Chapter 65
Chapter 65
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 65
Chapter Title: Tiger's Daughter (2)
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A bizarre city where bottom-feeders tormented by insanity slay surreal monsters to change their fates, and megacorporations hoard immense fortunes wielding technologies that don't exist in reality.
In the shadows of that city—where going mad is even easier than for most—one of the three bosses ruling the underworld holds a particularly infamous reputation: the Blue Tiger.
The Blue Tiger is a man surrounded by grandiose rumors.
Sure, tales of his cruelty, his absurd brutality, his incurable madness... listing them all would just be tedious.
Separate from those rumors, though, his love for his daughter seems genuine. The moment Tudor made contact, a gleaming black luxury sedan pulled up to Basilissa's entrance to greet us.
It had been less than three minutes since Tudor hung up.
"You arrived quickly."
The middle-aged man in a suit behind the wheel replied in a quiet voice.
"I was the closest organization member available."
They'd mobilized the nearest contact from their network to escort me, someone right by Basilissa.
"The Chairman's residence isn't far from here."
"I see."
"Yes, it's about a thirty-minute drive... but given the circumstances, I hope you'll forgive a bit of speeding."
The Blue Tiger's home was a top-tier villa on the outskirts of Paju.
Of course, it wasn't some leisurely retreat for a retired tycoon to spend his twilight years. If anything, it was less a villa and more a full-fledged mansion.
The moment we hit the dedicated highway lane, the car began accelerating smoothly. It was the dead of night, with empty roads, so the middle-aged driver floored it to the limit. Even so, the vehicle's smooth ride and hefty build made it comfortable.
He politely downplayed himself as just a lowly organization grunt and introduced his name as Chae Taewon.
I'd known his name even before he said it.
In [Cthulhu World], that meant he had enough weight to leave a mark—and that he possessed skills worth remembering.
Of course, depending on how things unfolded, I might never need to call his name again... or I could end up clashing with him endlessly until one of us died.
Lean build, tall frame, hair neatly combed back. Steady wrinkles framing a composed face. He looked less like a hands-on gangster and more like a bank manager or corporate executive—pure desk jockey.
In truth, his actual work probably wasn't much different. Chae Taewon was a branch manager overseeing parts of the Triad Society.
In short, he wasn't the type to play chauffeur in a situation like this.
Tudor had joked, "It's not me who's in a hurry—it's the client," but it seemed the man really was pressed.
And though he wasn't showing it, the situation was genuinely urgent.
Information only I knew, that no one else could.
[! Time Limit: Jeong Hyun-ah dies in (2) hours. !]
Of all things, a pesky time-attack quest. I hoped for minimal interference, but the remaining time was way too short. Even a slight snag could doom me, no matter my skill.
And failure meant...
[Failure: Become hostile with the Triad Society.]
'Damn it, what a hassle! Why'd I have to get stuck with a quest like this...!'
It took about eight minutes to reach the destination. The slowing car suggested we were almost there.
"It might get a bit rowdy upon arrival. I apologize in advance."
Even with me in my getup—mask, hoodie, backpack, skateboard slung over—Chae Taewon's courteous demeanor didn't waver. He was too refined to just dismiss as a thug.
"I have a rough idea."
It was already a fortress guarded around the clock by dozens of organization members. Now, with the boss's family kidnapped? Probably hundreds of grunts swarming the place, packed like sardines.
"No, it's not that kind of situation."
"...? Then what is it?"
"The police are here."
"Ah."
Similar to the abandoned hospital on Gamak Mountain. Thanks to the dynamic real-time active quest system, even the same quest varied in details each time.
On Gamak Mountain, Go Kyung-su's Wild Guns crew had swarmed in, arming the test subjects with guns while they waited for me.
This boss's daughter quest had a low chance of spawning extra NPCs. And if luck was truly rotten, it could trigger a real headache.
The surroundings were indeed very, very, very chaotic.
At the entrance to the massive mansion with its towering walls, burly gangsters in black suits blocked the gate.
Facing them off were dozens of cops. It looked like a brawl had just broken out—those at the front lines had torn clothes, messed-up hair, total disarray.
On one side:
"Get lost!"
"Bring a warrant!!"
"You know whose turf this is?!"
On the other:
"Move! Move!"
"Hey, open the damn gate!!"
"You all wanna get arrested?!"
"This is obstructing official duties!"
Such a scene wasn't common even in Paju.
If I had to sum it up in one line:
"For some reason, it feels less like they're here to catch kidnappers and more like they're raiding for a search and seizure."
At my words, Chae Taewon—perhaps nursing a headache—tilted his head slightly and rubbed his temple with one hand.
"Someone must want to mess with the Chairman."
"And that seems to be... her."
A woman with a megaphone pushed forward from the police ranks. In that crush of people, it wasn't easy, but when she shoved through the cops, dozens of grown men parted left and right like the sea.
Ah, worst case. The absolute worst.
The NPC that only showed up on rock-bottom luck: Paju's wannabe outlaw scourge, the enemy of every drifter playing tough guy. Paju's maddest civil servant.
Yang Seo-ho.
Yang Seo-ho brought the megaphone to her mouth and bellowed at the Triad thugs right in front of her.
"A! A! Triad Society gangsters!!!!!"
It wasn't some artifact, but her shout carried physical force beyond mere sound.
Her voice exploded out, staggering the gate-blocking thugs nearby and forcing them back.
"We're the righteous, kind cops here to find your boss's daughter!!!! Don't pull that crap—just cooperate!!"
What a lunatic.
But the Triad side had someone with spine. A hulking brute twice Yang Seo-ho's size stomped forward.
"Look, we're not doing anything wrong, so why barge in and make a scene?"
The giant tensed his whole body with mana, ready to swing, but he at least kept up surface-level civility.
Meanwhile, Yang Seo-ho—upholder of law and justice—shoved the megaphone in his face and screamed.
"Ah, we're here to find your boss's damn daughter, got it? Move, now?!!"
Civility be damned—an unhinged rampage.
The brute, who'd been polite, clutched his ears at her yell, stumbled, then flushed red with rage and roared back.
"Ah, we're telling you we don't need it! Want in? Get a warrant!!!"
"I'm not touching your boss 'cause he's a proud citizen of this great Republic of Korea, and that goes double for his daughter!!! I'm after the kidnapping scum, so open the gate!!!"
"Don't bullshit me!!! Get a warrant!!!"
"What the hell, you bastard!!"
Look... I had no desire to take Yang Seo-ho's side, but her sincerity wasn't in question. Even if the target was a serial killer scum instead of a gang boss, she'd care little as long as they were a legal Korean citizen walking Korean soil.
The reason she was abusing her authority and pushing this hard? The kidnappers of the Blue Tiger's daughter were her pet target: "illegal aliens," i.e., otherworldly intruders.
But with her charging in so inflexibly, misunderstandings would only deepen by the minute.
Hiding in Chae Taewon's car and killing time wasn't an option.
I spoke to the troubled Chae Taewon.
"That mess doesn't look like it'll wrap up easily."
"Urgh... Time's of the essence..."
Chae Taewon trailed off, then hardened his resolve and continued.
"I'll step in and clear a path somehow."
"No, no. Hold on."
"Yes?"
No guarantee stepping out would open the way. With time ticking, I didn't want to waste more.
"I'll slip in the back alone."
"The back gate's probably the same."
"If the Chairman approves, how about I quietly hop the wall?"
"No, we can't have a guest doing that..."
Chae Taewon looked distressed—more so than at Yang Seo-ho's antics.
Truth be told, this went beyond guest courtesy. No matter the situation, I'd be the guy scaling the Triad chairman's wall. It'd bruise their pride, and Chae Taewon could face internal flak for failing his duty.
But were we really wasting more time like this?
"Don't we need to move now?"
"Urgh... Understood. But please wait a moment."
Chae Taewon quietly reversed the car. He pulled to a spot out of the cops' sight, got out, and started making a call on his smartphone.
Getting permission... or at least warning them not to freak if I entered.
The call was brief. He returned to the driver's seat looking somehow years older.
"I've informed them that Kim Shin-hwa may enter, and they shouldn't panic."
"Then I'm good to go."
"Yes, but watch where you enter—it could be dangerous... See those branches overhanging the wall there?"
"I see them."
"Could you enter via that tree? I've sent someone to meet you there."
"No problem."
Chae Taewon glanced away, seemingly sighing silently. After a pause, he suddenly said something off-topic.
"The Chairman is extremely worried."
For that, silence beat a flippant reply.
"And more than for himself, please—I'm begging you again for the young miss. Unlike the likes of us, she's an innocent little girl, isn't she?"
"Well, since I've taken the job, I won't half-ass it."
"Thank you."