Chapter 140
Chapter 140
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 140
Chapter Title: Raiding the Sewer Rats
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At the same time.
Singangnam. 'Information Statistics Processing Company - Sewer Rats' Big Rat Building.
People often imagine Scavenger hideouts as dark underground alleys or rundown slums, but this group calling themselves the 'Sewer Rats' operated out of a brand-new ultra-high-rise building in Singangnam—a recently constructed tower on land so expensive it could make your jaw drop.
Of course, after South Korea's 'War on Crime,' most criminal organizations had restructured into corporate entities. The Scavengers, who came to dominate the underworld afterward, had inherited that know-how and partnered with major guilds, which allowed them to expand their operations like this.
“Argh! What the hell are you guys? You punks! Do you even know who we are?”
“Is this with a warrant? You bastards!”
“What the hell did we do wrong!”
“Why do the worst criminals get bolder with every passing year? Come on, let's wrap this up quick.”
But that flashy building now had shattered windows everywhere, and the people inside were being dragged out in droves by elite Heavenly Sword Army soldiers, like sardines on a line.
Knights in armor, mounted on horses and other mounts, were rounding up fleeing Awakeners from all directions.
“Let go! You son of a bitch! Do you know who's backing us?”
[Hmm hahaha! Looks like they don't even know who we are.]
“What the hell is this? Argh!”
[Don't let a single one escape.]
Meanwhile, Yoo Seongwon's job was simply standing shoulder-to-shoulder with Shin Somi, striking a cool pose as he watched his knights and the Heavenly Sword Army soldiers work.
A commander had to look the part, right? It wasn't even a full-scale war, so Knight's Grace wasn't complaining about him standing idly by.
As he stood there, he spotted a familiar trailer and a group of people rushing toward him in a panic.
“What the hell is this? Y-You! What are you plotting now?”
“Oh, Seoul Guild folks. Long time no see?”
“Long time my ass! What the hell is this mess you're stirring up this time?”
The group in familiar uniforms, armed to the teeth, were Seoul Guild Hunters.
Following them were Association staff, the Singangnam district mayor, and even the police chief, all scurrying over, anxious about what disaster might unfold next as they protested to Yoo Seongwon.
It was no wonder—they were still traumatized from the last time he showed up, when Singangnam's barriers collapsed and massive damage ensued.
“Relax. I'm not causing a big scene this time. Just grabbing those guys and their intel, then out. See? Not killing anyone—just capturing 'em alive. A few bruises, sure, but who's counting? Who should I hand them over to? Police? Or do you Seoul Guild want 'em? I'll throw in the evidence too, so charging and prosecuting will be a breeze.”
“Huh?”
'Is this guy okay? Did he eat something weird?'
'What’s his angle?'
The last time Yoo Seongwon appeared in Singangnam, he was a whirlwind of blood, slaughter, and destruction—the Golden Dragon Knight.
So when he said he hadn't killed a single one, just captured them, everyone's eyes went wide.
And now he was offering to hand them over to the authorities, complete with evidence and data? They were too stunned to speak.
“And why? Well, their grunts were sniffing around our turf and saw something they shouldn't have. Came to wipe 'em out, reclaim or destroy the data.”
“Ah, n-no. If that's the case... W-Well, it would've been nice if you'd given prior notice, but...”
“This is tied to a 10-trillion-won project. Can't be helped.”
“Right. Can't be helped.”
Everyone knew Scavengers cozying up to Iron Fortress weren't just a few, so they figured these guys had poked the dragon.
With a righteous cause, evidence provided, suspects handed over, and no extra damage to bystanders, the Seoul Guild, Association, and police had nothing left to say.
“Th-Then please continue while minimizing damage. We'll take our leave.”
“We'll handle the criminal handover and ID checks.”
“Alright. Oh, hold up. You from Seoul Guild—stop.”
“Huh? Me?”
The conversation had wrapped up cleanly, and they were about to scatter to their respective tasks when Yoo Seongwon called back the Seoul Guild rep.
Feeling uneasy, the man approached cautiously.
“Since we're already at it, I was thinking of doing some extra PR for our business—busting a bunch more Scavengers. Sound good?”
“Y-Yes. If that's the case...”
“So, you got data on ones we can nab without issue?”
“...!”
At Yoo Seongwon's sudden proposal, the Seoul Guild rep's eyes lit up.
On the surface, it sounded like a request for files on 'fair game' Scavengers, but every major guild had ties to Scavenger groups for intel and dirty work.
Even this 'Information Statistics Processing Company - Sewer Rats' getting wrecked right now were corporate Scavengers in the Blue Dragon Guild's pocket.
'Is this for real? Or is he testing me?'
The nuance of 'ones we can grab' basically meant handing over intel on everyone *except* Seoul Guild's connected Scavengers.
It was a freebie—let their own Scavengers thrive without lifting a finger. Passing it up would be suicidal.
But what if it was a trap? He hesitated, recalling that too-sweet bait often hid poison.
“Why the long face? If you don't wanna share, we'll just smash anyone on the info net.”
“N-No! No way! I'll get it right now!”
“Oh, right—one more thing. Exclude Olympus's crew.”
“Y-Yes, of course! Absolutely! Here, just a sec.”
He'd been wary at first, but the Olympus mention sealed it—no trap. He immediately radioed his guild, urging their Scavenger contacts to rush over rival group data.
By the time the scene was cleaned up, a USB drive and documents arrived via express delivery and were handed to Yoo Seongwon.
“Here you go!”
“Cheers. We'll smash 'em, then. You keep your line in check—warn 'em not to get swept up~”
“O-Of course. Take care.”
The Seoul Guild rep bowed a full 90 degrees as he saw Yoo Seongwon off.
They'd feared a disaster at first, but his arrival turned out to be a blessing—the rep's face beamed.
The police got easy arrests for their quotas, and the Association couldn't complain since it came with evidence.
Except, of course, for the Blue Dragon Guild—their intel network had just been obliterated out of nowhere.
***
“What the hell happened? The rat bastards got taken down?”
With Guild Master Go Cheonsu away, Go Cheonyong was receiving the report from Kwak Suchan instead.
The 'Information Statistics Processing Company - Sewer Rats' were practically direct-line intel Scavengers, and for them to get wiped out—not in a day, but in mere hours? Unheard of.
“We had backup dispatched, right?”
“That's... the Golden Dragon Knight Yoo Seongwon did it. By the time we got the call and mobilized, it was already over. We turned back.”
“Why hit our line's Scavengers?”
“From what the Association guy said... they spotted something big at Iron Fortress and attacked to destroy the data. As you know, we outsourced the surveillance on Yoo Seongwon and Iron Fortress to those rats.”
The intel team had subcontracted them to track Yoo Seongwon's movements and probe Iron Fortress. Go Cheonyong figured they'd overreached in their 'diligence' and got caught.
“Sigh, those idiots. Once that guy's onto you, you're done for.”
“Th-That's... the facility's trashed, but they're all alive.”
“What? What're you saying? Yoo Seongwon let Scavengers live?”
“Yeah. Word is, they're all captured alive and handed to police and Association—with evidence attached.”
“What the hell? Why didn't that bastard kill them?”
Yoo Seongwon.
The guy nicknamed Golden Demon Knight for his brutality.
He'd booted Seoul Guild from the top three by wrecking Singangnam, caused mass casualties via barrier destruction, and left no loose ends—slaughtering enemies outright.
“...But that's the truth.”
“What's he thinking? Well, if they're detained without fatalities... no big issue.”
“Yes. Legal team's already on it. Evidence or not, we'll spin most as unrelated, pin it on the puppet CEO, and drive it that way.”
With the ironclad cartel of guilds, Association, Scavengers, and judiciary, they could spring anyone even with evidence.
Pay for facility rebuilds and grease some lawyers and judges, and most would walk free soon enough.
Losing data stung, but they had expertise and backups—no sweat.
“And just in case, tell our other-line Scavengers to lay low for a bit... Ah! Sorry, sudden call...”
“No worries. Take it. Situation's tense, right?”
“Yes, thank you. So... Wait, Blue Hawk—you guys too?”
The call to Kwak Suchan was from another intel Scavenger group under them.
Blue Hawk—the second-best after Sewer Rats—and they were under attack by Yoo Seongwon's crew right now.
“No way—that guy's lost it?”
“Haah... Looks like Blue Hawk's getting hit too. How's he zeroing in only on our lines?”
“We need to figure that out. But weirder still... he's letting them live. If you're dismantling an intel network, killing's more efficient. What's his deal? A warning? Or...”
With their cartel so solid, captures meant nothing—they'd be out fast.
The guy had to know that, yet... Kwak Suchan and Go Cheonyong scowled, racking their brains for Yoo Seongwon's motive, but no clear answer emerged.
At the same time, Yoo Seongwon posed for photos in front of reporters, Scavengers being hauled off by police in the background, grinning as everything went according to plan.
'Infinite reputation farming. Pure gold~'