After the talk, Autumn got up from her seat and said she had school tomorrow. Her hands were still pulsing with black energy as she straightened her chair, and although I repeatedly suggested she go to the emergency room, she shoved her hands back into her pockets.

"In the future, I won't come to you unless it's a piece I need to pass on, because I know it will make you anxious."

"I don't think so."

"No. Sometimes I get hunters from the Bureau attached to me and... It's best if I don't come at all."

As Autumn walked to the sliding door with her head bowed, I walked quickly to open it for her. For a moment I was about to say goodbye, but then a thought flashed through my mind and I spoke urgently.

"Hey, I want to ask you something."

"Sure! Go ahead."

According to Autumn, she seemed to be working closely with the FBI. Still, that didn't mean she knew anything about the people Sa-young was chasing, but just in case, I asked her.

"Do you know anything about those who artificially create Awakeners... Do you know anything about them?"

"What? Ah... Yes! I know."

The unexpected answer came back. I looked at Autumn with a slightly dumbfounded expression on my face, and then asked.

"You know?"

"Yes! I heard a little of what Jung-bin said. I think he said that they were also moving to prevent the apocalypse..."

Autumn muttered, grimacing slightly at the thought.

"I heard they kidnap people and do experiments on them. I guess it's the same goal, but I'd rather not get involved."

Drugs, kidnapping. The apocalypse was just an excuse, this was a criminal organization.

"Have you heard anything else?"

"Like what? Well, .... Ah."

Autumn rolled her eyes, then replied.

"I think he said something about... something at Incheon Port, but I didn't hear the details because I was eavesdropping on the conversation."
 

When she apologized for not knowing more, I thanked her. With my hands deep in my pockets, I watched her until she disappeared completely from the alley, the autumn wind blowing.

Alone in the shop, I pondered the unintended consequences of staying up all night to set up shop.

It was a story I wouldn't have believed if I hadn't been able to enter the Netherworld, and if the backgrounds of the Western Rift and the Netherworld weren't identical. I would have thought that Yoon Autumn possessed me with a mental ability.

Another world.

Was there really another world similar to this one? The world where J died, Jung-bin died, Mok Tae-oh and Matthew died, and Bae Won-woo lost his left arm. There must have been countless events leading up to that. What Yoon Autumn and I saw must have been a very short, very small moment in the future.

We don't know when or how the end will come. Preparing for an uncertain future is like walking blindly with your eyes closed. Maybe that's why the Bureau is so desperate to find J, so they can have a guide to help them find their way more skillfully.

'.......'

Since then, I have been thinking about the collapsed world. When and how will the end come? How is it foreshadowed? Why does the world where the end came look like a rift in the Western Sea? And the end of my thoughts went to a dark room where I was taken without even knowing why.

The thought went on and on. Just as I was becoming less and less talkative and making small mistakes at the store, I received a text message from Sa-young.

Sa-young: I have a job for you.

Sa-young asked me to track down the people who bring drugs near Incheon port and check the route of the drugs. Originally, Seo Min-ki was in charge, but he went on a business trip abroad. Could it be that Yoon Autumn was on the other end of the intercepted call?

Ui-jae: ㅇㅇ

Sa-young: You should have answered long ago

Ui-jae: ㅇㅇㅇㅇㅇㅇㅇ

Projection: ㅗ

You little bastard.

I smiled and put my cell phone down. Sa-young's suggestion was a welcome one for me.

After meeting Yoon Autumn, I had too many thoughts. And complicated thoughts disappear when you move your body. If I could just relax a little, I wouldn't have to worry about what to do if the apocalypse came unexpectedly.

So from the afternoon of the day I accepted the project, I went to the Incheon port area every morning with the Pado Guild's corporate card in my hand.

I didn't have a car or a driver's license, so I took a taxi, and the nighttime surcharges were ridiculous, but it didn't matter. The head of the Pado Guild always worked hard for money.

Early on a deserted weekday, a black bongo truck glided through the containers at Incheon Port. Soon a couple of big men with deep hoods and heavy backpacks got out. They looked around and went into the corner container.

Cha Ui-jae, a young man lying on the roof of the opposite container watching through binoculars, lowered his binoculars and closed his eyes tightly.

<Tracker's eyes!>

As if the bottom of the container had been pierced, the shapes of people descending to the bottom could be seen. I turned on the power of the listening device in my ears. Footsteps, the sound of heavy steel doors opening. The sound of greetings. A phlegmatic, raspy voice asked.

"How many do you have today?"

"There are three."

"We've been getting fewer lately..."

Bang. There was a sound like a pipe or something hitting the ground.

"You're not going to steal them, are you?"

"What are you talking about... We're risking our lives to carry it, too, and the three-legged fowl keep grabbing at it like rats."

I reached to my side and picked up a leather notebook I'd tossed haphazardly. On a tear-off sheet taped to the cover was written in smooth script.

Min-ki's Beginner's Guide to Stealth and Infiltration.

My fingertips found the bookmark labeled 'Silverfish' and I flipped to the next page. "Three Furrows" is the Bureau, and "Padak" is the slang of the Pado Guild. Okay, you've got it all written down.
(TL/N: Well, I'm not really sure about the second sentence. 쓰리고'는 각관국, '파닭'은 파도 길드의 은어. 좋아, 별걸 다 적어놨군).

Before leaving on a business trip, Min-ki gave me this notebook and said he was sorry that the previous incident had not gone smoothly. Maybe he predicted that Lee Sa-young would do this kind of work because he didn't ask him to do it that day, but he put the fried rice in the freezer and gave it to me as a free gift, so it was a clear sign of customer satisfaction.
(TL/N: well, another part of confusion: 그날 자신이 시키지 않았는데도 공깃밥을 온장고에 척척 넣어주고 이런 것까지 사은품으로 주다니 고객 만족 A/ S가 아주 확실했다.)

After closing the notebook, I focused on the voice.

"That's right. The seeds in Busan are dry. So Incheon is the only place I can get through."

"Fuck, where the hell do those bastards get their smell?"

"Well, they talk upstairs and tell us to move tomorrow because they won't have long. Before they get us by the tail."

"Eh, I guess we'll have to move again."

"Are you packing anything?"

"Pack the big stuff now. We have to get out of here before the Three arrive and deliver the medicine to each room."

"Four. The one in Songpa-gu is about to enter the metamorphosis stage, so I asked for a little more."

Each room... My eyes quickly scanned the contents. That means they're going to entrust the goods to the local suppliers.

Songpa-gu is expected to see a change soon. Clutching the notebook, I leaned back and rubbed my chin in thought.

Maybe it's been a week since Lee Sa-young's request. With the tracker's eyes, it was easy to find the suspicious guys. I watched them every morning while eating kimbap at a convenience store. This group of criminals had their own patterns of behavior, and it was also fun to watch.

Soon, they were packing up and robbing as a group....

I stuffed the finished bag of kimbap into a black grocery bag, then grabbed my phone and hesitantly tapped my fingers. The apron, not yet removed, fluttered in the early morning breeze.

"I'm going to report it to him, but .....

If you contact him, he will send reinforcements. Well, that was shallow trust. But they'll be packing up and leaving soon. I unlocked and relocked my phone as I stared at the container below.

Will the backup get here in time?

Now I have two options. First, I'll track down those who fail even with their luggage. Second, I shoot it myself to prevent the Great Migration.

The first option was fine, but there was one big problem. With the tracker's eyes, it would be enough to track them, but no matter how high class I was and the skills I had to hide my presence, it wasn't possible to track the people running away in cars or ships alone.

It's not like I have a flying skill...''

It was the first time I had ever been so jealous of those with flying abilities. I gritted my teeth and considered the second option.

I could use my body to stop them from moving. If I chose this option, I would jump into their midst. The advantage was that I'd be able to secure their feet in exchange for my body.

I've never kidnapped anyone before, but I'm pretty sure I can keep them on their feet. I'd take them all out if I had to.

'Huh?'

I rubbed my chin.

'Might as well.

As expected, if you're in good shape, your head won't suffer. I turned on my cell phone and texted Sa-young.

Uijae: (link to map)

Uijae: The kids are packing up and leaving tonight.

Ui-jae: I'll hold their feet.

Transmission completed. I put my phone in my pocket and bravely jumped into the container.

The sound of heavy footsteps could be heard. The owner of the footsteps stood nearby and clicked his tongue.

"Is that you, jumping in here like some kind of madman?"

"Four."

I tried to pass out naturally after being hit by a piece of lumber, but the lumber was quite broken, but anyway I pretended to pass out and managed to get tied to an old iron chair in the container.

Deciding that only an Awakened could dive so bravely, the criminals tied ten zip ties to each of my arms and legs.

"Any connection to the Three Furrows?"

"Didn't look like it."

"Why are you questioning me? Didn't you check him out?"

"No official ID, I checked his hunter's license in his apron pocket, it's an ordinary D class."

"What kind of kid is only a D-rank? ...He looks too distant for a reader who's been crawling with a whiff of drugs."

"There's no sign of mutation."

"Well, you'd know if you asked."

The mumbling man bit into his cigarette and flicked the lighter.

"Hey, wake him up. I'm running out of time."

"Yes, Hyung!"

There was movement. Someone grabbed my hair roughly and pulled me upright. The faint sound of waves mixed with the sound of water in something. My closed eyes fluttered open. What a barbaric thing to wake me by splashing me with water....

Chwaak! A cold spray of water came flying at him.

Shit, they're really doing this.

Judging by the salty taste, it must have come straight from the sea. Not only his hair, but also his upper body was soaked. Bastards, I don't sleep. I clenched my teeth to keep it from showing.

Maybe I should have just kicked their asses from the start... ....'