Suho's taxi headed to Bucheon.

He stopped in a secluded neighborhood in Bucheon, where shabby villas were clustered together. 

According to the records in the Library of Memories, it was certain that the person he was looking for was here.

Suho slowly walked towards "Pungcheon Villa" and checked the electric meter.

‘This is the place.’

Among the shabby villas, one particular unit had abnormally high electricity usage.

Unit 101.

And it wasn’t on the first floor, but a semi-basement unit.

Suho approached unit 101 and activated his sensing ability right in front of the door.

[ Magic detection is activated. ]

As his B-grade magic detection took effect, he immediately sensed a large amount of magic power beyond the door.

‘This is it.’

Having found what he was looking for, Suho stepped back and moved to the side of the villa.

There, he saw the only window to the semi-basement, slightly open, with faint smoke rising from it.

It was cigarette smoke.

‘This place feels like a den of raccoons...’

The smoke was already rising from the window, so the inside must be unbearable.

Suho picked up a nearby brick and threw it at the semi-basement window.

*Clink!*

Immediately, a string of curses erupted from within.

“Damn, what’s that?”

“Who’s out there?”

“Hey! Someone’s outside!”

“Go catch them!”

Suho didn’t run away. He stood confidently, waiting.

A moment later, the sound of footsteps approached, and four men appeared.

They all looked like rough types, but one of them glared at Suho and shouted.

“Hey, are you crazy? Drunk or something?”

“No, I’m not drunk, and I’m not crazy.”

“What?”

“You’re the ones, right? The ones who only steal digital wallets in strange ways.”

At those words, their expressions shifted immediately.

“Seems like he knows. Then, Seogiwon must be here too, right?”

Seogiwon.

Suho’s familiar name made the men narrow their eyes and start whispering among themselves.

“Who’s that guy?”

“How does he know?”

“Is he a cop?”

“Cop or not, we should catch him first.”

“Are you stupid? If we touch a cop, we’re screwed.”

“Who cares? We’re already in too deep. Let’s just shut him up first, and then figure it out.”

“Damn…”

Their strategy meeting concluded.

The plan was simple—catch Suho and shut him up.

Suho, with his keen hearing, overheard their conversation and chuckled.

“Idiots.”

Go ahead, try it.

If you catch me, I’ll recruit you all.

As the men prepared to approach, Suho immediately drew his Guiyoung Spear.

He threw it and pierced one of the men’s shadows.

[ Shadow Binding is activated. ]

[ Shadow Hemorrhage is activated. ]

“Ugh!!”

The man with the spear embedded in his shadow let out a pained groan.

That’s right.

It hurts.

The Guiyoung Spear not only immobilizes but also causes a painful hemorrhage effect.

“Jiseong!”

“Damn you!”

At Suho’s preemptive strike, the thugs immediately went into combat mode and rushed toward him.

Swords, shields, and spears—ordinary weapons at first glance.

Suho used his Suho Style to evade their attacks and activated his Blood Weapon at the same time.

[ Blood Weapon is activated. ]

A long staff materialized in Suho’s hands.

He intentionally summoned a staff rather than a sword.

These weren’t monsters meant to die—they were valuable sacrifices for Pi Sungyeol.

Suho decided to call it a “blood club” and used it to smash the clavicle of the nearest thug.

“Ugh!”

The man whose clavicle shattered rolled on the ground in agony.

Suho swiftly crushed the shield of the next attacker and shattered both of his arms.

Then he kicked the thug’s shin, breaking his leg and leaving him unable to move.

“Y-You crazy…!”

Now only the one holding the spear remained.

The man rolled his eyes, clearly conflicted.

Should he attack or run?

His hesitation didn’t last long.

He fled.

Suho, seeing the man running away, smirked.

“Typical scumbags.”

Suho transformed his blood club into a sharp spear and threw it at the fleeing man.

[ Throwing Spear is activated. ]

*Crack!*

The spear pierced the man’s calf and exited through his shin.

The man collapsed to the ground, squirming in pain.

Suho walked up to the one trapped in the Shadow Binding and kicked his thigh with all his might.

With his red-grade strength, the thug’s thigh exploded.

“Ugh!!”

The man, wracked with pain, tried to collapse but couldn’t move because he was still impaled by the Guiyoung Spear, only able to scream in agony.

Good.

With that, they were all incapacitated.

Suho opened his Pocket Dimension and threw the incapacitated thugs inside, closing the portal afterward.

The Pocket Dimension was the safest place to contain them for now.

Suho then made his way to the semi-basement.

The interior of the semi-basement was more disorganized than he expected.

There were cash, playing cards, and gaming chips scattered around the living room as if a gambling session had just ended. Empty cigarette packs, ashtrays, and take-out containers littered the floor.

Suho, disgusted by the rancid smoke, used his magic to expel the stale air from the room.

The smoke dissipated, and his vision cleared.

With the room now breathable, Suho started checking the rooms one by one.

It didn’t take long before he found what he had come to Bucheon for—Seogiwon.

‘So, this is where he was.’

Suho’s reason for coming to Bucheon wasn’t just to find a villain for Pi Sungyeol.

He had come to find Seogiwon, someone crucial for Suho’s plans going forward.

Seogiwon was slumped in front of a laptop.

He wasn’t dead or unconscious.

His personal ability had just been activated.

‘He should wake up soon.’

Suho sat down in front of him and waited.

He waited for Seogiwon to regain consciousness on his own.

***

How much time had passed?

Finally, Seogiwon’s body began to move.

He twitched his fingers as if waking from a sleep, and after a moment, he turned his body and raised his head with a groan.

Upon meeting Suho’s gaze, his body stiffened.

“U-uh...?”

“Hello?”

“W-who…?”

“Nice to meet you. I’m Ahn Suho.”

Suho greeted him with a friendly smile.

Seogiwon blinked in shock, his mouth half open, and then his eyes widened in disbelief.

“Ahn Suho?! The Ahn Suho I know?!”

“You know me?”

“Y-You’re really Ahn Suho? The one who’s all over the news?”

“Yes, that’s me.”

“W-What are you doing here…? Wait, what happened to the guys who were here…?”

Seogiwon’s words came out in a jumble.

It made sense.

He had been held captive by the four men he called “bosses” for six months, so his mental state was unstable.

During those six months, he had endured daily beatings and abuse.

Suho extended his hand to him, sensing that dialogue was not possible in his current state.

Then, the effect of the item activated.

[ The Ring of Emotions reacts to the target’s strongest emotions. ]

[ The absorbable emotion is ‘Black.’ ]

[ Absorbing the emotion. ]

Suho heard a rush of wind in his ears as the negative energy, the Black emotion, was absorbed by the ring.

As the energy was absorbed, Seogiwon’s labored breathing slowly stabilized, and in no time, his mind and body became much calmer.

‘There’s no better item for emotional healing than the Ring of Emotions.’

This was a technique Suho had learned from the Seeker.

While its effects weren’t permanent, using it when necessary allowed for at least some degree of continuous care for an individual.

Seogiwon, now calm, still looked shocked, but he was more composed. He alternated his gaze between his hands and Suho’s face.

“Are you feeling better now?”

“How could this…?”

“It’s just a skill effect. You seemed unstable, so I took action.”

“Ah…”

Seogiwon nodded at Suho’s explanation.

Finally, they could have a normal conversation.

Seogiwon spoke first.

“So… what happens now?”

“What do you mean?”

“Didn’t you already know everything?”

“Yes, more or less, I’ve gathered the details.”

“Of course…”

He seemed to despair.

It was only natural.

Seogiwon knew that everything he had done during his six months of captivity had been illegal.

He lowered his head and spoke.

“Am I going to prison?”

“Prison?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“Because everything I did was bad…”

“Everything you did was under duress. You were forced to do it while being held captive.”

“…Right?”

“So why would you go to prison?”

“...I guess you’re right?”

Suho almost burst into laughter at his response.

‘Seogiwon… I didn’t know the famous ‘Meteor’ was like this.’

Meteor.

That was Seogiwon’s nickname, given by those who respected him.

His nickname came from the fact that, in his past life, he had sacrificed himself to destroy a star to save people.

Suho smiled faintly as he asked, “So, you know me?”

“Yes, well… wouldn’t it be strange if I didn’t know? You’re the most famous person in Korea right now.”

“True, I guess that’s true.”

It would be strange not to know him, considering how much he was covered in the media every day.

Seogiwon asked, “But… how did you know I was here? I thought you weren’t part of the Association yet?”

Suho nodded and replied, “That’s right, I’m not part of the Association yet. But I have a special ability that no one knows about, and that ability helped me find you.”

“A special ability?”

“Yes, I have a prophetic ability.”

“…What?”

Seogiwon’s eyes widened in surprise.

Of course, it was a lie.

The truth was, there had never been any prophetic abilities, skills, or items discovered in Suho’s current or past lives.

But Suho had to lie. To get Seogiwon, also known as Meteor, involved in his plans, this level of deceit was necessary.

Suho said, “Seogiwon, I’ve never revealed my prophetic ability before. But the reason I’m telling you about it now is because you’re an essential part of my future plans.”

“I… I am?”

“Yes. You’re the only one in Korea who possesses the ‘Digitation’ ability, and you are needed for what’s coming next.”