Chapter 173
Chapter 173
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Vine
Chapter: 173
Chapter Title: How to Survive in a Brutal World (2)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
“Forgive us!”
Pavel shouted desperately, down on his knees.
“I’ll take full responsibility, so if you’re still angry, just take my life and spare my little brothers! They might look rough, but they’re innocent guys!”
These were some truly remarkable bastards.
No matter how much cornered humans shrink back.
To switch attitudes this quickly.
“N-No, boss! What are you saying?!”
It wasn’t just Pavel.
The men who seemed to be his underlings had also instantly dropped their thuggish demeanor.
“It’s all our fault!”
Those vicious snake-eyed thugs.
“Leave our boss alone and kill us instead! Do you know how good of a man our boss is?”
“That’s right! We’re the real bad ones! Our boss has a rabbit-like kid and a fox-like wife!”
Their eyes transformed into the sparkling gaze of innocent deer.
All of them.
They dropped their weapons, knelt, and surrendered.
“......”
I just stared at them with a blank expression.
“......Is this for real?”
Gi So-yul muttered in confusion.
“These punks who were just threatening to break arms and beat sense into people... how do they pull off such pure-looking faces...”
I’ll admit it.
It was a face so convincing even a stranger might fall for it.
And calling that vicious bald brute a good man? That’s pushing it.
“This is ridiculous. And what’s with that baseless sob story...”
“They must know we’re rankers and are putting on an act, right? Criminals through and through.”
At Gi So-yul’s question, the Russian hunters grew frantic.
They shook their heads vigorously, denying it in a rush.
“No! It’s true!”
“Don’t judge by appearances! Our boss Pavel looks like a murderer who’s offed thousands, but his heart’s as pure as Buddha’s!”
“Exactly! That’s all prejudice!”
With words that were hard to tell if they were insults or praise.
They kept begging for their lives.
Emphasizing their own goodness.
Step.
I walked toward Pavel, who was kneeling.
“......”
He bit his lip, eyes downcast.
As I approached, he lifted his head and met my gaze.
I opened my mouth.
“Have you thought about it?”
“T-Thought about what?”
“That counter-offer I made earlier. You cooperate nicely, and I won’t beat the crap out of you.”
“......”
“Sorry, but I don’t care if you’re good guys, villains, or pure souls. I just need the info I want, then you’re gone. Okay?”
“S-So our rudeness is forgiven?”
Pavel muttered in disbelief.
“Why, if it were you, you’d have beaten us already and stuffed us in a drum, right? Hard to believe we’re getting off scot-free?”
No matter how much they stressed their goodness.
- This guy doesn’t know fear.
- Look at him. Smiling? He hasn’t come to his senses? Or is he nuts?
- Crazy bastard. Let’s just beat him. We’ll stuff him in a drum later.
Those words they’d thrown at me wouldn’t just vanish.
“N-No! And that drum thing was just a hot bath...”
“Wanna keep playing word games?”
Whoosh!
As I transformed my staff into a spear, he jumped to his feet in a panic.
“I-It’s true!”
Pavel pointed at the building behind him, his voice full of grievance.
“First, let us take you to our base! No amount of my talking beats seeing it for yourself! Plus, my brother Zahar’s smart and knows a lot, so dealing with him will help you more than me!”
“Yeah?”
At my question, he nodded like a maniac.
“Hmm.”
Fine, let’s go check it out.
* * *
At that moment.
Zahar, watching the scene from a building window, had gone pale as a ghost.
“Damn it!”
Zahar shouted.
He’d sent his brother and men to escort them politely, and now they were kneeling with hands up?
The situation was crystal clear!
Even if Pavel was an idiot, he was an S-rank hunter.
And the underlings he dragged around were A-to-S-rank bruisers, despite their lack of brains.
Twenty hunters of that caliber—most rankers wouldn’t ignore them.
And he’d crushed them in one go?
“Definitely a ranker!”
And a high one at that.
“Zahar! Zahar!”
One of his men burst in, panting.
“Word just came in—two rankers entered Krasnoyarsk International Airport!”
“What? Two rankers?”
Zahar felt his whole body freeze.
Drip.
Cold sweat trickled down his forehead.
“Why the hell are you telling me now, you punk!”
“H-How was I supposed to know sooner?!”
“Shit, who?!”
“W-Well...”
The man hesitated.
He’d gauged from Zahar’s tone just how serious this was.
“Spit it out!”
“They’re the 78th-ranked Skeleton King and the 151st-ranked Dark Emperor from South Korea...”
“Crazy!”
Boom!
Zahar slammed the table without thinking.
‘Of all people...!’
Why did it have to be him coming here?
‘High ranker.’
Anyone in the top 100 was an unstoppable disaster.
Even hundreds of non-ranker S-ranks.
No matter the strategies or traps.
Like ants taking down a lion—impossible.
They were on a whole different level.
‘I had a bad feeling.’
Something had felt off when he sent his brother.
‘Should’ve gone myself.’
How his dimwit brother would act with strangers was obvious.
Zahar peered out the window again.
Watching them slowly rise and approach...
‘Bringing a ranker here? What now!’
Zahar’s pupils contracted.
What happens to a place like this if the ranker’s a psycho?
Their community, barely carved out in this hellhole.
Would it all get smashed?
He was terrified.
Insanely anxious.
“Z-Zahar, someone’s at the first floor...?”
A bit later.
Why did that report from his man hit like thunder from a clear sky?
‘Just kneel no matter what...’
Face meant nothing to him now.
Bowing his head to a high ranker.
His men wouldn’t complain.
No one was here anyway.
* * *
“Welcome, Skeleton King and Dark Emperor!”
“Welcome!”
“Welcome!”
Rustle!
As we entered the building, countless black-suited men bowed at ninety degrees.
‘Whoa.’
I was impressed inwardly.
‘Talk about clout.’
Just moving along, and these strangers treated me like their boss.
“Embarrassing as it is, I’m Zahar, the boss these guys trust and follow.”
One of the black suits stepped forward.
A man covered head to toe in hair.
“If my brothers made you uncomfortable, I apologize on their behalf. Whatever you desire, we’ll provide. And during your stay, we’ll serve you with utmost hospitality!”
Hmm.
Taking the lead, huh?
For a moment, I wondered if I’d misjudged them.
Real bad guys usually bolt at the first sign of trouble.
“Shall we head this way first?”
Gi So-yul and I followed him to a conference room.
* * *
- We don’t know much about that dungeon either. Well, truth is... it’s not well-known abroad, but it’s been infamous around here for ages. Rumor has it anyone who goes in dies for sure, so no one dared enter.
- Oh, and about a year ago, there were rumors of ‘Gotham’ guys going in and out, which ramped up the fear.
- Gotham? You don’t know? They’re at the top of Russia’s mafia right now. They’ve got a high ranker as boss too, so yeah... tough bastards. Oh, probably shouldn’t say that.
Zahar spilled info eagerly.
I nodded as I listened.
Gi So-yul jotted it down beside me.
‘Gotham, huh...’
Come to think of it, I’d heard the name once before.
The group with Insect King Andrei and The Ruthless Zima.
Something about Russian mafia?
‘In the end, no real info.’
They don’t know much about the dungeon either.
“Sorry. But we really don’t know. No reason to lie to a high ranker like you.”
I nodded at Zahar’s words.
Fair enough.
Actually, before the info session, as we moved to the conference room.
Zahar had given us a tour of the building.
‘That bald guy was telling the truth.’
They might call themselves mafia, but they were just an ordinary group.
Like regular folks banding together to survive in this apocalypse world?
Kids, women, and elders lived and worked on each floor.
Only the skilled hunters wore black suits and stepped out.
- We deliberately push the scary-looking ones front and center. Humans instinctively avoid guys who look as brutal as Pavel.
- But we’re not weak by any means. In a city like this, the weak don’t survive, and we’re still recruiting strong ones.
- You know what? Among the guys your boss took on, two were rankers last year. Pushed out now, of course.
Also.
That drum thing.
Turned out it was legit, surprisingly.
In a ruined city, clean warm water’s the most precious resource.
Even the worst thugs, beat them then treat them to a warm bath, and they get civilized?
“Okay. That’s enough.”
Clap!
I clapped my hands once.
“So this place is famous as a crime city not because it’s full of actual criminals, but because most of Russia’s like this?”
Like bandits overrunning a corrupt or collapsing nation.
“Yes, boss. By that logic, Moscow, St. Petersburg, Novosibirsk—they’re all crime cities. Gangs everywhere.”
“You look vicious but have never done vicious shit?”
“Just acting tough, boss. In a place like this, stay passive and you really get screwed.”
“Got it.”
Hmm.
The first mafia I meet in Russia turns out to be good guys.
Suddenly, a close friend came to mind.
Vladimir Rodigin.
The classmate who’d sacrificed himself for me in the trial.
Was he a mafia boss like this too?
“Hang on, mind if I look around?”
“Of course, boss!”
Zahar replied instantly.
“Make yourself at home! We’ve got a guest suite on the top floor for situations like this! Rest easy there!”
This seals it.
If they had shady backsides, they wouldn’t want me sticking around long.
They’re welcoming it, so yeah, good guys.
In this scary city.
No safer time than with me here.
Zahar guided Gi So-yul and me to a huge room, then scurried out.
“What’s the plan?”
Maybe she’d caught my expression when I thought of Vladimir earlier.
Gi So-yul asked cautiously.
“Just securing a base. They seem like a big deal around here anyway. Might get more info?”
No real info anyway.
Only choice.
Head into the dungeon myself.
‘But.’
A weird feeling.
Like something’s about to go down here?
Just a gut sense from my heart.
But honestly, my instincts are the surest gauge.
“Whew.”
Gi So-yul let out a soft breath.
“So we end up clashing after all?”
She glanced around simultaneously.
Zahar had put some thought into it—luxurious fridge packed with drinks and snacks.
“Ahem.”
Gi So-yul cleared her throat awkwardly, looking uneasy.
Understandable.
The kids and elders we’d seen on the way were skin and bones.
We could come off as rowdy outsiders throwing our weight around in a struggling community.
Plus, in this collapsed market, scoring food like this ain’t easy.
“Don’t worry about it.”
As you know, my creed is.
Repay favors and grudges in kind.
They gave us a nice room and treatment despite their means.
A little payback’s in order, right?
I pulled out my phone from my pocket and tapped out a message.
- Sub-guild master? Stock up plenty of drinking water and emergency rations at Muryeong Do-won. I’ll swing by soon.