Cooperation
Cooperation
"So, here's what happened..."
I logged in today.
It was my first time in a while, so I thought I'd just grab a bite and kill some time.
Suddenly, a member of the 'No-Negotiation' gang came up and told me to check the Ingsta.
There was a declaration of war posted.
So I looked for you guys, but you weren't logged in.
I was so anxious, then I saw your login records, so I called immediately, but you didn't even pick up.
When you finally picked up and I asked where you were, you said you were at the sea on the far West side.
She rambled on endlessly, sounding genuinely aggrieved.
Nogada put away the pickaxe he had taken out and said.
"Oh, right. I took out two gang members yesterday."
"And right in front of everyone, too. It was so cool."
"I thought so too. Anyway, I remember now."
Ajura, feeling even more aggrieved by their nonchalant reactions, tried harder to express her feelings, but...
"It's long and pedantic."
"Doesn't that just mean you got picked a fight with?"
It didn't reach Yuria, who is a capital T, or Nogada, who is a selective F.
Eventually giving up, Ajura pouted and answered briefly.
"That's right..."
Meanwhile, Nogada and Yuria weren't there, and when I logged in to find them, they were so far away that I was in tears.
"I was so surprised when I suddenly got picked a fight with."
"To be precise, the fight from yesterday only came back to bite us today, desu."
Yui said that and held out her phone.
What it showed was Ingsta, and the content was Nogada's mad movie.
"Wow... seeing it like this, it's even more impressive."
"I'm pretty good."
"I didn't show you this to watch it for fun, desu."
Yui took back her phone and continued.
"If something like this happens, please tell us, desu... what is this as soon as I log in, desu."
At Yui's stinging remark, Nogada uncharacteristically shut his mouth, and Yuria laughed sheepishly.
"Ahaha, I'm sorry. We didn't mean to, but it happened right at the time we were finishing up yesterday..."
"That's right. As soon as we arrived at the beach, the world closed."
"I can handle up to 5 people, but getting into a fight with a gang is a different story, desu."
"Yeah. Good work. So, is that all?"
"You did well. Shall I pat your head?"
Watching the two peaceful ones, Ajura barked again.
"This is an emergency!!! They said they're going to bring 3 gangs, and they seem really pissed off!!!"
"Eh? No way?"
"Well, it is as she says, desu. It seems they looked up our info and are saying they'll bring nearby gangs to take revenge, desu."
"So, 3 gangs, huh."
"That's right, desu. But I'm not sure if this is for real, desu."
Yuria checked Ingsta and smirked.
"Do you think this is real? It's a bluff."
Yuria said that and got into the car.
"Gathering nearby gangs for revenge? What nearby gangs in this world would be friendly with each other? Especially in the early stages like now, when everyone is dying to kill each other, they're going to gather? That's impossible, isn't it?"
And even if it were true, it didn't matter.
"Even if they come, we can grind them all up, no, we can stop them at the Sotongbulga line, right?"
At this point, an expedition is close to a dream.
There aren't even any bases to pass through in between, and they want to expedition this distance?
It's another name for suicide.
And in siege warfare, defense was always more advantageous than offense.
The lower the firepower, the more advantageous defense is.
Because if you don't have the firepower to build a fire net, it's hard to break through the waiting defense.
"Now that I think about it, it's kind of pissing me off. If it were up to me, I'd want to push them back."
"I actually like this side better."
"Eh? We can't join in."
"Why?"
"Because we're citizens, right? We shouldn't get involved in gang fights. Even if that wasn't the case, if we did, the whole server would turn into a battlefield, you know?"
"... Ah, I see. If we mobilize citizens, the other side will too."
"Yes, that's how it would go. We are, after all, citizens."
Neither police nor citizens get involved in gang fights.
This was one of the strongest unwritten rules.
Citizens obviously had no reason or justification to join.
Although Sotongbulga was an exceptional case where they had a justification.
"And honestly, do we even have to fight? The picture doesn't look great. We're the masterminds, aren't we?"
Yuria didn't want to fight.
"If they really want to target us, we'd rather use the police."
Strictly speaking, the police could join, but it was closer to them choosing not to, so they could definitely join if they wanted to.
However, they usually didn't intervene.
First of all, there's no reason to intervene while gangs are gnawing at each other.
And only when gangs fight, win, gather strength, and grow can the foundation for the Great War, which can be called the server's main event, be laid.
In the end, this world is a place where everyone moves for fun.
It's not something one person makes; everyone has to make it together.
The police knew that, so they wouldn't ruin the fun.
"Come to think of it, considering our last conversation, that would be easier."
"Yes. Ah, while we're at it, shall we go? They told us to come by once after creating the gang."
Saying that, Yuria approached the car, then stopped and turned her head to look at Nogada.
"Since it's come to this, shall we make the stage bigger?"
"Do you have something in mind?"
"We can just do it from now, right?"
Yuria smiled, or rather, smirked a bit deviously, as if she had a good idea.
"I just thought of something perfect, want to hear it?"
Saying that, Yuria explained her plan.
"Hmm, in that case, rather..."
Nogada inserted his opinions here and there, framing the plan.
"Then... how about we do it like this instead?"
Yuria filled in the details accordingly.
"I'm glad they're on our team."
"They're scary, desu."
Ajura and Yui hugged each other and trembled.
[Scary bitches...]
[A prime example of 'glad they're on our side']
[Both of them are smart]
[The West is f*cked]
[It was destiny the moment Yuria made that face]
[But isn't it good for that gang?]
[The conditions are good, but the intention is bad]
[Hypocrisy is also a virtue!]
"Shall we go then?"
"Let's. Ah, do you two agree?"
"Oh, right. Do you have any other opinions?"
To the question from the two who had finished discussing, Yui and Ajura just nodded.
As if they expected that, they immediately walked over and got into the car.
"You two... have free time. Do whatever you want."
"Yui-ssi. Please explain it to Ajura-ssi for me. I didn't intend to do it originally, so I didn't bother telling her."
"Wakatdayo. Go ahead, desu."
"Uh... okay. But what are you telling me? Did you go somewhere without me? I'm upset."
"It's not like that, desu. It's something that came up when Ajura-sang was playing with a gang member last time..."
Yui explained the past events to Ajura.
"Eh? Why didn't you tell me such an important fact?"
"Well, originally I didn't intend to accept..."
"Originally, I had no intention of accepting it at all."
"Things got a bit big, didn't they?"
"You have to have insurance. Just in case."
The two recalled the conversation they had with Lieutenant Makgapa in the interrogation room.
So, the time was two days ago.
It was when they were taken in after assaulting a police officer while filming an ad.
"Wow, the room is nice, isn't it?"
"We should buy a hideout soon."
"It'll be soon. It'll probably be much grander, right?"
Makgapa, who had snatched the two in the middle, dragged them into a soundproof interrogation room.
"Alright, alright, shut up. I'll take your statements from now on. First, the circumstances of assaulting the citizen."
"So, here's what happened..."
For a while, they wrote the statement normally, but soon Makgapa put down the report he was writing.
"Hmm, I get the gist of it."
Despite his arm moving constantly, nothing was really written on the report.
"Huh?"
Yuria, finding it strange, opened her mouth to ask why, but.
"Hey, do you guys want to do a job with me?"
Makgapa was one step faster.
"What kind of job?"
"A job?"
Nogada, who asked about the content right away, and Yuria, who tried to draw more out of the other person, spoke at the same time with contrasting styles.
"Which rhythm should I follow? Just the main point as asked? Or even the long, drawn-out story?"
"I prefer the former."
"Then I'll go with the former too. So, what is the job?"
Makgapa, who was organizing his thoughts, spoke after a moment of hesitation.
"I realized it clearly yesterday and today. This city is too big for us to control. There are too many people, too."
Due to an unusual incident he experienced before, Makgapa investigated Nogada and Yuria.
And he figured it out.
The potential of Sotongbulga.
"I know that illegal immigrants are attached to your side. Citizens are everywhere and nowhere. If you start digging in earnest, you find out quickly."
It was a short time, but enough time to investigate the two.
Illegal immigrants are bound to be connected here and there, and among them, there were cases where they were in contact with Kwak Du-pal.
"It's rare for citizens to keep gangs under their feet... but you guys looked capable. So, here's a proposal. Temporary cooperation. How about it?"
At his meaningful words, Nogada paused for a moment and asked back.
"What does that mean?"
"Exactly what it sounds like. Just let's get a little friendly. Let's have a relationship where we look out for each other's convenience a little."
"Look out for our convenience? For example?"
"I could make things annoying right now if I wanted to. Since there are suspicious circumstances, I could move a bit more agilely, even if it's not a targeted investigation. But I'll just pretend I didn't see it. I'll let you go cleanly without a fine for coming in today, too."
"So you're saying you'll act like a corrupt cop."
Makgapa laughed at Nogada's sarcasm.
"Exactly. Corruption in the police in this city is inevitable from the start. So, I might as well be the first to strike."
When Nogada and Yuria were silent at his confidence, Makgapa continued.
"Later, I plan to provide even bigger favors. So I want you to help us when we need it, too. What we want is for you to be on our side. Because citizens can be trusted."
"Us? You're not alone, are you?"
"... Damn. I didn't intend to reveal it yet."
Makgapa trailed off.
"Well, it's impossible for me to carry out a job of this scale alone. I'll introduce you next time."
"Yes. It's more reassuring than being alone, actually."
"But why us? If you want force, couldn't you just recruit a gang?"
To Nogada's innocent question, Makgapa answered honestly.
"I don't know about gangs, but you guys are citizens after all."
Gangs and police can't collude.
Because the two are closer than anyone, yet distant.
If they were caught, it was an automatic dismissal.
But you can collude with citizens as much as you want.
Even if that citizen is acting as a godfather to a gang, you can just turn a blind eye.
They're citizens, after all.
If they were caught, they could say, 'I asked for cooperation from a citizen, and I didn't know about the process.'
"But what's your rank?"
"Lieutenant."
"I see."
"Lieutenant is right in the middle."
"What are you? Call your superior."
Nogada suddenly became arrogant and put his legs on the desk.
"It's actually pretty high, you know?"
"Sigh, Du-ya..."
Of course, he's only a Lieutenant now.
If you count the stages of Commissioner, Deputy Commissioner, Chief, Superintendent, Senior Inspector, Lieutenant, Sergeant, Corporal, Team Leader, Officer, and Trainee, it's the middle.
But in other words, he's already a Lieutenant.
Excluding a few people who were born as executives, he was the person closest to the executive line.
On top of that, although the current police force has brought in a large number of personnel, there are few people in executive or middle management ranks.
At this point, having been promoted to Lieutenant, he was one of the leading candidates for the next executive position.
"Oh, really?"
Nogada put his legs down again.
"Explain it again."
[Hahahahahahahahaha]
[Ah, you have to distinguish what needs to be distinguished]
[Typical Nogada) He's clear about right and wrong]
[Ah, so Lieutenant wasn't a small fry?]
[I'll be humble]