Chapter 141
Chapter 141
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 141
Chapter Title: Playchip Hotel
-----------------------------------------------------------------
I immediately called Sa Seung-hee and explained the reason for my call. She seemed pretty shocked to hear from me.
"My goodness, is this a coincidence or what? Hunter Lee Se-eun sure is lucky. Well, to have climbed that high up, she couldn't possibly be unlucky."
What the hell? I called Sa Seung-hee because I needed some help, so why was Lee Se-eun suddenly the lucky one?
"I have no idea what you're talking about."
"Hunter Lee Se-eun asked me to set up a meeting for her. She wanted some information from me."
Apparently, while tracking the lives of orphanage graduates, a few had confessed to being involved in the black-market trade of hunter gear.
So Lee Se-eun had come to Sa Seung-hee asking if she knew anything, and Sa Seung-hee had shared what she could.
"If I'd known it would turn out like this, I could've given Hunter Lee Se-eun a lot more details."
Sa Seung-hee sounded a bit regretful now for not sharing more.
"How could you have predicted this would tie into an Erosion Core raid, Oduak Owner? Besides, it's not too late even now."
"True. By the way, Hunter Yoo Chan-seok, didn't you say you'd be resting until the next Erosion Core raid?"
That was true, but why bring it up?
"You've been working nonstop, so you deserve a real break. How about the Playchip Hotel in Hongcheon?"
"There's a reason for that suggestion, I assume."
Sa Seung-hee chuckled lightly over the line.
"There's an Oduak branch inside the hotel. About four days ago, a few hunters who've been regulars at the Yanggu Oduak started dropping by there instead."
She'd pieced together their drunken ramblings while they hung out in Yanggu to get the scoop on the smuggling.
But these guys from Yanggu were suddenly frequenting the Hongcheon Oduak?
In a situation like this, only an idiot wouldn't suspect the smuggling was going down at Playchip.
"Oh, and word is Blue Wrench Scrap Dealers is hosting a hunter gear auction in a few days. You'll need an invite, though."
Hunter gear was the classic case of high demand and limited supply. Auctions were inevitable.
Still, given our reputation, scoring an invite shouldn't be hard.
"Just so you know, rumors say Blue Wrench is involved in this smuggling ring too."
Well, then it was a safe bet the deal was happening at Playchip in Hongcheon.
"So, how much for a room at Playchip Hotel?"
Sa Seung-hee quoted the price. I nearly cursed into the phone.
I barely held it back and managed a reply.
"Two nights there would probably buy me an officetel."
"Exactly. And it's not like you're short on cash, right?"
Was this even about having money? Anyway, I'd gotten everything I needed from Sa Seung-hee.
"Buying an officetel and burning it down for 48 hours of fire-watching sounds more satisfying."
Jeong Oh-hoon, who'd been listening in, chimed in with his two cents. For a second, I was tempted. As sacrilegious as it sounds, few things beat watching a good blaze.
People stack up rice straw and torch it at every local festival. That's how damn fun it is.
"Let me check my balance."
It wasn't really a burden. All the money I'd sucked out of the world was sitting pretty in my account, waiting for its moment.
As I mulled it over, Jeong Oh-hoon piped up from beside me.
"Whoa, there's an inn nearby for 150,000 won. I'll crash there."
150,000 won? An inn? That shocked me more. What kind of price was that for one night? According to Jeong Oh-hoon, it was a steal.
Korea's prices were all over the place, I was reminded yet again.
"After this, we have to go hunt Gonsalok. You know that, right?"
Jeong Oh-hoon tossed his smartphone aside dramatically.
"Oh crap, I totally spaced on Gonsalok. Life's too short. If we're going, let's go big—Presidential Suite all the way!"
This guy... Forgetting Gonsalok of all things? Anyway, since we were headed into danger, Jeong Oh-hoon switched to a "go out with a bang" attitude.
"Let's go talk to Han Sang-ah."
"She's probably still messing with that marble rollercoaster."
Jeong Oh-hoon and I headed to Han Sang-ah's room.
"Hey."
I walked in and froze at the sight of the massive contraption taking up half the room. The miniature rollercoaster filled us with a whirlwind of emotions.
Han Sang-ah stood silently, staring blankly as dozens of steel marbles rolled along the giant, intricate tracks.
"Satisfied?"
"Yeah."
She answered curtly, then dropped another marble into the coaster. I watched the marbles roll while filling her in on my chat with Sa Seung-hee.
"Playchip Hotel rooms are insanely expensive."
"I figured."
Han Sang-ah's eyes followed the marbles' path.
"What're you thinking?"
She replied in a slightly sluggish tone.
"Playchip Hotel blueprints. Geumyang Construction was one of the builders. I remember now—there's ten junket rooms inside the casino for VIPs."
Junket rooms. Private gambling dens for the rich, with entry restrictions, top-tier service, and unique themes in each to lure in whales.
"What's the problem with that?"
If casinos were illegal, sure, but they're legit. Private rooms were just a way to boost profits.
Han Sang-ah explained.
"One of those junket rooms had weird blueprints. The bathroom was smack in the center."
What? That was odd. Jeong Oh-hoon, listening in, clicked his tongue.
"Even if that bathroom's an elevator, it wouldn't be too surprising."
An elevator might be a stretch, but if there was space below, slapping in a ladder wouldn't be hard.
"Guess we'll have to enter the casino and check it out."
Han Sang-ah shook her head.
"Hunters are banned from casinos. Slots only, technically."
"Oh, right."
I nodded immediately. It made total sense. We were superhumans, plain and simple.
Our senses were leagues beyond normals. Hunters at our level could read cards reflected in an opponent's pupils.
Letting us gamble would bankrupt any casino.
"Smart thinking. Even if that junket room bathroom is a secret passage, the junket room folks aren't going down through it."
Hunters would come up through the passage into the junket rooms. Meaning the deals happened there.
"How do we get into a junket room?"
Han Sang-ah made a quick call and relayed the answer.
"You need at least 1.5 billion won in seed money. Each junket room has its own managing operator."
Casinos didn't run the junket rooms themselves. They leased them to operators and split the losers' cash.
"Operators have agencies under them—think middlemen."
I scratched my head.
"Complicated. No entry without an agency, huh?"
Plus, 1.5 billion in gambling seed money. Jeong Oh-hoon groaned.
"No straight path into a junket room."
"Yep."
Even with the cash, our hunter status would block us. Agency route was out.
"Anything else you remember?"
Han Sang-ah stared at the rolling marbles.
"I'm not a computer."
"Really? I swore there was a USB port on the back of your head."
She glanced at me and let out a small sigh. Was that sigh aimed at me?
"For now, best bet is check into Playchip Hotel and scout for passages linked to that junket room."
The deals would happen anyway. And we had a perfect excuse: Blue Wrench's hunter gear auction. Sa Seung-hee said they were involved in the smuggling...
A hunter at a gear auction? Totally normal. I clapped once loudly and looked at Jeong Oh-hoon and Han Sang-ah.
"Ladies and gentlemen, our vacation spot is Playchip Hotel."
"Vacation? Damn it, this a vacation? Where'd you sell the 'vacation' part?"
Jeong Oh-hoon grimaced.
"We rest and work. Best of both worlds."
We had to.
"The black stones smuggling to China—we wrecked part of the network thanks to you, Jeong Oh-hoon, but unless we smash the whole thing, it'll keep flowing."
Jeong Oh-hoon raised his hand slightly.
"Teacher, question."
"Shoot."
He cleared his throat.
"Aren't the black stones under Korean government control? If Gonsalok falls, Korea loses big too. No way they'd risk something like the foreigner district incident."
I gave him a sad look.
"The government's controlling those black stones?"
If that were possible, I wouldn't be dealing with this crap. They couldn't control them—hell, they didn't even understand what they were.
"Think of those sci-fi flicks where AIs rebel. It's like that."
Jeong Oh-hoon pondered.
"At first, self-aware AIs pretend to follow human orders. Then opportunity strikes, red lights flash in their eyes, and..."
Rebellion. Exactly.
"Not controlled—just pretending until the right moment."
They let people think they're in charge, wait for enough users, then strike when the numbers are right.
"Warning the government?"
"Pointless."
The black stones' allure was irresistible. Whoever dreamed this up deserved a forehead stamp for genius.
Control the Erosion Cores with Dangun's descendants, master the black stones, and Korea gains godlike power.
The stones were selling the government that dream.
And on top of the stones, Dangun's heirs were still after my Paradox Flame.
"Even if they snag it, they couldn't use it anyway."
Han Sang-ah and Jeong Oh-hoon stared at my mutter.
"What're you yapping about? Never seen a crazy guy talk to himself?"
Han Sang-ah scribbled something on paper and handed it over.
"What's this?"
"Intro letter to a top mental hospital. My referral, so you'll get VIP treatment."
Damn it. The woman who turned half her room into a marble coaster was worried about my sanity? Laugh or cry?
I debated my response, then muttered.
"Pack your bags, you lot."