Infinite Evolution Hunter - Chapter 26

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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26
“This contract isn’t transferable.”
I looked down at the contract Tak Dong-yeon had extended toward me and spoke.
“Our legal team will handle that. All you need to do is sign this contract transfer and waiver form, Lee Ji-seok, and receive the payment.”
“Hmm… So where exactly are you from?”
“Pardon?”
“You’re not from an agency, are you?”
“Y-you’re right. Please look at my business card.”
“Not even a hunter, yet you have no fear.”
I picked up the teaspoon resting in the cup and folded it in half.
I folded it in half again, then repeated the process. The metal spoon bent as easily as paper.
Tak Dong-yeon swallowed hard.
“Where?”
“…I came from Shinwoo.”
“Shinwoo? A major corporation? Why would they send you to scam me?”
“The contract is genuine. If twenty percent isn’t enough, I’ll add fifty percent more.”
This is serious.
“What are you trying to do with Bae Na-young?”
“That’s not something you need to concern yourself with, Lee Ji-seok.”
“Ugh… You’re testing my patience again.”
The teaspoon had been folded so many times it had become nearly spherical. I pinched the metal ball between my middle and index fingers and flicked it.
The steel sphere left my hand, grazed past Tak Dong-yeon’s ear, and embedded itself in the wall. As the compressed, heated sphere sank into the wall, smoke rose from the impact.
“Aaaah!”
A small piece of Tak Dong-yeon’s earlobe was torn away.
“Oh my… Are you alright?”
I stood up from my seat, handed him some tissues, and walked to the kitchen.
“Do you… do you really think you can get away with this?”
Without answering, I returned from the kitchen with an armful of spoons and dumped them onto the table in front of the sofa with a clatter. I picked one up and began forming another ball.
“So… what exactly are you planning to do with Bae Na-young?”
I started folding the spoon.
“I… I don’t know either… My superior just sent me…”
Tak Dong-yeon wrapped his ear with tissue, speaking while perspiring.
“Seems like you do know.”
This man harbored no direct hostility or murderous intent toward me, but I could detect his lies scattered throughout his words.
“I should be going now.”
Tak Dong-yeon reached for the contract, so I pressed it down firmly with my hand.
“Leave this behind.”
Tak Dong-yeon’s expression grew troubled, but after glancing back and forth between the steel ball in my fingers and the contract, he withdrew his hand.
I wanted to keep him here and interrogate him, but unless I was willing to kill him and bury him in the backyard, it would be difficult to suppress this further. I could investigate the matter gradually.
“I won’t go far.”
I watched Tak Dong-yeon flee from the house and picked up my phone.
“Hello?”
Bae Na-young answered.
“Bae Na-young, how is your mother doing?”
“Thanks to you, she’s made a complete recovery. Mother has thanked you more times than I can count.”
The purchased Elixir and surgery had been performed simultaneously, and everything had been successful. It seemed she was now fully recovered.
“Don’t mention it. But there’s something I wanted to ask you about. Did something happen with Shinwoo?”
“Why do you ask?”
The brightness in Bae Na-young’s voice faded.
“Someone from Shinwoo came by and asked me to transfer the rights to a contract you had made over to them.”
“…Did you transfer it?”
“No. That would be a breach of contract. I keep my promises.”
“Thank you. I didn’t expect them to come all the way to you.”
“What happened?”
“The Shinwoo Group Chairman’s Son… he’s been following me for a while. When I refused, he kept sending people to tail me. After my mother fell ill, he brought a contract saying he’d give me an Elixir, but the terms were absurd. My mother’s treatment wasn’t even guaranteed, and I would have been completely enslaved by the contract.”
Anger and disgust mixed into Bae Na-young’s usually gentle voice. When I first mentioned the contract, she hadn’t seemed particularly hopeful—now I understood why.
“He even spread rumors about my skills to make it harder for me to find a party. But honestly, if my mother’s condition had worsened further, I might have signed it anyway. No… if you hadn’t appeared, I would have grasped at straws and signed it.”
“You don’t need to worry anymore. Your mother is better, and I’m not transferring the contract.”
“Thank you.”
I heard Bae Na-young sniffling through the phone.
“Then, spend some good time with your mother and take your time returning to work.”
“No. I’m working tomorrow.”
“Really? Then, I’ll see you tomorrow.”
After ending the call, I wasn’t in the mood to visit a Gate today, so I rested instead.
* * *
“You’re Lee Ji-seok, right?”
An older woman’s voice came from an unknown number.
“Yes, who is this?”
“I work at the Cafeteria with Sun-ok.”
She was someone who worked at the same Cafeteria as my mother.
“Oh, hello. What’s the matter?”
“From the way you’re asking, you don’t know what happened yesterday? I thought it was strange when your mother came in to work.”
“Yesterday?”
“Some thug came by yesterday and caused a scene. He singled out Sun-ok and was screaming and throwing things everywhere. He threw a beer glass and the broken shards cut your mother’s face.”
Heat surged through my head at this unexpected news.
“Was she badly injured?”
I suppressed my anger and asked calmly.
“It’s not a serious wound. She was just very startled. The manager told her to take today off, but she came in to work anyway. That bastard was yelling something about teaching his son better before he left, so I called to see if you knew anything about it.”
“Thank you for calling. I’m heading to the Cafeteria right now.”
“I shouldn’t pry into other people’s business, but Sun-ok doesn’t feel like a stranger to me, so I called.”
“Thank you.”
I hung up and headed toward Mother’s cafeteria.
As I entered, I saw Mother working with a large bandage plastered across her face.
My head had been spinning just moments ago, but seeing her injured made the world turn crimson. I’d grown careless because in my previous life, Mother faced no particular danger during this period.
“Oh my, Ji-seok! What brings you here without a word?”
“Mom… Are you alright?”
“This? It’s nothing serious.”
“I’m sorry… Mom, it’s because of me. But couldn’t you stop working now?”
It was my fault, but I couldn’t stand guard here all day.

“We’ve been through this before, haven’t we? I need to work, so let’s talk about it later.”
“Sister. Sister. We don’t have many customers right now, so why don’t you two go in there and talk?”
It was the voice I’d heard on the phone. The woman forcibly guided Mother into a back room and gestured for me to follow.
“Thank you.”
I bowed deeply in gratitude.
“Mom, please sit down.”
Once Mother reluctantly sat, I recounted everything that had happened with Bae Na-young. How Shinwoo came and demanded I hand over the contract, and how I refused.
“Mom, I’m sorry because of me.”
“No. Don’t listen to those bastards trying to harm a young woman. You did well.”
“That’s why I’m asking—couldn’t you stop working now? If you’re safe, I think I’ll be able to act righteously even when situations like this arise.”
Mother listened quietly to my words.
“Alright. Let’s do that.”
“Mom, you made the right choice. Then let’s go right now.”
“Right now? This instant?”
“The boss said you should rest today anyway, didn’t he? Let’s go.”
“Hye-ja’s expression seemed odd earlier—did she call you?”
“Yes.”
Mother went out and bowed apologetically to the cafeteria owner.
“I’m terribly sorry for the sudden notice.”
“It’s fine. Finding someone as diligent as Sun-ok isn’t easy, but there’s nothing we can do about it.”
“Thank you for understanding.”
Mother offered a respectful bow to the owner.
“I’ll change clothes and grab my things.”
“Of course.”
While Mother went to change, I approached the cafeteria owner.
“Owner, I’m sorry. I heard there was an incident yesterday because of me.”
“No, no~ We should have protected your mother better. I’m the one who’s sorry. The police said they’d look into it, but I haven’t heard anything.”
“That’s not it. Is anything broken? I’ll compensate you.”
“Ah, no. Nothing’s broken.”
“I see. If you remember anything later, please contact me. And I have one request—could you send me the CCTV footage from yesterday?”
I handed over my business card.
“Understood.”
I was relieved to be dealing with someone reasonable.
I went straight to Mother’s place, gathered everything I needed immediately, and headed to my house in Hanam. The rest could be handled by calling a moving company.
“Mom, this is Jae-in. She works and lives in the workshop next to our house.”
“Nice to meet you~”
Mother greeted her warmly first.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
Jae-in bowed politely in return.
“Mom, go inside and organize the luggage first. I need to talk with Jae-in for a moment before I come in. Oh, and there are materials from the Gate in the refrigerator besides food. Don’t open it at all. I’ll move them later.”
“Got it~”
After confirming Mother had gone inside, I turned to Jae-in.
“Jae-in, from now on, make defensive and protective items for this house your top priority. Don’t spare any money or materials. Tell me if you need anything at all.”
“Are you sure? Your expression looks pretty fierce.”
I thought I was handling things coldly and professionally, but apparently it showed on my face.
“I’m fine. Just some pests that need dealing with. I’m counting on you.”
“Of course.”
After leaving Jae-in’s workshop, I called Bae Na-young and told her what had happened to Mother.
“I’m so sorry… I never thought it would come to this. My contract… please transfer it to Shinwoo. Then he won’t touch you anymore.”
“No, that’s not why I’m telling you this. I have no intention of backing down from my word because of threats like that. I called your mother too—come stay at my house. It’s big enough to accommodate two more people.”
“What? No, how could you…”
“If something happens to you or your mother, it becomes my problem too. I’m installing security systems in the house anyway, so once that’s done, you and your mother can stay there with some peace of mind. Of course, only until this is resolved.”
I had no intention of letting this drag on.

“I’ll bring it up with Mother.”
Bae Na-young and her mother arrived at my house after their discussion.
“I’m truly sorry for the trouble we’ve caused.”
Bae Na-young’s mother bowed so deeply her head nearly touched the floor as she apologized to Mother and me.
“Oh, please don’t do that. It’s not your mother’s fault those bastards are rotten.”
“Still, Na-young has imposed so much on your son. Thank you so much.”
Bae Na-young’s politeness must have come from her mother—they were clearly cut from the same cloth.
I had them unpack their belongings and continued with the construction work. I hired a private security company to install fencing and cameras, while Jae-in scattered magical items throughout the property.
Initially they were experimental, but later more advanced items were installed, creating multiple layers of security measures.
“What is this?”
I asked Jae-in after spotting a sphere hanging from a pillar embedded in the yard.
“It’s an item that electrocutes intruders.”
“Can I test it?”
“How were you planning to test it?”
“By touching it, obviously.”
As I approached the sphere with heavy steps, lightning poured out and struck me directly.
Zzzzzt!
My muscles contracted with the sound of electrical discharge. It hurt about as much as the Fairy’s fireball I’d taken before.
The discharge continued for several seconds.
“Phew… I’m fine though? Most hunters wouldn’t be able to endure this. Install more of them.”
“This uses a lot of Magic Stones. It’s going to be expensive.”
“I don’t care. Keep going.”
I relayed various requests to Jae-in and went to find Bae Na-young.
“Bae Na-young, if anything happens, go into the panic room, activate the Blind, and hold out. I’ll be back soon.”
With her Blind, she could buy time even without me.
“Where are you going?”
“I have some business to attend to.”
The security measures were in place. It was time to find that bastard.
When I watched the footage the Cafeteria owner gave me, I nearly burst a blood vessel in my head. He was screaming at the top of his lungs, causing such a scene that everyone’s eyes turned toward him.
Then he grabbed a cup and hurled it, shattering it against the floor. One fragment flew in an odd trajectory and hit Mother’s face—I could tell from his flinch that he hadn’t intended to injure her, but that didn’t mean I was going to let it slide.
I’d sent his photo to several detective agencies in the area, and today they called.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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