Seo Jung-woo alternated his gaze between Lee Cheon-sang and Kim Seong-jun.

‘Look at this?’

Kim Seong-jun was glaring at Lee Cheon-sang as if he was ready to shoot him at any moment, and Lee Yoon-mi wore an expression of pure contempt.

Lee Cheon-sang smirked, raising one corner of his mouth in mockery. The four team members standing behind him seemed accustomed to such situations.

Seo Jung-woo spoke to Lee Cheon-sang.

“I didn’t come to request a job. I just came to ask a few questions.”

Lee Cheon-sang chuckled.

“Ah. Of course. No way someone like you would hire them.”

Showing no further interest, Lee Cheon-sang turned away and left with his hunter team.

Seo Jung-woo asked Kim Seong-jun,

“Do you have a bad relationship with that team?”

Kim Seong-jun gritted his teeth.

“That bastard is a complete piece of trash. The rest of them are the same.”

And yet, in the other world, he had hired this very man as his corporate lawyer.

‘Was it because Kim Seong-jun was more successful over there, and Lee Cheon-sang had to play nice?’

“Did you know him before?”

“Before my awakening, I mistook that bastard for a friend.”

Lee Yoon-mi explained,

“When we awakened first, that guy pretended to be a close friend and took advantage of us. But the moment he awakened his detection skill, he showed his true colors.”

“What do you mean by ‘true colors’?”

“He gathered up those scumbags and formed a hunter team, then tried to kill my husband and kidnap me.”

Seo Jung-woo’s suspicions cleared up.

‘Murder and kidnapping in this world. The same situation as the other world. The real culprit is right there.’

Lee Yoon-mi held Kim Seong-jun’s hand.

“Back then, we weren’t married yet, but we fought together and barely managed to escape. Our skills aren’t as useful as detection, but we each have at least one ability.”

The ability to sense a monster’s killing intent was a skill specialized for combat. Even having just a detection skill made it easy to form a team. Avoiding ambushes alone drastically reduced the risk of death.

“Did you report it to the police?”

“A gate had opened at the time, causing interference that shut down all recording equipment. That bastard attacked us on purpose during the blackout.”

“Ah. I see.”

Kim Seong-jun asked,

“So, why were you looking for me?”

Seo Jung-woo had crossed into the parallel dimension to gather information, yet he had just found the culprit.

“Hmm. Do you produce films by any chance?”

“Ah. So that’s why you’re here. Making movies used to be my dream, but I gave up a long time ago. In this kind of world, gathering production funds isn’t easy.”

“That’s unfortunate.”

“If I make a lot of money later, I’d like to produce movies.”

Seo Jung-woo suddenly wondered,

‘If this man worked in film production, would he be as successful as in the other world? But the film industry here isn’t as big as over there.’

In a secluded area, Lee Cheon-sang lashed out at his subordinates.

“You idiots let that bastard get away last time, and now it’s become a hassle!”

The machine gunner defended himself.

“We didn’t expect the woman to resist so fiercely. I heard she had feelings for you, boss…”

“You bastard! What? Say that again!”

“Ah, no, sir.”

Lee Cheon-sang’s eyes grew sharp.

“We have another chance now, so don’t mess up this time. Today, we’re killing Kim Seong-jun.”

None of his team members looked surprised or protested at the mention of murder. Lee Cheon-sang only recruited people like them.

Still, one of them was cautious.

“Boss, here?”

“One of the monsters that escaped the sudden gate today caused an electromagnetic disturbance. It’s still unaccounted for, so all CCTVs in this area are down.”

“But there are a lot of witnesses near the river. That guy just now, too…”

“I stepped in to make sure that bastard wouldn’t hire Kim Seong-jun for anything. He only came to ask a question and left, so forget about him.”

“What about other witnesses?”

“We’ll lure him to a secluded spot. No one will know if he dies there.”

“We should’ve brought silencers.”

“Even if there’s gunfire, people will just think we’re taking down a monster…”

Lee Cheon-sang suddenly gripped his gun and became alert.

“Huh? Something feels off.”

“Boss? What’s wrong?”

“Something’s bothering me…”

Suddenly, a shadow rose behind Lee Cheon-sang. It was Seo Jung-woo.

Lee Cheon-sang’s men had relied too much on his detection skill.

If you had detection, you didn’t have to worry about monsters ambushing you at close range. Instead, it was more efficient to focus on scanning distant areas and tracking targets.

Because of that habit, they were careless about their surroundings. None of them were even holding their guns properly.

Of course, their reaction was delayed.

Seo Jung-woo fired at the first target. The bullet slipped through the gaps in the armor.

“Guh!”

The gunshot was barely audible. Seo Jung-woo was using a suppressed pistol, loaded with subsonic rounds for further noise reduction. They weren’t armor-piercing rounds, just standard anti-personnel bullets.

The automatic shotgunner rushed to grab his weapon, but Seo Jung-woo was faster. Another shot rang out.

“Kehk!”

The grenadier reached for the pistol at his waist. Too late. Seo Jung-woo fired first.

“Argh!”

The machine gunner managed to lift his heavy weapon and even placed his finger on the trigger. But that was as far as he got.

Seo Jung-woo’s subsonic round punched into his body.

“Guhh!”

Like falling dominoes, all four of Lee Cheon-sang’s men collapsed in quick succession. Not one of them had fired a shot.

Lee Cheon-sang was the slowest to react. Seo Jung-woo had appeared right behind him.

He tried to turn around, but by then, a pistol was already aimed dead center at his face.

Lee Cheon-sang’s cheek twitched violently.

“T-This is a shooting skill?”

Only an awakened shooter could take down four men that quickly and still have a gun aimed at him.

Shooting skill awakeners were rare, but they could be found on battlefields.

Lee Cheon-sang couldn’t understand.

“Even if you have a shooting skill, how did you get close without triggering my detection?”

“It was easy.”

It really was.

Seo Jung-woo had approached without the intent to kill.

Subsonic rounds made suppressed gunfire even quieter, though they sacrificed lethality.

In this world, where medical technology had advanced, as long as a victim didn’t die immediately, even those with severe injuries could be saved. As long as they weren’t shot in the head or heart—and received treatment in time—they could survive.

Even if someone took a subsonic round to the heart, they could be saved with an immediate red potion. But red potions were too valuable for a small team like this to have four of them.

“Your detection skill level is too low. That’s why you didn’t notice me. Have you been getting too comfortable?”

Detection skills were originally meant to sense a monster’s intense killing intent, so they were weaker at detecting humans.

Lee Cheon-sang had a low-level detection skill with poor proficiency. He failed to sense in advance that Seo Jung-woo was approaching with a generous heart.

However, this kind of method doesn’t work against someone like Seo Jung-woo, whose detection skill level and proficiency are both high.

Seo Jung-woo pointed his gun and spoke.

“I’m going to ask you something now. If you answer obediently, you’ll just end up unconscious like your subordinates after taking a hit. But if you lie to me, you’ll end up with a hole in your forehead. The choice is yours.”

Lee Cheon-sang swallowed hard.

Right now, all the nearby CCTVs were disabled due to an electromagnetic interference monster.

Moreover, this was the place where he had planned to lure and eliminate Kim Sung-joon.

There were no witnesses here.

Lee Cheon-sang raised both hands.

“I surrender. I’ll answer whatever you ask.”

“When you tried to kidnap Lee Yun-mi before, where were you planning to take her?”

Lee Cheon-sang’s face contorted violently.

“That bastard Sung-joon hired a killer, didn’t he?! How much? I’ll pay twice as—”

Seo Jung-woo lowered the muzzle of his gun and pulled the trigger against Lee Cheon-sang’s leg. The bullet pierced through the gap in his leg guard.

“Aargh!”

“Who the hell do you think you are, trying to negotiate during an interrogation? Do I look that generous to you? Well, I do have a kind face. Even with my combat mask on, how did you figure that out?”

“Shit… You just shot me out of nowhere—”

“Be grateful I didn’t shoot your forehead.”

Lee Cheon-sang wondered why Seo Jung-woo was asking about that incident.

‘Even if he finds out now, what does it change?’

He was curious, but he didn’t dare ask. If he asked, he’d just get shot again.

Instead, he tried appealing to Seo Jung-woo’s sympathy.

“I was the one who knew Yun-mi first. That bastard Sung-joon stole her from me!”

“So you tried to take her back?”

“Yeah. I was going to convince her to come back to me.”

Seo Jung-woo smirked.

“Bullshit.”

“What?”

“Lee Yun-mi doesn’t see it that way.”

In the other world, AKX Pictures CEO Kim Sung-joon, who produced movies, dramas, and commercials, was much more successful than lawyer Lee Cheon-sang. Over there, Lee Yun-mi chose Kim Sung-joon.

Here, however, Lee Cheon-sang was the more successful one.

Yet even in this world, Lee Yun-mi still chose Kim Sung-joon over him.

“So what, did you get pissed off after getting rejected?”

“No!”

Seo Jung-woo didn’t believe him.

‘If he truly loved her, he wouldn’t have stabbed her in the other world, leaving her critically wounded.’

The amount of blood he saw there was enough to be life-threatening without immediate hospitalization.

“So, when you tried to kidnap her, where were you planning to take her?”

Lee Cheon-sang couldn’t understand why Seo Jung-woo was asking about this now.

‘Why is he bringing that up now of all times…?’

That incident had already passed in this world, but in the other world, it had just happened moments ago.

“Look at his eyes rolling.”

Seo Jung-woo fired another bullet into Lee Cheon-sang’s other leg.

“Aaargh!”

“Keep your screaming down. If you get too loud, I’ll put a bullet in your mouth.”

Lee Cheon-sang gritted his teeth and endured the pain.

‘This ruthless bastard!’

He was furious, but he still had to answer. The question itself wasn’t a problem, and he still had a chance to appeal to sympathy.

“There’s a place Yun-mi and I used to visit often when we were close. I was planning to take her there to persuade her.”

Finally, the information he wanted came out.

‘So it’s that place.’

“The address.”

Lee Cheon-sang told him the location.

Seo Jung-woo frowned slightly.

“That whole area was rebuilt. What kind of memories could you have there?”

Gates could open even in the middle of a city. Today, a small lower-class gate had opened in Apgujeong, causing chaos in the area.

But the place Lee Cheon-sang mentioned was where a mid-level gate had opened, unleashing monsters and leading to an intense battle.

Although the monsters were eventually defeated and the gate was closed, most of the buildings were destroyed. The area had since been rebuilt with mostly low-rise buildings.

Lee Cheon-sang endured the pain and spoke.

“Even so, I was confident I could convince her if I took her there.”

Seo Jung-woo reached a conclusion.

‘There’s nothing more to gain. But…’

“You must think I’m an idiot. You weren’t planning to persuade her—you were planning to kill her there, weren’t you? You thought that was revenge?”

Lee Cheon-sang’s eyes widened in shock.

‘How the hell does he know that?’

Seo Jung-woo’s eyebrows twisted.

“So I was right. Oh, I forgot to mention—I really hate liars.”

Seo Jung-woo aimed his gun at Lee Cheon-sang.

Lee Cheon-sang’s face turned pale.

“P-please… spare me…”

“I won’t kill you.”

Even as he said that, he pulled the trigger. The subsonic bullet penetrated the gap in Lee Cheon-sang’s armor.

“Urgh!”

Lee Cheon-sang collapsed after being shot.

Seo Jung-woo went to find Kim Sung-joon and Lee Yun-mi. They were still patrolling the riverside, searching for any remaining monsters.

“Mr. Kim Sung-joon. Ms. Lee Yun-mi.”

Both of them turned to look at him.

“It’s about Lee Cheon-sang.”

Kim Sung-joon’s face twisted in displeasure.

“Why are you bringing up that bastard again?”

Seo Jung-woo pointed behind him.

“Lee Cheon-sang’s team is lying unconscious in that secluded area over there.”

Kim Sung-joon tensed up immediately.

“Did they get taken down by monsters?”

“No. I did it.”

“What?”

“Today, an electromagnetic interference monster appeared here, right? Lee Cheon-sang took advantage of the CCTV blackout caused by the monster to try and kill you both. I happened to overhear their conversation while passing by and couldn’t just walk away… so I gave them each a bullet. Just enough to keep them alive.”

Kim Sung-joon instantly understood the situation and exploded in rage.

“Those bastards—!”

Lee Yun-mi grabbed his arm.

“Oppa, calm down. They’ve already been taken care of.”

“…Yeah. Haa.”

He took a deep breath before asking Seo Jung-woo,

“You just happened to overhear it while passing by? By coincidence? Who would believe that? I appreciate your help, but what do you want in return?”

Seo Jung-woo grinned.

“I already got the information I wanted.”

“…What?”

“How you deal with them is up to you.”

He was leaving the choice of whether to kill or spare them to them.

Kim Sung-joon hesitated.

“I’ll discuss it with Yun-mi and decide.”

“Do as you wish.”

Seo Jung-woo turned away. Kim Sung-joon hurriedly called out to him.

“I want to repay this debt. Please tell me your name.”

Kim Sung-joon hadn’t yet confirmed whether Seo Jung-woo’s words were true. But if they were, then today, he owed him his life. No, he owed him even more—Lee Yun-mi’s life as well.

To repay that debt, he needed to know who the man was. Right now, Seo Jung-woo had taken off his combat mask, so he knew his face but not his name. And finding someone based only on their face was difficult.

Seo Jung-woo waved his hand lightly as he walked away.

“If fate allows, we’ll meet again. I’ve already gotten the information I needed, so I’ll be going now.”