The Genius Assassin Who Takes it All

Chapter 184: The Corrupted Truth (1)

Contrary to Kang-hoo’s expectations that Ahn Yeong-ho would ask all sorts of questions, he didn’t ask anything at all.

He simply obtained the “Human Pass” that Kang-hoo needed, without questioning why it was necessary.

For Ahn Yeong-ho and the people dealing with him, silence often holds a more straightforward meaning than expected.

It means there is something they want to hide.

In front of the All-seeing Eye of Truth, people are forced to speak the truth, so they choose silence to prevent the truth from being exposed.

Kang-hoo assumed that Ahn Yeong-ho would probably conduct his own investigation into the Fukuoka Liberation Area.

It didn’t matter to him at all.

After all, the Liberation Area is a place where hunters live and fight, and it wouldn’t be strange if someone visited out of curiosity.

Of course, it would be easy to be labeled as crazy. It wouldn’t be surprising if you got shot by a magic bullet and died anywhere, anytime.

Thanks to Ahn Yeong-ho, Kang-hoo secured the pass to enter the outskirts of the Fukuoka Liberation Area.

The dungeon Kang-hoo had to go to was the Kanashimi Dungeon.

In Japanese, “Kanashimi” means sorrow, and if expressed in the Korean style, it would be called the “Sorrow Dungeon.” It’s a name that seems to hold a story.

The entity managing the Kanashimi Dungeon was the Hayabusa Guild, which was also a dominant force in the Fukuoka Liberation Area.

True to its name, which means “Falcon,” the Hayabusa Guild could potentially become the leading force in the Fukuoka Liberation Area.

They were on the verge of seizing all the rights.

However, a coalition of anti-Hayabusa forces, unwilling to stand idly by, had formed to resist them.

Guilds that were thought impossible to unite under any circumstances had come together as one.

As a result, the Fukuoka Liberation Area was at war every day.

With mercenaries of unknown nationality mixed in, it was nothing short of hell.

Among them, there were quite a few crazy people who openly came to enjoy killing.

In such a place, even if Ishihara Yuuji suddenly popped up, there probably wouldn’t be any hunters who would be surprised.

‘There’s definitely an irresistible charm to the Kanashimi Dungeon.’

As Kang-hoo thought, there was a peculiarity to the Kanashimi Dungeon.

You could gain experience points just by simply being inside the dungeon.

Though the amount was minimal, the fact that you could accumulate experience points by just staying still attracted many hunters.

Especially those with low levels who couldn’t find a way to level up.

In turn, many hunters came with the intention of kidnapping these low-level hunters or stealing their items.

They would often deliberately pick fights or hide and kill others to easily gain loot.

Thus, the Fukuoka Liberation Area was a vast arena of survival.

As for the remaining five dungeons Ahn Yeong-ho had, he informed that the strategy would be on hold for two days.

After sufficiently expressing his gratitude for the help, he immediately departed for Fukuoka.

When he headed to the rendezvous point with the collaborator Ahn Yeong-ho mentioned, it turned out that the collaborator was already there, prepared.

Both Kang-hoo and that person were wearing masks, so there was no way to recognize each other.

The only piece of information Kang-hoo knew about him was that he was from the Hayabusa Guild.

As expected, he was an insider.

But even so, Kang-hoo didn’t fully trust this insider.

There were not infrequent cases where insiders were recruited by the opposition and became double agents.

So, just in case, he had also planned an escape via teleportation if necessary.

“Get in. It might be a bit awkward, but if you cooperate with this, I’ll handle the rest.”

The insider pointed to the passenger seat of the sedan he had brought.

In the spot he pointed to, there was a long wig that seemed to be for a woman, placed with a blanket.

He added an explanation.

“When we’re checked, just put on the wig and cover yourself with the blanket. Just let a bit of your hair show.”

“Got it.”

Kang-hoo nodded.

It was a way to get inside without the hassle of fighting or dealing with traps on the outskirts.

Even though it might look a bit awkward, as he said, Kang-hoo had no intention of refusing an easy method.

Soon after, Kang-hoo put on the wig and covered his body with the blanket as much as possible.

Though there was still some distance to the Fukuoka Liberation Area’s checkpoint, he prepared in advance.

Whoosh.

Rumble, rumble.

However, suddenly a strong wind started, followed by a heavy downpour.

He hadn’t checked the weather forecast for the Fukuoka area, but it felt like a typhoon was coming. And it seemed to be quite a large one.

Whether it rained or not wasn’t particularly important. The weather inside the dungeon would be different anyway.

Thus, the journey to the Liberation Area began.

The atmosphere of this entry was different from that of the Kimcheon Liberation Area, which had been relatively easier to approach.

Although Kang-hoo had been half-expecting that things wouldn’t be so easy just because the person was an insider…

Contrary to his expectations, entering the Liberation Area was achieved with surprising ease.

When they were stopped at the entrance for inspection, it ended with the insider showing his badge indicating his affiliation and rank.

There was a brief moment where someone looked at Kang-hoo sitting in the passenger seat, but the insider smoothly deflected it with a clever response.

-“She’s my girlfriend who’ll be with me tonight. Want me to show you her face if you’re curious?”

-“Oh, no! Haha! Have a great night! You guys work so hard!”

-“Use this for your company dinner. You guys are doing great work.”

-“Thank you!”

By disguising Kang-hoo, who only revealed a small part of the wig, as his ‘girlfriend,’ the insider avoided all the hassle.

To further erase any suspicion, he even offered to show her face, which cleverly removed any doubts.

It was a smart strategy.

Even while the inspection was ongoing, gunshots could be heard nonstop in the surroundings.

There were even sounds of explosions, likely the last moments of a hunter who had tried to enter through abnormal means.

It was easy to guess that they had probably laid down a lot of mana traps or military-grade mines.

Understanding the situation wasn’t difficult, and it made Kang-hoo once again realize the necessity of ‘normal’ entry.

Following the insider deeply into the Liberation Area, Kang-hoo was provided with a place to stay.

The insider then suddenly disappeared, and Kang-hoo also left the provided accommodation.

This was because he didn’t fully trust him.

After fulfilling the request made by Ahn Yeong-ho, the insider could easily sell the information to the Hayabusa Guild without hesitation.

Since Kang-hoo had no intention of staying in the Liberation Area for long anyway, he immediately headed towards the location of the Kanashimi Dungeon.

“If you kill a member of the Hayabusa Guild, you will die too.”

As Kang-hoo moved towards the dungeon, he recalled one of the rules of the Fukuoka Liberation Area.

It seemed like there should be more detailed rules, but surprisingly, this was the only rule in the Liberation Area.

This was the reason why the full-scale war between the Hayabusa and anti-Hayabusa forces had been ongoing for months.

Murder, revenge for murder, and more revenge, a vicious cycle of retaliation…

It was not normal.

“It’s strangely fascinating, no matter how many times I think about it.”

Kang-hoo marveled at the set tracking effect that kept displaying the item’s location like a GPS.

Of course, the tracking structure was only possible for items connected to the Corrupted Resolution.

Anyway, since it clearly showed the location, there was no uncertainty about where to go next.

The problem was the process.

“This is a living hell.”

Even though there was still quite a distance to the Kanashimi Dungeon, battles were already taking place in the streets.

Since no civilians lived there, most buildings were abandoned and in darkness.

Even the buildings were not an exception, with shattered windows and grotesque frameworks exposed.

Bang!

A gunshot echoed from somewhere.

Under the backdrop of pouring rain and a lonely crescent moon, a hunter fell, spilling blood.

It seemed like a hunter who had been moving through the rooftops got killed by a skilled sniper.

But that was only for a moment.

“Aaah!”

As soon as the sniper’s position was exposed, another hunter approached and killed the sniper.

The sniper, who had just killed someone, met the same fate shortly after.

“…”

Stealth seemed like a good option, even if it was a bit annoying and required attention.

Kang-hoo targeted a long-dead streetlamp and immediately executed a lateral movement.

He quickly moved towards the dungeon while remaining in stealth mode.

What he just saw was merely an appetizer. The real chaos would be at the front of the dungeon.

30 minutes later.

As Kang-hoo arrived at the front of the Kanashimi Dungeon, he faced the expected scene of a fierce battle.

There were so many hunters mixed together, fighting everywhere, that it seemed impossible to count them all.

It was more of a chaotic brawl than a strategic battle, with hunters focusing on killing visible enemies.

But in another sense, the battlefield was so vast that strategy seemed meaningless.

Since Kang-hoo had no intention of dancing with a sword in this hellish pit, he moved straight towards the entrance.

There were quite a few snipers visible.

Fortunately, no sniper detected his stealth and aimed at him. If they had, his intuition would have alerted him.

“Something’s strange.”

The scene looked suspicious.

The entrance was surprisingly poorly guarded. There didn’t seem to be much sniping aimed in that direction.

Normally, a lot of firepower would be concentrated at the entrance since it was the only way into the dungeon.

But it seemed like they didn’t care much if someone entered.

Even the Hayabusa Guild’s hunters didn’t seem concerned about the entrance, as if they had something to rely on.

Kang-hoo had a hunch.

He checked one of the skills he had observed among the hunters he passed by.

?Master of Manipulation?

He immediately used the Master of Manipulation skill to copy one of his skills for a one-time use.

Before he knew it, he was right in front of the dungeon entrance.

There should have been some sniping at least, but it was still quiet. There were no signs of common magic bullets either.

In any case, Kang-hoo, who had no choice but to enter the dungeon, didn’t hesitate.

Swoosh!

Kang-hoo’s body slipped through the entrance and into the dungeon.

?Petrification?

?Cloning Technique?

?Master of Manipulation - Guardian Shield?

He deployed three skills in quick succession.

He protected his body with Petrification, used a clone to act as a bullet shield in the front, and built a barrier using the Guardian Shield copied from another hunter’s skill.

Sure enough…

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Gunshots rang out in quick succession.

The area around the dungeon entrance, which he briefly surveyed, was a massive graveyard.

It was the fate of the hunters who entered, thinking the entrance was lightly guarded.

Indeed.

The seemingly loose defense was a thoroughly intentional trap.

The foolish hunters who fell into it all met their end.

But Kang-hoo was different.

Whoosh!

Kang-hoo swiftly used Shadow Step to distance himself far from the entrance.

“He broke through!”

“Damn it, catch that guy!”

“How the hell did he figure it out?”

The Hayabusa Guild members, panicked by the survival of an intruder, urgently began chasing Kang-hoo.

And then…

“…”

A female hunter, recognizing the Shadow Step skill, stood up, realizing that the intruder was someone she had encountered before.

There was no doubt that she had seen that skill somewhere recently.