The weight behind Sungyoon’s words pressed down on everyone in the room . All of them knew how close Sungyoon and Hyunwoo were, so the mere fact that Sungyoon was saying Hyunwoo had been acting suspiciously was shocking in itself .

  “Do you mind telling us the reason you think so?”


  Bruce’s laid-back attitude disappeared when he asked the question, and a calm look appeared in his eyes .

  “I’m sorry, but let me ask you one thing first . Did the Mayor ever mention to you how the ambushers move around?”


  “No . We never heard about it . ”


  “Do you mean those who show up everywhere like ghosts? Did you discover anything about them?”


  A look of anticipation appeared in Russell’s and Bruce’s eyes .

  ‘Looks like the two of them are still in the unknown about it . ’


  The Mayor had kept the secret about the portal close to his vest .

  ‘He didn’t tell it to two of the strongest Connectors . ’


  Russell and Bruce worked very closely with their respective governments . This could be the reason the Maor hadn’t told them about this matter .

  ‘I should’ve expected it . They weren’t included in the sweep of the ancient city . ’


  “Then I can’t tell you the precise details . ”


  “For what reason? No . It’s to be expected . I could see him holding back the information . This is the wily Mayor we’re talking about . ”


  Bruce didn’t sound thrilled by this development, but Sungyoon kept his mouth shut . Russell looked at Grace, and she let out an awkward smile .

  “It seems even the Princess knows about it . ”


  Russell sarcastically spoke . He was just needling her, and there was no ill intent behind his words . Of course, his voice contained a little disappointment, the disappointment a grandfather felt toward his granddaughter for keeping a secret .

  “I’m sorry . ”


  “No, it’s fine . If you can’t even tell your own country, the matter must be very important . Do not feel guilty about it . ”


  “Let me add on to that . Ms . Grace wasn’t happy with keeping it a secret . She fought against it until the end . ”


  “I see . ”


  Sungyoon’s words washed away all of Russell’s disappointment . Grace bowed toward Sungyoon as a gesture of thanks .

  “I see . It can’t be helped . ”


  “Hey, aren’t you letting them off the hook too easily because of the Princess?”


  Bruce grumbled as he still didn’t like what was going on . However, Russell wasn’t one to blink an eye at Bruce’s complaints . He ignored Bruce and advanced the conversation .

  “Let’s put aside the fact that you’re hiding some information . Put it in simple terms . What made you suspicious of Hyunwoo?”


  “I believe Mr . Hyunwoo found out about that information . The probability is high . No, I’m sure . However, he didn’t mention it to anyone when he had the chance . ”


  “Mmm!”


  If the Mayor was making sure everyone kept their mouths shut, it must be a very important piece of information . And Hyunwoo trying to monopolize this information would be enough to make Sungyoon suspicious .

  “That isn’t enough . Honestly, a lot of people in this industry try to keep important information to themselves . ”


  “That’s why I was only a bit suspicious and didn’t mention my suspicions to anyone else . ”


  “Mmm . He did something unexpected, but there was no clear wrongdoing . ”


  “If I speak my mind, I doubt Fabion wants to stab Armstrong city in the back . I bet they found something so ludicrously profitable that they want to monopolize it at all costs . They have done something like this before too . I think the Mayor is being too sensitive since Armstrong city is in a precarious situation . I understand that, but . . . ”


  Bruce spoke in a monotonous voice, and Russell agreed with his opinion . The only reason they argued over the mission was their mismatched personalities .

  “Anyway, we were hired for this job, so we have to carry it out . We’ll follow Fabion and find out the reason behind their actions . If they’re doing something bad, we can just kick their asses . ”


  Bruce stood up from his seat, stretched his arms, and gestured at the others .

  “Are we done here? Let’s go . We won’t know if we’re going into a dragon’s nest or a rabbit warren unless we see it for ourselves . ”


  He then led his party out of the room . Russell was once again annoyed by Bruce, who had ended the meeting on his own, but he knew that Bruce was right . So he got up too .

  ***

  “We were caught sneaking out . I guarantee it . ”


  Jinsoo spoke as he chewed on beef jerky while moving through the labyrinth .

  “Armstrong city’s leaders aren’t idiots . We were so brazen in our actions, so of course, they would notice it . In fact, I had heard that they contacted us several times to see if something was up . ”


  “I heard it too . ”


  “Sometimes, I have no idea what our president is thinking .

  Jinsoo complained to Hyunwoo . He had been suddenly recalled and forced to move into a big group in this mission . It had pissed off Jinsoo .

  “I was so close to seducing this woman . Even though it would’ve only lasted for a while, I was going to go have a good time with her in Bali . ”


  Hyunwoo gave Jinsoo a stern look . When the two of them were alone, Hyunwoo didn’t mind Jinsoo complaining about their idiot president . But right now, they were traveling with other Fabion Connectors . Some of them glared at Jinsoo .

  ‘Of course, that bastard would have an aneurysm if anyone speaks badly of the President . ’


  A man charged toward Jinsoo like an angry boar, and Hyunwoo let out a chuckle at the sight .

  “Try saying that again, you bastard!”


  Grab!

  The boar-like man grabbed Jinsoo by his collar .

  Huge, that was the first thought anyone would have on seeing him . His over-two-meter tall stature was further enhanced by his overdeveloped muscles . With his shaved head, ugly face, and boar-like figure, the man could intimidate anyone .

  However, his appearance didn’t work on Jinsoo .

  “Huh? What’s wrong, Mr . Gisoo?”


  Jinsoo dangled in the air as Gisoo’s rough hands grabbed his collar, but he remained unfazed . He was even laughing, and his words contained sarcasm .

  “What’s wrong? You’re openly badmouthing the President! What do you mean what’s wrong?”


  “We’re from a free country . I can say what I want . Oh right! Mr . Gisoo, you’re the President’s loyal dog, right? I guess I’m at fault . I badmouthed the owner in front of the dog . I messed up . ”


  To deliver the finishing blow, Jinsoo barked like a dog .

  “You…… bastard!”


  Gisoo’s eyes became bloodshot, and the hands holding Jinsoo’s collar surged with strength . Jinsoo reacted in kind . His face became blank, and murderous intent appeared in his eyes . Just when both men were about to circulate their magical energy, someone stopped them .

  Tuhp!

  Hyunwoo grabbed Gisoo’s arm .

  “Stop it . What are you doing? We are about to go into a battle, yet you’re trying to fight someone on your side . ”


  “You stay out of this!”


  Gisoo’s eyes flashed in anger, and he almost lost all reason . However, Hyunwoo didn’t back down .

  “If you cause an internal conflict here, the President won’t be happy . ”


  As soon as the words ’the President’ was mentioned, Gisoo backed down . Hyunwoo inwardly laughed at the simple man .

  “He’s the one who picked a fight with me . ”


  “That’s true . ”


  Hyunwoo looked at Jinsoo .

  “You should apologize first . ”


  “Yes, yes! I’m really sorry! From now on, I promise undying loyalty to the President . ”


  “Kim Jinsoo!”


  Hyunwoo raised his voice a little . He knew it would be dangerous to push Gisoo any further . Jinsoo clicked his tongue as he raised his hands .

  “Alright, I’m sorry . ”


  It was clear that Jinsoo wasn’t sorry, but it was better than the previous apology . Gisoo knew he wouldn’t get a better apology than this, so he let go of Jinsoo’s collar . But he couldn’t just let go of the incident .

  “.…… I’ll report this incident to the President . ”


  Gisoo continued .

  “Also, let me give you this warning . We don’t have a choice in this matter . These moon bastards might reveal everything to Armstrong at any moment . We can’t assume they will always be in conflict with Armstrong, and if they spill the beans, all of us are done . We aren’t dumb enough to act so openly, but it’s a desperate time . Please remember this . ”


  Gisoo then glanced at Hyunwoo and smirked .

  “This is all happening because someone here was unable to tie up the loose ends in the past . ”


  “This is embarrassing . ”


  Hyunwoo spoke in an embarrassed tone . However, his voice sounded like Jinsoo, and Gisoo could see that Hyunwoo wasn’t sincere . It angered him, but he then remembered another topic . He once again sneered at Hyunwoo .

  “Now that I think about it, I heard you’re close with a 1st Gen Connector affiliated to the company of Jungbum’s daughter . ”


  “You mean Woo Sungyoon? Yeah . We’re pretty close in our own way . ”


  “The President assigned me to kill him . ”


  “Is that so?”


  Hyunwoo’s reaction was underwhelming . When he didn’t see the reaction he desired, Gisoo’s face turned red from anger . He glared at Hyunwoo and Jinsoo and turned his back on them after snorting .

  “You should train that bastard a bit better . ”


  Gisoo stomped away .

  Jinsoo mumbled something at his back, but his voice was so low that even Hyunwoo couldn’t hear it .

  “Don’t be rash!”


  Hyunwoo spoke to Jinsoo .

  “Yes . I’m reflecting on my actions . ”


  Of course, Jinsoo’s words couldn’t be trusted if one took his attitude and body language into account .

  After the scuffle, Hyunwoo and Jinsoo moved a little bit away from the group . They spoke low enough that even the Connectors with good hearing couldn’t hear their words .

  “He’s getting on my nerves . ”


  Of course, Jinsoo was talking about Gisoo .

  “It doesn’t matter . We’ll be killing them all later on . ”


  “He can only act like that because he doesn’t know death is on the way . ”


  “Anyway, are you ok with what he said? He said he’ll kill Woo Sungyoon . ”


  The last straw on the back of the camel named Dongin had broken . Dongin wanted to get rid of everyone that got on his nerves .

  ‘He’s such a short-sighted man . ’


  Hyunwoo sneered .

  “He can try if he thinks he can do it . I won’t help or interfere . ”


  Hyunwoo sounded completely uninterested, but Jinsoo could see the anticipation in his eyes .

  “Well, it’ll only matter if he can survive that long . ”


  “That’s true . How much more do we have to travel before we reach our destination?”


  “We’re almost there . ”


  Hyunwoo pointed at the ground .

  “It should be on the next floor . ”


  “As you said, this is unfinished business for you . Shall we go clean it up?”


  Jinsoo didn’t hide his predatory bloodthirstiness as he licked his lips .