Chapter 14
Chapter 14
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 14
Chapter Title: Black Society
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"Ughhh... This is tough."
Lying on the ceiling and steadily picking off those worthless bastards one by one, the auction was already rushing toward its conclusion before I knew it.
Ogre corpses, mouse tanks, Sword Princess's body, and so on. Seeing items worth hundreds of billions flooding out in droves was terrifying... but also a little awe-inspiring.
After all, the money spent in the auction house alone had to be in the trillions. Sure, I wasn't short on cash myself... but mine was in the "billions" range, not trillions.
If I sold off the antiques at home, the motorcycle and cars I'd modded myself, plus the house and warehouse... would that get me just over a trillion?
Out of boredom, I fiddled with my phone and posted something on the community.
📰 Hadal Post
[How Much is 1 Trillion?] Author: Tree Tree 100 million x 10,000, 1 billion x 1,000, 10 billion x 100, 100 billion x 10. How much is 1 trillion exactly? With just 1 trillion, I could live off playing games forever... Someone give me a trillion already.
💬 Comments
— Rice Swindler Rice Swindler
1 trillion earning method exists, wanna know?
— Tree Tree
What is it?
— Rice Swindler Rice Swindler
Rob a Swiss bank lol
— Tree Tree
Are you insane? Robbing that brings down HCH, fuck.
— Rice Swindler Rice Swindler
Tree bro, you scared?
— Tree Tree
Yeah, scared.
— Tree Tree
HCH aren't human, those fuckers are real monsters lol.
— Rice Swindler Rice Swindler
That bad?
— Tree Tree
You think Awakener hit squads look like jokes to you?
— Rice Swindler Rice Swindler
True, not really.
— Tree Tree
Then shut up, Rice. I wanna live long and thin, fuck Swiss banks.
— Rice Swindler Rice Swindler
The guy who wants to live long and thin killed a Chinese S-rank hunter?
— Tree Tree
It was a commission, couldn't be helped.
— Rice Swindler Rice Swindler
Oh for fuck's sake.
"China, huh..."
Mentioning China suddenly makes me wanna take a trip.
Beijing duck was so damn good. Maybe go again sometime.
That glossy, crispy skin... damn.
Suddenly craving Beijing duck. Should I really go to China?
"Auction's wrapping up soon anyway."
Glancing down, the auction looked like it was in its final dregs.
Those who'd already bought what they wanted had left, so the ones still hanging around were either holdouts unable to let go or people waiting for the post-auction modern firearms or drugs.
The big shots were long gone. The remnants were probably third-world warlords, rebels, or terrorists.
They buy weapons here, and yeah, they'll use 'em to fight.
"Bored."
Beep—
While I was grumbling to myself, something at my waist suddenly lit up and started blaring.
Grabbed it in a panic from the racket echoing everywhere.
"Oh, radio?"
Thankfully? It wasn't my uterus lighting up—it was the walkie-talkie.
Period's coming up soon, so I thought it was blood gushing out and freaked for a sec.
Sighing in relief that it wasn't that, I grabbed the radio and tapped the button.
"What, what's the issue?"
I didn't know who was calling, but I'd declared myself overall team lead. Probably one of the grunt mercs under me.
If it was something trivial, I'd kill 'em—that was my mindset as I answered.
"...Cops showed up?"
Looks like it was something serious after all.
"Where, West Gate Market? Oh, nearby? Got it, then..."
Alright, cops are here. So, what now?
Kill 'em? Nah, too much risk. Just sit tight? Also kinda iffy.
"...Wait, aren't there some Black Society guys here?"
A ton came over from China—maybe some idle ones around.
Chance to work our Chinese pals a bit.
If a Chinese crime syndicate kills Korean cops? Calls to scrap Chinese visa-free entry would erupt.
Oh. Nice. Real nice bad idea.
"Hyah!"
I stood, weapon in hand, and dropped from the ceiling.
Climbed down the wall carefully to the floor, then slipped away quietly to head topside.
"Cops, cops..."
Still, how'd the cops get here? This place is for high-level crooks only.
Camellia Flower wouldn't let any old riffraff in.
"Whatever, guess I'll see when I get there."
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
Chilling. A dagger flies straight into his chest.
"Die!"
The dagger slicing through the air tears it apart as it hurtles forward.
The crude gray dagger pierces someone's chest dead-on.
Squelch—
Skin rips, muscle splits, and finally blood gushes out.
A cop's chest tears open, his body crumpling to the ground with a wet thud.
"Fire—!"
The surrounding cops hurriedly draw pistols, firing into the darkness at some figure.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Gunshots ring out as steel-jacketed bullets tear through the air.
"Aaaagh—!"
As the cops fire, a agonized scream erupts from the shadows.
A Black Society member clutches his gut and collapses; another refuses to accept his head's been blown open and closes his eyes.
"This is Alpha! We need backup!"
Amid the firefight centered on the construction site, one cop urgently calls for support.
A bead of sweat rolls down his cheek and drips onto the radio.
He's speaking so frantically his words tangle and slur, hard to make out.
The cop steadies his trembling hand, takes a deep breath, and speaks clearly into the radio again.
"Repeating: Black Society's deputy leader is at West Gate Market—!"
Crunch—!
But he couldn't finish.
A massive greatsword flies from somewhere, smashing the cop's head flat.
The blade punches through his skull and embeds in the construction site's wall.
Boom—!
The wall crumbles on impact, burying nearby cops under the debris and crushing them.
Some have organs burst, others skulls caved in—instant death.
The wall devours over a dozen cops before stopping its collapse.
"So, how much did the manager say they'd pay?"
"300 million KRW—about 1.438 million yuan bonus."
"That's it?"
"Plus 10,000 yuan per cop head."
"Not bad then."
A hulking brute, easily over 2 meters tall.
"Gaaah—!"
His arm, ripping through his shirt with savage muscles, grabs the cop in front of him and hoists him up.
Grabs the cop's head and squeezes.
Crack—
Something shatters, and the cop's body goes limp.
"Zhao Gang."
"Just wait a bit, Liu Tie. Just a little longer."
The man called Zhao Gang tossed the limp corpse aside.
He drew mana from his body, accelerating his central nervous system and slowly heating his flesh.
"Cleanup?"
"Hadal said they'd handle it."
"Good."
Then Zhao Gang bolted across the entire construction site at speeds defying his massive frame.
"Fire, fire! Stop that mad bastard!"
Bangbangbangbang!
A hail of lead pours down. But Zhao Gang didn't dodge. He didn't need to.
Ting, clink!
His steel-hard muscles deflected the bullets, leaving mere scratches at worst.
Zhao Gang just swatted like chasing a pesky fly, crumpling a cop car like paper.
"Kuhahaha! Tickles! It tickles!"
Thud! Crunch—!
He bashed blocking cops' heads, crushed cop cars, took incoming bullets head-on, and drove a fist into a cop's solar plexus, ripping right through.
Zhao Gang's thick hands dripped red, a sickening, fishy stench filling the site.
Blood-soaked sand scattered on the wind; Zhao Gang grinned at the sight, pleased.
Looking at his gore-covered hands, Zhao Gang wore a satisfied smirk.
"Zhao Gang, all done?"
"Yeah, this side's clear. You, Liu Tie?"
"Same here. Let's head back—the boss is calling."
"Heh heh heh, yeah. Back we go. Time to squeeze the manager good."
One woman following Zhao Gang.
Not quite his 2m-plus height, but still towering at easily 190cm, she scowled in annoyance.
Liu Tie pulled a pack of smokes from the breast pocket of her black cheongsam, lit one, and inhaled nicotine.
Her long black hair cascading along her curves was downright alluring.
"Sigh... Zhao Gang, we need heads intact. What now if you smash 'em all?"
The filthy corpses catching Liu Tie's eye.
But intact bodies were few and far between.
Most were burst, crushed, mangled—unrecognizable from their original forms.
"10k yuan a head, you bald fuck."
"So what, you bitch."
"Ugh."
Liu Tie's temper flared at Zhao Gang's brazen retort.
"Fine, whatever. Let's head down first. Round up the grunts—we're going back underground."
Liu Tie barely suppressed her urge to cleave that bald head like the Korean Peninsula.
"Head down where, bitch? Manager's coming up personally—wait."
"Oh. Right."
"Bald bitch."
"What'd you say, chink?"
"You ray-finned fuck, wanna end it today?"
Daggers in Liu Tie's hands; greatsword in Zhao Gang's.
They were a hair's breadth from swinging at each other when—
"What're you two doing?"
A slender woman's voice, totally out of place, echoed softly around them.
Bang—
A gunshot rang out simultaneously.
Thud—
Zhao Gang's body hit the ground.
"...What? Dead?"
"Nah, just knocked him out."
"You're... the manager?"
Liu Tie whipped her head toward the voice.
There stood a kid... at least 30cm shorter than her.
"...Fuck what? I'm the manager—what, wanna complain?"
"No, just... Hadal's manager is cuter than expected. Surprised me a bit."
"Me? Cute? Fucking me?"
The kid freaked at "cute," aiming her pistol at Liu Tie's head.
"Okay okay, take it back. Retracted."
"...There you go. And I'm not even the manager—just Mercenary #1 on payroll."
At "retracted," she lowered her gun smoothly, spat on the ground, and scanned around.
"Hurry and grab your grunts. We're heading down now."
Liu Tie rushed to gather her subordinates and descend at the urging pint-sized... manager's words.
"That big lug?"
"He'll manage."
"Got it."
And so, the two women—with their thrilling 30cm height gap—quietly rounded up the rest and headed underground.
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