The Little Troublemaker Sowol
"Hehehe. What kind of information have you come to buy?"
The Hao Men shop was disguised as an ordinary store. The information broker, posing as a simple clerk, was doing business as usual today.
"A few months ago one of our comrades went missing here. We want to know if he's still alive, and where we might find him."
"Hmm. Give me a description."
"Short sporty haircut, tall, muscular, reddish skin. Looks a lot like us. Just an ordinary, open-faced man of the people."
"…"
The Hao Men broker stared hard at his customers. Half a dozen rough-looking men wrapped in robes. A broker of his experience did not need long to place them.
"So you're those people."
"Keh-keh… Why not just say communists and get it over with?"
"Fine. I already know who you're looking for."
"Oh? As expected of the Hao Men. Well? Is the bastard dead?"
"He's alive. Barely breathing, locked in a hospital quarantine ward."
"Tch. Of all places, one we can't just walk into."
The robed man shook his head.
"Then what was he doing right before the hospital? What's his most recent trail?"
"Even the Hao Men don't keep detailed files on every random individual who isn't a person of interest."
"Communists aren't exactly common. In a backwater city like this there might be one or two at most—surely that makes him a surveillance target. Don't tell me you don't know."
"Don't know, is it… The Hao Men know everything. But people have privacy, don't they? One can't go around violating personal freedom…"
There was no deeper meaning. He simply wanted to be paid.
A soft ding chimed as the robed man transferred the money.
"Still, speaking of it makes me worry about the consequences…"
He wanted more.
Ding.
"Communists never seem to grasp free-market principles very well… With this much I couldn't even buy a snack…"
Ding. Ding.
"His most recent activity was visiting a mercenary who lives in the southern part of the city. Whatever happened in that meeting, he left a wreck—body broken in every way—and was loaded into an ambulance. Once they realized he was an unidentified user of the Yeokcheon Magong, they hauled him straight into quarantine. He's been under 'humanitarian detention' ever since."
"And the mercenary's particulars?"
"Privacy… violation of freedom… snack money…"
Ding.
"Named-class mercenary. Goes by Nam Gong-ryun—suspected alias. Arrived on this planet three years ago; no prior records anywhere. Realm: Harmony Realm. Residence: a Korean restaurant in Southern Zone 7. Recent rumor that he's fallen in with a cult. Latest activity: a bull-hunting commission yesterday afternoon. Before that, a hydra subjugation two days prior."
"Named-class, yet only Harmony Realm. Even Hao Men intel can't pin him down cleanly. And you're watching him closely enough to know his daily movements? The whole man reeks of something off. What's his mercenary moniker?"
"San-gong-dok Goe-in."
"It doesn't get more suspicious than that."
The robed man set his target without difficulty.
"We'll have to meet him. What's his exact route?"
"You see, the free-market economy is a delicate thing…"
"You really do bleed people dry."
"What can I do? It's a prepaid system. For reference, the more you pay, the higher-grade the information."
"Enough. Just give us the basics."
And so the robed party took their information and left.
Alone, the broker muttered darkly to himself.
"Hehehe. Information has relative value."
If those idiots had simply paid a little attention to social media, half of what he sold them would already have been public knowledge. Coming from a lower-civilization backwater, they had no idea how to dig with SNS—or if the thought even crossed their minds, they couldn't put it into practice. Doxxing via social media was a skill of its own. What did a bunch of old fossils who'd never owned a personal device their whole lives know about it?
So the price he charged had been perfectly fair. Information they never would have found on their own. Worth the extra coin.
"Information is money and value… Though I suppose communists find the very idea of trading information as capital distasteful. Hehehe."
These were people who couldn't even grasp paying for drinking water. Expecting them to understand the price of information was asking too much. Which was probably why he had sold it to them so cheaply.
There was a reason people said you got what you paid for. Had they invested more generously, they would have walked away with far more.
For example: the baseless rumor that the mercenary came from the Sichuan Tang Clan was, in fact, true. Or that the Korean restaurant he lived in was a Demonic Sect exclusive smuggling depot. Or that its owner was vice-president of the Green Parents Association. Or that she was a succubus and one of the handful of true masters in the city—estimated Nature Realm.
They might even have received a warning that one wrong step would get them all killed.
But they were the ones who refused to pay the price. Receiving an empty shell of information was entirely their own fault.
Galactic capitalism was not gentle.
Tteokbokki restaurant.
Gongryun was finishing his meal with a bowl of sungnyung for dessert. He had even started eating dessert now. The steadily growing luxury of his life filled him with quiet pride.
Just as he was nearly done—
"This body returns from school!!"
A cute little boy's voice rang out behind him.
"Oh. School's out already, Sowol? You're early."
"Hi, big brother Gongryun!!!"
The elementary schooler's name was Sowol—son of the Succubus Boss. A single black tail, just like his mother's, swayed happily behind him.
"Big brother! Today's the day we team up for real!"
"I already told you no."
"Whyyy~!! You said you'd help me explore the secret room!!"
"I said I'd help if you finished your homework. You didn't. So that's that."
"Hwaaaah!! I hate you, big brother!!"
The Succubus Boss had fully expected her son to be afraid of Gongryun. She had assumed the boy would never go near the room next to Gongryun's—the one that hid the entrance to the basement. That had been her entire reason for bringing Gongryun in.
She had underestimated a child's pure curiosity. Instead of fear, her son had exploded with interest and latched onto Gongryun without mercy.
Whoa!! It's the real San-gong-dok Goe-in!! I saw him at school and on SNS!
Big brother! My friend said—can you really use San-gong-dok Breath?
Big brother. What's the room next to yours? You grow San-gong-cho in there? Wow, I wanna see! Can I take a verification photo?
Gongryun's quiet sweetness in playing along with the kid only made things worse.
A verification photo? Sure, I can do that much. You want one of me talking to the San-gong-cho? Of course I can't do that.
How do I breathe out San-gong-cho Breath? Naturally I ca— wait. Actually, it's an ability you get if you don't picky-eat your spinach and bell peppers. It's a secret, okay?
You already ate snacks so you're not hungry? Want to try some appetite-boosting San-gong-cho namul? Oh, suddenly you're hungry for rice? Well, nothing for it then.
In the end the boss's plan had failed completely—but watching the two of them get along so well still made her feel warm. Gongryun had always been a family man at heart. He had cared for his sick mother since he was small, after all.
Would her own son look after her the same way if she fell ill? If Mommy died early, how heartbroken would this tiny child be? Now that she was a mother herself, such thoughts pricked at her soft spots.
"Hwaaaah!! I just wanna find the secret room Mommy hid so carefully!!"
"Did you check the attic? Last time you said that place was suspicious."
"I just got covered in dust… Big brother, do you really not know anything? There's definitely a secret room somewhere…"
"Haha. I haven't the faintest idea."
"Is it in the backyard?"
At least the basement entrance still hadn't been found. That counted as a win.
"Son~~~ bothering your big brother Gongryun again~~?"
Mom's voice drifted from deeper in the kitchen.
"I just wanna go treasure-hunting with him… Oh, and big brother! Can you help me practice for the school event at the Martial God Festival?"
"What do you need help with?"
"It's a play, and I have to act as a super evil psycho villain. You're perfect for it."
"My goodness, son! The mouth on this child! Keep talking back and being naughty and the Backrooms Executioner will come snatch you away!"
"Hmph! I don't believe that anymore!! It's fake like Santa Claus! You can't trick me!"
"The Backrooms Executioner? What's that now?"
"What?! Big brother Gongryun, you don't know? Under New York there's this endless string of rooms! Some monster wanders around in there and if you meet it you die for sure!!"
"Come on. Anyone can tell that's just an urban legend."
Gongryun's interest evaporated on the spot.
"But son~~ why are you home so early today~? Not playing more with your friends~?"
"I have to go meet them again! We're each bringing supplies and writing the play script at a friend's house later!"
"So dedicated~~ Those are the memories that last~~ Which friend? Isaac?"
"No! Ran's house!"
"That's a bit off the school route then~~ Gongryun~~ if you have time later, could you take him~~?"
The school route itself was absolutely safe—crime rates approached zero. Commit a crime there and civil servants or the Green Parents Association would crush you on the spot. Outside the route, no one could make the same guarantee. That was why housing got cheaper the farther you lived from it.
"Yes. I happen to be free, so I'll take him."
"Oh my, thank you so much~~ That's our Gongryun~~"
A little while later, Gongryun dropped Sowol off.
Huk! It's the San-gong-dok Goe-in!!
Hup! Hold your breath!
He really knows Sowol? That wasn't a lie?
Kids caught trends fast; every one of them already knew Gongryun. His moniker was flashy enough to spread like wildfire. Elementary schoolers were at the age where anything that looked dangerous was automatically cool.
"I shared big brother's video with the whole class! Pretty good, right?"
So it was your fault.
Gongryun was left speechless.
"Anyway, I'm heading out. Your mom will come pick you up later."
"Bye-bye, big brother~~"
Listening to the children shriek and play, Gongryun turned away.
Everyone check supplies! I brought paper!
I brought crayons!
I brought snacks!
I brought cider!