Chapter 296: Rage-13 (5)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 296: Rage-13 (5)
The Axe Gang.
It seemed their claim of being one of the gangs that ruled Gangnam wasn't an exaggeration.
Most of them were just regular thugs who knew how to throw a punch, but there were a surprising number of Awakened Beings too.
Of course, that didn't change the fact that both were nothing more than a mouthful for me.
After I took down everyone who rushed me, only one man was left standing alone.
“You're Park Cheol-hwan, the boss of the Axe Gang, right?”
It was practically a given, but I had to be sure.
The man, struggling to control his violently shaking pupils, answered calmly.
“Yeah, I'm Park Cheol-hwan. Which organization sent you?”
Spoken like a true gangster. He must have a lot of enemies to assume a competitor sent me.
An organization, he says. There's only one I belong to right now.
“Uh... the Korea University 'Waving the License' club?”
Bewilderment, disbelief, and then rage. A cascade of emotions was directed at me.
“Are you trying to mess with me?”
“No, you asked which organization I was from. That's the only one I belong to.”
Unfortunately for him, I was serious.
Reading the sincerity in my eyes, Park Cheol-hwan let out a hollow sigh and asked, “What the hell is a Korea University student doing here?”
He must be dumbfounded. If what I said was true, it meant a university student had just barged into his headquarters and beat up all his men.
“Ah, but of course, I didn't come here as a student.”
I took out the emblem I received from the Association and shoved it in his face.
“You know what this is, right?”
“That's... the emblem of the Hunter Special Investigation Unit...!”
His eyes widened as if they would tear.
Just as I thought, he knew it well.
Park Cheol-hwan seemed to sense something was up. After a moment of anxiousness, he began to play innocent, protesting in an aggrieved tone.
“Why is the Association raiding us? We haven't committed any crimes related to Hunters.”
He was basically saying, We're just ordinary(?) gangsters. The police should be the ones coming after us, not you guys.
These types never admit to anything on the first try.
“You've been selling drugs lately. A new kind that even affects the bodies of Awakened Beings.”
“...”
Even though I'd hit the nail on the head, his expression didn't change much.
“...I was hoping that wasn't it. You came here knowing everything.”
Instead, he accepted it with a stoic expression.
Was it resignation? Or did he have an ace up his sleeve?
The moment I had that thought, he pulled something from under his desk and aimed it at me.
“Don't move.”
So this was his trump card.
“...A pistol.”
And it wasn't an ordinary one. It was a magic gun that fired magic bullets—projectiles packed with compressed mana instead of gunpowder, capable of piercing through the body of a decent Hunter like paper.
With the barrel aimed between my eyes, he curled his lips into a smirk.
“Move an inch, and I'll blow your head off.”
“...”
How curious. For a mere gang boss to have something that even villains struggle to acquire.
Where on earth did he get it?
The answer didn't seem too hard to find. The mastermind who supplied him with the new drug, 'Rage-13'. They must have lent it or procured it for him.
He asked me, “Tell me.”
“What.”
“Who told you about the drug?”
Who was it again? I remember Yong-seok, but that junkie friend of his... ah, I never asked for his name, did I?
Well, can't be helped.
“I heard it from Yong-seok and his junkie friend.”
“...That fucking idiot, Yong-seok.”
Park Cheol-hwan ground his teeth in fury.
“Did you come here alone?”
“Nope. My girlfriend came with me. She's in the car parked outside.”
At that, he applied a little pressure to the finger on the trigger, trying to intimidate me.
“Do you really want to die?”
“But it's true.”
Why won't he believe me when I'm telling the truth? Still disbelieving, he threw the same question at me.
“Answer properly if you don't want a hole in your head.”
Ugh. This is getting old.
“Go on.”
“...What?”
“Make a hole.”
“You son of a bitch...!”
Enraged, he shoved the barrel closer and yelled, “Do you really want to die?!”
Watching him act like this is like seeing an empty cart making a lot of noise. In that case, I should give him another reason to pull the trigger.
“If you kill me, you can get out of here quietly.”
Still not shooting?
His trembling lips twisted into a crooked smile.
“Heh heh... is that so.”
The finger on the trigger slowly tightened.
“So long, you fucking idiot.”
Finally, the trigger was pulled all the way back, and the barrel spat fire.
BOOM—!
But no bullet came out. Instead, the pistol in his hand exploded.
“Kuaargh!?”
Tossing the gun aside as a fierce flame erupted, he clutched his hand.
“Ugh, ughh... shit, what the hell...!”
“What a shame.”
I thought his wrist would fly right off when the magic gun exploded, but it must have been a more expensive model than I expected. An absorption magic circle embedded in the barrel soaked up most of the mana, significantly reducing the size of the blast.
Seeing me smack my lips in disappointment, he asked with a face contorted in pain, “What the hell did you do...?!”
Ah, that.
“While you were rambling, I blocked the barrel.”
For me, who can manipulate mana at will, it was a piece of cake.
“You, you son of a... guhh...!”
Even if the explosion wasn't that big, his hand was far from okay. The sudden burst of flame and shock had burned his flesh and twisted the bones. The pain must have been indescribable.
“You shouldn't have tried to kill someone.”
The moment I said I came alone, he had smiled and pulled the trigger. That meant he had experience killing people. Judging by his trembling lips, he probably hadn't done it much, but still.
“Now, let's talk. If you tell me the truth, I'll call an ambulance right away.”
The man, who I thought was too overcome with pain to register anything, perked up his ears.
Well, I can understand how he feels. I got a nasty burn once while fighting a villain, and it hurt like hell. Even now, just remembering the pain is enough to make the hair on my body stand on end.
“Guhh... wh-what do you want to know?”
There's only one thing I want to ask.
“The source of the drug.”
Dripping with thick beads of sweat, he forced his mouth open.
“...China.”
“...”
The People's Republic of China.
A country with a population of over a billion and a vast territory.
China, which had once achieved enough economic growth to nearly catch up to the United States, is now called this:
A paradise for villains.
The territory is so vast and the population so large that unless a villain is incredibly famous, they can walk around in the open and no one would know. It's even much easier to enter than other countries. With its massive landmass, China shares borders with over ten different nations.
Thanks to this, it's become a country plagued by one problem after another, yet its Chairman is apparently quite satisfied with the situation. It's absurd, but while the villains cause many problems, they also bring considerable benefits.
One such example is the Black Market.
Nearly every country has a Black Market of some kind. The one in China, overflowing with customers, is said to boast the largest scale in the world.
“This just got annoying.”
There's only one way to completely shut down the drug's distribution. Raid the main production base and wipe them out in one fell swoop.
But that's impossible in China.
Finding the base in such a vast country is a chore in itself, but the government offers zero cooperation. Of course, there are ways to handle it covertly, but... who knows how long that would take.
“Tsk.”
Can't be helped. I'll have to go with Plan B.
I turned to the man, whose face was now completely covered in sweat.
“How did you find out about the drug?”
“...A broker I knew introduced me to it. Said he was looking for an organization to receive and sell the drug.”
“So you just jumped at the chance?”
I asked in a pathetic tone, and he answered with a smirk.
“Heh heh... my life's already at rock bottom. What's one more thing to lose?”
“Ah, right.”
I was thinking too much within the bounds of normalcy. Being a fist-fighting gangster or a drug dealer. To him, there probably wasn't much of a difference. In fact, he likely chose the latter because he could make a huge profit. He probably never imagined he'd get caught so unluckily right at the beginning.
He spoke again.
“Want a piece of advice?”
“Sure, go ahead.”
I'm the type to listen carefully even to an enemy's advice.
“You should stop here. If you dig any deeper, you'll definitely die.”
Gasp. My heart.
“Are you... worried about me right now?”
I'm actually a little touched.
He scowled in disgust and shouted as if in a last-ditch effort, “...Hmph! If you knew who brought the drug into Korea, you wouldn't be smiling like that.”
“Tell me.”
I have to hear it first to decide whether to keep smiling or not.
He grinned and continued, “The God-Serving Society (奉神會).”
“...”
I really can't smile anymore.
There are countless villain organizations in China. Among them are a few with global recognition, and the God-Serving Society is one of them.
The name might make you think they're just a bunch of idiots, but it has a meaning. Feng, to serve. Shen, a god or spirit. A gathering of those who serve a god.
So, who is the god they serve?
The answer is also hidden in the name.
“Well, well... so Lu Bu is selling drugs now.”
The name that first comes to mind when asked who was the strongest warrior of China's Three Kingdoms period. The Feng in God-Serving Society also referred to his courtesy name, 'Fengxian'.
Of course, the one they serve isn't the Lu Bu of the Three Kingdoms era, but the Lu Bu of the modern age. An S-rank Hunter from China whose horsemanship, where man and horse become one, and god-like spear skills naturally bring the name Lu Bu to mind.
Lu Bu is merely his title.
However, that in no way diminishes the weight his name carries. I met him once. He was a monster.
But.
“That Lu Bu is manufacturing and selling drugs...?”
Honestly, I find that hard to believe. As far as I know, the God-Serving Society is a group of people drawn together by Lu Bu's martial prowess.
People like that are making and selling drugs...?
Something feels off.
“...I'll need to investigate this more deeply.”
After I wrap this up, that is.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
I had taken all the minimum necessary measures.
All the Axe Gang members involved in selling the drugs were arrested and handed over to the police, and I received word that the broker who arranged the deal had also been caught.
From what I heard, the broker had arranged drug sales not only with the Axe Gang but with several other organizations as well. Apparently, these organizations were spread out not just in Seoul but all across the country, and there was a plan to use the ledger found in the broker's hideout as evidence to round them all up soon.
Most of the drugs he had were also confiscated, and they planned to catch everyone who had already taken some, so there should be no fear of the drug spreading for the time being. Even if some remained, it would be a minuscule amount.
Manager Kim Seong-tae's face was beaming with joy as he relayed this information. It made sense. This was the first major incident to hit the Republic of Korea after a long period of peace. Imagine the performance bonus he'd get for handling this.
Of course, his joy had a big impact on me too. He'd already sworn he would reward me properly soon.
So, I'll just wait patiently until that reward is given...
For now, shall I deal with the matter at hand?
“I didn't call for you, so what is the reason for this unannounced visit? I have a schedule to keep, so I'd appreciate it if you made this quick and left.”
The Tower Lord's office, located at the very top of the Magic Tower.
Ten minutes had passed since I entered, but Han Ju-hee hadn't looked at me once as she questioned me in a cold, stiff tone. She seemed even colder than the last time we met, which I guess meant she disliked me even more now.
Well, it didn't matter.
“Would you like to conduct some research with me?”
I approached her with a leisurely stride and placed a bag containing a red pill on her desk.
“It's a drug that can't be detected by any existing drug test.”
“So?”
“I want to find a way to detect it.”
She glanced at the red pill before replying in a tone devoid of interest, “Take that sort of thing elsewhere. Drug testing has nothing to do with the Magic Tower.”
“No.”
It wasn't entirely unrelated.
Because.
“What if this drug works by clinging to mana?”
“...”
Mana.
The one thing Han Ju-hee wanted to unravel more than anything else, a resource with more secrets than known facts.
A drug of a completely different kind, one that latched onto mana to eventually spread its effects throughout the body.
Research that might even lead to new discoveries about mana itself.
Could you really refuse?
“...Is that true?”
When her eyes finally met mine for the first time in over ten minutes, they were engulfed in flames, fueled by intense curiosity and desire.