Chapter 146
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 146
Chapter Title: Human Trafficking
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The human trafficker Numbako panicked.
‘An attack... I didn’t even see it coming.’
His gaze shifted slightly downward.
The taxi driver, who had been steadily doing business with their organization, had turned into a corpse in an instant.
‘A scythe? Did that extending scythe do this?’
How the scythe extended didn’t matter.
What mattered was the speed—too fast for him to even react.
Gulp—
Even with his assault rifle in hand, Numbako tensed up.
Superhuman speed, a weapon that defied common sense, and a young-looking face.
Taken all together, this had to be one of those players he’d only heard about.
‘A player... Out of all the damn luck, I have to face one in my lifetime.’
He’d assumed the guy was just some bearded forty-something civilian, but it looked like he’d been posing as one to scout their location.
“You... who the hell are you? A cop?”
Numbako regretted the question the moment it left his mouth.
‘No, that can’t be right. We’ve got every cop in the area in our pocket. Plus, that guy’s East Asian?’
He kept the rifle trained on the man, not taking his eyes off him for a second.
Player or not, with an invincible assault rifle, there was nothing to fear.
Worst case, just open fire.
No human could survive that, right?
“Who are you? Which organization sent you!”
“If I told you, would you even know? Just come over here quietly.”
‘Like hell I would.’
Numbako swallowed the retort that rose in his throat.
No need to provoke a player unnecessarily.
“Not coming? Fine, I’ll come to you.”
As Ryu Min took a step forward, Numbako made up his mind.
Whatever this guy was, he’d just kill him.
“Die, you fuckiiiing bastard!”
Rat-a-tat-tat-tat—!
Even before pulling the trigger, Numbako pictured it.
The guy turning into Swiss cheese, bleeding out and collapsing moments later.
A player was still human at the end of the day, wasn’t he?
No human could stand up to bullets—they were all equal before gunfire.
But reality didn’t match his expectations.
‘He’s... fine?’
Despite aiming precisely, the man stood there unscathed.
Numbako blinked like he’d seen a ghost, then fired again.
Rat-a-tat-tat-tat!
This time, he saw it clearly.
The man twisting and dodging every single bullet.
‘He... dodged all of them...?’
Thirteen rounds in two seconds, raining down like a storm—yet not one touched him.
An unbelievable sight, even with his own eyes.
Ryu Min sneered at the stunned man.
‘Guess he thought the gun was enough. Dream on.’
Boosted by the Balance Rune and the Massacre Rune, Ryu Min’s agility sat at 1,176.
Even an assault rifle, faster than a pistol, wasn’t hard to evade.
‘Especially with the Foresight Rune on top.’
Sneering, Ryu Min stepped forward again.
“D-don’t come closer! Stay back, you monster!”
More bullets poured out.
Click—click—
But by then, the magazine was spent, even with extra pulls on the trigger.
“R-reload...”
As he fumbled with trembling hands for a fresh magazine,
“Gah!”
Numbako recoiled in terror at the sight of the man right in his face.
“Out of bullets, huh?”
“Eek!”
Numbako stumbled back and fell flat on his ass.
Ryu Min hadn’t laid a finger on him.
He’d simply watched the guy tremble in fear.
“Yamtti.”
Yamtti peeked out from her hiding spot behind him.
“Yes, Master.”
“Dominate this one. Then order him to guide us to the boss.”
* * *
Thud, thud—
As Numbako walked, his armed comrades with assault rifles came running.
“Numbako! There you are?”
“We heard gunfire—what happened?”
Numbako shrugged it off like it was nothing.
“Some of the humans we grabbed for trafficking tried to fight back. I sprayed the ground to scare ’em straight.”
“That guy and the girl behind you... they the ones you grabbed?”
Numbako glanced back casually.
Ryu Min and Yamtti stood there.
“Yeah, that’s them.”
Even as he confirmed it, his comrades looked suspicious.
Who walks around with kidnapped people trailing behind them?
What if they ambushed or ran?
‘Something’s off.’
Worst of all, their faces showed no trace of fear despite being abducted.
“You’re saying these are the trafficking grabs? For real?”
“That’s what I said.”
“But they don’t look...”
His comrades didn’t finish.
Ryu Min’s scythe sliced through their necks without mercy.
Thud—thud—thud—
Heads rolled in the order they were severed as Ryu Min spoke coldly.
“Keep going. To the boss.”
Time to clean up the trash.
* * *
In a dank basement that saw no sunlight,
Subina, an ordinary thirty-year-old woman, wept behind iron bars.
‘If only I’d been born a couple months earlier... I could’ve been a player. Then... I wouldn’t be trapped in this hellhole...’
Most despaired at becoming a player, doomed to a short life.
Not Subina.
She resented missing out by mere months.
That’s why she’d ended up here—because she lacked power.
‘How long has it been?’
She didn’t know how many days since her abduction, but she’d seen plenty.
They’d beat captives like livestock for a wrong look, or drag women off with leering eyes.
Those who returned had hollow, broken gazes.
What they’d endured was obvious.
Sometimes strangers appeared, picking victims like shoppers at a market.
No one ever came back from those selections.
‘At least I’m better off than some? Nothing’s happened to me yet...’
Subina recalled the boss-like figure’s words when she first arrived.
—Damn, your face and body are totally my type. Listen up, boys—no touching this one. Finish up the backlog, then she’s first on my rape list.
—Got it, boss. We’ll keep her safe for you. Heh heh.
He’d singled her out because he liked her looks.
That’s why she’d been spared so far.
‘I heard it clear as day. He’s going to rape me.’
Hugging her knees, Subina buried her face.
Was this how a cow felt knowing slaughter awaited?
Knowing the horror ahead made every hour anxious, every footstep nerve-wracking.
Was it her turn now?
‘If I were a player, this wouldn’t be happening...’
Helplessness gnawed at her mind.
‘Maybe... just bite my tongue and end it...’
She’d considered suicide repeatedly, but the pain terrified her.
Yet thinking of what awaited, death seemed right.
‘What should I do...’
Footsteps echoed in the quiet basement then.
Fast ones, like they wouldn’t give her time to think.
‘Ah... it’s... here. H-has to be the boss.’
But a unfamiliar woman’s voice reached her ears.
“Huh? People in here too?”
Subina, eyes squeezed shut in fear, cracked them open at the foreign tongue.
A woman.
An East Asian one in ridiculous clothes.
‘That outfit... a player?’
Crack—!
The dagger shattered the lock, and Subina realized.
Strength beyond human limits.
This woman was a player.
But why break the lock?
Hopelessness blinded her; she didn’t register her own rescue.
“Come on out. Hurry.”
As Yamtti beckoned, Subina stepped out in confusion.
“Wh-where are you taking me?”
“What’re you on about? Just follow.”
“...?”
When Subina just stood there, Yamtti grabbed her hand and pulled.
Emerging from the musty basement, they exited the building.
A sparse forest and clearing lay outside.
Under a streetlamp, people gathered, murmuring.
‘Wh-what? Scary.’
Subina stayed wary, but relaxed slightly upon recognizing them.
Women she’d seen here—abducted like her.
“What’re they doing h—”
She froze at the lumps by their feet.
Corpses.
The stench of blood hit late, turning her stomach—but only briefly.
“Huh?”
Seeing the boss who’d terrorized her, nausea vanished oddly.
More bodies littered the area—presumed traffickers.
“H-how did this...”
A man in a white mask approached the East Asian player.
“Yamtti. You freed all the captives?”
“Yes. I searched every corner with presence detection—these are all of them.”
“Good.”
Ryu Min counted the group.
All women, exactly twelve.
Locked in cages throughout the building.
“Hello.”
His English greeting drew eyes.
Common in Nigeria, everyone understood.
But the mask made them wary.
“No need to be so guarded. As you can see, we’re players here to rescue you. Proof enough, right?”
He gestured to the bodies; they nodded.
The demons who’d abused them were reduced to meat piles.
Ryu Min had skipped cleanup on purpose—to show them.
“The boss is dead, as you see. All 21 traffickers here too. No threats left. You’re free. You can go home.”
“R-really?”
“We’re... really free?”
To their disbelieving questions, Ryu Min pulled keys from his pocket.
“Car keys from the traffickers. Anyone who can drive, take some and head home. Here.”
As he handed them over, tears welled—rescue sinking in.
“Sniff... thank goodness. Really...”
“I can go home now.”
Ryu Min knew their suffering.
He’d heard it from the boss.
‘They kidnap tourists or civilians over thirty who won’t be missed, cage them like livestock, then sell to other groups for big bucks. Primary suppliers, basically.’
Abuse—verbal, beatings, threats, rape—was routine.
They held back rape if virgins were needed, but captives called it equally hellish.
‘Anyway, this group’s just traffickers, not IS.’
In past regressions, Ryu Min had raided IS bases to build Black Scythe’s rep.
But he didn’t know their main base.
Cell structure—they moved constantly, and he hadn’t bothered memorizing.
‘Start from the bottom, work up—they’ll surface eventually.’
IS splinter groups abounded; raid a few, info flowed.
He’d found their leader that way before.
With Yamtti, extracting and luring would be easier.
“Don’t take too many cars—two at most. Ditch them after driving to avoid tracking.”
“Thank you... so much.”
“We’re grateful for the rescue.”
“You saved our lives.”
Tearful thanks poured from the women.
Subina, amid the gratitude, asked what mattered.
“But... what’s the name of our savior...?”
The question he’d waited for—Ryu Min smiled under the mask.
“Black Scythe. That’s all you need to know.”
“Black Scythe...”
“I’ll remember.”
“Never forget.”
He spoke the nickname freely.
Even this tale of saving women from traffickers would boost Black Scythe’s fame.
That’s why the mask, too.
“Go on now. It’s late.”
He waved them off; Subina asked,
“But Black Scythe, you’re not going?”
“I’ve got business here. Go ahead.”
“Ah, then we’ll head out first.”
“Won’t forget this kindness.”
“Thank you truly.”
The women smiled brightly for the first time.
As they drove off in vans, only Ryu Min and Yamtti remained.
He used Cleanup to vanish the bodies.
Then extended a hand to Yamtti.
“Got the boss’s phone?”
“Yes. Here.”
Taking the dead boss’s phone, Ryu Min texted in English.
[3 women, 1 man, 20% off, quick sale. Contact.]
To the buyer contact listed.
Reply came fast.
[OK. Heading there.]
“Hook, line, and sinker.”
Grinning, Ryu Min said,
“Time to prepare the welcome, then?”