#233 The Weapon to Catch the Fox

"Hey."

"What?"

"When are you leaving?"

"Why?"

"...How long are you gonna keep rolling around here?"

"When did I ever roll around? I'm working hard right now. Heh heh heh!"

Even to my question, Memory Hunter gave a half-assed reply without taking his eyes off the comic book. Hell, he was even laughing like something hilarious had just popped up.

"....."

Should I kill him and bring him back? It had been a week since I'd crushed Jina's spirit by showing off the majesty of my indestructible dick. And in that week, Memory Hunter had ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠basically moved into my office, eating and sleeping there like it was his home.

"Is that what you call working?"

"Of course it is. I'm watching you right now, aren't I?"

I'm pretty shameless myself, but this guy took it to another level.

"Uh... I think the 'watching' I know and the 'watching' you're talking about mean different things?"

"Nah, it's the same. I'm totally watching you right now. Heh heh heh! Oh man, this is hilarious!"

"Haa... Fine, whatever. But hey, asshole, clean up the shit you've eaten!"

"I'll get to it later. Heh heh heh!"

"....."

Screw all that high-class intel bullshit—maybe I should just kill him for real. My fist was trembling.

In front of Memory Hunter sat half-eaten bowls of jjajangmyeon and tangsuyuk. True to his alcoholic nature, there was a bottle of baijiu next to them. Yeah, jjajangmyeon goes great with baijiu. But... that damn bastard was ordering everything on my dime!

Of course, I've got plenty of money. Astronomical wealth sitting in my inventory, and this cash came from the Hero Bank anyway, so even if a hero like Memory Hunter eats on my tab, it doesn't bug me much.

But watching him laze around like a freeloading bum right in front of me was starting to piss me off big time!

Why the hell do you think I'm building schools and houses?! So these bald-headed fuckers don't end up lounging around like parasites! And yet this asshole is doing exactly that right in my face?!

"If you're gonna keep mooching off my money, then work for it. 'He who does not work, neither shall he eat!' You don't even know that saying?"

"I am working."

"By reading comics?"

"Hey! I'm disguising my surveillance as comic reading... Heh heh heh!"

"....."

I really wanna kill him.

Knock knock!

"Boss."

Right then, Jungbo knocked and came in. He'd been on leave taking care of his sick mom but returned to the organization two days ago. I'd told him to keep caregiving, but he declined and jumped right back into the work I'd started.

But damn, Jungbo was a real piece of work in his own way. Ever since he ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠took charge, the construction business(?) had been progressing smoothly.

Honestly, up until now, I'd just been having construction company execs and underlings build houses, but strictly speaking, that was illegal. Some random guy like me tearing down houses and rebuilding on a whim.

Jungbo handled it legally, using my name appropriately to deal with high-ranking officials. And to the baldies griping about why they had to do this crap, he doled out the perfect mix of carrot and stick to shut them up.

'This is all for you, courtesy of the boss.' 'As criminals, when would you ever afford a house like this?' 'The boss plans to do even more for you down the line—is this really worth complaining about? If you're unhappy, get out.'

He sweet-talked them into it. Sure, low-level grunts in a crime outfit rarely scored their own places. House prices in Dark City were insane, and even a lifetime of work wouldn't cut it for most.

Plus, he got my firm promise that the baldies and their families would live in the new builds, which quelled the complaints. Not everyone bought into Jungbo's pitch and dreamed of a brighter tomorrow, though.

"Fuck! You think I joined here to swing a shovel?!"

"I wanna kill guys from other outfits! Why the hell should I do manual labor?!"

Some were evil by nature, itching to kill, and that's why they joined us. They rebelled against Jungbo's words, and he handled them personally.

"Ugh... P-please, spare me..."

"We don't need trash like you."

"Aaaagh!"

Even if Jungbo was good-natured by birth, he'd rolled in the criminal underbelly for years. The baldies were shocked by how mercilessly he snapped the necks of those bloodthirsty punks.

Honestly, up to now, Jungbo was "mid-boss" in name only—no one feared him among the baldies. No superpowers, barely any authority, couldn't even fight.

Criminals weren't about to bow to an easy mark like that. But after a few days out of sight, he came back transformed. Like he'd awakened powers—stronger than everyone else, snapping necks without mercy. The baldies figured he'd become a superhuman in the meantime.

Of course, Jungbo hadn't awakened shit.

"Well, well? You must really like that thing, huh?"

"Pardon? Heh heh heh... Thank you so much, boss. I even wear it to bed."

The source of Jungbo's newfound strength was the Sanctuary Armor he was wearing. Infused with body enhancement superpowers, it gave him D-rank level power.

I'd gotten a bunch from Jina, but they were useless to me, so I gifted one to Jungbo as a "mom's discharge from hospital" present.

Oh, and I got his mom some health-boosting gifts for her discharge too.

Anyway, I'd spent pocket change, and now Jungbo was my yes-man. At this point, he'd probably say yes if I wanted to start a cult.

"Anyway, what's up?"

"Ah, came to report on progress so far."

Even newfound diligence! Used to be like a lame-duck soldier—wouldn't show unless I called, hiding god-knows-where. Now he comes on his own. Back then, he'd only report results after tasks; never came for interim updates.

Look at him now! Coming for a progress report unprompted.

Kukuku. Humans really are simple, huh? Fix their family issues, and they work themselves silly.

Seeing him hustle confirmed my choice was spot-on. Ahh... I'm handsome, perfect body, and smart to boot. Do I even have flaws?

"...Feels like you're thinking something super annoying."

"Fuck, you can see through the mask?!"

"You really are. Was just a guess."

"....."

That Memory Hunter bastard... I'll deal with him someday. Definitely!

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

"Ah, bro, you're here too."

"Yeah. Skull Head Gang doesn't run right without you, huh? Why not just take over as boss?"

"Haha. How could I, with the boss here?"

"I'll toss him in a cell for ten years or so—take over in the meantime."

"Gotta take care of mom, wanna live long."

Memory Hunter and Jungbo bantered naturally. Jungbo had freaked at first finding him in my office, but now they were like bros.

Neither seemed super sociable, but they clicked weirdly. But what the hell were they spouting? Take over the gang?

"Anyway, the school..."

Jungbo gave his interim report. Nothing major for me to worry about. Long-winded, but summed up: 'Progressing smoothly!'

"Good work, keep it up. No one's picking fights or nitpicking, right? If there is... you know."

"Yes, sir. And who'd nitpick something the boss is doing? Citizens and politicians are thrilled—quietly hopeful, even."

"Good, that's... What? Thrilled and hopeful? Why?"

"Well, it's you doing it, boss. Nobody hates freebies. They're hoping you'll redevelop their neighborhoods too."

"....."

Are these people insane? Why would I redevelop houses for randos I'm zero connected to? No matter how rich I am, I ain't doing that shit.

"Got it. Back to work."

"Yes, boss. I'll be going then."

I nodded, and Jungbo left. Hmm... Used to look like a total loser, but now he had some gravitas. Guess handling big shit turns a man big. Not as big as me, though.

I'm Dark City's top brain with the biggest balls.

*****

"Let's see..."

I skimmed the superpower list once. As always, tons of powers with basically the same name.

There was a search function for specific types, but with time to kill, I browsed leisurely.

"Fuckin' nothing."

Up to 60, no dice on what I wanted. How far down do I gotta go?

Finally, around 138, there it was.

"Bingo."

The power I'd been hunting: one specialized for monsters.

Last time, I'd failed to subdue the berserk Gumiho. If Yuna hadn't shown up timely, I'd have been the one subdued.

Now I've got Thunder Emperor, a killer lightning power, but could it handle Gumiho? She got stronger the longer the fight dragged—maybe her true power was suppressed, or she had some ability like that.

Always prep for the worst. To make her mine, use every resource.

"Thunder Emperor at Lv.9 sucks a bit, but I can max it to 10 later with more level-ups."

Priority: perfect tool to take down Gumiho, not Thunder Emperor.

"Fuck, gut feelings are unreliable. If I'd picked this over Thunder Emperor against Siren, I'd have won easy."

Humans gotta go with cold logic, not hunches. Look at the description: power made to kill monsters.

Followed my gut and took an L. Well, I did claim Siren the monster, so not a total loss?

"System, create Monster Hunter."

Confirmed Monster Hunter in my status, then burned all 10 level-up tickets for 10 traits.

Result:

Anyway, I've secured a powerful weapon for hunting that fox.