Chapter 106
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 106
Chapter Title: Do I Look Like a Pushover?
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“The fierce beast was a remnant of the Liberation Brigade, apparently.”
“Ah, that one?”
Rimon nodded once.
He tilted the teacup he was holding and took another sip of tea.
Li Chingwei tilted her head at his utterly blasé, almost boring demeanor.
“You're not all that surprised.”
“I'm not at an age where I get worked up over every little thing like that.”
After living so long in this world, you just end up accepting it whether a bomb goes off right next to you or the king drops dead screaming.
Acting every bit the geezer with his years of experience, Rimon added one more line.
“Besides, it was more or less what I expected.”
“……So you suspected from the start that the fierce beast was with the Liberation Brigade?”
“I didn't know for sure. Just a hunch, like I said.”
“Impressively sharp.”
“What's sharp about it? It'd be weirder if I hadn't noticed.”
Rimon gave a slight snort.
As a former PAB agent and an expert on player criminals, no less.
He'd even predicted their next target, so there was no way he wouldn't spot the similarities between Ryu Gangcheol and the other beasts and the Liberation Brigade.
[Well, like you said, Team Leader, there were plenty of clues.]
Yuna Kyung readily agreed.
High-level player criminals banding together like that was rare outside the Liberation Brigade to begin with.
The Brigade was just notoriously hard to track, but usually, the more criminals who teamed up, the easier it was to uncover leads with info skills or prophecy skills.
And when you added in the fact that they were all lunatics with military backgrounds or training?
It was actually harder to pin it on anyone else.
“Yeah, fair enough.”
Li Chingwei, who had realized the same thing pretty early on, nodded vigorously.
Then she muttered in genuine wonder.
“But the Wang family head didn't notice at all.”
[Nah, no way.]
“No, really. I had to go through the Seven Dragon Society and drop hints before he finally started suspecting the Liberation Brigade.”
Li Chingwei said it with a joking smile.
But Rimon, who could tell she meant it, made a dumbfounded face.
“Didn't he have a ton of tracers on payroll? And not one of them pointed it out?”
“Incidents tied to the Liberation Brigade aren't exactly common knowledge. Most of them probably gave up when their skills hit a wall and there were no leads.”
Rimon's expression grew even stranger.
The Special Management Bureau handled most Liberation Brigade cases, given how many player criminals they had.
But that very Bureau had lost most of its key agents to Rimon—either killed or scattered to the winds after it blew up.
So it made sense there were no tracers left in the country who knew much about the Brigade.
Yeah, it made sense, but……
“……Those idiot tracers. If they can't use skills, they don't know shit.”
“Can't blame them entirely. Even the Seven Dragon Society's experts couldn't find any connections to the Brigade.”
“That's the problem right there—tracers who make a living off this getting lumped in with amateurs.”
Pursuit arts had long faded into obscurity.
Even masters of them were just hobbyists or tradition-keepers, not pros.
Tracers, on the other hand, were supposed to be professionals.
Their job was investigation and tracking, so not knowing this meant they'd neglected basic intel gathering in favor of skills.
[Well, these days, you don't need the old ways if you handle skills right.]
“Exactly.”
It wasn't entirely their fault.
In this era, skills handled everything faster, easier, and more accurately.
Experts in any field were just the ones who wielded the best skills better—anything else was inefficient wasted time.
“Plus, even if the Wang head had figured it out sooner, it wouldn't have changed much.”
“True, but still……”
Rimon clicked his tongue but conceded the point.
He knew spotting their Brigade ties wouldn't help catch the beasts.
That's why he'd fed Wang Gining clues without outright telling him to dig into the Brigade.
He just hadn't expected it to take until Ryu Gangcheol was caught.
“Their affiliation isn't what matters anyway, right?”
“You mean motive?”
“Yes.”
Li Chingwei nodded readily.
She refilled Rimon's empty teacup and continued calmly.
“The Seven Dragon Society isn't pro-player by any means, but the Liberation Brigade has never attacked us this directly before.”
“They knew they'd get wrecked if they tried.”
Rimon snorted.
“Right—for now, they know they're at a disadvantage, so they've avoided clashing with us.”
Li Chingwei agreed without hesitation.
No matter how many high-level players the Liberation Brigade had, that's all they were.
The Seven Dragon Society, meanwhile, was a shadowy powerhouse that had nearly toppled the world multiple times and still controlled all global wealth as a mega-corp.
Top-ten guilds might be one thing.
But a mere crime syndicate like the Brigade picking a fight with them was suicide.
“So why attack us now?”
Rimon sipped from his teacup as he answered Li Chingwei's slightly tilted-head question.
“One of two things, probably.”
“Which?”
“First: they've gotten cocky enough to think they can take on the Seven Dragon Society now.”
“No way. Absolutely not.”
“Not jumping the gun a bit?”
“Maybe in ten years, but they don't have that kind of power now.”
“Hmm……?”
Rimon eyed her curiously for a moment.
Then he nodded, accepting her view.
The Black Dragon Clan's affiliates were suffering here precisely because it wasn't their home turf, and the beasts were hitting and running with a small elite force.
A head-on fight would've ended them ages ago.
If this were the Zhonghua Seventy-Seven Federation, they'd have been rounded up in a week, no matter their tricks.
“Then it's gotta be the second.”
“Like you said before—they're after something the Seven Dragon Society has.”
“Yeah. No idea what those lunatics want bad enough to risk all-out war with you for, though.”
“At least it's not money or territory.”
“Doesn't add up financially?”
“Exactly.”
It was sound reasoning.
Fighting the Seven Dragon Society for cash or material gains was like burning your house down to light a candle.
“Hm. Then it's probably something priceless, not convertible to cash—some unique item or person. And recent, too.”
“If it'd been around forever, they'd have moved sooner.”
“Right. Could be they just found out about an old one late, but that way lies endless speculation.”
Keeping options open was fine, but now called for some educated guesses.
Rimon said it flatly, then tossed out a question.
“With that in mind—anything come to mind? Recent changes in the Seven Dragon Society?”
“Well, not nothing……”
“Why the face?”
Li Chingwei trailed off a bit.
She continued with a troubled look.
“The biggest recent shake-up for us was your engagement to me, Sword Duke.”
“Me?”
Rimon blinked reflexively.
He scratched his cheek and asked.
“You saying they pulled this crap because of me? 'Cause I blew up one of their bases?”
“Probably not that, right?”
“Obviously.”
[If they were doing this for revenge on their buddies, the Liberation Brigade wouldn't be called a bunch of psychos.]
Li Chingwei, Rimon, Yuna Kyung.
The two humans and one pigeon unanimously agreed revenge was unlikely.
Some crime groups made blood feuds ironclad, but the Brigade straight-up ignored camaraderie or loyalty.
“There's limits to madness. Guys even the Seven Dragon Society can't touch coming after me? Please.”
[Whoa…… Totally makes sense, which makes it even more annoying.]
“Any chance they want something from you besides grudges?”
“Doubt it. All I've got is this sword, the pigeon here, and my body.”
[Argh! Don't call me pigeon! Keep it up, and I'll start calling you Washed-Up Old Geezer Team Leader!]
They shared a chuckle watching Rimon spin a protesting Yuna Kyung around.
But then Li Chingwei spoke up.
“Actually, something's been bothering me.”
“Bothering you how?”
“Yes. That the Liberation Brigade is a group of players, by players, for players.”
“So?”
Rimon looked puzzled at her pointing out the obvious.
She met his gaze with obsidian-dark eyes and murmured softly in response.
“When player factions grow stronger, are players the only ones who benefit?”
That moment.
Rimon made an odd face.
After a brief silence, he asked bluntly.
“……Got any basis for that?”
“Just a hunch for now.”
“That sounds scarier than hard evidence.”
“It should.”
Rimon and Li Chingwei nodded to each other in a conversation missing obvious subjects.
Yuna Kyung, like a pigeon tossed into the trash bin cage and all, blinked blankly, unable to follow. She asked hesitantly.
[Um, excuse me? I have no idea what you're talking about.]
“Nothing major.”
“Without solid proof, it's just a conspiracy theory at best.”
[Hmmmm?]
Yuna Kyung crossed her wings in clear skepticism.
Rimon and Li Chingwei calmly pressed on regardless.
“Guess we'll have to ask directly.”
“Best way, if we can pull it off……”
Rimon crossed his arms, eyeing things with even more suspicion than the pigeon perched on his head.
“You think that Wang bastard can get that Ryu Gangcheol prick to talk?”
“No, not at all.”
“Why're your answers always so damn straightforward?”
“Info from a spy I planted in the Shanghai Wang family.”
“……Thorough as hell, aren't you.”
“Preparation for emergencies and handling spies are basic qualities for a good bride.”
Li Chingwei smiled shyly at the praise.
Yuna Kyung stared in disbelief.
[No way?! Preparedness is one thing, but normal brides don't plant spies to steal info!]
“Huh? But don't housewives usually spread rumors or dig secrets at gatherings?”
[That's neighborhood auntie gossip networks! Not spy intel webs!]
“What's the difference?”
[Huge difference!]
Yuna Kyung flapped in outrage.
Li Chingwei tilted her head at her, then continued.
“Anyway, even without the spy—Wang head's got nothing to show for it.”
“How so?”
“He requested a torturer from Leviathan.”
“……That Wang fucker asked Leviathan for a torturer? To do it for him?”
“Yes.”
The moment he heard that.
Rimon raised one eyebrow.
He set down his teacup and spoke in a cold voice.
“I let the bastard slide 'cause beating him to death was a hassle, and now this prick thinks I'm a total pushover?”