A heavy silence settled over the private jet.
It wasn't as noisy as before, but that didn't mean the situation had calmed down.
The cookie tin was still stuck to the ceiling.
Only one thing had changed: the aircraft's route.
Per Jinhyuk's demand, the jet was now flying toward Jade Dragon Snow Mountain.
Xiaochen sat back with her arms crossed, glaring at him.
Normally, she would've brushed him off and smashed his head into the wall without hesitation.
But she couldn't do that now.
Those faintly turning, gleaming eyes.
Xiaochen knew very well what kind of people had eyes like that.
The kind of lunatics who actually did what they said they would.
That brat didn't stick a bomb on the plane just to intimidate her.
If they didn't meet his demands, he really would set it off.
"Kid."
"Yes?"
"You think you'll get away with doing something like this to me?"
"Yes."
He answered so casually that she couldn't even be angry anymore.
"If you think the advantage you have now will last forever, that's your mistake. The moment you step off this plane, that bomb won't matter anymore."
"But right now we're still in the plane. And besides, you tricked me into getting on board, and as if that wasn't enough, you tried to force me to sign that contract. Pretty sure I can claim self-defense."
She almost screamed.
Since when was planting a bomb in a private jet considered self-defense?
Jinhyuk checked the flight path on the map app, then looked up.
He glanced between Jingyan and Xiaochen.
"By the way… is there no Wi-Fi?"
He wasn't asking to be snarky.
During the time his phone had been confiscated, he'd accumulated piles of CocoaTalk messages and missed calls.
He probably needed to reassure Seyeon and Jin Yunho so they wouldn't worry.
"Korean Air's business class had in-flight Wi-Fi, you know."
There was no way a jet this luxurious wouldn't have it.
Xiaochen stared at him, dumbfounded, then waved a hand.
And just like that, his phone picked up a signal.
"Oh, shoot."
What he'd seen earlier was only a fraction of what was waiting.
Messages began flooding in as if they'd been waiting in line.
There were even messages from Jin Seyeon and Yoo Suyeon.
He copied and pasted the same line to all of them:
I'm fine, so there's no need to worry.
The moment he sent them, their "1"s vanished, and a voice call came in.
"Hello?"
The bodyguards flinched, but Xiaochen shook her head, signaling them to leave it alone.
# How can you casually say hello like that?! Where are you right now?!
The audio cut a little, but they could still talk.
As expected of a private jet—excellent Wi-Fi.
"I'm on this person named Xiaochen's jet. She said she'd take me to my destination, so I hopped on."
# Yoo Jinhyuk?! This is Jin Yunho! Are you alright?! Are you sure there's no threat to your safety?!
"Yep, totally safe. It's my first time on a private jet, and it's nice."
Xiaochen's eyebrow twitched.
What was with this kid?
He could easily call for help if he wanted.
But the kidnapped party himself didn't seem to have the slightest intention of doing so.
"No issues at all. Oh—well, except one."
# There's an issue?!
"We're going to be flying for a while, but they're not feeding me. The business class seat I originally booked came with meals and snacks included."
Silence on the other end.
It wasn't that the signal had dropped.
They simply had no words for the absurdity.
"I'll enjoy the trip and come back. See you in Korea."
# Wait—hang on. Um… what do we do about this?
It seemed they weren't sure whether they should end the call or not.
"If the scenery is nice, I'll send you pictures from time to time. Thanks for worrying. Hanging up now."
Only after ending the call did Jinhyuk notice that the whole cabin's attention was now on him.
He shrugged and casually started browsing the web.
A bead of sweat rolled down Xiaochen's back.
Watching him like this, she was certain.
He's insane.
China, the vast land of the mainland.
There were always a few in China—those who called themselves the resident lunatics of their region.
Jinhyuk might very well be Korea's version of that.
Xiaochen let out a deep sigh.
"Jingyan."
"Yes."
"Go give him something to eat. And bring me a drink."
"Understood."
At this point, she had no choice but to accept it.
They had brought a serious problem onboard.
"So you really are a Runner. The way those people at the Hunter Bureau panicked when they heard you were on my jet makes that obvious."
"You know Team Leader Jin Yunho?"
"This isn't my first time taking a Korean player with me. Every time, he'd call and growl at me. That girl you called Seyeon—is she that Paladin?"
"Oh? You know quite a bit."
Xiaochen clicked her tongue lightly.
"Aren't you supposed to keep the fact that you're a Runner a secret?"
"If possible, yeah."
"And yet even after I found out, you're perfectly calm."
Jinhyuk smiled.
When he first started climbing the Tower, he'd done everything he could to hide his identity.
A level under 10, stats that matched, and the only skill he had was the Black Knight Order's basic swordsmanship.
If anything happened, he could only rely entirely on Seira.
But things were different now.
Kancho, Darc, Momo, and Elia had joined the party.
And compared to back then, Jinhyuk's power had skyrocketed.
He had no intention of crawling around trying to avoid the unavoidable.
Oh.
His eyes widened.
Just when the atmosphere threatened to turn awkward, the in-flight meal arrived.
A spread of luxurious delicacies.
They had refused to feed him even though they had this? How rude.
"Thanks. I'll enjoy it."
And he meant it.
He truly began devouring the meal with gusto.
Poke-poke-poke-poke.
Below the seat, Kancho stabbed his leg repeatedly.
Jinhyuk owed him for helping sneak the bomb into the bag, so he wanted to give him food—but Xiaochen kept staring, making it difficult.
Swish, swish.
He waited for the right moment and slipped pieces of meat under the table.
Kancho snapped them up instantly.
While the two of them polished off the meal together, a bodyguard approached Xiaochen.
"He's been stationed at Lijiang Airport."
She nodded.
Her anger had mostly cooled.
But that didn't mean she'd just let him go.
He knew her secret—that she was a Runner.
Even if he left, she'd make him spill how he managed such miraculous climbs.
"Whew."
After quickly finishing the meal, Jinhyuk sat back.
The portions were large, but sharing them made it a bit lacking.
Xiaochen took a sip of her drink and spoke.
"There's nowhere to land on Jade Dragon Snow Mountain. I was thinking we should head to Lijiang Airport."
"Nope. We're almost there. Just keep going."
"Did you not understand? If we can't land, it means you can't get off."
"I'll handle that."
They had left Incheon Airport barely three hours ago.
Through the window, snow-covered Jade Dragon Snow Mountain came into view.
Jinhyuk stood and walked toward the back of the jet.
It was the kind of spot where paratroopers jumped out in war movies.
"Wait—surely you're not—"
Xiaochen and the bodyguards shot to their feet as his eyes widened.
Jinhyuk didn't care. His hand moved toward the lever.
"If you touch that—"
Before she could finish, he pulled it.
With a deep mechanical whirr, the hatch began opening.
A blast of wind rushed in, and Jinhyuk squinted.
This is insane.
For a moment, he almost slammed the hatch shut and said he'd go to Lijiang after all.
But she's definitely prepared something there.
She had only given him that meal reluctantly.
She clearly had no intention of letting him go.
Which meant he needed a bold escape.
He swallowed hard and looked down at Hermes' Shoes.
I'm counting on you.
He turned back.
Everyone stared at him with a he wouldn't dare expression.
Jinhyuk smiled and waved.
"The thing on the ceiling? It's not a bomb. Anyway—bye."
"You—!!"
The moment she realized it wasn't a bomb, Xiaochen activated her ability and shot forward.
She reached out—
Whoosh!!
But Jinhyuk was already gone, vanishing into the night sky.
That fool!!
The current altitude was ten thousand meters.
No living creature could jump from that height and survive.
Even on this jet, only Xiaochen herself could land safely.
Jumping from here meant certain death.
And yet… why?
He should die.
He had to die.
Ba-thump.
Her heart pounded with a strange thrill.
Jinhyuk had leapt without a hint of hesitation.
Somehow—somehow, she felt like he might survive.
If it were that perfectly deranged madman, then maybe.
They said you couldn't even scream when something was truly terrifying.
Right now, Jinhyuk understood that perfectly.
Sure, I didn't have another option, but this was way too bold.
He scolded himself as he activated the ability of Hermes' Shoes.
Instantly, his weight dropped to under a kilogram, and he felt himself buoy upward.
He spread his arms and legs like a flying squirrel, slowing his fall a bit.
He was still plummeting, but far slower than before.
Wow.
Below him stretched the long ridges of snow-covered Jade Dragon Snow Mountain.
Even at night, despite the darkness, the sight was breathtaking enough for the word spectacle to come naturally.
My eyes are gonna freeze.
But with the wind slapping his face, enjoying the scenery was difficult.
He really should've stolen a pair of goggles on his way out.
Life is wild.
Not long ago, he'd been in a semi-basement pounding a keyboard for the chance to awaken.
Now he was doing a free-fall skydive from a ridiculous altitude.
Naturally, he had no intention of telling anyone.
If he told his parents or his younger sibling, they would say the same thing:
He was insane.
Seyeon or Jin Yunho would react no differently.
Why am I having fun?
Tears streamed from his wind-stung eyes, but a smile curled his lips.
Experiences he'd never even imagined possible—
for the first time, life felt genuinely exciting.
Not that he'd ever do a free-fall skydive again.
Once was more than enough.
He didn't know how much time had passed when the mountain loomed close beneath him.
Rustle.
At just the right moment, Seira manifested and caught him with both arms.
Dark energy gathered beneath her feet as she landed.
KUUUUUUUUNG!!
A massive boom echoed across the entire mountain.
Snow erupted upward in a blinding spray from the shock.
"You alright, Master?"
"Perfect."
Still held in a princess carry, Jinhyuk gave a thumbs-up.
Tears continued down his cheeks, but his body was completely unharmed.
"Thanks, Seira."
He stepped out of her arms and stood on the mountain.
The snow was so deep that without reducing his weight, his legs would've sunk straight in.
Standing on a high ridge, Jinhyuk inhaled deeply.
He had arrived at Jade Dragon Snow Mountain.
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T/N:
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