Pepperoni Monopoly 3
Seoul outskirts, abandoned factory basement.
"Ughhh…."
A eerie groan filled the underground bunker. On the sofa sprawled a purple-haired woman like a zombie. Her unfocused eyes stared blankly at her smartphone screen, but her fingers weren't moving.
"Pep…. Per…. Ro nii......."
Adel von Kraiber. The empire's genius mage and currently Seoul's worst ticking time bomb had entered the final stages of withdrawal symptoms.
"Blood…. salt levels, dropping. Pepperoni content in body…. deficient…. Reached a state where no living being can survive…."
She waved her trembling hand through the air. The two men watching her pathetic state glared at each other with grim determination.
Assistant No. 1: Former Red Skull enforcer Dokki.
Assistant No. 2 aspirant: Former Black Moon 1st Branch brain Kim Sil-jang.
The duel for their organizations' pride had begun. Project: Satisfy Adel's Tastebuds.
"Step aside, you dumb brute."
Kim Sil-jang stepped forward holding a silver tray. Confidence gleamed in his eyes behind his glasses.
"This is the masterpiece from our 1st Branch's latest food science."
Kim Sil-jang lifted the tray lid. Inside, a pizza topped with red circular somethings steamed invitingly.
"Behold, molecular gastronomy: Soy Meat Pepperoni! Rearranged soy protein at the nano level for texture, colored with beet juice—wellness pepperoni!"
Kim Sil-jang proudly lifted a slice to Adel's mouth.
"Here, Lady Adel. Try a bite. Health and taste, both caught."
Adel's hollow eyes turned to the pizza. She mechanically opened her mouth and chewed.
*Munch…. Munch….*
*Ptooey.*
Adel spat it out. She glared at Kim Sil-jang like he was a bug.
"You…. fed me grass?"
"Pardon? Oh, no, this is soy meat…."
"It's grass! Not meat! You think my mouth's a rabbit hole? Topping sacred pizza with weeds?!"
*Zzzt zzzt zzzt!*
Adel's ring glowed, electricity sparking from her finger. Kim Sil-jang screamed and rolled away.
"Tsk tsk. Amateurs with half-assed knowledge just chase trends and fail."
Dokki sneered and shoved his tray forward.
"Sis! Forget that fake crap—eat this! Red Skull crew ran our asses off for it!"
Dokki's pizza was piled with thick, rough chunks of meat.
"Chopped up the priciest store-bought ham, marinated in gochujang! Korean taste! Spicy and salty! This is K-Pepperoni, right?!"
Adel chewed the canned ham slice pizza without expectation.
*Munch…. Slurp.*
"...Salty."
"Huh?"
"Too salty! And this is canned ham! You look down on me? Think my tongue's that cheap?"
*Rumble rumble!*
Adel's rage shook the factory ceiling. Dokki rolled on the floor like electrocuted fried chicken.
"Gone…. Pepperoni's extinct in this world like dinosaurs…. No hope for me."
Adel reverted to zombie mode, slamming her head into the sofa. Red aura rose from her back. The terror that it might explode and wipe out half of Seoul gripped the crew.
*Sniff, sniff.*
Adel's nostrils twitched faintly. Her dying olfactory cells detected that faint but unmistakable scent in the air.
Smoky oak aroma. Rich fat from aged meat. Sharp pepper symphony stinging the nose.
"Th-this smell?"
Adel bolted up. Her dazed eyes turned toward the entrance.
*Creak.*
The door opened, and a man walked in. One hand dragging a huge suitcase, the other a box.
It was Lee Han.
"What's with the vibe? Funeral home?"
I glanced at the electrocuted minions scattered around and roughly grasped the situation.
"L-Lee Han!"
Adel staggered toward me. Her gaze fixed not on my face, but the box in my hand.
"What's that? The smell…. fucking insane!"
"Oh, this?"
I opened the box, revealing its contents.
*Whoosh!*
Like a cooking manga panel, golden radiance poured out—at least in Adel's eyes.
Inside gleamed thin-sliced round hams like red jewels.
"Freshly swiped from New York Antonio's warehouse: 3-year aged original pepperoni. Souvenir from the homeland."
"Kya a a a a a a a a!!!"
Adel shrieked and snatched the box. She shoved handfuls of pepperoni into her mouth bare-handed.
*Chomp chomp. Slurp slurp.*
Tears streamed from Adel's eyes.
"This is it. This taste! Salty-nutty, oily blessing that blooms with every chew! Hngguh!"
Adel von Kraiber's Abnormal Status [Withdrawal Symptoms] has been resolved.
Intelligence and mana recovery rates normalized.
Happiness exceeded MAX.
"I'm alive. I'm alive!"
Adel beamed, cheeks bulging with pepperoni. The crew sighed in relief.
Behind me, Black Rose timidly entered, holding a shopping bag.
"Um, Adel?"
"Hng? *Slurp slurp.* What?"
Adel turned innocently, grease on her lips. Black Rose offered the bag with a slightly disgusted but polite expression.
"Here, take this. My gift to you."
"Gift?"
Adel wiped her hands roughly on her clothes and opened the bag. Out came the shirt Black Rose had been forced to wear during the mountain infiltration. Massive pizza graphic on the chest with [NO PEPPERONI, NO LIFE].
'Please just take it without a word. Never show it in front of me again. This isn't clothes—it's a weapon.'
Black Rose had hand-washed it meticulously, waiting for the right moment to return it.
"Heh heh."
Adel hugged the shirt to her chest.
"My PJs! Thought Lee Han stashed it in his subspace and I lost it! Sis found it!"
"...Pardon?"
"Whoa, sis you're the best! Can't sleep without this! Thanks! Really thanks!"
Grease from Adel's hands stained Black Rose's as she grabbed it. Black Rose's face twitched faintly, but Adel didn't notice.
"Villains get each other! Rose sis, passed! You're Assistant No. 3!"
"Ah…. Yes. Honored."
Black Rose forced a rotten smile and slyly pulled her hand free.
"Alright, bellies full, clothes found—time to pay up?"
I tossed Choi Ik-hyeon's leftover relic, the black jade plaque, to Adel.
"Hack this."
"Huh? What's this?"
Adel examined the plaque with one hand munching pepperoni, the other turning it over. Her eyes sparkled with interest.
"Oho. Weird structure. Mana waves vibrate in fixed cycles. Like radio frequencies."
"ID tag for elders to recognize each other. Reverse-trace it to find the rest."
"Hmm…. But reception range is too short. Under 1km?"
Adel tapped her chin.
"Lemme see…. Need amplifiers. Lots of 'em."
"That's why I'm giving it to you. Can you make 'em?"
"Who you kidding? With enough pepperoni, I could build a time machine."
Adel scooped the rest of the pizza and bolted to her workshop.
"Guys! Soldering iron! Mana stone powder, stat!"
The stalled factory roared back to mad science lab life from pepperoni shortage. Adel's hands blurred. Her precise movements assembled tiny parts and etched magic circles with helpers.
"Ta-da! Done!"
Adel held up a chip pinched in tweezers.
◈ Resonates with jade plaque to detect nearby matching waves, transmits location to central server in real-time.
◈ Feature: Thin and light enough to hide between pizza box cardboard.
"Perfect. Link this to the plaque, and anywhere we scatter these chips becomes radar net."
"Excellent."
I took the sample chip and grinned in satisfaction.
"All that's left is blanketing Seoul with 'em."
"How? Drones?"
"Nah. More natural, low-suspicion way."
I turned to Dokki and Kim Sil-jang.
"You guys ride bikes, right?"
"Of course, boss! Ex-delinquent!"
"Motorcycle and small vehicle licenses, both."
"Good. Then we're opening a pizza joint starting now."
"...Pardon?"
The crew looked dumbfounded. I turned to Black Rose.
"Rose. You're the boss. Funds good?"
"Yeah, the money you gave plus my slush fund."
Black Rose tossed her hair seductively with a smile.
"Where for the shop? Gangnam? Hongdae?"
"No. Bit outside central Seoul. Maximize delivery routes. Acquire today."
"Got it. But shop name?"