Chapter 3
Chapter 3
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 3
Chapter Title: Friction and Provocation
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U.C.I.D. Seoul Headquarters.
Officers of all shapes, sizes, and species bustled about.
Seated in a corner, Shin-ju scrolled with his mouse, his eyes glued to the monitor.
An online news article on the screen showed Kim Cha-yoon, the female CEO of Cha-yoon Enterprise, shaking hands with the president and other high-ranking officials, a broad smile on her face.
Her silver hair and captivating, fox-like smile were mesmerizing.
“Shin-ju, here’s the data you asked for yesterday on Kandora of the Dragonkin and that mercenary.”
Enri approached from the side and handed Shin-ju a tablet.
“Ah, thanks.”
Enri nodded toward the mercenary’s photo Shin-ju was looking at.
“I did some digging, and it turns out that mercenary is pretty well-known in Seoul. Apparently, he went around picking fights every chance he got.”
Shin-ju swiped the screen to view Kandora’s profile.
Kandora was a refugee who had fled to Earth because of a civil war on planet DRG-3000.
Her mother had died during the war.
Of her forty-eight siblings, forty were dead or missing.
Only eight, including Kandora, had managed to reach Earth and survive.
“That piece of trash.”
Shin-ju muttered a curse, thinking of the mercenary who had insulted Kandora’s dead family.
It was a miracle it hadn’t escalated beyond that.
“So who is this mercenary?”
“Well, as expected, he’s with Cha-yoon Enterprise. Just some C-class grunt who hasn’t been a mercenary for long. Unbelievable…”
Enri perched on the desk, lost in thought.
Shin-ju tilted his head, looking at her.
“Enri, is something wrong?”
“…Don’t things seem a little strange lately?”
“What do you mean?”
“It just feels like things have been happening a lot more often.”
What Enri meant by ‘often’ was the frequency of alien beast appearances.
“Alien beast incidents, which used to happen maybe once every six months, have occurred twice this month alone. And it feels like mercenaries are suddenly running rampant, too.”
Enri’s face was clouded with worry.
Looking at her, Shin-ju added, as if to tell her not to worry.
“It’s true the mercenaries have gotten arrogant, but aren’t the alien beast appearances just a coincidence? It’s not like we can predict when gates will appear. And it’s not as if only alien beasts come through them.”
Enri turned to Shin-ju with a sullen look, annoyed by his nonchalant tone.
“When coincidences keep piling up, don’t they become inevitable?”
Shin-ju pretended not to hear her and continued swiping through the data.
*Clack—*
Suddenly, the door swung open, and Dantallion, a tall, A-class mercenary in a sharp suit, stepped into the Investigation Support Team’s office.
Unlike their last encounter, Dantallion stood before Shin-ju with a respectful posture.
“Good day, Mr. Shin-ju.”
“Well, well, Dantallion.”
Shin-ju raised a hand in a mock-friendly greeting.
Though they had snarled at each other before, it was as if an odd sort of affection had grown from their mutual dislike.
Enri, who had been perched on the desk, slid off to give them space.
“My apologies for my conduct last time. It seems one of our own has committed a great offense.”
Dantallion bowed politely.
“In accordance with the peace treaties between planets and across space, that alien mercenary will receive a fitting punishment under the law. I hope you will not worry too much.”
Shin-ju was inwardly impressed by his linguistic skills.
As befitting an A-class mercenary recognized by a global corporation, Dantallion was an alien with exceptional learning abilities.
After finishing his apology, Dantallion raised his head, his expression turning businesslike.
“However, I must ask that you return the weapon you confiscated from us. It is a special suppression weapon officially licensed by the government of the Republic of Korea, so it is right that we continue to manage it.”
Shin-ju said nothing, looking up at Dantallion with a slightly displeased expression as he twirled the stylus for his tablet.
Then, as if he had just remembered something, he shot up from his seat.
“Ah! Of course! We must return it, naturally.”
A moment later, Shin-ju returned with the weapon.
“Here you go. And… I’ve set aside the ammunition here.”
Shin-ju placed a box of ammunition on his desk.
Dantallion skillfully inspected the weapon, turning it over to check for any issues. Then, he picked up the ammo box and bowed to Shin-ju.
“Thank you for your cooperation.”
“Not at all. It’s an important asset for our national industry. Of course we had to return it.”
For a moment, Dantallion eyed Shin-ju’s cooperation with suspicion, but his expression soon returned to an impassive mask, as if it were nothing.
“Then I shall take my leave.”
Once Dantallion, his business concluded, had left the station, Enri, who had been standing aside, came up to Shin-ju.
“Well, there wasn’t really a reason to hold him… but didn’t you hand that over a little too easily?”
Shin-ju tilted his head askance and looked at Enri.
“Haha, why? Did I seem like a total pushover?”
Shin-ju took a small vial from his inner pocket.
Enri peered into the vial and saw a single, minuscule drop of liquid.
“What’s this?”
“It’s a substance detected in the ammunition from the weapon I just returned.”
“…But that wasn’t a lethal weapon, was it?”
“They don’t usually provide such powerful weapons to C-class mercenaries.”
Shin-ju gave Enri a mischievous smile.
“You see, Enri, it’s male psychology, whether human or alien. If a weapon isn’t dangerous, you get the urge to pull the trigger at least once. Especially for a mercenary who needs to rack up achievements, they’d be itching for action.”
Enri looked at Shin-ju with a ‘so what?’ expression on her face.
“You mean…?”
“It means there’s probably plenty of evidence of that weapon being used somewhere. It just hasn’t been discovered yet.”
“So that’s why you extracted a sample of the substance beforehand!”
Shin-ju nodded at her words.
“Exactly. There’s still much we don’t know about alien substances. We’ll uncover evidence through thorough comparative analysis.”
Enri looked at him with renewed surprise.
“Wow—but the analysis is already complete? Even if the forensics team is made up of super-elites, they can’t be this fast, can they?”
Shin-ju pointed behind him with his thumb.
Behind Shin-ju sat the ‘Old Book’.
“There are ways. I think I’ll have to pay Cha-yoon Enterprise a visit soon. We need to investigate whether they’re violating their weapon distribution permits.”
Enri tilted her head, looking worried.
“Wait a minute. For us to handle that… isn’t that getting a little ahead of ourselves? Do you even have a warrant?”
“Of course, it might be a stretch for us to handle it directly. But since I was at the scene where the weapon was used, I can apply for a warrant. When a case pops up, you just have to push your way in.”
Shin-ju crossed his arms and continued.
“But it’ll definitely take a long time or get rejected. Especially with Kim Cha-yoon as the opponent, she’s bound to have connections in the courts or the prosecutor’s office.”
Beside him, Enri shrugged and chimed in.
“Raiding them directly would be best, but… we’re not hoping for another incident to happen, are we? It might be better to gather cases of the weapon being used before that.”
Shin-ju stroked his chin.
“We need a more plausible reason… a minor incident won’t cut it.”
“Hmm… was it about three years ago? Didn’t we confiscate weapons when those space pirates invaded and kidnapped Koreans for human trafficking?”
Enri’s mouth fell open as if she just remembered.
“Ah! That…”
*Briiing—*
Suddenly, the U.C.I.D.’s internal emergency bell rang, and an announcement blared through the speakers.
Case Number 280.
C-class alien beast has appeared in Dongjak District, Seoul!
All responsible personnel are to deploy immediately!
Enri jerked her head up, her expression grim.
“Again?”
Shin-ju’s expression was just as sour.
“Well, damn…”
***
A short while later, in an alley on the outskirts of Dongjak District, Seoul.
Before Shin-ju and Enri lay the gruesome corpse of a C-class alien beast.
It was much smaller and weaker-looking than the one they had faced before.
Judging by the state of the corpse, it was riddled with holes of all sizes, as if it had been hit by concentrated fire.
After examining the body, Shin-ju turned his head to see a group of heavily armed mercenaries composed of various species.
“So… you’re the ones who took care of this alien beast?”
A human mercenary with an unsettlingly friendly smile looked at Shin-ju.
“Yes, that’s right. We deployed as soon as we got the report.”
Enri pushed up her glasses and asked in an agitated voice.
“You’re not the police… so what kind of report did you receive?”
Shin-ju crossed his arms, looking incredulous.
“Just who exactly did you receive a report from?”
“Who else? The citizens living here.”
The mercenary answered with a shrug.
Shin-ju stared at the mercenary in silence.
Responding to reports was U.C.I.D.’s job.
Suddenly, an emblem on the mercenary’s uniform caught his eye.
Above the words ‘BLACK MAMBA’, a black snake was coiled, flicking its tongue.
And when he spotted the small initials ‘CH.N’ above the snake, he realized.
*Aha, so they’ve started their own mercenary company.*
They were undoubtedly mercenaries from a subsidiary of Cha-yoon Enterprise.
The friendly-looking mercenary puffed out his chest proudly.
“We are officially sanctioned mercenaries who deployed after receiving a formal request.”
After a moment of thought, Shin-ju spoke calmly.
“I understand. Of course, your quick response wasn’t bad. But… I don’t know how many times I have to say this. If you’re not careful, you can be arrested for obstruction of justice and interference with official duties. Got it?”
They listened to Shin-ju with bored, annoyed expressions.
The human mercenary replied, the corners of his mouth turned up but his eyes cold.
“Hah, honestly… Mr. Park Shin-ju, we know you work tirelessly day and night for the people of Korea, we know! But frankly, haven’t you police officers been getting a little lazy lately?”
The alien mercenaries standing nearby began to chime in.
“That’s right. Why should we have to protect alien beasts, anyway?”
“We can’t just wait around for U.C.I.D. forever. I don’t like the way they handle things. Bunch of lazy bums.”
“We’ll protect our new home ourselves.”
“Hey, I just got a call. A Wyvern was on a rampage earlier? Damn, we should’ve gone and hunted that instead, tsk…”
Shin-ju watched for a moment as each mercenary added their two cents.
He suppressed his anger as best he could and spoke pleasantly.
“I understand your intentions. However, you must report these incidents to us. We will work alongside you, fueled by your dedication.”
“One more thing…!”
Enri suddenly cut in, pointing at the alien beast’s corpse as she addressed the mercenaries.
“It’s fortunate that this one didn’t have a collar, but you must never kill an alien beast that does.
That is an animal with an owner, and there’s no way of knowing what kind of extraterrestrial being that owner is. If you make a mistake…”
Enri paused, her eyes cast downward as if lost in thought.
Then she looked up again, her gaze resolute, and continued.
“…it could escalate into a war, so please keep that in mind.”
“Pfft! War? Don’t make me laugh…”
One of the alien mercenaries scoffed at Enri.
The human mercenary tapped his arm, telling him to stop.
But in truth, the human mercenary was smiling too.
“Ah, my apologies. We understand, Officer Elf. Thank you for the advice.”
The mercenaries hurriedly turned their backs on Shin-ju and Enri, preparing to leave.
“Well, our work here is done, so we’ll be on our way.”
“Wait…”
Shin-ju called out to the departing mercenaries.
The human mercenary frowned in annoyance.
“What is it?”
“Where do you think you’re going? You need to finish the cleanup, don’t you?”
“Ah…”
The human mercenary turned to look at the alien beast’s corpse.
“Our mission was only to ‘deal with the alien beast’…”
“Hah…”
A dark shadow fell over Enri and Shin-ju’s faces.
“So… are you telling us to clean up this corpse?”
“Aren’t you the pillars of the community? We’ll have to ask you to handle it.”
“Haha…”
As soon as the mercenary finished speaking, Shin-ju lowered his head for a moment, an incredulous smile on his face.
When he looked up again, the smile was gone.
Shin-ju let out a long sigh filled with contempt and simply glared at the mercenary.
An icy rage could be felt in his eyes.
For a moment, the mercenary’s entire body tensed.
“Hey, what did you just say…?”
“My, my, getting all informal now, are we?”
“I won’t say it twice. Clean that up and get lost. Now.”
The mercenaries flinched at Shin-ju’s glare but soon looked at each other and began to snicker.
The human mercenary in the center swaggered over, looking for a fight.
“And if we won’t?”
As if reenacting an old Western, Shin-ju and the mercenaries created some distance, their hands hovering over their weapons as they sized each other up.
In that instant, Enri’s gaze sharpened.
Her eyes were cold, as if she wouldn’t hesitate to kill.
The muscles in her arm twitched as she drew an extendable baton from her waist.
*Shhhk—*
The baton extended with a threatening snap.
It was a heavy, sturdy baton made from dragon bone, as strong as steel.
Shin-ju opened the Old Book, letting out a cynical laugh.
“Ha! Right. You crazy bastards… you must really think law enforcement is a joke.”
A blue light began to radiate from the Old Book.
Shin-ju grinned.
“Perfect timing. You’re all going to help me with my work.”