Chapter 40
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 40
Chapter Title: The Mayor and the Hunt
-----------------------------------------------------------------
"What... what is it? Special Task Force?"
"That woman... I think I've seen her on TV... No way..."
"Instead, let me introduce her. Kang Jiyeong, Captain of the Neo Incheon Special Task Force. You've come personally today to investigate the reality of this illegal superpowered group."
Yesterday, I was the defenseless citizen Lee Garam.
A candle in the wind. A cat before a chu. A powerless, fragile existence.
But today, I had a human-shaped tank at my side.
No, I had Kang Jiyeong, who wouldn't flinch even if hundreds of tanks rolled in.
I was Mayor Lee Garam, accompanied by an S-rank superhuman.
"Captain Kang Jiyeong. Those shabby warehouses you see over there, and those food bowls lining the street. They're all illegal structures and illegal placements. They're ruining the city's aesthetics and causing serious hygiene issues. Demolish them immediately."
Kang Jiyeong moved. Or rather, she barely lifted a finger.
Kwarung-!
With a thunderous crash like a hammer slamming down, the rundown cat feeding stations and winter shelters scattered throughout the villa village crumpled like paper.
Her superpower. Steel Will had activated.
"Kyaaak!"
"Wh-what is this...!"
At that moment, hundreds of cats came bursting out from inside the collapsed warehouses in a panic.
Meeeooow!!
The rusty chain-link fences on the villa walls, the twisted metal frames of the warehouses, nails, wires, hinges—they all floated up.
The metals flew toward each other in midair.
They reshaped themselves, reassembled, intertwined, and locked into place.
Thud! Clank!
Hundreds of steel cages, forged on the spot.
The cages flew precisely toward the cats, trapping them one by one.
A overwhelming display of power. Order reestablished in an instant.
The cat moms stood there with their mouths agape, staring blankly at the surreal scene.
Faces whose brains couldn't keep up with reality.
I love expressions like that.
"Wait!"
Even in the midst of the chaos, I didn't forget my goal.
That seductive calico cat that had allowed my touch yesterday.
I had to save my cat!
Found it.
I somehow spotted the little guy.
Even among the hundreds of cats, it shone brightly, like it was under a spotlight.
Or maybe it was just the rose-tinted filter in my eyes.
But who cares.
If it looks that way to me, then it is that way. The world is subjective, after all.
Nya?
At that moment, it saw me too.
Our eyes met.
Ah.
Time stopped. The surrounding crashes and screams faded into distant background noise.
Was this fate? Was this what they call connection?
"Wait! I'm coming!"
One step. Two steps.
The world felt like a slow-motion film.
Sharp rebar fragments whizzed past me.
Asphalt cracked underfoot, water pipes bursting out.
But I ignored it all. My gaze was fixed on one spot.
Its calico fur rippled like waves. Even its tiny pink tongue panting was crystal clear.
Meow!
It started running toward me too.
On its four little legs, desperately waddling.
Two lives charging toward each other in a crumbling world.
What a touching reunion.
It felt like romantic OST music was playing right now.
Oh, my love. My darling.
Are you still mine?
Are you still my cat?
"Come here."
Finally, our distance closed.
It jumped first, leaping straight into my arms. A leap of pure trust, without a hint of hesitation.
I threw myself forward and caught it securely.
Squeeze-
Warm, soft texture.
Purr.
A faint vibration rumbling through my heart. The weight of a small life entrusted to me.
Don't worry. From now on, I'm your owner. I'll take responsibility for you.
Of course, no responsibility fees. Love doesn't come with a price tag.
"They took all our babies... Those devils took our babies!"
One cat mom snapped out of it and screamed in shock and terror.
I smirked arrogantly at them, cradling my prize of victory, the adorable calico cat.
The victor's smile looking down on the defeated. The sweetest smile in the world.
"Looks like you're finally grasping the situation."
Intentional silence. A perfect pause.
Advanced rhetoric to maximize the impact of the words to come.
A professional smugness technique taught by Seria. Highly effective at pissing people off.
"De... mon... wom... en?"
I emphasized each syllable.
The cat moms' gazes all locked onto me.
I savored those stares with my whole body, twisting my lips up as far as they could go.
"Captain Kang, check inside that too."
I nodded toward their den, the villa where the cat moms lived.
Kwajik!
At her gesture, one side of the villa wall bent like taffy and tore away.
And inside, a horrific sight was revealed.
Dozens of rusty cages stacked high, packed full of what looked like purebred cats.
Creeeak-
A stench assaulted the nose, mingled with pitiful cries.
A blatant illegal breeding operation.
No, a factory. A factory churning out lives.
"No way, they really were a criminal organization??"
The cat moms' faces turned pale in an instant.
"Kids, run! Call a lawyer!"
The leader of the cat mom alliance shouted, her face ashen.
At her signal, the women scattered in all directions.
But Kang Jiyeong was faster. She lightly tapped the asphalt with her combat boot heel.
Kugugung!
The ground shook.
Old water pipes and rusted rebar writhed like earthworms, ripping through the surface.
Iron chains, handcuffs, shackles.
The metals precisely wrapped around the fleeing cat moms' arms and legs, binding them.
The hunt. Ruthless capture.
"Kyaaak!"
"L-let go! I'll report you! This is misogyny!"
"Ow, my back! My poor joints! My knee surgery from last year!"
"I'll file a million complaints with city hall!"
A horrific cacophony of screams, curses, and whines.
The death rattles from the mouths of the defeated are sweet music to the victor's ears.
The cat mom alliance, so full of themselves just seconds ago, now writhed helplessly on the ground as a gang of powerless criminals.
Until yesterday, they were the absolute power in this villa village. Horrific beings who terrorized residents under the banner of cats.
But now? Worms wriggling pathetically on the dirt. A panorama of ugliness. Miserable and shabby.
Ah, how satisfying. This must be what poetic justice tastes like.
True power. Absolute violence. All pretexts and logic crumble so helplessly before it.
"Captain Kang. How about turning them into the same state as the cats they abused? Those scattered scrap metals still look useful."
Kang Jiyeong understood my intent without asking.
As expected, competent talent needs few words.
The torn-apart frames and cages from the illegal breeding den began reassembling.
Clank! Bang! Screeech!
Welding sparks flew, metal bending with resounding echoes.
And finally, a single iron cage was complete.
About two meters wide and tall. Big enough for a dozen adult men. But just shy for all those hefty silhouettes—an exquisitely cruel size.
"W-wait, what's that? What are you doing?"
"Shove them in."
The cat moms were crammed into the cage.
Clank.
"Ugh! Can't breathe!"
"Hey, move over! Your butt's in my face!"
"Whose foot is that! Get it off!"
A kind of giant... cat mom sardine tin.
"Behold, my little meow. That's karma. Retribution. The world is this fair. You reap what you sow."
Purr.
Inside, pandemonium unfolded. Heavy bodies crammed into tight space tangled together.
Flesh pressed against flesh, bones clacking, suffocating body odors thick in the air.
"This is all your fault, Mrs. Kim! You picked a fight with that psycho yesterday for no reason!"
"What? Me? You were the one who started fanning the flames to collect those feeding fees!"
"Don't push! My designer bag's getting crushed! Still got 10 months of payments left!"
"It's a fake anyway!!"
Beautiful. Truly a tear-jerkingly beautiful sight.
Human nature laid bare in crisis. Blame-shifting and infighting.
Instead of licking each other's wounds, clawing at flesh and whining.
Isn't that the essence of human society in one masterpiece painting?
Cubism Picasso would envy. Surrealism that would make Dalí kneel.
I'd title it Pigs in a Cramped Cage.
"Ironic, isn't it? The ones who shirk responsibility the most are the ones demanding responsibility fees."
The cat moms glared at me furiously but couldn't say a word.
"Is the 'responsibility' you talk about just proven by a few bucks? True responsibility is this. Taking a life and embracing everything about it. You just abandoned responsibility and got high on the self-satisfaction of your 'good deeds.'"
I stroked the soft fur of the calico in my arms and drove the point home.
Nya.
"In simple terms, if you love cats so much, take them home and raise them!"
"Illegal animal breeding and abuse. Operating an unlicensed breeding business. And forming an unregistered superpowered group while disrupting public order. You're all under arrest."
Kang Jiyeong listed their charges.
"Add threatening the mayor too! These ladies tried to extort money from me yesterday!"
Yes! That's what happens when you mess with the mayor! You ignorant fools!
I hadn't expected such a massive illegal organization, but...
Whatever, at this point, achievements like this are no big deal. Just a bucket poured into the ocean of success that is Lee Garam.
"You think so too, right? This much is within tolerance."
Meow.
Yeah, even the cat agrees.
Let's just brush off small wins like this.
Is this adaptation? Human adaptability is truly terrifying.
Anyway, phase 1 of my Nekonomics was complete.
But I couldn't get complacent over a small victory like this.
With the cat moms wiped out, animal rights groups would label me an animal abuser.
Approval ratings would dip, then rise again.
On the flip side, how would the villa residents react? The ones tormented day and night by cat noise and poop terrorism.
They'd hail me as a hero. Worship me as a savior. Praise me as the apostle of justice who restored alley peace. Obvious.
In the end, plus minus zero.
No, actually a slight plus.
Not enough. My grand journey toward impeachment needs the next level of controversy.
The cat moms were amateurs, after all. Their racket was confined to the villa village.
To summon true chaos, I couldn't mimic amateurs.
Pros had to step up.
Yes.
I would evolve beyond all cat moms into the ultimate being, the absolute supreme cat mom.
Cat Mom Counterattack 2: Birth of the Cat Mom Mayor.
"The final Nekonomics... is me becoming a cat mom myself!"
The blueprint for 'Nekonomics Phase 2' formed in my mind.
Called the Public Cat Mom Project.
Pump in city budget.
Mobilize city personnel.
Focus all administrative power.
Supply Neo Incheon's stray cats with premium feed. Tuna belly, organic chicken breast, special churu with beef.
With tax money.
Install luxury hideaways. State-of-the-art auto climate control, plush memory foam cushions, cat-specific water purifiers—hotel suite level.
All with taxes, of course.
Build cat playgrounds. Massive cat towers, auto laser pointers, catnip fountains. Even top experts to play with cats 24/7.
Naturally, with taxes.
Just thinking about it is horrifying. No, beautiful.
Citizens' tax blood melting endlessly for cat welfare.
Outcry from cat-allergic citizens.
Relative deprivation from real owners raising cats at home.
Pigeon lovers' rage.
Dog owners' protests for equal treatment.
The whole city fracturing, clashing, fighting over cats.