Chapter 31:

Chapter 31:

Chapter 31

After saying that, Gong Joo glanced at his wristwatch. It was almost time for the meeting, so he quickly got up from his seat.

"Damn it, I have to see Team Leader Seomun’s face again. I'll be back after the meeting."

"Yes, please take your time, Team Leader."

Gong Joo left the break room with an unwilling expression on his face. Then, the rest of the team let out a sigh of relief after he left.

"Phew, that was suffocating."

"Yeah, it's tough for us too when the team leaders are fighting among themselves."

"Zone 3 and 4 have it good."

They grumbled but didn't show a face of great concern. Only Annaby seemed troubled. She took a sip of her cocoa, but instead of tasting the sweetness, her face twisted in bitterness.

Seeing this, Ju Sungtae nudged Annaby, "What's wrong, Annaby? What's bothering you?"

"Well, it's just that... with the missing person and dangerous individuals in other zones..."

"Don't worry too much, just like the Team Leader said. There are risks everywhere."

Even with his words, Annaby's expression didn't brighten. She got up from her seat.

"I have something I want to check. Excuse me."

After exchanging pleasantries, Annaby left the break room. Left alone, she carefully called up the list of Zone Four and checked it. Then, she stared intently at one person's file. Under the "Special Note" section, the following message was written:

[Special Note: Awakened during incarceration at the penitentiary]

And below that, a word caught Annaby's attention, causing her to bite her lip:

[Serial murder. Life imprisonment.]

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Seo Gangrim alternated his gaze between the fallen Yoon Geoul and the woman standing next to him. When he pulled out his sword and aimed it at them, the woman's eyes widened in surprise. At the same time, the people nearby drew their weapons and aimed at Seo Gangrim.

【Are they going to fight already?】

【How interesting.】

【Who wants to bet on the winner? I bet on Seo Gangrim losing and will wager 10 spirit pearls.】

【I bet 10 too.】

【Me too.】

【Deal!】

When he used "Destiny Analysis," most of them were at the Human rank. Among them, the highest-ranked person was a Spirit Second-class, named Ju Hyereong, the woman standing next to Yoon Geoul. Ju Hyereong hurriedly tried to stop the others.

"Are you from Zone Two too? Calm down. He's not dead. He was receiving treatment. Put down your weapons, everyone."

Based on her attitude, Ju Hyereong seemed to be the leader of this party. Following her words, one by one, people put away their weapons. Seo Gangrim glimpsed at Yoon Geoul's chest slowly rising and falling. Yoon Geoul complexion was a bit pale, but he didn't seem to be in immediate danger.

"Please explain the situation."

"Well, you see... Ah! Shin Sooah, Bom-ah! Are you with him?"

Ju Hyereong spoke, turning towards Seo Gangrim. Shin Sooah and Yoon Bom hurriedly ran over and stood by my side.

"Gangrim-ssi, these people are not enemies."

Despite Shin Sooah's protest, Seo Gangrim didn't easily relax.

A man with a gentle appearance approached and spoke, "Shall we start with introducing ourselves? Hello, I am Nam Yujun, a trainee from the Zone Four."

"I'm Ju Hyereong. Nice to meet you," Ju Hyereong also introduced herself.

"Huh? But it would be better for him to rest a bit longer..."

"Lying on a bed would be better than staying here. I can carry him."

As they didn't know who among them was the murderer, it was better to go to a safer place if possible. Ju Hyereong nodded, seemingly resigned.

"It should be fine since he received treatment. We'll see each other later."

Seo Gangrim nodded lightly and gestured to the three of them. Yoon Geoul, who had just recovered, looked around with a bewildered expression and ultimately climbed onto his back.

A while later, Yoon Bom, who had been following, said, "It's a shame to part so soon. I didn't expect to encounter people other than us..."

Yoon Bom seemed regretful about leaving early.

Seo Gangrim was finding it hard to believe that with her personality, she would grow up to be Korea's top sniper.

"Don't trust people too easily. We have hundreds of demons to kill, so ultimately, there will be competition for it. There's also a reward for the first to clear this stage."

Currently only Seo Gangrim, Yoon Bom, Yoon Geoul, Shin Sooah, and Dokgo Jun had entered this stage. Just the five of them. Even if they kill 300 demons each, they would need to slay 1,500 in total. With their own hunting to do, what if they encountered people from other teams? The battle between demons and humans would turn into a battle between humans.

Seo Gangrim glanced at Shin Sooah, and said, "By the way, could you please explain exactly what happened?"

"While we were hunting, Geoul and Bom got caught in a trap. I gave them an elixir, but it didn't detoxify them."

Yoon Geoul, who was on my back, made a faint sound. Shin Sooah continued explaining, "In the meantime, people from the Zone Four came and said they had detoxification abilities. So we received treatment."

"What if that was a bait? How would you handle it?"

"We thought about that possibility too. However, we judged that it would be more dangerous to move in a poisoned state. If it was a bait... we planned to resolve it by force."

Seo Gangrim glanced at the sword Shin Sooah was holding. With her, it would have been easy to subdue them even with their numbers. Still, Seo Gangrim couldn't help but worry about them a bit. Yoon Geoul’s fate had changed, but what if he were to die by chance?

In the midst of that, Yoon Geoul groaned from behind, "Hyung, hold on a moment... I think I'm going to throw up."

It looked quite painful for him to gasp for breath. His recovery time was too short. Seo Gangrim gently put Yoon Geoul down on the ground. Judging from his condition, he needed to rest.

"Let's take a break. It's better to camp here for the night."

"Camping? There's no need for that..."

"The sun is slowly setting, and we don't know exactly when it will go down. It's better to prepare for nighttime while we still have some leeway."

Shin Sooah nodded as if agreeing with those words. Yoon Geoul scratched the back of his head, looking apologetic.

"Then let's find a place to rest for now."

Seo Gangrim looked around and found a spot near the flowing river. He cleared the surrounding bushes and looked up at the sky. The sun was starting to set beyond mountains.

【Ah, it's a shame that we won't get to see them fight. But it's good that they're not going back right away.】

【At night, everyone else would have left, and it would've been boring!】

“Night comes quickly here.”

Shin Sooah commented as she sat down in her spot. The flames Seo Gangrim ignited were quietly burning, illuminating them.

"It's my first time sleeping outside like this," Yoon Bom said that and snuggled up next to Shin Sooah. Camping seemed somewhat intimidating for her. Yoon Geoul stared at her for a moment and muttered, "Coward."

"Are you not scared? It's a demon-infested place. If they suddenly gather while we're asleep..."

"Well, that's..."

Both of them wore uncomfortable expressions.

Seo Gangrim tossed an incense into the flames. Soon, a peculiar fragrance spread in all directions, and Shin Sooah curiously asked, "What's this?"

"It's called Mansoo incense. It emits a scent that drives away demon. I bought it from the store."

It had no effect on strong demons, but it would be fine in this area with only a few minor ones. In the meantime, Yoon Bom and Yoon Geoul looked at Seon Gangrim with sparkling eyes.

"Hyung, you really know a lot."

"That's right. You're strong, and you know a lot... Oh, Oppa, I have a favor to ask."

"What is it?"

"Can I become Gangrim-oppa's disciple?" Yoon Bom asked with shining eyes.