Chapter 49
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 49
Chapter Title: Lucky Man
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Kan surveyed the streets of Shanghai after returning to China.
Shanghai was no longer the city Kan remembered.
Everywhere, people were still clearing collapsed walls and scattered debris. In one area, a memorial space had been set up to honor those who died in the disaster.
Shovels and heavy hammers rang out from one side, while anguished wails echoed from the other.
"Worse than I thought."
The photos had looked bad enough, but reality was even more devastating. Buildings that had burned were charred black, stripped of their original colors, and the ground was cracked so badly in places that no car could pass.
"Aigo! Where did they go... Aigo!"
"Sniff sniff..."
A city could always be rebuilt. The real problem was those wails.
Even Kan, who lived life on his own terms, had no tolerance for crying and steered clear of it.
"Xiao Hao."
"Yes, Mr. Kan."
"What do you think?"
To Xiao Hao, it looked like it would take at least several months for Shanghai to regain its former energy.
"It'll take a long time to restore the city. And with so many deaths..."
"No, no, not that. Why do you think Alex pulled this off?"
Xiao Hao pondered for a moment before speaking.
"Looks like there was a fight. No one sane would rampage alone like that."
"Exactly. Spot on."
Kan pointed to a half-demolished building in the distance.
"See that? The building's sliced clean. That shop over there too."
Kan walked slowly to the rubble of a fallen building and stroked a fragment.
"See? Clean cross-section, like a master chef slicing vegetables."
Kan swept the edge with his slender finger. It was a ridiculous sight at first glance, but Xiao Hao focused intently without laughing. It looked finished with aesthetic precision.
"And Alex's opponent was no slouch. So here's the question: who did Alex fight?"
"Hmm... Solo's also called the Necromancer. Could these traces be from Solo's opponent? Or maybe from the elite corpses Alex controls fighting?"
Kan gave Xiao Hao a regretful smile.
"That's the difference between you and me."
"......"
"You lack the eye for technique."
"Others might think the same. Alex wouldn't rampage alone out of madness? These are traces from his summons? It's a solid theory."
Kan examined the cross-section. Pristine, like machine-cut.
"This was sliced with a sword. Not brute force—pure, extreme technique."
"......"
"You can't make a cut like this with raw power alone. It's the mark of refined skill. Whoever Alex fought honed their technique to the absolute peak."
You see only as much as you know. It took a climber of Kan's caliber to spot it. Even Dagger's monstrous strength couldn't replicate it easily—it was the domain of precision.
"Something no corpse could pull off."
"Does a person like that even exist?"
"If I trained my swordplay, I could do something similar. Exactly like this? Would take time."
Xiao Hao was stunned. Kan, hailed as the pinnacle of technique among climbers—the arrogant one himself—had just used a humble tone laced with awe.
"Xiao Hao, among climbers, anyone honing their sword even close to my level?"
"None, without question."
Kan, King, and Solo weren't called the pinnacle for nothing. They were S-ranks above S-rank, overwhelmingly superior to other S-rank climbers.
Of course, someone even higher had recently come to light.
"Yeah, none. My hunch: Alex didn't fight a climber."
"Then who on earth...?"
"Gotta ask him straight up."
Kan thought of Alex, wherever he was. The guy who'd skipped the usual powerhouse standoff at their first meeting, cracking lame jokes instead.
'Oh, Kan! Long time no see?'
'You Solo?'
'Agh, don't recognize me? That's too sad.'
'First time meeting. Cut the familiarity and get lost.'
'Whoa~! Personality's still a gem, huh? Hit me up next time you're in Shanghai! Whoa, watch the spear.'
Like most mages, the guy was a few screws loose. Would've been fun as a subordinate, but no chances to meet since.
"But I wasn't in Shanghai."
Some cosmic joke—he'd been away right when this blew up. If he'd been there, Shanghai wouldn't look like ground zero.
No fault of his own, but... it felt oddly guilty.
"Not your fault, Mr. Kan."
"I know. Who said otherwise? Let's track down Alex. Probably still in China."
On the way back, Kan deliberately took a route through the heaviest debris.
'Alex, where you at? Still in Shanghai?'
Kan was curious about Alex's whereabouts, with warrants out in the US and China.
'With that getup, he's in for a rough time.'
"Ait, shiiipal~! Hurry the hell up."
"Hey. Korean people always this foul-mouthed? We get English just fine."
"Hey, Nana-ssi, I lived good till now 'cause I'm from Harlem. Never went without a gun."
"Sorry. Take your time."
"...What?"
The climber ahead scowled and glanced back at us.
This was the free mana crystal exchange counter.
Where unaffiliated climbers swapped crystals for cash.
I'd come with Nana to convert our mana crystals to won.
Ding-dong.
"Next customer!"
"Here."
Nana pulled out her ID and crystals like a pro. The staffer's eyes widened in surprise.
"Divine... Beast Guild Master?"
"Yes, haha, in a rush—please make it quick."
Alex here doesn't live with debts. Until the wanted status cleared, I figured I'd exchange at the free counter instead of Divine Beast Guild, playing it cautious.
A thick, bulging envelope at a glance. Phase 2 had jacked crystal prices several times over. No more safe infinite farming.
"This much covers a night's fun, right?"
"Don't say creepy shit."
I handed some cash to a flushing (pissed) Nana and stuffed the rest in my pocket.
"C'mon, I'll show you something fun."
"Sigh... To think this guy's the future's hope."
"You used that line last time too."
I dragged the sighing Nana out. Straight ahead, then right. Straight again, then left.
"This leads to Mangul..."
"Shh, now the real fun starts."
We entered a narrow alley. Two burly guys sat ahead, long swords in hand.
"Kyaa! Korea's security level, as expected."
Unlike me, who knew what to expect, Nana looked rattled. She turned—and there was the guy from earlier who'd hesitated and caught my shit-talk, closing in.
"Hey! It's dangerous—go another way..."
The man drew his long sword cautiously. Nana clocked it and glared at me.
"This is your idea of fun? If you knew, warn them first."
"Why glare at me? Think I mouthed off for no reason? How do you warn before the crime?"
The guys ahead rose slowly and closed in.
"Yo! Bag in the guy's pocket—woman's got cash too, check good!"
"Dumb-looking but lucky!"
The looters weren't even hiding it anymore, smacking their lips and yelling to each other.
"Korea's not usually like this. Phase 2 chaos lately..."
"Who said? I know. Other countries are the same now."
Phase 2 killed the safety bubble. Guys like this started popping up.
Especially those without the chops to climb higher or other income.
B-rank and below with meh skills mostly turned to looting.
Dunno why, but it felt like pre-apocalypse supermarket panic.
"Quietly drop the cash and fuck off. Won't kill ya."
No murder backbone either—just pathetic trash. Time for some trauma.
"Heh heh heh."
My psycho laugh got the looters flustered. Nana even more so.
"Called us lucky earlier?"
"......"
"You guys look like the unlucky ones."
"What the hell?"
These morons didn't catch basic English before either?
I threw up a bone wall to trap 'em, then sicced my grossest summons on them.
"Uwaaa! Sorry! Sorry! Please spare me!"
The last holdout got spider eggs in his mouth till zombie spiderlings crawled out his nose—then passed out. Honestly, solid mental fortitude.
"Gross even to me."
"Call it here?"
Nana recoiled, so I stopped. She called someone to legally haul them off, and we walked to Mangul Guild.
"Whoa, big building."
Bigger than your average guild HQ. Artifact hunting over climbing meant a different design vibe.
"Let's head in."
Time to meet another irregular.
Entered the building, headed to the lobby, scoping the place.
But I spotted a familiar back that had no business being here.
The guy sensed my stare, turned—and our eyes locked.
"...Alex?"
If I'd just not looked and bailed right then, would shit have gone different?
My brain froze, eyes bugging out bigger than usual at the guy casually saying my name.
There stood Jeremy—the one I'd nicknamed Dwayne Johnson—mouth agape.
One second: glad to see him. Two seconds: my situation hit. Three: my jaw dropped too.
"You know him?"
"...... Ammishibal (motherfucker)."
"Grab him!"
I bolted like a maniac. Not hitting the Pentagon this round.