Chapter 104
Translator : M.N 1391
Chapter: 104
At Lee Cheol’s words, a sudden chill settled into the director of Haengbokwon’s voice.
[What do you mean, side income? A police officer’s income is clearly fixed.]
That damn fucking side income.
The director’s voice sharpened on its own as memories surfaced, of cops who’d turned a blind eye to gangsters clinging to Haengbokwon, all because of that damn fucking side income.
Hearing the edge in the director’s voice, Lee Cheol went oh shit! internally and hurriedly made up an excuse.
“I joined the Superpowered Crimes Investigation Unit. So I get a special allowance.”
This time, a worried voice came back.
[Isn’t that dangerous?]
“Is there any job where catching criminals isn’t dangerous? And among police officers, I’m strong enough to be counted on one hand.”
[I see..]
Over the phone, Lee Cheol could hear the director letting out a sigh of relief.
Then, as if newly struck by the thought, the director spoke again.
[Who’d have thought the country would actually do something like this?]
When people who were usually busy stuffing their own pockets under the banner of we’re all in this together suddenly started showing concern, how could one not be surprised?
As the director’s thoughts drifted elsewhere, Lee Cheol let out a relieved breath and chimed in.
“Seriously.”
Strictly speaking, it was an allowance from his Thunder Boy activities, but Lee Cheol couldn’t bring himself to say that out loud. So he quickly returned to the main topic.
“So it’s not a big burden. You don’t need to worry. Is there anything the kids like these days?”
At his question, the director searched their memory and replied.
[Lately, the boys seem to like some hero called Thunder Boy or something. And the girls like a female hero called Crush Lady.]
“.. Ah..”
The kids like Thunder Boy? That tacky thing?
Faced with this completely incomprehensible situation, Lee Cheol couldn’t bring himself to reveal that he was Thunder Boy. Even if his superiors allowed him to reveal his identity, he probably still wouldn’t be able to do it..
The director, seeming to understand at least part of his feelings, continued.
[The world really is changing fast. Back when you were here, none of the kids cared about things like that.]
“That’s probably because the media keeps dressing it up.”
And not just the media. SNS, streaming platforms, video sites, hero promotion was being pushed on all fronts, constantly encouraging a positive image, so of course people would start liking them. Kids who didn’t know any better would be even more susceptible.
After exchanging a few more words with the director, Lee Cheol ended the call.
“Yes, got it. I’ll see you on my day off.”
He let out a sigh as the call ended. Then he contacted the manager(?) assigned to him and made a request that was small, yet not insignificant.
“Um, is there any way to buy Thunder Boy merchandise that kids would like, but cheaply?”
Even though he received a hero allowance, Lee Cheol was an orphan who tried to save money wherever he could.
= = = = =
11 – Superhuman Collision
A former coup commander had died.
The cause of death was old age.
However, there was no repentance, and no apology.
Until his death, none of the things Black Noya or Black Smoke had demanded were fulfilled.
And so, the young man who had that former coup commander as his grandfather received a visit from Black Smoke.
“Why the hell are you doing this! My grandfather is dead already!”
Facing the pale-faced youth screaming in fury, Black Smoke replied in a calm tone.
“He never apologized in the end.”
From the young man’s perspective, it was absurd and infuriating. In other words, it meant Black Smoke intended to break his legs again.
The youth shouted.
“What do you want me to do?! Bring a dead man back to life?!”
Black Smoke answered.
“It just became karma you’ll have to bear for the rest of your life.”
“Bullshit!”
The youth screamed in rage. Despite having lost his parents to Black Noya, his grandfather dying of old age, and now having no one left to protect him, he still wasn’t cowed. Either his intelligence was too low to grasp the situation, or he’d lived his whole life doing whatever he wanted and had never truly known fear.
At that, Black Smoke looked like he couldn’t be bothered talking any further and summoned black smoke.
That was when,
“That’s far enough.”
A sudden third party appeared.
A yellow lightning mark on his chest, special metal gauntlets on both hands, Korea’s first hero! His name was,
“Thunder Boy!”
“.. You have the right to remain silent, and anything you say can be used against you, ”
Lee Cheol paused briefly when the young man brightened and shouted his hero name, but he calmly continued, informing Black Smoke of the Miranda rights.
Black Smoke looked at Thunder Boy, then at the young man. Honestly, he’d thought it strange that the kid’s spirit hadn’t broken even after having all his limbs shattered, but now it made sense.
After all, every time his broken bones healed, he’d come back. Setting up a stakeout wouldn’t have been that difficult.
After listening to Thunder Boy finish reciting the Miranda rights, Black Smoke suddenly asked, out of genuine curiosity,
“Aren’t you ashamed?”
“... Surrender peacefully.”
It was embarrassing, but admitting it would be even more embarrassing, so Thunder Boy ignored the question and demanded his surrender.
But Black Smoke wasn’t the type to comply quietly.
Whiiish!
“Eek!”
A strand of black smoke wrapped around Black Smoke’s body thickened, flickering like a snake’s tongue before lashing out like a whip toward the intended target, the young man.
The youth desperately threw himself backward to dodge, but it seemed impossible to avoid the tip of the black tentacle hurtling toward him at supersonic speed.
But,
Thud!
Thunder Boy’s fist pierced through the middle of the tentacle aimed at the young man. Astonishingly, the severed portion didn’t remain intact, it dispersed whoosh! like smoke and vanished.
Black Smoke looked at Thunder Boy.
Lee Cheol felt Black Smoke’s attention lock onto him, his wariness rising sharply. Part of him felt relieved, and another part felt proud.
He raised both hands and clenched his fists.
“These are special gauntlets designed to sever your telekinesis. Your powers won’t work anymore.”
“I see.”
Black Smoke accepted it readily. He had no choice but to be on guard.
As expected, the capabilities of a massive organization like the state were formidable. They’d already developed a means to counter his telekinesis..
If not for those special gauntlets, the black smoke tentacles he created wouldn’t have been severed or dispersed, they would’ve simply been pierced through and continued extending toward their target.
Once he grasped the situation, black smoke began to rise from Black Smoke’s body, and numerous strands of it shot outward. The tentacles curved around Thunder Boy and rapidly aimed for the young man again.
Lee Cheol raised his voice.
“You coward!”
“I don’t want to brawl with you. I just want to break that bastard’s legs.”
At Black Smoke’s words and the approaching tentacles, the young man screamed.
“My grandfather’s dead, so why do I have to go through this?!”
Black Smoke replied calmly.
“I understand how you feel. None of us choose our parents. But that’s what karma is. We’re all born carrying fates we never wanted. But what did you do to live proudly in the face of the fate of being your grandfather’s grandson?”
“Shut up! Shut the hell up!”
“You only enjoyed the wealth that fate gave you, never once thinking about what it meant. This is the result.”
“Bullshit! There are plenty of others, why are you only picking on me?!”
“Don’t talk about fairness. Life was never fair to begin with.”
The reason the two could even have this exchange was because Thunder Boy, Lee Cheol, was shielding the young man, cutting down the countless tentacles reaching for him.
But the situation wasn’t good. Thanks to the special gauntlets, he could fight back, but protecting someone put him at a serious disadvantage.
All he could do was hold out until reinforcements arrived.
And time was clearly on Lee Cheol’s side. The increasingly frantic and reckless movements of the tentacles revealed Black Smoke’s growing impatience.
In the end, Black Smoke was the first to give up.
“This won’t work. That’s enough for today.”
“You’re not getting away!”
Lee Cheol lunged forward, but Black Smoke, who’d nearly suffered badly in the past, must have spent all this time practicing escape. He fled with incredible agility.
Using black smoke to obscure vision, he rode the smoke up into the air. Unless Lee Cheol could fly, catching him seemed impossible.
But Korean public authority had come prepared.
Thududududu!
A helicopter arrived. A searchlight illuminated the black smoke in the sky, and something like a bazooka was fired.
The projectile flying toward the smoke split apart with a whoosh!,
It was a net.
But Black Smoke, having already fought desperately against bounty hunters who used nets, had learned how to deal with them.
The tip of the black smoke elongated and pushed the net away. Still, the police helicopter didn’t give up and continued firing net launchers while pursuing him.
As the chase dragged on with no end in sight, Black Smoke grew anxious. He had a life, ordinary and intact, separate from being Black Smoke. If he couldn’t shake this pursuit, he’d never be able to return to a normal daily life.
After hesitating, he finally made a decision.
[Help me.]
[Of course.]
A strange sensation lingering in a corner of his consciousness. The telepath who had left it called it a channel, a kind of non-material telephone that allowed telepathic communication.
[We know exactly what situation you’re in. Head south from there. Sandman will help you.]
[Just to be clear, I, ]
[You said you don’t want innocent people to be sacrificed, right? I understand that. We want the same. We’ll try to handle it, so go now.]
Following the voice’s instructions, Black Smoke changed direction and flew south. After crossing a ridge, a small city came into view.
And then, the helicopter began to wobble.
[Pilot! Pilot, snap out of it!]
[I’m sleepy... we need to land, now...]
[It’s Sandman! Sandman’s here to help Black Smoke!]
Interference hit the police communications again.
Sandman. In some ways, even more dangerous than Black Smoke’s telekinesis. Black Smoke’s powers were visible when used, but Sandman’s manifestations were subtle and hard to detect.
Worse still, because it was forced sleep, it was difficult to tell whether someone was genuinely drowsy or under the influence of a power. If he made someone fall asleep on a highway, it would result in an accident.
A dangerous individual capable of disguising assassinations as accidents.
That was the assessment of Sandman.
Despite fighting overwhelming drowsiness, the helicopter pilot somehow managed to land at a nearby sports field. Then he fell fast asleep. The others on board followed suit.
Having shaken off public authority’s pursuit, Black Smoke vanished into the dark night sky.
[Thank you for the help.]
[Don’t mention it. But there’s something I’m worried about.]
[What is it?]
[Your attitude.]
[Is there a problem?]
To Black Smoke’s question, the voice replied.
[If your daily life matters to you... then stop acting as Black Smoke.]
[.. What about Sandman? Have you all given up on your daily lives?]
[For him, his daily life is nothing more than a cover to hide the fact that he’s Sandman. Even if his identity is exposed, he has no attachment to normal life. But you, can you give up yours?]
[...]
At the voice’s question, Black Smoke fell silent, lost in thought.
He knew clearly why he had inherited Black Noya’s power.
Because the moment he decided to accept that power, the lingering will of the old man called Black Noya, which wrapped around it, unfolded before his eyes like a movie.