novelraw Chapter 45 : War on Crime (1)
Chapter 45 : War on Crime (1)
Chapter 45: War on Crime (1)
Ice Manipulation. A secret art that could only be invoked by freely manipulating the properties or form of atoms!
‘A legendary magic believed to have been lost.’
Thud—Mage Go-eun flopped flat onto the ground. Then she raised both arms high and bowed in reverence.
Eternity of All Demons, All Demons Bow in Submission
It was a bizarre sight. Go-eun, who had been performing Qi Regulation and Meditation just moments ago, suddenly prostrating herself like that.
“…….”
Lee Taebaek, however, showed little reaction. Partly because the afterglow of meditation had yet to fade, and partly because that sudden act of worship felt natural.
When snowflakes began to seep into Go-eun’s bare skin, Lee Taebaek released his lotus position and stood up.
Click.
It felt like insects had invaded while he was regulating his Qi. He could just tell. As if invisible antennae had sprouted, his sixth sense had opened.
‘All things considered, Qi Regulation and Meditation was a god-tier move.’
Whatever the case, the timing was strangely perfect. Whether it was luck or not…… At least, what needed to be done was clear.
‘Rooting out bugs is an operator’s duty.’
[An EXP Event is currently in progress.]
[EXP gain has increased by 3x.]
As a hardcore gamer, neglecting that duty would be unforgivable.
On top of that, wasn’t hunting the golden rule for testing skill performance? Lee Taebaek stepped forward, crunching across the thin ice.
There were a lot of rat bastards wriggling beneath his feet.
Myriad Petal Rain.
Its prestige was no longer what it once had been.
Strictly speaking, Myriad Petal Rain itself was unchanged. Only countermeasures had been devised.
Throwing weapons? At the end of the day, they were just metal skewers. Tearing through mechanical arms and legs was unrealistic.
Of course, cybernetic bodies were exorbitantly expensive. In the bottommost and lower districts, you’d rarely ever see one. But gangs were a different story.
What were gangs, after all? Vermin who sold violence for money. To get stronger, they would do absolutely anything.
Detaching limbs like Lego pieces was nothing. That went without saying for gang bosses. In their world, the law of strength was everything.
Among them, Pin, one of the Monterrey Three Executives, was practically a full-body cyborg. His mind had been wrapped in steel.
Myriad Petal Rain? He could just tank it with Tekkai. However, Pin and the gangs had been complacent. And they were paying for that negligence with their lives.
“Kraaaaaaagh!”
The wails of agony didn’t cease. Right after a black mass like a swarm of locusts swallowed the ceiling—
Swaaaaaa!
A wave of throwing blades engulfed the gangs. As if erasing all space ahead of Tang Ji-hye, the blades shredded the gangsters indiscriminately.
The interior, swept clean by the black tide, fell silent. The corpses were riddled with skewers. The sound of rain outside became vividly clear.
The pile of bodies squirmed. Pin shoved aside his porcupine-like subordinates and emerged.
“X-fuck.”
He yanked the metal spikes embedded in his cheek. Pale green fluid sprayed out like a water gun. Tang Ji-hye’s Myriad Petal Rain had pierced his cybernetic body.
“Couldn’t you at least turn on your blinker before attacking? And wasn’t Myriad Petal Rain already child’s play ages ago? What kind of bullshit power is this?”
Pin sneered shamelessly. He then pulled out a cigarette and plugged the hole in his cheek.
“For a martial artist to be this underhanded—where’s the way of the Jianghu in that?”
“Cut the bullshit, you punk bastard. A thug desperate to eat even one kid doesn’t get to talk about the way of the martial world.”
Tang Ji-hye frowned deeply.
“You should be fucking ashamed. The kids here tried to protect the weak by sacrificing themselves.”
She scanned her surroundings before continuing.
“And what did you do? You barely survived by using your subordinates as meat shields? Don’t you gangsters have any pride?”
“Guess it’s because you’re a young lady from the Tang Clan—your head’s still a flower garden. Pride? What a load of crap.”
Pin lit his cigarette and began smoking through the hole in his cheek. Tang Ji-hye and the children covered their mouths, swallowing back the urge to vomit.
“These days, you see, pride is something you can buy with money, miss. Looks like you’re trying to get under my skin, so let’s stop there and have a nice, adult conversation among ourselves.”
“…….”
Tang Ji-hye felt uneasy.
Why did a guy who nearly died look like that? Did he have something to rely on? The discomfort made it hard for her to press the attack.
‘Pin Finder is infamous among the Ten Gang Alliance leaders for his sheer wickedness.’
Only a faint, insidious gleam flickered behind his straight-line cybernetic goggles. His emotions were hard to read.
‘The Monterrey Gang is basically the boss, and the fact that his expression didn’t change even after that bamboo-hat guy he was joking with just died means he’s definitely not ordinary.’
Moreover, Pin had grasped Tang Ji-hye’s weakness—something she had practically exposed herself.
The moment Myriad Petal Rain began to fall, he had used his subordinates as shields. Meat shields. To him, that was the full extent of their worth.
‘Damn gang scum…….’
Tang Ji-hye kept glancing behind her. She couldn’t act rashly. The children might get hurt. That was her weakness.
Unlike a thug who used his subordinates as tools, Tang Ji-hye had to protect the children.
‘Damn it.’
As if sensing her thoughts, Pin sneered. When he puffed out his cheeks, the half-burnt cigarette dropped.
“I knew the Resistance had taken over the Stiletto Club.”
“If you knew and still barged in, you must be even more X-stupid than I thought.”
“Let’s not use such harsh language with that pretty face, miss. It makes you look weak. We, the Monterrey, stepped into this place knowing full well.”
Pin’s gaze moved past her. The children were trembling in fear.
“Of course, we expected the Resistance to dispatch members to play babysitter for those orphan brats. But I never imagined there’d be a battalion commander here.”
Pin dragged out his words ominously. Mid-sentence, he jerked his chin toward the door.
Chabak, chabak, chabak, chabak.
Men burst in through the rain. They were all wearing black raincoats and gas masks. Red lenses glowed menacingly.
“……!”
“A battalion commander’s face is pretty recognizable, right? Yeah. The head of that Gang Alliance sent us reinforcements.”
Pin slung an arm over one man’s shoulder.
“I admit it—Monterrey’s not top-tier when it comes to brute force. We specialize in money games. But the folks here are a bit different.”
“What kind of scheme are you pulling?!”
Tang Ji-hye roared.
“The scheming wasn’t us—it was the Resistance. You tried to wipe out our peacefully thriving gangsters.”
“Huh? When did you get that information…….”
“In Lake City, information is money. We spent a bit to survive. Oh, and just so you know, this isn’t the end.”
“There’s a big event left for the main act. I’ll tell you about it on your way to the afterlife.”
‘Chk-chk.’ The men chambered their submachine guns. They waited for orders in firing stance.
“You son of a bitch!! What did the kids ever do to deserve this?!”
“Hey now. I haven’t even explained the big event yet. Hold off on the anger for a bit. Objectively speaking, if the Gang Alliance and the Resistance go head-to-head, we’re overwhelmingly at a disadvantage.”
Tang Ji-hye’s ears were already shut tight with rage. But the next words pierced her eardrums.
“We hired Dojon to prepare for this war. Even I was surprised by our alliance leader’s connections.”
One of the Three Calamities and Seven Existences.
One of the 10 Wings—the Mercenary King, Dojon.
Tang Ji-hye’s eyes widened.
“But his price is filthy expensive. Can you believe it? Five hundred million per slash.”
That was why Pin had been so confident. And why the gang bastards, who had been lying low, suddenly invaded Resistance territory.
Hiring the Mercenary King, Dojon. Those words alone instantly balanced the uneven scales of power.
“So anyway, that’s why we came to reclaim the club. We’re already dealing with headaches from that Lilith Order or whatever.”
“The Lilith Order…….”
“You know, those winged freaks. But the winged ones you’ll be seeing aren’t them—they’ll be angels. Or maybe demons? Hahahaha.”
Grinning broadly, Pin retreated into the men’s ranks. Everyone knew exactly what he was about to do.
“Let’s meet again in hell.”
With that, the raincoat-clad men pulled their triggers simultaneously.
Tududududu.
Gun barrels spewed endless flames. Tang Ji-hye hurled herself forward. There was no way anyone could bat away machine-gun bullets one by one.
Better to become a human shield. That way, at least one person might survive.
She spread her white coat wide like a fan, maximizing its surface area. It was made of bulletproof material—bullets wouldn’t pierce her body. That would be enough.
Her heart dropped.
Her head spun.
Still, her chest felt strangely light.
‘With this, my debt is repa—’
At that moment. Tadat—light footsteps cut through Tang Ji-hye’s thoughts. A new figure sprang up onto the balcony, landed softly on the floor, and stood back-to-back with her.
It was a moment too brief even to call it an instant. As if he alone had stretched perceived time like taffy. And in truth, that was exactly what had happened.
[Time Limit: ●●●●●●●●●]
Vivid battlefield data imprinted itself beyond his corneas. A grid-patterned mesh scanned the interior in an instant. Thanks to Qi Regulation and Meditation, his cognitive range had expanded.
Before his bangs brushed his forehead, before the smell of gunpowder grazed his philtrum, before the muzzle flashes died out—Lee Taebaek raised his eyes.
Blood surged backward. A nosebleed warmed his eye sockets, and a stabbing sensation pricked his frontal lobe.
The time dragged out by Bullet Time stretched so far it froze the world.
Then—tak—a sound shattered the frozen time. He flicked his fingers from a low stance.
The bullets that had been spiraling through the air spun wildly, then fell after leaving circular rifling marks.
It was brief, but everyone saw it with their own eyes. The bullets had been stopped. More precisely, the air had been cooled.
As everyone inside the building—friend and foe alike—doubted their eyes, Lee Taebaek spoke.
“From now on, you are insects.”
He exhaled, wrapping his breath around the lower half of his face like a mask.
[＃1 Small-Scale] 1.8.3 Patch Notes
◈ Main Patch
• 「Monterrey Gang」 → Background setting and class have been modified to 「Bug」.
• 「Operator: Lee Taebaek」 has acquired 「Secret Art: Ice Manipulation」.
• The proportional value of 「Mana」 has increased by (+19.2%). Magical abilities have greatly increased.
• The proportional value of 「Life」 has increased by (+13.6%). Health and stamina have slightly increased.
• The proportional value of 「Faith」 has increased by (+7.4%). Recovery ability has slightly increased.
◇ Other Patches
• Acquired 「Bug Generator (True)」.
〉〉 Auto Save……
〉〉 Applying patch.