novelraw Chapter 48 : War on Crime (4)
Chapter 48 : War on Crime (4)
Chapter 48: War on Crime (4)
Anyway, the meaning behind Tang Ji-hye’s words themselves was positive. It wasn’t sarcasm. It was probably sincere.
You know how there are people who absolutely refuse to say things they don’t mean, even if it kills them? That description fit Tang Ji-hye perfectly.
‘Come to think of it, the character’s more or less taken shape.’
On top of that, I had referenced Tang Ji-hye’s parameter values—something only Lee Taebaek personally knew. People said certainty about humans was a bad thing, but at least for now, I could be certain.
Additionally, suspecting someone in Lake City wasn’t something to be criticized for. Cases like this, where you were praised for it, were actually quite common.
To begin with, what was the decisive reason Kang Hyunseong had scouted Lee Taebaek? It was precisely because of that prickly personality.
If I’d been wearing a friendly, good-natured smile instead, it would’ve been hard to earn Kang Hyunseong’s favor. In this city, the people who stabbed you in the back usually had faces just like that.
‘Before anyone even called you a con artist, you’d probably get a knife in the face.’
Regrettably, this was a world where even human relationships were as shallow as plastic.
‘There are no eternal allies or enemies.’
You couldn’t even accept goodwill as pure goodwill. Yesterday’s enemy becoming today’s ally was commonplace. The reverse happened just as often.
I’d even heard there was a newborn religion preaching “paradise of distrust, hell of faith” or something like that……. Lee Taebaek, you bastard, what kind of world did you even create? You really turned this into a complete madhouse. This was enough to drive someone insane.
‘They say dystopia and apocalypse are only a paper-thin difference, but this is a bit much.’
I chewed over worries that were no longer anything new. At this point, I should’ve been thoroughly sick of it…….
While my thoughts were scattered, Tang Ji-hye, looking stiff, rubbed the back of her neck.
“…….”
“…….”
Our gazes tangled for a brief moment. Tang Ji-hye calmly stitched together the broken thread of conversation with silence.
“Right. I was the one who stepped up saying I’d torture Pin. I could’ve changed my story halfway through. Or maybe, just in case, I deliberately went out there to silence Pin.”
“That doesn’t sound like something someone trying to prove their own innocence would say.”
There was an edge to Lee Taebaek’s words.
Yeah, it had been pointless. I’d just felt irritated.
Regardless, Tang Ji-hye snickered softly and spoke.
“Seeing this, I guess you’re not completely adapted yet. I’ll say one thing out of an abundance of caution. In this city, innocence is ultimately power.”
She lowered her voice along with her gaze.
“Do you get what I mean? Whatever the person with power says is what’s right. Innocence? Do you know why companies grovel before MegaCorp?”
“Because of money.”
“If I had to correct you, it’s not money—it’s power. If MegaCorp only had deep pockets, dozens of mid-sized corporations would’ve banded together and flipped everything over by now. But they can’t. They won’t. They have money, but they don’t have power.”
She was right.
The president of Lukaken Pharmaceuticals, Lukaken Junior.
That was exactly why he’d tried to join hands with Haiyen of the Triad Gang.
Even while bearing the risk of falling out of MegaCorp’s favor.
A high-tech city and a primeval forest were two sides of the same coin. Peel back one layer and the core was identical. When evenly matched forces clashed, brute force was ultimately the answer.
It was an era where power mattered just as much as money. Especially the higher you climbed, the more often you had to crush others with power rather than financial leverage.
“Our Resistance is the opposite.”
Tang Ji-hye placed one leg over the opposite thigh. Maintaining that relaxed posture, she continued.
“We don’t even come close to MegaCorp when it comes to money, but we do have our own kind of power. The Supreme Commander goes without saying. And though I hate to admit it, Kang Hyunseong plays a part too.”
“One-Man Thousand Slaughter…….”
When Lee Taebaek muttered unconsciously, she also let out a dismissive snort.
“If that kind of nickname were attached to me, I’d honestly want to bite my tongue. But sticking it on that blockhead Kang Hyunseong? You couldn’t find anything more fitting.”
“Sounds like you’re not actually on bad terms with Kang Hyunseong.”
“Not really? I mean, we’re not close, but it’s not like we glare at each other either. If that were the case, we’d have clashed at least once. The reason I fought with him was because of you, Lee Taebaek…….”
Because of me?
“…No, never mind. There’s something like that.”
“Don’t dodge it. Stopping mid-sentence is the pettiest thing there is.”
“Ah, come on! There is something like that! Do you keep talking back to a battalion commander when you’re just a regular member?! Is that how Kang Hyunseong taught you?!”
“I’m self-taught.”
“You, damn it!”
The moment her tongue tangled, Tang Ji-hye flared up. Seriously, she was a woman full of little barbs.
Maybe that was why poking her was fun. Her reactions were incredibly satisfying. I guess I’d grown fond of her in a twisted way.
“Tang Ji-hye, you just said it yourself. ‘The words of the powerful become the law.’”
“Wow—using it like this? Hey, and listening to you, it almost sounds like you’re stronger than me?”
Lee Taebaek held a sneer inside. Without showing it, he lifted his chin.
“My body hasn’t cooled down yet, so it wouldn’t be bad to settle right and wrong right here.”
“You’re completely off the rails. See? I told you—you’ve totally become a Lake City resident.”
Tang Ji-hye clicked her tongue briefly and glanced aside.
“I’d love to press down that arrogant nose of yours, but I’ll let you off today.”
With that, she brushed off her coat and stood up. The pure white coat fluttered lightly. On the wrinkled back panel, a Roman numeral III was clearly stamped.
“Someone unpleasant… well, not exactly unpleasant, but someone you’ll get tired of if you know their face, will be coming soon.”
“Who’s that?”
“Someone. The guy who cleans up corpses around here.”
As she spoke, she swept her bangs back. Her fierce eyes were revealed in full.
“And the most likely candidate for a traitor.”
She spoke as if she’d already concluded he was a traitor, so I wanted to see his face—but the opposition was fierce.
Tang Ji-hye nagged Lee Taebaek relentlessly, like roasting beans.
She kept pushing me to go home, and in the end, I gave up.
She said this was under the battalion commander’s jurisdiction from here on out and even pulled rank. If I kept resisting, she said it’d be considered insubordination.
I let out a sigh. One way or another, it had been a long day spent together with Tang Ji-hye.
‘There’s no reason to be at odds.’
Now that the tension had finally eased, my body sagged limply, like overcooked cabbage. Fatigue must’ve piled up.
Around then, Go-eun, who’d been holding herself stiff like a golem, finally moved. Out of nowhere, she volunteered for escort duty, saying, “I’ll walk the kids home.”
Even as she spoke, the way she stared at me looked oddly full of thoughts.
So when our eyes met, Go-eun averted her gaze with a startled expression.
‘What was that?’
I soon withdrew my dubious look. I didn’t have the energy to fuss over trivial things. Like I’d said, it had been a very long day.
‘Though the gains were enormous.’
Creeeak.
Outside lay the tail end of twilight.
Towering buildings encircled clouds of gloom that writhed and clumped together. Maybe it was the atmosphere— even the night view looked dangerous.
“……!”
Sensing my presence, the children turned their heads like meerkats. Then they rushed over all at once.
“Thank you, Gaepa Investigator!”
“Baekbaek! Baekbaek! Baekbaek! Baekbaek!”
They cried and screamed their thanks in a frenzy—it was sheer madness.
Tang Ji-hye clicked her tongue. Somehow, it seemed much worse than when they’d arrived.
“Is he a real cult leader or what…….”
Tang Ji-hye shook her head from side to side as if she were sick of it.
“Forget about today, everyone. Go home, wash your feet, and sleep.”
“I’ve forgotten everything. Did anything even happen today?”
“Ah-re……? Why are there tears?”
“Don’t overdo it.”
“Baekbaek!”
Meanwhile, Lee Taebaek left straight away, promising the next time. Even after he disappeared beyond the scenery, the children stood there blankly.
Go-eun appeared a little later.
“Attention.”
She divided the children into several groups and forced introductions.
For the children living in areas where public safety was particularly bad, she finished things by saying she would personally take them home.
Then she, too, left.
Silence fell over the entire Baekbaek Order branch. It didn’t last very long, though.
Chomp, chomp.
As Tang Ji-hye loitered about, chewing gum, sudden footsteps were heard.
“You here?”
Three people entered through the open door.
Corpses were scattered everywhere, but the expressions on the three faces were no different from usual.
“It’s been a while, 3rd Battalion Commander.”
“Have you been well, Ms. Tang Ji-hye.”
“Moisten your lips before asking after me. You’re making the listener uncomfortable.”
The two people on either side bowed lightly toward Tang Ji-hye, only glancing up with their eyes.
That was the entirety of their greeting. In any case, it was a battalion that felt particularly hard to like.
“Well, still…….”
Compared to that one, these two were practically gentlemen.
The man standing between them didn’t even bother responding, only rolling his eyes in a sinister manner.
The 8th Battalion Commander, Dr. Pepper. He was advertising with his body language that he was looking for someone.
“Hey, Sugar Water.”
Tang Ji-hye spat out a line toward Pepper. While blowing bubble gum.
“The kid you’re looking for isn’t here. No, he went home. So stop exercising your eyes and just do your job. You’re good at it, right? Rummaging through corpses.”
“…….”
Pepper shifted his gaze. With dry, withered eyes, he stared for a long while.
“And, brat, you shouldn’t so openly covet someone else’s family.”
As she spoke, Tang Ji-hye let out a short snort. Pop— the bubble burst, covering the corner of her mouth.
“It’s been how long since Lee Taebaek was assigned to the 9th Battalion. How can you still be drooling? At least live up to half your name value. With a name that sweet, how do you manage to act so disgustingly?”
“Sure, keep scratching. I feel no impact at all.”
Pepper replied slickly.
“And Tang Ji-hye, you’re pretty devious yourself. Blood doesn’t lie, after all. Everyone in the city knows the orthodox types are hypocrites. Practically part of the Black Path, yet like someone from the Tang Clan mixed into the White Path, your outside and inside don’t match.”
“…Do you really want to die?”
Magma boiled in Tang Ji-hye’s eyes. Even the pure white gum darkened ominously. Pepper, regardless, continued speaking.
“I’ve spent too long digging through corpses not to know. Yeah, I was looking for Lee Taebaek. But even then, I checked all the bodies. I figured out exactly that you tortured that Monterrey mountain executive, Pin.”
“…….”
“So the high-nosed young lady of the Tang Clan personally conducted torture. Were you trying that hard to win over the super rookie? Like you said, he’s from another battalion.”
Tang Ji-hye’s eyebrows curved beautifully. Pepper twisted one corner of his mouth until the wrinkles around his eyes practically carved in.
“What you should be worrying about right now isn’t that.”
“I know, I know. It’s just that the fussy 3rd Battalion Commander kept scratching at me, so I played along.”
“Then you probably know what I’m about to say. Dr. Pepper, Battalion Commander of the Intelligence Unit.”
“More or less.”
Pepper flicked his eyes alternately toward his subordinates. The two people standing to his left and right quietly nodded.
“It was an honor to meet you, 3rd Battalion Commander.”
“Good fortune in battle.”
“Yeah, yeah. You two work hard under Sugar Water. When this bastard dies, the 3rd Battalion will take you in.”
The two gave Tang Ji-hye a brief nod of the head and went outside.
Thud.
The door closed. Only the two battalion commanders remained. Pepper tossed his coat far away and spoke.
“It’s not something to say now, but I’m not the traitor. I admit I look like one, but I sympathize with the Resistance’s cause…….”
“Innocence—”
Tang Ji-hye cut him off as if she didn’t want to hear any more. While grinding the spat-out gum under her shoe.
“Prove it with ability.”
Tang Ji-hye lunged forward like lightning.
It was the next day. Kang Hyunseong exploded at Lee Taebaek early in the morning. His shocked voice pierced through the phone and stabbed at the cochlea.
[Hey! If something like that happened, huh?! You should’ve told me, your battalion commander, you bastard! Tang Ji-hye went to see you, didn’t she! Is your superior the 3rd Battalion Commander, or me?!]
“I was going to contact you. But yesterday was so eventful.”
[Don’t say that. When you say it was eventful, my heart drops. On top of that, I got a call at dawn from the Supreme Commander saying Tang Ji-hye and Sugar Water disappeared, so I’m already on edge.]
“The 3rd Battalion Commander? Why?”
[You don’t know, but you think I would? Anyway, you wait right there. I’ve got something going on, but I’ll head over as soon as I’m done.]
With that, the call ended. The black screen reflected the owner’s awkward expression.
“Come to think of it, did the landlord come back too?”
Since he’d fallen asleep the moment he got home yesterday, he didn’t know. They weren’t the kind of housemates who checked whether the other had come home, anyway.
After a brief moment of thought, Lee Taebaek headed straight for the third floor of Eunko Bar. No—he was about to.
Dududududu.
A square window beside the stairs began to rattle finely. The vibration caught his attention, so Lee Taebaek readily turned his head.
“What is that…….”
Then his pupils widened in bewilderment. Several pairs of steel wings were approaching, backlit by the dazzling morning sun, slicing through murky clouds—aimed at none other than Lee Taebaek.