Chapter 12
Chapter 12
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 12
Chapter Title: Physician Heo Pung-gae - [3]
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Not even five minutes had passed before the series of sabotage was complete. The five of them headed toward the house in question.
"What about the car's black box? You gonna smash that too?"
Yi Do-hyeok stammered the question, and Yi Pung answered.
"If you really had the guts, sure. But no need for that just to take down a lowlife punk."
They advanced without hesitation until the four of them stood before the house.
The door was locked, but it didn't matter. A window on this floor was open.
Heo Pung-gae scaled the wall, stepping lightly on the gaps between bricks like they were stairs. In an instant, he slipped inside the window.
Park Seong-cheol stared blankly at Heo Pung-gae's vanishing figure and thought to himself.
What the hell is this? I knew martial artists were good at stealthy moves, but this is beyond imagination.
If he can do this, could he kill someone right in the middle of the city and get away with it?
Probably. No cop or forensic team would ever catch on.
A chill ran down his spine. He'd always thought the law protected him, but now it seemed otherwise. Seeing the abilities of a top-tier martial artist for the first time in his life—it was beyond comprehension. He could get kidnapped from his own bed, buried in some remote mountain, and no one would ever find out.
Meanwhile, Yi Pung seemed completely unfazed by it all. While waiting for Heo Pung-gae's next move, he said casually,
"He can't do this every time. Even if you erase all the evidence like this, if it's obvious who did it, they'll bust their asses to pin it on you. Tangling with the cops that way is always a losing battle, so you gotta do it just enough not to piss them off too bad."
"And now? We smashed every CCTV. That okay?"
"Eh, it'll be fine. Everyone knows Invincible BB Bullet's the only guy in the world who could pull this off. And word is he's locked up right now..."
The door swung open. Heo Pung-gae was gesturing from the crack.
"Come on in!"
Under Yi Pung's lead, the four stepped into the target's home.
Of course, the homeowner was already subdued. The four of them pummeled the man, who knelt there grinding his teeth.
After the beating, Heo Pung-gae spoke up.
"Talisman. Buy it."
The man wanted to scream but couldn't. A needle was stuck in his throat, apparently sealing his voice. He managed only a faint whisper.
"What... talisman..."
Heo Pung-gae pulled out the talisman in question and quoted the price.
"Seven hundred thousand won. Cash."
The man seemed to decide paying up was the way to end this. He forced his mouth open.
"Seven hundred thousand... and you'll leave...?"
Heo Pung-gae shook his head.
"Every month."
"Every month?"
"Don't buy it, and you're in deep shit."
Heo Pung-gae was declaring he'd collect seven hundred thousand won monthly from now on. Or else.
Fury flickered across the man's face, then vanished—thanks to Yi Pung's kick to his head.
"You get it?"
The man didn't respond, his mind foggy. Yi Pung kicked him twice more.
"You get it?"
The underlings glanced at each other, then followed their boss's lead. They kicked the man, over and over.
Moments later, the man knelt naked before the five of them. In his own home. The one place he'd thought safe and cozy. He'd been utterly violated there.
"When you called the cops this morning, they saw no bruises and just left, right?"
Yi Pung grabbed the man's hair.
"Shit like this happens."
And he grinned.
"Now, when we leave, you'll run straight to the station. Snitch right away. And we'll see what happens next, yeah?"
After that, the man would learn the hard way: neither his home nor the law could protect him. He'd realize it in a shattering terror that defied common sense.
Park Seong-cheol knew it. Imagining himself in the man's place, he trembled.
The next afternoon, the man showed up at Yi Pung's office. With an envelope full of seven hundred thousand won.
Yi Pung said,
"Due the 15th every month. Late, and interest accrues. Later than that, we come collecting. Got it?"
The man nodded deeply, still on his knees.
After he left, Yi Pung grumbled.
"Bastard didn't snitch to the cops after all. Wasted effort smashing those CCTVs. Did the local thugs tell him to quit while he's ahead?"
Meanwhile, the three underlings stared at the envelope in dismay.
Yesterday's events had been brutally criminal and violent. Even for these three, who thought themselves used to rough stuff, it was terrifying.
Yi Do-hyeok muttered,
"You seem awfully used to this sort of thing..."
Yi Pung replied,
"Huh? Yeah, I am. This is how I make my living."
"This is your living?"
"Yep."
"So loan sharking was just a side gig?"
"Huh? Loans? Oh... You thought all those guys sending us steady cash borrowed from us?"
"Wasn't it?"
"Hell no. Why would I run a loan racket? You think a brother of Invincible BB Bullet lives off shaking down chicken shop owners and tteokbokki grannies?"
"Then..."
"You saw it, didn't you?"
Park Seong-cheol caught on first. His eyes shook.
"This has happened plenty before?"
"Yeah. All the money we've collected so far? Tribute from punks and gangs we beat down. Protection money, basically."
"You rake in tens of millions a month like that? How the hell...?"
"Thanks to my bro Invincible BB Bullet and his hard work. What, you didn't know martial artists make bank extorting thugs? Even O Family Manor in Mansu-dong gets tribute from all sorts of outfits."
Yi Pung didn't bother explaining further, but the reason he'd hired the three underlings to collect tribute was simple.
What forced the thugs to pay up? Obviously, Invincible BB Bullet's unbeatable martial arts, beyond their league.
But with Invincible BB Bullet in prison, Yi Pung had no way to enforce tribute himself. And if he personally demanded it and came up empty, it'd expose he couldn't force them alone—disaster.
So having underlings collect was safer. If they failed, less egg on his face. It let him bluff a crew, and kept the option of stepping in personally as a last resort—in imagination, at least.
Yi Pung said,
"Anyway... not anymore. Got a disciple now who's as good as Invincible BB Bullet himself. Any deadbeat who misses a month gets stomped on the spot."
Yi Do-hyeok asked,
"So you don't need us anymore?"
"Nah, I do. Need drivers, gophers for odd jobs and surveillance, an accountant too. You'll stick around. But heads up—things are gonna change from here. Because..."
"Invincible BB Bullet's disciple showed up."
Yi Pung grinned at Heo Pung-gae.
"Right. So we'll ramp up operations. More tribute, new gigs too. No more just sitting around taking calls... So, you guys in? Quit if you want."
Silence fell.
Park Seong-cheol tentatively raised his hand.
"Uh, then... I'll quit."
"Yeah?"
"Yes. This job shook me up bad. Heart pounding like crazy. Can't keep doing that."
"Fair enough... You did good while it lasted. Got your severance ready—grab the envelope on your way out."
"Thank you..."
When another underling chimed in to quit too, Yi Pung sighed. But he didn't seem too broken up yet.
Yi Pung flashed a grin at Yi Do-hyeok.
"Do-hyeok, you're staying, right?"
Yi Do-hyeok paused before answering.
"Can I think it over?"
That caught him off guard. Yi Pung looked flustered.
"Why? You're a big Invincible BB Bullet fan."
"I was."
"So why?"
"It's just... not what I imagined. Even what Invincible BB Bullet did looks kinda off now."
"What'd you think he was up to?"
"Hero stuff."
Yi Pung looked baffled.
"That's what we did today."
"Beating thugs for tribute?"
"More precisely, helping a girl escape a sleazy pillar pimp. The money was just a bonus."
Yi Do-hyeok's eyes widened.
"Helped a girl? What do you mean?"
"Oh, didn't explain?"