Chapter 373: Kang Taewoo’s Secret Plans

Joo Joowon: "Huh?"

He felt as though he had used up his entire day’s supply of shock on this one conversation.

Joo Joowon had wondered why Kang Taewoo had a patchwork color scheme. Perhaps it was because it had been a horror-themed stuffed toy before it gained sentience. Alternatively, maybe one of its parents had been red while the other had been black. There was also the possibility that Kang Taewoo was like a cat with a chimera coat, with different colors appearing on different parts of its body.

However, he had never imagined that the colors came from a replacement.

What was this supposed to be? Plastic surgery? Putting on new clothes? Getting a new look?

Joo Joowon hesitated before asking, "Then why didn’t you replace all of it?"

"Why would I replace all of it?" Kang Taewoo asked in confusion. "If I replaced everything, wouldn’t I become a black bear? My dad, my mom, my eldest sister, and my second older brother would definitely start suspecting that I wasn’t their biological child. If that happened, how would anyone recognize us as a family of bears?"

Joo Joowon was at a loss for words. "Does your family really identify each other by color?"

"There are also our names." Kang Taewoo had not noticed Joo Joowon’s speechlessness at all. It even seriously added another explanation.

"All right, then."

Joo Joowon felt that there was no point in getting tangled up in the customs of another race. He opened the map and took a look. The moment he saw that Byeol had almost reached the foot of the back mountain, his spirits immediately lifted.

"Um... Take your time eating. I have something to do, so I need to go out for a while."

Although Byeol believed that there would be no problem with a cat like him entering Hwarim Nature Reserve alone, a mother would always worry about her child when they traveled far from home. Unless Joo Joowon personally went over to check on Byeol, he would find it difficult to feel at ease.

There were not many dangers around the outskirts of Hwarim, but that did not mean there were none at all.

Byeol was only a low-level cat. He was not a combat-oriented cat like Hwi, so Joo Joowon found it difficult to stop worrying about him. This was true even though Byeol was not completely helpless and had the protection of his fate.

Joo Joowon quickly stuffed the remaining food into his mouth, wiped his lips, and left.

Kang Taewoo paused with its bowl in its hands. The moment it saw the direction Joo Joowon had gone, it was so shocked that it nearly jumped to its feet.

As an NPC who regularly went on field missions, Kang Taewoo naturally had ways to protect itself. After all, it had never intended to share life and death with a Lord it had only been temporarily recruited by.

Therefore, Kang Taewoo also knew which directions around the territory were the most dangerous. When it saw the direction Joo Joowon was heading in, it immediately became restless.

The previous Lord who had recruited it had been killed by a monster while out exploring. As a result, the system had determined that Kang Taewoo had not spent enough time inside the territory. It had directly declared the recruitment contract invalid and used that as an excuse to pocket its recruitment fee without paying it.

And this Lord seemed even less reliable than the previous one. Was it going to end up working for nothing again this time?

The game was not a kind soul. As long as an NPC had not fulfilled at least half of the required recruitment period, the game would not leave the NPC a single coin from its recruitment fee. It would pocket the entire amount. No matter how many times the NPC complained or submitted feedback, the game refused to change its ways.

And this time, Kang Taewoo had only been here for one day!

Kang Taewoo looked at its own bear paws with tears in its eyes. It had chopped so many trees that the fur on its palms was almost worn bald. Once it returned, it would have to buy growth solution to make the fur grow back. If it failed to earn any money this time, it would even have to pay out of its own pocket. How was a bear supposed to survive like that?!

After struggling with the decision for a while, Kang Taewoo put down its bowl with the determination of someone marching to their death and changed into a stealth outfit.

If the danger this Lord encountered was not too serious, it would step in and help. It could consider it a favor done because their naming customs were somewhat similar.

If the danger was too great, it would simply pretend it had never come here.

Sometimes, earning money was not worth the trouble.

Leaving its bear costume behind, Kang Taewoo changed into the Night Stalking Bear, Limited Edition outfit, then quietly followed after Joo Joowon.

Meanwhile, Joo Joowon had not followed Byeol too closely either.

Cats were highly sensitive to even the slightest changes in the air and movements around them. If he got too close, Byeol might notice his presence despite the considerable difference in their levels.

Therefore, Joo Joowon followed from a distance, using the map to observe Byeol’s route.

As the Lord, no one could find his location on the map unless he wanted them to.

However, Joo Joowon did not merely focus on Byeol’s movements through the map. He was also somewhat wary of Kang Taewoo, the newly arrived NPC, so he kept an eye on its movements as well.

Thanks to this cautious approach, Joo Joowon noticed that not long after he left, the green dot representing Kang Taewoo flickered once.

He would not let any abnormality slip past him, so this immediately caught his attention.

Seong Seungmin whose from the Risk Zone was very interested in the resources of the new world. However, Joo Joowon did not believe that an NPC like Kang Taewoo, which had an ’official background’, would have no interest in them at all.