I Entered an Academy in a Ruined Game

Chapter 197 : Contention (1)

"...My goodness."

Su-hyeon's mouth dropped open at the festival of balloons and various decorations created in one corner of the café.

'This isn't even a bridal shower.'

"Hehe. Looks like you're very surprised."

Kwon Seung-yeon smiled with satisfaction.

"Thanks. I didn't know you'd go this far."

"Of course! Be grateful!"

Seung-yeon boasted.

"Everyone gathered to congratulate you."

"Excuse me, make way! Cake coming through!"

Kim Ho-su and Han Soyul walked in carrying a huge cake.

"You brought a three-tiered one."

"Hehe, today we forget about diet plans and everything else."

When Seung-yeon gestured, everyone took out firecrackers at once.

"Now we'll have the cake cutting ceremony!"

"Hmm."

Su-hyeon coated the plastic knife with sword energy and cut the cake, creating a perfectly clean cross-section.

Pop! Pop!

"Happy birthday!"

"He's cutting it with sword energy even now."

"Don't you think he could make a killing running a sushi restaurant?"

"Oh, you're right."

After dividing the cake into eight parts, Su-hyeon cleared his throat and said.

"Um... thanks everyone for coming."

More than half of the 30 students in Class 1 had gathered.

"You've prepared a lot of food too."

"We collected some fees."

Su-hyeon chuckled.

"Thanks."

There was not only chicken, tteokbokki, and pizza, but also plenty of snacks.

Go Do-il and Kang Geon-woo were busy eating without even lifting their heads.

"Hey, hey, eat in moderation."

"We need to get our money's worth from the fees!"

Unable to ignore the look in their eyes saying not to talk too much and to start eating quickly, Su-hyeon shrugged.

"Then shall we eat first?"

"Okay!"

While the cadets who had filled their stomachs were chattering noisily.

"Now, we'll have the gift-giving ceremony!"

The air suddenly changed at Kim Ho-su's declaration.

"...?"

'What's this? What's with this atmosphere?'

Su-hyeon felt unnecessarily tense.

'Isn't that the Sword God's treasured item?'

Su-hyeon was shocked when he saw what Lee Yu-jin was taking out.

'That's the brand that Chairman Hwang Yong-jae cherishes...'

The level of the gifts was otherworldly class.

'...Is it okay to accept these?'

Somehow, it felt like accepting them would lead to trouble.

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"Huk! Heok!"

A man with a bloodied appearance, scratched and torn all over, was running through a deserted mountain.

Thud!

"Kuuuu."

The man, who had tripped over a rock, carefully examined the glove wrapped around his right hand without taking time to tend to his broken knee.

"Huuuu."

Having confirmed there was no problem, he sighed in relief and took out a map and compass from his chest.

"Ha, fuck. Am I really going the right way?"

He was a man with a face that was half Korean and half Caucasian, and an accent that was strangely unnatural.

"Damn, it's all over if daylight breaks."

Current time: 4:27 AM.

When morning came, they would surely realize he was gone and cause an uproar.

Without a car, traveling on foot over mountains, it was only a matter of time before he was caught by his pursuers.

To survive, he had no choice but to move quickly and reach the rendezvous point.

'Damn it. They could have just said to meet nearby, but why do they tell me to come all the way here?'

Moving nearly 10km through mountain paths under the cover of night was a very harsh task for his untrained body.

Moreover.

'It's all over if the glove tears.'

Being so careful as he traversed the mountain path made him even more nervous.

'It's okay, Sergei. There won't be any problems.'

He took a deep breath, pounding his chest.

'I can't keep living as a lackey for those Red Mafia bastards. Those dogs.'

Though he came to Korea in a rush, he had his own Korean Dream, and he had become completely fed up with the organization's mistreatment.

And then, a sweet proposal came from a business partner.

A proposal to give him citizenship, proper compensation, and protection from the mafia's threats.

Given his dissatisfaction with unfair treatment, it was an irresistible temptation, and.

After several nerve-wracking negotiations, he took advantage of lax surveillance this dawn to make a decisive escape.

'If I'm caught, I'm finished. I'll probably lose an eye and a few teeth. Those bastards.'

He shuddered as he recalled the notoriously cruel actions of the Red Mafia.

Step, step.

With all thoughts of stealth gone, he gritted his teeth and continued walking the mountain path.

The man arrived at his destination after 5:50 AM.

"He's coming!"

The awakened individuals from the PMC who had been waiting while checking the time approached him.

"Sergei Song, is that you?"

"Huu, huu."

The man, catching his breath, bluntly said.

"Give me a cigarette."

"?"

After exchanging glances at the sudden request, the awakened ones handed him a cigarette.

"Thanks."

The man touched the cigarette with his right hand after removing his glove, and.

Shaaaaa.

The cigarette instantly turned golden, becoming a gold cigarette.

"Good Lord."

"Oh my!"

"So it was true!"

As exclamations erupted, Sergei smiled as if he had expected this.

"Is this enough?"

The awakened one, whose eyes had changed, slightly bowed his head and said.

"Confirmed, Mr. Sergei. We'll escort you."

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"Urgent intelligence has come in."

"Good news as soon as I come to work."

The Chief of Staff, who hadn't shaved for days and had dark stubble, sighed.

"Let's hear it over a cup of coffee. Report verbally."

The staff officer reported to the Chief of Staff who was brewing a strong cup of coffee in front of the coffee machine.

"There's a man known as the 'Midas's Hand.'"

"Midas's Hand. Is that a metaphor?"

"No, sir."

"What do you mean no?"

"The man's right hand has the ability to turn anything it touches into gold."

"Huh."

The Chief of Staff laughed incredulously.

"Literally the Hand of Midas."

"Yes, sir. The man's name is Sergei Song. A Korean of Russian nationality, he joined the Red Mafia 'Baumanskaya Brotherhood' and was known as their most reliable source of funds."

"Hmm. For urgent news, that's quite detailed information."

The Chief of Staff smiled, pleased with his subordinate's competence.

"So? What happened with this Sergei?"

"Sergei Song escaped from the Baumanskaya Brotherhood's base this morning, and a struggle to find him has begun."

"Hmm."

Baumanskaya Brotherhood.

They were a Red Mafia gang of Russians who had been active in South Korea even before the recent surge of Ma-in inflow from outside.

"Quite a scale. How many players are there?"

"First, naturally, the action leaders of the Baumanskaya Brotherhood have moved."

The staff officer wrote the names on the whiteboard.

"And there's a group of awakened ones who are presumed to have recruited and taken Sergei Song. Probably one of the recently proliferating PMCs."

"These PMC bastards are being quite aggressive these days."

The Chief of Staff sighed.

Normally, they wouldn't dare do such things out of fear of the Red Mafia's power.

But with some hunters whose jobs had decreased recently defecting to PMC companies, the power of private armed groups was growing.

'Chairman Hwang. That's the problem with him taking the lead.'

The Chief of Staff thought, recalling Hwang Yong-jae's face.

S-rank hunters wouldn't be swayed by this kind of situation.

But they were a tiny minority.

The problem was with the A-rank and B-rank hunters below them.

"An A-rank hunter would be a high-level personnel equivalent to at least a Squad Leader in the Execution Force. Around A+ would even be at the deputy commander level."

"That's right."

"If guild masters or executives who chase money actively intervene in vested interest conflicts like this situation, it would be exactly what the Ma-in bastards would want."

The already disorderly underworld falling into more chaos and increasing civilian damage was also a problem.

"At their level, even ordinary criminal organizations and Ma-in organizations would have a hard time dealing with them."

"Damn it. When we block one problem, another pops up somewhere else."

The Chief of Staff said, pressing his throbbing head.

'Sword of Belphegor. Could they have included even this much in their scenario?'

It was stressful for him that the picture being drawn by the unknown strategist wasn't clearly visible.

"Did you say the Ma-in will also be involved?"

"Yes. The most likely candidates we're considering are......"

The moment he heard their names.

The Chief of Staff sensed that this situation shouldn't be handled carelessly.

With both their forces and the situation being unknown.

As with Kwak Hyeok-jung, there was a risk that an elite squad could face annihilation.

"Let's use our most reliable card. That's the cost-effective approach."

"In that case?"

"Send the 7th Unit and the 1st Unit."

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"Do you know about the Red Mafia?"

Jo Sujin, who had been summoned by the unit commander, tilted her head.

"Of course I do. They're Russian mafia, right?"

"What about the Baumanskaya Brotherhood?"

"Hmm. I'm not sure. I think I've heard of them."

"They entered the country through Busan Port three years ago."

"Three years? That's quite a while."

"Originally, they were a powerful mafia group that survived in the harsh cold of eastern Russia, Siberia, which had become a barren land, and established their own secure territory amid the western Russian warlord struggles and the KGB's intense surveillance network."

"Why would such guys crawl all the way here? Nothing to eat there?"

"It's obvious. After the boss died, internal strife broke out as they split between the eldest and second son."

"Ah."

"The theory is that the eldest son's faction, which was pushed out, entered South Korea through Busan Port."

"Stupid bastard. Being the older brother but losing to your younger brother?"

"Well, I heard the second son was quite clever. So now they're based in Gyeongsangbuk-do Province and expanding their business."

"The world's going to hell. Not enough with Ma-in and demonic beasts, now even foreign bastards are strutting around openly."

Jo Sujin clicked her tongue and asked.

"So what about them?"

"They had a man with a hand that can turn anything into gold."

"Wow, amazing."

"He escaped, and now there's a struggle to get him. Red Mafia, PMCs, and even Ma-in. We don't know how many will jump in."

"Hmmmm."

Jo Sujin folded her arms.

"So? Are you saying we have to intervene in a mere gangster conflict because of him?"

"Don't underestimate them. Among the Red Mafia, you can find doctorate-level talents, technical specialists, and plenty of former intelligence and special forces personnel."

"Well, people say that. But they're still who they are."

For Jo Sujin, who was on a successful path in the Execution Force, known as the elite of the world, it wasn't a particularly impressive name.

"Anyway, it's also a matter involving the underworld, and it seems like it could get quite dangerous. The higher-ups want a reliable expert to step in and handle it discreetly."

"Hmm. So you'll send me?"

"One squad from the 7th Unit will also be dispatched."

"Well, it'll be convenient if they help. They're quite efficient after all."

Jo Sujin crossed her arms and grumbled.

"But why are we intervening in this? Are they trying to increase the budget by catching him? Am I getting a bribe too?"

"It's not so much that, but the problem is we don't know what butterfly effect might occur if too much gold is released into circulation through his ability."

"Hmm. That's true."

"Above all. Among the Ma-in who are likely to intervene, 'that guy' is there."

"That guy? Who?"

At the name that flowed from the unit commander's lips.

"...Heeh."

Jo Sujin's expression changed.

"Now do you understand? That's why we need you. In the current situation where we can't easily send someone at the captain level, you all are the strongest card we can play."

"With that name, it's not something I can just ignore after hearing it."

Jo Sujin, who had become interested, got up from her seat and immediately called Kim Taesung.

"Taesung! Pack up! We're moving out!"

"Understood."

"I'll explain the details on the way! Just tell everyone to get ready!"

"I'll take care of it immediately."

"Oh, and does Su-hyeon come in tomorrow?"

"The day after tomorrow."

"Okay. Then we'll go first, and tell Chanmin to wait and bring him to join us!"

"Understood."

Watching Jo Sujin excitedly run out after hanging up the phone, the unit commander sighed.

"Now you're quite attentively taking care of him, I see."