Chapter 32
Chapter 32
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 32
Chapter Title: Teaming Up with the Police, Military, and Intelligence
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The emergence of users had changed everything.
At first, it was no different from the usual back-alley brawls.
But as time passed, the fights grew larger, spilling out onto the bright main streets.
That was just the beginning, though.
Before long, users of foreign nationalities began forming factions all across South Korea, committing all sorts of atrocities.
Things had gotten so bad that talk of martial law was in the air.
Then came the mass disappearances.
Massive villain organizations vanished overnight, regardless of whether their members were Korean or foreign.
The problem was that the Onbiroad access capsules of the missing had been destroyed, and their soul stones were gone—meaning most of the disappeared were likely dead.
“What the hell is going on? Are the police just standing around like scarecrows?!”
“Well... You know how it is, sir. This is an emergency situation.”
“Emergency?”
“Users are running wild, and there aren’t many cops who can stand up to them. Besides, when would the police have had the time to grind away at that game seriously?”
“That’s why we created the special team!”
“And you know most of that special team are now backup access users, Commissioner.”
“Haah.”
Police Commissioner Bae Deok-seon let out a deep sigh at his subordinate’s words.
The police had been training elite combat personnel through Ark Capsules.
But at the very moment when 400 million concurrent users peaked, most of the special team had logged out.
It was because of a major police event, where they’d left only a skeleton crew online.
Bae Deok-seon bore some responsibility for that himself.
After all, he was the one who’d pushed his subordinates to attend the event for the sake of his own face.
As a result, the police special forces, which should have numbered over 700 users, were down to barely 200.
And even that number was shrinking as resignations poured in.
“Still, it’s not all bad. Most of the missing are foreigners...”
BAM! Crunch!
“You call that ‘not bad’? Do you have any idea how many protests are flooding in from those countries? And how much hell I’m catching because of it? Hey, you bastard! Gonna shape up or what?”
Unable to hold back, Bae Deok-seon slammed his fist on the desk.
A chunk of the desk caved in under his punch.
That was why Bae Deok-seon could still hold onto his position as commissioner.
There were hardly any high-ranking officials who were Ark Capsule users like him.
Of course, there was that gossip about how he’d called the special forces out while logging in himself.
It was just a lucky break from hopping on during some downtime, but explanations like that didn’t exactly win people over.
“The problem is public opinion, right? How about we spin this in a more favorable light?”
Cowed by Bae Deok-seon’s rage, his subordinate—the police superintendent—spoke up cautiously.
“Favorable how? What are you suggesting?”
Bae Deok-seon latched onto the word “favorable” right away.
“The disappearances boil down to removing threats to the public, don’t they?”
“Who doesn’t know that?! That’s the issue! America, UK, France, China, Russia! Especially the Chinese—they got wiped out big time!”
“What’s done is done. Why not turn that guy into a hero and say you spearheaded it, Commissioner?”
“What? Make it look like I led it? In this situation? You want me assassinated by the Chinese?”
“They wouldn’t dare. No matter how reckless they are, they can’t touch you. That’d mean all-out war.”
“Whew, you! You have no idea how terrifying users can be. Do you know how low most Onbiroad avatars rank?”
“I know users are powerful, but they still can’t stand up to firearms, right?”
“Tch. Sure, but don’t you think there are rare freaks who don’t fear cannons or missiles? What if one crosses the ocean to take me out?”
“That’s why we highlight ‘that guy’ like I said earlier and keep you in the background. Just put your name on it lightly. Who knows? It might even position you for the next presidential run...”
“What nonsense is that? Presidential run? What...”
Bae Deok-seon glared at his subordinate in shock.
But even as he said it, his mind was already crunching the numbers on that presidential possibility.
“We can’t catch the guy anyway. It could backfire if we try.”
“True. If the public finds out...”
“So take the gamble. Worst case, you step down a bit early from a position where your term’s almost up anyway. What’s the risk?”
“You little...”
“I’m just saying. Even if it blows up, you can coast through the rest of your term. No downside to investing now.”
“Turn the guy into a hero and have the police ride his coattails a bit? But what if he calls us out on it?”
“I’ll smooth it over.”
“You know who it is?”
“Everyone’s guessing. It’s pretty much confirmed now.”
“Yeah? Then give it a shot.”
“But to get our spoon in, we’ll need to feed him some intel. How do we handle that...”
“Just shove it down his throat! If we can wipe out all the rats sneaking into the country, even better. And we scoop up whatever he drops.”
“Huh?”
“Stop just watching and get proactive, you idiot! The police need to act like police!”
“But if we do that, the higher-ups...”
“You punk? You know damn well we’re on a collision course with those bastards anyway, so quit the bullshit?”
“Sorry, sir.”
“Ah, fuck. At this rate, an assassin might actually come.”
“We’ll bump security to maximum.”
“Do whatever. If it makes you feel better, I doubt it’ll work.”
“We’ll focus all attention on that guy. You just stay low-key.”
“Get out!”
“Yes, sir.”
With Bae Deok-seon bellowing in dissatisfaction, Superintendent Park—his chief of staff—scurried out of the commissioner’s office.
“Ugh, should I just quit? Live stress-free for once.”
Left alone, Bae Deok-seon muttered with uncharacteristic seriousness.
But then...
“Tch. If I can climb one more rung from here, I’d risk my life for it. Hell, you only live once anyway.”
He quickly changed his tune.
After all, Bae Deok-seon sat at the top of the massive police organization.
Cowering like a scared dog wasn’t even on his radar.
Plus, if it played out right, it could be a golden opportunity—and resisting that temptation was tough.
* * *
“This is from the police, this one’s from the Defense Ministry... but I don’t know this gentleman.”
Geon-woo pointed at the sharply dressed man in a suit.
He was demanding the man reveal his identity.
“From the Intelligence Agency.”
“Oh, Intelligence? You don’t look the part.”
Geon-woo didn’t sense any trained fighter vibes from the suited man’s posture.
Someone from Intelligence shouldn’t be like that.
Even desk jockeys got basic training there—regularly, at that.
“It’s a special hire. Got half-forced into the job because of my unique ability.”
“Dragging you in with basically no physical prowess? Now I’m curious about that ability... but also kinda scared.”
“I hope I never have to use it on you, Mr. Kang Geon-woo. It might work, but if it doesn’t, I could die.”
Even as the young Intelligence agent said it, his eyes gleamed with subtle fighting spirit toward Geon-woo.
Geon-woo quietly ramped up the mental power of his precognition in response.
The mental energy for precognition was akin to a mage’s mana or a warrior’s aura—subtle and immediate.
The moment Geon-woo stirred his mental energy, the Intelligence agent noticed.
He focused his own mental energy to shield himself, just like Geon-woo.
Ziiiiing!
“Mm.”
“What the hell are you two doing?!”
As Geon-woo and the agent clashed, the cop and soldier scowled in annoyance.
They too summoned mana and aura to counter the mental energies.
“Urk!”
The moment they flared up, a heavy groan escaped the Intelligence agent.
His flushed face and nosebleed made the winner clear.
“I don’t know what your unique ability is, but you’d be wise not to try it on anyone from the 1st Expedition Team.”
Geon-woo issued a stark warning to the agent.
It was common for people to get cocky with fancy unique abilities.
But without a solid foundation, even mediocre users could smash them.
The cop and soldier from Police HQ and Defense were perfectly shielded by their mana and aura right now.
Geon-woo wasn’t sure how his mental projection would fare against them directly, but they clearly weren’t pushovers.
And the weakest link here was the Intelligence guy.
“Anyway, you’re not here to fight, so let’s drop it. What brings you three to me?”
Geon-woo released his pressure with a casual ease and leaned back on the sofa.
“The police want to establish an official partnership with you, Mr. Kang Geon-woo.”
The police superintendent—with the taegeuk emblem on his shoulder—spoke first.
His sun-darkened face and sturdy build matched the Defense Ministry colonel next to him.
“A partnership? In what form?”
Geon-woo had no reason to turn down good ties with the authorities, so he asked.
“We’ll provide any intel you want to the fullest. Plus, we’ll create a special honorary position under the commissioner’s authority for joint investigations and arrests.”
“So, you want me on the police payroll?”
“No. It’s just an honorary title to grant you investigation and arrest powers.”
“Aren’t honorary positions usually powerless?”
“That’s why it’s a special appointment from the commissioner. Honorary to avoid full affiliation, but with real authority from his direct order.”
“It’s a hassle in spots, but not for me, so sounds good.”
Geon-woo nodded, pleased with the offer.
“The Defense Ministry would like to extend the same proposal to you, Sergeant Kang Geon-woo.”
“Discharged ages ago—why sergeant?”
“If you hate that, we could make you a civilian employee...”
“No thanks. You’d know better than to suggest it.”
“Of course... Understood.”
The colonel bowed his head darkly at Geon-woo’s words.
He’d already been briefed on the ugly incident from Geon-woo’s old unit.
It had stripped quite a few officers of their ranks.
Yet Geon-woo’s honor hadn’t been fully restored, nor had he been reinstated.
Keeping his sergeant rank for a standard discharge was the best they’d done after the demotion and dishonorable threats.
Having heard that, the colonel had the least to say of the three.
But a soldier had to complete his mission regardless.
“We’ll open a line for you to request Defense support anytime. Up to division scale.”
“Division? You said division?”
Geon-woo froze for a second, brain-locked.
A division wasn’t something you tossed around lightly.
“Not regular troops. They wouldn’t make much difference anyway. So we formed a division of users only. Division-level combat power, but battalion-sized numbers at best. Here.”
The colonel slid a hard case bag toward Geon-woo.
It screamed “comm device” from the shape alone.
Geon-woo owned a few similar ones; he’d used one for Agent Pang’s call before.
“I’ll take it. Might come in handy for ‘the people,’ not just me.”
“Thank you.”
The colonel dipped his head slightly and fell silent.
Geon-woo’s gaze now turned to the last man—the Intelligence agent.