Chapter 23
Chapter 23
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 23
Chapter Title: God of Speed
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With the speed of light, I swept through the entire hideout.
The double ledgers in the safe, the computer SSD cards, piles of USB drives.
I gathered every scrap of evidence and stuffed it all into a large ziplock bag.
'It should be wrapping up by now, right?'
I strolled leisurely toward the rooftop railing.
Looking down, just as expected, the Heavy Crime Unit was overwhelming them single-handedly.
Smack! Thud!
"Argh!"
"Urk!"
The thugs, who had charged in with such bravado, were thrown into panic now that they were down to bare fists and couldn't do a thing.
In stark contrast, the Heavy Crime Unit detectives were riding high.
"Obstructing official duties! Attempted murder! Aggravated assault! I'll make sure you rot in prison for life!"
Thud! Crack!
"That's the Execution Baton, huh. Solid performance."
A decisive anti-hunter weapon issued only to the military and police. The Execution Baton.
Despite its name, it took the form of a blunt suppression baton, but its power was nothing to scoff at.
A so-called mana breaker that nullified any abilities below A-Rank on contact.
It embodied the very force of public authority.
'Not really jealous, though.'
It might look impressive at first glance, but it had more drawbacks than you'd think.
Because it used special fuel that disrupted mana concentration, even the wielder couldn't use their own abilities.
And if the opponent was an S-Rank Awakened, that toy was as good as useless.
Thud! Thud! Smack!
Of course, it was more than enough to subdue real estate speculators who didn't even dare enter Gates.
"Boss! P-Please spare us!"
"Urk...! You cowardly bastards, using weapons just for yourselves...?"
The thugs struck by the Execution Batons lost their strength and crumpled to the ground like fallen leaves.
Most passed out after a single hit, and only those around B-Rank could withstand a few blows.
Even so, the guild master Sima Jin alone endured over a dozen strikes from the baton, howling in rage.
"Huff...! Huff...! Damn it. Let's see how long you punks keep swinging that fluorescent stick!"
"A-Rank's on another level. Everyone, pile on him!"
That was when five detectives charged at the sergeant's command, surrounding Sima Jin.
Zzzing...
The blue glow of the Execution Batons flickered like a dying light before fading completely.
"Wh-what? There's still plenty of fuel left..."
One panicked detective shook his baton, but once the light went out, it didn't come back.
'The air's getting heavy.'
A little above the brawl, dark clouds of mana swirled and gathered like storm clouds.
Space itself screamed as cracks split open.
An A-Rank Gate was about to fully open.
The Execution Batons worked by canceling out mana wavelengths, but with the atmospheric mana density exceeding limits, they overloaded and shut down.
"Damn it...! Load all the perps into the vehicles! Grab Sima Jin and retreat, fast! The real Gate's about to break!"
As the detectives loaded the captured villains into the cars at the sergeant's order, the ground beneath the police vehicles turned mushy, swallowing them like quicksand.
"Kuhuhu. Who're you gonna catch?"
It was Sima Jin's ability.
The swamp of poison dragged his own men to hell alongside the police cars.
"B-Boss! Save me! Boss!"
"Kuhahahahaha!"
Sima Jin laughed maniacally.
The Heavy Crime Unit detectives, stranded without transport right in front of an A-Rank Gate, must have looked mighty tasty to him.
He clearly hadn't considered his underlings comrades from the start.
'What kind of psycho is this guy?'
I used Swiftness to pull all the perps out, but the half-sunken vehicles were beyond saving—I had to leave them.
'Not the time to just watch.'
I'd given them a chance to shine since they were chanting promotion songs inside the cars.
But this was beyond what the Heavy Crime Unit could handle now.
I'd waited plenty. Time to step in.
Sima Jin was mine to take down.
'I don't need the credit anyway. Let the detectives claim the arrests...'
I was mulling that over leisurely when—
Crackle!!
A Gate suddenly ripped open, blocking the space between Sima Jin and me.
The scenery shifted in an instant.
I'd walked into a few on my own, but getting sucked in like this was a first.
Rumble!
The earth-shaking vibration coursed through Sima Jin's soles, thrilling his entire body.
Evil energy overflowed from the crimson-black Gate like crashing waves.
'Perfect! Let the monsters clean up the pigs.'
Not some B-Rank—this was a full A-Rank Gate Break.
No way those toy batons the detectives brought could handle it.
Radios would be dead, vehicles gone.
By the time S-Rank Hunters arrived for backup, this place would be a wasteland.
The ragtag Heavy Crime Unit would end up as monster chow.
A fitting end for fake heroes playing at justice without real power.
Of course, Sima Jin had no intention of joining that death party.
"Outta my way, you worm!"
"Gaaahhh!"
Sima Jin spat in the face of a detective blocking his escape.
The poisoned detective clutched his face, writhing on the ground.
That poison was laced with all his mana—a deadly toxin.
Even if they trucked in every top doctor in the country, no antidote.
Unless they called an S-Rank Healer, maybe.
Sima Jin shoved past the suffering detective and bolted to his waiting black sedan.
The youngest was already at the wheel.
"Boss!!"
"Floor it! Go, go, go!"
He barked the order as he slid into the passenger seat, startling the kid into starting the engine.
Screech!
The sedan peeled out from between the commercial buildings, speeding down the road.
Sima Jin glanced back at the chaotic scene from afar, smirking wickedly.
The Gate seemed to have vanished somehow, but probably just his imagination.
Sima Jin yanked open the glove compartment.
Thump!
Inside was a fist-sized black gem radiating a beautiful glow.
An A-Rank Gate trigger device.
Commonly known as the Abyss Core.
Even if some pig survived and spilled everything, Sima Jin had insurance.
"Kuhuhu..."
He pulled out the gem, rubbing it against his cheek in ecstasy.
Sell it to terrorists or villain groups later, and he could retire comfortably in Southeast Asia.
Ten years ago, American gangs flooded the market, but now it was rare, sold only to select big shots.
'Peanuts compared to real estate profits, but can't be helped with loose ends.'
As Sima Jin grinned at visions of a rosy future—
"Kekeke."
"What's that? Something important?"
Sima Jin whipped around in shock.
The back seat, which should've been empty, held... that tacky grandma's grandson from the soup joint...
No. The masked guy sat there, legs crossed.
Sima Jin moved on instinct before thought.
"Die!"
As his poison-laden palm reached to crush the masked guy—
"Just looks like processed mana stone. What's so special about it?"
The voice came from behind again.
He turned to see the masked guy now lounging in the passenger seat, eyeing the Gate trigger leisurely.
"This is evidence, so I'll confiscate it?"
"Sh-shit!"
Sima Jin didn't care if his underling at the wheel lived or died—he sprayed poison gas everywhere.
Windows all sealed tight.
A completely airtight space!
Too late to open them now; the masked guy's body would be on its way to the afterlife.
Only he, with his poison resistance, would survive!
"B-Boss! You'll kill me too!"
Like I care.
From the guy's movements, he was at least an A-Rank speedster with a rare artifact.
A fight could go either way.
No time to worry about minions.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
"First guy I've seen fanning away poison with his hands like he's farting."
"...What?"
Sima Jin couldn't comprehend the scene before him.
The poison gas that should've filled the car had vanished without a trace.
The masked guy had just waved his hand in front of his nose, that's all.
Like a typhoon hit, all the toxin rushed out the shattered windows.
'When did the windows even break?'
Absurdity turned to terror.
He couldn't even grasp what had happened.
One thing was clear.
The masked guy in front of him was a monster.
A monster he absolutely couldn't afford to piss off.
"O-Okay, I get it. It's about your grandma, right? I'll compensate you plenty. 1 billion? No, 2 billion. That gem's useless to you anyway—you couldn't sell it!"
"Oh? That expensive? Guess you'd really want it back then?"
The masked guy dangled the gem out the window.
Plop.
The gem slipped from his fingers and fell.
"Hey! Do you know how much that's worth?! One of those could let you flee to Southeast Asia and live like a king!"
As Sima Jin lunged for the back door—
"Where you going? Gem's right here."
The masked guy taunted him, juggling the black gem between his fingers.
He'd clearly dropped it, but now it was back in the masked guy's hand.
The masked guy dangled his hand out the window again, juggling the gem playfully.
He was being toyed with completely.
"Hey! Stay still or I'll really toss it?"
Sima Jin froze, shooting desperate glances at his underling in the driver's seat.
But the guy just sweated bullets, doing nothing.
You cowardly bastard.
The masked guy held up the gem right in front of Sima Jin's eyes and smirked coldly.
"Now you get how it feels to have something precious taken away?"
"Aaaah, got it. Sorry. I apologize. I'll make it right, no question. Trust me. I'm a guy who gets things done."
"Yeah? Then you can just make more money, right?"
This time, the masked guy really flung the black gem out the window.
Sima Jin clearly saw the glowing object fly away.
"Shiiiit!! Hey, you punk! While the boss is getting played, you're just driving safely?!"
"It's not that, Boss! No matter how hard I try to let go of the wheel, my hands grab it again!"
"Then hit the gas, damn it!"
"N-No, I can't! It's stuck on safe driving...!"
"What bullshit is..."
When Sima Jin snapped out of it, his body was already belted tight to the back seat.
The kid who'd been driving was next to him now.
So who was at the wheel?
No need to ask. The masked guy.
'No way...'
A-Rank, S-Rank—that was kid stuff.
This was the God of Speed.
"What? Not begging for the gem anymore?"
"......Pl-Please spare my life, sir."
The masked guy quietly floored the accelerator.