novelraw Chapter 47 : War on Crime (3)
Chapter 47 : War on Crime (3)
Chapter 47: War on Crime (3)
The children were huddled together outside. Go-eun said that the adults still had something to take care of and asked them to step aside for a moment.
That ‘something to take care of’ Go-eun mentioned was the punishment aimed at Pin. There was no way they could show that to the kids.
So Ban led the children out of the Baekbaek Order branch. Filthy water splashed up around their ankles.
The children who had been coaxed out hesitantly kept glancing back at the door. Well, between five and ten years old was the peak age of curiosity. But at the same time, it was also an age with a short attention span.
The kids soon shifted their interest elsewhere.
“Woooow…….”
It wasn’t long before one child burst out in admiration. His baby teeth had just fallen out, leaving his front teeth conspicuously empty.
“I-it’s a sunset!”
“I’ve never seen a sunset before!”
“Right?! Hey, big bro, Ban hyung, have you ever seen a sunset?”
The clouds parted, revealing a clear sky.
The dark clouds torn apart by sunlight turned into contrails, adorning the sunset. Twilight, thickly smeared across the canvas of the sky, was diligently gathering up the ashen gray.
And with dragon clouds shooting straight upward added into the mix, it looked like a scene straight out of mythology.
It felt unreal. It was the first time he had ever properly seen a sunset.
That was because the Bottommost District had always been outside the Right to Sunlight.
Ban even had a thought like this. That the Gaepa Investigator might have prepared a gift for the children who had suffered so much…….
The idea felt like he was going too far, and he let out a snort of laughter. Maybe it was just because watching the kids hopping around made him smile without reason.
Hoooooong.
The wind lightly nudged the rainwater that had pooled at the edge of the pavilion. A single drop, condensed with the western sunset, fell onto the crown of someone’s head.
“Ah, damn it.”
Angela covered the top of her head. She had been chewing on her solitude alone, only to get hit by a splash of water.
“On top of everything else, I don’t like that the Gaepa Investigator is hanging around with some slutty women, and now this ominous rain.”
Even after the pink hair had shaken off the droplets, she kept grumbling for quite a while.
‘She’s had it rough too.’
As Ban looked at her with a warm smile, Angela shot him a glance. After glaring at him for a few seconds, she stuck out her lower lip.
“What are you staring at so creepily.”
“C-creepily?”
Of all people, hearing that from her made the back of his head throb. When it came to being creepy, she was no less than one of the 10 Wings. Only her facial features were decent!
‘That really hit a nerve?’
Ban was left speechless by how absurd it was. Angela snorted at him.
“Honestly, you should know you’re pretty. But stop getting ideas. Men who aren’t the Gaepa Investigator all look like bugs to me.”
“I don’t have any interest in a psycho like you either— no. I don’t want to waste any more energy here.”
“The Gaepa Investigator did all the hard work, so why are you the one acting proud?”
Ban replied in a half-resigned tone.
“Fine, I’m sorry. Sorry for looking, sorry for talking to you. I’m sorry for everything, so let’s put the irritation away, friend.”
“Ugh, what’s with that way of talking. You sound like some old man.”
“Angela, if I keep talking to you, I feel like I’m going to turn into a profanity vending machine.”
“Talking? Mixing what with what? Are you insane?!”
“Damn it.”
Ban sighed and leaned his back against the wall.
For a while, he stood there next to Angela, watching the children splashing water around. Then he asked,
“Why do you like the Gaepa Investigator anyway? You never cared about men before. You used to say they were filthy just from making eye contact.”
“Why else would I.”
Angela replied in a prim tone.
“He’s handsome, responsible, and strong. It’d be harder to find a woman who wouldn’t like a man like the Gaepa Investigator. He’s perfection itself.”
“……That’s true.”
At first glance, it sounded like simple blind praise. But it was undeniably a list of facts.
His face? He wondered what it would feel like to live life with a face like that. Responsibility? He was someone who had given meaning to life for children whose lives were nothing but a sewer.
And lastly, strength. That needed no explanation. Hadn’t they just seen it firsthand?
He was strong. That word alone was enough.
‘Gaepa Investigator.’
Was he truly a god?
His chest swelled.
Ever since the Baekbaek Order branch had been designated as a Save Point, the children’s faith had skyrocketed.
Inside the branch, the believers suffered from an itch that wouldn’t go away unless they engaged in habitual worship.
Ah, I almost got drunk on faith. Ban shook his head and finally got to the main point.
“I get why you adore the Gaepa Investigator. But, well. Could you do something about the way you look at Go-eun noona? No, even if I give you a hundred concessions and say your face just looks like that naturally, cyanide chocolates crossed the line. Are you some Russian kingpin or something? Trying to poison people.”
“…….”
“…….”
“…Did you tell her?”
“Damn—!!”
Just as Ban was about to quickly turn his back, a scream echoed from beyond the wall.
Gyaaaaaaaaah!
The sound of death rang sharply through the air.
The children who had been playing in the water also looked toward the door with confused expressions.
“Ah!”
One child’s eyes sparkled. He curled the corners of his mouth meaningfully and came running over.
The kid threw himself straight into Angela’s arms, then lifted his forehead with a peek. Ban felt uneasy.
“Noona, I think I know what the adults are doing in there!”
“Hm?”
His intuition rang an alarm bell.
Something a fresh, green kid should never say.
Especially something he absolutely shouldn’t say in front of that pink psycho…….
“S-stop—!”
Ban reached out his hand. Ignoring him, the kid spoke bravely.
“They’re practicing how to make babies!”
In an instant, shadows darkened the area around Angela’s eyes. The emotion boiling up inside her went beyond fury and turned cold.
The child tilted his head, then went back over to his friends.
“Hey.”
You, stop right there.
“Hey!!”
You little punk, you knew everything and dumped the bomb on me, didn’t you!
Zzzt—
A sharp pain pricked his cheek. Ban froze on the spot.
Now then, it was time for Angela’s hysterical show. The only audience member was Ban. There was no special reason. If there was a crime, it was probably just that he was the closest one.
“Haha. Hahahaha.”
Even the heavens were indifferent.
Cowardly as it was, the sky was scattering warm sunlight, as if telling him not to blame himself.
Ban quietly stared at the distant mountains. He didn’t have the confidence to meet Angela’s eyes.
“…Baekbaek…….”
Thud.
Pin’s head drooped.
Perhaps postmortem rigor had already set in, because he couldn’t even collapse properly. He died in an extremely awkward posture, his forehead hovering just shy of smashing into the floor.
“Hoo.”
Tang Ji-hye blew out a breath and swept her bangs back. The lingering aftermath of torture was pooled thickly across the floor.
Tang Ji-hye retrieved the long needle from Pin’s philtrum. Lee Taebaek watched with his arms crossed.
‘The poisons of the Tang Clan are infamous for their viciousness.’
Paralytic poison was just the basics. The Flame Poison that raised body temperature close to 100 degrees was notorious in its own right.
They said it let you feel Burning Pain—the threshold of agony—inside your own body. Just hearing about it made his insides feel hot.
‘As expected of the homeland of mala-tang.’
Lee Taebaek felt greedy. If he coated that onto the Para Blade, he could subdue an enemy in a single strike. Since secret assassination techniques were his specialty, the temptation was even stronger.
Of course, it would be useless against supreme masters who had reached the extreme limits of [Life] or [Faith].
At that level, they were more or less immune to all poisons. But for dealing with small fry, there was nothing better.
‘I want it.’
So what. It was nothing but pie in the sky anyway. Poison techniques were top-class classified secrets even among the Tang Clan’s secret manuals.
Rumor had it that when MegaCorp said, “That poison looks pretty good?”, they got told “Go fuck yourself.”
‘At least their guts deserve respect.’
The gall of the Sichuan Tang Clan, tempered in mala-tang, was truly the best in Lake City.
While he was lost in stray thoughts, a low presence settled down beside him. Tang Ji-hye sat cross-legged, scrubbing the long needle with a handkerchief, squeak squeak.
“That was something.”
Even at the praise, Tang Ji-hye looked indifferent.
“That’s the first time I’ve been complimented for being good at torture. It’s something I’ve always done. Torturing family criminals was part of daily life since I was little.”
“Is the Tang Clan a psychopath factory or something?”
“I hear that a lot. And then people still ask if we’re orthodox.”
“It does feel like a different flavor.”
“I’m not saying this just because I’m from the Tang Clan, but at least we don’t drip with hypocrisy like other orthodox factions. We’re just transparent, front and back.”
That was why the Tang Clan’s image wasn’t bad in Lee Taebaek’s eyes. On top of that, Namgung Sein, whom he’d met in the Red-Light District, had unintentionally created a stark contrast.
“That goes a bit too far and tanks the image, though. Which is why we have the highest market cap among the Five Great Families, right?”
He’d thought that someone who had left secular life would hate talking about her clan. Surprisingly, her resentment was faint.
“And that market cap probably got a boost from the Tang Clan poison you just used, Tang Ji-hye.”
“Yeah. Flame Poison (炎毒) is the real deal. Once someone’s addicted, they spill everything—even things they never wanted to know.”
“Interrogation-specialized. Very 3rd Battalion.”
“That’s not a good thing. If you listen long enough, it hits you with existential fatigue, you know? That bastard Pin even spilled his first sexual experience before he died. Fuck, it was gross.”
“I didn’t want to know.”
“You think I did?”
Tang Ji-hye stabbed the now-clean long needle deep into her bun. So it was a hairpin. Pretty classic.
“That aside, why is that Witch over there chewing on seriousness all by herself?”
Tang Ji-hye shot Go-eun a sidelong glance. Go-eun was resting her chin on her interlaced fingers, deep in thought.
Goooooo.
She was deliberately putting on an air of gravity. Watching her, Lee Taebaek shook his head.
“She’s been like that for a while.”
“…Come to think of it, it makes total sense. She mastered Ice Manipulation on her very first Qi Regulation and Meditation session. Life’s bound to feel fucking empty. Some people devote their whole lives just to maybe learn one spell.”
Even as she muttered it herself, Tang Ji-hye kept letting out hollow laughs.
“You really have a talent for making compliments irritating.”
“Who cares.”
Her snort was sharp.
“Anyway, all that effort paid off. We reeled in something big. Two things, actually.”
“What are they.”
“We found out when the Gang Alliance is going to invade. And how they got Resistance intel in the first place. There’s a traitor inside. The state of that organization, seriously.”
Despite that, Tang Ji-hye sounded calm.
Well, betrayal happened as easily as breathing. That was Dystopia for you. In a world like this, the thing that ultimately held flimsy human relationships together was money.
Would the Resistance be any different? Even if they were united by the noble cause of liberation, their members weren’t robots.
They were human.
It wasn’t surprising for someone to betray an organization over money. That didn’t mean there was any reason to leave a potential hazard unattended.
Tumors had to be removed the moment they were discovered.
“Did you identify the traitor?”
Lee Taebaek asked.
“No. But I think I know the rank. Actually, there’s only one possibility anyway.”
“Don’t tell me.”
“Yeah. The traitor is a ‘Battalion Commander.’”
Hah, to strike from such an angle. It felt like the gears of the universe had slipped out of alignment.
“I thought intel was moving way too fast. I should’ve realized it the moment the gang attacked right after the Battalion Commanders’ Meeting…….”
“Anyone you’re especially suspicious of?”
“There is. But I don’t have any obligation to tell you that much, do I?”
It was timing. He had to press it. Lee Taebaek didn’t miss the moment and pushed forward.
“If the traitor is a Battalion Commander, then you, as the 3rd Battalion Commander, should also be on the suspect list. That’s why I’m asking.”
Tang Ji-hye flinched. Her slightly parted lips twitched, then she put on a smile.
“How long has it been since you came to Lake City.”
“If that’s you dodging the question, it’s not a great choice.”
“I’m not trying to change the subject……”
She shrugged.
“It just feels like you’ve become a real Lake City resident.”
Lee Taebaek was about to say something, then clamped his mouth shut. It seemed the Tang Clan’s thorns included barbs for the tongue as well. He had no good rebuttal. Damn it.