NOVEL NEXT chapter 352 - The Scheming of Doctor Johan II
After reviewing the CCTV footage,
the kidnapper was indeed the mechanical elephant.
Pointing to the enormous magic circle that appeared on the wall, Baek So-cheon spoke.
"First, we have one awakened individual with space-moving abilities. Another awakened individual controlling the mechanical elephant. And a third, an awakened with detection abilities, who seemed to have tracked Mark 2’s movements."
"Three suspects?"
"The crime group consists of rare abilities. The possibility of these awakened individuals coincidentally coming together is extremely low. Someone must have brought them together for a purpose."
Baek So-cheon, a former S-class awakened and one of the three leaders of the association, carried weight in his words.
In Battle Minesweeper, he had been bested by Whisper, who was more adaptable to the game, but there was no doubt he was the second strongest after Eung Eung.
"Do you know about the villain organization?"
"I do. I almost got caught by those bastards myself."
Lee So-hye gritted her teeth.
"I didn’t know at first, but when I checked the identities of those who tried to ambush me in the dungeon, the association had already flagged them as villains."
"Yeah. Villains like that. An organization of dangerous people who use their awakened powers for criminal purposes."
Baek So-cheon, fanning himself with a fan, fell into thought.
"Villains operate in the shadows and avoid exposing their abilities or personal information. Therefore, the survival rate of hostages is extremely low."
"Sir Baek So-cheon, does that mean Mark 2 is as good as dead?"
"If we don’t rescue her quickly, that’s the most likely outcome."
At Baek So-cheon’s assertion, Eve clenched her fists tightly.
"Let’s wait quietly for now. If the criminals have a purpose, they’ll release a statement soon."
The identity of the criminals was soon revealed.
A video tape delivered to Ha-nam Faction clearly showed the criminal's face.
In the video, a man in a doctor’s coat with a name tag appeared and spoke.
"Hello, Ha-nam Faction. You probably have an idea of who I am, but for those who don’t know, let me introduce myself again. I’m Doctor Johan II, the creator of Mark 2."
"Mm-nam-nam."
"Let me be blunt. To improve Mark 2, I need more data. So, Silent Swordsman must play Half-Demon Corner."
"Ang-nam-nam."
Behind Doctor Johan II, who posed and laughed evilly, Mark 2 could be seen nibbling on honey snacks.
"I’m /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ glad you’re doing well, but could you quiet down a bit with that eating noise?"
"Is that what you say to a kidnapped person? You trash!"
"This is all your fault, Ujiwoo! If you had been competent, this wouldn’t have happened! Have some shame and be quiet!"
Lee So-hye and Dash Man harshly criticized Ujiwoo, who, like a turtle, retracted his neck.
Eung Eung, looking down at the notes she was writing, scratched a line through them and erased everything.
"You’ll have one week to recover from the post-trauma symptoms. If you don’t play Half-Demon Corner by then, I will erase Mark 2’s memory data!"
"!!"
"How dare you say such things."
As the video ended, Eve revealed her anger.
White mana surged, and her hair, normally calm, stood on end, showing how enraged she truly was—far from the usual serene Eve!
"Eve, you’ve taken care of Mark 2 the longest, haven’t you?"
"I’m sure this hits you the hardest."
Those who saw the video understood her fury.
What was surprising was Eung Eung.
Unlike Eve, who was furious like a parent, Eung Eung didn’t show any signs of agitation.
"Sister Eung Eung, aren’t you angry?"
"I'm sure even the Guild Leader is angry on the inside..."
At Eve’s icy gaze, Ujiwoo was struck with a shockwave and fell to the ground.
In the meantime, Eung Eung ripped up the notes she had just written and quietly burned them under the desk using her focused energy.
Even Eung Eung, who often went her own way, didn’t want to get scolded by Eve in this situation.
[Anger can come later. Right now, our priority is rescue.]
"What’s the plan?"
[In a week, I’ll start the broadcast. In the meantime, with the help of these people, I believe we’ll be able to track down Doctor Johan II.]
Eung Eung wrote a few names in her notebook, and Eve agreed after reading the list.
Whisper let out a sinister laugh, his voice sending shivers down the spine of anyone who heard it.
"Even the Silent Swordsman isn’t omnipotent. I can’t believe you’re asking for help from the man who defeated you."
Eung Eung tilted her head slightly.
This wasn’t Battle Minesweeper—why is he acting like this?
Guuuuuung
A brilliant light formed on her palm as Eung Eung gathered an overwhelming amount of energy.
The moment Whisper sensed the presence of Kang Hwan, he instinctively knew this was an unavoidable technique, even with his evasion skills.
"Truly amazing, this crazy woman… Developing such a terrifying new technique in just a few days."
[Don’t push me too far. My patience isn’t what it used to be.]
"So, you want me to use my terror broadcast to order an attack on Doctor Johan II while you’re playing your game as the Silent Swordsman?"
Eung Eung nodded.
"If you do that, the life of the hostage will be at risk."
[Doctor Johan II won’t care. He’s a man who flaunts his power, daring us to catch him if we can.]
"And once we locate him, you’re asking me, the leader of 100,000 Black Legion members, to land the final blow."
The leader of the Black Legion.
A man who hadn’t been seen in a long time, busy supporting the idol-in-training Voice Girl, now revealed a wicked smile just as sinister as Whisper’s.
"Ha ha ha! You, the ‘runner-up’ of the competition? You’re asking me, the ‘champion,’ for help?"
Eung Eung couldn’t hold back anymore.
The boss, who had tried to catch the glowing multicolored light with one hand, was taken by surprise at its overwhelming destructive power. He quickly raised his other hand to squeeze the Kang Hwan with both hands.
Pssshhh.
White steam poured out as the Kang Hwan dissipated.
"Nothing much... Oh, wait."
Eung Eung tilted her head, holding two Kang Hwan in her hands.
"I think it would hurt a lot if I shoot these at the same time, you know? Just one shot, please."
Even the Black Legion, who had been living off Ha-nam Faction, finally found some usefulness.
"You can’t trust him."
Baek So-cheon firmly asserted.
"The boss of the Black Legion. Don’t you know better than anyone how suspicious and dangerous he is?"
[If he’s a useful tool, we must use him. We’ve been saving him for just this purpose.]
"I hope that judgment is correct. If he has any other plans, Mark 2 will most likely die."
That was the worst-case scenario he could imagine.
It would be the moment when the ruthless nature of the Shura Ghost Queen from the Martial Arts Chronicles would be revived in modern times.
"I’d like to act with the boss to prevent him from doing anything foolish, but I can’t ignore the invasion of the Ten Guilds. I’m sorry I can’t be of help."
[It can’t be helped.]
It almost felt nostalgic, like returning home.
Because this was how things always were in the martial world.
"I’ve taken enough of your time. I’ll leave so as not to interfere with your recovery."
[It’s alright. There’s still one person left to interrogate.]
The person Ujiwoo called for arrived.
It was Lee Hae-chan, the streamer, whom he hadn’t seen since the omakase incident.
Lee Hae-chan was secretly excited.
The Silent Swordsman had called him.
Could it be because of what happened in Gladiator Training? Did he feel guilty?
Although he had suffered massive financial losses, Lee Hae-chan was, unlike Eom Gil-dong, a pretty cool-headed guy.
He had already made plenty of money, so he wasn’t hung up on past events.
"Be careful. Today’s Guild Leader is really dangerous. If you slip up…"
"Haha, what are you so worried about? I’m not here for any bad reasons. Streamers can do real-life collaborations too, right? You called me to make a collaboration proposal, didn’t you?"
"..."
Ujiwoo smiled awkwardly.
Lee Hae-chan’s face lost its smile.
"Excuse me?"
"We’re here."
"Why did you call me?"
"Well, I’ll be going now."
"Hey?!"
Ujiwoo hurriedly ran away.
Before he could follow, the door opened on its own with a click.
Bang, bang.
Eung Eung pointed at the front as if calling him over.
In the eerie atmosphere, Lee Hae-chan swallowed hard.
He had come with a light heart, but now he found himself in a situation he hadn’t expected.
Yeah, he was nervous.
Perhaps the Silent Swordsman—no, Eung Eung—was also nervous.
At times like this, it’s natural for a man to step up and ease the tension, right?
With that thought in mind, Lee Hae-chan’s action was…
"Greetings!"
It was the Ha-nam Faction greeting that had reached 100 million views on VTuber.
"……"
"……"
He wanted to go back.
Ten seconds ago.
In his despair, Eung Eung opened her notebook.
[In Gladiator Training, a player named Doctor Johan II created the elephant meta.]
Forget it!
It would have been better if Lee Hae-chan simply ignored it.
It would have spared him some embarrassment.
"Ah, yes…"
[Did he create the Armored one as well?]
"Wow, how did you know? That’s classified."
Eung Eung smiled.
But that smile wasn’t the gentle, kind, or playful smile Lee Hae-chan had imagined.
It was a smile that sent chills down his spine, one that reminded him of a predator who had just found its prey.