like things were going horribly wrong.
“You… What the f*ck. Did they water down the meds they got paid for at the Convalescent Hospital?”
The man reached to grab Yeongwon’s hair.
Yeongwon, somehow, nimbly dodged his hand.
Whoosh.
The man’s hand only sliced through the air.
“…”
Multiple thoughts flashed through Yeongwon’s mind simultaneously.
She replayed the numerous backup plans she had prepared, one by one. She could choose any of them, but none of them seemed to have a clean ending.
Especially when she thought that someone from the Center might be watching.
“…”
A strange standoff was maintained.
“Well…” Yeongwon spoke first.
“You guys who came to human-traffick a B-rank Non-Selective Guide for 3 billion won…”
“…”
“Where are you right now?” She asked the thing she was most curious about.
“…”
“…Ha.”
The older man laughed incredulously. Seeing Yeongwon’s innocent expression, unafraid of the situation, he concluded that there was something wrong with the B-rank Non-Selective Guide’s mind.
“…What is this idiot?”
The younger man seemed to think similarly, chuckling as if the tension had broken. They seemed to think that the target of the trade, whom they were told was an idiot, had just said something idiotic.
“But seriously, she looks like a doll. So pale.”
The men suddenly relaxed their shoulders and started scrutinizing Yeongwon’s appearance down to the nanometer.
Seriously, judging her right to her face in this situation?
‘Could you please stop testing the patience of an extra who is desperately trying to hold back a cider shower right now?’
Yeongwon tried hard to recall the candied sweet potatoes she had enjoyed a few days ago.
“And why is her skin so transparent?”
The older man even reached out a hand, as if to touch Yeongwon’s cheek.
Yeongwon really didn’t want to use her hidden power, but she felt like she was being forced into a corner.
Vroom.
Just then, a black vehicle approached in the distance.
“Oh, they’re here.”
Yeongwon wished they were the people from the Center, but the ones who appeared were on the men’s side. Three buyers had come to purchase the B-rank Non-Selective Guide for 3 billion won.
Thud.
Yeongwon was slammed onto the gravel floor along with the sack.
‘Honestly, I didn’t plan on taking this kind of hit…’
Sweet potatoes could be swallowed with a few coughs, but taking the physical impact required a different level of resolve.
‘Life…’
Yeongwon looked at the night scenery spread out behind the man.
‘…Iron rice bowl folks, how long do I have to wait?’
This wasn’t a movie; there was no need for civil servants to show up only at the absolute extremity of urgency, was there?
Yeongwon stopped mentally drawing the character for ‘patience’ and carefully scanned her surroundings.
Slowly, she extended her senses to perceive things that couldn’t be recognized with ordinary senses. It was the radar she had desperately avoided using for years.
‘To think I’d suddenly have to use my sensory radar.’
But strangely, she couldn’t detect the presence of a single person.
It seemed as though no one was watching them, lying in wait.
‘I gave them detailed information. Did they judge it to be a false report?’
‘Or maybe they really are short-staffed because of the Ilsan incident.’
The time for the ferry to depart was getting closer.
‘I really didn’t plan for this…’
And then, just like a lie, exactly at that moment, in the distance.
Wee-woo, wee-woo
The agents of justice, sirens blaring, arrived.
