Chapter 427
Chapter 427
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 427
>Chapter Title: Why Did You Come to My House?
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The walls of this space were splattered red in spots to the point where one had to seriously ponder what their original color had been. All of it painted with someone's blood.
"Come on, be good. This is the last one for today. So, any last words?"
"Pl... please... don't... don't kill me...."
"What? You want to spend a little more time with me?"
The woman giggled as she stroked the face of the man tied to the chair.
It was a gesture devoid of any affection or interest.
There were three men bound to chairs.
"Don't you hate criminals like us?"
"N-no, I don't. It's just... because of my job...."
"Hmm... Should I let you live a bit longer then? Maybe if you eat well and rest, you'll recover quickly?"
The eyes of the bound men filled with a desperate will to live.
The woman gazed at those eyes in ecstasy.
"My, my, these eyes... I like them...."
She approached the man tied farthest to the left and committed a horrific act.
Squelch...
"Argh, aaaagh-!"
The woman gouged out the man's eye and dropped it into a jar filled with some suspicious liquid.
Plop...
Then, she casually sprayed a simple hemostatic agent into his empty socket.
"Arrrgh!"
The man writhed in agony before passing out.
"Hmm... Looking at this might help with my insomnia a little?"
"Why... why are you doing this...."
The woman grinned.
"Because it's fun."
Creak...
Thud.
As the woman closed the door and left, the room was once again swallowed by pitch-black darkness.
Meanwhile, the woman joined other suspicious figures gathered in a brightly lit room.
"Go easy on the noise. It's annoying. Screaming all night."
"Ehehe... Screaming, huh."
"...Want to die?"
"Hmph."
There were six people gathered in this room, each with a striking appearance that wouldn't be easily forgotten.
"Benhu, when are those guys coming? How long do we have to stay in this boring place?"
Benhu, a man with a bushy beard and pale skin, answered the woman's question.
"Silk. According to the info we've received, unfortunately, the nobles' lackeys aren't coming."
"What? Really? Then we waited for nothing!"
"They've formed some special task force at the Investigation Bureau. The nobles are sponsoring it, it seems."
"You mean, so-called collaboration?"
"Yeah. Collaboration."
"Then we'll just get a bunch of small fries here? Isn't that different from the original plan?"
"Maybe. Or maybe not."
"What kind of answer is that?"
Benhu rested his chin on his interlaced hands.
"The special task force is filled with complete unknowns. No info on any of them."
"They probably scraped together some randos from the streets. Guys they don't care if they die."
"Who knows... For something like that, the Silver Lion Society seems to have put in quite a bit of effort. Rumors are circulating."
"Rumors?"
"That the special task force is expected to wipe out the drug organization in one go."
"Pfft... Who'd seriously say crap like that with a straight face?"
"Better to be cautious. Just keep it in mind."
The bald, muscular man sitting beside him spoke up.
"Then we should welcome it. Small fry blood tastes bad anyway. If they show up, I'll take the first one."
"Funny... Says who?"
Benhu raised the man's hand.
"Yeah, Dulet. You go ahead. I've got other business."
The short-haired man with a half-mask covering his mouth said,
"Whatever. Whoever's free can handle it. If they're stronger than expected, we can always collaborate... or something."
"Collaborate? Hilarious. How could we collaborate with lowlifes like you? Benhu maybe, since our tastes align...."
The woman gazed wistfully at Benhu.
Benhu summarized her words.
"Silk, our paths diverge. You're just a simple eye-gouging murderer, but I crave the power contained within eyes themselves."
"Isn't that the same thing?"
"No. Have you ever been overwhelmed by someone's eyes?"
"No? Where in the world are eyes that beautiful?"
"I yearn for eyes like that."
"...Being too influenced by your master isn't always a good thing, you know."
The desire for strong eyes was one of the things Benhu's master had instilled in him.
"Benhu, so you can gauge someone's level just by looking at their eyes?"
"Yeah. I know who's the strongest among you all."
Flinch...
Twitch...
Everyone swallowed hard at his words, but Benhu grinned.
"I'm never telling. Strength and survival are different skills. I'll tell the one who lasts the longest later."
"That's so annoying! That is!"
Silk grumbled.
"But I've grown kinda attached to this warehouse... If we kill everyone here, we'll have to abandon it, right?"
"We've already moved the home base. Once they show up, we slaughter them as an example and leave. Done."
"Eyes! If we gouge out all their eyes, it sends a clearer message, don't you think?"
"...Do whatever you want."
* * *
Clop clop...
Clop clop...
A four-horse carriage pulled by sturdy warhorses with taut thigh muscles raced through the darkening city streets.
Inside rode Kang Seol, who asked Han So-mi—the mascot of the New Drug Special Task Force, the terminal horse manufacturer—
"...The North has those fancy mobile forts called castrings, but no streetcars? That's weird."
"I guess the demand isn't there like you'd think. It's probably before its time. They say it's different in the capital region, though."
"You've never been to the capital?"
"I was flat broke by then...."
"...You spent all the money?"
"You should've realized! Traveling from the South through the East to Shuren like a backpacker, saving as much as I could, and it still ran out... But I made a big haul—no, harvest—from the Star Graveyard this time, so I paid the back rent."
Kang Seol said with a blank expression.
"If the rent was overdue, you should've said something. I could've sent money."
"Why tell me now! You should've said it when I was poor!"
Kang Seol's sense of economy in Pandea differed greatly from Earth's.
Before transferring, capital had been power, so he was sensitive to money, but after coming to Pandea, power became capital, so wealth accumulated on its own without effort.
Han So-mi asked Kang Seol.
"But that big guy... Ja, Jamad, was it? Where is he?"
"He's riding separately for a bit. If he rides with us, the carriage'll break."
"Fair enough, gotta consider the horses pulling it...."
"Even without stares, uncomfortable is uncomfortable."
Karen chuckled and chimed in.
"Kahahat... I told you."
Han So-mi's questions didn't end.
"And... why bring this cute kid...."
"It's Tansia!"
"R-right. Tansia. Was bringing Tansia necessary?"
"No one to watch her."
"Hire a nanny..."
"The nanny would die."
"......"
Kang Seol explained casually.
"And she needs to see in advance. What kind of days I live and what work I do."
"Isn't that too harsh?"
"Not really? She doesn't seem to have any resistance to this stuff."
Indeed, Tansia was different from the start. Killing people left no guilt in her eyes.
Like how humans crush ants without nightmares that night.
Snort...
The carriage stopped.
The horses neighed as if wanting to run more, but the skilled coachman quieted them quickly.
Han So-mi said to the coachman.
"Sir, hide here. Got it?"
Wink.
Han So-mi winked.
The coachman was a veteran hired directly by the task force.
His claim of driving supply wagons in war zones seemed true, with scars visible here and there.
Smirk...
The coachman smiled in response.
Click...
Han So-mi loaded her terminal horse and stepped out of the carriage, her expression grim.
"Hurry and get out, hurry!"
Everyone smiled at Han So-mi's leader-like behavior.
If some other arrogant human pulled this, they'd be flash-frozen on the spot, but since there was history with Han So-mi, they just sighed quietly.
Han So-mi, terminal horse loaded, stuck close to Karen as they moved.
"Hm? What's up with the terminal horse manufacturer?"
"Ki... killing isn't an everyday thing, so... we're gonna kill, right?"
Karen flashed a mischievous grin, then suddenly roared.
"Rawr!"
"Eek... You scared me."
"Of course we're killing. Duh."
"Huh? It's obvious?"
"Resistance means kill. Obvious, right?"
"...I see. Then if they don't resist?"
"They will resist, won't they?"
"...Probably?"
"Then we kill."
"......Yes."
Some in the Silver Lion Society were skeptical of the task force members. It was as good as Kang Seol bringing everyone alone, so they weren't thrilled about backing them.
Of course, since their influence was below House Sansi, they just grumbled quietly.
"Huff... huff... Good, ready. Shall we hop the fence?"
"Why? Door's right there."
"...This spot's perfect for a knife fight. No, the whole neighborhood."
"Yeah. A hideout tucked between engineering warehouses."
"A few investigators infiltrated here recently and went missing. There's a request to check on them too. Internal intel confirms this as part of the distribution network, so no need to hold back."
"Alright, let's go."
Han So-mi raised her hand.
"First, let me show a demo from a seasoned senior."
"Really?"
Karen cheered from behind.
"You got this! Terminal horse manufacturer!"
"Hup... Here goes."
Han So-mi straightened her shoulders proudly and knocked on the window of the guard post by the iron gate.
"Ahem...."
Knock knock...
......
Knock knock...
......
"...Not there?"
There was definitely a presence.
"Hey, look here!"
The uniformed woman knocked on the window, and the guard dozing with his chin on his hand scowled.
"...What?"
The guard's face was menacing.
Several scars tore across it.
"I'm from the Federal Investigation Bureau. Need your cooperation."
"Scram."
"Uh... what?"
"I said scram. No time to play with kids."
"...Hey?"
Knock knock...
Clang...
The guard roughly flung open the barred window and yelled.
"Investigation Bureau or whatever, I don't care. What authority do you have to inspect this place?"
"We sent official notices to all Shuren private properties regarding the special task force, right?"
"Special task force?"
"Yes."
"Never heard of it."
"The notice..."
"Didn't get it! So scram!"
Han So-mi pulled out the official notice from her bosom with a determined look.
"Here."
"What's this?"
"Official notice. You said you didn't get it. Now you're good—"
Riiip...
The guard tore the notice to shreds.
Han So-mi finally snapped and yelled.
"Hey! You fuck... wanna die!?"
"Try it. Door's that one, so open it yourself and come in. I'll even guide you personally."
"It's locked!"
"Not my problem."
The iron gate the guard pointed to was impossibly thick—beyond "massive," its thickness alone exceeded a hand's breadth.
As Han So-mi's face flushed tomato-red with frustration, a massive boom echoed from somewhere.
KABOOOOOM-!
"Wh-what!"
"Eek... wh-what...."
Creak...
Creeeak...
BOOM...
The massive iron gate was ripped off, hanging precariously by its hinges before collapsing under its own weight.
"Wh-what the hell! No, how...."
Jamad, who had kicked the gate clean off, strode forward.
"Tr... troll? You're investigators? You bastard...."
Halt...
Jamad paused, then approached the guard post where the door was locked.
"What're you gonna..."
Crunch...
Crack crack...
The post's roof was torn off with one swipe of Jamad's hand.
"......"
"Open. The door."
Creak, creeak...
The guard opened the post door and glared at Jamad repeatedly, thoroughly cowed, his whole body trembling under the troll's presence.
"...Guide us."
"Uh...."
"If you don't wanna die, guide us to the cargo."
The guard grabbed a lantern from the post and led the way.
Han So-mi approached Kang Seol.
"That troll's safe, right?"
"...So-mi."
"What do we do? Did you see? Where's the bathroom... I was so scared...."
"You okay?"
"...That jerk didn't even blink when I said I'd kill him!"
Karen laughed.
"When you say you're killing, infuse it with killing intent!"
"...Ah!"
Hearing that, Han So-mi widened her eyes in realization.
She approached the guiding guard and whispered in his ear.
"Pssh, pssh."
"...What're you doing?"
"You're already dead. In my head."
Han So-mi winked and said nonchalantly.
"Your terminal horse is cute, huh?"
The rather brutal opening act of the raid had just begun.
Messages appeared to Kang Seol and Han So-mi.
[Sudden adventure 'Why Did You Come to My House?' has occurred.]
[This adventure is extremely dangerous.]
......