Chapter 289
Chapter 289
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 289
Chapter Title: Styx (3)
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"Star Realm 🖕"
It was a simple message, but the meaning packed into it was anything but.
First off, they had flipped off Star Realm with the biggest middle finger imaginable.
Star Realm was a massive guild boasting nineteen top-tier rankers.
To have the balls to taunt a place like that meant one of two things.
1. They had the skills to back it up.
2. They were insane.
Obviously, the odds favored number one, but number two couldn't be ruled out entirely.
After all, these were the kind of lunatics who could casually kidnap a top Korean ranker in broad daylight in Seoul.
Next, it meant they had known all along that Star Realm would show up at this location.
'How?'
Truth be told, this part gave Kim Jin-ah the worst chills.
Unless they were watching our every move, how could they possibly know?
And on top of that, they had already cleaned up and vanished without a trace.
Which implied...
"They knew in advance..."
Kim Jin-ah narrowed her eyes.
What could it be?
A traitor?
But there weren't enough people in the know for true betrayal.
Just four: herself, Kapu, Gi So-yul, and Noah.
Gi So-yul and Kapu were out of the question...
'Noah?'
When Kim Jin-ah glanced at her.
Flinch!
Nino Mae, sitting across from her, shuddered slightly.
"Nani?! What's with that look?"
She put on an aggrieved expression.
"You're suspecting me right now! Admit it! Waaah, sugoi! How could I leak info in front of the Dark Emperor I respect so much? I'm so hurt! Hidoi!"
"I haven't said anything yet..."
"People don't just talk with their mouths! Eyes can talk too! Hngh, you said guildmates are family! And 'yet'? 'Yet' means you already agree with everything I'm saying! Oh nooo, hngh!"
What was this?
Could a ranker really bawl like that over a single suspicious glance?
But that was Ebi for you.
An emotional, pure-hearted Japanese woman.
Incredibly, she was crying real tears.
'Whoa.'
Kim Jin-ah marveled inwardly.
People really could be like that.
She was one of the rankers who had skyrocketed in this raid.
Jumping from 850th to 291st in one go—not too shabby.
"Alright, alright. Cut it out."
"Hngh!"
"The Dark Emperor hates crying women..."
"..."
At Kim Jin-ah's words, Ebi's tears stopped as if by magic.
Her expression turned deadly serious.
As if she had never been crying.
"Looks like it's time to use my abilities. Don't worry, Guild Master! I have a skill that tracks traces! Haha!"
She energetically scanned the surroundings.
"..."
Kim Jin-ah got goosebumps.
As expected.
Maybe there really weren't many normal people among rankers.
That whole act had been fake?
'Anyway.'
Kim Jin-ah's face hardened coldly.
She didn't know who they were, but they had definitely provoked them.
And you answered provocation in kind.
'We'll find them.'
And once they did.
They'd uncover how the hell these bastards knew we'd come here.
* * *
"I looked into this Black Hound guy."
Kapu handed over some documents.
Kim Jin-ah, who had returned to Paradise Realm empty-handed, took them.
"Strangely, there's almost no info on him. Just that he's Korean and his name is Kwak Dong-seok. Everything else is blank. Even the Association gave the same response."
"Hmm, feels kinda artificial."
"Right?"
People normally left traces.
From schooling and hospital visits to jobs—they built records.
But Kwak Dong-seok had none.
Which meant...
"Looks like they wiped them."
"Ho ho, not bad."
They knew Star Realm was coming, and now they had scrubbed Association records too?
Strangely.
The more mysterious the enemy seemed, the more thrill she felt.
She recalled what Black Hound had said in the video.
- I'm in a guild, y'know? We just handle info...
The enemy was definitely an information outfit.
And a high-level one at that.
"Looks pretty organized."
"Yeah."
Kapu nodded slowly, tilting his chin up.
"Hitting a ranker so boldly means they have some muscle too. And our info leaked, right?"
"Less leaked... more like they knew. That we'd head to Paju."
"Hmm. At that level... actually, I have a hunch."
"Where?"
"Info broker, Cobweb."
"Ah."
Cobweb.
He was a user on the nation's largest hunter community, the Hunter Board.
Occupation: info broker.
Message him for info, and he'd send a price and account number.
Pay up? Get the goods.
It required trust, but he was popular enough.
A long-time community vet still operating without issue—that was trust.
"Right, Cobweb! How'd I forget him?"
Kim Jin-ah clapped her hands.
"And he doesn't just sell info!"
"Exactly."
About two years ago.
He started peddling random items too.
High-grade gear, accessories, potions, elixirs, even food.
Same method.
Tell him what you wanted, he'd spec out the best fit via message.
Account and price included.
Pay, and he'd drop it at a random spot, send the address.
Go pick it up.
"So, what if..."
Kim Jin-ah suddenly got chills.
What if kidnapping Grandma Yang Jung-ae was to fatten up their golden goose?
"That's straight-up trash."
"Don't jump to conclusions. Just a guess."
* * *
"Mmph! Mmmph!"
Yang Jung-ae writhed, her eyes covered by a hood.
The blindfold was fine, but her mouth was taped so tight she could barely breathe.
These villains had zero consideration for the elderly.
"Hang in there, ma'am. Almost there."
"Mmph! Mmmph!"
It felt like descending underground somewhere.
After a while.
"Whew, finally."
Fwoosh!
The hood came off, revealing a dim underground space.
"..."
Yang Jung-ae's eyes wavered.
Unbelievable.
If North Korea's political prison camps were ever exposed, it'd look like this.
Crude lights plastered everywhere.
Fetid sewage trickling through.
Iron bars between areas, where emaciated figures toiled away.
Clang! Clang!
Some hammered metal.
Clack, clatter!
Others worked looms.
Sizzle, hiss!
Some stir-fried in oil, Chinese-style.
"Mmph?"
What the hell is this?
Her eyes widened in confusion.
Rip!
The tape came off her mouth.
"Now, ma'am, your job here's cooking. Do well, get rewards. Money, breaks. Fun? Whatever you want, we'll get it."
Black Hound whistled cheerfully.
Yang Jung-ae's face stiffened.
Of course.
That's how it was.
Kidnap talents, exploit them for profit?
"But."
Managing types like her was predictable.
"If you slack off, no choice. We'll start killing those orphans you love, one by one."
By holding what she cherished hostage.
"You trash."
"Hey now, ma'am? Watch your mouth. You seemed sharp as any young whippersnapper! Kahaha!"
Yang Jung-ae had to admit it.
The world had changed, human desires manifesting in ever more twisted ways.
She didn't want to accept it, but no denying it.
This world was scarier and rottener than she thought.
* * *
"Whew, job's done."
Thud!
Black Hound—Kwak Dong-seok—slammed down his gear.
S-rank hunter, ex-mercenary.
The dark kind who took any gig.
"Pay up front. Chef granny snatch, 2 billion."
But no longer a merc.
One year ago, promoted to Cobweb crime syndicate.
"Did as told?"
A creepy voice echoed from the shadows.
Kwak Dong-seok still couldn't get used to it.
Gave him the creeps.
'Whatever.'
Didn't matter.
The org needed him.
And he liked it.
Paid reliably, after all.
"Leaving that fuck-you mark for Star Realm? Done. But why bother?"
"You know the rules."
"Tch, fine."
It was the pact.
The organization's pact.
They didn't know him.
He didn't know them.
Compartmentalized cells, info strictly need-to-know.
"Just pay up proper."
Sighing, Kwak Dong-seok grabbed his gear.
Spend the payout on gambling, girls, drugs—whatever.
Then answer the next call.
Clean life.
He sold out an innocent old lady without a shred of guilt and left.
* * *
"Hmm."
The man emerged from the dark once Kwak Dong-seok was gone.
"..."
Surprisingly, he wasn't some grunt.
He was the boss.
'Not much of an org, really.'
All smoke and mirrors.
By limiting info to peons like Kwak, he made it seem secretive and huge.
'This method works wonders.'
Even cocky S-ranks could be controlled.
Fear of the unknown was scarier than imagination.
The man's name: Namgung Sang.
Info broker and entrepreneur in the shadows.
He built this crime empire solo.
Managed thirty operatives, none knowing he was top dog.
Just that some massive org lurked behind.
And more.
Among them: Association staff, skilled hackers.
He had them wipe every member's records.
With their consent, of course—100 billion each payout.
Namgung Sang had money.
Lots of it.
Anything that paid, he did.
Imprisonment, kidnapping—all key ventures.
But his prize?
'Info.'
Incredibly.
From this dank hole, he handled the world's secrets.
How?
Simple.
[Message received.]
[Message received.]
[Message received.]
...
Ding! Ding! Ding!
Messages poured in on the monitor behind.
Info requests.
His handle: Cobweb.
Whistling, he clicked one.
- Cobweb, info request.
- Think my wife's cheating...
- Can you check?
- My details... (etc.)
"Hmm."
C-grade.
Low-tier stuff.
Namgung Sang nodded, replied.
- Yes.
- 100 million.
- Shinhan 110-274-7xx8xx, Park Naldue
Park Naldue: one of his hundreds of dummy accounts.
- 100 mil...?
Shocked reply, but tough luck.
Cobweb's intel was solid—and priced accordingly.
Five minutes later?
[Ding!]
[Payment received.]
[100 million.]
"Nice."
Lucky.
Buyer had done homework.
Nodding, Namgung Sang stood, yanked open the side door.
Creak!
Inside: two women in chains.
"..."
"..."
Starved skeletal, skin ruined from neglect.
Begged thousands of times already—"Let me live, let me out"—tears long dried.
Dead eyes stared as he entered, no resistance.
Yes.
Namgung Sang's source for all worldly info.
These two women.
No—these two Korean sisters' unique innate abilities.