BRDM 207

Kang Yoon-su.

The Dark Bride.

As X Team’s captain, he had always held endless pride in his career.

“He joined White Burn as soon as he became a hunter, and the guildmaster took notice and promoted him up to team leader — pureblood, after all.”

He wasn’t like other team leaders who’d been headhunted from other guilds or hired laterally for better credentials.

Still, he had built White Burn’s flagship team.

He believed that was solely because he’d learned only from Mojong-gyeon, internalized her techniques and her perspective.

In the end,

if anyone were to be named as the disciple of the mountain deity Mojong-gyeon, he was confident he would be the only one.

“There is A Team’s leader, but Im is blood-related. So the only true handpicked disciple is me. And someday… I’ll join the executive board too.”

Mojong-gyeon hadn’t explicitly acknowledged him, but he believed she would recognize him nonetheless.

Then, a few days ago, while casually dining with Y Team’s leader Oh Jin-taek, he’d heard something odd.

“You know Z Team’s leader?”

“Jet…? That guy? Why him?”

“Rumor has it the guildmaster’s been keeping an eye on him lately.”

“What?”

“Didn’t you know? He got the White Tiger Great Kill right after joining.”

“…That’s something most team leaders get.”

“How about the Ho-Wang ritual?”

“…!!”

“That intermediate rite that leads to the mountain-deity level. No team leader has been passed that. Even you, who claim to be a disciple, haven’t. The execs can only imitate the Ho-Wang ritual.”

“…….”

Oh Jin-taek laughed heartily.

“Don’t get too comfortable. Maybe the guildmaster’s getting older and sorting out the succession.”

Oh Jin-taek was broad, boisterous, and popular among the staff.

He probably didn’t intend to provoke the reticent Kang Yoon-su, but those words set a blazing fire in Kang Yoon-su’s chest.

When he asked Director Ho about it, the response was:

“Oh, you mean Jang Team Leader? An interesting fellow. Good character, skilled. The guildmaster has been watching him.”

“…….”

“You and he are of different sorts. You’re blunt and steady, while that fellow…”

Ho’s trailing words didn’t register any further.

‘Disciple…’ That was jealousy.

‘I need to see him. With my own eyes.’

It was envy, too.

Kang Yoon-su hastily applied for deployment to the frontline near the nearby region.

And then,

— Approved by the guildmaster’s authority.

Approval was granted.

The word “guildmaster” felt like Mojong-gyeon’s voice telling him to give it a go.

“I only found out this morning. The White Burn headquarters requested adding one more deployment team,” Michael said as a military aircraft flew through the sky, awkwardly scratching his cheek before handing documents to Lee Hyun.

Lee Hyun skimmed them and offered a hollow laugh.

“The guildmaster recommended it.”

“Yes. The headquarters said they’d increase elite personnel. There was no reason to refuse. Sorry I didn’t confirm this sooner.”

“What’s there for you to apologize about, Michael? We in the same company only just found out too.”

Lee Hyun handed the papers back, shaking his head.

At the same time, Mojong-gyeon’s voice seemed to echo in his ears.

— Try aligning your steps. You can fight, or work together. Whatever happens, if there’s something to learn from each other, learn it properly.

‘Team Leader Kang Yoon-su… he was said to be the team leader most influenced by the Mountain Deity, right?’

If Lee Hyun fought operations with Kang Yoon-su, he might learn a lot about the Ho-Wang ritual.

Kang Yoon-su would also be stimulated by Lee Hyun’s presence, since Lee Hyun would certainly be on his mind.

It’d be a win-win.

But since they’d never really had a proper conversation, it felt a little awkward.

‘He’s professional; he won’t be reckless. Let’s think positively. This is the chance to snag both the Ho-Wang ritual and the team leader circle.’

Lee Hyun hadn’t been at White Burn for long and was awkward with other team leaders.

He’d risen quickly, so many were wary.

He wanted to work at the company for a long time, and hoped to get along with them eventually.

‘I wasn’t good at that in the military. This time, I’ll act differently. If needed, I’ll approach them first.’

In a way, Kang Yoon-su was the first button to fasten.

Though Kang left a strict impression, he didn’t seem like a bad person — more like a wary chihuahua.

‘No matter how picky he is, he can’t be as picky as Sun Wukong, right? I wonder what his hobbies are.’

Thinking of the Seven Great Stars and the Three Law Kings as if they were aristocrats, Lee Hyun stroked his chin.

“This is my kid. Cute, right?”

“Ohh. Looks like a newborn but has strong features already. He’ll be handsome! He’ll make many women cry when he grows up.”

“It’s a daughter.”

“…Just kidding. She’ll be a beauty.”

“Just kidding. It’s a son.”

“A pretty son would be even better! He could debut as a K-POP idol.”

Z Team and the Astra members were busy gossiping together. Serving on operations together had brought them emotionally closer. They all melted at Osu-heon’s baby photo.

“No, no!! Put the baby photo away this instant!”

“What’s up with that guy?”

“Checking family photos before a mission is a flag.”

“That otaku’s got awful timing. Step on him.”

“Ugh, aah!”

There were mischievous pranks among the team so the transport plane was noisy.

But on X Team’s side,

“…….”

“…….”

“…….”

They were all quiet. Some slept with headphones and eyes closed; others reviewed plans and quietly discussed tactics with superiors. It felt like an isolated island.

Outgoing Astra members felt uncomfortable.

“East Asians are usually quiet and like math, but you guys weren’t like that; why are those guys like this? Huh? Why are you all staring at me like that?”

Donovan Black paused mid-sentence when he felt cold stares. Everyone around glared at him. His teammates covered their faces and sighed.

“That dumbass did it again…”

“Hey, you nigger — you happy when we call you that?”

“You crazy? Want to die?”

“What you said to them is the same as what you just said.”

“Uh… huh?”

“Anyway, this ignorant jerk… Hey, come with me.”

“Ow! Don’t pull — you’ll rip my ear! Aah! Aah!”

Another Astra member grabbed Donovan’s earlobe and dragged him back. The screams could be heard ahead.

“Donovan didn’t mean malice; he’s just thoughtless… understand that.”

“Don’t worry. They know now.”

Osu-heon answered cheerfully to the hesitant ones.

“Then can you make sure he doesn’t make that mistake again? We won’t tell your boss, so don’t worry.”

“If you do that, sure! Of course! Hey, what’s everyone doing? Let’s go stomp that jerk!”

Those worried Michael might hear ran excitedly after Donovan.

Even amid that ruckus, X Team remained indifferent.

“They’re really something. I’ve heard they’re the most unsociable team in the strategy headquarters, but this is extreme,” Osu-heon said as he put the baby photo back into his wallet and spoke to Kim Min-jung beside him.

Kim Min-jung lifted the eye mask she’d been wearing to glance, then lowered it and clicked her tongue.

“There are many teams in the Dungeon Strategy HQ; each team’s atmosphere differs a lot. Elite teams like A, X, Y often do solo operations and aren’t close to other teams. X Team is especially closed-off.”

“Really? Because they’re often out on long deployments? Other teams don’t seem like that.”

Kim Min-jung lifted her mask again with a surprised look.

“You’ve already made rounds with other teams?”

“I went to B Team’s get-together yesterday. Two days ago I had lunch with E and F team leaders. Everyone’s nice.”

Kim Min-jung smiled reflexively.

Osu-heon had been famous for networking since school days — friendly and sociable.

“But I heard X volunteered for this operation? Even gave up nearly a month of leave.”

“Yes. That’s what they say. I don’t know their purpose.”

“That’s insane. Madness. Which office worker gives up a month of leave to work?”

Osu-heon shivered as Kim Min-jung glanced toward X Team.

‘They didn’t come just because Kang Yoon-su was jealous. There must be another reason.’

Kim Min-jung pondered quietly, watching X Team.

“They seem quite curious about us, Manager,”

“Stop talking nonsense and focus on your work, Deputy Park.”

Park Jin-hwan’s slick reply. X Team’s deputy manager, Oh Young-geol gave a slight frown but said nothing further, though he peeked toward Z Team.

‘Z Team, heirs to the Thunderwrath. Their power is no joke. Everyone looks relaxed, but their eyes are sharp.’

Oh had been watching Z Team since boarding.

Skill: [Eyes of Temptation].

It read the power and traits of targets in view.

‘Can we avoid Z Team’s gaze and get “that”? Probably not easy.’

Oh rubbed his tired eyes with thumb and forefinger when—

BEEEEP! BEEEEP!

Sudden high-frequency alarm shrieked.

『MISSILE! MISSILE! MISSILE!』

All eyes including X Team’s turned upward.

“……shit!!”

Michael sprang up with a grim face. Astra members hurriedly moved to their stations.

There was no time to ponder how an enemy missile had slipped past their infrared monitoring and ignored the senses of seasoned fighters like Lee Hyun and Kang Yoon-su.

“Everyone, fasten your belts tight! We must have been exposed!!”

In an instant the plane flooded with red light.

Flash!!

KRAAAANG!!

Kukukuku!!

A massive shock rocked them.

“Flares, port side!!”

A shout came from the cockpit.

The sky flipped. Gravity twisted like a lump of iron trying to throw the body sideways.

“Fuck!”

“Damn!!”

“AAAH!!”

Those who hadn’t fastened belts were flung; even seated people grabbed armrests and equipment to hold on.

Lightning-like trails sliced past the windows and white fireballs burst in succession.

Then—

BANG!!

Something hit the tail.

An explosion rang in the ears.

“Fire! Fire!!”

Flames crawled into the fuselage from the rear.

The floor shook. People strapped to belts were thrown and slammed into the ceiling; some rolled off.

KRAAAANG!!

Simultaneously, the sound as if an entire wing were sheared off echoed. The fuselage rocked violently.

“Hydroline damaged! Fuel leakage!!”

Red warning lights blinked; the interior filled with black smoke.

“Jet!! Get out of here! Now!!”

Michael’s urgent eyes met Lee Hyun’s.

Lee Hyun nodded and undid his belt.

‘They fooled not only me but Michael and Astra’s monitoring systems and launched the missile. This is no trivial matter.’

Sun Wukong’s group had been focused on treating the aftereffects of the Wu-yong King and Demon Horse King at Mount Hwa-Gwa and couldn’t watch outside matters.

Still,

this couldn’t be taken lightly.

‘Peng Jinghao. Has that man obtained another weapon? The first thing I think of is some tech grafted from the Sata King…’

They might have advanced techno-magic while studying the Seven Great Stars.

‘Or maybe they still have <Heavenly Sect> blessings even after leaving the committee.’

Given the Jade Emperor’s madness to get rid of Sun Wukong, those weren’t unreasonable guesses.

But all of this were only immediate speculations.

‘We’ll check details after we save everyone.’

Outside the window, for better or worse, was a barren wasteland with no houses.

Following emergency drop protocol, Lee Hyun shouted,

“Everyone, gear up!! We’re making an emergency drop here!”