Chapter 150: Mission Successful.. Well almost
The frightened eyes of Sarang widened slightly.
Nobody slowly stepped closer, staying hidden from the others. He crouched beside the chair and carefully loosened the ropes. "Can you walk?"
Sarang gave a small nod.
"Good. We’re leaving together."
Just then...
Footsteps echoed from the other side of the warehouse.
"They fixed the power yet?"
"No!"
"Find the kid!"
Nobody looked toward the nearest emergency exit. Only a few meters away. He gently guided Sarang behind a row of large wooden crates. "Stay close."
The child nodded again.
A moment later, the warehouse lights flickered back on.
The kidnappers immediately noticed the empty chair. "The kid’s gone!"
"What?!"
"Search everywhere!"
Confused voices filled the warehouse as they scattered in different directions.
Meanwhile, Nobody and Sarang slipped through the emergency exit into the cool night air.
The city lights stretched across the horizon.
Sarang looked up at the crimson bunny helmet. "...Are...are you the Bunny Hero?"
Nobody chuckled quietly. "Some people call me that."
The child smiled for the first time that night. "I knew someone would come."
Nobody looked toward the distant skyline. "You’re safe now. But we’re not finished yet."
A new System notification appeared.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
Objective Complete
Sarang Rescued Successfully.
New Objective:
Ensure the child’s safe return.
Further investigation into the kidnapping network is recommended.
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Nobody glanced back at the warehouse. Something told him this wasn’t an isolated incident.
The cool night breeze swept through the narrow alley behind the warehouse.
Sarang stood close to Nobody, still clutching the sleeve of his crimson suit. Her small hands trembled despite the rescue. Every distant shout from inside the warehouse made her flinch.
Nobody lowered himself to one knee so he wouldn’t seem intimidating. "Can you tell me where you live?"
Sarang hesitated before quietly answering. "...Maple Street."
Nobody nodded. "And your parents?"
"They’re... they’re probably looking for me."
"I’m sure they are." A faint smile appeared beneath the bunny helmet. "We’re going to make sure you get home."
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Escort Objective
Destination:
Maple Street
Distance:
6.2 Kilometers
Threat Level:
Unknown
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Nobody stood. "System. Scan the surrounding area."
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Scanning...
No immediate hostiles detected.
Warning:
Warehouse occupants have begun pursuit.
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"They’re coming." He looked around before spotting a maintenance ladder leading to a neighboring rooftop. "Come on."
Sarang blinked. "...I can’t climb that."
Nobody crouched again. "Then I’ll carry you."
The girl hesitated for only a second before wrapping her arms around his shoulders.
"Hold on tight."
"Okay..."
Whoosh!
With one powerful jump, Nobody reached the ladder and climbed effortlessly. A second leap carried both of them onto the rooftop.
Far below...
The emergency exit burst open. "The kid escaped! They couldn’t have gone far! Search every alley!"
Flashlights swept across the streets.
Nobody remained completely still behind a rooftop ventilation unit. Sarang instinctively covered her own mouth to avoid making any noise.
One of the kidnappers shined his flashlight across the rooftops. "...Nothing. They probably ran toward the station."
"Split up!"
The group scattered.
Only after their footsteps disappeared did Nobody move again. "Good." He continued sprinting across the rooftops.
The city stretched endlessly beneath them. Billboards illuminated the skyline. Trains crossed elevated tracks. The sounds of nightlife echoed below.
For Sarang, everything blurred together. She had never imagined someone could move this fast. "...Mr.Bunny?"
"Hm?"
"Are... are you a superhero?"
Nobody laughed quietly. "I wouldn’t go that far."
"But... you saved me."
"I simply helped someone who needed help."
Sarang thought about those words. "...Then that’s what heroes do."
Nobody didn’t answer. Instead, he kept running.
After several minutes, they landed on top of an apartment building overlooking Maple Street.
Below...
There were police cars, an ambulance and dozens of worried neighbors. Several officers questioned witnesses while volunteers searched nearby streets. Near the center stood a woman crying uncontrollably as a man tried to comfort her.
Sarang gasped. "Mom..." Tears instantly filled her eyes.
Nobody followed her gaze. "I guess we found them." He activated Mind Reader without meaning to. Fragments of emotion flowed into his mind.
"Please let my daughter be safe..."
"I’ll do anything..."
"It should’ve been me..."
Nobody slowly closed the skill. He didn’t need to hear anymore. He understood. He looked at Sarang. "Ready?"
The girl nodded repeatedly.
Nobody carried her down the fire escape until they reached a quiet alley only a short distance away.
He gently set her on the ground. "Go."
Sarang looked back. "...Aren’t you coming?"
"I’ve got somewhere else to be."
"But..." She stepped forward and hugged him tightly. "...Thank you, big brother!"
Nobody froze.
For a moment...
His thoughts drifted back to Toma. Back to the frightened girl she once had been.
He slowly returned the hug with one hand. "Stay safe."
Sarang released him before running as fast as she could. "Mom!"
The crying woman looked up. "...Sarang?"
For a split second...
She couldn’t believe her eyes. Then she sprinted forward. "My baby!"
Mother and daughter collided in a tearful embrace. The father rushed over moments later, wrapping both of them in his arms. Nearby officers sighed in relief.
One policeman quickly called over the others. "She’s safe!"
Cheers erupted among the volunteers.
Several people looked around. "Who brought her back?"
"I don’t know."
"The child came from that alley."
One officer hurried toward it. But...The alley was empty. Only a faint crimson scarf thread fluttered away with the wind before disappearing into the darkness.
High above...
Nobody watched quietly from another rooftop. "...Mission complete."
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
Escort Mission Completed
Rewards Granted
+500 EXP
+350 POINTS
Reputation Increased
Title Progress Updated:
Guardian of the Night
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Nobody smiled. "Nice."
Suddenly...
Another notification interrupted him.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
Hidden Quest Updated
Analyze Evidence
Investigate the warehouse.
The kidnappers are only a fragment of a larger organization.
Time Limit:
72 Hours
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"...I figured." He turned toward the warehouse district once more. Something still bothered him. The kidnappers had panicked too quickly.
Almost as if...They weren’t worried about losing Sarang. They were worried about something else.
"...System."
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Awaiting Command
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"Show me every reported child disappearance in Alkon City over the last six months."
The System processed the request.
Processing...
Processing...
A massive holographic map spread across the night sky.
One...
Five...
Twelve...
Twenty-three...
Red dots continued appearing across different districts.
Nobody’s expression gradually hardened. "...No way."
The number kept climbing.
Thirty-one.
Forty-four.
Fifty-eight.
Sixty-three.
The city map was now littered with crimson markers.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
Confirmed Missing Children
Past Six Months
63 Cases
Recovered:
11
Still Missing:
52
Pattern Detected
Probability of Organized Criminal Activity:
98.7%
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Nobody stared silently at the display. His grip on the crowbar tightened. "This wasn’t about one child." His voice became quieter. "This city has been bleeding for months..."
Nobody stood alone on a rooftop, unaware that his rescue of one child had just drawn the attention of the mastermind behind Alkon City’s largest trafficking network.
......
Far away, hidden beneath the glowing skyline of Alkon City, inside an abandoned underground facility. A large monitor suddenly flashed red.
WARNING
Warehouse Cell 7 Failed
Deep beneath the abandoned facility. Silence filled the command room.
The only sounds were the low hum of computers and the rhythmic blinking of hundreds of monitors. Each screen displayed a different part of Alkon City: train stations, ports, highways, warehouses, and deserted factories.
The man in the black suit folded his hands behind his back. "Bring me the report."
One of the masked subordinates stepped forward and handed him a digital tablet. "Our North River warehouse has been compromised."
"Casualties?"
"None confirmed, sir. All six operatives escaped before the authorities arrived."
The man’s expression remained calm. "And the child?"
"...Rescued."
A brief silence followed.
The man chuckled. "Hm."
The subordinate looked confused. "Sir?"
"Do you know why I chose that warehouse?" The subordinate shook his head. "It was never important." He tapped the holographic city map. "It was merely bait."
The monitor zoomed out, revealing dozens of similar warehouses scattered throughout Alkon City.
"If one branch falls..." His finger moved to another glowing red marker. "...another continues operating. And if that one falls..." Another marker lit up. "...ten more remain."
The room fell silent.
"Our organization isn’t built around buildings. It’s built around information." He smiled faintly. "And information is much harder to destroy."
Just then, another masked operative hurried into the room. "Sir!"
"What is it?"
"The police have already secured the North River warehouse."
"And?"
"They recovered almost nothing." The man nodded as though he had expected exactly that. "Good."
The masked man said,"Sir, every document was burned automatically the moment communication was lost. No fingerprints, no digital records and no names."
He looked toward one of the larger monitors. Only a blurry security camera image remained. It showed a crimson figure carrying Sarang out through the emergency exit. The image was grainy, but the distinctive bunny helmet was unmistakable.
"So...The viral vigilante is the one responsible for all this." His voice was calm, almost amused. "You’ve become quite troublesome."
Another subordinate spoke carefully. "Should we begin eliminating witnesses?"
"No."
The black-suited man answered immediately. "Fear creates mistakes. Patience creates opportunities." He enlarged the blurry image. "Besides...I’ve finally found someone interesting."
Far above the underground facility...
Nobody continued moving across the rooftops, completely unaware that he was being observed. The moonlight reflected off his crimson visor as he looked over the sleeping city. "So many children..." He quietly muttered. "Fifty-two are still missing."
His chest felt unusually heavy. He had saved one. But fifty-two families were still waiting for someone to knock on their door with good news.
He clenched his crowbar. "...I’ll find every single one of them."
At that exact moment...
The System suddenly chimed.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
Hidden Title Progress Updated
Children’s Guardian
Current Progress:
12/100 Rescued
Reward upon Completion:
???
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Nobody blinked. "Twelve?" He frowned beneath the helmet. "I’ve rescued that many already? I guess it was a few months ago."
He hadn’t been keeping count. To him, every rescue had simply been another person who deserved a second chance.
A small smile appeared beneath the visor.
"...Guess we’ve got eighty-eight more reasons to keep going."