The day after the protest incident, Yu-Han, Alice, and Kim Ga-Eun were walking somewhere together.
"Me? A sanction target? I didn't even touch a hair on those protesters! Besides, they all turned into monsters! Shouldn't I be fine?"
As Alice grumbled, Yu-Han explained the harsh reality.
"Registering someone is something any dog or cow can do. People register each other for the pettiest reasons, so more than half the population is technically a sanction target."
"Wait, then how does this country even function? Shouldn't everyone be dead by now?"
"Well, the system requires the registrant to put up the bounty money themselves. When people just do it out of spite, usually the bounty is dirt cheap. It's not profitable to hunt them. Look, both Ga-Eun and I are registered targets, but no one really bothers..."
Yu-Han paused, checking his own bounty status on his hologram.
"Wait, why is it so expensive?!"
"T-tens of millions of won...?! Yu-Han C... I've never seen a bounty this high on us before...!"
"No, seriously? We killed every single one of them without leaving a rat alive. There were no witnesses...!"
Alice felt like she was seeing Yu-Han flush with panic for the first time. She wanted to laugh at him, but since she was in the same boat, she couldn't even force a smile.
"Yu-Han, does that mean other sanctioners will come after us?"
"To be precise, anyone with a sanctioner license will come to kill us. From private armies to illegal civic groups... But tens of millions? Who the hell did we piss off?!"
"Hah! Ya really clueless, ain't ya?"
At that moment, someone blocked their path. It was a woman from the Tiger Beastkin race. A predator species possessing physical strength several times that of an ordinary human just by breathing.
"...!"
"Speechless? Can't blame ya... Standin' right here is the Ace of the Hwang-Ho (黃虎) Sanction Center, Yi Rang!"
"Why is a place like that targeting us...!"
When Yu-Han spoke with feigned surprise, Yi Rang answered as if she had been waiting for this moment.
"Listen up, punks. You pissed off a huge shot! The opposition leader, Kim Je-Hyeon Nim! Well, I'm feelin' generous, so I'll give ya time to scribble a will!"
Nim was a supreme honorific used to address someone of much higher status, demanding absolute respect—similar in meaning and usage to the Japanese suffix -sama.
Anyway, Yu-Han quickly reverted to his usual bored look.
"Ah, it was that guy? Makes sense."
"Yu-Han C! How about pork ribs for dinner tonight?"
"Ga-Eun, are you eating your veggies properly? Don't just eat meat."
Yu-Han, Alice, and Kim Ga-Eun completely ignored Yi Rang and started discussing their dinner menu as they continued walking.
"Yo, hold up!! You guys got a death wish or somethin'?!"
"We don't want to die, which is why we're avoiding sanctioners. Isn't that obvious?"
"Huh...? Now that ya mention it, that makes sen... No, wait! You little punks, tryna play word games with me? People who yap too much... get shut up by my fist!!"
As the woman named Yi Rang prepared to charge, Yu-Han spoke lazily.
"Ga-Eun, play with her a bit."
"Okay, Yu-Han C!"
"Ha! A mere Wolf Beastkin darin' to square up with a Tiger? You kiddin' me?!"
Yi Rang threw a punch, but Kim Ga-Eun caught it effortlessly with one hand.
"Huh...?"
Yi Rang was visibly flustered. Her punch had enough power to bend a steel pipe, yet this little kid stopped it?
Yi Rang tried punching again, and even threw in some kicks, but Kim Ga-Eun blocked them with ease. Later, Ga-Eun didn't even bother dodging; she just let herself get hit while looking at Yi Rang with eyes full of pity.
"No, my punch can bend steel pipes..."
"Yes... please go bend a lot of pipes over there. We're leaving."
At Kim Ga-Eun's cold dismissal, Yi Rang looked humiliated.
Alice, feeling bad about just leaving, bowed politely to the teary-eyed tiger woman.
"Well then, take care."
"You guys... makin' fun of me?! I ain't forgivin' this!!"
Suddenly, Yi Rang's appearance began to change. Her teeth and claws grew sharper and larger, her entire body became covered in tiger fur, and she took on the form of a true, wild tiger.
"That's... 'Furry Mode'!"
"It's 'Full Beast Transformation', ya idiot! I ain't forgivin' your Beastkin racism either!!"
"You already said you wouldn't forgive us earlier. Ga-Eun, just chase her away."
"I guess I have to."
Yi Rang, now in the form of a beast, rushed at Kim Ga-Eun like a wild animal...! However, Kim Ga-Eun casually grabbed Yi Rang's wrist.
"...?"
"Touching it directly, your fur is really fluffy."
"Of course! I groom it every d... wait, what the hell are ya talkin' about?!"
At that moment, Kim Ga-Eun's body began to rapidly expand, twist, and mutate. A form of a complete Chimera monster, too complex and disgusting to describe! Seeing that form, Yi Rang's 'Furry Mode' was instantly deactivated due to sheer terror.
"Would you like to touch my fur too?"
Looking up at the monstrous Kim Ga-Eun towering over her, Yi Rang's DNA sent a frantic danger signal.
"Gyaaaaaak!"
She turned tail and fled, face pale as a sheet. Kim Ga-Eun watched her run away, then turned to Yu-Han.
"So, Yu-Han C. Shall we think about dinner after we eat pork ribs?"
"No, authentic Italian Margherita pizza."
"You need to eat meat to be healthy! Yu-Han C!!"
"Then ask that damn owner to put meat on the pizza..."
Leaving the bickering duo behind, Alice seriously worried whether the person named Yi Rang would be okay.
***
A few hours later, at the Hwang-Ho (黃虎) Sanction Center. Yi Rang was summoned before the Director.
"Yi Rang, what did you do during your break?"
"W-what would I do? Just grabbed a bite and chilled at home for a bit..."
An ashtray flew and struck the top of Yi Rang's head. Holding her forehead, Yi Rang looked like she was about to cry at the sudden assault.
"You haven't even finished cleaning the toilets, and you dare take a break?! I've given up on you because you've always been useless, but now you're lying too?!"
"L-l-lying...?"
"The sanction mission that came down to the office today. You went to handle it on your own authority, didn't you? Huh?!"
"...I got a license too! I just wanted to nab 'em myself and show ya somethin'..."
"That's a commendable thought... There are no results, but I could have forgiven you up to that point! But you idiot, you went around blabbering the VIP's name!"
"You mean Kim Je-Hyeon Nim?"
"Don't speak his name so casually! I kept you around because you were at least useful for menial tasks, but leaking information... Kim Je-Hyeon Nim ordered us to dispose of you."
"D-dispose...? What's that supposed to mean?!"
"Just killing you wouldn't satisfy my anger, so I'm selling you to the underground auction house. Well, try your best at self-PR there. Living as a rich man's pet might actually make you more useful than you are now, right?"
The Director laughed vulgarly and gave orders to his subordinates. They immediately bound Yi Rang and stuffed her into something that looked like an ominous sleeping bag.
"Director! But the name of this place is Hwang-Ho (黃虎)! It'd be weird without me, a Yellow Tiger~! C'mon!!"
Yi Rang even brought up the meaning of the center's name, but the Director remained cold.
"You're too noisy. Cast a silence spell on her, boys."
She continued to scream, but Yi Rang's voice no longer reached anyone.
"Can ya really not hear me? Director, you baldy! Haa... Guess they really can't."
In this desperate situation, Yi Rang grinned. She had an ace up her sleeve. As she shook her bound body violently, a small device fell out.
"Voice Control Mode Activated!"
The inside of the sleeping bag (?) lit up brightly as a hologram screen floated up. It was a Smart Hologram Device. She had hidden the device between her breasts to secretly watch OTT services during work hours.
"Darin' to sell a person to an auction house...? You piece of trash! I can just hire sanctioners too...!"
***
Meanwhile, the place Alice's group arrived at was a fairly dilapidated building.
"Yu-Han, why did we come here? You said there was a surprise gift..."
Yu-Han and Kim Ga-Eun wore meaningful smiles and told her to come in first. Opening the door, they saw a spacious room. In the center were a sofa, a desktop computer, and a hologram projector. In one corner was a kitchenette. And there was even a room with a nameplate that read 'Sleeping Quarters'.
"You sleep here from now on. I need some alone time too."
"It's a nice room. Really? You're just giving it to me?"
"I'll charge rent and maintenance fees. I'll give it to you cheaper than the market price, though... And this isn't just a living space."
"?"
"We're opening a Sanction Center here. There's a limit to acting as freelancers."
"I knew it. You intend to work me like a dog..."
"You are the Director."
Alice was stunned by those words.
"Ga-Eun will assist you well. As the Deputy Director. A beautiful robot Director and a cute wolf-eared assistant—just looking at you two will make customers feel 'at ease'."
"What about you?"
"I prefer being a freelancer. But I'll help if needed. you promised me a reward you if you get back to the Cheongwa Tower, right? Don't forget that."
"Right. I did..."
For some reason, Alice liked this room.
"Yu-Han, tha..."
Just as Alice was about to finish her sentence, the room's phone began to ring loudly.
"...? The center hasn't even opened yet?"
"Actually, I already opened the center under your name!"
"You... used my identity without my permission...!!"
While Alice raged at Yu-Han again, Kim Ga-Eun trotted over and answered the phone. Before Kim Ga-Eun could even say hello, a loud voice burst from the receiver.
[Hello!! Is this the Sanction Center?! Please save me!!]
"Hmm. I feel like I've heard this voice somewhere..."
"Yu-Han C, I think it's that tiger from earlier today."
[Hey! Quit callin' a person a damn animal!
Wait, is that you guys? Ugh... whatever! Just save me already! ]
"Yi Rang C, what is happening? Please explain calmly."
This time Alice asked, and Yi Rang explained the situation. It seemed she had already called other centers but was rejected by all of them.
"Of course. What stupid center would trust the words of a stupid woman and fight another center?"
[The hell...? Then what the hell am I s'posed to do?! These bastards said they're gonna sell me off at some damn underground auction house...!]
"Not my business."
[Waaaaaahh!!]
Leaving Yi rang's crying behind, Alice glared at the back of Yu-Han's head. As expected, this guy was trash to the bone. In that case, I'll have to go by myself... Just as Alice was thinking that, Yu-Han spoke up again.
"However, since the Hwang-Ho maggots dared to target our necks... I guess we have to make them pay the price. With their lives!"
At Yu-Han's words, the look in Alice's eyes softened slightly. But she still wasn't entirely convinced.
'Is he not complete trash? Or is it just that he has to kill them because they are enemies...'