Chapter 46
Chapter 46
"Do you know him?"
At Tae-woong's question, I slowly nodded.
"Yeah, I know him well."
What a surprise. And a face I hadn't seen in ages.
Gu Jeong-hyuk. The trading company executive who'd been watching my every move when I went to Busan to swap out the Pungyang Jo Clan's test subject. We'd parted ways swearing never to cross paths again, and here he was, slinking into Hanseong of all places.
"Did the Pungyang Jo Clan catch wind of it?"
"If they had, he'd have smashed this whole place flat with a tactical-grade combat module, or Lord Jo Kang-un would've come rushing over himself to rip me limb from limb. Nah, this guy's moving on his own."
I could more or less guess why he was acting out like this. The second I delivered the cargo, all hell broke loose in their lab, so the clan must've grilled him nonstop. They'd have their suspicions too, what with the pirate raid hitting right as he was handing off the shipment.
But he couldn't just blurt it out. Not when I was the one who'd covered up the raid in the first place.
"To prove his innocence, he'd have to expose his own corruption too…."
"How's that? Pretty fucking perfect, right?"
So all that left him with was catching the real culprit—me—and offering me up to the clan on a silver platter. Turn this shitshow into a self-staged drama by the Andong Kim Clan, shake off the treason charge pinned on the Pungyang Jo Clan.
"I get Gu Jeong-hyuk and his guards, but what's with the sword gangs around him?"
"Look at their outfits…. Cheongwoo Association scum."
As I muttered while eyeing the sword gangs in the footage, Seo Jeong-hwan stood from his seat and spoke up.
"They're the ones who clean up after the nobles for a paycheck. Used to be Dokgo Sung's racket, but after he bit it, they swooped in and took over."
"Foxes taking over after the tigers clear out, huh?"
"Spot on."
Already reaping the benefits of recruiting the sword gangs. Just one glance, and out poured the group's name and basic intel like clockwork.
The two outfits that'd been at each other's throats had teamed up for one reason: cash.
"Almost fucked up big time."
If he got the drop on me now, all the dirt I'd buried could come crawling back out. Who knew the butterfly effect from sloppy cleanup would hit like this?
A blindside obstacle I hadn't seen coming.
"I'll handle it right now. They can't have gone far, so if I hit them with a surprise—"
"No."
I cut him off immediately.
"You're my officially registered bodyguard. If you step in personally, it'll put the Pungyang Jo Clan main house's eyes on me."
I'd planned to hole up and build strength amid the war's chaos, but that'd ruin everything.
If it'd gone down like before, I'd have sent Moo-young to take care of it. But that'd expose my hidden ace—Moo-young—to the Pungyang Jo Clan.
Moo-young was my secret weapon for assassinating Aura Users. Too valuable to waste on small fry like these.
You don't use a scalpel for rats and a cleaver for oxen interchangeably.
And right now, I had a fine alternative card in hand to play instead of Moo-young.
"Big trouble on your first day on the job—how'm I gonna make this up to you?"
"Psh."
Min Jeong-hwan pushed open the door leading outside. This wasn't the casino building; it was the hideout Tae-woong had set up.
In the front yard stood about fifty sword gang members, lined up after Min Jeong-hwan's call.
"Performance test for you Salban-gae bastards."
They'd already signed the contracts, and dozens of eyes turned my way.
"Target's a mid-level Pungyang Jo Clan exec who's crashing and burning right now! Infamous lackey of the corrupt Pungyang Jo Clan, textbook sleazy official."
Salban-gae members who'd killed nobles alongside Min Jeong-hwan. As I scanned their faces, a massive trailer rumbled up the back road.
Pushhh—!
With a heavy mechanical whir, the trailer doors slowly swung open. Inside, rows of cutting-edge reinforced suits, rifles, and weapons gleamed in perfect order.
"I'll hook you up with whatever gear you want. How long till it's done?"
A chill wave of laughter rippled through them.
"Keep dinner open, young master."
Gu Jeong-hyuk, standing front and center, spoke for the group.
"We'll serve you fresh braised corrupt official head."
"My lord! You're really giving us all this?!"
Hanseong's lower layers, factory district. Inside a long-shuttered abandoned plant, brutal men decked out in artificial bodies buzzed with excitement.
"Grade 2 artificial bodies? Insane! Kahaha! Stronger than that prick Seo Jeong-hwan's got!"
"That motherfucker strutted around on his backers…. Now I can kill him myself…!"
But the festive mood died fast.
Thud—!
A fist slamming down silenced the hyped-up sword gangs in an instant.
"This all the manpower we can muster?"
"Y-Yes, sir!"
The man who startled was Dok Cheong-woo, who'd once been the Cheongwoo Association boss until two days ago. Gone was the swagger he'd had lording over his underlings; now he was meek as a lamb.
No surprise there. The guy in front of him was Sedao Clan nobility—one of the Pungyang Jo Clan's advisory council elites, second in their hierarchy.
"We scraped up everyone from the lower residential zones. The rest are running the shops, but they don't even know how to handle artificial bodies…."
"And the deepest layer?"
"W-We pulled them all too! I swear! You gave us such a huge gig, sir—we got every sword-slinger on the street."
Gu Jeong-hyuk looked up, scanning the assembled sword gangs.
All trash.
Harsh faces grinning like idiots over their new artificial bodies. Nothing like the disciplined main house guards back home.
"Tch."
Still, this was the best he could do. Seventy Grade 4 artificial bodies, twenty Grade 3s. Two Grade 2s. And hundreds of sword fodder as bullet sponges…. Pathetic lineup.
No. This'll do.
They were expendable anyway. Just needed to tie up Kim Chang-un's bodyguard long enough for him to make his move.
With bundles of artificial bodies they'd never even glimpse in a lifetime, they'd buy at least that much time.
With that thought, Gu Jeong-hyuk slowly rose.
Thud—!
His eye level now half again his original height. Every glance at his mechanical limbs stirred the urge to rip his body apart.
"You thought you'd get away with fooling me, Kim Chang-un."
Unregistered artificial body, not even safety-checked.
But its output and functions rivaled Grade 1.
He'd made his own men kill each other.
Made him cover up the evidence himself.
And then he'd swapped the cargo, handing over the means to kill Young Master Jo Seong-hwan.
The clan had investigated and tortured everyone involved in the cargo handling.
He'd lost every rank and title, reduced to a fugitive.
If caught, they'd dissect his brain and extract his memories.
He might be cleared, but he'd end up a living corpse.
Can't let it end like that.
After clawing his way this far? No way.
He had to survive.
And for that, he had to catch the real culprit, Kim Chang-un.
Wait for me.
The filthy worm who'd shattered the clan he served loyally, forced him to bury it all.
He'd crack that brain open, expose the truth to the world.
For his honor. His family. His status.
To take it all back.
"Found his location?"
"Ah! Y-You mean that noble bastard?"
A quick reply to Gu Jeong-hyuk's question.
"No need to search—he's famous around here."
"Details."
"Y-Yes, sir."
Dok Cheong-woo, Cheongwoo Association boss until two days back, swallowed hard and continued.
"About two months ago, he pops up outta nowhere and starts building a casino in the special management zone. Two gangs ran this turf, but once construction kicked off, they fought over who’d run it."
"And?"
"Dokgo Sung's massive sword gang that ruled the area? Wiped out. Pyeongun Inn on the other side washed their hands clean and bailed…. Now they all work for that casino."
Info straight out of the reports—no new leads. Gu Jeong-hyuk scowled in dissatisfaction, and the terrified Dok Cheong-woo racked his brain desperately.
Then, moments later—
"Ah, aah! The orphanage!"
A fresh tidbit. Gu Jeong-hyuk's gaze snapped to him.
"What about it?"
"Y-Yes! Uh…. Behind the casino Kim Chang-un runs, there's an orphanage. Used to be funded by the Pyeongun Inn boss lady. If we take that first…!"
As Seo Jeong-hwan, the sword gang leader, started to say more—
Kurrr-BOOOM—!
A familiar voice boomed, and one wall of their warehouse blew out entirely.
"What the—! What's happening?!"
Cheongwoo Association thugs panicked, yanking weapons. Loading rifles, activating artificial bodies.
Amid the chaos, Gu Jeong-hyuk's face twisted demonic in the center.
That light tone. That voice.
"You bastard…!"
How'd he find me?
Questions later—situation first. He fired up the tactical scanner in his artificial body, and dozens of hostiles lit up.
Black suits, durumagi robes, black gat hats—dozens of sword gangs.
"Heard it, boss? Called 'em corrupt officials, but these fuckers are worse than I thought."
Scanning the lining-up intruders, some Cheongwoo thugs paled.
"S-Salban-gae?! Why the hell are those psychos after us?!"
"Grab weapons! Hurry!"
They aimed, but the shouts didn't last.
"Dogs wagging tails for nobles."
Min Jeong-hwan sneered shortly, raised one hand without pause.
"Open fire."
At his word, the Salban-gae line unleashed.
VRRRROOOOM—!
Large-caliber autocannons that'd make standard rifles look like toys shredded the warehouse walls without a trace.
Power that pulverized reinforced concrete like tofu.
Cheongwoo grunts hiding behind? No resistance—they crumbled one by one.
"Argh, aaak?!"
"Heavy weapons?! No way—why do Salban-gae have gear like that?!"
"Cover's useless! R-Run—!"
Splat—!
A fleeing thug's head burst like a watermelon.
"Run, and you die."
Standing over the headless corpse: Gu Jeong-hyuk, full-body artificial enhancements gleaming.
His demonic grimace drained the color from the Cheongwoo sword gangs' faces.
"Mag empty."
Salban-gae fire ceased right on cue. Thinking they had a shot in close quarters, Cheongwoo thugs clustered around Gu Jeong-hyuk.
"Fry sorted, boss. These leftovers won't die to guns anyway."
"Yeah. Figured."
In response, Salban-gae tossed their rifles aside.
"Draw blades, boys."
At Min Jeong-hwan's command, they bared razor fangs like they'd waited for this, slowly unsheathing swords.
Just before clash—a beat of silence.
Time-frozen hush, two groups glaring.
"Let's go kill some nobles."
Min Jeong-hwan's signal unleashed screams and roars filling the rundown warehouse.
Up top, nobles slaughtered each other over petty grudges.
Down below, lowly scum backed by nobles butchered each other on orders.