Trinity Build — Part 1
“Who the hell do you think you are!”
Chief Choi screamed.
“After all these years of exploitation, treating me like cheap labor just because I owed you a favor ten years ago, you have the nerve to call me a dog? You’re the real bastard, you son of a bitch!”
Director Kang was momentarily stunned.
Chief Park glared at Chief Choi, looking as though he wanted to strangle him.
“Owed him a little favor? Did you forget that your mother nearly died back then? If it weren’t for Director Kang, she wouldn’t be alive today!”
“That damn woman would’ve been better off dead!”
“What did you just say?”
“Are you insane?”
“Yeah, I’m insane! And you idiots need to open your eyes! Don’t you get it? He’s just using you! If we’d joined a security company instead, all of us would be living the high life with cushy salaries by now. Instead, we’ve been exploited for over ten years on this pitiful paycheck, and you still don’t see the truth?”
“…Chief Choi, is this who you truly are?”
“Both you and I owe Director Kang our lives. Have you forgotten everything he did for you?”
“I haven’t forgotten! So what are you gonna do about it?”
“Hah.”
Director Kang let out a hollow laugh.
The other Chiefs looked like they couldn’t believe what they were hearing.
Chief Choi’s eyes gleamed as he shouted.
“Director Kang! If you had treated me right, I wouldn’t have turned on you! What was that you said? I don’t have the qualifications to be a director? What am I lacking, huh? Just because I’m Level 4? When it comes to hunting, I’m better than you! This is the Hunter Association. Why should level matter more than skill?”
“So that’s what this was about…”
It seemed even a solid-looking relationship could have underlying cracks.
Director Kang sighed, looking genuinely disappointed.
Chief Choi continued to shout, undeterred.
“It’s all over! Do you think you still have a place in the association? Other than Chief Park and Chief Lee here, everyone else is aligned with the Hunter Association President! We’re all part of the Yeoncheon faction now! Just step down quietly and go back to being a free agent! If you don’t, the Hunter Association President will make sure you’re taken out!”
There was nothing more worth hearing.
Schwing.
I drew my sword.
The silver blade of the Holy Sword gleamed brightly in the sunlight.
“Wha-?”
Chief Choi’s eyes went wide as he felt the blade pressed against his neck.
I looked over at Director Kang calmly.
“Shall I take care of it, or would you like to do it yourself, Director?”
Director Kang sighed heavily without a word.
Chief Choi, desperate now, began to beg.
“No, no! Director! Please spare me! We’ve worked together for so long! Sir, please, tell him to let me go! I made a mistake! I was briefly tempted by the Hunter Association President’s offer of money and a director position! I—I made a mistake!”
Chief Choi’s pitiful cries continued until the end.
The two Chiefs exchanged looks and shook their heads at Director Kang.
Finally, Director Kang let out one last sigh and turned his back.
“I’ll leave it to you, Hunter Kim.”
“No!”
Shlick.
There was no need for further words.
In a single motion, I slashed his throat.
His carotid artery severed, blood sprayed out in a fountain.
Chief Choi grabbed at his neck, but it was no use.
He soon slumped down, lifeless, in a pool of his own blood.
“Life… life is full of surprises.”
Director Kang muttered softly, almost to himself.
“I knew Chief Choi was ambitious, but I didn’t think he’d betray me just to get a director position.”
“I think he felt you were holding him back.”
“Holding him back? Why would I hold him back? I was the one who supported the proposal to promote him to director.”
“I heard you opposed it, actually…”
“Who told you that?”
“Hunter Jung… Ah.”
It seemed Director Kang had been subtly undermined, bit by bit, without realizing it.
He gritted his teeth in frustration.
“The Hunter Association President—no, that bastard Byungjin Yoon. So he’s been setting me up all this time?”
“That’s not the important thing right now.”
I interjected urgently.
“We need to get out of here immediately. Once the Hunter Association President realizes Chief Choi is dead, who knows how he’ll react.”
“Hmm… Should we act as if nothing happened and return to headquarters? If we bring back the Thunder Imoogi, that might buy us some time. As long as we avoid drinking anything, we should be safe.”
“The Hunter Association President will likely try to contact Chief Choi. If he doesn’t respond, that’ll raise suspicion.”
“Then let’s just make a run for it.”
Chief Park made a quick decision.
“As soon as we enter Cheorwon State, what can they really do to us? Director, don’t you have contacts in the state? It might be best to lay low with them and wait for the heat to die down.”
“Or we could take the fight directly to the Hunter Association President. If we eliminate him, then…”
“Do you really think he’ll go down that easily? And to be honest, Director, you’re weaker than the President.”
“Oh, come on! That’s just a matter of compatibility. Byungjin Yoon’s a shapeshifter, and I’m a sniper.”
“And if you kill the Hunter Association President, do you think the other hunters will just stand by? We can’t do anything until Deputy Director Song and Chief Sung return from China.”
“Hah… Sending them to China was a mistake.”
No matter how we looked at it, escape was our best option.
Despite everything, Director Kang insisted on bringing the Thunder Imoogi’s corpse, but he was overruled.
In the end, we only extracted its heart and loaded it into the SUV.
Vroooom!
The car roared to life as we sped off.
We left Chief Choi’s corpse behind in the restricted area.
Once this was all over, Director Kang could come back to deal with it if he wanted.
The two Chiefs sat tensely, constantly scanning our surroundings.
I unzipped my golf bag, which I’d kept next to me, and pulled out a rifle and an automatic grenade launcher.
Director Kang raised an eyebrow.
“Are we going to war?”
“I have a bad feeling about this.”
I’d had a similar thought while hunting the Mountain King.
That maybe, just maybe, we’d end up in a car chase.
Was it the intuition of a seasoned player, or just paranoia?
Either way, if there was ever a time for a chase, it’d be now.
Vroooom!
As we drove south, another SUV appeared in pursuit.
It was a familiar vehicle.
Hunter Jung—the hunter who’d bought the Mountain King’s corpse from me—was driving it.
“Hey there, Hunter Kim! Director Kang!”
His SUV pulled up alongside ours.
“Did you bag anything? I heard you went after some prime game!”
“We sure did!”
“Let me take a look!”
Hunter Jung gestured for us to pull over.
Director Kang looked at me, flustered.
“He’s asking us to stop for a moment.”
“That’s not happening.”
“Got it. Hey, Hunter Jung! If you want to see the game, meet us at headquarters! We’ll unveil it there! Victory is ours!”
Director Kang pointed forward, signaling me to speed up, while discreetly hiding the grenade launcher I’d pulled out.
I pressed down on the accelerator, and our SUV picked up speed.
Dust clouds kicked up behind us as we left Hunter Jung’s SUV trailing.
I checked the rearview mirror, watching Hunter Jung’s reaction.
Using all my sensory traits—[Sensitivity], [Bright Eyes], [Keen Ears], [Insight], [Sixth Sense], and [Focus]—I observed his expression harden.
He must’ve noticed Chief Choi’s absence, as well as the fact that there was no game corpse in our vehicle.
Then, he pulled out his phone and started making a call, murmuring into it.
Thanks to [Keen Ears], I could faintly make out his voice.
“…We have a problem. It looks like Chief Choi is…”
Damn.
He caught on fast.
Vroooom!
I pressed down harder on the gas.
The SUV rattled violently as we sped up, but I ignored it and kept going.
Director Kang glanced back, frowning.
“They’ve realized, haven’t they?”
“Yes. Let’s hurry.”
“Goddamn it. How did I end up in this mess?”
The Cheorwon Plains were vast.
As long as they hadn’t set up a blockade, we should be able to shake off the hunters and make it to Cheorwon State.
But it seemed the Hunter Association President’s forces were more determined than I’d anticipated.
Bang!
A gunshot echoed from behind us.
Hunter Jung had leaned out of his SUV and was shooting at us.
“What the hell!”
“Is he crazy?”
“He’s shooting at us?”
Director Kang and the Chiefs shouted curses.
“You bastard!”
Director Kang leaned out of the window and fired the grenade launcher.
But it was way off target.
Even for a superhuman, hitting something accurately with a grenade while driving over 100 kilometers per hour was no easy task.
“Damn it! Can you slow down a bit?”
Frustrated, he dropped all formalities and yelled.
“Why don’t you do it properly?”
Should I show him how it’s done?
I gripped the steering wheel tightly with my right hand.
After making sure there were no obstacles ahead, I switched my traits.
[Shoot], [Aim], [Sniper]
[Insight], [Sixth Sense], [Focus]
Holding the rifle in my left hand, I turned just halfway around.
Chief Lee, sitting in the back seat, ducked down in panic.
The sights on the rifle wobbled wildly from the intense vibrations, making it seem like I’d miss the tires, let alone the entire car.
But the combined effects of my shooting, aiming, and sniping traits provided me with an incredible accuracy boost.
My concentration was heightened to its absolute peak.
I used [Insight] to read the SUV’s movements and [Sixth Sense] to pinpoint the critical moment.
When my mind was crystal clear and fully locked on—
I pulled the trigger.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Only three shots.
The bullets whizzed out with a thunderous roar, each trailing a flash as they sliced through the air.
Screeeech!
Hunter Jung’s SUV, which had been speeding in a straight line, suddenly skidded at an angle.
A quick glance in the rearview mirror told me the result.
Only one tire remained unscathed—the other three had been blown out.
From a moving vehicle, I’d shot out three tires on a speeding SUV with just three bullets.
“What the hell was that?!”
“He’s a complete monster!”
“This guy’s insane! Totally insane!”
Without Level 4 strength and mana, shooting a rifle one-handed would have been impossible.
I quietly focused back on driving.
Vrooooom!
The SUV held up surprisingly well.
Even as we pushed past 100 kilometers per hour and approached 150, it kept going.
Chief Choi must’ve given us one hell of a car.
The ride was rough, and the car bounced wildly, but it was holding together.
Of course, that was probably thanks to our superhuman bodies.
If we were ordinary people, we’d be puking our guts out by now.
“Enemy at nine o’clock!”
“There’s another one at three o’clock!”
“Damn it, they’re in front of us too!”
Hunters were closing in to surround us.
When Director Kang reached for the grenade launcher, I stopped him.
“Use the machine gun in the golf bag instead.”
“Huh? There’s a machine gun in there?”
Director Kang rummaged through the golf bag.
As he looked at the assortment of bombs, heavy weapons, and firearms, his expression turned incredulous.
Then he pulled out the machine gun and started firing out the window.
Rat-tat-tat-tat-tat!
“Take this, you bastards!”
But he wasn’t hitting anything.
Not a single shot landed; the bullets scattered into the air.
The hunters shooting back weren’t any more accurate either.
None of them managed to hit anything, either.
One SUV, however, caught my eye.
An SUV equipped with a rocket launcher.
It stopped in place and loaded a rocket, aiming straight at us.
[Sixth Sense] and [Insight] sent out intense warnings.
From that distance, they could actually hit us?
Even though we were moving at 150 kilometers per hour?
That was the danger of a Reinforced sniper.
I couldn’t afford to forget the rocket-propelled sniper attack I’d faced against the Dagger Gang.
Sensing the threat, I grabbed my rifle immediately.
I ignored the shaking of the car and the jarring impact up to my head.
Trusting my instincts, I pulled the trigger.
Bang!
I was just a split second faster.
The bullet hit the rocket just as it was leaving the launcher.
The impact fuse activated, and the rocket exploded on top of the SUV.
Boom!
Was it equipped with high-explosive rounds?
The explosion tore through the SUV.
The arcane engine was caught in the blast, setting off an even bigger explosion.
Mana waves and fire surged outward, and nearby SUVs toppled like turtles as the blast sent shockwaves and shrapnel flying everywhere.
“Whoa-ho!”
“Look at that! Hunter Kim, what the hell did you just do?”
“It’s like a weapon straight out of a movie!”
The three of them were bouncing around inside the SUV, like overexcited kids.
By that point, most of the pursuing SUVs had given up on closing in.
All but two.
One was adorned with steel spikes, and the other had a monstrous backbone decoration.
Both were equipped with arcane science engines, weaving in a zigzag pattern to avoid my shots while keeping up with us.
Bang! Bang!
I fired my rifle, but they were no easy targets.
Even when I was sure I’d hit, they instinctively braked or swerved right before I could pull the trigger, dodging the bullets.
Director Kang gritted his teeth as he watched the two SUVs.
“It’s Director Kim and Director Jang! Those two love driving more than hunting! We’re not going to lose them easily!”
Their vehicles were far superior.
Ours was just a regular SUV, while theirs were custom-built off-road vehicles with arcane science engines and various upgrades.
Whoosh—Boom!
To make matters worse, they started launching rockets.
At 200 kilometers per hour, those shots should’ve gone wide, but somehow, they were hitting alarmingly close.
The rockets were exploding just 10 meters away, shaking our SUV and sending shrapnel clinking against the windows.
[It’s got bulletproof windows and special tires. It can take rifle rounds no problem.]
Chief Choi’s proud words echoed in my mind, and I felt a surge of gratitude.
I pushed my concentration to the limit and switched my traits once more.
[Sensitivity], [Keen Ears], [Bright Eyes]
[Insight], [Sixth Sense], [Focus]
And [Danger Sense], which had been kicking in non-stop.
I abandoned any thought of counterattacking and focused entirely on driving.
With [Bright Eyes], I watched the rearview mirror; with [Keen Ears], I listened for any changes; and with [Sixth Sense], I adjusted the wheel to dodge.
“Urgh!”
“Oh god!”
I pressed down hard on the accelerator.
The diesel engine roared as it pushed itself to its limits.
The car jolted and bounced, launching into the air every time we hit a rock before slamming back down, but our speed kept climbing.
We hit almost 200 kilometers per hour.
The driving got harder, and I could feel the nausea creeping in, but the distance between us and the pursuers began to widen.
Whoosh!
Then—
A dark shape flew past my head, triggering my Sixth Sense.
A grenade.
It was arcing down toward the road just ahead of us, aiming to explode right in our path.
Not gonna happen.
Time seemed to slow down.
It felt like my head was on fire.
My heart pounded, overloaded with adrenaline.
I instinctively turned the wheel and yanked the handbrake.
Skreeeeeeech!
The tires screeched as they scraped across the ground, slowing us down.
Drifting!
But I didn’t actually reduce speed.
We were still barreling ahead at nearly 200 kilometers per hour.
Yet I managed to execute a nearly 90-degree turn.
A strange sense of freedom washed over me.
I felt unusually light.
It was as if the SUV had become an extension of my own body.
I could feel the rough terrain, the flying dust, the searing heat, all coursing through me.
Even a slight adjustment to the wheel had the SUV responding instantly. The vibrations seemed to settle, and our speed climbed higher.
It was all thanks to the [Driving] and [Riding] traits.
Even an ordinary vehicle could feel like an R-grade mount with that combination.
And it was thanks to that combination that we finally managed to shake off the hunters’ pursuit.
After a long drive, shooting all the way, we finally crossed into the territory of Paju State, safe and sound.
–TL Notes–
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