When Seo Jung-woo moves together with Jeong Gi-hoon, the risk of being exposed to the enemy increases.

“If the enemy notices, it’ll only make things harder.”

Jeong Gi-hoon wasn’t a fool. He wanted to go with him to help, but he accepted reality.

“Then I’ll request for more officers to be sent.”

“Tell them to turn off the sirens and come quietly.”

Leaving Jeong Gi-hoon behind, Seo Jung-woo approached the building.

From deep inside the first floor, a faint light was leaking out.

All the windows had roller blinds drawn down and the doors were closed, so the inside wasn’t visible.

‘Looks like it’s quite spacious inside.’

Charging through the front door when hostages were involved would be sheer stupidity.

Seo Jung-woo circled around to the back of the building. There, he found a rear door and moved in front of it. This time too, he didn’t open it.

He checked the inside through a gap next to a nearby window. The window also had a roller blind down, but there was a small gap between the window frame and the blind.

Through that gap, he couldn’t see the inside of the rear door. The angle wasn’t right. Instead, he could see the inside near the front door.

He spotted a familiar device installed on the door.

‘An intrusion detection sensor?’

Such sensors existed in the other world too.

Electronic sensors would immediately malfunction if a gate opened nearby. Still, those with enough money often installed electronic sensors, accepting the risk of malfunctions. However, because they broke easily, they usually didn’t install expensive ones.

Relying solely on electronic sensors was risky because electromagnetic disturbances could easily disable them. That’s why mechanical detection devices were typically installed alongside them. The simplest mechanical intrusion alarm was a bell that rang when the door opened. Such small bells were cheap and rarely broke.

The sensor Seo Jung-woo spotted was much smaller than the ones from the other world. Although its size was small, its design was familiar. The basic principle was similar across both worlds.

He continued to assess the situation inside.

‘They even have a mechanical booby trap?’

Inside the door, a steel bear trap was set up.

‘At least they’re making sure they won’t get ambushed.’

He also saw some men moving inside.

‘They’re armed too?’

Seo Jung-woo didn’t have a gun. Today's mission wasn’t armed escort duty.

He organized the situation in his head.

‘If I open the door, the sensor will trigger. The guys inside will notice immediately. I might be able to catch them quickly if I move fast.’

But catching just those guys would be meaningless.

His goal was to rescue Jessica. He had pinpointed her location — he could sense murderous intent from the inner room.

‘If I waste time dealing with those guys head-on, Jessica might be harmed.’

Seo Jung-woo pondered a solution.

‘I need another method.’

Suddenly, the murderous intent intensified.

‘They’re about to kill Jessica! No time!’

Even if he broke the window and rushed in, it would be too late now.

Still, he had another way.

‘I’ll be right back!’

Seo Jung-woo immediately activated his parallel dimension teleportation skill.

The scenery before his eyes shifted dramatically.

‘I’ve crossed over.’

He had returned to the world with the gates.

Now, he had gained 24 hours here.

“Whew.”

He relaxed a little.

He had appeared inside a store that sold various goods. The building’s structure was different from the other world’s.

‘The building must’ve been rebuilt after collapsing.’

The store owner frowned at him — understandably, since Seo Jung-woo had suddenly appeared out of nowhere.

The owner grumbled,

“Teleportation? Must be nice to have a rare skill. Still, try not to use teleportation just anywhere, will you? This is my store.”

Seo Jung-woo picked up a box of pistol armor-piercing rounds from the display and placed it on the counter.

“I’d like to see some pistols too. Ones that fit these bullets. Plus a spare magazine.”

Though it was a general goods store, most stores that sold bullets usually kept a few guns in stock for sale too.

The owner’s face brightened immediately.

“Ah. A customer! Then teleporting here is totally fine. Hahaha.”

Seo Jung-woo had crossed over without any weapons.

Here, one needed a gun to step outside safely.

The store owner quickly brought out a 20-round automatic pistol.

Seo Jung-woo inspected the condition of the gun.

“Used?”

“Used, but looks almost new.”

He didn’t mind as long as the gun’s condition was good.

“How much with a spare magazine?”

“Two hundred thousand won, please.”

“Throw in a holster and I’ll buy it.”

“Of course, I’ll include one.”

The store owner pulled out a worn holster.

Seo Jung-woo clicked his tongue.

“Selling something you should be throwing away?”

“I’m giving it as a service because it won’t sell.”

Seo Jung-woo holstered the pistol and left the store.

He had gained 24 hours, but there was no way to return within those 24 hours. Rather than sitting idle, gathering information would be better.

He pulled out a cellphone from this world. Although normally one couldn’t carry firearms around in the other world, carrying this phone was fine. It looked like an old 2G mobile phone from the other world, so no one would find it suspicious.

He turned on the phone and called Dr. Jeong Gi-hoon of this world.

As soon as the signal connected, a delighted voice answered.

— Who is this? Jung-woo?

“Dr. Jeong, I’d like to meet if you’re available.”

— You’re always welcome here. Jessica will be happy too.

“Jessica’s there too?”

— The mid-size gate suppression operation ended a few days ago. She said she wants to rest at home for a while after all the hard work.

Seo Jung-woo went to meet Jeong Gi-hoon.

The Jeong Gi-hoon of this world was a famous weapon developer.

Jeong Gi-hoon greeted Seo Jung-woo with a big smile.

“Hahaha. Welcome! Why don’t you visit more often these days?”

“I’ve been a bit busy.”

Jessica Jeong waved at Seo Jung-woo.

“Oppa! Didn’t you miss me?”

“No, not really.”

“Tch.”

She had twin swords strapped to her back and a submachine gun on her waist.

The Jessica Jeong of this world had awakened a swordsmanship skill.

Swordsmanship skills had less attack power than shooting skills. However, with that skill, she could block a monster’s attack with just a sword.

She fought by fending off monsters with her sword and then shooting vital spots at close range with her submachine gun.

Though her offensive power was a bit lower, her ability to block close-combat monsters with a sword made her highly sought after. Having her on a team significantly boosted its defensive strength.

Seo Jung-woo made a request to Jeong Gi-hoon.

“Doctor, I’d like to know about the people who’ve tried to steal your technology. Not the legal ones — the illegal ones. Preferably organized industrial spies.”

“There were some in the past. I do have some material the government put together on them.”

Jeong Gi-hoon spoke with a troubled expression.

“But the list only has names and affiliations.”

“That’s fine. Please send it to me by email.”

“Sure, it’s not a big deal. But what’s going on? Is someone after me? Are you going to protect me? Or wipe them out? If you’re involved, I’ll sleep easy either way.”

“It’s nothing like that.”

“Oh, really?”

“You seem a bit bored these days.”

“Hehe. I do need a bit of excitement.”

“I’m just checking something.”

‘There are people targeting you, Doctor. And Jessica too. Not here — in the other world.’

Jung Ki-hoon sent a file with the list via email.

Seo Jung-woo didn’t know if any of the industrial spies on the list had been attacked by people from the other world. Still, it was better than having no information at all.

Seo Jung-woo suddenly thought of something else. He wrote down a formula on a piece of paper.

“Dr. Jung, you know this formula, right?”

Jung Ki-hoon looked at the formula written on the paper and grumbled.

“Every time I think about how embarrassed I was back then, I seriously bolt awake in the middle of the night. I presented that, and a month later, it got refuted, and I got hit from every direction.”

Jung Ki-hoon crossed out part of the formula Seo Jung-woo had written and corrected it with his pen.

“This is how it should have been. If I could turn back time, I’d stop myself from ever making that presentation.”

“Ah. I see.”

This was exactly the theory that the other world’s Jung Ki-hoon had explained at today’s academic seminar.

‘It’s already too late over there too.’

After parting ways with Jung Ki-hoon, Seo Jung-woo called Seo Sora.

“Dr. Jung Ki-hoon sent you an email. Investigate the basic information of the guys listed there. We’re still not done with the Black Shark Clan issue, so don’t dig too deep and get traced back. Just basic lookup info is enough.”

- I’ll gather it right away.

Seo Jung-woo immediately moved to the northern Gyeonggi Gate. There, he met Park Cheol-woo.

Park Cheol-woo was resting behind the defensive line.

“Oh, Jung-woo. Welcome.”

Seo Jung-woo raised his empty hands.

“Sorry. I didn’t bring anything today.”

“Huh? No recorded files, no food either?”

“I had some urgent work.”

“But why are you apologizing? I’m the one just leeching off you. So what brings you here?”

“If I didn’t show up for a few days, I was afraid you might cross the defensive line on your own and die.”

Park Cheol-woo chuckled.

“I have been doing some risky stuff lately, huh? But I’m not going in today. I saved some alcohol. Want to have a drink together?”

“No. I just dropped by while working.”

“Work? Is it important?”

“A little.”

“If it’s dangerous, should I help?”

“I can handle it on my own, so don’t worry.”

Seo Jung-woo asked.

“This is another matter, but singers Yoon Mi-so and Choi Soo-ah—do you know them personally?”

In the other world, Yoon Mi-so and Choi Soo-ah worked as a duo called Lemon Flower, but here they were active as solo artists.

“We’re just at the level of exchanging greetings when we meet.”

“What kind of people are they?”

“They both have talent, they work hard, and they’ve got good personalities.”

“I see.”

He had bought some time by crossing dimensions, but he wasn’t in the mood to proceed with the Lemon Flower matter today. Hearing about them was enough for now.

After chatting a bit more with Park Cheol-woo, he returned home.

Seo Sora had arrived first and was waiting for him.

She turned on the PC. It booted up slowly.

Seo Jung-woo thought to himself,

‘I should buy a computer from the other world. Even if it breaks down, it’d still be better. But wait, would Windows from here even install on a computer from there?’

Seo Sora showed him the information she had stored on the PC.

“I used the computer at today’s work facility to look this up. I only collected photos, basic profiles, clan affiliations, and criminal records. This kind of info is accessible at any important facility, so there shouldn’t be anyone tracing it back.”

Seo Jung-woo scrolled through the information on the screen, memorizing it.

Seo Sora watched him and asked,

“Aren’t you going to save it on a USB?”

“When I go to the other world this time, I can’t have anything on me that could be a clue. If I save data like this and bring it, they’ll suspect me immediately.”

The next day, Seo Jung-woo returned to the shop where he had bought the handgun.

He placed the handgun, magazine, holster, and bullets he had bought yesterday onto the counter.

The shop owner’s face stiffened.

“Sir, we don’t accept returns for used goods. Someone could use it all they want and then return it—how could we accept that?”

“I’m selling it back.”

“For a hundred thousand won?”

“That’s half of what I paid yesterday.”

The owner laughed awkwardly.

“Hahaha. That’s just how it works with secondhand purchase prices.”

Seo Jung-woo sold back the used handgun and bullets he had bought the day before. Bringing this weapon to the other world would make fighting easier, but handling the aftermath would be troublesome.

After selling the handgun, Seo Jung-woo moved into the inner part of the store.

The shop owner asked,

“Planning to buy something else?”

“I'm heading somewhere.”

Seo Jung-woo stopped walking. He checked the location from a corner of the store.

‘Around here.’

The shop owner asked,

“If you’re leaving, why are you...?”

From that spot, Seo Jung-woo activated his parallel dimension teleportation skill.

The scene before his eyes changed instantly. The shelves of merchandise disappeared, replaced by a wall. The displaced air from his appearance stirred up a gust.

‘Entry complete. Right next to the inner room’s door.’

Three-dimensional coordinates shift with movement. If you cross into the other world from outside the building and then return to this world inside the building, it creates a teleportation-like effect.

The location changed, but time had not moved. He had returned to his departure time coordinate.

However, the gust of wind caused by displaced air during teleportation was unavoidable. He had to act before the enemy sensed the breeze and reacted.

The killing intent coming from beyond the wall grew stronger.

Seo Jung-woo immediately opened the door. As expected, it was not locked.

‘There are guards at the entrance. No way they’d bother locking the inner room’s door.’

There were three people inside the room.

Jessica was tied to a chair, trembling in fear. As the previously closed door opened, her gaze instinctively turned toward Seo Jung-woo.

Upon recognizing him, her eyes widened.

A large white man was raising a sharp dagger high, about to stab her.

He barely reacted to the sound of the door opening. Since he hadn’t heard any fighting outside, he assumed it was one of his subordinates opening the door.

But seeing Jessica’s startled expression, he wondered which subordinate had startled her so badly.

He turned his head.

From the door to the enemy’s location was a distance of just one leap.

Seo Jung-woo kicked off the ground and shot forward like an arrow toward the enemy.

The guys he met at the hotel had gone down with a single attack when he moved like this.

This one was different. He reacted to Seo Jung-woo’s speed, swinging his knife downward.

Seo Jung-woo twisted his body mid-lunge. The blade missed him narrowly.

He stretched out his right hand toward the enemy’s neck.

The enemy tilted his neck to the side.

Too late. Seo Jung-woo was faster. Half of the enemy’s neck was caught in his hand.

He grabbed the enemy’s neck tightly.

“Guh!”

Grabbing only half wasn’t enough to completely subdue him.

Suppressing the pain, the enemy twisted his right wrist inward to stab Seo Jung-woo’s side with the dagger.

Seo Jung-woo struck the enemy’s right wrist with his left hand. His hand blade hit the wrist joint precisely.

The enemy’s wrist snapped with a loud crack. The dagger flew from his hand and embedded itself into a corner of the ceiling.

Seo Jung-woo immediately released the enemy’s neck with his right hand and then grabbed it again with a firmer grip. The enemy couldn’t react properly due to the pain of his broken wrist.

This time, the enemy’s neck was fully caught in his hand.

Just as he was about to tighten his grip, he sensed a surge of powerful killing intent.

It was obvious whose it was. There was still one more person in the room.

‘Wang Yuan!’