Chapter 41
Chapter 41
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 41
Chapter Title: Movie Director Steel Armor
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Snap—
"Yes, Boss!"
As I snapped my fingers, Joong-bo and the Skull Head members who had been hiding behind cover came scurrying over.
"You've worked hard, Boss!"
"We believed in you!"
"Sniff! Thank you for saving us, Boss!"
The guys holding cameras looked up at me with eyes full of admiration, while those I'd saved wept openly.
"Don't cry."
"Sniff... Huh?"
I crossed my arms sternly and addressed my men.
"It was my absence that made things hard for you. I'm sorry."
"...!"
"B-Boss!"
My apology made their eyes widen in shock.
"Oh dear... your heads must be messed up. You need a scalp care massage first."
"S-Sniff! Boss! We're sorry! It's all because we're too weak!"
Touched, my men bawled like children. Watching them, I smiled inwardly with satisfaction.
'They'll work even harder from now on, right?'
These guys would bring in the cash with renewed zeal.
I still saw them as expendable tools. That wouldn't change anytime soon.
Still, I said this to boost morale and ensure fanatical loyalty.
Criminals like these melt at a single kind word—they never hear them otherwise.
You know how it is? Bad guys who do tons of evil suddenly do one good thing, and people go, "That guy's not so bad after all."
If they weren't moved by me saving their lives and even apologizing for their hardship—after never hearing a kind word from me before—then they aren't human.
Who isn't human? I'll snap their necks right now.
With my no-kill rule broken, I'm no longer on Batman's side. I'm Joker now.
Luckily for them, they were all properly moved. Guess they were human after all.
"Sniff!"
"Wahhh!"
"I'll serve you for life!"
"I'll make my kids serve you too, Boss!"
"Even my grandkids!"
"Great-grandkids!"
This was escalating to eighth cousins or something. What is this, North Korea? Swearing generational loyalty? And these guys don't even have grandkids.
For the record, the one vowing great-grandkids wasn't even married.
"Anyway, I know you're tired, but you'll have to work one more time."
"Yes! Just say the word!"
"Yes! If you tell us to jump into a fire pit, we will!"
"For real? Hey, light a fire."
"Yes, Boss!"
"..."
Everyone except the fire-pit guy pulled out lighters and lit up. Sweat beaded on his face.
"Heh. Just kidding. Anyway, go over there and loot anything that looks valuable."
"Yes, sir!"
Their eyes sparkled at the word "money." Second-in-command Joong-bo led the crew into Kane's hideout.
"Ahh... Another fulfilling day."
With Kane defeated, I now ruled District 72. That meant Districts 72 through 79—seven in total, excluding 73—were all mine.
Having another villain's turf in my territory felt off, so I'd have to visit Karinbia soon and snatch District 73. She looked scrawny; shouldn't be too hard.
Dark City had 144 districts total, so I'd claimed about 5%.
Centered on the villains' underworld, of course. Including Hero Association territory, it was roughly half that—2.5%.
"Not bad at all."
A lone newbie dives into the villain world and grabs 2.5% in just a week. Insane speed.
Plus, selling drugs to addicts in my seven districts would rake in massive cash.
Enough to live independently from my parents.
"Not that I plan to."
I'll leech off them forever. Why else endure the hassle of rich parents? It's all about the money.
"Four more bugs joined the swarm. Wonder how many it'll grow to. Anyway, time for me to help out."
I gathered the unconscious Kane and his goons, then entered the building where my men were ransacking. Gotta watch them—they might skim.
Kane's hoarded cash, drugs, weapons... all mine now that I'd crushed him.
Shoooo—
"Hm?"
Suddenly, an eerie energy seeped from Frog's corpse and into my body.
"W-What?! Curse of the poison frog?!"
I jumped back in genuine shock. Visible mist from a dead body was flowing into me—who wouldn't freak?
"Shoo! Shoo! Know your place, you dead bastard! Scram if you don't want round two!"
I swung my "palm" to shake it off. But Frog's grudge was strong; it ignored me and settled in my right knee.
"...Is it done?"
I expected some change, but nothing happened. No status window about abnormalities either.
Curious, I rolled up my pant leg to check my right knee.
"What the hell? A tattoo?"
A purple frog tattoo was etched on my right knee.
Billy, a man living in District 70, dreamed of becoming a master filmmaker. He started as an amateur director, he'd even won an award at a small festival for a short film shot on his phone—he was a real talent.
Today, he decided to visit the film rental shop to study some films.
"The future master graces us again."
"Want me to pre-sign it? It could sell big on the secondhand market."
"Haha! I've gotten over 30 signatures from you already! Hurry up and become a master so I can sell'em and buy a house!"
The shop owner and Billy bantered with laughs. As a daily regular renting movies, they were thick as thieves.
"Hey, Billy. There's a cool new short film. How about that one for today?"
"A new short film? How long is it?"
"30 minutes. Noir style."
"Nice. Who's the director?"
"It says... Steel Armor."
"Steel Armor? Rings a bell. Oh! Isn't that a villain? Hero Association was hunting him recently."
"Who knows? Villains are all scum—why memorize their names? And no villain's robbing this dump. A petty thief, maybe."
"True enough."
Billy nodded at the shotgun by the counter. Why would a superpowered villain hit a video shop? Banks, sure. This place wouldn't even cover labor costs.
'Wasn't set on anything specific anyway...'
"Sure. I'll take that."
"Here."
Billy paid and rented the tape. The owner had good taste in movies; his recomendations always helped Billy study.
Back home, Billy grabbed his notebook and hit play.
The film opened with a masked man facing off against dozens of thugs from afar.
"Ugh... What're they saying? Can't hear a thing."
The masked man and the thugs' boss talked, but no audio.
Billy figured the shop messed up the tape and reached to stop it. Then he froze—the fight erupted.
Bang! Rat-tat-tat-tat!
Whoosh—Boom!
Bullets and missiles flew. The man casually deflected them with his hands.
"Hero flick? Composition and sound suck... but damn realistic."
Billy was hooked before he knew it.
Thugs charged with brutal weapons. The man crushed them in seconds.
"Whoa! Like Wick! One-shots everyone!"
Immersed in the masked man, Billy shadowboxed the air like he was him.
Thugs down, four mid-boss types appeared—serious boss lurking behind.
As expected, a hero movie.
The five unleashed powers, battling. They fell; boss stepped up and dropped too.
All thugs defeated, camera rushed in on the masked man: black mask with skull.
He grabbed the camera.
"I am Steel Armor, the villain who will rule Dark City."
He yanked the boss's hair, shoving his face to the lens.
"This is Kane, an A-rank villain per the Hero Association. While I was away, he cowardly attacked my base. This is the result."
Camera panned fallen thugs.
"Want to fight? Send a formal challenge. I'll respond as a gentleman. I don't dodge challengers. As a champion, I honor worthy foes."
Steel Armor declared.
"But pull crap like this coward, and you'll burn. This is my warning and declaration to you villains. Remember: I value fair play. No cheap shots."
The film ended there.
"..."
Billy stared blankly at the TV, then grabbed his phone.
"Hero Association... 118?"
"This guy's a total psycho."
"It means he's that confident."
"Yeah. A confident psycho."
Valencia Association President grimaced at the frozen TV.
"Is the recovery of the tapes done?"
"Yes. But everyone's seen it, and it's all over the net. Plus the underworld..."
"Sigh... Tell broadcasters and site admins to delete and block it. Especially the news—that'd be a real headache. Ignore the underworld; villains'll handle themselves. We clean our turf."
Villains fighting? Fine. Kill or spare—who cares? As long as civilians stay safe.
But Steel Armor forced their hand.
He filmed wiping out Kane's crew—over 100 strong, C-ranks, three B-ranks, one A-rank—and then distributed these tapes.
The shop owner said a guy dropped them off, promising pay-per-rental. Figured it was a rank-fixing promo, common enough for these films.
The president scratched his head hard in irritation.
"We're already swamped, and some loach stirs some new shit?"
"Want me to track them? Kane's confirmed down—we can search District 72, we'll nab him."
"Nah. You'd get exposed. Your cover blowing is worse than Steel Armor's tail."
"Understood."
Gumiho nodded.
An A-rank hero with zero field time.
If Shadow Killer was a ghost in villain world, Gumiho was one in the hero world. No one knew her age or powers beyond looks.
Even bare-faced, her identity stayed secret—thanks to the president's shadows.
"A bold declaration like that? The underworld'll erupt. Villains start rampaging. Tell our heroes to stay vigilant. Especially towards Steel Armor—make him a priority watch. If he's sighted, send in the A-ranks. No, deploy s-rank heroes. B-rank and below should be a no-go for deployments against him."
Over 100 members, one C, three B, one A—all wiped by one villain.
The president was certain.
He misjudged him as a threat. Steel Armor wasn't A-rank. He's an S-rank.
"Yes, sir. Anything else?"
"My head's killing me. Grab a bottle. The strong stuff."
"Coffee, then."
"Not coffee—booze!"
"Water it is."
"..."
"I'll go."
The president gawked at Gumiho's cool exit. She never listens. Even worse: she offers water, but brings nothing in the end. What a pure troll.
"..."
He eyed Steel Armor on the paused screen.
"What a big bastard."
He clicked off the TV.