Chapter 93
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 093
Chapter Title: Ice Awakeners - [1]
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In Korea, crimes committed by Ice Awakeners get sniffed out incredibly easily and way too often. Even though, if they really put their minds to it, they could pull off perfect murders without a trace.
Most of the time, these Ice Awakeners get busted before they even commit the actual crime.
It usually happens when they pick up a hit job from some shady website.
These days, the police don't bother investigating run-of-the-mill cybercrimes anymore. But that doesn't mean they've lost interest in the internet—not by a long shot.
A huge chunk of the cybercrimes unit is now dedicated to hunting down wannabe superpowered assassins lurking online.
So, some poor Ice Awakener thinks using their powers means they can kill without leaving evidence, grabs a hit from a sketchy site, shows up to meet the client... and nine times out of ten, ends up face-to-face with undercover cops pretending to be the client.
That was exactly the kind of case Officer Jinbeom handled.
Whenever an Ice Awakener's attempted hit got flagged online, he'd roll out with his fellow officers.
And when it came to taking one down head-on, Jinbeom was the guy for the job. Because if a cornered Ice Awakener lashed out with their powers, it wouldn't work against another Ice Awakener like him.
Now, the very same Officer Jinbeom who did that work was being framed as a murderer himself.
"It's a setup!"
I picked up where Jinbeom left off.
"A setup, huh."
"Yeah, a setup! My so-called colleagues never liked me anyway! Back when Gates first started opening, I awakened kinda late in life and got fast-tracked into the station as an Awakener."
"Yeah, you mentioned that last time. And?"
Jinbeom launched into a loud tirade.
"That's when those cop bastards started hating on me! At first, they were all curious about the special hire. But once they figured out my powers were pretty useless, they started treating me like I didn't exist..."
I winced at the word "useless," but Jinbeom kept venting.
"Then, since my health's crap and I can't pull night shifts, they got pissed about that too! With my stamina being so low and no driver's license, they couldn't assign me jack, so they bitched about it... You get the picture."
"So, you were the station outcast?"
"Exactly! The only job that kinda fit me was handling those superpowered crime cases. I busted my ass on those, but even that wasn't good enough for those assholes—they're straight-up trying to bury me now..."
Come to think of it, during that suicide stunt last time, the cops' attitude toward Jinbeom wasn't how you'd treat a fellow officer.
If they trusted him not to turn on them, they'd have rushed upstairs to talk him down. But when I got there, every last one was hiding behind the walls. Looked like Jinbeom's relationships at the station were absolute trash from the start.
"So, what exactly are they pinning on you?"
"They say I murdered a colleague I was out on a call with!"
Jinbeom bellowed, then started rambling incoherently.
His story was all over the place, but it boiled down to this:
"So, you and a colleague were called out to nab an Ice Awakener who took a hit job online... your partner drops dead, and boom—they pin it on you?"
"Yeah!"
"Any evidence?"
"Nope! The only 'proof' is that no other Ice Awakener showed up on nearby CCTV besides me. Does that even make sense?"
Jinbeom pleaded, and I replied.
"Doesn't make a lick of sense. Obviously."
"Right? They hate my guts, so the second something suspicious pops up, they jump on it to screw me over. So, you gonna help me out?"
"Of course. Leave the lawyer stuff—or whatever—to me."
I said it, and Jinbeom stared at me with desperate eyes. Tears like chicken shit plopped down from them.
"If this had happened a few months from now, things might've been different. They've promised to introduce the anti-Awakener discrimination bill soon..."
I elaborated. That upcoming law might influence things even before it passed.
Because right now, convicting Ice Awakeners without hard evidence wasn't some special statute—it was just the national policy dictating shitty rulings. If that policy shifted ahead of the new law, who knew what ripple effects it could have.
But Jinbeom shot back in a voice thick with sobs.
"But from what I hear, they're still handing down convictions without evidence in Awakener cases lately..."
"Really?"
"Yeah... I handled those cases, so I know..."
I sighed again and said,
"Anyway, trust me. I don't know how the verdict'll go, but I won't let them investigate or judge in peace."
Jinbeom kept repeating his thanks, swearing he'd never forget this favor.
I left the holding cell amid echoes of "Thank you," walking down the police station hallway.
This visit to Jinbeom wasn't authorized. I'd teleported in on my own whim to chat with him in his cell.
They could've nailed me for it, but the cops wouldn't even make eye contact.
I didn't want to see that crap. I started stomping deliberately.
My weight was about six times that of an average adult male now. Each step cracked the hallway tiles with a massive thud, and one cop muttered,
"Damn, that's loud. What the hell is that noise..."
Gotcha, you bastard.
I stomped toward the voice, grabbed the cop's head with one hand.
"You muttering that shit for me to hear?"
I barked, and he finally clocked the situation, eyes bulging wide.
His freaked-out face suggested he wasn't picking a fight—just annoyed by the noise. But I didn't give him a chance to explain.
As he opened his mouth, I hoisted him up by the skull.
Making sure every cop saw it, every one heard his pained gagging.
"That's it, right?"
But even as I trashed the place, the cops' response was lame.
They hesitated, staring, until an older inspector begged,
"Let him go, yeah? The kid messed up..."
Annoying. This wasn't the reaction I wanted.
I said,
"Some citizen's causing a scene—why just talk? No guns? It's a station—you got Hunter rifles too. Shoot me. Come on."
I urged them, but they didn't budge. Just cowering glances. Even the thug-looking detectives held back, which pissed me off more.
"I said shoot. Why not? If you old-timers can't handle it, call in the special forces or whatever."
I wasn't provoking for kicks. Wasn't just venting either.
I wanted this to blow up.
If it escalated like last time and special forces swarmed my house? Perfect. The Hunter Association would freak, turning it into a national scandal.
Then the news would cover this case—and the habit of convicting Ice Awakeners without evidence.
So escalate already. Make calls, hit alarms, do something.
Too bad—the apathy the cops showed toward Kim Seok-hee operating as Councilor Byeong-baek in Gyeyang-gu applied to me too.
No one so much as drew a pistol on a lone civilian acting like he'd murder cops in their own station. Hell, no one even yelled a threat.
Pathetic losers. Being too famous has its downsides. After the mess with Kang Jun-chi deploying over my business nearly flipping the country, they figure bullets won't work and won't even try stopping my rampage.
Even if they couldn't take me, you'd think one would bark about not letting this slide... but nope.
"Don't you investigate first at the police stage before locking up a suspect?"
No choice—I kept growling solo.
"I'm applying pressure now. Botch the investigation, and everyone involved vanishes! I could bury you all in the hills behind town, and no one'd come looking—you know that!"
Even if someone did, CCTV wouldn't show where I teleported you— I was mid-threat when the older inspector spoke up again. I perked up, thinking he'd threaten back (fuel for more chaos), but nope. Disappointing.
The inspector said,
"I don't know what Jinbeom told you, but he's a prime suspect."
"What?"
"Anyone can see he's the killer! And it wasn't just bad blood with his partner—"
Didn't care what else. I cut him off.
"Whether Jinbeom did it or not ain't my business. So, evidence?"
The inspector shut up at my question. I pressed on.
"Did spiritual DNA turn up on the vic's body? Were the ice crystals in his lungs shaped like Jinbeom's face?"
"No..."
"Then shut it."
My snap silenced every cop for good.
What a letdown.
I flung the cop I'd been holding to the floor, then kicked desks and cabinets wildly.
They didn't just fly or shatter—they pulverized into fine dust clouds.
Each kick unleashed shockwaves, devastating the surroundings. I savored their trembling eyes for a moment.
After wreaking havoc like that, I stormed out.
Damn, they were all Seoul transplants for sure. That's what happens when those city slickers mix in with Incheon.
Anyway, my tantrum might not have blown up as hoped, but it was warning enough.
That the backer for the Ice Awakener you tried framing as a killer is Awakener Kim Geuk—and skipping evidence for a guilty verdict will end badly.
The next day, I scoured the internet just in case, but despite my rampage, not a single article popped up.
Considering I'm a celebrity—and celebs make headlines for drunk driving—this was bizarre.
Not surprised, though. I'd seen this song and dance plenty during my Korean Awakener Alliance days.
The government controlling the media wouldn't want the public knowing about Ice Awakener cases or cops failing to handle one unruly citizen.
Frustrated, I was flipping through recent Ice Awakener case precedents in the car, dueling with stacks of paper, when Baek Dam-bi glanced at my reading material and spoke up.
"Worried about Officer Jinbeom's case?"
I looked up from the docs at her.
"How'd you know?"
"There's an Ice Awakener community online. I'm in it. Checked a post after ages, and it said Kim Geuk's been hustling hard for Jinbeom—rallying Incheon's Ice Awakeners for help... That about right?"
This woman was in that community yet trashed them as "useless" on HuntWeb.
Stunned by my round girl's ruthlessness, I nodded.
"Yeah, pretty much."
Then the heartless Baek Dam-bi muttered,
"You're amazing... Building that apartment complex, pouring money and time into strangers' problems."
"Just old habits from my Alliance days."
"Didn't that group disband ages ago? Sticking with it anyway... Impressive, really."
I'm used to suck-ups from Im Hyeong-taek or Jeong Jin-yeong, but her praise threw me.
Feeling awkward, I scratched my nose, and Baek Dam-bi continued.
"So, uh... can I help too?"