I Became an NPC That Rankers Are Obsessed Over

“That’s a familiar face.”

At Dae-eun’s words, I frantically shook my head.

The high ranker smacked his lips as if unsure.

Luckily, he didn’t seem to remember that the girl he met at dawn was me.

At that time, I was wearing a mask and only showed my ID, so it was understandable.

So, as long as I don’t show my ID again this time, he’ll never recognize me.

As long as I don’t show it…

“Let me see your ID card.”

Of course…

If he finds out that I’m the girl he saw that day and Anna’s identity gets exposed too, we’ll both be labeled as accomplices without a doubt.

I have to stop this somehow.

“Um… I left my ID at home.”

I mumbled like a student caught trying to buy cigarettes at a convenience store.

I never thought the day would come when I’d say such a thing myself.

The high ranker’s eyebrows twitched.

It wasn’t the answer he wanted.

“Then there’s no choice. You’ll have to accompany me to the station.”

“To the station?! I really didn’t do anything…”

I looked at the customers with a pitiful expression.

Understanding my intent, they nodded and spoke up on my behalf.

“That young lady set off a smoke grenade and saved us. She was incredibly skilled.”

The male staff unnecessarily emphasized the word “skilled.”

“And that tall young lady defeated all the robbers with just a string.”

The female staff unnecessarily emphasized “just a string.”

They were clearly trying to prove our innocence.

But their overly honest stories only served to pique Dae-eun’s curiosity.

“I see… One of you subdued armed robbers with a string, and the other skillfully threw a rare smoke grenade.”

“Truly amazing individuals.”

Dae-eun smirked as he looked at us.

Anna nodded as if pleased with his compliment.

He’s mocking us… this psycho.

Dae-eun approached Anna, who had her hat pulled low.

He asked her for her ID as well.

“I also left it. At home.”

Anna replied indifferently, as if unaware that the man before her was the 7th-ranked swordsman.

Please, just stop provoking him.

“I see. Then there’s no choice but to have both of you accompany me to the station.”

He shrugged as if going to the station would solve everything.

He then issued orders through the radio on his belt.

“All units, move inside.”

At his command, armed officers equipped with carbines began to pour in.

They kept their guard up, maintaining their positions.

Everyone was wearing bulletproof vests, and those without guns wielded swords or magic, all at least B-rank hunters.

The robbers had seemed strong, but these officers showed no openings.

It was clear why the criminals had hurriedly left after robbing only the first floor.

The sight of them made my body tremble involuntarily.

Seeing my reaction, Dae-eun smiled reassuringly.

“No need to worry. We just need to check your identities to reward you.”

“Don’t need it.”

Anna cut him off firmly before I could respond.

Her cold and dismissive tone made the high ranker’s smile freeze.

In this country, only six rankers were above him.

Anna’s audacious attitude was undoubtedly something new to him.

Still, he was a public servant.

He tried to guide her as gently as possible.

“At least let us nominate you for a Courageous Citizen Award…”

“Don’t need it.”

Anna’s repeated blunt rejections pushed Dae-eun’s patience to its limits.

He sighed deeply and slowly approached her.

“That’s strange…”

Dae-eun tilted his head, trying to get a look at the face hidden under her hat.

His face no longer showed even a trace of a smile.

“Usually, people who avoid ID checks fall into one of two categories.”

The high ranker grabbed Anna’s hat.

“Either they’re illegal immigrants from China or Russia…”

The hat came off.

Anna’s pale skin and face were revealed.

Her high nose bridge and deep eyes were hardly characteristic of a Korean.

“Or they’re fugitives.”

Her white pupils, barely concealed by colored lenses, came into view.

The moment Dae-eun saw those eyes, he was sure.

“Isn’t that right, Anna?”

Like solving a long-standing puzzle, Dae-eun’s lips curled up.

The experienced ranker immediately placed his hand on his waist.

Anna didn’t just stand idly by.

As Dae-eun reached for his sword, she drew a dagger from her inner pocket.

And then…

“Stop there. Draw it, and this one dies.”

She yanked me into her arms, holding the dagger to my throat.

“W-Wait… Why me?”

Faced with the sudden blade, a startled voice escaped my lips.

But Anna paid no mind to my protests.

She pressed the sharp dagger against my soft neck.

“So, she wasn’t an accomplice…”

A security officer muttered in surprise at Anna’s sudden action.

Dae-eun raised his hands in the air, signaling no intention to attack.

Seeing this, the killer began to slowly back away from the ranker.

“It’s strange. Anna has never taken a hostage before.”

He approached cautiously, as if handling a cheetah that had escaped from a zoo.

In response, Anna smirked and pressed the blade deeper into my neck.

The cold sensation reached my skin.

Dark droplets of blood trickled down my collarbone, staining my shirt.

It was cold and painful.

“Alright, alright… I’m sorry.”

Seeing my half-closed eyes, the ranker backed away.

As if realizing I might actually die, sweat trickled down his forehead.

“What do you want?”

“Everyone, move 100 meters outside.”

Dae-eun slowly nodded and picked up his radio.

“All units, withdraw from the building.”

The heavily armed security officers tilted their heads in dissatisfaction.

But soon, they followed their leader’s order and stepped out into the sunlight.

“Now it’s just the three of us.”

“…”

“Do we really need to drag civilians into this? Let’s settle this like before, just between us.”

Anna scoffed at Dae-eun’s gentlemanly words.

“Like before, that blind bitch who was hiding isn’t going to pop out, is she?”

Is he talking about the blind assemblywoman from earlier?

She must have been a ranker-level individual too.

I swallowed the saliva that had pooled in my mouth.

Then I looked up at Anna, who was holding me.

My gaze trailed up from her defined collarbone to her fair neck.

Soon, her noble, sculpted face came into view.

The scent of strong soap enveloped my entire body.

That fragrance completely erased the metallic smell of my blood.

The killer seemed to notice my gaze and looked down at me slowly.

Her hazy eyes meticulously scanned every part of my body.

Eventually, her murky pupils stared directly at my chest.

Anna’s face inched closer to mine.

Soon, she whispered softly in my ear.

“You’ve been hiding something cute, haven’t you?”

“Uh…?”

My whole body froze as if struck by lightning.

Because Anna’s hand, which had been wrapped around my shoulder, began to move.

Her hand slithered down my collarbone like a snake, gently descending to my chest.

Her fingers followed the soft curve of my bra and slipped into the pocket on my chest.

Anna’s fingers moved sensually.

She caressed my chest and slowly pulled out a small black sphere.

The unfamiliar sensation made my whole body heat up.

But the killer seemed to forget she had touched me, simply placing the retrieved smoke grenade in her mouth.

Drool dripped between her teeth as she spoke.

“Nicely warmed up.”

Her half-lidded gaze fell upon me as she said those words.

I could feel the sticky sweat dripping all over my body.

Dae-eun stared at the sphere between Anna’s teeth.

Realizing what it was, he urgently reached out.

But in that instant, the killer bit down hard on the smoke grenade.

Gray smoke began to pour out of her mouth like a raging storm.

“Anna…!”

Dae-eun shouted.

This time, his voice was rough, no longer gentlemanly.

The well-heated smoke grenade was truly powerful.

Anna gripped my wrist tightly.

Then she quickly dragged me, running up to the upper floors.

The escalator had stopped working long ago.

She ran up it, leading the way.

She moved so fast that I almost tripped and got dragged along.

“W-Wait a second…!”

Why is she dragging me along? What is she planning?

Is she going to use me as a hostage again?

We’ve saved each other multiple times, but being treated as a hostage again feels unfair.

Unfair to the point of sadness.

But there’s nothing I can do about it.

That’s just how Anna is.

We passed the second floor and reached the fourth floor.

There was a sky terrace there.

It was a dead end with no elevators or emergency stairs.

“What are you planning to do here? Just turn yourself in. They’re not going to kill you, are they?”

I spoke, clutching my wildly beating heart.

But Anna lightly ignored my words.

She started taking off her fleece jacket.

Now in a sleeveless top, she walked to the terrace railing.

She looked down at the outdoor pool on the ground below.

A massive pool, colored aquamarine.

Anna muttered to herself, as if calculating something.

Then, as if she’d gotten the answer she wanted, she gestured for me to come over.

To come to her side.

I shook my head frantically.

I knew exactly what she was about to do.

Seeing my reaction, Anna’s expression turned frightening.

It was completely different from when she had pulled out the smoke grenade earlier.

Behind me, I could hear the sound of rough footsteps.

I knew it was the security team.

If I held out just a little longer, they would rescue me.

All I had to do was throw open the terrace door and greet them.

But… my legs wouldn’t move, exhausted from running so hard.

While I was trying to think, Anna’s shadow loomed closer.

“Such a disobedient child.”

With her nimble arms, she pulled my neck toward her.

I choked and struggled, but my body seemed to have already given in, helplessly being dragged.

The killer perched herself on the dizzying edge of the railing.

“—!”

Meanwhile, the long-awaited security team burst in.

Dae-eun rushed over, looking at us.

“Save me…”

I squeezed out my voice, crying desperately.

But the killer’s rough breathing drowned out my pleas.

“Anna!”

Dae-eun shouted.

And that shout became the signal for our fall.

My body tilted.

The sound of the air being torn apart roared in my ears.

I felt myself floating in the air.

The sheer terror was so overwhelming that I couldn’t even scream.

Perhaps sensing my fear, Anna pulled me into a tight embrace.

As we drew closer to the blue coral below, everything seemed to blur.

“—!”

The pool split like the Red Sea.

And soon, the entire world was submerged in blue.

My whole body felt as though it had been torn apart.

Maybe because of the impact, my mind started to go blank.

Ripples danced on the surface of the water.

I stared at them blankly before losing consciousness.