Chapter 362: The Fetters of Karma (4)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 362: The Fetters of Karma (4)
Just because I sweet-talked him into joining forces didn't mean I had anything grand in mind.
Seriously, what could I possibly do with a stupid bastard who commits crimes just because a stranger told him to?
There was only one thing he could do for me.
“Here.”
“Th-this is… my computer…?”
“Yeah, that’s right.”
I handed a computer to the guy locked in the interrogation room.
It was the same well-worn computer he had used for the entire two years of his shut-in life.
“Use this to send him a message.”
Kim Oh-jung and his mastermind had apparently communicated through a social media platform with a blue bird logo.
When I logged into his account, I found the chat logs were still there. I tried to trace the other party’s IP address based on them, but failed.
As criminals often do, he’d set it up to change his IP address frequently.
I don’t know if he had a skilled technician on his side or if he was just that good himself, but even the Association’s in-house hacker shook his head, saying it was nearly impossible to crack.
Ultimately, that meant we had to lure him out from behind the screen ourselves. And he’d be less suspicious of someone he’s worked with before than a complete stranger.
The guy placed his hands on his familiar keyboard and asked me.
“Wh-what should I message him?”
His tone was surprisingly eager.
He seemed to have completely bought my promise of a reduced sentence.
“First, you should thank him. Say you’re grateful for his help with your revenge, that you feel so much better now, stuff like that.”
“Ah…”
He nodded as if he’d had an epiphany and started typing.
[Angimojung: dude srsly thx so much. i feel so fucking relieved lol]
Just before hitting the Enter key, he looked back at me with anxious eyes.
“Um, I have to write like I haven't been caught, so I made it sound a bit… you know?”
It was obvious he was just typing the way he normally did, but he seemed embarrassed to show it to someone else.
“Hey, it’s fine. Be yourself, act normal. That’s how we’ll get him to take the bait without getting suspicious.”
“Ah, r-right, yeah.”
The guy giggled at my generous tone.
Looking at him, a man with not even an ant’s tear worth of a grip on reality, I was suddenly reminded of Fake Si-woo.
If he hadn’t stolen my body, would he have lived and died just like this?
I was smiling bitterly at the memory of this body’s pathetic past when he exclaimed.
“It’s here, a reply!”
I looked down at the large 32-inch screen. A reply had arrived just below the message he’d sent.
[Fire Man: It’s been a week already, hasn't it?]
This guy, that guy…
Why are their usernames so ridiculous?
The week he mentioned was the period Kim Oh-jung was supposed to stay at the hideout.
I’d had to wait six days after catching him just to match that timeline. It was so boring.
Kim Oh-jung typed his reply.
[Angimojung: yeah i was getting stir-crazy so i took the first bus home this morning lol]
[Fire Man: I doubt you thought it through, but good job.]
Reading their conversation was just absurd.
To think this was a chat between an arsonist who could have caused dozens, if not hundreds, of casualties, and the man who instigated it.
Based on the content alone, you’d think he’d been drinking all night and killed time at a PC bang waiting for the first bus home.
“Alright, now that you’ve exchanged pleasantries…”
It was time to start luring him in.
[Angimojung: hey can i ask for one more favor?]
[Fire Man: What is it?]
[Angimojung: there are a few more assholes i wanna get revenge on, pls help me T_T]
The ‘read’ receipt appeared next to the message, but no reply came.
What’s this?
Did he sense something was off?
“Hmph… this is a problem.”
If so, things were about to get complicated.
I had one more method I could use if this operation failed, but…
I really hoped it wouldn’t come to that.
The next card I had to play was a rather difficult person to deal with in many ways.
“What to do…”
As I stroked my chin, deep in thought.
“U-um… what if he doesn’t reply?”
Imagining a grim future, Kim Oh-jung looked up at me, his pupils trembling as if in an earthquake.
What if he doesn’t reply?
“Well… then Mr. Kim Oh-jung will, of course, be immediately tried and imprisoned, right?”
Why ask something so obvious?
“Th-then… what about my sentence…?”
“Naturally, you’ll take the fall for the full 20 years.”
“Ah, ahh… n-no…!”
Kim Oh-jung clutched his head, trembling in terror.
Well… I could understand how he felt.
It wasn’t one or two years, but twenty.
The thought of spending that immense amount of time in prison, an eternity even on the outside, would make anyone want to die.
But what can you do?
You just have to grit your teeth and bear it.
After all… you’re the one who chose to commit the crime, aren’t you?
“Ughhh…!”
I was looking down at the guy, who was curled up with his hands clasped as if in prayer, when…
“Oh, it’s here.”
“What…!”
A reply had arrived from the person who had been silent for a while.
[Fire Man: Hmm... I don't know. I helped you the first time because I felt sorry for you... but I'm not free enough to help you a second or third time.]
Ah, damn.
A rejection.
Just as Kim Oh-jung’s and my expressions were about to fall…
[Fire Man: If it's some petty revenge, do it yourself. But if the target is someone who might pique my interest... I'll help.]
“Hmm.”
So he’ll help if the target is to his liking, and won’t otherwise.
If that’s the case, I can rest easy.
Why?
“Write what I told you earlier.”
“O-okay.”
[Angimojung: What about... Kim Do-jin?]
Someone like me should be a prey so delicious it’s not just tempting, but enough to make him lose his mind, right?
* * *
In an office on the 14th floor, with a clear view of the surrounding area.
A man sat at a desk in a space that seemed far too bright for plotting shady deeds.
He was dressed in a suit that perfectly complemented his pomade hair, held firmly in place with hairspray.
With a calm gaze, he stared intently at the conversation on his monitor.
[Angimojung: What about... Kim Do-jin?]
The man, Fire Man, was lost in thought for a moment.
‘Kim Do-jin… The target itself is tempting. But…’
It didn’t make sense.
His first target was a department store employee who had looked down on him. Why suddenly Kim Do-jin?
So, he asked.
[Fire Man: Do you have a reason to get revenge on Kim Do-jin?]
A reply arrived shortly after.
[Angimojung: bc that son of a bitch made my life even more twisted.]
Even through the text on the screen, he could feel the palpable rage.
[Fire Man: More twisted? What did he do to you?]
[Angimojung: he sued me just bc i left a few nasty comments. i begged him at the police station, said i was sorry and asked him to let it slide just once, but that fucking bastard wouldn't...]
“Hmm.”
Not being shown leniency meant a red line had been drawn on his record.
Even for an Awakened Being, that made life very difficult.
He would be automatically disqualified from taking the civil service exam for Awakened, and he’d face disadvantages even if he tried to get a job at a private company. In effect, his chances of landing a good job were gone.
“The reason… is valid.”
Of course, that was only if the guy’s story was true.
He asked someone sitting far from his desk.
“Have you checked?”
“Yeees, sending it now.”
The voice was lazy and drawn out.
As soon as the words were spoken, a file arrived in his messenger.
The file contained the records of Angimojung—that is, Kim Oh-jung—obtained through hacking.
“……”
It was just as he’d said.
Kim Oh-jung’s personal file showed a record of being fined for defamation a few months ago.
The name of the plaintiff also matched: Kim Do-jin.
He also examined the content of the comments that had led to the lawsuit.
[Angimojung: why are you guys hyping up that retard? he's obviously a fucking overrated hack lolol. i bet my wrist he'll be exposed soon and disappear without a trace for real lol]
“Hmm…”
It was a bit ambiguous.
Depending on the reader, one could just frown and move on, or one could sue.
That made it all the more understandable.
If he was sued for something like that and got an indelible red line on his life record…
“He might just want revenge.”
Besides, hadn’t he told him to name a target that would pique his interest?
He must have thought this was his chance and blurted out the name of the person he most wanted revenge on, but who was also the most difficult target.
“Hmm.”
Fire Man hummed repeatedly, lost in deep thought.
The name Kim Do-jin tickled his mind and his heart.
A rising star drawing attention not just from Korea, but from the entire world.
If he could just take his head, there was much to be gained.
‘For a moment, the world will be thrown into chaos.’
It might not last long in the daily flood of information, but it would create a huge stir. People would gather in groups to talk about it for minutes, or even hours.
‘Just how much karma would I accumulate from that…!’
The name Kim Do-jin was, without a doubt, the best.
It was more valuable than any crime he had committed or aided in to build his karma so far.
Also.
‘I smell it on him.’
Watching him surge ahead of his peers with overwhelming skill, he smelled one of his own kind.
Perhaps that man was also a chosen one, just like him.
If so, he would gain one more thing.
The elimination of a competitor.
With so much to gain, there was only one reason for his hesitation.
‘I can only have all these sweet fruits in my grasp if I succeed.’
He was an A-rank Hunter, even if he was a rookie.
When dealing with a high-rank Hunter, you never knew what variables might appear and throw a wrench in the works.
After much deliberation, he finally moved the hand that had been tapping his desk onto the keyboard.
Soon, a single sentence was written on the screen.
[Fire Man: If you're serious about targeting Kim Do-jin, it won't be as easy as last time. Are you okay with that?]
[Angimojung: not easy... you mean i could get caught?]
The man smirked at the reply.
[Fire Man: You might be lucky if all that happens is you get caught and end up in prison.]
Being Korea’s rising star also meant the government had marked him as the future.
If he were to kill him and get caught… the future that awaited was obvious.
[Fire Man: It might be so painful you'll think death would be a relief.]
Then, he added one more thing.
[Fire Man: If you're still willing... I'll help.]
With that, he took his hands off the keyboard and leisurely waited for a reply.
In truth, he already knew what the answer would be.
A flame, once it begins to burn against the world, does not easily die out.
The same applied even to a shut-in loser.
No, in fact, such a person would sink even deeper.
‘Because it’s the first achievement in his otherwise useless life.’
Even while knowing it was wrong.
Just then, a reply came.
[Angimojung: if you'll help, i'll give it a shot! my life is already fucked, what's gonna change if it gets even more fucked?]
The expected answer.
“Heh…!”
Fire Man let out a dry laugh at the childish response from someone who knew nothing of the world.
He didn’t know.
That what he thought was the bottom was by no means the bottom.
That below it, and below that, layer upon layer of even deeper depths were waiting with their maws wide open.
He offered a word of welcome to Kim Oh-jung, who had unknowingly broken through the bottom and sunk into the abyss.
[Fire Man: Welcome to the abyss.]
Wail in regret in the endless, bottomless pit, you moron.