His clothes were ragged and his hair disheveled, but his face was handsome, his eyes sharp. One corner of his mouth was quirked into a smirk.

And on his face, a mask—a Choraengi mask.

Ghost was taken aback by the Villain’s introduction.

The Crimson Poverty Front?!

Brain’s Villain syndicate. Was this man one of his lackeys?

How the hell did they get on the cruise ship?

But this wasn’t the time to trace their infiltration route. She had to subdue and capture the enemy in front of her.

The problem was the Null Cuffs. Given the nature of her abilities, she could still fight, but she was far from her best. Plus, she was unarmed.

The man before her—the Villain who called himself Jeon Woo-chi—was holding a pistol. His exact abilities were unknown.

Jeon Woo-chi dug a finger in his ear, chuckling. “I’ve heard so much about you, Ghost… too much, in fact. Our Party Leader is one of your most devoted fans.”

“Then why didn’t he come get an autograph himself?”

“I heard there was a little limb cutting incident when our leader tried.”

“He was acting like a creepy stalker, so it was a reflex. Tell him I’ll be nicer next time. He should definitely try again.”

Even as they traded meaningless banter, Ghost desperately searched for an opening.

As if reading her mind, Jeon Woo-chi’s smirk widened. “But do you really have time to fight me?”

“…!”

“Shouldn’t you be saving the good Doctor first?”

The instant Ghost’s attention shifted to the blood-soaked Doctor—Jeon Woo-chi vanished in a flicker of light.

Teleportation?!

In that split second, Ghost focused her senses, her mind racing.

Not long-range. A short-distance teleport… a Blink!

The A-Rank Villain Jeon Woo-chi’s ability was “Blink.” He could teleport up to ten meters to any location within his line of sight.

Jeon Woo-chi vanished in one flash and reappeared in another.

Directly behind Ghost.

Click!

He immediately tried to fire the pistol.

Though her back was turned, Ghost sensed his presence and moved to dodge—but then she realized his true intent.

Jeon Woo-chi had aimed his gun to secure a line of fire that would hit the Doctor if Ghost moved.

“…!”

Assessment complete, Ghost aborted the dodge. Instead, she spun around, extending a hand to strike.

Trying to take me with you?

Though puzzled, Jeon Woo-chi finished pulling the trigger.

Thwack!

At that exact moment, a kick flew in from the side. The Boy—Jae-hee—slammed his foot squarely into the muzzle of the gun.

The shot went wide, the bullet striking a harmless wall.

“What…?!”

Only then did Jeon Woo-chi understand.

Ghost had noticed Jae-hee before he had. She’d trusted that he would rush in and stop the shot, and had launched a counterattack of her own.

As Jeon Woo-chi’s stance broke, Ghost lunged, her hand slashing through the air like a blade.

Swish!

But her sharp knife-hand strike also hit nothing but a wall.

Just before her attack landed, Jeon Woo-chi had used Blink again, sliding sideways to evade it.

“Master!”

“Kid!”

Their coordination was perfect. With nothing more than a shared glance, Jae-hee and Ghost understood each other’s intent.

They moved in unison.

Whoosh!

Ghost leaped straight at Jeon Woo-chi while Jae-hee sprinted for the clinic door.

“Huh?”

“Eh?”

The two skidded to a halt and yelled at each other.

“Weren’t you giving me the ‘let’s get the hell out of here’ look, Master?!”

“That was a ‘let’s fight’ look, you moron! Why the hell would we run?”

“But you’ve got cuffs on, and the Doctor’s hurt…”

“And you want to just let an intruder go? We gotta take this fucker down first!”

Their movements were in sync, but their minds were on completely different wavelengths.

“Well, well.”

Having righted his posture, Jeon Woo-chi whistled as he looked at Jae-hee. “So the infamous Boy of gales and billows has arrived.”

“Wha! Is my name really that famous already?!”

“Oh, yes. You’re a big deal in our world. I hear you have the talent and potential to reach the pinnacle of speed.”

Jeon Woo-chi grinned and pointed to himself. “I do fancy myself a contester of speed… so how about it? Care for a race?”

“Huh… a speed contest?”

“That’s right. I’m the fastest in the Crimson Poverty Front. I’d like to see which of us is quicker.”

“So you’re a rapid-fire type, too, Master Taoist?!”

“Rapid-fire? Hmm, you could say that.”

“Th-then, Master Taoist, could it be that you also…!” Jae-hee shouted, his face deadly serious. “Don’t last very long?!”

“Huh…?” Jeon Woo-chi asked. “What was that?”

“See, I’m fast, but my ability doesn’t last long at all. That’s why I was in the hospital—I was at the gym trying to build up my stamina and overdid it…!”

“Uhh…”

“So, uh, to put it bluntly…” Jae-hee lowered his voice in embarrassment, though everyone in the small room could still hear him perfectly. “Are you… y’know… a premature ejaculator too?”

“…”

“I mean, not in that way! Ability-wise, I mean, ability-wise!”

After a moment of confusion, Jeon Woo-chi broke into a cold sweat and answered with grave sincerity.

“N-no! I can go for a very, very long time. You could say I’m quite healthy and vigor—”

He was cut short as he belatedly realized something was wrong.

Whoosh!

Ghost, standing on the opposite side of the room after their earlier miscommunication, now rushed at his exposed back.

Normally, Jeon Woo-chi would have dealt with her easily, but he’d been thrown off by Jae-hee’s bizarre request for a consultation, and his rhythm was broken.

“We were in the middle of a serious discussion here, you…!”

“Take your problems to a urologist!”

Jeon Woo-chi Blinked away from Ghost’s knife-hand, landing on a nearby table just as Jae-hee’s kick came crashing down where he’d been.

A playful smile danced on the Boy’s face. “Let’s see just how vigorous and long-lasting you really are!”

“Little scoundrel…!”

Jae-hee and Ghost attacked in relentless alternation.

Trapped in the narrow clinic, Jeon Woo-chi was forced to use Blink repeatedly just to evade their strikes. Having lost the initiative, he was constantly on the defensive, with no time to do anything but dodge.

This is bad. I’m completely caught in their rhythm…

Every time he used his ability, the other one would attack, giving him no chance to catch his breath. If he tried to fire his pistol, the one he wasn’t aiming at would intercept him.

Just as he was starting to think, Is this a crisis? a new figure burst from the back of the clinic.

Whoosh!

It was the woman in the Imae mask—Iljimae.

“Coming throoough…!”

CRACK-BOOM!

A white ring behind her back erupted with overwhelming thrust, and she charged forward, tearing up the clinic’s interior.

“Whoa!”

Directly in her path, Jae-hee yelped and rolled out of the way. Ghost clicked her tongue, scooped up the Doctor, and moved her to safety.

“Iljimae!” Jeon Woo-chi cried out, relieved to see his comrade. “Dammit, I knew I could count on you!”

“Got the target… Stop playing around and let’s get out of here…”

Tucked under Iljimae’s arm was the unconscious, limp form of Silken Bodhisattva.

“Silken Bodhisattva?!”

Horrified, Ghost moved to give chase.

Bang-bang-bang-bang!

But Jeon Woo-chi fired his pistol wildly, forcing her to grind her teeth and take cover.

“We came for this shaman lady today!”

Sprinting out of the clinic, Jeon Woo-chi emptied his magazine and tossed the gun aside.

“We’ll continue our urology consultation next ti—”

Flash!

He vanished mid-sentence.

“Tch…!”

Ghost started to follow but stopped when the Doctor coughed up a spray of blood.

She quickly laid her flat. “Doctor, are you okay?”

“No, I’m not okay… I think I’m about to die…”

Just then, Hae-eun and a squad of armed guards finally arrived.

They had scrambled the moment the emergency siren went off, but it had taken them five minutes to get there.

By that time, the intruders were already making their escape.

“What the hell happened?!”

“Intruders, Commander.” Ghost jerked her chin toward the Doctor’s wrists. “First, get these cuffs off. The Doctor’s dying.”

Hae-eun immediately unlocked the cuffs not only on the Doctor but on Ghost and Jae-hee as well.

With a trembling hand, the Doctor used her “Local Anesthesia” ability on herself. The progression of her wounds halted, but her face was still deathly pale.

“Is there… a skilled surgeon nearby…? If not, I’ll have to dig this bullet out of my own stomach…”

“We’ll transport the Doctor to the nearest military hospital. Prep a transport plane!”

As Hae-eun’s subordinates scrambled, Ghost and Jae-hee bolted from the clinic. They could explain the situation over the comms.

Following the direction Jeon Woo-chi and Iljimae had fled, Ghost clipped on her in-ear communicator and gave Hae-eun a brief report. That intruders had boarded from the outside. That one had introduced himself as Jeon Woo-chi, a member of the Crimson Poverty Front.

And that Iljimae was also a member, an inside accomplice, just like Robbin’ Hood in Chuncheon.

That their target had been Silken Bodhisattva, and they were now escaping with her.

“Can you use the remote suppression on Iljimae… the parasite?” Ghost asked.

After attempting to manipulate the Gu remotely, Hae-eun shook her head. «No response… Same as with Robbin’ Hood. It’s already been neutralized.»

“Your little parasites don’t have a great track record, do they?”

«They had a hundred percent success rate before these Crimson Poverty Front rats showed up!» Hae-eun snarled. «I’m issuing an emergency mission! I’ll assemble additional agents immediately, but for now, you two, after them!»

“Already on it.”

«I don’t know why they took Silken Bodhisattva, but she’s their objective. You must get her back!»

The commander’s voice was full of uncharacteristic venom.

«More importantly, I can’t let them get away with pulling this shit on my ship! Hunt them down!»

“Mission name?” Ghost asked coolly.

Hae-eun’s reply was just as cool.

«“Cops and Robbers”!»

“Never thought I’d live to see the day I played a cop… What’s the reward?”

«300,000 for rescuing Silken Bodhisattva. As for the Crimson Poverty Front pair, 500,000 per head if you kill them, one million per head if you bring them in alive!»

“Generous.”

«I am pissed to goddamn hell. You have to nail them, Ghost! Please!»

“Acknowledged.” A savage grin spread across Ghost’s face. “I’m a little pissed off myself.”

Sprinting across the deck, she gestured behind her with her chin.

“Let’s go, kid. You ready to hunt down that bastard and the traitor?”

“…”

“Kid?”

Puzzled, Ghost glanced back and saw why Jae-hee had been so quiet.

“Uhm…” Drenched in a cold sweat, he was jogging awkwardly, a pained look on his face. “My muscles… are soooo… sore…”

“…”

He had only just been hospitalized for overexertion.

Watching her disciple limp along, slowing with every step, Ghost slapped her forehead.

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