Get Famous First (5)
One of a police officer's routine duties was patrolling. Patrols were typically divided into vehicle patrols and foot patrols.
"Alright, Jin-ho! Let's go!"
"Yes, ma'am!"
Officers in Light City usually preferred foot patrols. There were several reasons for this. Light City was a megacity with a population of 100 million, so it was always packed with people, and roads often clogged up during rush hour. Physically, there just wasn't enough space for vehicles to move.
"Excuse me, miss. Are you okay?"
"Y-yeah... I drank too much last night... Urp..."
"Want me to pat your back?"
The city's high population density meant narrow alleys and staircases everywhere—places cars couldn't easily access.
In any case, all sorts of bizarre things happened in Light City, and patrolling officers needed the flexibility to handle them.
"Hey, you floating guy up there. Still drunk?"
"Huh? I had a bit last night... Why?"
"You know you're not supposed to fly after drinking, right?"
"I was only hovering like three centimeters... Cut me some slack..."
Like dealing with a guy who'd partied till dawn and was flying home still buzzed.
"Officer, my son is missing... Could you help look for him?"
"Sure thing. What was he wearing?"
"A white shirt and ivory shorts... But there's a problem."
"Problem?"
"He has invisibility powers... So you can't see him."
"..."
Or a kid who'd gotten lost while invisible.
"Officers! Over here!"
"Yes, ma'am?"
"My baby Aeoong climbed a tree and won't come down... Could you help?"
"...Is Aeoong a cat, by any chance?"
"No? It's my pet tiger. She's well-behaved."
Or helping an elderly lady get her tiger down from a tree.
Things that would make outsiders go, "That can't be real?" happened casually and routinely here. Light City was the world's largest metropolis, drawing all the capital, science, technology, and superpowers. Naturally, daily life here differed from anywhere else.
Well, if you're in Light City, you follow Light City's laws.
Kang Jin-ho mobilized every ability he had—mostly his game knowledge—to help them as best he could. After assisting all the citizens who'd asked for aid,
Park Eun-young suddenly asked, "By the way, Jin-ho. Newbies usually lose their minds when they first arrive in Light City. You seem awfully adjusted. Were you born here?"
"No, not at all... I just figured since it's Light City, these things can happen, so it's fine."
"Ah, got it."
She nodded, seemingly convinced. In truth, Jin-ho was calm because he'd already studied Light City's ecosystem through the game, but he had no intention of spilling that.
"You're really something, Jin-ho. You glance at a case and nail it every time. Hell, you don't even need to see it—just hearing about it is enough. You sure you don't have superpowers?"
"No, really, I don't."
"Really? We'll find out if we test you. If you're lying, you're dead meat."
"...I swear, I don't. Probably."
"Okay, okay. I was just teasing 'cause it's freaky. But you said it yourself—intuition hits you when you hear about a case."
"Yes, that's right."
Honestly, Jin-ho's deductions so far hadn't been purely logical, so people kept pestering him with "How'd you do that?" He'd dodged with vague answers like "It just came to me intuitively" or "I had a hunch."
He had no desire to tell the truth—and couldn't anyway—so he'd bullshitted his way through. Seeing Eun-young's eyes sparkle now, she seemed hooked on the "intuition" bit.
"So, this intuition of yours—does it just fire off randomly? Or do you trigger it on purpose?"
"Hmm... Sometimes it just hits without me willing it."
"Oh yeah? Wanna test it?"
"Pardon?"
Jin-ho had said it was involuntary partly because unknown cases might trip him up, but he hadn't expected her to jump on experimenting right away. He panicked.
"Okay, what should I ask? Hold on."
Ignoring him, Eun-young scanned the area eagerly, her crimson eyes gleaming. Kids playing soccer. A housewife on the phone heading home from the mart. A middle-aged man sipping coffee on a park bench...
"How about this?"
She found a target and poked Jin-ho's shoulder, pointing.
"Those three pigeons on the streetlight. Which one's the oldest?"
"...Pardon?"
Jin-ho blanked at the utterly unexpected question. I'm just a gamer transmigrator—how the hell would I know pigeon ages?
"..."
"Quick—which one looks oldest?"
But saying he didn't know felt risky with Eun-young smirking ominously beside him. She'd be disappointed, right? And if disappointments piled up... she might make him quit?
Jin-ho racked his brain desperately. He needed some plausible explanation, but nothing came. They all looked identical except... the one on the right had a blue bump on its head.
"Ah?"
Blue bump?Isn't that... a robot?
A Hero City Simulator memory flashed by. Telecom giant Blue Net had an event where they released flocks of biomimetic drone pigeons for data collection. It tanked city security by 5 points, and the screen filled with illustrations of pigeons with blue head bumps. It was a notoriously annoying event, so it stuck.
Lucky break.
Jin-ho inwardly sighed in relief but played it cool. "S-sorry, but the question's flawed."
"How so?"
"The one on the right doesn't have an age. It's a robot."
"A robot? For real?"
Eun-young grinned and snatched a pebble from the street. Then—
-BOOM!
"Huh?"
The robot pigeon atop the streetlight—nearly 10 meters up—exploded with a bang. Sparks and metal parts rained down instead of blood and feathers. Goosebumps crawled up Jin-ho's back.
She'd thrown that pebble and nailed the distant drone dead-on? In one shot, enough to blow it apart?
"I already knew the right one was a robot—heard rumors. But I didn't expect you to spot it just by looking. Freaky!"
She clapped delightedly, showing no signs of stopping. She scanned fiercely for the next test.
"Hmm... Oh, perfect."
She froze mid-scan, a mischievous smile spreading. Target acquired.
"What's up?"
"Got my question. How about that one over there? Intuition kicking in?"
Turning as she pointed, Jin-ho spotted two figures in an alley mouth. Deep in the shadows, two men exchanging something. The short one pulled cash from his pocket; the tall, hooded one nodded and took it. The amount wasn't huge, so it could pass for a casual secondhand deal.
"Hmm."
For some reason, the tall guy's face looked familiar to Jin-ho. I've seen him in the game... Who was it?
Not a major villain or hero since the memory wasn't sharp. But definitely familiar.
Staring intently for a long moment,
"What's wrong, Jin-ho?"
Eun-young asked with an oddly expectant look. Deep in focus, Jin-ho didn't notice and replied blankly.
"That guy over there... the tall one. He looks... suspicious."
"Oh? Spooky."
She beamed. "Looks like someone I know up close. Wanna go chat?"
"Here's 50,000 won. Good work."
"Thanks~ Call me anytime you need... Huh?"
"What's wrong?"
"N-no, it's just... this feeling..."
4th-grade villain Clayboy realized his body was trembling uncontrollably. This sensation wasn't new. It was just like a year ago—that unforgettable day he'd regretted being born.
That day too, his body had shaken against his will, teeth chattering. Frantically scanning around, he spotted her.
The black-haired cop with crimson eyes.
"Jin-hyuk~ Long time no see~"
He froze solid. He couldn't even think of moving. One wrong twitch, and he'd be dead.
...Why the hell is that monster here?