Chapter 111
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ace
Chapter: 110
Chapter Title: Aerial Fortress Apophis
-----------------------------------------------------------------
"...And you just came straight here?"
It was Kalifa speaking.
She'd directed the question at Jin, but he'd just shoved a cookie into his mouth, so he could only nod vigorously in response.
"Who do you think it was? The one gunning for you."
Kalifa's gaze shifted sideways. Surprisingly, the question wasn't aimed at Poh. Instead of the bartender currently briefing the ops plan in the briefing room, it was D'Andre—sitting next to Jin, gulping down beer—who put on a thoughtful expression.
"Beats me. A rabid stalker fan?"
"Not impossible."
Kalifa nodded.
Plenty of fans had despaired over their beloved pop star's sudden career change, right?
Rumors said the crowds demanding explanations were swelling daily around the agency's sealed building.
A story where a few who'd gone dark pooled money from album sales to hire an assassin? Lame, but not implausible.
That didn't make it true, though.
"Sure, hiring an assassin tracks. But why target you of all people?"
Kalifa's eyes turned back to Jin.
"You're the guy who wrapped up the rampage incident. Not the one who caused it. Why pin blame on the wrong person? Anyone with basic common sense wouldn't."
"Exactly."
D'Andre snorted in agreement.
Then, like Kalifa, he turned to Jin.
"No other weird stuff?"
"Uph."
"Anyone approach you?"
"...Juth people."
Jin thumped his chest, forcing down the cookie-packed mouthful with a swig of milk before speaking clearly.
"Some folks recognized me now and then, but they just wanted photos or autographs."
The conversation flowed naturally from there.
"And the one who ordered the hit? Not fans. Probably the bastard behind ruining Elina."
Recalling the status window's text, Jin's words made the two linkers' faces serious again.
Kalifa spoke first.
"...You mentioned it before. That Elina was drugged."
"Yeah, I heard. The producer forced it on her. Used it to control people."
Jin recounted the memory, and Kalifa tapped the table silently for a moment before slowly turning to D'Andre.
"Anyone come to mind?"
"Kinda... but him? No way."
"Doesn't it fit? Drug control. Tentacle-like business expansion. And it's unlikely there are two psychos out there who'd try assassinating someone just for pissing them off."
"True."
As D'Andre nodded, Jin tilted his head.
He grumbled at the two conversing without him.
"Quit talking in inside jokes. Fill me in."
"Shh."
D'Andre lowered his voice like someone might overhear.
"Not confirmed, so take it with a grain of salt. There's this linker called the Drug Kingpin. Andrei Beligov—big name in these circles. Bad kind of big. Word is he keeps his solos and mercs in line with drugs."
"Whispering like that makes it more suspicious. Idiot."
Kalifa sighed, scolding D'Andre before picking up seamlessly.
"Short version: scum of the scum who sniffs out money. Always had a rep, but a few years back he crushed rivals and rose up. Now he's solidifying his spot in the underworld. Hold on, we should investigate right—"
"Whoa, hang on, guys. This is Elina's mess. No need to dive too deep..."
Before Jin could finish,
"It's your problem too." "What kinda talk is that!"
Their voices overlapped in perfect sync. Jin blinked at Kalifa and D'Andre, who rarely saw eye-to-eye but were clicking today.
What the hell?
Back in Downtown after ages.
Exhaustion hadn't fully faded, yet he'd beelined straight to Anecdote.
So many faces he missed, so many stories bottled up making his mouth itch.
Sure, Natasha and Massimo were out on jobs—bummer—but D'Andre had joined late.
Jin dove into tales over a cookie mountain.
Rotations this, apostles that, zigzag swordplay whatever.
The assassin attack was just one story among many.
He'd only meant to mention it casually, but Kalifa and D'Andre latched on hard.
Not surprising.
Jin courting trouble was one thing; someone maliciously targeting him was another.
The apostle crash? Unavoidable. Protecting the relic? Unexpected.
Ah, my solo's grown so much even Sword Saint trusts him. Great stuff. But can you please stop risking your neck from now on?
Think it, say it, done.
Assassination? Ongoing threat, not one-off.
So their worried speculation flowed naturally.
Surround yourself with the competent if you're not, right?
The linkers nailed the truth with key clues.
Problem: it triggered the quest.
「(Linked) Underworld Bigshot 2」
The shadow behind Elina's downfall.
At the end of that dark silhouette,
a linker called the 'Drug Kingpin' lurks.
📍 Objective: Track him down with Elina.
🎁 Reward: Perk XP 18,000
Whoa. What the—
Pinpointing 'Andrei Beligov' must've cleared the skipped quest.
Like catching a rat backing up from a cow. Classic 'it just works.'
Naturally, modest XP trickled in.
But amid mental fanfare and brain cells tap-dancing in joy, Jin just propped his chin.
Persistent bastard.
The status window popped up like it'd been waiting—absurdly cheeky.
Staring silently at the translucent pane, Jin crossed his arms thoughtfully.
What's your deal?
Otherwise, why keep shoving in despite his non-cooperation?
The square freak wasn't just binary reacting to conditions, he'd long suspected.
It went beyond text lines, acting alive.
Like it had a will.
Intangible hunch from experience. No hard proof, but Jin trusted his gut.
Thus.
Time to test it.
He shot up.
"Where to?"
"Be right back. Gotta make a call."
Jin stepped out, pulling his comm device.
Scrolling contacts, he dialed. Bland ringtone later, pickup.
[...Ugh? The hell you want?]
"Well, well. Voice all melty this early evening. Hitting the bottle again?"
[Mind your own.]
John Harrison.
City Gov special forces, Law Enforcers leader. Perpetual drunk with a boozehound slur.
[Spit it out.]
"Any word on Elina's whereabouts?"
[Elina? Hic. Why her?]
"Got questions. You know where she is?"
Simple reason for the colonel.
Handing Elina over back then, he'd trusted a known face—asked him to escort.
Q handled hospital pickup, but as superior, he'd know progress.
Response:
[Do I ever. She's our cute little maknae now.]
"...Huh? What?"
[Talent exceeded expectations. Stabilized powers way faster. Holds reason at 30% combat output now. Hic. Too good to waste. Under my probation, easing into field ops...]
"Wait, hold up. Elina joined Law Enforcers?"
[Yup. Want me to say she's hogging all the seniors' love?]
Jin let out a dry laugh at the colonel's reply.
"You told her how dangerous your monster hunts are?"
[Face Collector? Obviously. Showed her at least 100 pics of seniors who retired missing limbs.]
"And she still wants in?"
[Unlike some, no backing down.]
Oof.
Jin sighed involuntarily, squeezing eyes shut.
Fans probably fainting in droves. Life-on-the-line spec ops volunteer? Why the madness?
As Jin pitied deeply,
Sloppy hiccups later, the colonel continued.
[So, what's with Elina? Hic.]
"Right..."
No secret. Jin explained fully. Colonel sniffed, summing up.
[Lemme recap: Some grudge-holder from you handing Elina to City Gov. Linker Drug Kingpin. Looks like he supplied the dead producer's drugs. Lost Elina cash cow, business hit. Tried killing you, failed. Now wanna get her okay and smash him together. That right?]
Officer-sharp, no re-explains needed.
Jin nodded satisfied.
"Spot on."
Colonel:
[Sorry, can't approve. No deploying for outsider personal beefs. Not just her—anyone. Way beyond mere escorting. Law Enforcers don't dwell on past.]
Hm?
Jin cocked his head at the firm no.
Show-off? Clueless obstruction?
Screw this.
As Jin inwardly cursed the window,
[But not zero options.]
Jin perked at the colonel's probe.
"Like what?"
[Simple. Join Law Enforcers. Then that Drug Kingpin? I'll handle personally.]
"C'mon, kidding?"
Jin griped at the sales pitch; colonel chuckled on.
[Hate that? Old collab style? Shared ops might spark camaraderie—who knows?]
"Pass. Ops my ass."
[Not bad deal. Eyeing level 5+ solo collabs anyway. Pay won't disappoint. Deal? No?]
"...For real? Not joking?"
Unforeseen collab pitch; colonel laughed warmly.
[FYI, not Face Collector hunt. No worries there.]
"Jeez."
Short dry laugh at twist. Jin eyed darkening sky.
"Lemme think on it."
"Sure."
Instantly.
Slurred voice sharpened booze-free, piercing Jin's ear.
"Heard of Apophis? Planning to scout it. Say, acrophobia?"
Status window reappeared.
[Underworld Bigshot 2] dissolved like wind.
New text filled the void.
「Aerial Fortress, Apophis」
Investigate the aerial fortress with the Law Enforcers.
🎁 Reward: Perk XP 33,000
Jin stared blankly, jaw dropping slowly.
"Ah?"