The Bear and the Fox
The mercenary group called Blackhead that I’d heard about from the old man and the villagers. Their leader was a hulking, dark-skinned bastard named Jin. They weren’t just in it for the money—they actually had some damn heart. The kind of guys who’d lend a hand to a pathetic little refugee camp like this one. Supposedly around fifty members… that was bigger than I expected.
Anyway, I decided to have Ann guide me to their camp. The old man and the rest of the villagers were obviously horrified at the idea of sending the kid back outside again, but Ann herself didn’t look worried in the slightest.
“It’s fine, I told you! This big brother is super strong! And he’s really nice!”
Nice, huh… Is this asshole nice? I seriously doubt it. Still, I did save her life, so I guess she’s got stars in her eyes. Can’t blame her.
I put Ann on the back of my bike and we headed toward the interestingly shady mercenary outpost.
“Turn into that forest over there!”
“Haa… It’s farther than I thought. At this distance, you probably never even ran into those Unchained pricks.”
About an hour by bike from the gas station. It was still on the edge of the gray zone, but tucked this deep in, they would’ve been pretty free from the Unchained bitches’ turf wars.
As we pushed a little farther into the woods, a crude but sturdy scrap-metal barricade came into view—similar to the one at the refugee camp.
“This the place?”
The moment I killed the bike’s engine and stopped, a dozen small ports all along the barricade snapped open with a series of metallic clicks. Black gun barrels poked out, all trained squarely on me.
“Who the hell are you? Get lost. You got any idea where you are, crawling in here like this?”
Wow. Hell of a welcoming party. Guess that’s the default attitude for mercenary scum.
Right then, Ann hopped off the back and quickly stepped in front of me.
“Jin oppa!! It’s me, Ann!! Don’t shoot! This person saved me today! He’s my savior! He says he wants to make a deal with you guys!”
At Ann’s shout, a few short curses came from atop the barricade. Then came the grinding screech of heavy scrap-metal gates opening.
Five or six rough-looking men poured out from inside. Their gear wasn’t as sleek as the Aegis or Unchained stuff, but they were kitted out with practical, battle-tested equipment—sturdy ballistic shields, assault rifles, the good shit.
And right in the middle of the pack walked a massive man. He was about my height, but his frame looked twice as thick. Short-cropped gray hair, a vicious face, and a deep scar slashing diagonally across his left eye. He spat out the crude leaf-cigarette he’d been chewing on and immediately started scolding Ann.
“Ann!! This place is dangerous—how many times do I have to tell you not to come here?! And you’re saying this guy saved you?”
That scarred eye locked onto me with a sharp glare. Pure killing intent rolled off him in waves. I just watched them all with my usual dead-fish eyes, completely relaxed.
‘Wow, fuck. There are still people smoking that rotten leaf-tobacco shit.’
It was the kind of garbage survivors mixed with dried weeds and leaves when they couldn’t get real tobacco. I’d tried it a few times back when I was broke, but the way it made your lungs feel like they were rotting was so disgusting I wouldn’t touch the stuff even if it was free.
“So. What’s your business here.”
The man called Jin growled in a deep voice. I leaned lazily against the bike and got straight to the point.
“You know that gas station outpost the Unchained bitches used up on the high ground, right?”
“Of course. It’s direct territory of one of the Eight Great Powers. How could I not know?”
“We’ve taken it over and we’re using it now. Problem is, we’re a little short on manpower. I want you guys to stand guard for us, and maybe build a decent scrap-metal barricade around the old man’s camp like you did here.”
Jin’s face hardened like ice at my proposal.
“We don’t do business with unverified bastards. You look like rats looting Unchained ruins. Get lost.”
“Rats? Nah. We got it straight from Auntie Vanessa herself. I’ll pay proper compensation. How much do you want? Food? Ammo? Or should I show you what real cigarettes taste like?”
I pulled a premium cigarette from my pocket and waved it teasingly. But Jin just snorted and adjusted his rifle.
“Compensation my ass. I don’t know who the hell you are, and you look suspicious as fuck. If you really want to do business with us, there’s only one way.”
Jin cracked his neck with a loud pop and strode right up to me.
“Fight me bare-handed. No weapons. If you can put me on the ground, then I’ll seriously consider your offer.”
“......”
Classic dumbass mercenary boss logic. Figure out the pecking order with fists instead of words. Honestly, in this world, these guys understood a good beating a lot faster than a hundred explanations anyway.
“A~~ Of course the mercenary bastard wants to throw hands. I really don’t feel like sweating.”
I let out a short sigh and shrugged off my jacket, tossing it carelessly over the bike.
“Rules? First one to cry loses? Or first blood?”
“I’ll shut that smart mouth of yours first.”
The second the words left his mouth, Jin’s massive fist flew straight at my face.
Whoosh—!
The sound of air being torn apart was brutal. If it connected, it would at least dislocate my jaw. Bad luck and I’d get a concussion. A heavy straight punch.
But my dead-fish eyes didn’t even twitch. I lightly leaned my upper body back, and his frying-pan-sized fist whistled right past the tip of my nose.
“Whoops. Nice breeze! Free fan service, very nice.”
“You son of a bitch!”
Jin ground his teeth and threw a barrage of hooks. Left, right, then an uppercut. It was the kind of stupid, bear-like swing you’d expect, but I slipped through the gaps like I was dancing.
“Hey, big guy. Your punches are way too honest. You’re putting all your shoulder strength into every swing, so it’s too easy for me to dodge.”
I slid under his left armpit and teased him while lightly tapping his ribs with my fist.
Thud!
Jin’s massive body staggered for a second. I hadn’t even hit him hard—just a light tap to a vital spot—but the damage clearly registered.
“Fuck! Stop dodging like a bitch and fight me fair!”
Enraged, Jin charged like a bull, trying to wrap his arms around my waist. The classic “fuck it, tackle” move. Mercenaries loved using that brainless technique in bare-handed brawls. Grab them, slam them down, then pound them into the dirt.
“Ugh! Why do you keep trying to hug me? I like girls, you know.”
I took a light side step and hooked his leg. The charging Jin lost his balance and face-planted spectacularly.
Crash!
The sight of their boss eating dirt made the Blackhead guys start muttering.
“B-Boss!”
“What the hell is that guy? He’s a damn punk but he’s stupidly fast.”
I leaned against the bike and casually dusted off my hands.
“There. That should be enough of a sample, right? Just being a big strong idiot doesn’t mean you win every fight, bear boy.”
But the look in Jin’s eyes as he brushed the dirt off and stood up was anything but ordinary. The scarred left eye flashed dangerously.
“Yeah. You’re pretty damn fast, I’ll give you that.”
He cracked his neck again, bones popping loudly.
Crack.
“But out here, speed alone won’t keep you alive. You need durability too.”
The killing intent pouring off Jin was completely different now. It wasn’t the vibe of some neighborhood thug anymore—this was the real bloodlust of a veteran mercenary who’d walked through hell more times than he could count.
Whoosh—!
Jin charged again. But this wasn’t the same brainless tackle. He closed the distance and unleashed a lightning-fast, razor-sharp low kick.
Crack!
I reflexively lifted my shin to block, but the dull pain that reverberated all the way to the bone made me frown.
‘Huh?’
This guy. I thought he was just a dumb bear who only knew how to throw his weight around, but I was wrong. That was a perfectly executed low kick with flawless weight transfer. And the moment it was blocked, he naturally flowed into a follow-up strike to the face.
Thud! Thud!
I barely managed to get my arms up in a guard, but every time his heavy fists slammed into them, my forearms went numb. It felt like getting hammered with a giant mallet.
“......Oh.”
The corner of my mouth tilted up.
“This bear bastard actually hits pretty good?”
The hazy dead-fish look in my eyes started to burn with a clear red light. Up until now I’d just been playing around like I was humoring some neighborhood punk. Now it was serious.
I dropped my guard, slipped inside Jin’s reach, and went on the offensive like a madman.
Bam-bam-bam! Thud!
My fast, sharp fists hammered into his face and stomach without pause. But even as he started bleeding, Jin refused to back off and swung back just as hard.
“This bastard…!”
“Hey, bear boy. I’ll admit your durability is pretty impressive.”
Our fists crossed in the air as dull impact sounds rang out nonstop. A raw, primitive dogfight filled with flying sand and the thick smell of blood. The Blackhead guys and Ann could only watch in stunned silence, too breathless to even speak.
“Hoo… You’re really stubborn, aren’t you?”
I exhaled sharply and barely slipped past his uppercut. The opening was there. My eyes flashed.
My body sprang up like a coiled spring, and my knee slammed hard into his massive gut.
THUD!!
Even Jin’s incredible toughness, which had endured all my previous hits, couldn’t handle this one.
“Guh…!”
His enormous body flew backward like a deflated balloon.
Crash! Bang!
He only stopped when his back slammed into a nearby tree.
“B-Boss!!”
The frozen Blackhead mercenaries snapped out of it and started running toward him in panic. But Jin coughed up blood and raised a hand to stop them.
“Cough… Don’t make a damn scene. It’s embarrassing.”
He leaned against the tree trunk, breathing hard. I casually shook out my throbbing knuckles and walked over to him. The mercenaries’ guns all snapped up toward me again, but I ignored them and reached into my pocket.
I slipped something between Jin’s lips. It was one of the Greenhouse-brand cigarettes he’d snorted at earlier.
“......”
Jin frowned and looked down at the cigarette in his mouth. I stuck one in my own mouth, pulled out my oil lighter, and lit it.
Click. Flick—
I lit mine first, then brought the flame to the tip of his. The rich, deep aroma of high-quality tobacco filled the air—completely different from the stench of cheap leaf-cigarettes.
Jin took a deep drag and slowly exhaled toward the sky.
“Haa…”
A small, bloody chuckle escaped his vicious lips. I silently sat down beside him and blew out smoke of my own.
“I don’t know what kind of guy you were before.”
Jin spoke in a calm voice. The hostility from earlier was gone. In its place was the recognition of one warrior toward another.
“I acknowledge you.”
He clapped me on the shoulder with the hand holding his cigarette.
“You pass, kid.”
At those words, the tense Blackhead mercenaries finally lowered their guns.
“Kid? Pretty sure I’m older than you.”
“Bullshit. I turn thirty the day after tomorrow.”
“Heh. I’m over three thousand years old, you know.”
Our stupid banter lightly cleared the bloody air in the forest.
“What’s your name?”
“Claude Ban. Handsome problem solver.”
The moment we finished exchanging names, Ann—who had been nervously hopping in place from a distance—came running over.
“Jin oppa!! Are you okay? Savior oppa, that was too much!! And how could two grown men fight until they’re bleeding like this?!”
Ann glared back and forth between us and yelled. Jin looked embarrassed and cleared his throat, avoiding her gaze. Even a battle-hardened mercenary boss had no defense against a little girl’s scolding.
But this crazy problem solver was different.
“Hey! I got hurt too, you know! It hurts! I’m bleeding too—why are you only worried about that bear?! You should be saying ‘are you okay’ to me too!!”
I wiggled the cigarette between my lips and shamelessly whined. Ann was so dumbfounded her mouth just opened and closed. The Blackhead guys who had been standing there nervously finally burst out laughing.
“Ha. What a ridiculous bastard.”
Jin clicked his tongue and stood up, brushing himself off.
“Fine. Claude Ban. Since I’ve confirmed your skills, let’s talk real business. We’ll head to that Unchained gas station outpost you mentioned.”
“Okay. Deal. Try to keep up. Don’t get lost and start crying.”
I walked toward the bike and waved my hand dismissively.
“Hey. Bring the car. Destination is the gas station in District 15.”
At Jin’s heavy command, five Blackhead members quickly piled into an old jeep.
Vroooom—!
My custom bike roared to life, kicking up a cloud of dust as it took the lead. The Blackhead jeep rattled along behind it.
It was time to open the real negotiation table for the wall construction needed to properly settle the Super Lucky Solution Group’s new home.