The Beggar's Guide to the Underground
The starting point of the Hundred Over, the Underground's domain. The landscape of the District 101 commercial street looked like a rural town in Korea that had been left to decay without any maintenance. Weeds grew thick through the spiderweb-like cracks in the asphalt roads, which lacked even a single lane marker. Along these roads were broken, unsightly sidewalks, and lining them were rows of dilapidated, small-scale commercial buildings. According to the knowledge I’d absorbed from the factory, the area inside the walls where humanity lived was about twice the size of South Korea. Since it was divided into 100 districts, a simple calculation meant each district was roughly the size of Jeju Island. Assuming District 101 was similar, this couldn't be the center; in the distance, I could actually see a forest of high-rise buildings. However, there was one peculiarity: the wall. Considering the reason the wall was built, the closer you were to it, the safer you were. Therefore, the commercial area Pyo Rip was walking through was likely one of the most expensive pieces of real estate in the Hundred Over.
Pyo Rip walked along the street, observing the crude neon signs hanging from the buildings. Many of them were lit up even in broad daylight. It seemed there was no shortage of electricity. Gun shops, repair shops, restaurants, fixer agencies, and more. These were shops run by fugitives who had occupied abandoned buildings after all of humanity had been crammed inside the walls. Pyo Rip’s primary goal was to find the beggar kid, but he also scanned the signs to see if there was an appraiser for spirit stones—or rather, Ether Stones.
“Hmm.”
He had walked quite a distance, but he couldn't find one anywhere. As he continued down the street, a scruffy, black-haired kid from the Central Plains—a beggar—caught his eye. Pyo Rip gave up on the Ether Stone appraiser and approached the beggar kid. The kid was sitting in front of a restaurant with a bored expression, chewing on a steamed potato in his hand. The drawstring of the coin pouch hanging at his waist had a single knot.
‘A First-Knot Disciple, a low-level initiate. I suppose the Beggar Sect is still the Beggar Sect.’
The Central Plains had fallen into this world about 200 years ago during the first of the two Great Collisions. A lot of time had passed since that sudden catastrophe. Within that span, the Beggar Sect had become a back-alley power that operated illegal platforms like the Underground, yet it seemed their traditions still held on.
‘…It’s strangely nostalgic.’
As Pyo Rip approached, the First-Knot kid slid his hand toward a black, three-section baton resting beside him. Pyo Rip couldn't help but stop and smile bitterly. No matter how many lives he had lived, he was always soft when it came to children.
“Hey, what do you want, mister?”
Mister? What a rude little brat. Judging by his begging posture, it didn't look like the Beggar Sect was forcing the kids to panhandle for actual profit. It seemed more like they acted as offline sales agents or windows for the Underground.
‘Still, “mister” is crossing the line.’
Grumbling inwardly, Pyo Rip crouched down to meet the beggar kid at eye level.
“I have something to ask you.”
“?”
The beggar kid’s expression turned bored again. “Ask after you’ve made an offering, mister.” The kid’s gaze flicked toward the ground. A scratched, faded stainless steel bowl sat there.
“Haha.”
Right. If you want information from a member of the Beggar Sect, you have to pay the information fee. Realizing this obvious fact, Pyo Rip reached into his pocket. It was time for the spirit stones he’d brought from the Qingyu Continent to play their part, but since he didn't like the kid’s attitude, he snapped a spirit stone in half with his thumbnail.
Clink.
A low-quality half-stone landed in the bowl. The beggar kid’s expression instantly brightened. He jumped up and began to perform a mysterious dance.
“Oh my~! Our big brother has given such a huge donation~ Thank you so much~ Our big brother! Ah-ah-ang~!”
“…”
What is this? Pyo Rip squeezed his eyes shut. Barely regaining his composure after the intense donation reaction, Pyo Rip waved his hand.
“I’m going crazy. Stop it.”
“Yes, big brother!”
Pyo Rip couldn't hide the dry laugh that escaped him as he asked, “I want to do some work through the Underground. Could you guide me?”
“Oh my! Of course, big brother!”
The beggar kid shoved the rest of the steamed potato into his mouth and busily gathered his bowl and baton. “Just follow me!”
“Right, let’s go.”
Following the kid who was skipping ahead in high spirits, Pyo Rip shook his head. The Beggar Sect kid’s donation reaction was so over-the-top it caught him completely off guard.
“Hey kid, what’s your name? I’m Pyo Rip.”
“Hehe, Rip big brother! This humble one is Jegal Seon. My name is Seon. Not Gal-seon. A lot of people get it wrong. Hehe.”
“…Jegal?”
Pyo Rip tilted his head quietly, but the kid, Jegal Seon, didn't notice and kept chattering away with a beaming expression.
“Don’t worry, I’m not related to that Jegal family from the ZG Group inside the city. If I were the child of a mega-corporation that produces Mayflies, would I be out here begging? Hehehe.”
As expected of a Beggar Sect kid, all sorts of information flowed out of his small talk. It seemed the Jegal family of the Five Great Clans was still going strong here, albeit in the slightly different form of biotechnology.
“Come to think of it, big brother, you kind of look like a Mayfly. Oh, that’s a compliment. Hehe. Even if Mayflies are two-year-lifespan meat-soldiers, they’re very handsome.”
Listening to Jegal Seon’s ice-breaking extravaganza, Pyo Rip realized that the body he had woken up in was a Mayfly. It was absurd information. Especially the part about the two-year lifespan. If he hadn't reached the Qi Condensation realm immediately, this body would have died after living for a mere two years. Since they were meat-soldiers deployed to the front lines, he might not have even lasted a few months.
“Actually, the name Jegal Seon is a shared name for all the kids the Beggar Sect takes in. They say the Sect Leader ordered it about three years ago. The boys are Jegal Seon, the girls are Jegal Mun. So, I have a real name of my own.”
It was like a codename. Even if one Jegal Seon died, there were countless others to take his place.
“Why Jegal?”
“Because the Jegal family sold off their martial arts manuals in exchange for changing their surname to Jegal, so it’s become the most common surname now. Besides, unlike the other Five Great Clans who are obsessed with bloodlines, the Jegal family was the most open to cybernetic technology. Nowadays, the Jegal clan isn't really a Murim sect; they’re just city tycoons.”
Cybernetics was a super-scientific civilization that had crossed over during the first Great Collision. There was a reason the Jegal family suddenly owned a biotech corporation.
‘Anyway…’
The kid, who looked barely ten, knew a lot. Even if a kid this age had good learning ability, wasn't it usually limited to their interests? A kid who could recite dinosaur names wasn't anything special. Perhaps this information was like dinosaurs to this kid, or since he was being raised like an Underground agent by the Beggar Sect, he might have been specifically trained.
“We’re here. Come on in.”
Thanks to Jegal Seon, they arrived without a dull moment at a junkyard in a damp back alley. The yard, surrounded by a wire fence, was a dump, to put it kindly. The inside of the container building was even worse. Amidst shelves full of junk, an old computer sat on the counter, emitting a blue light. An old man was hunched over at the counter, eating a cup of ramen.
‘A Four-Knot Disciple.’
There were four knots on the drawstring of his pouch. He held a rank roughly equivalent to a local beggar king. He wasn't a beggar anymore since he was a junkyard owner, but anyway.
“What is it? A customer?”
“Yes, elder.”
Jegal Seon said that and handed the spirit stone Pyo Rip had given him to the old man.
“Ether Stone? An appraisal request?”
The old man looked at Pyo Rip. Pyo Rip was about to step forward, but Jegal Seon was faster.
“Elder, this is what I received as an offering.”
That was how Jegal Seon introduced Pyo Rip and explained his business. The old man nodded and operated the PC.
“Tell me what kind of work you’re looking for.”
“High-paying work. I’m not picky about the type.”
“What’s your terminal number?”
“I don’t have one.”
The old man shrugged. Pyo Rip shrugged as well. “I can’t create an account without one. If you don’t mind a used terminal, would you like to buy one?”
“That works out perfectly.”
“Good.”
The old man typed something into the PC with a clumsy but practiced two-finger typing style. After a moment, he pulled a black terminal out of a drawer.
“It’s a Luxara Synapse model. I acquired an S-class used one a while ago.”
Must be the company and model name. In Korea, it seemed Luxara was like Samsung and Synapse was like Galaxy.
“The durability should be fine. Since Luxara is a pioneer in cybernetics, I can guarantee the quality.”
Is this guy a beggar, a junkyard owner, or a phone salesman? The Beggar Sect elder’s explanation, which couldn't seem to pick a concept, went on and on. Pyo Rip cut the old man off and paid the price. This time, he didn't have to waste a spirit stone. He could appraise and sell the spirit stone all at once through the Underground. Returning to the inn, he lay on the bed and fiddled with the terminal.
Ding!
> Underground account approved.
A notification from the installed Underground app had arrived.