While Seo Jung-woo was heading to the scene in the detectives’ van, a post appeared on the internet.

– I was there during today’s Yongsan bank robbery. Ask me anything.

Comments quickly followed.

– Did they really fire a gun?

– The masked guy shot a pistol. The gunshot was incredibly loud.

– Was he good at shooting?

– No, not just good. He was unbelievably skilled. He drew so fast that I couldn’t even see his hands. He fired two shots at a time, and the time between shots was so short that the gunfire sounded like “bang-bang.”

– There were two robbers, right?

– The second one was even crazier. The robber inside the vault heard the gunfire and ran out, but without even looking properly, the guy stretched his arm sideways and fired—bang-bang. Both shots landed precisely on the shoulder and leg.

A counter-comment appeared below.

– That’s nonsense. Hitting a running person so precisely with a pistol is impossible.

– I saw it with my own eyes.

– You said he didn’t even aim properly? That’s impossible.

– But he did.

People who weren’t at the scene started joking in the comments.

– Did he say anything about the sunset before shooting? LOL

– I finally found out the masked guy’s name. It’s John!

– Let’s not call our brother John "the masked guy." If anything, let’s call him "The Outlaw of the Sunset."

– I wasn’t talking about the Western John. I meant the John who had a pet dog.

Detective Lee Seong-hoon was checking his smartphone.

“Hyungnim, we found another witness.”

“Where?”

“A witness posted their account on an online forum.”

“There are a lot of fake witness reports.”

“The commenters are skeptical too, but I think this one is real. The second robber was shot while running out of the vault—that part was in witness interviews. But the fact that he was hit in the shoulder and leg wasn’t in the news.”

“They mentioned that? Then we have to meet them. Contact them.”

It would take time to go through official procedures.

“I’ll send them a private message first.”

Team 2 arrived at the victim’s house. It didn’t take long since it was within their jurisdiction.

The victim’s parents were in panic.

“Please save our daughter!”

Team Leader Kwon Byeong-cheol raised his voice to calm them down.

“We will definitely find your daughter!”

Seo Jung-woo stood there, recalling his memories.

‘I remember seeing the news last year about the 24-Hour Serial Killer being caught…’

In the other world, which was at war with Gates, there were bigger news stories than catching a serial killer. However, the 24-Hour Serial Killer was infamous because he warned his victims 24 hours before killing them. That made him widely known, and the news of his capture was a big deal.

‘How did they catch him again?’

He had only glanced at the news back then, so he didn’t remember much. But he did recall how they caught him.

‘Oh, that’s right. A Hunter with a detection skill found him.’

He had figured out the method, but in this world—where there were no monsters—there couldn’t be any Hunters with detection skills.

‘They won’t be able to catch him with this world’s investigation methods.’

Even though this was happening in a different world, people were still people. He wasn’t the kind of person who could ignore someone he had the power to save.

‘I have to catch him.’

He couldn’t remember the killer’s face, only that he was caught using a detection skill.

The detection skill works by sensing the intense killing intent of monsters targeting humans. If a monster isn’t aware of a human’s presence, it won’t be detected.

‘For someone to be caught by the detection skill, it means that killer was filled with murderous intent and was staring at that Hunter. Since that Hunter wasn’t famous, the killer must have been within the normal detection range.’

Seo Jung-woo figured out how to find the killer.

He stepped outside.

While team leader Kwon Byeong-cheol was questioning the victim’s parents, Detective Baek Sung-min opened the victim’s room and spoke.

“Maknae, don’t touch anything. Just observe and learn for now.”

No response.

“Maknae?”

Baek Sung-min turned around. Seo Jung-woo was gone.

Baek Sung-min asked Cho Min-seok, “Where did the rookie go?”

“He went outside. Didn’t you send him?”

“Ugh, I swear I’m going to send that guy back for a refund!”

Seo Jung-woo left the victim’s house and strolled down the alley as if he were taking a walk.

He also had a detection skill. When awakened, it allowed him to easily locate monsters lying in ambush for humans, making it extremely useful for Hunters.

That didn’t mean it could always detect monsters. If a monster wasn’t specifically targeting a human, the skill wouldn’t trigger. Some special monsters could even suppress their killing intent, making it dangerous to rely on detection alone.

At times like that, he could switch the detection skill to active mode.

Seo Jung-woo usually kept it in passive mode for constant awareness but could switch to active mode when needed, concentrating the detection on specific areas. In active mode, it became much more precise.

“Human killing intent isn’t as easy to detect as a monster’s, and the culprit isn’t aiming a gun at the victim’s family, so passive mode won’t work.”

If the killer were pointing a gun and pulling the trigger, passive mode might detect it from a distance. But otherwise, he needed to switch to active mode.

First, he ruled out apartment or house windows.

“A killer smart enough to leave no trace wouldn’t use a place that leaves records.”

If the serial killer rented or bought a place for each crime, it would leave a trail for investigators to follow.

“There aren’t any motels around here, either.”

If he could get to a high place and look down at the area, he could find a likely spot faster. But that would also make him visible to the killer. When hunting ambushing monsters, the key was to move unnoticed.

“Most would prefer a place with a clear view of the target… a rooftop?”

He sensed slight movement on a distant rooftop. From there, the victim’s house would be clearly visible. He focused his detection skill on that location, but he didn’t sense any killing intent.

“Not there.”

Detection skills in passive mode worked constantly, but active mode had a cooldown. Once activated, he had to wait a moment before using it again. During that cooldown, even passive mode was disabled.

“Where are you hiding, then? Not even a strand of hair is showing?”

Jo Dong-sik was hiding on the rooftop of a four-story building about 200 meters away from the victim’s house. He had even set up a tripod and was monitoring the victim’s house through a camera equipped with a telephoto lens.

A chuckle escaped his lips.

“Heh. Go ahead, search all you want. Just like before, they’ll run around frantically, but not a single one will ever find me…”

Suddenly, the rooftop metal door behind him rattled.

Jo Dong-sik swiftly turned around.

“Huh?”

The door shook again, but it didn’t open because Jo Dong-sik had attached a simple plastic lock outside. It was just an adhesive lock that could be bought from any store, but it was enough to make anyone unfamiliar with the situation think the door was locked.

“I made sure to pick a building without a security guard. Is it a resident? If they think the door is locked, they’ll just turn back.”

The flimsy plastic lock suddenly stretched, snapped, and the door swung wide open. Seo Jung-woo stepped onto the rooftop.

“Hey. What the hell did you stick on this door?”

Jo Dong-sik tensed slightly.

‘The building owner? Damn, I’m unlucky today.’

But he wasn’t too worried. He had an innocent-looking face. As long as he played dumb and made up a reasonable excuse, people never suspected him of being a serial killer.

Raising his hands slightly, Jo Dong-sik spoke.

“Ah, the door was just open, so I came up. Photography is my hobby, and I wanted to take some shots of the sky…”

“Bullshit.”

“What?”

Seo Jung-woo walked toward him, speaking in a calm but firm voice.

“You sent photos to the victim’s family and now you’re enjoying the show from here? Does it feel good? Watching them suffer? You’re a real sick bastard.”

Jo Dong-sik realized he had been caught.

‘I was planning to get away quietly without exposing my methods…’

If he killed someone here, the police would learn about his tactics. In similar situations before, he had always played dumb, escaped first, and then later hunted down any witnesses at a different location.

Jo Dong-sik’s eyes darted behind Seo Jung-woo. There was no one else.

‘He’s alone?’

A sinister grin spread across his face as he reached into a long bag and pulled out a blade. The moment he drew it from its sheath, the 50cm-long blade gleamed with a cold, sharp edge.

“Thanks to you, I won’t be able to enjoy myself like this anymore. I’ll just have to find another, safer method next time.”

Seo Jung-woo reached for the bag he had taken from a clothing donation bin and thought to himself.

‘Should I just fire a couple of rounds first?’

Inside that bag was a handgun.

‘No, this kind of scum isn’t worth keeping alive. It’d be better to just shoot him in the chest and be done with—’

Then, another thought crossed his mind.

‘Wait. I need to find the victim first. It hasn’t been long, so they should still be alive.’

To find the victim, he couldn’t use his gun. He had to capture the bastard alive. Of course, he could shoot and still take him in alive, but unlike the other world, firing a gun here would cause problems.

Placing the bag on the ground, he asked,

“You even know how to use that knife?”

Jo Dong-sik bared his teeth in a grin.

“I have a second-degree black belt in kendo. Heh.”

The kendo of the other world had evolved to be more effective against monsters. Some even awakened sword-related skills. Even those who didn’t awaken such skills were at least proficient with a blade since they needed to stab close-range monsters to push them away.

Seo Jung-woo was curious.

“I wonder how strong a second-degree black belt is.”

He figured this was a good opportunity to gauge the combat level of this world.

Seo Jung-woo curled his finger in a beckoning motion.

“Let’s get started.”

“You little—!”

Jo Dong-sik lunged at him. The blade, raised high, came slashing down at high speed. He was certain this attack would kill Seo Jung-woo.

“Hah!”

Watching him, Seo Jung-woo made an assessment.

‘Seriously? This is second-degree black belt level? The standard must be different.’

Compared to a mantis monster’s forelimb strike, this was laughably slow.

Seo Jung-woo smoothly sidestepped the blade and countered with a punch. His fist sank deep into Jo Dong-sik’s chest.

“Guh!”

Jo Dong-sik flew backward, rolling across the rooftop floor. His sword slipped from his grasp and landed in a corner.

Seo Jung-woo asked,

“Hey, are you really second-degree? That was pathetic.”

Jo Dong-sik scrambled to his feet, gasping. Pain shot through his ribs.

“Huff… Huff…”

He fumbled in his pocket and pulled out a jackknife.

Seo Jung-woo walked toward him.

“Cute little knife you got there.”

Jo Dong-sik swung it wildly in the air.

“Stay back!”

“Already scared?”

The distance closed. Jo Dong-sik screamed and charged.

“Aaaah!”

Seo Jung-woo smoothly dodged the knife and swept his leg out.

“Ugh!”

Jo Dong-sik tumbled forward. Before he even hit the ground, Seo Jung-woo stomped on his right hand.

The jackknife flew out, landing near the first blade.

“Aaaagh!”

The bones in Jo Dong-sik’s right hand shattered. He wouldn’t be holding any weapons with that hand anymore.

Seo Jung-woo asked,

“Where’s the victim?”

Hatred burned in Jo Dong-sik’s eyes.

“Screw you! You think I’d tell you?”

“Yeah. You will.”

Seo Jung-woo grabbed Jo Dong-sik by the collar and dragged him to the rooftop edge. Jo Dong-sik thrashed in protest. Seo Jung-woo easily lifted him up with one arm and dangled him over the edge. It was a feat only a Hunter could manage.

Jo Dong-sik’s eyes widened in horror. Before he could speak, Seo Jung-woo let him hang over open air.

Jo Dong-sik kicked his legs desperately, his feet unable to find ground. Pure terror overtook him.

“Gah! K-khek!”

“Ready to talk?”

Even in his fear, Jo Dong-sik spat out,

“Screw you! If you kill me, you’ll never find her! Only I know where she is!”

“You’re dumber than I thought.”

“What?”

“You think we won’t find out who you are? We’ll check your house, track your movements, circulate your picture, find witnesses. Figuring out where she is won’t even be hard.”

“That’ll take—”

“There’s no rush. People can survive without food for days. As long as we find her before she dies, that’s enough.”

Jo Dong-sik saw the cold truth in Seo Jung-woo’s eyes.

Panic gripped him.

“F-fine! I’ll tell you! Just pull me up first—”

“Tell me first.”

Jo Dong-sik hastily gave an address.

Seo Jung-woo asked,

“You sure?”

“I swear! I’ll even take you there myself, so pull me up—”

Seo Jung-woo smirked.

“Oops. My hand slipped.”

“What? What do you mean—”

Seo Jung-woo let go.

“This.”

Jo Dong-sik plummeted from the fourth-story rooftop.

“Aaaaaargh!”