Chapter 51
In the end, Baek Cheon-myeong had even defeated a Tower Ascendant.
He returned as if the shock of the Gods and Demigods meant nothing to him.
Clunk.
As the door opened, Baek Cheon-myeong returned.
Kang Ha-min looked at him and took off his mask.
"You're back?"
The defeat of Guaraci Rafael Costa would probably spread across the entire world soon.
The Baek Cheon-myeong craze still showed no sign of ending.
But apart from that.
"I think controlling your strength wasn't a bad decision."
Imagine if he had instantly finished off a Tower Ascendant.
That would have caused its own kind of chaos.
Someone might even have started doubting Baek Cheon-myeong's identity.
By controlling his strength, Baek Cheon-myeong could prevent that in advance.
I've actually been thinking about this for a while.
Kang Ha-min's goal was to live safely.
His goal wasn't to become famous or earn an absurd amount of money.
So rather than fame, his goal was to climb the Tower safely.
A very Estrogen Man-like goal.
But considering Baek Cheon-myeong's personality, Kang Ha-min had thought controlling his strength would be difficult.
Normally, Baek Cheon-myeong would just destroy everything no matter what it was.
That was why Kang Ha-min had never seriously considered it.
Yet this time, Baek Cheon-myeong had controlled himself first.
"Mr. Baek Cheon-myeong, you held back this time because you were thinking ahead too, right?"
"Master doesn't want that, does he?"
After spending so much time with Kang Ha-min, Baek Cheon-myeong had come to understand his personality.
That was why he had made the decision himself.
"Thank you for always listening to my requests."
Kang Ha-min was timid by nature.
Following all his wishes had to be tiring.
So he was grateful that Baek Cheon-myeong always put him first.
"It is nothing. More importantly, where is that bat?"
"Yes, she went to China."
Siriel had left to deal with the Chinese Returnees.
By now, she had probably already arrived.
Kang Ha-min sat on a shadow chair and rested his chin on one hand.
His eyes were sharper than usual.
This incident with the Chinese Returnees had made Kang Ha-min genuinely angry.
What China had done this time was unforgivable.
"Let's wait for the result."
They would wait until Siriel returned after finishing everything.
The deeper the mountain path went, the fewer traces of people remained.
At some point, even roads wide enough for vehicles disappeared.
Only old stones and dry leaves remained.
Fengmen Village, China.
Old houses stood layer after layer along the mountainside.
Ancient wooden bridges.
Gray roof tiles.
Black, rotting timber.
There were no human voices.
Only the eerie sound of wind.
A ghost town.
The name fit perfectly.
Deep beneath the stacked mountain slopes,
there was a Chinese Returnee research facility.
The city was already abandoned.
It was perfect for use as an experimental site.
Clank.
In one corner of the laboratory hallway,
the sound of metal locking together echoed.
Today's security guard yawned with a bored expression.
"Ugh, when do I get to go back to the dorm?"
He rubbed his tired eyes.
The laboratory felt strangely cold.
On top of that, only dim night lights illuminated the dark facility.
It made his body shrink even more.
"Tch, I still can't get used to this place. Why did I have to get the night shift?"
He missed the dormitory.
This place didn't even feel like people lived here.
"Sob... sniff..."
At that moment, the sound of someone crying came from deeper inside.
The guard flinched and quickly turned his head.
A gloomy sobbing sound.
It echoed from inside the laboratory.
He knew very well who was crying.
A Returnee imprisoned in the facility.
"Ah, seriously."
He didn't want to hear someone sobbing in a place with this kind of atmosphere.
Thinking he should at least warn them,
he walked deeper into the laboratory.
The atmosphere felt even more sinister than usual.
The air itself felt different from outside.
Creeeak.
Even though there was no wind, a door at the end of the corridor moved slightly.
Each faint mechanical sound from the darkness seemed to echo together with his heartbeat.
Shiver.
Goosebumps rose across his skin.
"Damn it."
He forced himself to ignore the fear creeping into him.
Then he continued inside.
After walking for a while,
he finally saw where the crying came from.
"Sob... sniff..."
Inside one of the laboratory cells,
a woman sat on the floor, crying.
Her hair was long enough to touch the ground.
It shone like a silver galaxy.
Her fair skin was so beautiful that it looked almost too pure.
For some reason, she gave off an extremely seductive feeling.
The guard unconsciously swallowed.
"H, hey! You there!"
He shouted at her.
But the woman only continued crying without answering.
He had never seen her before.
She had probably been captured recently.
"Stop crying already! You're so damn loud!"
The guard sighed and opened the cell door.
The ones kept in this area were all weak specimens anyway.
They were also bound with restraints specifically designed for Returnees.
Their strength was no different from an ordinary person's.
On top of that,
the guard was a Hunter too.
He wasn't someone a Returnee could easily defeat.
"Hey, I said stop crying."
Still, she was quite beautiful.
A disgusting smile formed on the guard's face.
He had occasionally enjoyed himself with Returnees before.
Maybe this boring night shift could become a little more entertaining.
"Hey, let me see your face."
He tapped the woman with the rod in his hand.
Crack.
At that moment, the woman's body collapsed like liquid.
"Hik?!"
The sudden sight made the guard fall backward.
"W, what?"
Was this some Returnee ability?
But it didn't feel like one.
The entire space suddenly became silent.
Not a single sound could be heard.
Chill.
A nameless fear swept across his entire body.
Confusion filled his face.
Then he finally noticed that the area beneath his hands and legs felt sticky.
His eyes slowly moved downward.
Only then did he see it.
A pitch-black shadow had spread across the entire floor.
