Chapter 176 – Request (2)

“Of course, right? This is a contract killer. “It’s something I have to risk my life for.”
“Well, that’s true, but…”

Cha In-cheol’s complexion turned earthy when I asked him to triple the quest reward.

Cha In-cheol then looks at the women with eyes as if asking them to do something.
It is the women who pay the compensation anyway. It wasn’t that Cha In-cheol was embarrassed or that he didn’t understand.

“Isn’t it okay? On the contrary, I think that if she can catch the culprit that much, she will be a cheap deal.”

Sure enough, Yoon Seo-hee, the representative of the women’s side, quickly agreed.

“I don’t think it matters either. Honestly, that’s not a big loss for us.”

Joo Hee-kyung also seems to have some speaking power here.
At least she was talking like she was better than Yoon Seo-hee.

“But you can definitely handle it, right? “You can’t just shout loudly and not catch it.”
“I can’t guarantee that either.”
“What?”

Joo Hee-kyung still asks with a challenging attitude.
Was the last training insufficient?
I don’t know if there will be another opportunity, but if I do again, I think I will have to thoroughly instill the relationship between superiors and subordinates.

“Understand me. “Because everyone is on edge.”

Na Yoon-jeong intervened to stop Joo Hee-kyung, who was about to attack her.

“There are too many victims. Everyone is anxious because they don’t know who will get hit next. I can’t sleep well because I’m so alert to my surroundings. “You can’t help but feel nervous, right?”
“I guess so.”

Cha In-cheol especially stood out, but other aspects didn’t look that healthy either.
People are dying right next to us every day. If there’s anyone who can stay sane during that time, he’s probably the culprit.

“I plan to do my job properly as I am paid to work. “I can’t afford to lose an important business partner.”

After hearing my confirmation, Seohee Yoon sighed as if she was relieved.

“Then please do me a favor, Changjae. “We will make sure to prepare the compensation you mentioned.”
“Okay.”

After the verbal contract with the women was roughly concluded, Cha In-cheol came out again.

“Then, the previous fee will be paid as a start-up fee, and the remaining two payments will be paid after the work is successful.”
“Either way.”

This was a problem I had to solve anyway.
Just getting paid without working is not my style.

“Then let’s first hear about how the victims were murdered.”

Everyone, including the two unknown men, seemed to have a lot to say.

*

First of all, the first victim.
Surprisingly, it was Joo Hee-kyung’s partner.
What’s even more surprising is that the man was arrested after failing to attack Joo Hee-kyung that day.
Well, it would have been easy to kill him if his hands and feet were tied.

“You piece of trash. A guy like that deserves to die.”

It was a sentiment worthy of Joo Hee-kyung.

The next murder occurred early that morning.
It is said that during this period, there was not much vigilance. So much so that at night he each went back to his tent and slept.

A woman woke up to find that her partner had been murdered during the night.
She said there were no injuries to the woman who was also sleeping in the same tent, and she didn’t even know what had happened during the night.

“From then on, everyone started to get nervous.”

If two people were murdered in a row, even this easy-going group would have been put on alert.
From this point on, the men began to gather weapons and be wary of their surroundings. We decided to keep watch even at night.

However, the criminal committed a third murder as a show of pride.
And that too in broad daylight. While everyone was on high alert.

The survivors in the group said that they were all gathered together in preparation for an unexpected situation. Since serial murders occurred early in the morning, alertness was at its highest.

In the meantime, one person was murdered like a ghost.

The victim’s partner, a woman, said the victim had been next to her until a moment ago. But when she realized that she had already been murdered, she was gone.

She “Was like a ghost crying.”

Then, at dawn, a man who had been on watch was murdered.
The man whose turn it was just before that woke up the victim and said he fell asleep, and the man whose turn it was after that said he slept until morning because the victim didn’t wake him up.

In other words, the fourth victim was killed while on guard duty.

“And yesterday. “This time there were witnesses.”

As Cha In-cheol spoke, a man whose name I did not know came forward.

“I was with you at the time.”

A sturdy man who appeared to be in his 30s spoke while sighing deeply.

Now, no matter what happened at any time, it wasn’t strange and everyone gathered together. When going to the bathroom, we decided to go with at least 2 people, and if possible, 5 or more people.

The incident occurred in the bathroom.

Four men and women gathered together and went to the bathroom. Two pairs of male and female partners.
And while one man went into the men’s restroom and one woman went into the women’s restroom.
It is said that a ‘cracking’ sound was heard inside the men’s bathroom.

“I tried to go in right away, but the door was locked…”

When using a public restroom, it would be natural to lock the door before entering.
But thanks to that natural behavior, the man was killed without any help?

“I forced the door open and went in, but there was no one inside.”
“Hmm?”

It is understandable that the victim disappeared.
Here, when a person dies, they just disappear. If a victim disappears, it can be considered dead.

But unless the culprit was also dead, it was strange that no one was inside.

“Are you sure? “Isn’t it attached to the ceiling?”
“I’m sure. I checked everything. The woman I was with also… “But why are you speaking informally?”
“Ah. Sorry. “My parents passed away early.”
“Eh?”

Well, he looks ten years older than me, but he speaks informally.

“That’s not what’s important. “It’s strange that the culprit wasn’t there.”
“Ha, but there really was no one there.”
“A weapon? Traps too?”
“Yes. Nothing special…”

That’s really strange.
If a trap had been set up in the bathroom, the killer may have been able to kill the victim even if he wasn’t there.
For example, the moment you sit on the toilet, something explodes, or something jumps out and stabs you.

However, killing a person without a trace was impossible according to common sense.

Poisoned?
There is a poison that kills only one person at a time and has no effect on those around it?
I didn’t learn anything like that during chemical, biological and biological training.

“The last victim occurred early this morning.”

Cha In-cheol continued, still looking tired.

“The previous day, in the early morning, a person who had been on watch alone was murdered, so this time, I decided to keep the watch watch separate and also stay on watch all night long.”
“So you were about to die.”

Unlike night duty, which requires waking up at dawn to work two hours, being on duty requires staying awake all night.
If Cha In-cheol hadn’t slept all night and was awake until now, he would have looked tired.

“Yes… I feel like I’m going to die. “In fact, the person who died was someone else.”

This guy is also good at making jokes that lighten the mood.

“I still don’t know when or how he died. Apparently nothing happened all night, but I only found out about it when I checked people in the morning. “One person is not enough.”
“Isn’t it John in the middle?”
“Absolutely not. I kept both eyes wide open. Since it was the fifth time that person was on watch, I checked to see if he was sleeping after going on watch…”
“But he was dead in the morning?”
“Yes. “That is true.”

Cha In-cheol laughed self-deprecatingly and shook his head.

“I don’t know what the criminal did. “It’s like saying, ‘Catch it if you can,’ and I’m angry at myself for not being able to catch it even though it’s happening right in front of my eyes.”
“Hmm.”

Let’s synthesize the stories we’ve heard so far.
A puzzle was roughly being put together in my head.

“I think I understand. “The criminal’s method.”
“What?! Is that really true!”

Cha In-cheol asks back excitedly at what I said.
The eyes of a person who looked like he was about to collapse due to accumulated fatigue suddenly open.

“What? “How did you do it?”

Of course, women seem curious too.

“It’s not a big deal. “Everyone just thought too much about common sense and didn’t notice.”

I slowly took out the crossbow that was strapped to my belt and loaded it.

“The method is very simple. Actually, the culprit was inside. “I disguised myself as someone who would never be the criminal.”
“Uh? “Inside here?”

Everyone looks at each other at my words.
Of course, there is no way you can recognize the culprit just by looking at him like that.

“Okay. A person who is always present at the scene of the crime. “A person who was more passionate about finding the culprit than anyone else.”

A glance.
As I was loading my crossbow, I took a look at Cha In-cheol.
Then everyone’s eyes focused on him.

“Uh? Mr. Incheol?”
“Well, not me! “I really hope no one dies and I plan to catch the culprit——!”

Cha In-cheol shouted as if he was extremely wronged.
Of course it is worth it. Because Cha In-cheol is not really the culprit.

“Of course you did.”

At the same time, I pointed the crossbow at Cha In-cheol.
A look of fear appears on the tired man’s face.

I’m sorry. By using it like this.

“The culprit is──”

I quickly turned the crossbow aimed at Cha In-cheol 90 degrees.

There was nothing there.
It seemed like there was nothing.

But I heard it.
The sound of stepping on grass, breathing, the sound of cloth rubbing against each other.

It felt like it to me.
The shaking of the air, the vibration of stepping on the ground, and the faint smell of metal.

-Few shoot!

Left from where you aimed.
I ‘looked’ in the direction the criminal was avoiding and shot.

“Tsk!”

Oh my, it’s amazing.
The crossbow bolt that flew out stopped at a point in the empty air.

A place where there appears to be nothing, yet there is something.
The bolt I shot accurately hit the criminal, who was an ‘invisible man.’