Chapter 149
Chapter 149
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 149
Chapter Title: Smugglers
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Tudor's office was still a total mess.
Papers scattered haphazardly. Trash crumpled up and rolling around. Coffee mugs lined up haphazardly on the desk.
Tudor, sitting at the desk, looked at me for a moment before speaking.
"Honestly, it would've been better if you'd told me ahead of time."
"Um..."
She'd seemed in a good mood at first, but now it felt like she was about to start nagging?
Well, I'd basically dumped the Shantak cleanup on her.
She'd probably suffered for days manipulating information. If I'd talked to her first and acted accordingly, it would've been easier for her. Fair criticism.
I averted my gaze for a moment, pondering the best response...
"Come here, honey. I think I need to give you a kiss!"
"Ugh, what the hell!"
Tudor suddenly vaulted over the desk, closing in at tremendous speed.
Crash!
I shoved away the chair I'd been about to sit in and retreated far back. The bookshelf pressed against my back. Ugh, no escape!
"Hey now, where do you think you're going?"
She even stretched out her arms to block my escape routes. Tudor was over 190cm tall. Honestly, the sheer intimidation was overwhelming.
"Cut it out! This isn't funny!"
"Hmm, playing hard to get."
She stuck out her tongue and smacked her lips. I waited until she sat back down before taking my seat.
"Whew, what the hell was that?"
"Haha, it was a compliment. A compliment."
"Please, just say it with words next time."
"You did amazingly well this time. You're the best, honey."
She flashed a breathtakingly beautiful smile for a moment. An eerie grin no human could replicate.
"Glad you liked it."
"Glad? Hehe, you solved it perfectly, so I'm over the moon."
"Solved?"
"You got rid of the Foreigner Control Agency, right? My head was killing me."
Tudor made a face and groaned, "Ugh—"
Sometimes fixers got to slay monsters and play the hero, but in the end, they were criminals who had to lurk in the shadows of back alleys.
Tudor sold crimes to them as a dark broker and was an "illegal resident" by the Foreigner Control Agency's standards. A centuries-old witch from a foreign land.
"Anyway."
I turned my head slightly, pointing toward the door behind me—the office entrance.
"With all these fixers around, why's it such a shitshow out there?"
"Oh, honey? You've got it backward. There's a shitshow out there, so that's why all the fixers are swarming."
"That's not why I asked."
This was another butterfly effect from my choices.
The cultists who'd gathered in Sejong City had scattered nationwide, tailed by the Foreigner Control Agency's combat agents.
With Yang Seo-ho stuck in Sejong City, Paju had naturally fallen into a security vacuum.
That drew in every lowlife the Agency targeted from across the country (maybe even the north).
Plenty of jobs. Plenty of manpower.
Not just Tudor—every broker must've been thrilled.
"You should sweep the commercial district before more snow piles up."
"Why? The vibe's great."
The witch grinned brightly as she brought her coffee mug to her lips. For a split second, her pupils narrowed like a cat's.
"Don't say I didn't warn you when you regret it later."
"If that happens, I've got a superhero friend who'll help out."
She pointed a finger at my chest as she said it. Ah, me?
You'll regret it for real. Would Yang Seo-ho, back from his mission, just let Geumchon-dong turn into a monster den?
"Well, we'll deal with that when it comes."
"You're a bit weird, you know that? Really weird."
Tudor narrowed her eyes and tilted her head.
"Weird how?"
"I called you here to praise you, but you're acting like you need comforting."
"I don't need either. Anyway, got any jobs worth checking out?"
I wasn't here for some mandatory quest.
But before the big guy upstairs prepped the next scenario, I needed to farm whatever I could.
"Oh, wanna work? I've got a mountain of stuff perfect for you."
Tudor's eyes sparkled with delight again. Before I could respond, she stretched both arms out to the sides.
Rustle rustle rustle!
Papers came flying in from all directions.
Documents packed with info on incidents, crimes, and quests that needed fixing.
"Pick whatever you like from these."
Truth be told, now wasn't the best time for jobs.
Everyone was desperate to cash in while Yang Seo-ho was away, and jumping in wouldn't end well.
Better to head to the outskirts or straight out of Paju.
'That one, then?'
It even resembled the game UI I'd seen.
Normally, you'd hit next page, but no need now.
I'd already scanned the contents while they floated in the air.
"This one's an urgent quest—no, a rush job."
"Huh? Which?"
Tudor flicked her finger, pulling the paper I'd pointed to in front of her eyes.
"Oh, this one. Pretty urgent, huh? But look at the request time—probably too late already."
"You used to chase me out for not handling it on the spot, but now you're pretty chill?"
"That was because I thought it'd be good for you to get chummy with Cheongho."
"Fair enough."
Thanks to that, Cheongho and I got "Cthulhu World"-level friendly. Friendly enough that I could still see his face in the basement.
Ugh, whatever with Cheongho.
'Was gonna hit the pawnshop if nothing good, but this is solid.'
The document read:
[Capturing Chopyeongdo Smugglers]
Tudor narrowed her eyes.
"Honey, you really gonna take this one?"
"I've always wanted to check the place out once."
"Chopyeongdo?"
Chopyeongdo was a big island in the Imjin River.
To pinpoint it: near that insane apartment in Munsan where the ghoul incident went down?
No place closer to the North. No need to explain the danger.
'Where there's risk, there's treasure.'
These smugglers always dropped high-grade artifacts.
I glanced away for a moment.
[Accept the quest?
[Bounty Quest: Runaway Truck on Jayuro] Smugglers operating out of Chopyeongdo have loaded smuggled goods from the North onto a truck. Stop the smugglers' cargo from leaving Paju and recover the goods.
! Time Limit: Smuggler truck leaves Paju in (4) hours. !
Rewards: 3,950,000 XP + portion of smuggled goods in truck + (Broker's promised cash separate.) Failure: Abyss's Grace descends on Incheon.]
"Too bad, but looks like no need to go all the way to Chopyeongdo this time."
The quest window had slightly different details from the request form.
As Tudor said, the [Capturing Chopyeongdo Smugglers] quest had expired.
The smugglers had finished their job and moved to the next phase.
Failing this led to fighting cultists based in Incheon—a brutal quest. The longer you ignored it, the worse the rewards and higher the risk.
Car chase, then? Call Jang Hyun-deok, tail 'em, smash the truck. Done.
Everything but what the client wants is mine.
Hm, but...
"Huh? What's wrong, honey?"
I paused, and Tudor gave me a puzzled look.
"Oh, nothing. Fine. Let's go with this."
Something felt ominous, unsettling.
'Feels off somehow, like...'
As if I'd forgotten something.
* * *
"Whoa! Wizard sir, just like you said! That truck over there!"
Far ahead, a truck loaded with a massive container came into view.
"Good. You tailed it perfectly without losing them."
Car chases were Jang Hyun-deok's specialty.
Come to think of it, nostalgic spot. Same place I'd nabbed those biker punks before.
Now, catching a runaway truck here.
'Figures it'd be similar.'
This was a daily quest, sort of.
Dailies kept the main thread but swapped details each time—repeatable with variations.
After these Chopyeongdo smugglers, others would rampage down Jayuro.
"Alright, time to speed up and close in."
"Yeah."
Vrooooom!!
The illegally modded Kolon van tore down Jayuro at insane speeds.
The scenery outside blurred into thousands of straight lines.
Tense stuff, but Jang Hyun-deok looked bored.
"Isn't that overloaded?"
"Tires sagging says yes."
'Honestly, can't help the lack of tension.'
No flock of monstrous birds tailing us today. No surreal phenomena or specters popping out like in Tanhyeon.
Just a truck with pricey cargo on regular old Jayuro.
Simple compared to recent insanity.
Finish quick and clear it.
'Closing in now?'
I rolled down the passenger window and drew up mana.
Hm, but...
'Why so many cars today?'
Unnecessary hesitation. But it slowed me a beat.
A strange movement from the truck ahead.
"Huh? They spotted the tail."
"Looks like it. Sensitive bunch."
"What if they attack?"
"Doubt it'll be much."
Just espers or mutants.
'Ah, could be a strong one aboard.'
Quest details, truth, smuggler abilities—random from variants.
'Like those parasites that kidnapped Jeong Hyun-ah.'
Bad luck, might run into Three Associations grunts under Cheongho. Awkward vibe if so.
'Not their dad or anything. Can't be helped.'
And what else?
Something still off. Fog in my head—memories surfacing slower—
A thick arm burst from the driver's seat. Mutant? Massive forearm.
Clutching a stubby submachine gun. Whoa?
Rat-tat-tat-tat!!
Bullets sprayed without aiming, gouging the road in showers of sparks.
Screeech!!
Baaaaam!!
Sudden chaos—nearby cars honked or slammed brakes.
Rat-tat-tat-tat!!
Sparks snaked toward us like a wriggling serpent.
[Distortion Field]
Activated the field enveloping the vehicle, twisting bullet trajectories. Good. My turn.
Then, anomaly.
[System: Penalty trait 'Feast's Sacrifice' effect triggered.]
[An abyssal being bestows a blessing upon its kin.]
Rumble.
Sudden weather shift.
Whoosh!!
Rain out of nowhere? Suddenly?
"Huh? Wizard sir! Look over there!"
Passenger door flew open—a guy in black coat and fedora leaped out, clinging to the truck's side. Iron bar on his back? Or sword?
Humanoid silhouette, but bulky, solid build.
"Not human."
An otherkin sponsored by an abyssal being.
Who the hell chased the Foreigner Control Agency out of Paju? Otherkin driving the truck!
The fedora brute leaped onto the truck's roof.
Light as a feather at this speed. No ordinary foe.
Black coat on the roof unslung from his back... a rocket launcher?
"Whoa!? Wizard sir! Wizard sir!"
"Ugh, hold on."
Why was I just watching?
Something wrong. Thoughts and actions off by a beat since earlier.
Boom!!
Rocket punched through the downpour.