Seo Jung-woo, after throwing the serial killer Jo Dong-sik off the rooftop, checked the knife that had rolled into a corner of the roof.

“Let’s see… No signs of enhancement… Just an ordinary knife.”

He considered taking it if it was a high-quality blade, but this was the kind of knife ordinary people used in the other world.

He also spotted a camera with a telephoto lens.

“Maybe I should take that… No, wait. That’s all evidence. If I take it, the Seo Jung-woo of this world will get in trouble.”

Seo Jung-woo descended the stairs and stepped out of the building. Jo Dong-sik lay sprawled on the ground, screaming.

“Aaaagh! You crazy bastard!”

He had been thrown from the fourth floor, but since he hadn't fallen headfirst and had instead been dangling before dropping feet first, he wasn’t dead. Seo Jung-woo had thrown people enough times to know how to make sure they landed alive.

Jo Dong-sik had survived, but his legs were broken. His legs had already been fractured during the fight with Seo Jung-woo, and the impact from the rooftop fall had finished them off.

Seo Jung-woo looked down at him and asked,

“Hey. Where did you hide the victim?”

“I-I already told you!”

“Say it again. If the address you gave me before is different, I’ll break your neck too.”

“That’s murder!”

“A serial killer worried about murder? Don’t worry about me. I can just make it look like an accident.”

Jo Dong-sik realized that everything Seo Jung-woo was saying was completely serious. Having just fallen from a rooftop, broken his legs, and now being threatened with death, he quickly caved in fear.

He repeated the address. It was the same as before.

Seo Jung-woo smirked.

“Even a serial killer values his own life, huh?”

The victim’s home was in utter chaos.

The victim’s mother was wailing.

“Nana!”

The victim’s father sat on the sofa with his head lowered, mumbling to himself over and over.

“If I find that bastard, I’ll grind him to dust. I swear I’ll grind him down.”

Team Leader Kwon Byeong-cheol had confidently declared they would find the victim quickly, but deep down, he was filled with anxiety.

‘Can we really find her in 24 hours?’

He truly wanted to, but there were no clues. None of the previous 24-hour serial murder cases had left any evidence behind.

‘Since it’s the work of a serial killer, the suspect shouldn’t be someone close to the victim. Do we have to rely on eyewitnesses? But we can’t just blindly search without any leads…’

He was worried about the victim’s fate, but he was also worried about his own.

‘This case is definitely going to make headlines. If we don’t find the victim within 24 hours…’

If they failed, Yoon Nana would be murdered. That’s how it had always been.

‘And then I—no, our entire team—will definitely be disciplined.’

If he wanted to save the victim, himself, and his team, they had to do everything possible. Whether it would be effective or not, they had a lot to try.

“Hey! Baek Sung-min! If you’re just going to loiter around, go find some witnesses! Also, pull Yoon Nana’s phone records! And where the hell is Forensics? Tell them to hurry up and get here!”

Detective Baek Sung-min was forced out into the yard. Detective Jo Min-seok was outside, making a call to request a trace on the victim’s phone records.

Baek Sung-min turned to him.

“The three of us should start canvassing the area… Has the rookie come back yet?”

“No.”

“Damn it. That idiot. First day on the job and he’s already late, then he disappears from the scene. This is why patrol officers shouldn’t be transferred to detectives. I swear I’m sending that kid back.”

“Honestly, the rookie would be better off going back. If he sticks with us now, he’s going to get disciplined too.”

Baek Sung-min hesitated. Right now, returning the rookie wasn’t the priority.

“Why are you assuming failure already? We should be focused on catching the culprit and finding the victim!”

“I want that too! But we have no clues at all! In all the cases that bastard has committed, have we ever found anything through canvassing or phone records? We don’t even know where to start—”

Suddenly, the front gate opened.

The two detectives turned to look.

Seo Jung-woo was standing at the entrance.

Baek Sung-min immediately yelled.

“You bastard! Where the hell have you been?!”

Seo Jung-woo answered honestly.

“I went to catch the culprit.”

“You crazy idiot! You think you can just wander around and run into the suspect? You think that’s how it works?!”

“It worked, though.”

“Worked my ass— What? What did you just say?”

Baek Sung-min was stunned. He thought he must have misheard.

Seo Jung-woo fully opened the gate. Outside, a rickshaw stood, carrying the crumpled-up body of Jo Dong-sik.

Baek Sung-min jumped back in shock.

“I-Is that… a corpse?”

“Not yet. He’s still alive.”

“W-Who is he?”

“The culprit.”

“Huh? Huh?”

“This guy is the 24-hour serial killer.”

Baek Sung-min couldn’t process the situation.

The 24-hour serial killer had toyed with the police for ages. Despite forming joint task forces between the police and prosecution, they hadn’t even figured out if the culprit was male or female.

But now, Seo Jung-woo had gone out for a bit and come back with someone in a rickshaw, claiming he was the killer.

It was too much to believe right away. In Baek Sung-min’s eyes, Seo Jung-woo was just a lunatic.

‘This idiot… Did he just grab some random guy?’

Jo Dong-sik was visibly injured. At first glance, he looked like a corpse.

Baek Sung-min felt a chill down his spine. If this wasn’t the real culprit, then this would explode into a massive scandal.

‘If he’s not the killer, it won’t just end with us losing our jobs. This guy will be arrested, and we’ll be hit with every possible disciplinary action.’

Baek Sung-min swallowed hard and cautiously asked,

“Hey, Seo Jung-woo. This… person. Are you absolutely sure he’s the culprit?”

“Yes.”

“What made you suspect him? You didn’t just pick him at random, right? Please tell me you didn’t.”

“He was hiding on a rooftop about 200 meters away, watching this house through a camera with a big telephoto lens.”

“This house?”

“Exactly this house.”

Baek Sung-min’s expression relaxed slightly.

“Really? That’s… extremely suspicious.”

“Why suspect? He’s definitely the culprit.”

“You dumbass, we need evidence! Evidence!”

“There should be evidence in the camera on that rooftop.”

“Oh? Really? Then… wait. Did you see him actually taking pictures? Did you see him press the shutter?”

“No.”

“If that wasn’t caught on camera, you, me, and all of us are screwed.”

Beside them, Detective Jo Min-seok checked Jo Dong-sik’s condition.

“At first, I really thought he was a corpse... Huh?!”

He flinched in shock and asked Seo Jung-woo.

“Hey. Hey! What’s wrong with this guy’s leg? It’s broken!”

“The suspect resisted violently. We fought while trying to subdue him, and he accidentally fell off the rooftop by himself.”

Baek Sung-min’s face relaxed slightly.

“Even if he’s not the culprit for this case, he’s definitely guilty of something. That’s why he resisted so much against the police. Oh, you did show your badge first, right?”

“He’s the culprit. He confessed.”

“You think a confession beaten out of him is going to hold up in court?”

“He confessed to the victim’s location. That’ll definitely hold up.”

“Huh? What?”

“We’ve identified the victim’s current location.”

Baek Sung-min’s face brightened completely.

“Hey, you idiot! Why didn’t you say that sooner?!”

Baek Sung-min dashed into the house, shouting.

“Team Leader! We got him! We caught that damn murderer!”

Kwon Byeong-cheol also shouted back.

“Are you serious?!”

“We also found out the whereabouts of the victim—Yoon Nana!”

Inside, the victim’s parents let out near-screams.

“Kyaaah! Is that true?!”

“Is that real?!”

Violent Crimes Team Leader Kwon Byeong-cheol immediately rushed out into the yard.

“Where’s that damn murderer…?”

He stopped in his tracks when he saw Jo Dong-sik in the cart. At first glance, he also thought it was a corpse.

“Sung-min! What the hell happened?!”

“The rookie caught him. I’m not even sure what’s going on myself...”

This wasn’t the time for questions. Kwon Byeong-cheol quickly turned to Seo Jung-woo.

“Where’s the victim right now?”

He asked under the assumption that she was still alive. Less than two hours had passed since the incident began. Based on previous cases, she should still be alive.

Seo Jung-woo gave him the address he had gotten from Jo Dong-sik.

The only reason he hadn’t gone there directly was because he wasn’t yet familiar with the addresses in this world. Due to the Gate War, many buildings had collapsed and been rebuilt, causing addresses to change frequently.

As soon as Kwon Byeong-cheol heard the address, he realized where it was.

“That’s nearby!”

He quickly issued orders to the detectives with him.

“You two stay here and secure the suspect! If he dies, we’re screwed, so call 119 too!”

“Got it!”

Kwon Byeong-cheol climbed into the van. Jo Min-seok was already in the driver’s seat, starting the engine. Baek Sung-min also jumped in.

Kwon Byeong-cheol shouted at Seo Jung-woo.

“Why aren’t you getting in?! Hurry up!”

“Oh, right.”

Seo Jung-woo was the last to get in, and the car immediately sped off.

Inside the car, Team Leader Kwon Byeong-cheol called for reinforcements over the radio.

“We might need to search the entire area, so send as many people as possible! If they’ve got legs and eyes, send them all there!”

After calling for backup, Kwon Byeong-cheol turned to Seo Jung-woo.

“Hey. You should’ve called first instead of dragging that guy over.”

“I didn’t know the number.”

“Then you should’ve at least called the situation room!”

That wasn’t possible. His phone wasn’t registered with this world’s telecom companies, so he couldn’t make calls.

“I’ll do that next time.”

Baek Sung-min, sitting beside him, asked,

“Hey, by the way, where did you get that cart?”

“I rented it for 20,000 won.”

The 20,000 won came from Jo Dong-sik’s wallet.

“That 20,000 won can be reimbursed, right?”

Yoon Nana was trapped inside a car trunk.

Modern cars have emergency release handles inside the trunk. But Jo Dong-sik had already removed it. Even if it were still there, Yoon Nana was tightly bound, with tape covering her mouth, leaving her no way to pull it.

She was terrified.

‘Mom... I’m scared.’

She knew she had been captured by the 24-hour serial killer. Jo Dong-sik had even told her that himself, smiling.

Regrets flooded her mind.

‘I should have been more filial to my parents. I shouldn’t have scolded Ha-yeon and Da-yeon about studying. I should have kept my promise to buy Sora some barbecue. I should have eaten more delicious food. I should have dated someone.’

Tears had been streaming down her face for a while.

‘I shouldn’t have given up on my dreams.’

Just then, she heard a voice outside—Team Leader Kwon Byeong-cheol’s angry voice.

“Jung-woo! You said it was here!”

“The location is accurate.”

“But there’s no one in this house!”

“She must be somewhere nearby.”

Yoon Nana’s eyes widened. She didn’t recognize the voices, but it wasn’t the murderer.

She twisted her body. She was so tightly bound that she could barely move, but she still struggled with all her might. She tried to scream.

‘Help me!’

“Mmmph!”

The tape over her mouth was too tight, muffling her completely. She panicked. She lifted her hips and dropped them, hitting the trunk floor with her butt. The car shook slightly.

The outside fell silent. She grew even more desperate.

“Mmmph!”

Suddenly, there was a loud banging noise as something struck the car.

The trunk, dented by the impact, popped open.

Light flooded in. She squinted against the brightness, then screamed in fear.

“Mmmph!”

Seo Jung-woo spoke.

“Police.”

“Mmmph!”

“The culprit has been caught.”

Her eyes widened again. She realized she had been saved.

Against the backdrop of blinding light, she saw Seo Jung-woo standing there.

Tears poured from her eyes.

Seo Jung-woo peeled the tape from her mouth and said,

“Trust us. You’re safe now.”

It was the same phrase he had always said when rescuing people from monsters in the other world. His sincerity reached her.

She burst into loud sobs.

“Waaah! I thought I was going to die! I really thought I was going to die! Waaah!”

Seo Jung-woo turned to Kwon Byeong-cheol.

“Chief, we should show her a police badge to reassure her.”

“She seems reassured enough already. But why don’t you show yours?”

“I didn’t bring mine.”

Since he had crossed over from another dimension, there was no way he had a badge.

Kwon Byeong-cheol was dumbfounded.

“What kind of cop doesn’t carry a badge...?”

But considering what Seo Jung-woo had accomplished today, he let it slide.

“Fine. It’s your first day, after all.”