Chapter 33
Chapter 33
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Translator: Silver Dragon
Chapter: 32
Chapter Title: The Company Isn't a Space for Self-Realization!
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“...”
A ferocious wind howled, as if foretelling the ominous signs yet to come. Owl and I stared at each other in silence.
“Ha.”
A short laugh tugged at the corner of Owl's mouth. It wasn't embarrassment or discomfort. If anything, it was just the right amount of shame.
“Words are—! All said! It happens! No way!”
Owl's voice remained the same as ever.
It was undeniable fact that he was injured, and that he had crossed a river he could never return from as a singer.
“Like this—! Like this—! Your phone number?! I'm—touched—!”
“If you're touched, then I'm glad. But we still have to address what needs addressing.”
Cigarette smoke mingled with the mist from the Twilight River, swirling chaotically. The boatman in his wide-brimmed hat urged us wordlessly to board, showing not the slightest interest.
“Ha, no—words—left!”
Judging that further talk would do no good, Owl decisively turned away.
His steps toward the boatman grew hurried.
“Where do you think you're going, Mr. Owl?”
I strode forward, and naturally, the bodyguards blocked my path.
“Hey, Juseon, that's enough now.”
“Seriously, what is this situation?”
“I don't know why, but just stop.”
The bodyguards' expressions were predictably sour. Especially Beta Team, who had spent the last three days with me—their movements carried hesitation.
In the end, Supervisor Gangbaram stepped forward with a sigh.
“I get your point. But it's all just speculation, right?”
“Opium den.”
One word, and Owl's steps halted with a flinch. When he turned back, his eyes were fiercer than before—pure menace.
“The doctor yesterday said symptoms like yours are showing up in opium den addicts in the western Old Martial World.”
“Opium den... drugs?”
Drug enforcement was crucial, and even on 3rd Floor Earth, the FDA poured massive resources into it.
But it was complicated.
On 4th Floor Rajesta Continent, drugs were basic, easy to classify.
Conversely, 6th Floor Cyber City was lenient and overwhelming in that regard.
Injections, pills, cigarettes, then candies, vapors, audiovisual files, even sex toys.
New ones kept flooding out, so the FDA was throwing everything at classifying Cyber City's drugs.
Most news stories on the topic came from Cyber City—utterly unmanageable.
In this mess, 5th Floor was a gray zone.
They existed, but weren't overly cracked down on.
“Drugs made on 5th Floor smuggled to 3rd Floor. Things like Transformation Pills—the customs office can't even properly judge them.”
“Where—! Proof?! Spreading—false rumors—!”
“The herbalist from yesterday. Tai Chi Yin-Yang Sect is hunting him down right now.”
The expression fit perfectly: once your vision flips, everything else looks off too.
The herbalist I'd seen in the hallway yesterday had bowed his head low enough to show his crown as he left.
Back then, I'd thought it was just Baek Yeonhwa's affection toward me.
But no.
What if he was someone who couldn't let her see his face?
What if he'd fled like that for real?
“Tai Chi Yin-Yang Sect will find him soon. Just wait a bit.”
At my words, Owl thumped his chest in frustration.
“Board—! Suspect me—!? Why would I—!”
Owl tried to leave again.
The boatman waited indifferently, as if detached from worldly concerns.
Once he reached Immortal Peach Paradise, we couldn't touch him.
But Supervisor Gangbaram's hand still rested on my shoulder.
“Stock manipulation, opium dens. I understand why you're saying it, but it's all still just guesses.”
“...”
“You haven't forgotten what I said at the start, right?”
In any situation, we prioritize the client.
Unlike the Association, remember we're not working for the public good.
Supervisor Gangbaram's words were Blackline Risk's creed—their management philosophy.
They handled what the Association couldn't.
“Until a court ruling proves guilt, Mr. Owl is an innocent citizen under presumption of innocence. And we're here to protect clients.”
A wall went up in front of me.
A wall of people in black suits.
Suddenly, Ryu Seram's question from yesterday came to mind.
What do you think of my kids' skills?
Just looking at them, could you take them down?
Questions I'd brushed off then.
If I had to answer—
“I could.”
A dull thud buried my reply.
In the blink of an eye, Supervisor Gangbaram lay on the ground.
It was something my father always said.
No matter how trained, the human body has unavoidable weak points.
“How did—?!”
The supervisor hadn't even realized how he'd gone down.
Likewise, before the others could scream, he took a punch and blacked out.
“Su-Supervisor!”
“Juseon, you've crossed the line!”
“Nngh—.”
I rolled my shoulders amid their warnings, frowning at the ache between my brows.
Taking down the veteran supervisor with a surprise attack left the rest easy, but I'd overdone the burst acceleration.
The physical strain was more than expected.
“Stiff...”
“Kim Juseon, even now—!”
People are funny.
They'd just seen me drop one with super acceleration, yet they let their guard down because I was loosening my shoulders.
I'd tricked plenty at the hunter training center with this.
Smack!
A knee strike imprinted on the dwarf Deadral's face.
Before the others could react, I moved to the next.
Crack! Smack!
It was always like this.
Knocking out people was far easier than killing beasts.
“Grab him with telekinesis!”
“I'm trying—!”
The telekinetic trying her best crumpled from a gut punch.
She was too used to facing opponents versed in duels with amazing women for ordinary telekinesis to hold me.
There was an awakener who hardened his body like steel. He curled into a ball and charged like a boulder, shouting.
“It repels blades and bullets! You should've knocked me out first!”
Bold words, cliché exposition. Rookies without experience often pulled that.
No different from a dog barking to prove its strength.
The problem was I had no way to break through it—
“Who needs to break it?”
I snatched the collar of the fallen telekinetic and hoisted her up.
Small-framed woman—light enough to worry if she ate properly.
Whoosh!
Made for an easy toss.
“You crazy bastard!”
The charging man urgently released his hardening to catch her. If he'd collided as is, it'd be like her getting hit by a speeding car—smashed.
Smack!
I exploited the gap, stabbing a punch into his side to cut his breath.
“Huh, guk?!”
Lately, I've been in a lot of fights.
Starting with Geum Tae-min, then Baek Yeonhwa.
And now.
Especially these bodyguards—similar or a notch below the training center kids from back then. It brought back those days.
The human-killing techniques Dad taught me, curb-stomping at the training center... that childish era.
The Twilight River mist cleared, revealing the bodyguards sprawled on the ground.
Owl, not expecting this turn, panicked—but he had his ace up his sleeve—
“Wow.”
3rd Floor's top-tier powerhouse.
One of the Seven Apex Hunters, Ryu Seram approached with a sly grin.
“Your skills haven't rusted yet, Juseon.”
The sly smile lingered, stretching even longer than before.
Looking at Ryu Seram, the happiest I'd seen her in these three days—
“Your personality hasn't changed either.”
It felt just like old times.
As for when I started suspecting Owl—honestly, it wasn't long ago.
Good instincts aren't omniscience.
But pinpointing the moment—
Let's rewind the story.
Way back to the beginning.
When you trash Meracle, come earn pocket money on our side as a temp. I'll pay you well.
Probably that.
Afterward, Ryu Seram kept telling me.
You have good instincts.
I'd brushed it off then, but once things lined up, it didn't sound like mere praise.
“Get into stance quick.”
Back-to-back accelerations left my arms burning.
Heat in my joints felt like melting bones.
The strain made further acceleration risky.
But fighting her felt the most at ease.
Like acing a perfect test.
Back to it.
Why did Ryu Seram bring me on this mission as a temp?
Knowing the insiders wouldn't approve, why use me as a bodyguard?
Why keep asking about 'anything unusual,' emphasizing 'you have good instincts'?
As we charged at each other, our eyes met.
“Thought you hadn't noticed, top student.”
She grinned happily.
Even without acceleration, my fist slammed true into Ryu Seram.
“USB in my bag. Grab the evidence I collected.”
Smack!
She crumpled all too easily, whispering as she fell.
“This is why people call you President. I can't use the company as a soapbox for self-realization or ideology. You know that famous line?”
Doing what you want behind the company's back is this tough?
Presidents really are the best.
“Shut up and help catch him. He's bolting for the boat.”
I sighed at Ryu Seram's urging, feigning unconsciousness with a soft reply.
“Count this as overtime.”
Ryu Seram's limp hands flipped me the bird.