Chapter 52
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 052
Chapter Title: Gyeyang-gu Baron Kim Seok-hee - [3]
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Q. Have you heard the news that all the attackers were let go because the police failed to do their jobs?
A. I heard. Park Mi-hyeong, who's running for Incheon mayor as candidate number 2 in the upcoming election, was absolutely furious. I couldn't give out her council office number a moment ago—can I do it now?
Q. No. Forget her office number. How are you feeling right now?
A. Amused.
Q. I expected you to be down in the dumps, but that's unexpected. What's making you amused?
A. Nothing much. I was just thinking it would've been nice if the cops who came after me back when I broke that academy director's legs in high school had been this laid-back.
Q. Anything you'd like to say to the police about this incident?
A. Nothing to the police, but I do have something to say to Kim Seok-hee, the guy calling himself the Baron of Gyeyang-gu.
Q. Go ahead. What do you want to tell Kim Seok-hee?
A. Gyeyang-gu isn't some podunk barony—it's a full-fledged county. Calling yourself a baron when you're the lord of that land cheapens the prestige of Incheon's territory. I can't allow it.
Q. What does that even mean?
A. Kim Seok-hee should call himself the Count of Gyeyang-gu. Or, since it's a borderland next to the barbaric wilds of Seoul, he could go with Warden Count of Gyeyang-gu.
Q. Anything else you want to say?
A. Nope.
Q. If you keep pushing the Incheon Reclamation Project and the police stay as spineless as they were this time, more clashes are inevitable. Would you consider giving up the operation?
A. No plans to give up. Not even a little.
Q. Care to explain why?
A. Because I'm stronger than Kim Seok-hee.
Q. Could you elaborate?
A. I don't listen to the weak. If Kim Seok-hee wants me gone, he can come prove his strength himself.
I checked HuntWeb, and it was all about me.
Reactions ranged from awe like "Baby Mushroom Manly Guy lol scary" after seeing my interview to laments like "How can the country not help when he's working harder than what he's being paid?"
Amid all that, one post caught my eye, so I clicked it.
I'm a cop who got special hired as an Awakener and have 6 years of mandatory service—4 years left. As an active-duty officer, I'll explain the Kim Geuk situation. You won't be shocked by what the police did.
Why would cops risk their lives fighting Awakener criminals?
The motivated ones all died within two years of the Gates opening, taking on Deathclaws and armed robbers.
The survivors? They're just thinking about shaking down drunk drivers for bribes. Police popularity tanked, so they couldn't even fill half the recruitment quota this time. No fear of getting fired for slacking—who's gonna hustle?
As you know, cops don't touch online pad-lipping or sexual harassment reports anymore. In an era overflowing with armed robberies and mass shootings, wasting resources on hurt feelings online? Ridiculous.
Do they aggressively tackle major crimes? Again, the hard workers died in those first two years!
Cops won't even pretend to look for missing people now. "With how many go missing these days, how? It's a waste of resources." If someone's family reports suspected human trafficking, they just say "Probably a Deathclaw ate 'em, can't find 'em" and don't even send a patrol car.
It's all "Why risk my life for this pay?" mindset.
Inflation's insane, but public servant salaries are frozen. Morale's in the gutter. Cops are all mentally armored up thinking "If I get hurt on this pay, I'm the loser."
So don't expect heroics from the police. Even I, with Force Field Exoskeleton, have zero motivation on 400k pay. If someone reports a Deathclaw, I stroll around for 30 minutes, say "Nothing here~" and go back to mobile games.
The people's shield bragging about ignoring citizen dangers—tax thief bastard.
If you're pissed, pay me Hunter-level money too lol. I became a cop because I didn't wanna die fighting monsters, but residents keep reporting monster sightings at the station? That pisses me off already. And they make me respond every time without ignoring it? Cut me some slack, please.
Reading this really drove home how harsh the world had become. I kept scrolling through the various info posts on HuntWeb.
And that's when the absurd situation started making sense.
From what I gathered on HuntWeb, Kim Seok-hee is a powerhouse Awakener with Force Field Exoskeleton and Physical Enhancement.
Naturally, he climbed the Hunter ranks effortlessly, but his license got revoked over an accidental manslaughter.
One day, while driving, he got into a road rage spat with another driver, botched his strength control, and killed the guy.
That was the end of his Hunter career. Kim Seok-hee fled instead of getting arrested.
Police tried capturing him multiple times after, but failed miserably every time. No surprise—a bunch of regular cops taking down that monster of an Awakener?
Even wanted, he found a way to survive: rounding up other Awakeners whose abilities were going to waste because they couldn't Hunter for whatever reason, and forming a gang.
Kim Seok-hee didn't have any genius schemes or powerful backers running this outfit, but it had lasted over two years. Cops knew the base location but never dismantled it.
More like, they couldn't. Purely physically impossible.
His gang had three Force Field Exoskeleton users alone. Plus, Kim Seok-hee's own field was insanely tough—way beyond average. No cop anti-materiel sniper rifle or recoilless gun could pierce it.
To take them down, you'd need to level a whole building. TOW missiles, Hellfires, carpet-bomb with airstrikes—something extreme.
Of course, not worth it for mere thugs. Unrealistic to deploy the military full-force against cigarette-peddling punks.
In the end, police realized they were powerless against Kim Seok-hee's gang. Persistent apathy led to this mess.
So, my take on all this...
Like I said in the interview: amusing.
The thrill I felt watching Kang Jun-chi's video? Still buzzing.
Awakeners ignoring public authority because they trust their power? How perfect is that?
Just exhilarating. Especially since my life's police memories were all bad, and now they're this pathetic.
u there?
So when a message from Kim Seok-hee popped up, I could reply in the cutest tone with genuine cheer.
Looking for the magical girl Baby Mushroom who's protecting the village~? Of course I'm here~!
Can't you get serious? Situation's dire.
Whatever, you were acting all badass in the interview. Think that makes you cool?
Baby Mushroom isn't cool at all~! The heart of a small, young Baby Mushroom is warm~♡♥♡!!
Still with this crap...... You shouldn't be this rude to me from the start. Know why?
Why~? Baby Mushroom super curious!
You were a criminal record holder but got to Hunter thanks to the law change, right? Know who that's thanks to? All me.
Gov realized cutting off strong Awakeners for crimes worsens things—thanks to me. Me showing the higher-ups that convicts don't just rot in convenience stores after jail; they smash everything and find new paths. So now they changed the law: "Money if you Hunter instead of weird shit, convicts or not." Ain't this senior's grace profound?
Is that so~? Oppa, Baby Mushroom is so grateful~!!
Sending a kiss of love to grateful Oppa muah♡! Hooee, it's just on the cheek but Baby Mushroom's so shy
Fuck, seriously
I'll kill you
Still haven't grasped the situation? Don't you think you're screwed?
Baby Mushroom is scared, of course, but won't back down~! Small young Baby Mushroom has courage~!
Baby Mushroom is way stronger than Kim Seok-hee Oppa anyway lol
I'd provoked him good, but the response was ice cold.
You might be fine, but others around you could get hurt.
Remember that.
He was seriously pissed—or figured more talk was pointless—and the messages stopped.
A twinge of thrill mixed with unease hit me.
Is this guy threatening my people? Family's all dead or jailed, so only one group fits.
My Hunter team.
I skipped Park Mi-hyeong and called the Incheon mayor directly.
"Mayor? I'm in a bind. Could you possibly help?"
I explained the threat and begged for pull. Make the useless cops actually work.
The mayor seemed genuinely pissed too.
「I know how serious this is. Damn, world's changed and now gangsters are rotting City Hall. I have no face to show you, Kim Geuk.」
"So, will you help?"
「Of course! Government's usually against publicizing Awakener stuff, but it's on the news this time. Even apathetic cops can't slack like before. I'll do my best—I'll hound them to deploy properly......」
Of course, he knew trusting cops at this point was nonsense.
He promised public servants around my team's homes too. They couldn't stop trouble, but they'd report it instantly.
And sure enough, cops and officials got stationed around me and the team.
No midnight kidnappings happened, but I still wasn't at ease.