Chapter 128
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 128
Chapter Title: Investigation
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14 hours before killing Jang Bok-chul.
Ryu Min spotted a familiar name on the murder ledger.
‘Joo Seong-tak? He joined PleSeBa too?’
The name and age matched perfectly, though the nickname was a bit off.
‘[Shitheads]? It should’ve been [Dumb Idiots] originally.’
The ranking he’d noted was different too, so it looked like he’d fudged the details a little when signing up.
‘No wonder Joo Seong-tak wasn’t in the executive seats.’
Joo Seong-tak was a powerhouse who’d ranked 2nd and 3rd in the previous zone.
If he’d been an executive, they would’ve crossed paths ages ago. Hiding his info like this explained why they hadn’t.
‘Joined way back, judging by the date…… but never actually did anything?’
A quick search of the cafe turned up no posts or comments from him.
He’d just passed the murder interview and stayed quiet ever since.
‘He deserves to die, obviously, but he still has some use for now……’
Ryu Min decided to let him live a little longer out of the goodness of his heart.
Not that it changed anything. He was still a dead man walking, just like the rest.
The deadline had merely been extended.
‘Hm?’
Scanning the list again, another familiar-looking nickname caught his eye.
‘Name: Hong Seon-ah. Nickname: BouncyBoobsRealDough. Age 22, occupation: actress.’
Seo Ah-rin sprang to mind instantly.
Same age, same job.
If they’d worked on a project together, they could’ve gotten close.
‘Worth a search.’
Typing “Hong Seon-ah” into the internet brought up a slew of articles.
[Round 8 Survivor Actress Hong Seon-ah and Her Many Charms!]
[Hong Seon-ah, Seo Ah-rin, Goo Yeon-seung, Jang Bok-chul, and Other Popular Celebrity Players Survive This Round Too……]
[Actress Hong Seon-ah Signs Ad Deal with Major Agency! She’s Got More Reasons to Keep Living!]
[Hong Seon-ah Confirmed for Variety Show ‘Players’! What Role Will She Take? Stay Tuned……]
She was one of the few surviving 20-something actresses still riding high alongside Seo Ah-rin.
‘Aiding and abetting murder in PleSeBa, then strutting around in showbiz like nothing happened…… She must’ve fed her conscience to the dogs.’
Of course, only the executives knew about the murder aiding.
As long as they kept their mouths shut, it’d never leak to the public.
And PleSeBa sure as hell wouldn’t expose it themselves.
It’d be like spitting in their own faces.
‘That’s why she’s flaunting herself so openly.’
Clicking his tongue, Ryu Min pulled up Hong Seon-ah’s Instagram for some intel.
Plenty of photos, including shots with Seo Ah-rin.
‘They look pretty tight in these pics.’
Beyond the beaming duo were tons of selfies where Hong Seon-ah posed all cutesy.
The rest were group shots with acquaintances.
One in particular drew Ryu Min’s close attention.
A recent pic of her outside a club with male actors. The caption read:
[Quick snap with actor buddies at my usual club. From left: Junior Joo Ji-seung, Senior Goo Yeon-seung, Senior Jang Bok-chul, Junior Kang Soo-hyun…… Had a blast tonight!]
‘Actor buddies?’
Names he’d seen before.
Just to check, he cross-referenced the murder list.
Matched them against the actors listed.
“Ha.”
Every single one was a PleSeBa member. No exceptions.
‘Birds of a feather, huh? All these actors are in PleSeBa?’
They’d committed murders, rapes, abetting crimes, then lived like normal people without a shred of shame.
Basking in the spotlight as celebrities, no less.
Unable to hide his disbelief, Ryu Min dove into each actor’s Instagram.
Pics of them snapping each other filled their feeds. They really did seem tight.
‘Close-knit actors who are all PleSeBa members? Something stinks here.’
What would a bunch of murderers plot if they gathered?
Another crime?
Digging deeper revealed one big commonality.
‘They’ve all got photos from the same club.’
Staring at the pics with the identical backdrop, Ryu Min grabbed his coat.
It reeked, alright.
A visit to the club would turn up more dirt.
“Bro, where you headed?”
“Out for a bit.”
“This late?”
He nodded and left his brother behind, opening the front door.
“Go to sleep first. Might be late.”
* * *
Vroom—
The club wasn’t far.
Twenty minutes in the Lamborghini and he was there.
Past midnight—perfect time for clubbing.
‘Not that I’m here to party. This is an investigation.’
He parked in the public lot and walked the rest of the way.
‘Here it is.’
Ryu Min found the club from the Instagrams but was immediately disappointed.
He’d expected a burly bouncer checking outfits like in the movies. Nope.
No bouncer, and the door was locked.
‘What? Prime time and the club’s closed?’
Suspicious as hell.
Circling the building, he found a back door. Locked too.
‘Presence Detection says there are people inside, though.’
Doors locked front and back, but people within 30 meters?
‘Shady. Super shady.’
If there’d been a window, he’d have smashed it. But the club was underground.
How to get in?
‘Why overthink it?’
Crack—
He just forced the door open.
Then activated Invisibility to hide himself as he slipped inside.
Ghost Step Boots silenced his footsteps.
“…….”
The place was dead quiet. Not operating, apparently.
‘But there are definitely people inside.’
Ryu Min headed toward the presence he’d detected.
“Hm?”
The guy looked his way—must have Presence Detection too.
Ryu Min quickly backed out of the 30-meter range.
“Weird. Did I imagine it?”
Seeing and sensing nothing, the man tilted his head and kept walking.
‘That’s Joo Ji-seung, the actor.’
Ryu Min confirmed the face but grimaced uncomfortably.
‘With everyone and their dog having Presence Detection, getting close is a pain.’
He realized Invisibility wasn’t all that great.
‘Nothing for it till I get Stealth Rune.’
Luckily, Round 9 would net him Stealth.
For now, he tailed Joo Ji-seung carefully, keeping exactly 31 meters back to stay off the radar.
Walking the hall, Joo Ji-seung bumped into three guys emerging from a room.
Faces Ryu Min knew well.
‘Goo Yeon-seung, Jang Bok-chul, Kang Soo-hyun, right?’
Quiet enough that even at 30 meters, their voices carried.
“Huh? Where you off to, hyung?”
“Grabbing more booze. And some weed.”
“Already gone through it?”
“Yeah. Said I’d get it, but these punks couldn’t wait and followed.”
Goo Yeon-seung’s juniors chimed in.
“C’mon, hyung’s moving—how we gonna sit still?”
“Heh, not cuz we wanna smoke ASAP or anything.”
Their goofy grins screamed addiction already.
“You can barely stand straight. Just chill. I’ll bring the booze and weed.”
“Mm, in that case, mind if we leave it to you?”
“‘Course not. Head back in and sing your hearts out. Hyung’ll hook you up.”
“Haha, thanks! Hyung!”
Jang Bok-chul bowed deeply, and Goo Yeon-seung snorted.
“You bow like that, you look like a legit gangster.”
“My face does scream thug. Heh.”
“Goo-hyung, Bok-chul looks rough but he’s super innocent. Says he’s never done it before. Heh heh heh.”
“No kidding? Built like a bandit, but a virgin? Surprising.”
“Heh heh, quit teasing, seniors and juniors.”
Jang Bok-chul rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly.
“No wonder he’s been chanting ‘Seo Ah-rin, Seo Ah-rin’ till our ears fell off. Makes sense he’s obsessed.”
Goo Yeon-seung mentioned Seo Ah-rin, and Ryu Min’s eyes sharpened.
“Hyung, we really seeing Seo Ah-rin tomorrow?”
“Yeah. Seon-ah texted. Meeting her for lunch at a cafe.”
“S-so I’m losing my V-card tomorrow?”
“Damn right. Bok-chul’s dream girl’s rolling in—can’t say no. I’ll let you have first dibs.”
“Th-thank you, hyung! Seriously, thank you!”
Jang Bok-chul bowed over and over.
“But you’re next after, got it?”
“Psh, obviously! I go first, then hyung plays all you want.”
“This punk never stops pushing for first turn, huh?”
“Hahaha!”
Jang Bok-chul seemed genuinely thrilled.
“Quit calling me hyung all the time. Feels like I’m in the mob. Just say sunbae.”
“Hyung sounds better than sunbae. Heh.”
“People’ll think it’s weird.”
“Nah, c’mon. You think I got no sense? Sunbae in public, obviously.”
Jang Bok-chul rubbed his hands like a fly, grinning sleazily.
Mind-reading revealed fantasies too vile to repeat.
-Heh, tomorrow Seo Ah-rin shows, gonna do everything to that bitch, fuck.
Ryu Min turned away. He’d heard enough.
Mind-reading had given him the key info.
‘These guys plan to kill Seo Ah-rin.’
He hadn’t expected her to be involved.
‘Snooping out of curiosity leads here. Her circle’s full of trash.’
Seo Ah-rin probably had no clue.
That her closest actress friend, Hong Seon-ah, would stab her in the back.
‘She’ll learn tomorrow. How stupid it is to trust people.’
Even colleagues would shank you for survival in this world.
Ryu Min had seen it countless times across 99 regressions.
‘Anyway, this is my chance. A shot to win Seo Ah-rin over for good.’
If Black Scythe saved her from danger?
She’d be his completely.
‘The guys I can control with Yamtti, but Charm doesn’t work on women.’
That’s why he spared them and left.
‘Better to wipe them when they’re all together. Killing now does nothing for Seo Ah-rin.’
Sure, gaining her favor might not pay off perfectly down the line.
Not guaranteed to be all upside.
But he couldn’t just ignore it.
Too good an opportunity to toss to Ma Kyung-rok.
‘Me saving her beats Ma Kyung-rok doing it.’
They were allies now, but Ma Kyung-rok could become a problem.
If he got chummy with Seo Ah-rin, it’d complicate things later.
Creak—click.
Leaving the club, Ryu Min awaited dawn.
‘Tail Hong Seon-ah tomorrow, nail down the timing.’
Time to clean out the trash himself.
* * *
14 hours later.
Ryu Min held the corpse of trash named Jang Bok-chul.
He’d tailed Hong Seon-ah into the club and offed Jang Bok-chul first in the public restroom.
‘Showing her the body’ll send a clear message.’
Propping up the limp, neck-snapped head, he gripped the nape and moved.
White mask on to claim Black Scythe, of course.
Swapped Ghost Step Boots for regular shoes to make noise on purpose.
Thud thud—
He stepped through the open door, footsteps echoing.
Seo Ah-rin was there, just barely escaping a fate worse than death.
The actors’ eyes locked on Ryu Min.
Or rather, the intact-looking corpse in front.
“Huh? Bok-chul-ah! Here’s your fave Seo Ah-rin……”
Spotting themselves behind the body, the actors’ faces froze.
“Jang Bok-chul—this guy your buddy?”
“Wh-who the hell are you?!”
“Guess so.”
Ryu Min erased the corpse with Cleanup.
“Wondered where the trash stench was coming from. Here you all were.”
“Who the hell are you—?!”
Ryu Min drew Death Side without a word.
The room went dead silent.
No idiots here; that said it all.
“Th-that’s…….”
“A scythe?”
“No way…… Black Scythe?”
Some actors shook their heads in denial.
“Nah, can’t be. Why would Black Scythe show up here?”
“Yeah. No guarantee every scythe guy’s him.”
Two actors chatting released Seo Ah-rin and stepped forward.
Goo Yeon-seung’s loyal dogs.
“Hey, you fucker. How’d you get in here?”
“You kill Bok-chul? Huh?”
Ryu Min sighed softly.
“Still not grasping the situation, I see…….”
“This punk’s sighing at us? I’ll fucking end…….”
Whoosh—
Ryu Min’s scythe moved once in the shadows.
The actors’ heads slid off smoothly.
No sound, like slicing tofu. Clean.
Splash—splash!
“Gasp!”
The survivors recoiled in horror.
Shock plain on every face.
Seo Ah-rin was no exception.
‘Th-that’s Black Scythe? For real?’
Voice was different, so she’d half-doubted, but no denying it now.
The prince on a white horse was her Black Scythe.
Ryu Min aimed his scythe at the rest.
“No point dragging it out. Come at me together. And don’t bother thinking.”
A low voice drifted from the mask.
“You’re not leaving this room alive anyway. Not a single one.”