Chapter 138

The mass escape from Jisan Prison had severely damaged public opinion of the Hunter Association.

"It's a problem that they gathered all those dangerous villains in one place to begin with!"

"It was a ticking time bomb waiting to explode."

"They should've killed all the villains instead of imprisoning them"

"Where are all those human rights activists now, huh?!"

"No, but seriously, how could so many escape at once? They call it a top-security facility?"

"Were the guards bribed?"

"Or were the jailers villains themselves?"

"Could this happen just because Chairman Woo Jinchul was away…?"

"At this point, let's just fire all the Association hunters except for the chairman!"

"No, the Chairman should take responsibility and resign"

"Then who should be the president?"

"Choi Jongin. He's an S-rank hunter."

"Honestly, Woo Jinchul was only A-rank, he wasn't qualified to be chairman in the first place."

"Still, you have to admit that Woo Jinchul is the one who got our country back on its feet."

"All this mess is because of that Jisan Prison Woo Jinchul built"

"But can the Association really fix this situation?"

"I'm too scared of villains to even go outside."

"It's practically the same as a dungeon break, isn't it?"

Dungeon break.

In a way, it was an accurate description. 500 villains had escaped from Jisan Prison. Most were mid to low-level, but even encountering a single low-level villain was life-threatening for non-awakened citizens. Awakened criminals were practically demons.

However, there was another reason the situation was so dire. Despite the mass escape,very few hunters were willing to pursue them. The reason was the same as with the Lee Minsung incident: there was no money in it. It was far more profitable for hunters to enter dungeons than to chase after villains who might be hiding anywhere. Because of that, the Korean Hunter Association was in complete disarray.

"Public opinion is a mess, there is no helping it. However the priority now is to apprehend the escaped villains as quickly as possible and ensure the safety of the citizens," Team Leader Han Jaehyuk briefed Sung Suho, his expression grave. "We've sent out a massive call for cooperation to hunters nationwide, but the only guild actively cooperating is the White Tiger Guild."

The scale of this incident dwarfed the Lee Minae situation. Back then, they only had to apprehend one individual; now, they faced 500 escapees. The Association was severely understaffed.

"Therefore, we would like to temporarily grant Hunter Sung Suho the title of 'Association-Certified Bounty Hunter.' "

"What's the difference between that and a regular Association hunter?"

"Association-certified bounty hunters are permitted to enter other guilds' territories without prior permission."

Suho's eyes widened. "Does that mean I can freely enter dungeons that other guilds have exclusive rights to?"

"Yes, that's correct. However, you are not allowed to hunt magic beasts in the process."

"What if I encounter them while chasing a villain?"

"Ah, my apologies. I wasn't clear enough. To be precise, it's illegal to exit with magic beast corpses or mana stones."

"So only entry and exit are permitted?"

"Correct. To enforce this, we'll need to inspect your belongings when you leave the gate. We ask for your understanding."

"Well, that's acceptable." Suho nodded meekly at Team Leader Han Jaehyuk's explanation, but inwardly, he was grinning. This is amazing! He merely intended to apprehend some villains, but he had stumbled upon an unexpected opportunity. Does this mean I can go into any dungeon and hunt monsters under the pretense of chasing villains? They were going to inspect his belongings at the gate? So what? Could they inspect the contents of his inventory? And what about the Shadow Dungeon? If he was determined, he could hide the magic beast's remains and no one would be the wiser.Of course, it would be difficult to completely conceal the traces of hunting, and doing so would eventually raise suspicions. But that wasn't important at all. What mattered most to Suho was the hunting itself. 

This means I can level up anywhere! In fact, if he only hunted and left the corpses behind, it wouldn't be a bad thing from the guilds' perspective. Since they couldn't gain experience from hunting like him, they'd be happy to get everything in the dungeon without raising a finger. It's a shame this permit is only temporary. It would be great if it were permanent.

Suho began his villain hunt in earnest. 

He started like any other bounty hunter. First, gathering information and analyzing it was crucial to finding villains who were actively doing everything they could to hide from hunters. He'd already received basic information from the Association through Team Leader Han Jaehyuk, but it was mostly personal details about the escapees and who had been caught so far.

He was also promised that any new information will be shared with him immediately, however Suho decided to be proactive. 

His first action was to utilize the White Tiger Guild. They were actively cooperating with the villain hunt, so they were bound to have valuable information. And coincidentally, Suho had a contact there who was fairly high-ranking.

Vice President Baek Miho.

Suho called her without hesitation.

One hour later...

"Seriously. I'm meeting with a real piece of work today." Baek Miho stood before Suho, arms crossed and a displeased expression on her face. She had every right to be annoyed. "You ignored all my calls, and now you're suddenly calling me out of the blue? And only to ask for information?"

But Suho was shameless. "Oh, did I? I was out of the country for a while."

"Out of the country? Ah, so that's why your phone was off... No, wait, what were you doing without international roaming? Who goes abroad without a phone these days?" Baek Miho grumbled.

However, the excuse seemed to work; her tone was less harsh than before.

"Anyway, I'm busy, so let's get to the point. You need information about the Jisan Prison villains?"

"Yes. I've been appointed an Association-certified bounty hunter."

"What? Well, good for you. The more hands we have, the better."

As they talked, Baek Miho's frown gradually softened. The Jisan Prison incident was keeping her busy these days. If it wasn't Suho contacting her, she probably wouldn't have come to meet him in person. The vice president of the White Tiger Guild wasn't a person just anyone could meet. However, Baek Miho had already fought alongside Suho once, so she knew his strength better than anyone. Ever since that day, she'd been trying to recruit him, even swallowing her pride just to stay in contact.

'Of course he ignored all my calls.'

"Oh, I was abroad."

"... Seriously."

 Baek Miho, about to get annoyed again, ended up laughing at Suho's sudden interruption.

"Anyway, what kind of information do you need?"

"Anything. I just got back to Korea today, so I'm not up to speed."

"Looks like you really were abroad." Baek Miho finally uncrossed her arms.

Suho felt a strange sense of satisfaction at her reaction. The Association claimed to have suppressed any information about my involvement in the 'Thomas Andre' incident.

According to Team Leader Han Jaehyuk, the Association had thoroughly suppressed any news about that situation. They feared that if Korean hunters learned about opportunities to join overseas guilds, there would be a mass exodus. Suho hadn't actually joined the Scavenger Guild, but the Association had to be cautious for the sake of national security.

"So, what do you want to know? Locations? Names? Or how about you just team up with our guild this time?"

"It's the same as searching for them scattered all over the place anyway. And I know the region. Jisan Prison was in Pocheon, so they must be around there somewhere."

"Then I can tell you about the individual villains." Baek Miho opened the documents she'd brought. "First, do you know who instigated this whole incident? C-rank villain Hwang Dongsuk."

"Yes, it was on the news. But I'm curious, how could a C-rank villain be the mastermind?" Suho had been wondering about this ever since he left Team Leader Han Jaehyuk. There were A and B-rank villains imprisoned in Jisan as well. How could a mere C-ranker be the one behind it all?

"To explain that, I need to tell you how the villains in Jisan Prison were controlled."

Jisan Prison, Korea's highest-security prison for villains, had a unique feature. All prisoners wore a pair of electronic anklets.

"Like the ones sex offenders wear?"

"It's a two-step evolution from that. It has a micro-bomb embedded inside," Baek Miho continued, shrugging at Suho's question.

"The explosive is designed to detonate if the anklet is damaged or if the wearer tries to use mana."

This dangerous invention is known as the 'magic restraint' .

"The anklet was developed under the leadership of Association's president Woo Jinchul.

However, he initially insisted the bomb should be worn around the neck, not the ankle. Arguing that threatening villains with blowing their heads off if they used mana was the only way to control them."

"Unfortunately, that idea was voted down. The reason, of course, was that the villains are still human beings who deserve a chance at redemption and that it was a violation of human rights"

"Several civic groups protested in front of the courthouse at the time, and their argument won out."

Of course, having to live with a bomb around your neck was a cruel punishment from a humanitarian perspective. Even the slightest malfunction could result in an instant decapitation.

"So, the bomb that was initially meant for the neck ended up on the ankle. But it still served the same purpose of preventing villains from using their mana."

"What if they regenerate their ankle after the bomb explodes?" Suho asked.

Baek Miho nodded. "That's a good point. There are healers among the villains. So the chairman decided to transfer them to a separate prison." Woo Jinchul had taken the most logical course of action.

"Anyway, once the villains' mana was suppressed, a hierarchy emerged among them, irrespective of their original power levels. So it became more like a normal prison."

"I see. That's why a C-rank villain could become the instigator." Suho was finally starting to understand the situation at Jisan Prison. He skimmed the documents Baek Miho had handed him about Hwang Dongsuk.

"His name is Hwang Dongsuk. Also known as the 'Hairy Old Man'."

"But in reality, only the prison guards called him that. No one else dared use such a ridiculous nickname for the "King" of Jisan Prison."

"Seems like he was quite the fighter."

"No. It was more because of his brother rather than his fighting skills."

"His brother?"

Suho's eyes scanned the documents, checking the 'sibling relationship' section. His eyes widened.

"An S-rank villain?!"

"Yes. S-rank villain Hwang Dongsoo. He's Hwang Dongsuk's younger brother."

[Keyek?] At that familiar name, Beru suddenly lifted his head from the shadows.