The Info Broker
The hostility between Gong Won-goo and Dr. Woo had gone no further than a mutual, confirmed enmity.
Neither of them was stupid enough to stir up trouble inside a shelter. On top of that, the place where they had been growling at each other was the market — a location even more important than the shelter itself.
Naturally, the commotion was settled without further incident.
"All familiar faces, I see."
"Of course. You think we wouldn't recognize the shelter's business owners? Oh, there's Sanghae over there."
Sanghae had already loaded his cart to the brim with goods, and behind him his underlings were hauling a line of carts in single file.
"Hey there, Director Gong."
"Looks like this month's menu is going to be pretty decent. Maybe I'll have you boil up some crab stew?"
"Soy sauce marinated crab."
"Eating that all by yourself makes you a thief, you know."
"You know full well I can't have it right now anyway."
"We're not exactly normal people anymore. We could eat it and live."
"It's not about dying, it's about the taste. The taste."
"Fine. If it's about the taste, I'll respect that. So, you got yourself a lover these days or what? Who buys stuff like this?"
Won-goo said it while casting a sidelong glance into the cart. Sanitary pads.
"That's not mine. Baek Seol asked me to get them."
"Ah... right. Baek Seol doesn't have market access here, does she."
"Exactly, so every market day she asks the shop owners to pick up a few things for her."
"Is that why you joined her outfit after the whole Poke business?"
"That's how it worked out, yeah."
"Honestly. When I ask, it's always 'I can barely manage my own stock,' but for her you're suddenly swimming in supplies."
"I barely got her these few things. These few!"
Sanghae shouted, flaring up.
"Yelling like that — sounds like there's something you feel guilty about."
"Director Gong, honestly..."
"But keep this in mind. You know what kind of person Baek Seol is, right? Staying on bad terms with her wouldn't be great, but getting too close isn't good either. Get too close to something sweet, and the fallout always follows."
Won-goo stepped close and spoke with a grave expression, and Sanghae nodded just as gravely in return.
"If you keep calling me out like this, what am I supposed to do!"
The figure who appeared wearing a hood pulled low over a mask was Kim Seok-bong.
"That's exactly why I contacted you carefully. Sit down."
"What is it this time?"
"Not taking the money?"
"Huh?"
"A bonus. A bonus. There was some left over after wrapping up the last job."
Won-goo set a few gold coins on the table.
"Is that the only reason you called me here?"
"That, and we've got a job to do."
"Everyone's on high alert because of Hikan right now."
"Alert about what?"
"He just vanished, so everyone suspects you, Director."
"Just suspects?"
"They're practically certain, honestly."
"Then they can come at me face to face. You just keep to your contract, and I'll keep mine. I'll handle the Black Shelter side myself."
"Yes, sir... but the job?"
"You ever been inside a dungeon?"
"A dungeon, sir?"
"That's right. A dungeon."
"Above ground or underground?"
"Above ground is the Tower. Dungeons are underground."
"Underground, then — I've been in those before, but I don't go into dungeons. Who are you trying to get killed? You don't touch a dungeon lightly. That's the place where Nameds go in all friendly and evaporate all friendly."
"Who told you to clear the dungeon?"
"Then what?"
"Explore it. Explore."
"Exploring or clearing, isn't it all the same thing?"
"Which is why I'm telling you to go and gather information on the dungeon. What the layout is, how many floors, what monsters pop out, what traps are in there. Go, confirm, and report back."
"If you pay me, I'll go in. But... you think I can actually come back with all that on my own?"
"You think I'd send you in alone? Obviously I'm pairing you with an info broker."
"An info broker..."
"Never worked with one?"
"I have, but you don't run into them often. Info brokers come in all varieties, just like pathfinders all have different specialties."
"Right. Just like you're a Black Shelter specialist pathfinder."
"That's just side work I do. My real specialty is something else."
"Which is?"
"......"
Kim Seok-bong stopped, his mouth hovering half-open. Watching him, Won-goo let out a dry chuckle.
"Come on... you know better than to go showing that off."
"I do. But I know what your specialty is, you know?"
"......?"
"I can't say for certain, but I can make a pretty good guess."
"What is it then?"
"Danger detection."
"......"
Kim Seok-bong went silent in an instant.
"It's not, sir."
"You're too late, you punk. I have no intention of exposing your secret anyway — if I did, I wouldn't be handing you the job."
"Yes, sir..."
"Your only job is to sense danger. The info brokers will handle everything else."
"And my pay?"
"Your pay, this punk. Want me to compensate your head first?"
"Ah... right, it's only natural that money comes up when there's a job."
"I'll pay you fairly, don't worry. There are plenty of rumors about me floating around this business, but not a single one says I'm stingy. What should be given, gets given — in proportion to the work you do."
"Understood, sir."
"Read the contract and sign. I got it from Sanghae."
"If it looks too dangerous, I'll pull out. You know that, right?"
"It's written into the contract. Check for yourself."
Kim Seok-bong went over the contract in thorough detail.
"So who's handling the information?"
Kim Seok-bong asked, his eyes still on the document.
"An A-rank info broker, so don't worry. I only work with A-ranks."
"I know that's how you are, Director. I'm asking because it might be someone I know, that's all."
"It's not anyone tangled up with the Black Shelter, so relax."
"Then who is it?"
"The Yang siblings."
"......?"
"You know them?"
"You don't mean the Yang Sisters?"
"That's them. But they're siblings."
"They're sisters, though?"
"Siblings. They only became sisters. Speak of the tiger and it shows up — and here they are."
The Yang siblings entered, draped head to toe in enormous raincoats.
Both of them had the appearance of beautiful women, and judging by their faces alone they looked less like siblings and more like actual sisters.
Still, the hint was there for anyone paying attention.
The one who had been a man was far taller — taller than the average adult male, which made the contrast with the woman beside him striking.
"You made it. Yang siblings."
"How many times do we have to tell you not to call us that? Just 'sisters'?"
"Sharp-tongued as ever. Sit."
"We're holding up our end, right? We're running the dungeon together."
"That's right."
"You promise?"
"I just said so, didn't I? We're putting it in the contract too. So what's got you worried?"
"There's more than one way to weasel around a contract, that's all."
The sibling who sat down and did the talking was Yang Jin-seon — a feline beauty with large doe eyes and a bob cut.
Behind her stood the man, Yang Jeong-ho, who looked almost identical to her, planted solidly on his feet.
Without a single word.
He hadn't made a sound coming in either, only offering a brief nod.
"If I were the kind of man who'd pull dirty tricks like that, it'd be time for me to go. Do me the favor of seeing me off when that day comes. I don't do that stuff. I catch the ones who do. Has word not reached Sheet yet?"
Sheet was the name of yet another shelter in the area.
"You mean which thing? The Poke gang getting wiped out?"
"Yeah. The contract was the spark that set that whole thing off."
"We did think it was awfully sudden, the way you grew your operation. We had our suspicions — turns out we were right."
"Enough about people far away. This here is the pathfinder I mentioned. His skills are solid."
"That's something we'll have to test in the field ourselves."
"Test away, as much as you like. Just don't clash. You've got work to do."
"That won't happen. We're professionals."
"Good to hear. You've signed the contract?"
Won-goo said, looking at Kim Seok-bong.
"Yes, Director."
"Then go get ready. These two have probably been ready since before you walked in. Oh — you can leave out a week's worth of rations."
"......?"
"......?"
"No need for those faces. I stuck some instant ramen and snacks in your subspace backpacks. Plan your food around that."
At that, both the Yang siblings and Kim Seok-bong stared at him in astonishment.
"What's with the looks? Our outfit got market access too, so there were a few left over and I threw them in. It's not a lot. Just a taste."
"It's just... so unexpected. We didn't know you were the type to look after little things like this, Director."
"It's nothing. Just have a taste. But the subspace backpack comes back with you. That part I'm not giving away."
"We know."
Subspace magic couldn't really be called rare anymore — it was already in wide use. It was just that most of it amounted to nothing remarkable.
What passed for subspace magic these days meant, at best, expanding the inside of a bag to two or three times its size, give or take?
Measured against that standard, Won-goo's Trailer was undeniably something out of the ordinary.
"Is that pathfinder really as good as you say?"
The moment Kim Seok-bong stepped outside, Yang Jin-seon fired off the question.
The more skilled a survivor, the more carefully they read other people — or so one of the rumors circulating in this world went, and it happened to be true.
"You think he isn't?"
"His arm... he looks like a pathfinder who's taken some serious damage."
"Yang sib— no, Yang-unni."
"What's this Yang-unni nonsense?"
"You're the unni of the Yang Sisters, so Yang-unni. Or just call us by name?"
"Just call me Mary!"
Yang-unni — also known as Yang Jin-seon, also known as Mary — barked. Her voice was as sharp and bristling as her face suggested.
"Mary. Reading people is fine, but that's not how you do it."
"What did I read wrong, then?"
"Whether Mr. Kim's arm got that way handling some incident, or whether it was like that before the apocalypse. Isn't that exactly what you need to find out first?"
"Is that what that was?"
"That's not it either."
"Ugh, this is so annoying..."
Yang Jin-seon scowled.
"We've worked together plenty."
"How much is plenty?"
"Over a week together out in the field. No monster-related blowups the entire time. That's A-rank pathfinder material, isn't it?"
"Does he find his way well?"
"He's good at that too. You going to keep whining? This is why I refuse to work with anyone outside the family. You trust each other's skills and you move. Why are you so mouthy today? Want me to give you a treatment session?"
"Fine, fine. I'm done."
Yang Jin-seon raised both hands in surrender.
"Then a different question. Among info brokers, is there anyone who deals in Seals?"
"There is."
"Set up a meeting. Can you manage that?"
"Not right now. That party comes through Sheet every so often. I'll contact you then."
"So not someone based around here."
"I'd say not."
Won-goo's trust in her deepened at those words.
He had already gone looking for an info broker who dealt in Seals once. If he put his mind to it, he could wring out genuinely detailed information about everything in the area.
And yet there had been nothing — not a whisper of an info broker handling Seal intelligence.
Which meant they weren't the kind to be rooted and living nearby.
"What kind of party are they? A gang?"
"Gangs don't wander far from their own turf, you know."
"Adventurers, then."
"Who knows. Could be a party that hunts wanted fugitives. Though that'd be a touchy subject, wouldn't it?"
"Touchy, yes. What are they like? Difficult?"
"Reasonable enough? Give them money and they'll give you information, probably?"
"You say that like you've seen it yourself. Just make the introduction."
"And my finder's fee?"
"I'll give you one good piece of information."
"What is it?"
"You've got people poking at the 'Dwarf Elves' over by Sheet, don't you?"
"We do?"
"Tell them to stop. For a while."
"Oh..."
Yang Jin-seon's face went slack with surprise. And no wonder — the Dwarf Elf situation was already a hot topic circulating in Shelter Sheet.
"Sounds like someone's already tasted blood?"
"What happened?"
"Nothing much. I just happened to see it passing through."
"......?"
"A wandering party was trying to set fire to the forest."
"......"
"The poison's rising fast, deep in there. At that rate, it won't take more than half a year."
"If you say so, I'll take your word for it. There have been rumors going around that something feels off about that place, anyway."
"That's exactly why I'm telling you. Pass the word — be careful for the time being."
"I will."
"Then we're set on the Seal introduction?"
"When they show up."
"Good. Briefing's over. I'm off."
Won-goo sprang up from his seat and headed outside.
Out in the yard, his crew had already gathered around the Trailer.
"Ttugi. All set?"
"Yes, hyung-nim. Everything's done."
"Then let's move."
As Won-goo climbed into the driver's seat, the rest of the crew scrambled aboard the Trailer after him.
"Th-this time, h-how many days...?"
"A month-long course, so everyone brace yourselves. I timed it to roughly match how long the dungeon intel run will take."
The vehicle pulled out, and everyone crowded toward the front seats, hanging on Won-goo's words.
"Nothing to worry about. It'll be easier than before. We'll run a full lap of our old hunting grounds first, then try out some new territory after that."
"A month-long course — wouldn't the old hunting grounds alone wrap that up, that's the part I'm wondering about?"
Mu Beob-sa asked.
"No. We've got more people now, and everyone's gotten stronger. From here on, we pick up the pace. The goal is for everyone to hit their Milestone Trait before we go into the dungeon."
At that, every eye in the vehicle went wide.
After all, those words announced a brutal hunting season ahead.