EX rank supporting role’s replay in a prestigious school-Chapter 982: Welcome (2)

Jo Yi-shin made several suggestions related to the Chinese team.

One of these was a proposal for a greeting.

While the Korea-China-Japan exchange competition preparations were ongoing, Jo Yi-shin advised Huang Ho to make contact with the Chinese team before the competition started, saying:

“The shadowy figure has once lured you to China using Cheongho’s robe, but failed. This time, they’ll use a more complicated and refined strategy.”

This was something Huang Ho had already expected.

On Christmas Eve, the enemy had tried to lure Huang Ho out of the Korean Peninsula.

If it hadn’t been for the meetings with Jo Yi-shin and the events up until now, Huang Ho would have left the Peninsula to search for traces of Cheongho.

According to Jo Yi-shin and Eun Ho, Huang Ho had actually headed to China in the simulation game "Plmago."

However, the situation had changed now.

No matter what bait the shadowy figure used, Huang Ho was confident he wouldn't be swayed.

“Certainly, that’s how they’ll approach it. But rest assured, I have no intention of leaving the Peninsula easily, no matter what bait they throw. I can’t abandon my duties.”

At these words, Jo Yi-shin gave Huang Ho an irritated glance for a few seconds.

This was the kind of response Jo Yi-shin gave when he had an issue, especially when he didn’t want to openly express his displeasure but still wasn’t thrilled about something.

Jo Yi-shin likely recalled the times when Huang Ho immediately followed him when he went to England or tried to go to the underwater palace near the border.

Considering the context, it was clear that Jo Yi-shin was thinking, ‘You say you wouldn’t easily leave the Peninsula, but you were quick to follow me back then.’

If I could read his inner thoughts more clearly, it would be satisfying, but for now, I decided to accept it as it was.

“I’m not saying you should fall for the bait.”

“Hmm?”

It seemed that Jo Yi-shin meant something else.

I looked at Baek Ho to see his reaction, as he had been unusually laughing a lot today. Maybe it was just my feeling, but he was sitting calmly, as if he already knew what Jo Yi-shin was about to say.

‘Baek Ho has been checking the Eunryeonggwan frequently. Has he gotten closer to Jo Yi-shin in the meantime?’

While Huang Ho had used both his main body and clone to attend school regularly, Baek Ho, despite being a 0th-class student, had never attended school even once.

Strangely, however, Baek Ho seemed to know a lot about Jo Yi-shin.

He was quick to interrupt Jo Yi-shin when he thought he might go off track or start thinking aimlessly.

When spending time together, one’s guard usually lowers, and it takes time to familiarize oneself with the other person’s expressions, gestures, and habits.

So, the more time spent together, the closer they get and the better they can read each other.

‘Could it be that Jo Yi-shin played games where Baek Ho appeared for a long time? No, Baek Ho shouldn’t have known about games from other worlds.’

As the keyword "other world" popped into Huang Ho’s mind, he paused in thought for a moment.

Crossing between worlds was not easy, but before Baek Ho lost his true name, he had held very special powers.

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Baek Ho had once wished to the Heavenly God for the ability to go anywhere.

Using that power, Baek Ho had tried to find Eun Ho, but in the end, it was Jo Yi-shin who held the key to returning Eun Ho to this world.

Something seemed to be clicking in his mind, but Huang Ho intentionally pushed those thoughts away.

‘Baek Ho lost his true name around the time the otherworld collision happened. The timelines don’t match up. And now, I need to focus on something more important.’

Setting aside his unclear thoughts, Huang Ho smiled casually and decided to prioritize listening to Jo Yi-shin’s plan.

“I wasn’t worried about getting caught. Go ahead, Jo Yi-shin. Tell me what you have in mind.”

From what Jo Yi-shin had just said, it seemed like he wanted Huang Ho to fall for the bait.

In reality, Jo Yi-shin had meant exactly that.

“Pretend to fall for the bait. If they judge that you won’t be shaken by any bait they throw at you, they’ll stop trying. That will make it harder for them to make a move.”

Jo Yi-shin’s intention became clearer.

The shadowy figure already knew that Huang Ho had stopped being complacent and was now responding with the Hojo family’s support.

However, the shadowy figure knew how much Huang Ho valued his friends and would use this against him if there was any chance.

And now, they had Cheongho’s body in their hands.

“There are too few clues. If we keep going like this, we may never find Cheongho’s body. Even if we eventually defeat the shadowy figure, we might never find it.”

Jo Yi-shin spoke ominously.

He had figured out that Cheongho’s body was likely in China, and thanks to Seong Hyeong-woo, the path it had taken was also tracked.

But despite thoroughly searching that path, they still couldn’t find Cheongho’s body.

The only clue they had was that it was highly likely in China, but since Huang Ho couldn’t use his clone in China and the land was so vast, it was unclear how long it would take or whether it could even be found.

Even if they uprooted the shadowy figure, there was a real possibility that Cheongho’s body would never be recovered.

In fact, if necessary, the shadowy figure might destroy Cheongho’s body right before their eyes to break the Hojo family’s will.

Jo Yi-shin understood this perfectly and made the following suggestion to Huang Ho.

“Actively confront the Chinese team and leak the information that you’re looking for Cheongho’s body using the robe as a clue. But you must show a firm attitude, making it clear that you’re not just after secondary clues like the robe but are directly after Cheongho’s body. Only then will you lure them out.”

Jo Yi-shin’s first suggestion was quite complicated.

But it wasn’t impossible.

It was a proposal from the Hojo family’s benefactor to help find a friend, and it had to be done.

“The valet parking attendant is parking the airbus the Chinese team boarded. They’ll be heading to the lounge soon.”

In the lounge of the hotel where the Chinese team would stay during the exchange competition, Huang Ho, disguised as Huang Myeong-ho, arrived with his assistant to meet them.

The assistant, with an expression as if wearing a mask, sent a hologram to Huang Ho.

The hologram displayed the names of the Chinese team members, along with their basic profiles and seating arrangements.

Of course, the information wasn’t provided by the Huang Myeong Foundation, but was directly obtained by the Hojo family’s intelligence team.

‘Half of them are from the Chengdu Player Training Center. Of those, five players have preservation skills, and all five have touched Cheongho’s robe.’

Huang Ho’s gaze darkened.

If this were the mythological era, and if he were younger, his response would have been very different.

If a friend’s body were at stake, he wouldn’t have conducted a preliminary investigation in such an indirect and gentle manner.

Instead, Huang Ho would have captured all the relevant people, handed them over to Kim Shin-rok, and would have interrogated them himself, gathering clues and immediately mobilizing the Hojo family’s elite to take action.

But the times had changed. Over the years, Huang Ho had gained a better understanding of humans and society and had grown attached to certain values.

That was why he was now carefully examining the hologram instead of immediately sending the bus into the Hojo family’s domain.

“One of the seats is empty.”

Huang Ho pointed at the empty seat in the hologram.

Next to the empty seat were details like the expected age and clothing of the person who would sit there, but there was no name or information about their abilities.

Instead of the expected answer, Huang Ho was met with an apology.

“I’m sorry. We couldn’t find any information about the person sitting in that seat.”

“I’ll need to see for myself. Understood.”

At that moment, both Huang Ho and his assistant looked up.

A shadow was silently slipping through the air vent in the banquet hall ceiling.

The shadow moved along the outline of the chandelier, so faint that it was difficult to discern with the naked eye, but the tigers couldn’t be fooled.

Huang Ho narrowed his eyes and stared at the shadow.

The ability signature matched that of a student from the Chinese team.

“There’s a mischievous student.”

Huang Ho deliberately spoke loud enough for them to hear and raised his finger toward the ceiling.

Paah!

He drew a short line that could barely be called a boundary, but the line quickly expanded and engulfed the shadow.

Huang Ho tied the shadow with a golden line and tossed it toward the banquet hall door.

Bang!

The door to the banquet hall flew open as the energy blast he threw hit it.

Two students, who had been eavesdropping by the door, tried to duck behind the door to hide, but before they could, they made eye contact with Huang Ho.

“Ah!”

“Busted.”

Huang Ho smiled at the students with the kind of expression that a good-natured principal might give.

The male student who had been playing with the shadow and startled, retracting his energy, was Lu Bowen (陆博文).

The female student, who had been sneaking around the door, was Yao Leqi (姚乐琪).

“Just like a principal of a prestigious school.”

Lu Bowen said nonchalantly, but his Korean sounded slightly awkward, perhaps due to his surprise.

Compared to the mischievous acts the 0th-class students had dared to commit against the principal, this was nothing.

While Huang Ho could laugh it off, he had to appear somewhat flustered this time.

As the leader of the Hojo family, anxious about finding his friend's body, he had to make sure this got to the enemy’s ears.

“Seems like you have a lot more to study than just Korean.”

Huang Ho spoke in a low voice, and the two students looked surprised, but there was no trace of fear in their expressions.

Though Huang Ho secretly admired their bravery and energy, he masked it with a slow, dark tone.

“I hope you’ll also learn some manners and humility during this exchange competition.”

As Huang Ho finished speaking, he noticed some people rushing toward the lounge from the hotel corridor.

It seemed like the coaches and students who were supposed to meet the mischievous students had arrived late.

Then, Huang Ho spotted a familiar face among the coaches.

Though most of his face was covered, the small part visible was enough for Huang Ho to recognize him.

‘Is that the one who occupies the empty seat?’

One of the individuals without a name listed in the bus seating arrangement was a very famous player.

He was one of the three grand crosses, the founding member of the Three Knights’ Oath, the team master and highest-ranking knight.

‘By now, they’ve probably met with the Chinese team. It will take some time for the reports to come in.’

While Huang Jiho was busy confronting the Chinese team, I was at the dorm.

After returning to the dorm with Eun Ho, having prepared for the Japanese team’s observation, I hadn’t left the dorm and was forced to rest.

Though I rested, I was still working on analyzing the strength of other teams and organizing data.

‘Now, I need to be more cautious when interacting with the tigers. If either the Chinese or Japanese teams find out about my relationship with the Hojo family, it’ll be dangerous. So, I’ll try to get the reports directly through Jeokho...’

Ding dong.

While I was lost in my thoughts, a message arrived on my device.

It was from someone related to my current thoughts.

[Hirano Seiji] “Hey Yi-shin, how’s it going? Do you have time now?”

[Hirano Seiji] “The teacher I mentioned last time, the one skilled in counseling, wants to meet you.”

It seemed my short break had just ended.