Seo Jung-woo entered the room, turned on the light switch, and locked the door first.

He needed information about the Seo Jung-woo who had been living in this world. First, he carefully checked the room. Just in case, he even looked under the bed.

There was nothing unusual.

He sat down on the chair and turned on the computer.

Another surprising thing happened. The computer booted up in just a few seconds.

“Wow. How is it this fast?”

He moved the mouse and opened a web browser. The internet window appeared instantly.

“The internet is insanely fast, too.”

In the other world, household internet was built using wireless networks.

Fierce battles were a given when fighting monsters. Power lines strung on utility poles would be cut into pieces in those battles.

Removing utility poles and burying cables underground wasn’t a solution either. The ground in battle zones often got torn up, and finding and repairing broken lines was expensive. Instead of spending money on digging, the other world preferred to produce more bullets and build more monster defense towers.

Setting up wireless internet networks made things simpler. Although internet speed suffered, the number of things needing repair drastically decreased. If a relay station got destroyed, they only needed to replace that one.

Connections between relay stations were handled by laser optical communication. Since there weren’t many skyscrapers, it was easy to link relay towers with lasers.

However, wireless networks had a fatal drawback—they were slow.

Then, he saw how homes in this world had direct internet connections via fiber optic cables or coaxial cables.

It was a whole new world.

For a moment, he lost himself, clicking on link after link. Then, he snapped back to reality.

“Ah. I need to check this first.”

He wanted to know what this world’s Seo Jung-woo had been searching for.

‘That should be his most recent interest.’

Browsing habits were similar in both worlds. The search bar showed previous searches, just like in the other world. Checking the settings further, he found a list of previously visited websites.

“Huh?”

Unexpected results appeared.

There were many searches related to psychic abilities. The previously visited sites were also about information on psychic powers.

He closed the search bar and checked the most recently created document on the computer.

The document contained simple analyses, speculations, and thoughts.

A few sentences revealed the situation:

– Unless I’m crazy, I think I’ve become a psychic. I feel certain that I can use psychic powers if I focus.

“This world’s Seo Jung-woo awakened a skill too.”

– I don’t know what kind of ability it is yet, but I hope I can use it to catch all the bad guys.

That hope was written down as well.

“Could there be more people in this world who have awakened skills?”

He searched the internet for information on psychic awakenings, hunters, and monsters. The only results were novels, movies, comics, and other fictional works.

“There are no psychics in this world.”

That seemed certain.

“And yet, Seo Jung-woo awakened.”

He didn’t know the exact reason why, out of more than seven billion people, Seo Jung-woo was the only one who awakened. But he had a guess.

“It must be related to my skill awakening and crossing over to this parallel world.”

The time he awakened his ability in the other world and the time this world’s Seo Jung-woo awakened coincided. It couldn’t be a coincidence.

“When I awakened this special skill, did I become linked to the parallel version of myself? Is that why he awakened the same skill?”

It was just speculation. He didn’t have enough information.

Now, he also understood why Seo Jung-woo had been missing all day.

“He must have crossed into another dimension when he used his skill, just like I did.”

“Maybe he went to my world, or maybe to some other dimension.”

In the other world, monsters invaded through gates. Those gates connected to the world where the monsters lived. There was debate over whether that world was another planet or a different dimension. One thing was certain—they didn’t all come from the same place.

“No matter which dimension he ended up in, I hope it’s a safe place. Hopefully, he landed in the middle of a peaceful elf village. At the very least, not in some monster-infested hellhole. And, I hope he comes back safely.”

After sincerely wishing for that, Seo Jung-woo reopened the internet window.

“Now I can focus on gathering information about this world.”

He researched how both worlds had diverged over the past 18 years.

That didn’t mean he spent all night on the internet. Condition management was a basic skill for a hunter. A battle could happen at any moment.

Seo Jung-woo woke up early the next morning.

He went outside and walked around to check the environment with his own eyes.

There wasn’t a single machine gun turret on the roadside. Instead, parking surveillance CCTV cameras were installed in their place.

From the morning, cars were speeding by. None of them had armor plating attached. They were all covered with thin metal sheets that looked like they would be easily torn apart if caught by a monster’s claws.

In the other world, cars were built with higher ground clearance to overcome obstacles, but in this world, they hugged the road tightly. Naturally, there were no machine gun mounts on the roofs.

The appearance of houses was different too. None of the homes had steel bars on their windows. At best, they had aluminum security screens.

As he walked, he came across a convenience store. He went inside. The shelves were packed with food, drinks, and various other goods.

Even in the other world, stores stacked plenty of products on their shelves.

However, the types of products were different.

In the other world, there should have been preserved foods made from processed monster meat in a particular spot, but here, there were canned tuna. Where armor-piercing bullets for personal firearms should have been displayed, there were laundry detergents instead.

And in this world, cola—something that could no longer be found in the other world—was abundant.

“Ah. Cola.”

He picked up a bottle of cola and approached the cashier. The cashier had no pistol on their waist.

After stepping outside the convenience store, he opened the cola and took a sip.

As expected, it was delicious.

In the distance, he could hear birds chirping in the morning. The peaceful atmosphere was comforting.

“This world is really nice.”

While gathering information, he continued walking around the neighborhood before returning home.

Seo Sora yawned as she stepped out of her room and asked,

“Where were you wandering around so early in the morning?”

“The neighborhood just feels so peaceful.”

“What are you talking about?”

“What are we doing for breakfast?”

“Just figure it out yourself.”

Seo Jung-woo opened the cupboard. It was packed with instant noodles, instant rice, Spam, and canned tuna.

“Whoa!”

“What? Did a package burst?”

“No. There’s just so much.”

Instant noodles also existed in the other world. Naturally, they were made from synthetic flour. There was also instant rice made from synthetic grains.

He reached for the instant noodles but then grabbed the instant rice instead.

Seo Jung-woo diligently prepared his breakfast. He microwaved the instant rice and carefully transferred every grain into a bowl.

‘It’s white rice. Not synthetic rice, but real rice.’

In the other world, synthetic rice was the norm. Although it was called synthetic, it wasn’t made from chemicals. It was processed from chlorella. The taste was awful, but the balance of carbohydrates, fats, and proteins was well-maintained.

‘And it’s white rice. There’s white rice stocked at home.’

Real rice did exist in the other world, but it was expensive and mostly brown rice. White rice was made by polishing the surface of brown rice, which naturally reduced its size. Even the powdered residue from polishing was never wasted. Only the truly wealthy could afford to remove the outer layer of such an expensive grain.

There was soup left in the fridge.

‘It’s seaweed soup.’

Seaweed soup didn’t evoke much emotion. Seaweed and laver, which could be cultivated in water, were abundant even in the other world. Since protecting farmland outside the cities from monsters was costly, hydroponic farming inside cities had developed significantly. Food production facilities didn’t just produce chlorella—they also grew seaweed and laver.

‘I eat seaweed all the time, so this isn’t really…’

“Huh? There’s meat in the seaweed soup!”

There was no way cheap monster meat existed in this world.

“Could this be beef?”

Seo Sora spoke.

“What are you talking about? You bought it yourself.”

“I bought it?”

“Don’t you remember? At your farewell party at the precinct, you drank like crazy at the barbecue restaurant. You bought beef then. You bought three whole geun of beef! And then, since we had to eat it somehow, you put a whole geun into the seaweed soup!”

“That’s right!”

He had no memory of it, but he decided to just go along with it.

The fridge also contained plenty of other basic side dishes. All of them were precious foods in the other world.

Seo Jung-woo set the table with rice, soup, and side dishes and started eating. With his mouth full of rice, he mumbled,

“Ah, this is delicious.”

It was truly delicious.

Seo Sora had a bowl of rice too. She sat down in a chair and grumbled,

“Anyone watching would think you were starved for days.”

After finishing breakfast, Seo Jung-woo headed to the police station.

The cooldown period for his Parallel Dimension Teleport skill would end in a few hours. He could have gone somewhere else until then, but he decided to go to the station first.

“I don’t know when this world’s Seo Jung-woo will return, so I should at least set up a cover story.”

He entered the detective division.

Detective Jo Min-seok noticed him and raised his hand.

“Oh. Rookie!”

“I’m Seo Jung-woo.”

“Yeah, Jung-woo.”

Jo Min-seok patted the empty chair next to his desk.

“This is your seat.”

Team Leader Kwon Byeong-cheol asked,

“Jung-woo, how’s your injury?”

“The doctor told me to take it easy for another day.”

Of course, he had no medical certificate.

Kwon Byeong-cheol looked concerned.

“Where are you hurt?”

“Nowhere, really. The doctor just thought I overexerted myself and told me to take it easy.”

“Anyway, you don’t have any assigned cases, so taking another day off doesn’t really matter. But aren’t you disappointed?”

“Huh? About what?”

“The serial killer you caught. Every police and prosecutor’s office is claiming they were after him and begging us to let them investigate together. We’re holding out, but we might hand him over somewhere else as soon as tomorrow after securing the evidence. Since you caught him, you probably want to interrogate him too, right?”

For Seo Jung-woo from the other world, it was just another routine arrest of a murderer. Moreover, he had no knowledge of how police work was conducted in this world. He didn’t know how to conduct an interrogation or even how to write reports.

‘If I had said I was working today, that would have been a real problem.’

“I’m fine with it.”

Detective Jo Min-seok also chimed in.

“Hey, you should meet with reporters, give interviews, and get your photo taken. This is your chance to be on TV and the news.”

“Hmm. But is it really good for a detective to be that well-known?”

“Not when you’re on undercover duty. But it helps when it’s time for promotions.”

“I’m a bit shy about that kind of stuff.”

“Huh? A detective being shy?”

Detective Baek Sung-min entered the office just in time to hear that and chimed in.

“Hey, why are you worried about the rookie’s promotion? He caught a serial killer in just 24 hours. Of course, he’ll get a special promotion. Shedding his patrol officer badge and becoming a full detective is a given.”

Jo Min-seok nodded.

“That’s true.”

Team Leader Kwon Byeong-cheol turned to Seo Jung-woo.

“I’ll process your leave, so take a good rest today and come in tomorrow. We can handle the interrogation in the morning.”

“Thank you.”

Seo Jung-woo bowed and left the office.

Once he was out of sight, Team Leader Kwon Byeong-cheol expressed his concerns.

“That kid… He’s passing up the chance to be on every major news network just because he’s shy? Isn’t that too timid for a detective?”

Baek Sung-min chuckled in disbelief.

“Come on, boss. You think he’s timid?”

“He said he’s shy.”

“Didn’t you hear how he caught that serial killer? A second-dan kendo practitioner swung a real sword at him, and he took him down with his bare hands. That guy’s got guts bigger than his body. If it were me, I’d have backed off and called for backup immediately.”

“Then why is he acting so reserved?”

“Who knows what goes on in the head of someone that crazy?”

ES Entertainment’s president, Oh Dong-cheol, let out a deep sigh.

“Haa… The deficit keeps growing. Should I just close down now?”

ES Entertainment was a failing talent agency. At its peak, it had around ten singers and actors under its wing. But they all left for one reason or another, leaving only four trainee girls.

“Even if I do close it down, I at least want to debut them first. It’s already been delayed for years because of constant setbacks. It’s only right to see them through their debut.”

All the employees had left, and only one manager, Kim Hyeong-jin, remained. But with no active entertainers, he practically handled all the company’s chores.

Kim Hyeong-jin asked.

“President, with what money?”

“Maybe the office’s security deposit?”

“Our debts exceeded that a long time ago.”

“If they debut and become famous, we can pay it all back.”

“There are hundreds of girl groups in this country, and only a few dozen are even known by name.”

“But our girls are talented. If we promote them well, can’t we make it work?”

“Promotion costs money. Are you planning to lose your last house too? Oh, wait. That’s already mortgaged. Even if you sell it, there won’t be much left.”

“Then what do you suggest? Just shut everything down?”

Kim Hyeong-jin sighed.

“I’m not saying that, but there’s just no way forward.”

The TV was on in the background. With nothing better to do, they were watching the news.

Kim Hyeong-jin remarked.

“Every news channel is fixated on the 24-hour serial killer arrest. If someone debuts now, they’ll be completely overshadowed. Any agencies planning a debut will probably wait until the hype dies down.”

“I wasn’t planning to do it now anyway… Ah! They just released the victim’s name— Huh?”

“Yeah, they did— Wait, what? Yoon Nana?”

The two men exchanged glances.

“Hyeong-jin, wasn’t that where Nana lived…?”

“Yeah, it’s her neighborhood.”

Silence fell over them for a moment before Oh Dong-cheol hastily pulled out his smartphone. In his rush, it slipped from his grasp and flew into the air. He flailed his arms, barely managing to catch it.

He immediately dialed Yoon Nana’s number.

“She’s not picking up!”

Kim Hyeong-jin tried calling as well, but not Yoon Nana.

“Hey, Sora. About Nana… Oh? You saw the news too? You’ve been trying to reach her since last night, and she hasn’t answered? Could it be…”

Oh Dong-cheol swallowed nervously as he listened in.

“Ah, I see… So you don’t know anything either?”

Oh Dong-cheol’s face fell.

But then, Kim Hyeong-jin’s eyes widened.

“Huh? What! Your brother is a detective at that police station?!”