RFH Chapter 14

Episode 14

***

Min Hyemi stared blankly at Yoo Seongtae, who stood before her. She had thought everything would be safe after returning from the other world, but being suddenly kidnapped left her utterly unmotivated.

"Ha..."

"Is something troubling you?"

At this point, Yoo Seongtae's expression, which genuinely seemed clueless, only made her angrier.

"By the way, how did Exodus gather all the returnees during that time? It couldn’t have been easy to assemble returnees before even establishing headquarters."

"Oh, that’s all thanks to our boss's ability."

Yoo Seongtae casually spilled the information.

"Our boss has the ability to locate returnees…"

However, the fact that he was so freely sharing this information was not a good sign.

Because…

"What happened to those who refused to cooperate?"

"What do you think happened?"

"Ah, geez."

Yes, it was essentially a warning that they would kill her if she didn’t side with them.

Min Hyemi subtly tried to estimate the time. She had been given her second meal and some sleep, so it must be around lunchtime now, right? In that case, the one day that Eun Yiseul mentioned wasn’t far off.

As she watched Yoo Seongtae leave with the empty dishes, a system window suddenly appeared in front of her eyes.

[‘Find the Savior’ Mid-Quest (2)]

[Neutralize your captors!]

[Reward: 1/3 clue about the Savior!]

'What the heck is this?'

She instinctively frowned. A quest similar to the one she had faced before entering the dungeon had appeared.

'So this means it won’t go in the direction where the male protagonist saves me, huh?'

It seemed like she would have to neutralize her captors on her own.

But how was she supposed to fight them with her insignificant strength? That was the real problem...

She had no idea how many members of the organization were in this building, nor could she possibly defeat an S-class awakened like Yoo Seongtae.

'Damn it, what am I supposed to do here?'

While she was busy brainstorming, time continued to pass.

When Yoo Seongtae brought her dinner and left, Eun Yiseul reappeared before her.

"Have you thought it over?"

"Not really..."

She had to stall for as much time as possible while gathering information. Pretending to be harmless, Min Hyemi smiled innocently.

"So, you say that the person who created this organization is also a returnee?"

"That’s right."

"Are you strong enough to lead other awakened individuals? I mean, you even have an S-class like Yoo Seongtae under your command."

"No, I’m just a C-class. The reason I managed to bring everyone under my control is thanks to the quest I received. I have a skill that can gather the power of returnees and overturn the world's principles."

So, Eun Yiseul’s personal abilities weren’t particularly strong. Min Hyemi carefully took note of that.

"What genre are you from?"

"Hmm, I didn’t expect such a rude question from you."

Eun Yiseul put on an exaggeratedly upset expression but soon returned to her bright demeanor and began speaking again.

"I wasn’t subjected to sexual humiliation like you. However, I come from a male-dominated, female-oppressive novel."

"Male-dominated, female-oppressive?"

"Yes. A world where men are extremely rare, treated with utmost respect, while women are practically no different from slaves."

Eun Yiseul smirked, and for a brief moment, a glint of madness seemed to flash in her eyes.

"Now I know what I need to do..."

"What... exactly do you want to do?"

"To return the favor. Completely shatter the absolute principles of the world they believed in so unquestioningly."

"I... support you."

"So, you’ll have to make a choice now, won’t you?"

Damn it, it’s come to this.

"What will it be? Will you join us, or will you close your eyes peacefully?"

At some point, a damp cloth appeared in Eun Yiseul’s hand. It was all too clear that the cloth was soaked with some kind of drug.

"To be honest, I also want revenge on those bastards, but I’m not really interested in becoming some kind of rebel against the world."

"Is that so? Then there’s no other way!"

Eun Yiseul pressed the cloth over Min Hyemi’s nose and mouth.

[Skill <Drug Resistance> Activated!]

Unfortunately for Eun Yiseul, she overlooked one important fact, Min Hyemi possessed the <Drug Resistance> skill.

There’s no need to explain why she has such a skill since this isn’t an 18+ rated story.

At any rate, Min Hyemi pretended to lose consciousness and fell naturally onto the bed. Then, as Eun Yiseul let her guard down, she suddenly opened her eyes.

"Ah!"

She pushed Eun Yiseul to the floor with all her strength and climbed on top of her.

"Yoo Seongtae!"

While Eun Yiseul screamed for Yoo Seongtae, who was likely outside, Min Hyemi seized the handkerchief with all her might.

She pressed it against Eun Yiseul’s nose, and soon, Eun Yiseul passed out.

[<Eun Yiseul> has been neutralized!]

As she hurriedly stepped out of the room, a long corridor stretched out before her. That was when Min Hyemi realized the nature of the building she was in.

'A deserted hospital...!'

Damn it, a deserted hospital likely meant it was in a remote, isolated area with no accessible transportation.

Instead of running down the corridor, she entered a nearby room. It appeared to be a former hospital ward, with a few long-abandoned beds scattered around.

She hid herself naturally among them.

'I need to assess the situation first.'

Sure enough, what she saw through the ward window was a desolate field.

Escape seemed impossible. That meant she had to fight them as the system instructed.

Her most powerful ability, <Genre Shift>, was currently unavailable.

Then, as if she had an epiphany, her eyes sharpened.

'That’s right. I still have that.'

She had forgotten about it since she rarely had a reason to attack anyone.

"Is someone in here?"

At that moment, the door to the ward creaked open. Yoo Seongtae entered the room, his face as casual as ever.

"Aha..."

Min Hyemi and Yoo Seongtae's eyes met in midair.

As Yoo Seongtae approached her with leisurely steps...

Click!

When Min Hyemi extended her hand, something materialized out of thin air and landed in her grasp.

"Handcuffs?"

Yoo Seongtae murmured in disbelief.

Indeed, what she held in her hand were actual handcuffs.

As a D-class hunter, Min Hyemi’s inventory had only two slots. One of those slots contained a pair of handcuffs, and there was a very specific reason for that.

[D-Class <Handcuffs>]

[Only those with extensive experience using handcuffs can master them. Though they may appear to be ordinary handcuffs, in Min Hyemi's hands, they exhibit extraordinary effects. Strangely, no matter how powerful the individual, these handcuffs render them powerless.]

Min Hyemi charged at Yoo Seongtae.

Yoo Seongtae attempted to evade her with a simple movement, but...

Clink!

In an instant, the handcuffs were locked onto his wrists.

"What the heck is this?"

"I’ve mastered handcuffs."

How she mastered the use of handcuffs is not something that needs to be explained in a non-18+ rated story.

Although Yoo Seongtae was an S-class awakened individual, these handcuffs had an effect that even the strongest awakeners couldn’t easily break free from.

Of course, given Yoo Seongtae’s strength, he would eventually find a way out.

But before that could happen, Min Hyemi grabbed him by the collar.

"W-wait a second."

It seemed he hadn’t anticipated this turn of events, as his face was painted with confusion.

"I didn’t really want to upset you, so how about you go easy on me?"

"Our relationship was over the moment you kidnapped me."

A low growl escaped Min Hyemi’s lips, making her feel like a male protagonist in a romance novel.

Not that she cared—her anger was impossible to contain.

"Can you guys just stop kidnapping people, you crazy bastards?! Enough already!"

"J-just calm down..."

"Do I look calm to you? You calm down first!"

"I’ve been calm from the start..."