Chapter 36
Chapter 36
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 36
Chapter Title: Vampire Detective
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“Ugh...!”
“Ah, damn it! Hey, rookie! If you're gonna puke, do it outside! If you barf in here, I'll kill you myself!”
Detective Oh Jeong-jin's bellow echoed through the apartment.
The young rookie, who had just become a detective not long ago, clutched his mouth with a pale, bluish face and dashed down the hallway. Moon Ji-hyuk watched the rookie's retreating back.
A faint memory surfaced. He too had turned pale at his first sight of a corpse and couldn't stomach meat for a while afterward.
This was something Moon Ji-hyuk couldn't help with.
In detective work, you'd encounter even worse scenes. Dismembered bodies were rare, but they definitely existed. There was no choice but to overcome it and get used to it on your own.
'He'll get used to it. Just like I did.'
Moon Ji-hyuk turned his gaze back to the crime scene.
The horrific state of Apartment A, Room 603, this morning.
Around 7 a.m., an uncle descending the stairs for exercise discovered a pool of blood in the hallway. Blood had seeped out from under the door of Room 603 and pooled in the corridor.
Now 8 a.m. Detective Oh Jeong-jin, Moon Ji-hyuk, and other police along with the forensics team had taken over Room 603 and were investigating.
Six bodies had been discovered in total.
The peculiar point was that three of the bodies had been killed with a long blade like a Japanese sword, and one of them had been decapitated.
The other three were found in the master bedroom, and they clearly looked like gangsters at a glance. The wounds suggested they'd been sashimi-sliced to death.
“Ha... fuck. How the hell did they decapitate him like that?”
Oh Jeong-jin grimaced at the man's head lying on the floor. The cut surface was excessively clean.
This wasn't something human strength could achieve. Even executioners who specialized in beheading people rarely severed a neck in one stroke. And there was no way they'd hauled in a guillotine or a cutting machine here.
“No way a human could slice a neck that cleanly.”
Moon Ji-hyuk clenched his fist as he watched Oh Jeong-jin ponder deeply.
'A vampire. With a vampire's strength... they could sever a human neck in one blow.'
But what he couldn't understand was the state of the bodies. There were no signs of blood being sucked.
'If it's not blood they're after... then something else?'
First things first, identifying these bodies' identities.
“Team leader. I canvassed the neighbors and got the victims' identities.”
Detective Park approached Oh Jeong-jin and reported.
“Yeah?”
“The owner of this place is Jang Seong-min. He's been living here for about a year.”
“The decapitated one.”
They'd already identified the victim's name. His wallet and smartphone were still intact.
“Neighbors say four people lived together.”
“...Four?”
“Yes. They don't know their jobs, but the four often moved together. Never talked to the residents, didn't cause trouble, lived quietly.”
“No one knows what happened yesterday?”
“No one does.”
Whether they truly didn't know or were pretending, it was impossible to tell. Most people avoided getting involved in incidents.
“Was the remaining one a gangster?”
“Not the ones in the master bedroom. A bleached blond punk with piercings in his ears.”
“...Three dead, one survived... Obvious suspect. Catch him.”
“Yes, sir.”
Detective Park immediately set off to investigate.
“Moon.”
“Yes.”
“Secure all nearby CCTV and dashcams.”
“Got it.”
Moon Ji-hyuk moved out. Even as he distanced himself from Room 603, he couldn't shake the thought that the perpetrator in this case was a vampire.
“Anything on the CCTV?”
Oh Jeong-jin approached Moon Ji-hyuk, who was sitting in the office replaying CCTV footage on his laptop.
“No. Nothing special. But there's one guy that stands out.”
“Stands out?”
Oh Jeong-jin peered at the laptop screen.
“Why's the screen glitching like that?”
Part of the footage was distorted.
“It's the CCTV in front of the apartment. Thought it was broken, but only the front lens was damaged a bit, and the footage is clear enough.”
Moon Ji-hyuk manipulated the laptop to rewind the video slightly.
“This guy?”
A man in a suit. He had an impressive physique. But the damaged part obscured his face completely. No distinctive features on his body, making identification extremely difficult.
“Yes. For some reason, he feels like the perp.”
“Gut feeling?”
“...Yes.”
Moon Ji-hyuk nodded slowly. Yes. It was just a hunch.
“Moon, we're not fortune tellers, you know that? Even if he seems guilty, we need solid reason. No evidence means false accusation. And no matter how you look, it's not him.”
Oh Jeong-jin tapped the monitor with the back of his hand.
“Perp's at least two or more. The gangsters were killed elsewhere and moved here. Sliced pipes around the bodies mean there was a fight. No idea how they cut the pipes and necks... but it's beyond one person's capability.”
'What if it's not a person, but a vampire?'
The words nearly slipped out of Moon Ji-hyuk's mouth. But he held them back. He couldn't say anything suspicious to Oh Jeong-jin, who knew nothing about vampires.
Oh Jeong-jin was trustworthy.
“And look, he's empty-handed. No sword, no knife. No bag either. Unless he's got a magic pocket, he can't be the perp.”
“...”
Moon Ji-hyuk thought differently.
What if this man was a pureblood vampire? With a superpower to hide objects?
'...No. Too far-fetched. No proof he's a vampire, and a pureblood wouldn't pull something like this.'
Moon Ji-hyuk shook off the stray thoughts.
He trusted his gut, but couldn't conduct an investigation on hunch alone. Moon Ji-hyuk removed the man from the suspect list.
“Oh, right. Jang Seong-min's ID came back. Turns out he ran an illegal sports betting site. The punk we nabbed today says he stashed 4.8 billion in the closet. As you know, not a penny found. Probably what sparked this mess.”
“...Money after all.”
“Nothing new there. Money's involved in most crimes. And those three gangsters? Bae Won Pa affiliates. Remember that alley blood pool last time? That's their blood.”
“What? Wait. Something's off, isn't it?”
“Totally. Turns out they were reported missing. Then bam, bodies today. Bae Won Pa boss claims ignorance, and their work room says the same.”
“...Heard the alley blood was from four people. Any info on the other one from DNA?”
“Healthy guy in his early twenties. Blood volume says definitely slashed. Park checked nearby hospitals—no early twenties guy with slash wounds.”
“The gangsters killed right yesterday?”
“Yeah. Forensics says so. Fresh as can be. No torture marks, but Ma Bong-cheon had his balls burst. Died a eunuch... poor bastard.”
“Another gang nabbed and imprisoned them? No... no reason for that... What the hell is this?”
“Beats me. The deeper we dig, the weirder it gets. Doesn't make sense. Might as well say the perp's a wizard.”
“...Maybe a real wizard.”
“Not you too, man. Anyway, wrap this up moderately, compile the files, and hand to Special Division.”
Special Division.
Precisely, Special Investigations. Handled unusual cases.
“Special Division again? The mummy case just went there, now this too?”
“Orders from above. They're the experts.”
Moon Ji-hyuk easily guessed the common thread in cases going to Special Division.
Vampires.
Cases suspected to involve vampires were mostly routed there.
“Wrap by end of day and send. That CCTV too. Or they'll bitch again.”
“...Yes, sir.”
Moon Ji-hyuk replied with a sense of helplessness.
There was nothing a mere detective like him could do.
'...If I can't as a detective... then personally.'
I rose from the bed imbued with the woman's sweet scent.
My body felt sticky. Last night, after an epic session, I didn't go to a motel but came to Hera's place for a private afterparty fuck.
My life as the 'Vampire Detective' was utterly sexy.
'Should I crash at Mi-young's tomorrow.'
I had sex partner relationships with several ladies. When their lust built up, they sought me; I sought them occasionally.
Among them, Hera was the one I'd fucked the most. Her sex drive exceeded my expectations.
Hera had gone to work at Young Hye-jeong Office. I was alone in the house.
I flung open the fridge, grabbed a soda can, and headed to the sofa.
Hera lived in a high-end officetel, spacious and pristine beyond most hotels.
Turning on the TV, the 7 p.m. news was on.
-This morning, an explosion rocked a residential area in Seoul. The fire spread to five nearby houses. Three dead, four injured. Firefighters quickly contained it. Cause under investigation, but LPG gas tank explosion most likely.
“Ah. That episode.”
The news fire was actually arson. The arsonist was a vampire pyromaniac torching for fun.
This episode marked the mid-series start. Moon Ji-hyuk catches the vampire arsonist, learns Cantara—the vampire organization—knows how vampires become human.
“And the arsonist dies to a vampire hunter.”
It also warned viewers of vampire hunter dangers.
-Last dawn, gunshots rang through a museum. Police call it gang warfare, vow no tolerance for armed gangsters. Police chief advises Seoul citizens avoid night outings...
“What?”
My eyes widened.
Museum battle.
This was an episode from a bit later, not now.
Police called it gang fight, but really vampire vs. vampire hunter clash.
“...Fuck.”
I cursed.
This was the fuse igniting full war between vampires and hunters. Already lit, exploding in days.
Nights unknown to Seoul citizens would become battlegrounds.
'Expected some plot deviation. But this... too fast.'
Worst case, Life Flower—bearing Life Orbs—might not come to Korea. Real worst.
'What triggered it? Killing Jang Seong-min? No...'
That was the evening before last. Too soon for impact.
“...Bus terror.”
Only explanation.
Vampire hunters flocked to Seoul because of it. Black Cross Society hunted the terrorist with bloodshot eyes.
'Stumbled on nearby vampire nest during that.'
Originally discovered later, but bus terror pissed Black Cross off properly.
'Damn. If vampires hunker down now... Life Flower won't come.'
Life Flower held by Cantara exec. He'd bring it soon to absorb Korean Peninsula's energy.
But with Black Cross rampaging? No way he'd come.
Pity wasting 300-year eruption of peninsula energy, but better than hunters stealing Life Orbs.
My plan: Snatch Life Flower's Life Orb fruit before Moon Ji-hyuk gets it.
'Life Flower not coming to peninsula is unacceptable.'
After 30+ minutes pondering, I shot up.
“Gotta thin out the vampire hunters a lot.”
I fetched an item from reality. From random gacha.
Devil's Clown Mask
A clown mask imbued with the power of the devil.
A white-based clown mask. Red mouth and nose, green star pattern on left eye area, blue cross on right eye.
The clown mask came with curly red wig attached. Overall, pretty childish design.