Qingdao, China.
Jinhyuk and the Ziyou people boarded the prepared ship.
Xiaochen and about thirty of his subordinates, who had arrived earlier, had already taken seats on one side.
Lastly, Liu Gai stepped through the entrance of the ship.
"Lord Liu Gai."
Government official Lu Mai looked at him with a deeply worried expression.
"There truly won't be any problems, right? If something goes wrong, it'll be irreversible."
"You worry too much, Lord Lu Mai. I am Liu Gai, the Dragon of Shandong. Do you truly think anything will go wrong?"
Lu Mai steadied his breathing again.
The reason for his anxiety was simple.
What was happening in Qingdao right now had not been reported to the government.
Because Liu Gai had persuaded him.
He said they should leave out the messy parts and only report the clean, simple facts: acquiring the Imoogi and eliminating the fugitives.
As the person in charge of this exploration mission, Lu Mai accepted it because it made for a prettier picture.
"If Lord Xiaochen clashes with you, won't that cause unpredictable variables?"
"That will not happen. Xiaochen's only goal is to take that Korean, Yu Jinhyuk. He doesn't know about the Imoogi, so he won't overreach. Anyway, don't worry and get on board. It's time to depart."
"Very well. I'll trust you, Lord Liu Gai."
Lu Mai nodded and boarded the ship.
Then he looked toward Jinhyuk and the Ziyou people who had boarded earlier.
'Fools. If they had just followed obediently, they could've kept their lives.'
Until now, not a single awakened person had successfully defected to China.
And the reason was simple.
If China could not have something, it would erase it.
If persuasion failed, they would make it so the person had never existed in the first place.
That included this Korean, Yu Jinhyuk.
If he had simply handed over what Liu Gai wanted and walked away, he could've returned to Korea.
But by boarding this ship, everything changed.
"We're departing."
With everyone aboard, the ship left Qingdao.
Navy forces were stationed across the sea, but none blocked Liu Gai's vessel.
He had already contacted them through his connections.
"What a reckless thing you've done."
Xiaochen approached Jinhyuk and spoke.
Jinhyuk simply smiled without answering.
"I acknowledge that you're strong. But Liu Gai is strong. They don't call him the Dragon of Shandong for nothing."
Becoming a top-tier ranker on a continent that vast—
It was no easy feat.
He had neglected tower climbing for a while, but that didn't mean Liu Gai had become weak.
"I can't say for sure that even I could break through Liu Gai's defense."
Liu Gai possessed a passive skill—Dragon Scales—that blocked all physical attacks.
It would be slightly nerfed compared to inside the Tower due to sync rate reduction, but it was still troublesome.
Even Xiaochen in the past hadn't been able to pierce those scales, failing to conclude their battle decisively.
"It's fine. We're all going to keep our promises, right? Then no one has to fight."
"You're too optimistic. Excessively."
Xiaochen's expression hardened.
"We may be watching and guaranteeing each other's promise, but you don't actually think I'd fight Liu Gai just because something goes wrong, do you?"
"Of course not."
"Then what exactly are you relying on to come all the way here? Stop saying you're trusting the promise. A lie only works when it's not repeated too often."
As Jinhyuk was about to speak—
Liu Gai approached and stepped between them.
"We're nearing the border. You did inform the Korean side, right?"
"Yes. They should already be waiting."
"Follow me. Let's go to the deck."
Jinhyuk stood up.
When Xiaochen tried to follow, Liu Gai stopped him.
"You can watch from here, yes? What you're taking is that Korean brat. The item I'm receiving should remain confidential."
Clicking his tongue lightly, Xiaochen sat again.
Even if something happened, they were on a ship.
He could reach them in a single leap anyway.
'Oh.'
As Jinhyuk reached the deck, he smiled.
Across the boundary line, the Korean Player Hunter Bureau's ship was already waiting.
'Seyeon's here too.'
It seemed they weren't taking any chances either.
He looked down.
The Ziyou people were boarding a lifeboat.
They looked up at Jinhyuk with complicated expressions.
The naturalization they once believed impossible was happening overnight.
And since it required Jinhyuk to be taken hostage, they couldn't help feeling conflicted.
Jinhyuk waved lightly at them.
'How is he smiling like that?'
Seyeon, watching through binoculars, had a dumbfounded expression.
Their side was in near wartime-level tension.
Yet Jinhyuk—right at the center of the danger—looked completely carefree.
'He seriously needs a psychological examination.'
She wasn't trying to mock him.
She was genuinely worried.
Was he missing a part of his brain related to fear or danger?
"Whew…"
Jin Yunho wiped the sweat gathering in his palms.
If an emergency happened, they'd be at a disadvantage.
They couldn't intervene until the lifeboat crossed the border.
But China could.
As a great power, China crossed the boundary line so often that the concept meant little.
Today would be no different.
"Jinhyuk isn't on the boat?"
"He said he'll come separately. On his own."
"Separately? How?"
Jin Yunho shrugged.
Who could possibly predict what went on in that man's head?
"The lifeboat is departing!"
"Everyone stay on alert."
The combat-ready players watched the boat.
Jinhyuk, standing on the opposite ship, also watched as it approached the boundary.
"I've kept my promise. Now it's your turn."
Standing beside him, Liu Gai held out a hand.
"Give it to me. The Imoogi Elixir containing eternal power."
"I'll hand it over once the boat crosses the boundary."
Liu Gai smirked faintly.
What a naïve human.
He still believed the boundary line would protect them.
Several minutes passed in silence.
Finally, the boat crossed the border.
Liu Gai gestured.
Jinhyuk took out a potion from his inventory and handed it over.
'Finally!!'
Liu Gai's lips curled upward.
A potion bottle emblazoned with a coiled Imoogi.
Even the appearance of the bottle radiated unusual energy.
The faded and peeling lacquer showed how ancient it was.
He had waited too long to procrastinate any further.
He uncorked it and drank.
A sweet liquid slid down his throat.
"Haaah…!!!"
Power surged through him, and Liu Gai's face brightened.
He immediately raised his radio.
"It's done. Sink them."
Xiaochen shot to his feet.
Seeing this, Liu Gai smiled.
"Calm yourself, Lord Xiaochen. The human you want is still here, isn't he? That promise was meaningless from the beginning."
Just as he'd said to Lu Mai earlier, there would be no conflict.
Liu Gai and Xiaochen would each walk away with what they wanted. That was the end.
But then—
Why?
While Liu Gai looked triumphant, Xiaochen's eyes were darting around rapidly.
'What did he prepare…?'
He wasn't the only one who heard the order to sink the boat.
Jinhyuk, standing even closer, had heard it clearly.
Yet he showed zero reaction.
As if he had anticipated everything.
Time passed.
And even Liu Gai began to frown.
Why was it so quiet?
The boat had already nearly reached the Korean vessel.
"Lu Mai!! What are you doing?! I said sink them!!"
He had no intention of escalating things by killing Korean players along with the boat.
The order had been simple: sink the boat cleanly.
Yet there was still no reply.
"He can't answer."
"What?"
Liu Gai turned toward Jinhyuk.
"The moment they broke the agreement, they would've already been dead."
What nonsense was that?
He wanted to say it.
But he couldn't.
Jinhyuk's eyes and voice didn't waver in the slightest.
His instincts screamed—
The boy was telling the truth.
Srrring.
Jinhyuk drew the greatsword Salamanca from his inventory.
"What?"
Liu Gai let out a disbelieving laugh.
A brat from a small country daring to fight the Dragon of Shandong?
It was beyond absurd.
Scales began to surface on Liu Gai's body.
"I don't know what you did to the control room, but you chose the wrong opponent."
A dragon with scales that blocked all physical attacks versus a swordsman with a greatsword.
The outcome was obvious.
"You'll regret your arrogance— grh?!"
Blood spurted from Liu Gai's mouth.
Not only that—
The scales covering his body began to fall off one by one.
Jinhyuk spoke with a calm voice.
"Did you know? An Imoogi can't beat a dragon, but there's a reason dragons avoid fighting Imoogis."
He pointed at his own fangs.
"An Imoogi's venom is lethal to dragons. Just like your teeth fall out if you drink snake wine wrong, if a dragon consumes Imoogi venom, its scales fall out."
How could Liu Gai have known?
Jinhyuk had only learned it from Elia Forsen, who was 3,271 years old.
"And one more thing— the more lethal a poison is, the sweeter it tastes."
Liu Gai's eyes widened as the realization hit him.
"You bastard… what did you make me drink? That was supposed to be the Elixir of Eternity…!"
"If such an elixir existed, I'd have drunk it the moment I obtained it. I'd be too scared someone would steal it. You're more naïve than I expected."
Call it cowardly if he wished.
But Jinhyuk wasn't in a heroic one-on-one duel from movies or comics.
This was a battle of lies and deception where life and death hinged on the outcome.
And the opponent was a ranker undeniably stronger than him.
Not using every available tool would've been arrogance.
Crunch—!!
Liu Gai coughed up more blood as he clenched his teeth.
He summoned all his remaining strength.
Sharp dragon claws extended from his hands.
He no longer cared about clashing with Xiaochen.
He just wanted to tear this brat limb from limb.
"From your head to your legs—?!"
It happened in an instant.
Shorter than a blink.
Jinhyuk vanished from his sight.
"You've probably heard this— the biggest reason strong people die is arrogance."
His voice came from behind.
Liu Gai slowly turned his head.
A trail of blue aura shimmered, marking Jinhyuk's path.
Liu Gai stared at that aura in disbelief.
And moments later—
SPLASH!!!
Blood burst from beneath the spots where scales had fallen, spraying into the air.
That was the final sight Liu Gai, the Dragon of Shandong, ever saw.
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T/N:
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