Chapter 52
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 52
Chapter Title: The Mayor's Advice
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If life flowed only according to my will, it wouldn't be life—it'd be a well-crafted script.
But that doesn't mean it has to flow in the exact opposite direction of my will either.
Moderately.
Yeah, why doesn't this world have the virtue of moderation?
Did you think I'd end up as a hostage?
Of course. It was my own choice.
But did I expect to get kidnapped by this pack of amateur mutts?
No. That was a 100% pure accident, not in my plans at all.
The van pulled into an abandoned factory in Neo Incheon's rundown industrial district in the west, where only rusted structures remained.
Screeech—
The car stopped with an unpleasant grinding noise.
The door opened, and I was led inside the factory by the villains.
The interior was bigger than expected. Several vans like ours and a horde in hoodies were waiting.
This must be Black Hound's main force.
They alternated glances between their comrades with the money bags and me, at a complete loss.
"Sniffer! What the hell is this! Explain yourself, you bastard!"
"It just turned out that way."
Sniffer yelled irritably and threw the money bag on the floor.
"You see the news? The mayor of Neo Incheon! That Lee Garam guy! We're done for!"
"They say the Special Task Force is tearing the whole city apart! Not even an ant can escape!"
"I heard Kang Jiyeong herself is stepping in!"
It wasn't a celebration after a successful bank heist—it was a funeral atmosphere.
Like students who aced a test but forgot to write their names on the OMR sheet.
This won't do.
Pathetic third-rate villains who couldn't shed their amateurism.
With that mentality, they wouldn't last half a day—no, not even an hour before turning themselves in.
Then what about my golden vacation? My grand plan to claim PTSD and step down from mayor?
It'd all go up in smoke.
Even convenience store part-timers work at least four hours—how could I claim trauma from a one-hour kidnapping?
Absolutely not.
I'll protect my vacation myself.
I must save these foolish, pitiful lambs.
I have to turn these pathetic mutts into wolves. Or at least Shiba Inus.
Of course, not for their sake, but entirely for mine.
I casually sat on an old drum barrel in the corner.
And crossed my legs.
Not the posture of a hostage. This was the pose of an interviewer. Or a consultant.
"Gentlemen."
My low voice instantly quieted the noisy factory.
All eyes turned to me.
"Flailing around like that solves nothing. And your so-called leader just yells? Pathetic."
"W-what! Shut your mouth, hostage!"
A burly member pointed at me. Misha, was it?
"Hostage my ass? Funny choice of words. Then let me ask—what are you? Bank robbers?"
"What'd you say!"
"Oh, right. You robbed the bank. Congrats. But is that it? What's next? Huddling here with your money bags, shaking and whining 'What do we do now? I miss mommy'? Is that your whole plan?"
Silence.
Truth sometimes breeds silence, and silence sometimes means admission.
"Can't even recognize that I'm the only lifeline to pull you out of this hell. Truly hopeless third-raters."
"This bastard's really pushing it!!"
"Calm down, Misha!"
Sniffer held him back. Then he glared at me with wary eyes.
"...What's your angle?"
Angle.
If I had one, it was simple.
I don't want to work. That's it.
"Angle? Nothing that grand. Call it a proposal. I'll personally be your escape consultant—as the mayor, no less. Deduct the fee from my ransom."
Sniffer swallowed hard. His eyes shook violently between greed and suspicion.
"...Why should we trust you?"
"Whether you trust me or not isn't the point. It's about choice. Two options. One: Stick to your half-baked plan, get nabbed by the Special Task Force in an hour, and rot in Ganghwa Island for life. Two: Take my advice and slip through the net clean."
"Why the hell would the mayor help us?"
"Why? I want to live too. They say a cornered rat bites the cat, right? If you amateurs panic and vent by putting a hole in my head? That'd be too unfair. I want to get out safe. The ransom's paid with taxes anyway—not my problem. So you escaping safely guarantees my safety too, doesn't it?"
I stood and approached them.
One step, two steps.
A hostage approaching his kidnappers—an utterly ironic situation.
"Neo Incheon's Special Task Force moves by fixed patrol protocols. Crack the pattern, and you can punch through the weakest point in their net."
"I-is that true?"
A faint spark of hope mixed into Sniffer's voice.
"Yes. And right now, I know exactly where the biggest gap in the patrol route is."
Finally, hope dawned on their faces.
"How do you know that?"
"......Because I made the patrol route."
Of course, it created side effects I didn't want too.
No need to tell them that. The key was gaining trust.
Sniffer pondered, then spoke as if resolved.
"...Fine. Spill it. Where's today's patrol route?"
I smiled satisfactorily and pointed to the sky.
"Today is September 8th. Astronomically very important."
"Important day?"
"Yes. The day Virgo's energy peaks."
"......"
"......"
The silence that fell over the factory was qualitatively different from the bank's.
That wasn't shock.
It was pure 'What the hell is this guy babbling about?'
"Ahem. Meaning the Special Task Force will search in a Virgo pattern today. So we go the opposite—northwest. That's the safest route."
I said it with confident conviction.
This was science. A theory perfectly proven by capturing Zodiac and countless other villains since.
"Hey."
Sniffer's voice lowered.
"You mocking us?"
"Mocking? Haven't you heard of the zodiac patrol system? We caught Zodiac with it! Didn't you see the news?"
Why doesn't anyone believe the truth?
"This guy's treating us like total idiots!"
That burly guy freaked out again.
This time, Sniffer didn't stop him. Misha's face was beet red.
"Virgo? There's a limit to jokes! We didn't even graduate middle school, but we're not dumb enough to believe horoscopes!"
"No, it's real! Why won't you believe me! Listen to me and you'll live!"
I stomped my feet in frustration.
How tragic is this?
The loneliness of speaking truth and no one believing you.
Genius always outpaces its time and walks alone, but this is too much.
Then Sniffer suddenly smacked his forehead with his palm.
Flash.
Dawning realization lit his eyes.
"...I get it. Now I see."
"Finally realized I'm right? Yes, we can be a team!"
"It's a trap! If we go where you say, the Special Task Force is waiting! You knew we'd see through it!"
No.
Wrong.
Zero points.
"What are you talking about! Northwest is the only escape!"
"As expected... Dormant Dragon, no, King Dragon Lee Garam! I knew you weren't ordinary, but this level! No wonder all Neo Incheon's media calls you a great schemer! Almost fell for it!"
No. No, you dumb mutts.
I'm not a schemer! I'm just an ordinary citizen who wants to clock out!
"We won't fall for it! We won't play your sly games! Listen up! We go the opposite of what the mayor said—southeast! That's gotta be safest!"
"Ooh, Sniffer!"
"Our leader rocks!"
The other villains cheered at Sniffer's declaration.
"No! That's hell! The Special Task Force is swarming there!"
"Shut up! Hostages should stay quiet!"
They dragged me back into the vans.
Four vans total.
Black Hound's entire fortune and sole escape vehicles.
I rode in Van 2 with Sniffer.
"Go! Southeast!"
And as Sniffer shouted, the four vans floored it southeast.
Van 1 in the lead.
Van 2 (us) in the middle.
Vans 3 and 4 in the rear.
Perfect formation flight.
No, formation drive, I guess.
Please. Please let my zodiac horoscope be wrong just this once.
I prayed desperately, but the world was never on my side.
The goddess of fate has a talent for answering prayers exactly backwards.
The moment the vans escaped the industrial alleys.
Bang—!
The lead Van 1's front tire exploded.
More precisely, it was sniped.
"Argh!"
Van 1 spun like a top and crashed into a roadside building wall.
Screeech—!
Our van hit the brakes hard.
"W-what!"
"Sniper!!"
As the dust settled, black silhouettes blocked our path.
Jet-black combat gear. Ruthless aura.
Neo Incheon's elite, the mayor's direct strike force.
The Special Task Force.
I told you! Avoid Virgo!!
Luckily, Captain Kang Jiyeong wasn't there. Dodged one bullet.
"Black Hound gang is surrounded! Surrender peacefully!"
A cold voice boomed through a speaker.
"Damn! Special Task Force!"
"They were lying in wait!?"
"Scatter and run!"
The villains panicked.
But Van 1's crew was done.
Van smashed into the wall.
Villains crawling out.
The Special Task Force already surrounded them.
Escape routes cut. Retreat blocked. Scatter attempts neutralized.
Black Hound was a fly in a web.
A tiny, worthless gnat.
"Don't move!"
"Hands on your head!"
Electric stun rounds flew, net rounds launched.
Including the burly guy who'd yelled at me, three or four Black Hound members were subdued in seconds, collapsing to the ground.
"Argh!"
Without even mounting a resistance.
The big Misha and Van 1's riders were swiftly taken down.
"Misha! Misha's in Van 1!"
"Sniffer, we gotta go!"
Seeing it, Sniffer and the rest's faces twisted in grief and rage.
These third-rate villains actually had real camaraderie.
"......Damn it. See you all alive later!"
The remaining three vans scattered.
Leaving a few sacrifices behind, the surviving vans desperately broke through the net.
Miraculous escape.
The three vans regrouped in front of a warehouse by the docks, deemed safe.
But Van 1 was gone.
25% force lost right off the bat.
25% loss. Stock-wise, cut your losses.
Sniffer turned to me with terror-filled eyes.
"This... This was your plan? Manipulating our psychology to lure us here on purpose? Lee Garam, you're one scary bastard..."
Argh! Why won't you believe me! I said from the start it wasn't this way!!
I screamed inwardly.
My vacation. My trauma. My honorable retirement.
All my plans teetering on ruin because of these dumb dogs.