Episode 136 Preliminary Survey (4)
When I accepted the bet, the old graduate nodded.
“Okay. Go in first and wait.”
He placed a light hand on the teardrop woman’s shoulder, and the two walked together to one side of the building.
Then he just went through the wall and went inside.
Dang Gyu-yeong asked while watching his back.
“Kim Hoya, honestly, it started as a joke, but… …. Isn’t this taking things too far?”
Dang Gyu-yeong snatched the napkin because he wanted to see me flounder for a moment, but he probably didn’t know that I would suddenly say that it was possible without a milestone.
Before I could even say anything, the graduates joined in the conversation, and within a few words, things progressed at incredible speed, and before I could even stop them, a bet was made.
It was an awkward situation for Dang Gyu-young.
I also agreed that things had gotten bigger.
“It might look bad if it fails.”
Looking back at the origin of the bet, it was because I unintentionally scratched their pride.
So if I fail, the graduates will remember me as a ‘first-year student who got screwed over for being a guest for no reason.’
Even Dang Gyu-young, who introduced me as a ‘cherished junior’, was given a negative review.
But I still didn’t care.
“So, if it succeeds, isn’t that enough?”
“… … Anyway, you have to know one thing about confidence. Are your intuitions that good? Are they trustworthy?”
“At least I believe so.”
So what exactly is my ‘excellent sense’?
It is the sense of an experienced person honed through countless experiences.
As a result of churning out S-class heroes like a factory and steadily improving my own skills, I have developed an uncanny eye for even the smallest sense of discomfort.
Long ago, I used to examine each and every reason why I felt uncomfortable, but now I don’t pay much attention to the little things.
‘The important thing is that you can tell just by looking at it.’
It’s like being able to see through an opponent’s transparent ghillie suit at a glance.
Dang Gyu-yeong let out a small sigh as if he didn’t know anymore.
“Oh, okay. Our 200th graduating junior, no, senior, will do well.”
Then he stepped back a little and stood with his arms crossed.
It looks like he’s switched to bystander mode.
I started to move forward, turning my back on Dang Gyu-yeong.
Currently, the distance between me and Exchange A is not that far.
The building is visible at a glance, and you can enter with just a short walk.
‘If you just deal with the formation well, that is.’
If I handle it clumsily, this short distance can become much longer.
As we went a little further, the old senses sent us a signal.
It means that you have entered the sphere of influence of the law.
At the same time, I was able to roughly figure out what type it was.
‘What a confusing formation.’
A method that causes confusion in the sense of distance, speed, and direction of a target that has entered the range.
For example, I may perceive myself as running forward, but in reality I may be slowly moving backward.
You may think you’ve turned 90 degrees when you come out of an alley, but in reality you may be standing still.
The purpose of this tactic is to guide uninvited guests loitering around the exchange in a different direction and eventually make them leave the area.
And according to the tearjerker, the process happens so naturally that the person who gets it doesn’t even realize it.
‘Like now.’
As I took a few more steps, the water sensor sent a signal, and I immediately turned around.
But even though I had changed direction so sharply, the scenery before my eyes was exactly the same as before.
The path was leading me astray, but I saw through it and corrected my course.
As I continued on, I suddenly took a sideways step.
But if I walk sideways like that, the A exchange in front of me should move to the opposite side of my field of vision, but instead, I am slowly moving closer to it.
This time, I intentionally took a step back to correct my course, so that the people watching would only see me walking straight.
Now the entrance was gaping right in front of me,
‘It’s not over yet.’
Instead of going in, I turned 45 degrees and went straight towards the outer wall of the building.
I completely closed my eyes because I trusted my old water sensor 100%.
And when I opened my eyes again a few seconds later, I found myself inside the building, not crashing into the outer wall.
It has destroyed the law.
‘It’s half a success.’
Of course, the formation is also laid out internally, so you must not let your guard down.
Additionally, to reach where the two graduates are, you must also climb over walls that have [Passing Steps] applied.
Looking around, I saw a row of rooms with their doors tightly shut.
I walked up to one of them, threw open the door as if it were my living room, and stepped inside.
A room decorated like an office.
The details are vivid, as if someone had been working on it just a moment ago.
Considering that they probably decorated not one or two rooms like this, but several buildings, you can guess how much effort the thieves’ club puts into the black market.
I turned my head to one wall as the water sensor pointed out, while admiring it.
‘It’s this way.’
And then I walked straight towards the wall and passed into the next room without feeling like I was bumping into anything.
The room next door is also decorated like an office.
This time again, I immediately turned my head in one direction.
‘This time, this way.’
And then he moved on to the next room without hesitation.
* * *
“… … ?”
Dang Gyu-yeong blinked his eyes blankly.
‘Did I see it correctly?’
Because he couldn’t easily believe what he had just witnessed.
A senior graduate said that this formation was so natural that he might not even notice that his opponent was missing.
But no matter how much you struggle to escape the influence of the formation, it is bound to show in some way.
It is right to hesitate, hesitate, or look around even a little.
But what Dang Gyu-yeong saw was only Kim Ho walking nonchalantly into the building.
It was as if there was no formation there.
Dang Gyu-yeong blinked his eyes blankly for a bit longer, then adjusted the receiver in his ear to check if he was hallucinating.
It is used to communicate with the control tower.
“Cha Da-bin.”
– Yes, sir.
“Are you watching?”
– I’m watching.
“Please send me the video of what I just saw.”
– Yes, just a moment.
Not long after, Cha Da-bin sent a video message.
This is a photo of Kim Ho looking down through the crystal ball.
Dang Gyu-yeong was watching from behind, and the crystal ball was installed above, so the composition was different.
So I thought that if I looked closely at the video, I might catch something,
“… … .”
Contrary to expectations, Kim Ho’s gait was not much different from what he had seen.
That means it was extremely ordinary.
After completing cross-validation, the next thing that raises its head is doubt.
‘Aren’t you doing this wrong?’
Did your senior set up the formation sloppily?
Or you didn’t even install it?
Why? Did you secretly plan this with Kim Ho-rang? To make me suffer?
Is this a hidden camera?
However, the two graduates were also confused.
They were watching Kim Ho through the screen shared from the control tower, and they saw the same sight that Dang Gyu-yeong had seen.
The two people looked at each other with questioning eyes.
The old man asked the graduate.
“Did you install it correctly? Jinbeop.”
“Of course I did it right. I did it right… … .”
The tearful woman tilted her head to the side with a puzzled expression.
Did I miss something important?
For example, could it be that the system is not performing as intended due to a calculation error or a range setting error?
[Passing Step] The fact that the technique is working properly is proven by the way Kim Ho moves freely between rooms in the video.
On the other hand, the manifestation of the formation is not directly visible.
The system that confuses the opponent like this is even worse.
You can only guess by watching the other person wander around.
However, because Kim Ho’s gait was so natural, even the person who set up the formation felt suspicious.
“Ugh… … .”
Dang Gyu-yeong rested his chin on his hand, narrowed his eyebrows, then opened them, then furrowed his eyebrows, then opened them.
No matter how much I thought about it from different angles, I couldn’t come up with a clear answer.
If so, there is only one way left.
‘You can try it yourself.’
If you want to see if the method is working, why not try it yourself?
Anyway, there’s no chance of getting hurt, and I can also prove my performance as a manager.
Dang Gyu-yeong handed a napkin to a member waiting nearby.
“Hold this for a second.”
“yes.”
Now that he has passed the milestone, from now on he will also be fully affected by the formation.
Dang Gyu-yeong walked forward, following Kim Ho’s footsteps.
The entrance to the A exchange is getting closer.
‘… … I really don’t think you did it?’
I don’t feel anything strange at all.
But what she didn’t notice was that the environment around her seemed to move at a slower rate than usual as she walked.
Dang Gyu-yeong, who had been moving forward without any problem, suddenly stopped in his tracks due to a sense of discomfort that came over him late.
This is because the exchange, which should have been right there, was still about the same distance away, even though it was quite a walk.
He quickly came to his senses and looked around to see that he was about to enter a busy area.
I can hear the chatter and laughter of people passing by.
Dang Gyu-yeong let out a hollow laugh.
“The performance is certain.”
I was kicked out very naturally, without even realizing it.
It meant that the performance of the formation was being fully demonstrated.
And it was also proof that Kim Ho had broken through that formation.
“It feels good, really.”
