Chapter 66
Chapter 66
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 66
Chapter Title: The New Boss
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Even deep into the early morning hours, District 1 of the Old City was tumultuous with gunfire and explosions.
Spent casings and broken blades littered the ground, and the roads were hideously scarred.
*Bang! Bang!*
Gunshots rang out in succession, but the bullets simply ricocheted off the blue mana shield and fell to the ground.
Simultaneously, a mana bullet, as if tracing the trajectory of the gunfire, slammed into a Villain’s body.
“Aargh!”
The gang members paled in horror as they watched their comrade get slammed mercilessly against the driver's side door.
“Damn it! What are we supposed to do if the bullets won’t even scratch it!”
“Doesn’t Dr. Eun have any underlings? Or is she hiding somewhere?”
“She must be hiding! Otherwise, where are all these blue bullets coming from!”
Throughout the night, gangs from other districts had invaded District 1, attempting to kill Haon.
According to Nova, they were trying to eliminate the new boss before she could acclimate to the Old City.
It was something Cue and all the previous District 1 bosses had apparently gone through.
Fortunately, the gang members all used guns and knives, which couldn't penetrate her mana shield, and the other bosses’ Awakening abilities weren’t much of a threat to Haon either.
‘Cue’s ability was actually the most difficult to deal with.’
Haon recalled Cue chugging down potions when cornered, then glanced around.
“Blue. How many are left?”
[Three people are detected waiting in the truck across the street, and one person is aiming a sniper rifle from the alley.]
At Blue’s words, it was Nova who moved swiftly.
He casually shook out his hair, the tips stained red with splattered blood, and kicked the truck.
*CRASH!*
A loud crash echoed as the truck flipped over, the groans of Villains spilling out from within.
Haon fired a mana bullet into the alley and looked back at the truck.
Nova was pulling the unconscious Villains out and loading them onto a cart—a cart already piled high with other knocked-out Villains.
“Looks like that’s it for tonight. Look over there.”
Someone was standing at the far end of the street Nova pointed to.
A woman whose entire face was covered in a skull tattoo. Weaver stared intently at Haon before turning away. With that, the long night came to a close.
Haon, who had been watching until she completely disappeared, asked worriedly.
“Will they keep coming from other districts?”
“They will if they think District 1 is weak, right? They might even start harassing the people who live here.”
“Should I put up a fence or something…?”
“If you don't mind completely isolating District 1, then sure.”
Haon grimaced, muttering about how much of a headache this had become.
Watching her, an immensely satisfied smile spread across Nova’s face.
Under the dark pre-dawn sky.
Haon stood in the shadows of the Old City, thick with the smell of blood and gunpowder. She was close enough to touch.
A thrill shot through Nova, and he touched his chest. The rapid beat of his heart felt foreign.
Haon met Nova’s brightly shining eyes. Their eyes, though both shining, held entirely different lights.
“Nova.”
“Yes, darling.”
“Thank you for your help, but you can leave District 1 now. You have your own things to do.”
“I’m an executive of the Eun Haon Gang.”
“There’s no such thing as the Eun Haon Gang…”
As Haon muttered, perplexed, the clouds parted, and moonlight illuminated her fair face.
“I’ll hand over District 1 as soon as I find someone suitable.”
Sensing his satisfaction wane slightly, Nova stretched his smile even wider.
“What kind of person?”
“Hmm. Someone who will protect the residents of District 1 with all their heart and help them live well?”
“Well now. I wonder if such a person even exists in this neck of the woods.”
“If I choose from among ordinary people instead of Villains…”
“Even if you put an ordinary person in that position, they’ll eventually turn out the same.”
“…”
As Haon’s expression fell, Nova came closer and wrapped an arm around her shoulder.
“You’ve adapted to this place by now, so you must know. How many illegal businesses you can run and how you can choke the life out of people in the Old City.”
“Aren’t you interested, Nova? I really don’t want anything to do with gangs—”
“How cruel. We’re already in the same boat. Are you going to abandon me?”
“How is this a gang when it’s just the two of us?”
“There are two more over there.”
Haon looked where Nova was pointing. Chacha was helping Bani out from behind a structure.
“Chacha, maybe, but Bani is a bit…”
“Why not! I’m already your employee, sis!”
Bani’s eyes went wide as she shouted, and Chacha just shrugged.
“At this point, it’s probably safer for Bani to be a gang member too.”
The moment Nova had handed the jewel to Haon, Chacha and Bani had also appeared nearby.
To anyone else, the four of them would have looked like a team.
Even if they later claimed Bani had nothing to do with District 1, no one would believe them. After all, she had accompanied them on the crucial mission to take down Cue, making her seem like an important figure.
‘People might try to kidnap Bani like they did with Cue. In that case, it’s better to just have her as a gang member.’
Haon fiddled with the diamond in her pocket and sighed.
Was there really no one suitable to take over District 1?
Even if such a person existed, it seemed she would have to take on the role of ‘boss’ of District 1 for the time being.
If the attacks were only directed at her, it wouldn’t matter, but if Nova, Chacha, Bani, and the residents of District 1 were also targets, it was better to be in a position where she could easily protect them.
“…I feel like I’m making a child do something bad.”
“Sis. In the Old City, I’m not that young.”
“Still, a kid this small.”
“I’m taller than you, what are you talking about!”
At Bani’s indignant cry, Haon looked at the top of Bani’s head with a shocked expression.
Could it be that her space buns were included in her height, making her seem taller?
As she entertained this thought, Nova patted her on the shoulder.
“More importantly, you should prepare yourself, because things are about to get busy.”
“Huh? Wh-what do I have to do?”
“We need to collect new protection fees from the residents of District 1 and grow the gang. That’s how we’ll be able to protect the district.”
“Do we have to collect protection fees?”
“If District 1 is the only one not collecting fees, people from other districts will flock here, won’t they?”
“Is that a bad thing?”
Haon tilted her head, and Chacha answered.
“There won’t be enough housing, so prices will go up. In the end, it’ll just line the pockets of the building owners. And the other districts will complain that we’re stealing their people.”
“Ah…”
This was difficult. So many things to consider.
It was astonishing how the bosses of other districts managed all this while running their businesses and even eyeing other territories.
‘Is that why they need so many gang members?’
Haon rubbed her throbbing forehead and looked back at the building that had been Cue’s base.
It didn’t feel real that, as of today, it was hers.
Or that she, of all people, had become the boss of District 1.
Haon looked at the building, far too large for just the four of them, and thought.
‘Since I have no intention of running any businesses, I probably won’t need any more gang members, right?’
A thought she would be forced to retract in less than a week.
***
At the same time, in a meeting room at Hero Headquarters.
Eun Haon becoming the boss of the Old City’s District 1 was something Hero Headquarters had never anticipated.
“I thought Rusty or Weaver would take it.”
“I was betting on that gang that came from Brazil recently.”
“What on earth is she after, taking over District 1? I had no idea she was interested in gangs.”
“Maybe she’s not interested in gangs, but in business.”
The Heroes, summoned for an emergency meeting, conversed with bewildered expressions.
Only Juyeol remained silent, a troubled look on his face.
‘Can you really say Eun Haon killed him? Was killing him even her objective in the first place?’
He thought of Haon after she lost her memories, how her emotions were always so clearly written on her face.
‘What was her expression when she got her hands on the spoils?’
Bewilderment and perplexity. And perhaps a hint of anticipation.
He had no idea what she was thinking, taking over District 1 with Nova.
“Whatever the case, the day has finally come for that name to appear on the list.”
At Finder’s sudden mutter, the Heroes’ gazes all turned to the screen.
「Villain Name: Eun Haon
Age: 20
Criminal Record: Murder (Former boss of District 1, ‘Cue’)
Note: Non-Awakened. Boss of District 1’s ‘Eun Haon Gang’」
At last, Eun Haon’s name was on the Villain list.
For all the countless misdeeds she had committed, there had never been any concrete evidence.
How frustrating it had been, unable to brand her a Villain based solely on the testimony of witnesses and victims.
But they never imagined Eun Haon would get her name on the list by leaving behind so many witnesses to an incident like this.
Even Hunter, seated at the head of the table, seemed a bit perplexed by the appearance of such an unexpected figure as the new boss of District 1.
“Talking more won’t change who the boss of District 1 is. Let’s focus on what we have to do.”
Hunter looked over each of the Heroes one by one before his gaze settled on Juyeol.
“Ghost. You know what you have to do, don’t you?”