novelraw Chapter 98 : Chapter 98
Chapter 98 : Chapter 98
Chapter 98 Burial (1)
A few days later, Pyo Seok-jung's house.
Ji Byeong-seo handed a box to Pyo Seok-jung.
"Here it is, sir."
"Thank you."
Inside the box were 10 syringes.
It was the symptom relief medication needed for Pyo Seok-jung's wife.
And it was directly manufactured by Ji Byeong-seo.
Since Dr. Peterson was arrested by the police, Ji Byeong-seo had taken over that role.
Pyo Seok-jung closed the box and said.
"By the way, Mr. Ji."
"Yes."
"Isn't there something you need to tell me?"
"I was actually about to tell you."
Ji Byeong-seo took out a yellow envelope from his bag.
Inside was the blood test result sheet of Pyo Seok-jung's wife.
"This is the test data you asked for."
"Is it serious?"
"To put it bluntly, yes, it is."
Pyo Seok-jung's expression darkened.
Ji Byeong-seo continued speaking.
"...The Cocnum concentration in the blood is at a dangerous level. At this rate... it is highly probable that the next seizure will lead to full body paralysis."
"Is there no way to lower that concentration? Like using dialysis?"
Dialysis.
A medical procedure where blood is drawn out of the body, filtered, and then injected back into the body.
But Ji Byeong-seo shook his head.
"Cocnum is a component that cannot be filtered by dialysis. A neutralizer must be administered."
"Then please manufacture the neutralizer. You can also purchase it. I will cover all the costs. So......"
"I also know the formula. However, there is one problem......"
"What problem?"
"There are no ingredients."
"Didn't I say I'll give you money!"
"I mean the ingredients are not available on the market. We have to obtain them through a separate route."
"......"
Pyo Seok-jung buried his back deep into the backrest with a long sigh.
"...Just tell me what kind of ingredient it is."
"We just need a Cyan-type Magic Stone extract. Other ingredients are equipped in my lab."
"Then do you know a route to obtain that Magic Stone?"
"Looking into it, there is one Demonic Beast lair in the country estimated to produce that Magic Stone."
"......!"
Color returned to Pyo Seok-jung's face.
"Where is it? Just tell me. I will take care of the rest!"
"The problem is......"
"What problem again?"
"That Demonic Beast lair is currently restricted from entry due to the risk of collapse."
"I can solve something like entry restriction. I just need to go in, mine only that Magic Stone, and come out without making a big fuss afterwards, right?"
"Hmm......"
Ji Byeong-seo pondered for a moment and said.
"To do that, you will first need a quite skilled Hunter. Because Cyan-type Magic Stones can only be mined from inside a Demonic Beast's body."
"Good. I'll have to contact brokers right away."
"Or would it be okay if I recommend someone first?"
"Then I would be grateful."
At those words, Pyo Seok-jung nodded readily and said.
"Tell me."
"There is a Hunter named Leman White."
* * *
Riman's house.
Riman was sitting on a chair with his phone on the dining table.
Saya was rolling around on the floor nearby.
Riman had been looking down at his phone for a long time.
"It's about time for a call."
"Shah-."
At that moment.
RING RING-
The phone rang.
The caller was Ji Byeong-seo.
A smile hung on Riman's lips.
"It came."
And he answered the phone immediately.
"Yes, this is Leman."
After talking with Ji Byeong-seo and hanging up like that.
Riman said to Saya.
"A car sent by Pyo Seok-jung will come here in an hour. Let's get ready to go out."
"Shah-ha?"
"Saya, do you know what the best way to approach an opponent without buying their suspicion is?"
"......?"
"It is to make the opponent call you themselves."
Pyo Seok-jung called Riman.
He summoned Riman out of his own necessity.
Finally, a contact point was created between Riman and Pyo Seok-jung.
But Pyo Seok-jung didn't know.
That the one who created this very situation where he had to call Riman was Riman himself.
'With this, the channel between Pyo Seok-jung and me is open.'
It was a considerable harvest.
But he shouldn't forget that this was just the beginning.
'I have to solve this request cleanly and win Pyo Seok-jung's favor with it.'
By striking Peterson, he succeeded in drawing out Pyo Seok-jung's hostility toward Cha Hak-jun.
Now, if Riman could join that board and strike Cha Hak-jun, all situations would end cleanly.
'Let's go.'
Riman began to move toward the apartment entrance.
* * *
"Uh, he's coming out."
"Yes?!"
Near Riman's apartment entrance.
A car was parked at a location not too far from there.
Two men were in that car.
One was Cha Hak-jun's attendant secretary.
The other was Jensen Morrow, the escapee recruited by Cha Hak-jun.
The two were lying in wait here to monitor Riman.
Jensen said to the secretary.
"That's Leman White, right? The guy we have to kill."
"Yes, that's true but......"
"Good."
CLICK.
Jensen tried to open the car door and get out immediately.
The secretary freaked out and grabbed Jensen.
"Wait a moment!"
"Wait for what. I'll kill him quickly and come back."
"That guy hasn't come out of the apartment premises yet! He is still within Silderrek's territory!"
If you kill a person under Silderrek's protection within Silderrek's territory, things get quite troublesome.
That was why the secretary grabbed Jensen.
Jensen got back into the car with a short sigh.
And watched Riman quietly through the window.
To capture the moment he could kill him.
However......
"...Why isn't that bastard coming out of the territory?"
Riman was standing absolutely still just one step behind the boundary line.
Seeing that, Jensen burst with anger.
"Ah fuck, doesn't that bastard know we're here?"
"No way. He must be waiting for something. Uh, something came."
"Hm?"
A jet-black sedan stopped in front of Riman.
It was a car sent by Pyo Seok-jung.
Riman took a step to get into the car, and like that, he stepped out of Silderrek's territory.
Jensen tried to spring out again.
And the secretary grabbed Jensen again.
"Why again?!"
"That car, it's a car worth over 2 billion credits!"
"So what? A car can be expensive!"
"Think about it! People who can run a car like that are extremely few! The probability of being a high-ranking person is high! So first, we must confirm who sent that car to Leman!"
"What for? Why bother?"
"If that guy is entangled with a high person and we touch him wrongly, the damage goes to the Mayor."
Jensen sighed and leaned back against the seat.
"Geez, living complicatedly, living complicatedly."
The secretary started the car.
And began to chase the luxury sedan carrying Riman.
After driving for about 40 minutes like that.
Riman arrived at Pyo Seok-jung's mansion.
And seeing that from a distance, the secretary was dumbfounded.
Jensen asked.
"Why? Is there a problem with that house?"
"...That is former Assemblyman Pyo Seok-jung's house."
"Pyo Seok-jung? That human sent a car to that guy Leman?"
The secretary urgently called Cha Hak-jun.
And reported this series of situations.
Cha Hak-jun's expression gradually hardened as he listened to the report.
"...Why does Pyo Seok-jung suddenly come up?"
"I don't know that well either. Anyway, it seems certain that there is some relationship between Pyo Seok-jung and Leman White."
"This damn......"
"Even more, it's not like Leman visited. Pyo Seok-jung sent a car to Leman."
"......"
Cha Hak-jun's mind became complicated.
Leman White, right, he is certainly a person belonging to the strong.
But he is nothing but a mere rookie Hunter with almost no fame.
To such a person, a big shot like Pyo Seok-jung sent his own luxury vehicle to escort him?
'Just what kind of relationship is between the two?'
There wasn't a single thing he could guess.
'Pyo Seok-jung... if that guy gets involved, things get complicated......'
Cha Hak-jun scratched his head as if annoyed.
'I thought I cleared him away well by crippling his wife, so why does he suddenly appear at a time like this?'
After a moment of pondering, Cha Hak-jun made a decision.
"Keep tailing them for now. Until we can grasp what kind of relationship the two have."
"Yes, understood."
* * *
Pyo Seok-jung came out to the yard to welcome Riman.
Riman greeted him.
"Hello, this is Leman White."
"It's Pyo Seok-jung. By the way, that......"
Pyo Seok-jung was a bit flustered seeing Riman's appearance.
Because he had something resembling a snake wrapped around his upper body.
Pyo Seok-jung asked.
"That is......"
"He is my friend. A dragon."
"Dragon......"
He didn't seem to believe it particularly.
"Well anyway, you must have heard the situation on the way."
"Yes."
"And you also heard that the operation site you are going to is a Demonic Beast lair with a risk of collapse?"
"Of course."
"Are you still willing to go?"
"Well, it is certainly dangerous work but... as dangerous as it is, if you just ensure the payment, I should go."
"Don't worry about payment. Then for now, come in. Wait inside."
"Wait?"
"We are searching for other Hunters besides you. Actually, it's a job requiring hunting a boss-level Demonic Beast, so you can't go alone......"
"I can go alone."
At those words, Pyo Seok-jung's steps stopped.
"...Don't joke."
"My personality isn't bad enough to joke about something where human lives are at stake."
"It's a job where you have to enter the deepest part of a Demonic Beast lair with a risk of collapse and hunt the boss. In that process, you might encounter other Demonic Beasts too. How can you do such work alone......"
"Then I will ask instead. Can you even find other Hunters besides me?"
"......"
Pyo Seok-jung was lost for words.
It was inevitable.
Up to this point, the only Hunter who responded to the recruitment was Riman alone.
Riman said.
"Operation in a Demonic Beast lair with a risk of collapse, naturally, any sane Hunter would absolutely not respond. Because no matter how much they get paid, one slip and they could be buried alive in there."
"......"
"Isn't that right?"
"...Correct."
"Moreover, isn't your wife also in a dangerous situation now? Obtaining the ingredients and formulating the medicine as soon as possible is the priority, so you can't keep waiting for Hunters when you don't know when they'll be found."
"...Can you really do it alone?"
"Of course."
Pyo Seok-jung nodded and signaled to a bodyguard.
Soon the bodyguard brought a small wooden box.
"Open it."
Riman opened the box.
Inside the box was a pair of jet-black leather gloves.
Riman knew what this was.
"Gloves of Byeokjam......?"
"Do you know them?"
"Of course."
A Magic Tool traded at a price around roughly 40 million credits in auction houses.
It looks just like leather gloves, but it boasts ignorant durability to the point where it doesn't get a hole even if hit by an anti-materiel sniper rifle at point-blank range.
But the true value of these gloves was not this.
Hardness control.
It was possible to control the hardness of the gloves depending on how the wearer infused mana.
Moreover, corrosion resistance and heat resistance were also very excellent, so it could be usefully used when picking up dangerous objects.
Although it didn't have a function specialized for something specific, it was a useful item applicable in various ways.
Pyo Seok-jung said.
"Since I don't know your abilities exactly, I prepared the most versatile item possible. Use it during the operation."
"Thank you. I will use it well and return it."
"Return what. That's yours. Let's consider it an advance payment for now."
"......!"
"Try them on."
Riman put on the gloves.
Soft and light texture to the point where he could barely feel he was wearing them.
Riman infused mana into the entire gloves as a test.
HMMMM-
'Oh.'
The limp gloves instantly became hard like iron.
'...I could use this for quite various purposes.'
A faint smile appeared on Riman's lips.
"I will use them well."
"Using them well is a given, make sure to come back alive."
"Of course."
Riman immediately got into the car and departed for the Demonic Beast lair.
"Hey, that bastard is leaving!"
"Yes!"
VROOOM!
Jensen's car, which had been hiding, also began to move following him.