Chapter 72
Chapter 72
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 72
Chapter Title: Jo Jun-hee's Head
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"That's......"
Park Jong-pal hesitated, unsure how to respond to Hae-jin's question.
Unable to answer, Park Jong-pal listened as Hae-jin spoke up.
"Whatever. Your side buys beef for the afterparty."
"Pardon?"
"What, no confidence?"
"That's not it, but......"
"Then it's a bet between you and me as representatives? Whether I catch Jo Jun-hee first and join up, or you and your team take down the Bonjwa Gang. Loser's side treats everyone here to Hanwoo beef today?"
"Hmm. If that's what the Leader wants, shall we?"
Park Jong-pal figured it was a bet he had the physical edge in.
Besides, with Hae-jin provoking him like that, he couldn't back down.
So Park Jong-pal accepted the bet.
Harboring utterly baseless confidence.
Hae-jin smirked as he watched Park Jong-pal think that.
"Alright, bet's on. See you soon."
"Pardon?"
Park Jong-pal blinked at Hae-jin's words about seeing him soon, wondering what that meant.
That was when it happened.
Whoosh-!
Hae-jin vanished, relocating his body with Shadow Blink.
Park Jong-pal's eyes went wide.
"Wha—?"
As Hae-jin's figure disappeared in an instant, Park Jong-pal stood there dumbfounded.
Thud.
Someone placed a hand on his shoulder.
Park Jong-pal turned to look at the hand on his shoulder.
It was Manager Kim.
Manager Kim shook his head slowly.
"You lost. Get ready to buy that Hanwoo."
"Pardon? Senior, what do you—"
Hae-jin had just vanished a moment ago, yet here was Manager Kim telling Park Jong-pal he'd lost the bet and needed to buy Hanwoo.
Naturally, Manager Kim had no choice but to react that way.
He'd already confirmed Hae-jin's abilities back in America.
Not to mention, after going through this Trials' Arena together, it was clear.
No matter how hard he tried, Manager Kim hadn't even reached the halfway point of the Trials Tower at floor 50, while Hae-jin had climbed all the way to the impossible summit of floor 100 that no one else dared attempt.
Having witnessed that, Manager Kim had formed his assessment of Hae-jin.
Monster.
That was the nickname Manager Kim always heard about himself wherever he went.
They said he wasn't human at all.
But Manager Kim thought differently.
The real monster was Hae-jin.
And Hae-jin proved it.
Whoosh-.
"Huh?!"
Suddenly, the shadowy vortex from when Hae-jin had vanished reappeared.
Once the shadow vortex dissipated, the missing Hae-jin returned.
But now, bloodstains splattered his body here and there.
Park Jong-pal flinched in shock as Hae-jin returned soaked in blood just seconds after disappearing.
In that moment, Hae-jin tossed what he was holding right in front of Park Jong-pal.
Thud, roll roll roll.
A blood-drenched cloth bundle rolled to a stop before Park Jong-pal.
Staring at it, Park Jong-pal asked Hae-jin.
"Wh-what is this, Leader?"
"What else? Jo Jun-hee's head."
"Pardon?"
Everyone jumped in surprise.
Everyone except Manager Kim.
They had no choice.
Hae-jin had clearly vanished just moments ago.
Yet in that time, he'd severed the head of Jo Jun-hee, one of the top villains.
He'd wrapped the neck stump in cloth before brazenly carrying it back.
Having declared what he'd thrown was Jo Jun-hee's head, Hae-jin turned to Park Jong-pal.
"Alright then, you'll treat us to Hanwoo later, right, Jong-pal?"
......"Could I verify it?"
"You think I'd lie?"
"Not that, but...... I still need to check."
"Go ahead."
Hae-jin held out both hands as if to say be my guest.
Park Jong-pal unwrapped the cloth just enough for himself to see.
After peeking inside the bundle for a moment and retying it, Park Jong-pal spoke.
"Yes, I'll buy it."
"Then shall we sweep the Bonjwa Gang first before digging into that beef?"
"Sounds good. I'll take care of this for now. Soo-jung."
"Yes, Team Leader."
"Freeze it."
"Got it."
Whoosh-.
Jeong Soo-jung froze the bundle containing Jo Jun-hee's head that Park Jong-pal was holding.
"I'll put this in my car trunk for now. Then let's head straight to take down the Bonjwa Gang."
"Understood. Everyone, hop in. I'll head over first."
"Pardon?"
Park Jong-pal reacted to Hae-jin's declaration of going ahead.
But he couldn't continue the conversation with Hae-jin.
Whoosh-!
True to his word, Hae-jin had already relocated.
As Park Jong-pal watched Hae-jin go, Manager Kim placed a hand on his shoulder once more.
Thud.
Park Jong-pal turned to look at the hand on his shoulder.
Manager Kim spoke to him.
"Let's go. It'll probably all be cleaned up by the time we arrive."
"Pardon?"
"Let's move."
"Ah, yes!"
And so, everyone remaining at Hae-jin's house piled into Park Jong-pal's car and headed out.
Toward the Bonjwa Gang's stronghold in Gangnam.
The Bonjwa Gang.
They were an organization formed by the six strongest among the awakened players who were gangsters in their 20s and 30s in the Gangnam area, having seized control of the black market.
Using their awakened powers, the Bonjwa Gang had eliminated everyone above them and, in just a few months, committed every crime imaginable.
The six leaders lived in luxury, each with a girl massaging their shoulders as they played Go-Stop and slurped down bowls of jajangmyeon.
That was when it happened.
Whoosh-!
"What the hell?"
The six Bonjwa Gang members, in the middle of their card game, were bewildered as a strange black vortex swirled into their space.
And they had every reason to be.
At the level of players these days, Hae-jin's feats were still beyond comprehension.
In any case, once the black vortex vanished, Hae-jin revealed himself.
Hae-jin clicked his tongue at the sight of the six Bonjwa Gang members, all shirtless and getting massages from the girls.
"Who knows what anyone sees in bragging about those flabby guts."
The six Bonjwa Gang members bristled at Hae-jin's insult.
"What the fuck, you punk?"
"Who the hell is this guy?"
"Who are you?!"
"Uh......"
Amid the outrage, one of them wore a strange expression.
One of the six Bonjwa Gang members noticed and asked the one who'd reacted differently.
"What's up? You know him?"
"That guy... looks like that person."
"What person?"
"Massacre."
"Massacre?"
"Yeah, Massacre Park Hae-jin."
"The former zone ranking number one?"
"Yeah."
"......"
The moment one of the six recognized Park Hae-jin, the rest—who'd been ranting about what punk this was—went silent as if their mouths were glued shut.
They had no choice.
Massacre Park Hae-jin.
No player could be unaware of him.
So one of the guys who'd just been demanding to know who the punk was asked cautiously.
"By any chance... are you Massacre sir?"
Hae-jin gave a bright smile at the question.
"That's what they all call me."
"But why would a distinguished guest like yourself visit this humble abode......"
As the Bonjwa Gang asked why he'd come here, Hae-jin, as leader of the Villain Crime Task Force, announced his purpose.
"The organization you're running, the Bonjwa Gang, has been designated a villain group by the state."
The six Bonjwa Gang members exchanged glances and chattered at Hae-jin's explanation.
"Villain group?"
"The country acknowledges we've made it big?"
"Is that a big deal?"
"You idiots, it means the state has classified us as national criminals."
"So we're state-recognized criminals?"
"That's badass."
"But what's that got to do with Massacre sir?"
As the Bonjwa Gang bosses asked what Park Hae-jin's connection was to their designation as a state villain group, Hae-jin introduced himself.
"Hm, I haven't explained why I'm here. Let me introduce myself first. I'm Park Hae-jin, leader of the 'Villain Crime Task Force.'"
"Villain Crime Task Force......"
They murmured Hae-jin's introduction.
They still didn't seem to grasp the situation fully.
Before that, Hae-jin addressed the women who had stopped massaging the Bonjwa Gang's shoulders in shock.
"First, send the ladies out."
Hae-jin held out his hands as he spoke.
He saw no need for civilians to witness bloodshed.
But one quick-witted member of the Bonjwa Gang moved.
"Eek!"
One of the six grabbed a woman who was trying to leave at Hae-jin's words and seized her by the throat.
Hae-jin tilted his head at the sight.
"Hm? What are you trying to do?"
"We can tell you're here to take us down. Get lost now, or I'll snap this bitch's neck."
They'd seemed dim, but apparently one had quick wits.
He'd realized Hae-jin was here to designate and eliminate them as criminals, so he grabbed the masseuse as a hostage.
Threatening to kill her if he didn't leave immediately.
A normal person would panic at such a threat.
But he'd picked the wrong opponent.
Hae-jin wasn't normal.
To the Bonjwa member's threat, Hae-jin said.
"Do it."
"What?"
"I said go ahead. We can just add murder to your charges."
"......"
Stunned by Hae-jin's response—kill her if you want, after using her as a hostage—the Bonjwa member froze.
Then Hae-jin explained his authority as well.
"For reference, we've also been granted the right to immediate execution for villains by the state."
One of the Bonjwa Gang asked at Hae-jin's words.
"What's immediate execution?"
"It means we can kill you right here and now without issue."
That they could kill them on the spot without consequence.
At those words, one Bonjwa member urgently told the one holding the woman hostage.
"......Hey, let the bitch go. If you don't wanna die."
The six Bonjwa Gang members weren't unaware that Hae-jin could kill them all if he wanted.
Thus, the one who'd just taken the woman hostage released her.
"Ahem, get out."
"Th-thank you!"
The woman, freed from being a hostage, thanked Hae-jin.
Even though he'd told them to kill her, it was Hae-jin who'd gotten her released.
Once all the women massaging the Bonjwa Gang had left the room, Hae-jin swung his sword.
Swipe!
Slash-!
"Arghhh! Why?! We let the hostage go!"
The Bonjwa member who'd held the woman hostage moments ago screamed as Hae-jin severed his arm.
They'd released the hostage nicely, so why cut off his arm?
Hae-jin replied.
"This is punishment for daring to take a hostage and threaten me in my presence. Honestly, I could behead every one of you right here. That'd be easier, frankly. But if you show any will to reform, I'm open to sparing you."
Anyone could see that if Hae-jin decided, the six Bonjwa Gang members would die to a single sword strike.
Just look at the strike that severed his ally's arm.
From their perspective, there was a flash, and suddenly the guy's arm was gone.
Even without that, as players, they'd all experienced the Trials' Arena.
They'd seen the ranking board listing Hae-jin's absurd achievements.
So they had no choice but to obey Hae-jin meekly.
The one with the most authority among the six stepped forward and pleaded with Hae-jin.
"Sp-spare us, Massacre sir. We'll reform."
"M-me too......"
"I'll reform too."
To survive, all six Bonjwa Gang members vowed to reform.
Hae-jin smirked at them.
"Alright, let's see how well you can reform."