Chapter 186
Chapter 186
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 186
Chapter Title: Bongilcheon Gang
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“Goblin silver tongue?”
“Bwahaha! That’s right, silver tongue. Kim, my man, you’re about to get played by a goblin’s gift of gab!”
Seo Cheonseul said that, then retreated with dance-like steps. Balancing on one foot, twirling this way and that.
A slow dance.
“But first, I gotta clear out these spoils!”
These would be the imp corpses we’d captured.
They were laid out on the ground. Originally human.
They’d been turned into real imps—granted wicked powers by abyssal beings—and the unwilling humans had become fake imps as a result.
“These guys were originally human. You’re taking them?”
Seo Cheonseul’s goal had been capturing the escaped goblins, but that started with the hunt.
No need to bother with fake imps from human stock.
But Seo Cheonseul kept dancing and sang his reply.
“Be it this way or that, lives ruined by goblin mischief—how pitiable they be—”
The sequins embroidered on Seo Cheonseul’s jacket sparkled.
“This way—that way—left and right, lumbering along—”
As if moving to his dance and song, the embroidery twisted into shapes of all sorts of beasts.
“Hey-hey—oh-ree—sweet moon—”
A mournful tune, an elegy. A dirge to console the departed.
“Eh-hey-ra—eh—hey-heh—eh—oh-ree—oh-huh-ya—”
He pulled an enormous sack from within his jacket.
Far too big for a jacket pocket, but nitpicking goblin tricks was pointless.
“Hey-heh—eh—hey-ree—no-ho-oh-huh-ya.”
The dozens of corpses on the ground got sucked into the sack. Probably an artifact that warped space, similar to Dol Dori.
From the alley beyond, I could feel the crows who’d been spying on us sigh in disappointment as the bodies vanished.
But that disappointment soon turned to greed aimed at us.
“Man, those guys are decked out in some serious artifacts.” “No idea what they’re saying.” “Think we could take ’em if we all rushed at once?” Whispers like that followed.
The alley trash known as crows were gathering in greater numbers.
If we didn’t get out soon, we’d have to fight the crows next.
Even in this situation, Seo Cheonseul’s languid dance dragged on.
Seo Cheonseul let out an “Oh-huh-ya—” and questioned me.
“Hey, Kim, my man. Where’s our destination?”
Still speaking in song.
No interest in staging a musical, so I answered plainly.
“That way.”
Southwest.
Sure, that direction had a grimy wall, lurking crows waiting for an opening, buildings, and even a few hills beyond. But head ‘that way,’ and you’d reach Bongilcheon.
“Got it—straight line?”
“Straight line.”
“Hey, Kim, my man. Stand over here a sec. This really is a dank, dark, nasty neighborhood. Where’d you say we’re headed?”
“Bongilcheon.”
“Oh-ho—Bongilcheon—fine name indeed. So, Kim, my man, what’s Bongilcheon like?”
Seo Cheonseul’s voice quickened.
The rhythm intensified, and I could swear I heard drums from somewhere. No—cymbals?
“It’s similar to here. Used to be out in the sticks, but Paju developed, and outsiders flooded in.”
I answered plainly, but even my plain speech blended into the song Seo Cheonseul was directing.
“Hah—makes sense. You Kims can’t carry your houses, so you stack stones into mountain-sized homes—making shadows, dampness, and all sorts of filth!”
“Right. Not as bad as this area, but similar vibe. Tons of red-light districts, plenty of thugs.”
I answered, mindful of the crows eyeing us.
“Twisty roads aplenty, alleys perfect for getting lost in circles!”
“Yeah.”
“Hot diggity!”
Dum-dum-dum-dum—the drums kept going.
Not an illusion. Drums were really sounding.
“Then—that place must have dead-end alleys just like this one!”
“Yep.”
“Hey, Kim, my man. Where exactly is this spot I’m standing?”
“Gwangtandong waste alley.”
“No no no—this is Bongilcheon!”
The drums and cymbals cut off.
Even the presences of the crows around us vanished completely.
Seo Cheonseul stopped his song and dance.
“Kim, my man, we’re here. Turn around.”
I turned as Seo Cheonseul instructed.
“Eh-heh—oh-ho—eh-ho—”
While I turned, Seo Cheonseul resumed his earlier chant.
And before me, no waste alley—instead, a dingy red-light district appeared.
“Bwahaha!”
We’d arrived at the heart of Bongilcheon.
“Bagua compass is spinning like mad. Useless here, just like you said, Kim, my man.”
Seo Cheonseul pocketed the bagua compass.
“Alright, we’ll go where you say. Where to next?”
“We’re in Bongilcheon, so best to ask the local boss.”
“Still got a capable landlord these days?”
“No, not that—”
Landlord? Not a generation gap—an era gap?
“—I meant the guy with the widest reach in this neighborhood—”
He might not get that either. Could get some nonsense about big-footed yokai.
“—We’re gonna see Bongilcheon’s big landowner. Just to be clear, he’s human. Whenever something goes wrong around here, he’s usually the culprit. So asking him first is quickest.”
“Ah, got it. Lead on.”
We emerged from the dead-end alley onto Bongilcheon’s main street.
Glancing back, the spot we’d been standing in—no waste alley—just a building wall.
“Thousand Gold Captain. Tempting, but before we dive in, mind one quick detour? Same method as before.”
“Where to?”
“Little ways east, there’s a big cement plant. Let’s grab some cement.”
“Cement?”
“Yeah. After seeing Thousand Gold Captain’s skills, time to show off some human sleight of hand as admission.”
* * *
Just as Gwangtandong was once Gwangtan-myeon in the real world, Bongilcheon-dong was originally Bongilcheon-ri.
The ‘monster hunting economy’ born after the Great Collapse twenty years ago sparked a gold rush.
Bongilcheon’s position on Paju’s outskirts—seemingly safe—made it accessible for powerless outsiders.
Conversely, it was a comfy rest spot for fixers with abilities.
“Fixers can rake in hundreds to tens of millions overnight.”
Hard-earned blood money best saved, but fixers preferred blowing their one-night fortunes in one night.
“So that’s why all sorts of Kims gather here?”
The odd sights of fixers on break, outsiders fleecing naive fixers, ability-less foreigners.
Even alien races slipping in to dodge the Foreigner Management Agency.
Languages from various countries—and even off-world tongues—floated about.
“Yeah. Total chaos.”
Bongilcheon couldn’t handle the influx of people and cash, growing in freakish ways.
Small hills and Gongneung Stream.
Encircling what was once a world heritage site, Paju Samneung: red-light districts, shantytowns, unlicensed street vendors, illegal businesses galore.
No monstrous group like the ‘Geumchon Market Merchant Guild’—made of powerhouse ability users and ex-fixers (considering Tudor’s in it, you get how scary they are).
With so many easy marks among regular folk, crime syndicates took root to prey on them.
“That’s the Bongilcheon Gang.”
“Scumbag Kims like that always pop up, no matter the era.”
“Pretty much.”
“Dangerous ones?”
“Hmm—”
Not really.
The Bongilcheon Gang was nastier than the Three Heads Society, but nothing Thousand Gold Captain need worry over.
Originally, in the relatively safe low-level zone of Bongilcheon, they handled tutorial quests.
‘But with the Three Heads splintering into infighting, the Bongilcheon Gang must’ve grown a lot.’
“Eh, still small fry. We’ve got mighty Thousand Gold Captain, right?”
“Didn’t you say you’d show some skill, Kim, my man?”
“Will soon. Right there.”
Grulk—thud-thud-thud—
Dol Dori followed behind us, shrunk small and hustling.
‘Best if it ends with the Bongilcheon Gang.’
Easiest plot: Bongilcheon Gang, expanding, linked with cultists and allied with the imps.
If not, we’d head to a real headache spot.
“Hmm—practically a fortress.”
Seo Cheonseul eyed the massive building rising in the city center.
“King Castle Club. Run by the Bongilcheon Gang.”
“So, Kim, my man, what’s the plan? Looks like Kims swarming inside.”
It was daytime.
Not open, so those inside were Bongilcheon Gang thugs, not customers. Headcount—eighty-eight?
“Time to beat down some innocent Kims?”
“Nah, even if they’re not tied to the imps, calling these guys innocent is a stretch.”
Bongilcheon Gang were small-time thugs—by Paju standards.
Still a crime syndicate.
Drug trafficking, human trafficking, contract kills.
Extortion and petty violence? Child’s play.
“Ah, then I can beat ’em guilt-free.”
“Not that either.”
“Not?”
Seo Cheonseul looked displeased.
Like he wanted to say, Kim, my man, what the hell?
“No need to fight. Dol Dori. Pull out the cement.”
Grrruuulk—
Endless sacks of cement pouring out.
Bought the whole warehouse stock.
I channeled mana and cast a spell on the massive pile.
* * *
“What the hell! Who! Who did this?!”
Yeom Geumja, Bongilcheon’s back-alley overlord and head of the Bongilcheon Gang, screamed as she stepped from her black sedan.
One of their main venues, King Castle Club—that flashy, grand club—her cash cow—had turned into a giant gray boulder.
Yeom Geumja approached in bewilderment. Not turned to rock. Covered in solid gray something—wait, this?
“C-cement?”
They’d encased the huge club building in cement?
“And of all days, today?”
Today of all days.
Today, she’d gathered most of her underlings at King Castle Club.
All buried alive in one go.
“Ugh—”
Unable to process the absurdity, she staggered.
Attendants barely caught her lavish fur coat before she fell, propping her up. Yeom Geumja muttered in a fit.
“W-who? Who did this? To a building not even half a year old? Why? What for? What’d I do wrong?”
“That’s what I’m wondering too. Mind if I ask if you’ve done anything wrong lately?”
“Who’s there!?”
Her attendants yelled toward the voice. Two masked men stood there.
“Bwahaha—this is to my taste.”
The tall man, mask covering half his face, laughed loudly.
The sequins on his jacket shimmered demonically, writhing on their own.
Yeom Geumja instantly sensed they were A-rank or higher ability users—or non-humans—and muttered curses under her breath before speaking.
“Wrong? You wrecked my building just to ask that bullshit?”
“Yes. But don’t panic. If nothing’s wrong, we’ll restore it good as new, no issue.”
Rage boiled at the casual tone.
Yeom Geumja glared at Kim Shin-hwa, eyes bulging. Mistake. Her gaze couldn’t focus, scattering weakly.
‘Four eyes?’
Terrifying yellow light poured from the four holes in the mask.
Yeom Geumja shuddered, regretting her stare-down with the horrific monster.