Murim Login - Chapter 441

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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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Chapter 441
“T-Team Leader, sir. May I step inside for a moment?”
His voice trembled with barely contained tension.
Seok Go-jun, whose eyes blazed crimson with bloodshot intensity, reached toward the door.
Crack!
A devastating surge of energy tore through the iron door like parchment, warping it beyond recognition.
The security team member witnessing this catastrophic display mere inches away gasped involuntarily.
“Hah.”
“I said no one was to approach.”
The team member who locked eyes with Seok Go-jun’s crimson gaze felt his spine stiffen instinctively.
He’d heard from colleagues about his direct superior’s extreme transformation—a man usually precise and cold as a machine—but facing it directly, his voice trembled with unbidden fear.
“S-sir, there’s something I need to report….”
“Postpone it.”
His voice emerged low and hollow, as if dredged from the depths of an abyss.
The team member wanted nothing more than to comply, but if this were trivial, they wouldn’t have drawn lots to determine who’d deliver the message.
He swallowed hard and forced himself to continue.
“The Division Commander contacted us urgently. He said they’ve discovered something strange—an object of unknown origin….”
Seok Go-jun, who’d been turning away abruptly, froze mid-motion.
“Something strange?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Could it be—”
“N-no, sir.”
The team member, fearing sparks might fly, rushed to clarify.
“We’ve confirmed that none of the late Guild Master’s personal effects have been discovered yet.”
“You’re certain?”
“Yes. The team members dispatched to the site are under constant surveillance to prevent any theft, so we’re certain.”
“Then?”
“Y-yes, sir?”
“There’s only one report I need from those bastards. That they’ve found what I’m looking for.”
Seok Go-jun’s eyes darkened with an ominous gleam.
Even now, as the Crown Prince Faction—closely aligned with the Ares Guild—descended into decline, the Guild’s influence and power remained formidable.
Leadership changed, regimes fell, yet greed—that primal hunger dwelling in every human heart—never vanished.
Even the straightest bamboo bends beneath sufficient weight. Seok Go-jun had created that weight with hundreds of billions in currency.
The Division Commander and key officials managing the city that had once been the Arch Lich’s headquarters were no different.
“Tell them to find it by any means necessary. And not a word of contact until they do.”
No kindness in this world came without a price. Seok Go-jun had purchased their loyalty with vast sums, and should they fail to deliver, he was prepared to exact proportional retribution.
The object Seok Go-jun sought was that precious.
Not merely because it was a memento of the master he’d revered like a father. It was a formidable weapon capable of cornering someone into an inescapable predicament.
‘A holographic recorder.’
Lee Jung-yong had been the true master of the enormously influential Ares Guild, and in preparation for any contingency, he’d always carried a miniature holographic recorder on his person.
And that day when Jin Tae-kyung had brought death upon him was no exception.
‘All the evidence lies within it. If I can just find that… afterwards….’
In that very instant, Seok Go-jun’s blazing eyes trembled violently.
‘Afterwards. What should I do?’
Before he knew it, the face of someone he despised yet feared beyond measure flickered before his eyes.
‘…Jin Tae-kyung.’
Merely thinking the name made his chest sink and his hands and feet tremble uncontrollably.
Beneath the faint moonlight, the indifferent gaze and dry voice that had looked down upon him haunted his vision and hearing like phantoms.
‘I speak this once and only once.’
The voice that had pierced Seok Go-jun’s ears as he shrieked in agony beyond imagination.
‘End it with Lee Jung-yong alone. Hide your fangs, retract your claws. If you do that… nothing will happen.’
Every bone in his body had shattered like matchsticks, his flesh torn away as if wrung by invisible hands. Without even managing to wield his weapon properly, he had flailed in an endless swamp of torment.
If Lee Jung-yong had been an insurmountable wall and a respected master, Jin Tae-kyung was something no one had ever witnessed before.
No, it was as if….
“A monster.”
The single word that escaped Seok Go-jun’s lips unbidden carried all the emotion and terror he felt.
And in the next moment, Seok Go-jun came to a realization.
His hatred toward Jin Tae-kyung was nothing compared to the fear he harbored.
Jin Tae-kyung’s existence was fear itself, branded upon Seok Go-jun’s soul like an eternal scar of flame, and simultaneously the other name for the complete helplessness he had felt for the first time in his life.
“T-Team Leader?”
Seok Go-jun did not answer his team member’s call. With his teeth clenched and his head bowed, his trembling hands came into view.
‘This… this damned situation….’
A low growl.
Seok Go-jun, his lips bleeding from biting down, lifted his head. Deliberately ignoring the bewildered gaze of his team member at the sight of their frightened superior, he opened his mouth.
“Tell the Division Commander to bring that cursed strange object. I don’t know what it is, but I need to verify it myself.”
“But just a moment ago, Team Leader, you said… Ah, understood.”
The team member, realizing his mistake, hastily bowed and exited the room.
Only after walking far down the corridor did he release the breath he had been holding, gesturing to the hotel staff waiting outside.
“Wait here for now, and let him in once he’s calmed down. Oh, is the new room ready?”
The Chinese hotel staff nodded with composed expressions.
This was not the first time Seok Go-jun had caused a disturbance. It had happened several times over the past week alone.
But what was the problem?
Just days ago, after the Ares Guild had purchased this hotel from a local notable in Sichuan Province, these Koreans right before their eyes had become their new employers.
Employers who provided generous bonuses for confidentiality—truly the finest of employers.
“I’m tired of talking about it anyway. We all know the situation, so let’s just do our jobs.”
The team member tossed a thick envelope and wiped the sweat from his brow before leaving.
Not only was it a problem that they still hadn’t escaped this dreary Chinese land, but the anxious appearance of Seok Go-jun, who would become the Ares Guild’s new captain following Lee Jung-yong, kept catching his eye.
‘Could it be… that rumor was true?’
He recalled a certain story that circulated quietly even within the Security Team. And his own unsettled heart as well.
‘Though he’s receiving the finest treatment, if Team Leader continues like this… ‘
If Seok Go-jun were merely the Security Team Leader, it wouldn’t be a problem. The Ares Guild—that colossal battleship—wasn’t so fragile that it would capsize from a single helmsman’s mistake.
But if he were to become the new captain, that would be an entirely different story.
‘Damn it. I’ve never had to worry about something like this before.’
The team member muttered inwardly as he retrieved his smartphone from the lining of his suit jacket—a work phone that left no records and couldn’t be traced.
After a long series of dial tones, someone answered the call.
– Ah, Mr. Park. I’ve been waiting for your call.
「I’ll get straight to the point. Our Team Leader wishes to see that item you mentioned personally.」
– In person?
「Yes, in person. Our Team Leader is currently trying to avoid drawing attention from the public, so I’m sure you understand what I’m getting at.」
The Division Commander on the other end of the line let out a dry cough.
– Ahem, that might be rather difficult. Since it’s the Arch Lich’s Headquarters, there are external personnel dispatched by the UN, and security is far more stringent than expected….
「Name your price. However, there must be no room for even the slightest error.」
After a brief pause, the team member ended the call and clicked his tongue softly.
“Damn bastards. All greed and no sense. Though I suppose that’s why things work out?”
The world truly doesn’t change easily. Before vast sums of money and power, the word “impossible” loses all meaning.
Since joining the Ares Guild’s Security Team, he had witnessed countless situations where the impossible became possible.
And this fortress-like power would naturally pass into the hands of one person.
‘Team Leader Seok Go-jun.’
The Ares Guild’s new captain.
While he himself was merely one of countless crew members, Seok Go-jun was different. As his thoughts reached this point, he suddenly became curious.
About the one person Seok Go-jun feared so deeply.
‘Jin Tae-kyung.’
You can never completely silence people’s mouths.
A week ago, three Hunters who had secretly left with Seok Go-jun began to talk, and that was how the rumors started.
Though only a select few within the Security Team—those closest to the inner circle—knew this fact, it would soon spread like a plague.
‘If that’s true… Phew, things have gotten messily complicated.’
The team member took a deep breath and steeled his gaze.
From now on, he would have to deliberate and make choices countless times. Whether to stay on the current ship or set sail on a new one.
If he didn’t want to become anyone’s enemy, the only option was to leave this world entirely.
‘I need to keep my wits about me. That’s right.’
For now, the priority was to retrieve the item the Division Commander had smuggled out.
As he headed toward the agreed meeting place to make contact with his counterpart, he suddenly found himself envying Jin Tae-kyung.
‘Damn it. If I had fifty trillion like that bastard, I’d cross over to Europe right now and live like royalty.’
He too was a wealthy man who owned several buildings, but human greed is never easily satisfied.
Just as one desires a luxury yacht and helicopter after acquiring a high-end foreign car, then dreams of purchasing a private jet.
The team member smacked his lips with envy.
‘What’s that bastard Jin Tae-kyung doing right now? Luxury yacht parties with supermodel playmates?’
* * *
Beneath the intense sunlight, well-tanned, bronzed muscles rippled and flexed.
They were beautiful models from countries around the world who had gathered to enjoy an exclusive yacht party with me….
“One, two!”
“Heave!”
…No, these were the Water Thieves of the Water Dragon Stronghold.
I gazed with melancholy at the muscular sailors moving about frantically.
‘So much for a shipboard party.’
I’d only ever seen such things on the internet, and I intended to keep it that way.
Reality wasn’t a shipboard party with beautiful women—it was standing on a deck packed with muscular Water Thieves who’d received a shipboard workout, gazing out at the Yangtze River.
Well, there was one more thing.
Whoosh!
Dodging the finger flicks that our temperamental Old Master Noya, Fire King Jeok Cheon-gang, sent my way whenever boredom struck.
“Hmph, you dodged it?”
“…No, isn’t this supposed to be evasion training? You said I need to maintain a clear mind and maximize my senses to become accustomed to the middle dantian, right?”
Jeok Cheon-gang responded brazenly.
“That last one was meant to hit. How dare you let your attention wander during training?”
“I let both eyes wander.”
“Should I just gouge them out for you?”
With both eyes blazing like twin flames, Jeok Cheon-gang hooked his fingers and continued.
“Do you think this training is so easy? Even with perfect focus, it’s touch and go whether you can dodge.”
“Fine, fine. I understand. I get it.”
I answered with a grumble, closing my eyes. Then, the very next moment, I quietly opened them again.
“But…”
“What?”
“Didn’t I just dodge pretty well even while letting my attention slip?”
“Huh, you did?”
“…?”
“…?”
“…!”
“…!”
What is this?
Jeok Cheon-gang, who had been keeping his mouth firmly shut at my bewildered gaze, suddenly flared up in anger.
“Don’t do it like that! Do it like him! Like him!”
In the direction his finger pointed sat a young man cross-legged without the slightest movement.
It was Chung Poong, who had been forcibly enrolled in training alongside me for reasons unknown.
“Look at him. Even though he’s a bit odd normally, when he focuses, he does it perfectly. His posture doesn’t waver, his breathing remains steady and measured. No matter what happens around him, his mind and form remain unmoved. That is true clarity of mind.”
Jeok Cheon-gang lavished praise without drawing breath, then pointed at Chung Poong with his finger and continued.
“Watch carefully how he dodges. Now, when I send out this finger flick…”
Whoosh! Smack!
Chung Poong’s eyes snapped open after taking the finger flick to his temple.
His eyes, still heavy with sleep, looked around groggily before he seemed to feel the pain and rubbed his head.
“Ouch. That hurts…”
And a return to the dream faster than light.
I stared at Jeok Cheon-gang and asked.
“Moon-kyung. What is it?”
“Moon-kyung… never mind. This one or that one. Just forget about it all!”
The Yangtze River remains peaceful today as well.

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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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