Episode 16. “What Kind of Guy is He?”

Boom!

“Wow! This is incredible!”

“See, I told you. This one’s a big score. Hehe!”

On the shattered road, men were grinning as they pulled money bags from a toppled black van.

Their faces were as if they had “I’m a criminal” written all over them.

“Come on, hurry up and grab the rest of the bags before the Guardians show up.”

“Those guys should just focus on the Gates. Why do they always interfere with this stuff?”

“Why do you think? It’s to stop Awakened ones like you from committing crimes. Hehe.”

“You crazy bastard, you’re the one who planned this whole thing.”

Wailing sirens echoed from afar.

“Damn. They’re fast.”

“Guess the Guardians aren’t here yet. Let’s get going.”

The men quickly loaded their loot into a large jeep truck and sped down the road.

Wailing sirens!

Soon, numerous police cars were in hot pursuit.

One of the fleeing men, a massive, muscular figure, leaned out of the window.

“Persistent bastards. They’re like mosquitoes chasing us.”

He extended his arm and uprooted a huge streetlamp.

Seeing his incredible strength, the police car leading the chase wobbled in panic.

“Get lost already!”

With a motion like throwing a harpoon, the man hurled the streetlamp at high speed.

Screech!

The police car swerved to avoid the flying streetlamp, flipped over, and crashed into the streetlamp embedded in the ground. Several police cars chasing the criminals overturned and smashed, turning the road into chaos.

But the chase wasn’t over yet.

More police cars appeared, sirens blaring, continuing the pursuit.

The criminals, unable to shake off the police as easily as they thought, began to grow anxious.

According to their plan, they should have already lost the police and disappeared by now.

“Damn, what if the Guardians show up? We’re screwed then.”

“So what? If the Guardians show up, we’ll just smash them.”

“You idiot. It’s not about winning or losing. If the Guardians show up, how do we escape? It’ll take ages to settle things. And if Captain Ma Seokgi from the 4th Division shows up, we’re all going to Chungju Prison. You know, that dreadful Chungju Awakened Prison.”

Gulp.

They all swallowed nervously without realizing it.

“Anyway, we just need to escape well. The fact that there’s no sign of the Guardians yet means our luck hasn’t run out. So stop jinxing it.”

“Y-yeah.”

Screech!

Contrary to their expectations, the road they entered was heavily congested.

The sirens were getting closer again from behind.

“What do we do?”

“What do you mean, what do we do? Damn it!”

The man at the wheel jerked the steering wheel sharply.

Their vehicle began to bump along the sidewalk.

“Ahhh!”

“Ahhh! Get out of the way!”

Crash! Bang! Boom!

Their vehicle plowed through sculptures, trash bags tied outside a store, and temporary booths, smashing everything in its path.

But the police couldn’t follow them onto the sidewalk.

The police officers quickly got out of their cars and grabbed their radios.

All they could do now was report the criminals’ direction and location to headquarters.

Ratatatatata!

A police helicopter finally took off to chase them.

In the worst-case scenario where the Guardians’ support was delayed, they were about to lose the criminals.

Unless a Hunter happened to pass by and take them down.

“That’s impossible.”

Where would such a Hunter suddenly appear from?

Even the Guardians weren’t here yet.

“Sigh. Damn it.”

The police who had chased them this far sighed deeply.

“Hehe!”

The criminals, having somewhat shaken off the pursuit, grinned widely.

“Come on, let’s head back and split the money.”

“Yeah, we can drink and party all night.”

Still speeding down the sidewalk, they noticed tables from a café.

Seeing them rushing in, most people quickly abandoned their coffee or tea and fled. But one man, wearing a hoodie and typing on a laptop, remained seated.

“What’s with that guy?”

“Who cares? He must have a death wish. Just run him over.”

They had no qualms about hitting someone with their vehicle, so they didn’t slow down.

“Get out of the way! Move!”

People who had fled shouted at the man calmly typing on his laptop, but he remained unmoved.

“Alright, finished one. Ugh!”

Just as the man stretched, placing his laptop on the table, the criminals’ jeep truck was about to hit him.

Swoosh.

The man in the hoodie extended his hand toward them.

Zzzzz.

Boom!

A massive barrier appeared, stopping the truck.

The truck crumpled as if it had hit a solid iron wall.

“Ahhh!”

With a crash, four criminals were flung out through the truck’s windshield, rolling on the ground.

“Ugh.”

They lay sprawled on the ground, unable to get up easily from the shock.

Meanwhile, the man in the hoodie muttered to himself as he packed his laptop into his backpack.

“…Who, who are you? Are you a Guardian?”

One of the criminals, barely standing, asked the man in the hoodie.

“Me? I’m a writer.”

“A writer?”

“Technically, a rookie.”

“A rookie writer?”

“Well, I haven’t launched any works yet… Maybe a failed one.”

Why does he look so gloomy all of a sudden?

The criminal looked dumbfounded.

“What are you talking about?”

“Anyway, there’s something… Huh!”

“What, what is it?”

The man’s face twisted suddenly.

“You, you.”

“Me? Me?”

“Because of you, I forgot the brilliant idea I just had!”

“Huh? What?”

Suddenly, the man’s eyes turned blue.

Boom!

The road flashed, and the surrounding pavement blocks shot into the sky.

“Ahhh!”

“My idea!”

The criminals screamed, and Tae Ihyun screamed along with them.

“…What kind of guy is he?”

Today, we have a special interview about the 12 Apostles, specifically the mysterious figure known as the Thunder Emperor. Despite his veiled identity, his popularity is arguably the highest among Hunters worldwide.

The interview was conducted by ‘Hunters,’ the world’s top Hunter-related magazine, under the supervision of the Korean Hunter Association.

Any content related to the Thunder Emperor’s privacy that he wished to keep undisclosed was agreed to be restricted by the Association.

Moreover, today’s interview was conducted under strict confidentiality, with the identities of the participants kept secret.

Despite the challenging conditions and environment, ‘Hunters,’ known for their pride, willingly accepted all the conditions and began the interview, given the subject was the Thunder Emperor.

The first interview began.

“Hmm, well, he’s just a uselessly strong, rotten little brother?”

Cut!

The elegant and beautiful red mage grumbled as she was dragged out.

The first interview ended so quickly that the ‘Hunters’ staff hurriedly rearranged the setting.

Soon, the second interview began.

“He’s a hero of humanity and a treasure of South Korea. It’s a pretty obvious statement, but isn’t it something everyone acknowledges? What’s scary is that no one has ever seen the limits of his power. As far as I know, the first time he unleashed all his power was against the Beast of Destruction inside the Chaos Gate.”

An elderly man, reminiscent of a white tiger, continued with a benevolent smile.

“The irony is that despite having such power, he doesn’t use it for personal gain. Isn’t that right? If he wanted, he could have any honor, power, or immense wealth he desired, but he’s not interested in those things. Some say it’s because he’s still young, but that’s nonsense. Just because he’s young doesn’t mean he lacks ambition. He’s that pure, unlike us.”

The old man spoke with a serious face, as if discussing a precious and valuable existence.

“Well, sometimes he does ask this old man for hard-to-get shoes or clothes. And the other day, he asked for a voucher for a restaurant I personally run. I mean, who has vouchers for a steakhouse? But he insisted, so I hurriedly made something similar and sent it to him. Haha, isn’t he a cheeky grandson? Like a thief’s mindset…”

Cut!

The owner of the giant shield was dragged out, telling a story that was completely different from the beginning. He still had more to say, but the Association’s response was swift.

The second interview, which seemed to be going well, ended quickly, and the third interview began.

“He’s definitely got a personality that’s beyond ordinary.”

The next person to speak was a handsome man with a refreshing smile and striking features.

His yellow-dyed hair suited him perfectly.

The ‘Hunters’ reporters were more nervous about him than anyone else.

This man was one of the few who could stand shoulder to shoulder with the Thunder Emperor.

Somehow, he had heard about the interview and volunteered to participate.

Of course, ‘Hunters’ was grateful.

“Once, the guild master of the largest guild in Mexico picked a fight with the Thunder Emperor. That guy was an S-rank himself, with over a thousand Hunters under his command, practically ruling Mexico. Though he was called a Hunter, his real job was being the boss of a cartel, doing all sorts of dirty deeds. People avoided and feared him because he was a maniac who would smash, kill, and destroy anything that annoyed him… Where was it again? America? That’s where they happened to meet.”

He nodded as if recalling an old memory and continued.

“Usually, before he goes into Thunder Emperor mode, no one knows he’s the Thunder Emperor. But somehow, that guy knew and picked a fight. It must have bothered him that a kid much younger than him was called the world’s strongest. The problem was, the Thunder Emperor wasn’t one to avoid such confrontations. So, do you know what happened next?”

A smirk crossed his lips.

“It didn’t even take half a day for that cartel boss to lose everything he had. Somehow, the Thunder Emperor burned down his house, cars, assets, and even his drug farms, then electrocuted over a thousand Hunters and showed up. The guild master realized something was wrong too late, but what could he do? He’d already lost everything. In the end, he charged in with tears of blood, only to be struck by a massive lightning bolt and knocked out. His clothes and body hair were all burnt off, and he was sent to prison naked. He’s still rotting in jail. Isn’t it amazing? Haha.”

The handsome man with yellow hair chuckled as if he found it amusing.

A reporter said they couldn’t quite imagine what it looked like.

He replied.

“It’s exactly like this. Normally, he has a completely indifferent face.”

He mimicked the Thunder Emperor’s expression as he continued.

“But when something goes wrong or he gets pissed off, he suddenly changes. Then, electricity crackles all around, and it’s chaos, just like the news footage showing now… Oh?”

In the awkward atmosphere, the handsome man with yellow hair stared blankly at the muted news on the screen on one wall.

It seemed the Thunder Emperor had caused another incident, just as he was speaking.