Chapter 155
Chapter 155
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 155
Chapter Title: Unqualified
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A salty breeze swept past rows of fish hung out to dry like laundry, carrying their distinct, fishy smell far and wide.
While most nobles would have wrinkled their noses at the scent, Wang-sik entered the workshop unfazed.
Five men were working there.
Not a large number, considering the size of the operation.
As they arrived, a man in his early fifties with an unkempt beard appeared.
Recognizing his visitors were nobles, the man acted cautiously and glanced at the chieftain.
“The Lord is here for an inspection.”
At those words, the man bowed his head deeply.
“Ah! You are the Lord! My apologies for not recognizing you! My name is Lumiel, and I run this place!”
The man, who raised his voice in apparent surprise, seemed like a commoner typical of the Azelan Continent.
But in Wang-sik's eyes, he saw two identities at once.
‘Chinese.’
While an Eastern appearance wasn't unusual here, it was strange that all the workers had a similar air about them.
‘They're all Chinese.’
He was able to recognize them because he had come here knowing the truth, but judging by the reactions of the chieftain and Ciel, it didn't seem to be a significant issue.
“I've come to reward you for diligently paying your taxes.”
“Ah! Thank you! We've only done what was expected of us!”
“But I'll need to verify that first.”
At a nod from Wang-sik, Ciel stepped forward.
“No need to be too thorough. Keep it simple.”
“Yes. Understood.”
Ciel naturally requested the ledgers and went into the wooden office, while Wang-sik toured the drying racks where the fish were being cured.
Seeing Wang-sik, the workers all bowed their heads and stopped their work, though their eyes held a hint of caution.
About ten minutes passed as he looked out over the sea, and then Ciel reported that there were no issues with the ledgers.
“As a gift, you will only have to pay half of next quarter's taxes.”
“Ah! Thank you!”
He accepted without any particular flattery, not trying to prolong the conversation unnecessarily.
But Wang-sik had no intention of leaving just yet.
“I have something to discuss privately, so you two may leave.”
At Wang-sik's command, the chieftain and Ciel departed.
The chieftain had no choice but to obey, and Ciel had already been briefed on the way here.
‘I'm going to build a villa on the eastern coast.’
It was a common hobby for nobles and a personal matter, so it wasn't strange for him to want to discuss it alone.
Besides, he had already heard stories from the private soldiers.
—The Lord does not require a separate escort.
Once Ciel and the chieftain were gone, Wang-sik headed to the office with the man who called himself Lumiel.
‘I need to see how secure they are.’
The reason he had come here was to personally verify the Chinese government's operation.
‘If they're doing it right, there's no reason to stop them.’
After all, Mad Castle was centered around the Decartes Mountains, so there was no reason for them to clash.
His only concern was the possibility of outsiders being discovered operating on the Azelan Continent. Wang-sik had come here himself to assess that risk.
“It's quite messy, so I'm not sure there's a proper place for you to sit…”
As he entered the office, the ledger Ciel had been checking just moments before was still open, but Wang-sik casually sat in a chair and spoke.
“Why don't you bring some tea?”
“Of course.”
Lumiel picked up a kettle from the shelf.
As he was about to fill the empty kettle with water, Wang-sik pointed to a wooden flask on the desk.
“Let's just use that.”
“Pardon?”
“It looks like it's still warm.”
White steam was seeping from the thin wooden flask.
Lumiel showed a flicker of surprise, but he quickly lowered his head, poured the tea from the flask into a cup, and offered it to Wang-sik.
“Hmm. An unusual tea.”
“It's a tea grown nearby and dried in the sea breeze.”
“Is that so? It tastes wonderful.”
He said that, but inwardly, Wang-sik cursed.
‘Crazy bastards!’
The tea in the wooden flask.
It was, without a doubt, chrysanthemum tea produced in China.
While flower teas existed on the Azelan Continent, they used a sour flower called 'pria' instead of chrysanthemum.
The reason Wang-sik had specifically asked for tea was because of the scent he'd caught upon entering the office.
Now that he'd confirmed the taste, he felt a sense of emptiness.
‘So it's been about five years, has it?’
After five long years of carrying out their mission without issue, it was understandable they'd become lax.
Moreover, the man before him was the one who had commanded all their operations for the past five years.
His name was Wang Zhongming.
An A-rank Awakened affiliated with the Chinese government.
‘Sloppy.’
Whatever their reasons, that was their problem, but these small mistakes could ruin Wang-sik's plans as well.
“I'd like to look around the workshop.”
Having drunk about half the tea, Wang-sik stood up.
‘Fear Search.’
The being caught by his search had tried to move quickly while Wang-sik was in the office. Unaware of this, Lumiel followed Wang-sik out.
“Uh…”
A troubled sound escaped Lumiel's lips.
He had just seen a woman leaving the drying yard, escorted by one of the men.
If he had seen her, there was no way Wang-sik, who had walked out first, could have missed her.
“Stop.”
The woman, her face pale, quickly bowed her head.
“Who is that woman?”
“Th-that's…”
“I don't like to ask twice.”
“Sh-she's a woman who sells her body.”
“Was there such a place here?”
“From Bilter Port…”
Bilter Port was an hour's boat ride away. They had paid to bring her from the brothels there.
‘They're making a total mess of this.’
Bringing an outsider into their base of operations.
His feeling of emptiness now gave way to rising anger.
“Let her go.”
Instead of pressing the issue, Wang-sik looked toward the place the woman had just emerged from.
Ostensibly, it was the workers' quarters.
But an unfamiliar smell wafted out from the open door.
‘Don't tell me…’
Wang-sik looked at their quarters under the workers' gazes. And he couldn't help but let out a sigh.
In one corner of the room were the remains of a recent meal.
But the food was the problem.
A stew that seemed to be made with duck.
The various ingredients and red broth were all too familiar. They had been eating Chinese food.
“This is no place for the Lord to see.”
Lumiel quickly blocked Wang-sik's path.
“I see.”
Wang-sik hid his anger and headed back to the office. Then he gave an order to Lumiel, who was following behind.
“Wait here.”
“What?”
“That's an order.”
Wang-sik entered the office alone and searched the interior.
He figured that if they were this sloppy, there must be even more dangerous mistakes.
And he didn't have to look hard to find the evidence.
Memos and reports.
They were in a hidden drawer under the desk, but its simple construction made it easy to find once he started looking.
“Chinese.”
Wang-sik had already reviewed their manual before coming.
Reports were to be written at the gate, and no items from Earth were to be brought here. The directives clearly stated that anything resembling Earth's culture was forbidden, yet they had ignored them.
The manual was perfect, but the people following it were not.
“My lord, is there a problem?”
Disobeying the order, Lumiel opened the office door and came in. Behind him, the five workers were visible.
They were preparing for their final option.
‘Everything is so clumsy.’
Wang-sik was not pleased with this situation.
“Please tell us what's going on.”
Lumiel's tone was still cautious, but he couldn't hide the tension filling the office.
‘A-rank Awakened.’
The agents stationed here were all A-rank experts.
If they thought their identities were compromised, they would attack without mercy.
Instead of revealing his identity just yet, Wang-sik gave the reason he had prepared.
“There have been kidnappings nearby.”
“What?”
Lumiel's mask wavered, if only slightly. The words had come out of nowhere.
“Three cases in total. Didn't you know?”
They couldn't possibly not know.
They were the ones who did it.
According to their files, there had been a staggering thirty kidnapping incidents.
At first, it was to learn the language of the Azelan Continent, and later, to obtain high-level intelligence.
From commoners, merchants, and beggars to mercenaries and private soldiers of nobles.
Their targets were diverse.
In addition to the information they gathered while disguised as merchants, they also conducted operations this way.
He had no intention of blaming them for their methods.
Wang-sik would have done the same.
The problem was how thoroughly they had cleaned up after themselves. But seeing their behavior, he doubted even that would be perfect.
“How would we know about that?”
They had tried to carry out their activities far from their base, but the three cases Wang-sik mentioned were in the vicinity.
“Then I suppose I can conduct an investigation?”
“Are you suspecting us?”
“Someone saw them being dragged here. Do you think I came all this way for no reason?”
This was Wang-sik's final test.
“It has nothing to do with us.”
“That's why I'm going to investigate. You won't stop me, will you?”
“Of course not. Investigate as much as you like.”
The caution in Lumiel's voice vanished.
Watching him become more confident, Wang-sik could tell his mindset had shifted.
Seeing this, Wang-sik stopped his move to go outside.
“There's no need to look any further.”
“What?”
In Lumiel's right hand, which he had moved behind his back, was a sharp dagger.
Bam!
Wang-sik slammed his fist into Lumiel's face.
As Lumiel was sent flying, his face a bloody mess, crashing through the wooden wall and out of the building, the workers all drew their weapons.
“Is the fate of Earth just a game to you?”
No one understood what he meant.
“This man is Wang Zhongming. Your name must be Ming Yixiang.”
The files contained the secret agents' names and even their photos, so there was no way Wang-sik wouldn't recognize them.
Hearing his name called, the stunned men looked at each other.
“Who are you?”
Instead of answering, Wang-sik extended his chains.
The chains pierced the hearts of two men, while another's neck was ensnared.
Crack!
Instantly snapping his neck, Wang-sik deployed his Colosseum to prevent the other two from escaping.
Seeing this, his opponent finally recognized Wang-sik.
“S-Super Tanker…”
His appearance was different, which was confusing, but upon seeing Wang-sik's chains, they immediately thought of the Super Tanker.
At that, looks of injustice appeared on all their faces.
“Why are you attacking us?”
“Do you not even know what you did wrong?”
“What did we do wrong? We're risking our lives for Earth, too!”
“Risking your lives?”
Wang-sik couldn't hold back a hollow laugh.
Recalling the sloppy state of their operation he had just witnessed, his irritation flared.
“Are your lives so trivial?”
If this is how you risk your lives, then Earth will never be able to escape its doom.
Whoosh!
Wang-sik's chains shot toward the remaining men. They were A-rank Awakened, so they managed to counterattack in that brief moment, but Wang-sik didn't even think of blocking.
Their attacks were deflected harmlessly by Wang-sik's body.
Snap! Crack!
As the necks of the two men broke simultaneously, Wang-sik was the only one left standing.
“Your operation is over.”
The person in charge here was still breathing. Wang-sik lifted his limp body.
Afterward, Wang-sik threatened the survivor and had him summon all the agents who were out in the field.
Five in total.
They were all dealt with by Wang-sik's hand, and even the women who had visited this place did not escape death.
And finally, Wang-sik removed the treasure that was maintaining the mana at the gate connected to China, and after waiting five hours, the gate naturally vanished.
The Chinese government wouldn't even be able to figure out the cause. All their active agents had disappeared.
“You are not qualified.”
Wang-sik left the place where the gate had been.