novelraw Chapter 38 : Erasing a Debt (1)
Chapter 38 : Erasing a Debt (1)
Chapter 38: Erasing a Debt (1)
Tip: Did you know? You can create multiple checkpoints, you know? (Laughter)
The battalion commanders’ meeting had been a regular gathering by convention.
However, that long-standing tradition had been broken recently. Not just once, but twice. In other words, the Supreme Commander had urgently summoned the battalion commanders again.
At the Supreme Commander’s sudden emergency call, several battalion commanders revealed their displeasure by crumpling their faces in an instant.
Even so, they had taken the trouble to come at the crack of dawn, before even a rooster could crow. After all, it was an order from the Supreme Commander.
That said, as everyone knew, the Supreme Commander was the decision-maker of the Resistance and was not meant to be a dictator.
Yet the two emergency summons had reached the battalion commanders as coercive commands. Therefore, unless there was a convincing reason, they were prepared to argue back.
Step, step.
The lineup was much the same as the previous emergency meeting. The commanders of the 2nd, 3rd, 5th, and 9th Battalions were present. The difference was that Dr. Pepper, the 8th Battalion Commander, was absent, and the 2nd Battalion Commander had come instead. The 8th Battalion Commander had been ordered by special directive of the Supreme Commander to clean up the aftermath of the Stiletto Club.
The battalion commanders entered the conference hall with irritated strides. However, ten minutes were enough to dispel their dissatisfaction.
Just ten minutes. A fleeting interval in which the dawn sky had not yet finished reclaiming its purplish hue.
It was also the amount of time it took for Kang Hyunseong to boast to the other battalion commanders about the exploits of his subordinate, Lee Taebaek.
“Hey, Kang Hyunseong…….”
Dang Jihye, a collateral-line descendant of the Sacheondang Clan and the 3rd Battalion Commander, spoke up on behalf of everyone.
“That dark-horse rookie—he charged into the Monterrey Gang alone and wiped out most of them?”
“Yeah.”
Kang Hyunseong flicked his chin.
“And that wasn’t enough, so he turned the Stiletto Club into the exclusive playground of the 9th Battalion.”
“Yeah.”
“And with the cooperation of the Beggars’ Sect, he made the owner Buntaju District 31, and set the purpose of establishment as a relief center, even managing to neatly evade MegaCorp’s surveillance network and tax collection.”
“That’s right.”
“All of that came from the gray matter of that guy called Lee Taebaek, or Taebaeksan or whatever?”
“Exactly.”
“X-fuck, are you kidding me? No, and on top of that, you answer in English with that X-shitty pronunciation, what the X-hell is wrong with you!”
Dragged out at the break of morning, with unsettled dreams still lingering, and then fed such absurd stories, her brain throbbed painfully.
“Hey now. Watch your foul mouth and mind the place. This isn’t just anywhere. These are distinguished people—your ears’ll rot with filth, man.”
“Hey—! Kang Hyunseong!”
“Alright, alright, settle down.”
“Fuck, my head… I’m not even done with my hangover yet… dealing with a lunatic like that is making my skull ring…….”
Dang Jihye already had an arrogant personality to begin with. Kang Hyunseong teased her and wore her down on purpose. It was a small act of revenge for her having coveted Lee Taebaek before.
“So then, what is the Supreme Commander’s opinion?”
The words came from a middle-aged man with a striking Apollo perm. His appearance was oddly reminiscent of broccoli. He was the official third in rank within the Resistance—the 2nd Battalion Commander.
“Thanks for organizing things, Alec.”
The Supreme Commander loosely rested their chin on their hand.
“As everyone knows and acknowledges, the recent achievements of the 9th Battalion have indeed been tremendous, right? Even though they were a rising gang, it hasn’t even been a month since they captured Haiyen of the Triad, who held a seat within the Gang Alliance. And now they’ve even taken down Baron Marlow, one of the three executives of the Monterrey Gang.”
“Catching gangster scum isn’t exactly difficult for anyone present here.”
The 5th Battalion Commander, a young man with intelligent eyes, blew a breath onto his lenses as if injecting them with vitality.
“Of course, that red motorcycle-riding madman… the head of the Gang Alliance is beyond my capacity, at least. Anyway, my point is that what the 9th Battalion has done is hard to call achievements. Precisely. Hard to.”
As he wiped his glasses, he added,
“If you examine the correlation with MegaCorp, is there any organization in Lake City that doesn’t get caught in their web? In short, it’s forced favoritism.”
“What’s ‘forced favoritism’?”
“Dang Jihye… way to kill the mood. It’s a modern slang term for favoritism. You idiot.”
“Looks like it’s time for you to get new glasses, huh? How about today we see you get the shit beaten out of you, you four-eyed nerd.”
Dang Jihye cracked her neck left and right, warming up her muscles. The Supreme Commander stepped in to mediate.
“Jihye, stop.”
“You’re only telling me to—”
“Anyway, that was a good point, 5th Battalion Commander. But what a shame. You’re only half right.”
“Half… right…….”
“Yeah. Half wrong.”
“W-what… does… that mean?”
A sharp crack ran across the lens of his glasses. The 5th Battalion Commander wore the expression of a child who had gotten perfect scores all his life and then missed a question for the first time. He was clearly rattled.
“There was a connection between Lukaken Pharmaceuticals and MegaCorp. You were at the last meeting too, so you’re aware of that, right?”
“Yes…….”
“This time it’s the same. No, the severity of the situation can’t even be compared to back then. Not just Baron Marlow, but the entire Monterrey Gang has, for some time now, been trying to latch onto MegaCorp—”
“…….”
Every time the word MegaCorp came up, the room inevitably grew solemn. Even the Resistance, which opposed MegaCorp, paradoxically feared it.
“More specifically, they were trying to parasitize Siesta. By offering monthly tribute of their ‘specialty products.’”
Beyond the lenses, pupils dilated. The Supreme Commander continued without displaying any electronic facial features on their facial screen.
“With Lukaken Pharmaceuticals, it was drugs. But the Monterrey Gang offered people as tribute.”
“…What?! What kind of barbarians are they?!”
“It’s proof that MegaCorp is conducting biological experiments. As you know, they want to establish a total surveillance system. Clinical trials for the ‘brain socket procedure’ that’s supposedly trending in the Upper District. Who do you think the test subjects were?”
“…….”
Silence. The Supreme Commander nodded.
“That’s right. They abducted kids from the Bottommost District and used them as test subjects. Up until just half a year ago, they still cared about public opinion. Now they’re openly accelerating their ambitions.”
“In that case.”
“We stop them.”
“Do you have a clever plan, Supreme Commander?”
Broccoli—the 2nd Battalion Commander—uncrossed his arms.
“Let’s sever their scouts at this opportunity. Coincidentally, our super rookie and dark horse—‘that someone from the 9th Battalion’—has already laid the groundwork, hasn’t he?”
Kang Hyunseong let out a sigh of relief. The Supreme Commander was protecting Lee Taebaek’s unintentional course of action.
“We may be a Resistance that lives in the shadows, but when the sun of the open world is setting like this, we have to step onto the front lines. …So, in two weeks.”
The number 2 appeared on the facial screen as the Supreme Commander spoke while meeting the battalion commanders’ gazes.
“We strike the Gang Alliance.”
“Orders received.”
The battalion commanders bowed their heads and echoed in unison.
The Supreme Commander introduced the battalion commanders.
And as everyone departed to go their separate ways, only one person remained standing alone in the conference hall.
“Lee Taebaek.”
It was the 3rd Battalion Commander, Dang Jihye. She pondered deeply, her eyes half-lidded beneath her eyelashes.
“Too much has changed since he came.”
Dang Jihye lightly tapped the round table with her fingers. As she did, she muttered in a low voice.
“I should see his face at least once.”
Her crimson irises burned like flames. If one were to name those flames, they were interest—or greed.
A young, attractive man and woman living together.
An endlessly provocative set of keywords.
One.
Truly, a sequence of words for which failure would be far more difficult…….
Yet the two men and women cohabiting here at Eunko Bar brazenly sidestepped all of humanity’s expectations. True to the unprecedented pairing of a galaxy-brained mage and a cyber psycho, their way of doing things was indeed quite different.
Let’s analyze the cause.
First of all, there was no point of contact.
Because their life patterns were different.
Goeun’s active hours were mainly at night. Her job was a bartender, after all. It seemed she had another main occupation, though.
In contrast, Lee Taebaek had a clear distinction between day and night. He was, in his own way, a man of proper habits.
On top of that, over the past few days, the landlord would take a two-hour nap once it became daytime and then go out.
I didn’t know the purpose or destination of those outings. But it wasn’t my business, so I didn’t pry.
As a result, despite living under the same roof, the two housemates rarely had a chance to encounter each other, as if tracing separate spirals.
‘Is this what a typical Lake City lifestyle looks like?’
Even when Lee Taebaek had received a recommendation for several days of self-reflection, it was like this… so the future, when he was permitted to go out freely, was easy to imagine.
For the record, this was a customary disciplinary measure. Lee Taebaek deserved a reward. Even the battalion commanders who disliked him acknowledged that fact.
However, if rewards were lavished on a newcomer, the existing members might grow resentful. Knowing that, Lee Taebaek complied without complaint.
“I’m bored.”
Lying on the bed, I muttered.
“No matter how rampant individualism is in Lake City… how can a landlord not say a single word to their tenant……?”
I never thought such words would come out of my mouth.
Generally, a landlord’s indifference makes a tenant comfortable. But still. This indifference had gone too far.
“…….”
As I shifted my lying position, I shook off my stray thoughts.
Today marked the third full day of peaceful routine, while I waged an unwinnable staring contest with the ceiling.
Meanwhile, the Bottommost District I had left deep footprints in was currently undergoing a turbulent period. Jin Sobang of Buntaju District 31 relayed the news like this.
[We completely tore down the Stiletto Club. Finished the interior construction in just one day. Was it the Baekbaek Order? We also made lodging and dining spaces for them. How did we do it so fast? You used Hero’s Coin once, Lee Taebaek. It was the combined effort of the Clean Clothes Faction buntajus from Districts 30 through 39. On top of that, Elder Seopung-gae was very pleased that it was for relief purposes, so he separately sent over manpower from the Arts Faction.]
They had no money, but time in oil-tycoon quantities. With the Arts Faction rolling up their sleeves to help, everything proceeded smoothly.
Even so, refurbishing an entire building in just two days. The speed felt excessively fast and made me uneasy. But when I changed my perspective, it turned out to be needless worry.
This world was, after all, a dystopia.
Viewing everything through the lens of Earth’s common sense pressed against one’s corneas was a narrow-minded way of thinking. The point was that fast construction didn’t necessarily mean shoddy work.
[And you don’t need to worry about the kids’ safety for the time being. Starting with Elder Seopung-gae, the Arts Faction’s monks will take turns standing guard at the Stiletto Club—well, what is now the Baekbaek Order’s First Branch. But they’re busy people too, so two weeks is the limit. Before that, there needs to be a fundamental solution. I’m hanging up now, good work.]
The ending words bothered me.
‘A fundamental solution.’
The Monterrey Gang could launch retaliation at any moment. Moreover, it had already been three weeks since the Triad had been annihilated. By now, the fact that the main culprit was the 9th Battalion must have reached the ears of the Gang Alliance.
…If things went wrong, the Gang Alliance might rise up as a whole. Gangs have a moronic habit of paying back exactly what they’ve suffered, even if it kills them.
“Kang Hyunseong said he’d bring up a plan at the battalion commanders’ meeting, but there’s still no contact.”
I had to consider the possibility that things had gone south. The worst future was the 9th Battalion facing the Gang Alliance alone. If that happened, I might as well aim for a third life. If only rerolling existed.
Staring at the wall, Lee Taebaek groaned.
“Hmm.”
But then again, it didn’t seem completely absurd either. You know the saying—recklessness and courage are separated by a hair’s breadth.
And now was a time that required confidence, and confidence, by nature, stemmed from ability.
So let’s verify that ability.
With the newly revamped Status Window.
‘Administrator Account.’
The number of changes had suddenly increased. That was why I had spent a full three days analyzing the Status Window. Only today did it finally seem close to finished.
⎯⎯⌜Operator-Exclusive Menu⌟⎯⎯
Game Title: Recons (Raken’s)
Development: Taebaek Lee
Genre: Open-World Action RPG
Release: 2024 ??/??/??
Rating: Under Review
⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯
The biggest change was the unlocking of the ‘Operator-Exclusive Menu.’ Just hearing the name, I couldn’t grasp what it was supposed to be. But once I opened it, it turned out to be a Status Window written in Wikipedia-style grammar.
It was straight-up Kkamu Wiki. When I first saw it, I felt dumbfounded and simultaneously struck with bone-deep pain. Because if it was Kkamu Wiki, then it naturally had to contain certain entries—and there they were, lined up in a neat row.
⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⌜Table of Contents⌟⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯
Overview
Details
System
-3.1 Difficulty
-3.2 Equipment
-3.3 Transportation
Evaluation
DLC
-5.1 Release Status
Controversy
Sales
⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯
Fuck.
So that was why it was an Operator-Exclusive Menu. The more I looked at it, the more pissed off I got. The reason I checked it in small doses was for the sake of my mental health.
Did you know this? There are two sites developers check immediately after releasing a game.
Yeah—Kkamu Wiki and Steam reviews.
The mouse cursor heading toward those two websites trembled as if it were a real rat.
Among them, Steam reviews were the gentler one. The evaluations felt fairly lenient. Probably because the age group was higher.
But Kkamu Wiki, where so-called ‘real ones’ congregated, showed no mercy. Even a god-tier game that won GOTY (Game of the Year / Game of the Year) couldn’t escape the real ones’ carpet bombing.
Listen carefully, everyone. Right after Recons launches, absolutely. Never. Ever go on Kkamu Wiki. If you get influenced by that, there’s no end to it.
It was bad enough that even Team Leader Seo, famous for being Buddha-like, had recoiled in horror. And yet, here it was.
Ta-da, appearing brazenly.
“…Haah.”
I didn’t know who was editing it. That was something I would have to figure out gradually. Still, the most likely culprit was, of course, that damn Chaos Goddess.
Even so, I managed to get through up to item three. It was just a list of information with no real substance.
I took a deep breath. With trembling hands, I pressed the long-awaited item four: Evaluation. I was a hundred times more nervous now than when I had infiltrated the Stiletto Club.
⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⌜Evaluation⌟⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯
⍟ Overall Rating ⎮ ⌾ Recent Rating
========================
Negative /30% ⎮ Mixed /46%
※ Recons’ ratings are greatly influenced by Operator Points.
※ The higher the rating, the wider the authority range for Nerfs and Buffs!
⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯
Bullshit.