novelraw Chapter 95 : Chapter 95
Chapter 95 : Chapter 95
Chapter 95 Underwork (1)
At the very time Riman succeeded in subduing Eoduksini.
A group of young thugs was approaching the empty lot.
The very lot where Riman was.
"The guys occupying that lot are gone?"
"I'm telling you."
"You mean Lee Gyeong-ho and Woo Yeong-tae, the gang those bastards were in, right?"
"Right. They were annoying anyway, so good riddance."
"But why did they suddenly disappear from this area? I'm thankful, but what happened?"
"Don't know. They probably died or kicked the bucket."
They soon entered the entrance of the empty lot.
"It's moderately far from downtown, has an abandoned building, the location is quite decent. Let's make this our hideout now."
"Okay."
Just as they stepped into the empty lot while giggling.
WHOOSH-
"Huh?"
They doubted their eyes.
Because they saw a concrete block tied to a black whip soaring high into the sky.
A lump that looked to be hundreds of kilograms was cutting through the air.
Confronted with this absurd sight suddenly.
They froze all at once.
"What the."
CRASH!
Soon the lump struck the ground.
They felt the vibration of the ground through the soles of their feet.
"No, what on earth is that......"
"Hey, hey......!"
That wasn't the end.
That black whip not only wrapped around a tree and crushed it, but also threw that huge tree and stuck it into the ground.
"...Was it possible for a tree to be stuck like that?"
After that, the whip immediately changed course and struck other trees.
Street trees snapped off in droves and tumbled everywhere.
All were events occurring in the process of Riman testing Eoduksini.
But to this gang, it approached as an infinitely surreal sight.
"Uh, um... shall we go back?"
"Let's eat dinner, dinner."
"I heard that new ox blood soup place is good, yeah."
They turned away from the empty lot without hesitation.
And vowed never to come near this area again.
* * *
An orphanage near Seoul City.
The Mayor, Cha Hak-jun, who visited there, was enjoying soccer with the orphans after finishing simple greetings and the donation delivery ceremony.
Cha Hak-jun was a sponsor of this orphanage.
Therefore, he visited periodically to deliver donations and enjoyed sports with the orphans.
Today was also such a day.
"Phew. It's hard."
Cha Hak-jun entered the shade to rest for a moment.
The Chief of Staff brought ice water with agile movements and offered it.
Cha Hak-jun drank a bottle of water in one go and said.
"Damn brats, overflowing with energy, fuck......"
Of course, even while saying that, his expression was smiling brightly.
When orphans waved from afar, he also raised his hand to answer.
While resting for a moment like that, some children walked out of the building.
Unlike the children covered in sweat from playing soccer, these children were dressed neatly.
Smiles clearer than anything hung on those children's faces.
Cha Hak-jun looked at those children and said.
"Are they the ones? The kids going for adoption this time?"
"Yes, that is correct."
"Oh my, they're all smiling so brightly."
"Haha, indeed."
"But just what do they trust to smile like that, Chief?"
With those words, Cha Hak-jun threw the water bottle to the Chief of Staff.
And an hour later, lunch time.
The orphans gathered in the cafeteria to eat.
And Cha Hak-jun also stood in the same line as the orphans, laughing and chatting, receiving food together.
But he did not sit at the same table as the orphans.
Because there was a separate dining space for instructors separated from the orphans here.
Like that, eight executives including Cha Hak-jun and the Director sat around the table in the instructors' dining room.
However.
CLICK-
Cha Hak-jun suddenly put a cigarette in his mouth and lit it.
Everyone was flustered.
But no one showed that perplexity on their faces.
Cha Hak-jun said.
"Phew, since I played soccer intensely just now, maybe breakfast is sitting heavy. I don't feel like eating."
PUFF......
Smoke spewed from Cha Hak-jun's mouth settled on the rice and side dishes on the food tray.
While everyone holding spoons hesitated.
"What are you doing? Don't mind me, everyone eat."
"Ah, ah yes!"
People forced rice into their mouths.
It felt like the smell of cigarettes stuck to the rice grains was clinging to their esophagus, but they had to swallow it forcibly.
Because the one sitting in front of them was Cha Hak-jun.
Cha Hak-jun looked at the people forcing themselves to spoon food with a pleased face.
Like that, after slowly smoking a whole cigarette.
SIZZLE-
Cha Hak-jun stubbed out the cigarette butt in the white rice and said.
"So, you see some useful kids this time?"
"Ah, yes. I have organized it here."
The Orphanage Director quickly put down his spoon and took out a file folder and held it out.
Inside, the personal information of several orphans was organized.
At a glance, it looked like ordinary personal information, but looking closely, it was somewhat strange.
Because even specs like the orphans' muscle strength, mana sensitivity, and bio-component affinity were organized.
It was like looking at a firearm catalog specifying magazine capacity, caliber, effective range, etc.
The Director said.
"The one on the very front page is particularly noteworthy. The bonding affinity with artificial neural networks is quite high. The expected peak when body modification is proceeded is quite high."
"The next one?"
"I thought he wasn't, but he turned out to be a superpower holder. He seems to be of the muscle enhancement type, but since it hasn't fully bloomed yet, I think we can observe him a bit more."
"Good. If necessary, you can use drugs to advance the blooming time a bit."
"But then the problem of shortened lifespan will arise......"
"So what if the shelf life shortens a bit. Just consume quickly and dispose of them. And let's see... Ah, Director Park."
"Yes."
"I saw earlier that four kids seem to be going for adoption, what kind of kids are they?"
"Don't even mention it. They have absolutely no abilities. Nor do they have any other talents."
Cha Hak-jun smirked and said.
"But they were good at smiling thoughtlessly."
"Yes well, that's about all they know how to do. Useless things."
"Would those kids know? That the place they'll arrive an hour later isn't a warm home but a pharmaceutical company's experiment table."
"Since they have no talent, isn't it a good thing if they are used usefully even in that way, Mayor."
"Whoa, can an orphanage director say such things carelessly?"
"Well, it's not wrong either, haha."
"True, if you have no talent, it's right to die and aim for the next life."
Saying so, Cha Hak-jun closed the file.
This orphanage was one of the places colloquially called 'Black Orphanages'.
It is an institution for discovering and nurturing children whom the powerful will use as combat pawns.
Capable children are raised as dogs of the powerful through training and brainwashing, and useless children are sold off as test subjects.
For reference, Ryu Ji-ho, the superhuman who faced Riman on the first floor of Francis's studio building, was also from this orphanage.
RING RING-
At that time, Cha Hak-jun's phone rang.
Checking the phone, Cha Hak-jun stood up and said to the Director.
"Can I use the Director's office for a moment?"
"Oh my, please use it as much as you like."
Cha Hak-jun and his Chief of Staff went up to the Director's office upstairs.
A man was waiting in front of the Director's office.
It was Joseph Han.
"You called, Mayor."
"Let's go in first."
They entered the Director's office and sat around the table.
Cha Hak-jun opened his mouth.
"There is one thing you and I have to do together, right?"
"You mean the Leman White elimination plan."
"Right. Since you made such a fuss about that guy, I also looked into what kind of guy he is."
"......!"
Joseph became nervous.
If by any chance Cha Hak-jun found out that Riman saved him, he could buy useless suspicion.
Cha Hak-jun said.
"Looking into it, this guy has a record of participating in the Heosan Village Demonic Beast hunting operation requested by Ork Corporation. And he caught the largest number of Demonic Beasts there. He caught more than half by himself."
"...Is that so?"
"Leman White, this bastard is indeed a monster. True, seeing that he killed both Ryu Ji-ho and Francis, it's only natural."
"......"
"By the way, didn't you say you also found out something?"
"I found out Leman's residence."
"Interesting. Even we haven't found that yet."
"It's a bit easier to find information when you are in the same industry. Here it is."
Joseph held out a paper with Riman's apartment address written on it.
Cha Hak-jun stared quietly at the address.
Joseph said.
"But there is a bit of a problem with that residence."
"Problem? What is it?"
"That apartment, it's an apartment under a security contract with Silderrek Company."
Silderrek Company.
A corporation providing security and guard services.
Apartments contracted with Silderrek were lined with numerous guard posts, security forces, and various security facilities.
Which means—
"It means intrusion from the outside is considerably difficult."
"That's troublesome."
Cha Hak-jun scratched his chin and pondered for a moment, then said.
"Is there no way to make a deal with Silderrek to hand over just that guy Leman?"
"That's practically asking to hand over a client, they wouldn't agree if they are in their right minds. Silderrek isn't a small company either."
"Or how about threatening Silderrek with a tax audit as a pretext? There's no company that isn't afraid of tax audits, right?"
Cha Hak-jun turned his head to the Chief of Staff standing behind and asked.
"What do you think, Chief?"
"With the Mayor's connections, it is a possible method. However......"
"However?"
"If it's a big case like a tax audit, the price the Mayor has to pay will also be large. As you know, the competent authority for tax audits is the National Tax Service, not our City Hall."
"Tsk......"
Cha Hak-jun scratched his chin again, lost in thought.
And soon made a decision.
"Right, there's no reason to get entangled with those annoying Silderrek guys. Let's decide to execute the operation when the guy leaves his residence."
"That is a rational judgment."
"And that guy Leman won't be able to stay stuck only at home due to the nature of his job anyway. Isn't that right, Mr. Joseph?"
"...Correct."
At that moment.
KNOCK KNOCK-
Someone knocked on the door of the Director's office.
"Come in."
At Cha Hak-jun's words, someone opened the door and entered.
It was a man who looked to be in his late 30s.
He was dressed neatly in a suit, but untamed killing intent was faintly flowing from his face.
Looking at that man's face, Joseph thought.
'Who is it......?'
It was clearly a face he was seeing for the first time, but something was familiar.
'Where have I seen him......?'
At that time, Cha Hak-jun said.
"Say hello, Joseph. This is Jensen Morrow who will participate in this operation together. Break the ice in advance."
"Ah, hello."
As Joseph shook hands with Jensen, Cha Hak-jun said.
"You'll find out anyway, so I'll tell you in advance. This friend Jensen, is an escapee."
"Pardon?"
"And from Mugan at that."
"......!"
Joseph realized why the face he saw for the first time felt familiar.
He had seen it on the wanted list.
Meanwhile, Cha Hak-jun chuckled low seeing Joseph's flustered expression and said.
"That guy Leman, you said he's a monster? I think so too. That's why I called in some more forces."
"That...!"
Joseph tried to say something but stopped.
Because in the current situation, it seemed Cha Hak-jun wouldn't listen no matter what he said.
"...Understood."
"Good. Let's do well from now on."
With those words, Cha Hak-jun rose from his seat.
To Joseph who stood up following him, Cha Hak-jun whispered.
'Don't get any funny ideas.'
'......'
Like that, the first discussion on killing Riman ended.
Cha Hak-jun returned to City Hall, and Joseph also drove his car out of the orphanage.
And immediately called Riman.
"It's me. I handed over your address to Cha Hak-jun as instructed."