* * *
The next morning, Doyoung awoke to find sunlight streaming into the bedroom.
Judging by how bright it was, it seemed he had slept until almost noon again.
This had become a regular occurrence over the past few days.
“Hah…”
Groaning at the ache in his hips and the dull pain at the base of his spine, Doyoung sat up slowly.
Checking his phone, he saw it was well past noon.
Without bothering to fix his messy hair, he stumbled out of bed and shuffled into the living room.
As expected, the house was silent.
“That monstrous guy… Must’ve gone to work like nothing happened.”
They had watched the sunrise together, yet Doyoung had only just woken up, while Beom Sinje was already at the guild.
His stamina was genuinely awe-inspiring.
After drinking some water and eating the food Beom Sinje had prepared, Doyoung sank onto the sofa.
Like a sparrow instinctively finding its way to a grain mill, he opened the Hunter’s Dotcom community on his phone.
After heading to the kitchen to drink a glass of water and filling his stomach with the food Beom Sinje had prepared, Doyoung sat on the sofa.
Like a sparrow instinctively drawn to a mill, he opened the Hunters.com community.
His expression shifted as he read the posts.
[What’s this “Dungeon Ecology Research Institute”? Hahaha, are they trying to be Antithesis or something?!]
There was no resisting the temptation to click on the provocative post title.
[Their actions are kind of similar, but… Antithesis? Just the thought gives me chills…
└ No way. Absolutely not.
└ Agreed. Failed right off the bat on visuals, XXX.
└ Get a grip, guys. Antithesis always wore masks. What visuals are you even talking about? Haha.
└ What? Am I wrong? They’re hybrids that no one even knows the origins of! Handsome? Fashion sense? No, no, absolutely not.
└ Honestly, whether they’re connected or not, the place reeks of suspicion. What even is it?!
└ Considering the mess they made in the dungeon, isn’t it obvious? They’re probably the same kind of guys.]
Doyoung skimmed through several similar posts.
The community was abuzz with chatter about the Dungeon Ecology Research Institute and some incident involving them overnight.
“Ah… those idiots… I should’ve been monitoring them.”
A sigh escaped him.
The group had started their activities in earnest after appearing in the altered dungeon.
He should’ve kept an eye on them, but during his period of withdrawal, he hadn’t been able to focus, and now it seemed they had caused trouble.
Running a hand through his hair, Doyoung entered a number into his phone and pressed the call button.
A cheerful and lively voice answered almost instantly:
-Thank you for calling. We’re the all-in-one service center that solves everything for you. How can we help?
The company Doyoung had called was founded by the remnants of Antithesis after their downfall.
Sinking comfortably into the back of the sofa, he spoke in a slightly languid tone.
“Let’s make a request.”
-Go ahead, sir.
“I need information on the Dungeon Ecology Research Institute. Can you get it by the end of the day?”
-Your request has been received. Is there anything else you’d like us to handle?
“Things are probably going to get noisy around this soon, so stick to minor tasks for now.”
Perhaps due to the perplexing nature of the request, it took the support staff a few seconds to respond.
-…All your complaints have been received, sir. But, as you know, this is how we make a living…
The hesitant, almost secretive tone, as if trying not to be overheard, made Doyoung chuckle.
“You keep this up, and you’ll lose even the means to maintain that livelihood. Listen to me.”
-Yes… sir.
The submissive reply came almost instantly as soon as he dropped the commanding air.
Still, the dragged-out tone at the end betrayed a lack of genuine enthusiasm, which clearly irritated him.
“It’s been a while since we’ve seen each other, huh? Have you gotten too comfortable because life’s treating you well now?”
-No way! Oh, heavens, I’m just so overwhelmed with joy that you reached out to us, sir, and it’s such a relief to know you’re alive and well!
Hearing Doyoung snort derisively over the line, the now-nervous support staff quickly added,
-Sir, uh, Zero, are you unwell or dealing with any significant issues…?
“You think I’m like you lot? I’m doing fine on my own, so don’t worry. And don’t go stirring up trouble unnecessarily.”
Doyoung snapped, curtly ending the call mid-sentence, ignoring whatever the staff was grumbling about.
Truthfully, he hadn’t planned on contacting them at all.
‘I can’t afford to take any action that might even remotely raise suspicions about connections to Antithesis.’
Before the organization disbanded, Doyoung had given Sarah explicit orders: find a separate way for his subordinates to sustain themselves.
She had kept her promise.
After Doyoung disappeared, she turned his floundering subordinates into errand center employees.
That very center was who he had contacted earlier—an all-purpose service hub.
‘Given the current atmosphere of suspicion, if word gets out that I’m stirring things up, they’ll latch onto it like a lifeline.’
They needed to lay low.
Even now, the screams and shouts of his former subordinates who had guarded his office were fresh in his mind.
Despite orders to retreat, they had stubbornly stayed behind, only to be brutally overwhelmed by the onslaught of hunters.
‘I won’t let that happen again.’
This time, he would ensure no one got hurt.
[We’ve emailed the details of your request. We hope to serve you again in the future. All-Purpose Service Center ♥♥]
Less than three hours later, a short message popped up on Doyoung’s smartphone, which he had been using to monitor various forums, including Hunters.com.
“Huh?”
The speed of their work was impressive, but the content left him speechless.
Chuckling incredulously, Doyoung realized they hadn’t even sent the account details for the payment.
He promptly called them back.
After a drawn-out exchange, he finally got what he wanted.
He transferred a sum three times the agreed amount and sternly warned them not to take on anything beyond minor errands.
The reply he received practically radiated sulkiness, even through text, but he deleted it without hesitation and reviewed the information they had sent.
“Nothing unexpected.”
The activities of the Dungeon Ecology Research Institute were consistent with the original storyline.
It wasn’t something to panic or be overly worried about, but it still left a bitter taste in his mouth.
“Why are they so obsessed with pinning everything on Antithesis? It’s obviously unrelated.”
To accuse the group of ties to Antithesis just because they disrupted guild activities in a dungeon was absurd.
It was proof of how significant his accomplishments had been, but it didn’t feel good.
‘Well, that was their goal from the start.’
Disruption was a solid tactic.
While people wavered in uncertainty, they would continue working toward their objectives.
‘I need to root them out before they escalate.’
The Dungeon Ecology Research Institute, operating in secrecy, would eventually trigger a major incident.
They would block a guild’s entry into an A-rank dungeon, causing a delay that allowed monsters to flood into the outside world.
The fact that the dungeon was near an urban area led to numerous civilian casualties, and the blame fell on the hunters for failing to act in time.
The public narrative shifted, criticizing the lack of properly established independent guilds as the root cause of the disaster.
* * *
Thanks
thanks for the chapter