The Player Who Stands Above All

Chapter 87

"...Here?"

"Yes."

At Alpha's words, Joker nodded his head calmly.

The place written in the text message sent by Smile was definitely this place.

"...Really here?"

"...Yes. It's really here."

However, when Alpha asked again as if in doubt, Joker's voice trembled slightly.

It couldn't be helped, as Joker himself found it hard to be certain if this place was really the one Smile had mentioned.

He had checked the location information before coming here, but now that he was standing in front of the door, various thoughts came to mind.

Could the text message have been wrong?

Shouldn't he have asked again to confirm if this was the right place?

Or was it some kind of password containing a special pattern?

Because the place where the three of them were standing was...

"...Should I ring the doorbell?"

It wasn't an abandoned building where construction had been halted, or a secret base in a deserted mountain, but an ordinary apartment where many people lived.

"Uh... for now, it would be best to ring the doorbell, right?"

"But... do we have to go inside looking like this?"

Just before opening the door, Beta asked the other two cautiously.

At that, the two checked each other's appearance, then their own.

They were all dressed as usual.

Yes, they were wearing the clothes they usually wore when moving according to their operational plan.

Alpha and Beta were wearing black leggings and black training jackets for the reason that they could easily blend into the darkness and that the clothes didn't make a rustling sound.

Joker was wearing clothes with an incredible number of pockets all over so that he could take out the prepared marbles at any time.

To put it simply, it was a gathering of two women who looked like they had just come from the gym and one man who seemed to be deeply into some strange hip-hop, all while wearing masks.

A group of humans so suspicious that even a three-year-old with a runny nose would narrow his eyes was there.

Joker understood Beta's thoughts, but it was also ambiguous for him to say anything.

"Well... I fully understand that it's embarrassing, but coming here without any preparation is a bit..."

Click-

As they were chattering in front of the door, the door in front of them opened with a surprise attack.

"Hiccup!"

The sound of Alpha's surprised hiccup created a subtle silence.

"What is it?"

The red-haired man who came out as the door opened looked at the three of them with sharp eyes.

"Uh... cough, I'm sorry."

In that sudden situation, Joker spoke to the man with a smile, with the sole intention of somehow resolving the situation.

"We're looking for a friend's house, and it seems we pressed the wrong floor in the elevator. I'm sorry if we bothered you."

Joker coughed lightly, appealing the reason they were covering their mouths while expressing with his whole body that they were not suspicious.

The man who had opened the door stared at Joker's efforts and then opened his mouth.

"Hmm, you came earlier than I thought."

"...Yes?"

"I thought the delivery guy had arrived and got excited. Come in."

"Huh?"

At the man's sudden reaction, not only Joker but also Alpha and Beta, who had been fidgeting behind him, froze and let out foolish breaths.

Ding-

What saved the three confused people was the delivery man.

"Here you go~"

"Ah, yes, it's been a while since you delivered. Here's one fried, one seasoned, one soy-sauce seasoned, and one green onion chicken that you ordered. The cola is on the house."

"Thank you~"

The man with the sharp eyes, who had passed the three, had a friendly conversation with the delivery man, then took the food and turned around.

"Uh, so, that is..."

Then his eyes met with the three who were still standing in the hallway without having entered.

"You! Smile! What happened to your hair? No?! Where's the mask?!"

"Ah, right, this is the first time we've met without the mask and wig. But it's not right to shout at this late hour."

At Lee Shin's words, Beta quickly shut her mouth.

Lee Shin, seeing Beta's reaction, chuckled and opened the locked door.

Click-

"Well, let's talk about the details inside. Come in."

Lee Shin gestured for them to come in, and the three, though flustered, followed Lee Shin's gesture and entered the house.

"Hmm?"

"Oh?"

The three who entered made eye contact with Yeonhwa and Kim Jae-hyun, who were sitting at the table.

Yeonhwa and Kim Jae-hyun, who were wearing casual everyday clothes, unconsciously glanced at the three people's outfits.

Swoosh-

At that, the three of them couldn't say anything and pulled up the masks that were covering their mouths.

***

Lee Shin, Yeonhwa, Kim Jae-hyun, Alpha, Beta, Joker.

These six people gathered and sat in a circle at a table full of various foods.

For reference, Lee Hyun-seok and Lee Hyun-young had been sent to Eun Yeon-woo's house with a credit card.

"First, let's start with a simple introduction, shall we? We didn't gather just to eat food."

Yeonhwa said, looking at Lee Shin who was leisurely eating boneless chicken.

"It's my consideration to not make the atmosphere too heavy. There are people who are actually eating deliciously."

At that, Lee Shin confidently retorted and pointed at two people with his finger.

"Well, since the stage is already set, I thought it would be against etiquette to refuse."

"...Sorry."

Kim Jae-hyun spoke confidently and went back to eating pizza, while Alpha, who was about to drink cola, took her hand off the glass.

"...Haa."

Yeonhwa, whose head was starting to hurt from the situation, quietly shut his mouth, and Lee Shin watched him with a playful, spinning smile.

After that, Lee Shin spoke to Joker, who was cautiously assessing the situation.

"Hmm, first of all, the fact that you came this far means you're willing to talk, right?"

"Ah, yes."

At Lee Shin's words, Joker pushed aside various complicated things to a corner of his mind and nodded.

Kim Jae-hyun, who heard Joker's answer, said.

"Then I would like Mr. Lee Shin to take the role of the moderator. Since this is a situation that Mr. Lee Shin created in the first place, it's ambiguous for us to do anything."

"Hmm, that's true."

Lee Shin, who nodded at Kim Jae-hyun's logical words, raised his right hand and pointed at the two people.

"The two people here are the connections I mentioned on the phone who can help with your revenge."

At Lee Shin's words, the three who were listening to the explanation were surprised and their eyes widened, but Kim Jae-hyun and Yeonhwa, who were already used to Lee Shin's eccentricities, calmly just ate the food in front of them.

"The black-haired man in the suit is Kim Jae-hyun, the vice-guild master of [Wonderland]. But seeing him work recently, it seems he's the one with the real power."

"It's a pleasure to meet you. I am Kim Jae-hyun, the vice-guild master of [Wonderland]."

After Lee Shin finished speaking, Kim Jae-hyun calmly introduced himself and shook hands with Joker, Beta, and Alpha in order, handing each of them a business card.

'We only came here after being told he would introduce a sponsor who could help with our revenge, but suddenly it's [Wonderland]?'

'If it's [Wonderland], aren't they talking about that top-tier guild? A place like that is helping us?'

'Smile is amazing.'

After giving the three people some time to think about various things, Lee Shin pointed to the one remaining person.

"Now, you know this guy, right? He's the guild master leading the Black Guild called [Underworld], and we ran into each other and fought at the factory."

"...Yes, that's right."

Joker blankly nodded at Lee Shin's words, and Yeonhwa moved his eyes and looked at the three of them.

He had realized who had paralyzed the factory's system and taken the information from inside.

Swoosh-

This time, Lee Shin raised his opposite hand.

"Now, then, these three people... honestly, I don't know the details either. First, to state their names, the black-haired man is Joker, the black-haired woman is Alpha, and the blue-haired woman is Beta."

"Well... I have nothing to say."

At Kim Jae-hyun's words, the three of them were also dumbfounded and couldn't say anything, just staring at Lee Shin with resentful eyes.

"Ah, other than that, their desire for revenge against [Dawn] is incredibly strong. And I'll vouch for their skills and credibility."

"...Well, alright. Since it's Mr. Lee Shin's word, I'll believe it."

At Kim Jae-hyun's words, Joker looked at Kim Jae-hyun with a flustered expression.

'He believes so easily? Is Smile that trusted by that person?'

Joker's head became a little complicated as he felt he had seen an unexpected side of Smile, but the truth was simple.

'Seeing him in person makes it certain. He's the person the young miss talked about.'

What Kim Jae-hyun saw was not Lee Shin, but Joker.

The man who single-handedly brought down the huge organization called [Dawn].

'According to the information I heard from the young miss, after bringing down [Dawn], no one could track his whereabouts. The fact that this man is here alone is enough reason to recruit him. By the way...'

Kim Jae-hyun looked at Alpha and Beta.

'Who are those two? The young miss definitely said Joker acted alone. Seeing as they are called comrades against [Dawn]... did those guys drop out during the fight with [Dawn]?'

It seemed possible.

It was a job against a super-giant organization supported by the state.

A scenario where comrades died in the process and he finished the revenge alone would be more natural than saying there was no damage at all.

Clap-

Joker and Kim Jae-hyun, who were racking their brains with the chicken and pizza as a boundary line, stopped their thoughts at the sound of Lee Shin's clap and looked at him.

Lee Shin looked at all of them with an amused smile.

"Now, then, the reason I created this meeting... since you both have a common enemy, I thought it would be better if you joined forces, so I called you."

"Is this a proposal for cooperation?"

"You could say that."

Kim Jae-hyun closed his mouth for a moment as if to review it, but the opposition came from an unexpected place.

"Is there a reason we have to? I don't think we're lacking in strength as we are now."

Yeonhwa said, eating the boneless chicken that was on the table.

"There is a reason."

At that, Lee Shin pointed at the three people with a spinning smile.

"You couldn't get the information from the factory, and they know that information. They even said they've already interpreted some of it."

"......"

Yeonhwa, listening to Lee Shin's words, glared at him with burning eyes as if he would tear him to shreds right away, but Lee Shin just whistled and brushed it off.

"You guys don't want to give those [Dawn] guys time to prepare for something, do you? Right?"

"I'm fine with it."

Kim Jae-hyun, who had been silent and thinking, said, looking back and forth between Lee Shin and Joker.

"On the premise that trust is certain, the more people the better. Normally, there would be dozens of things to check, like trust and skills, but I'll just let that part slide for Mr. Lee Shin's sake."

"Good, then now it's their turn to choose."

Lee Shin said, looking towards where Joker was.

Grip-

Joker glared at Lee Shin with sharp eyes.

"Well, let's just let it slide that I've deceived you several times until now."

"That's not something that can be let slide so easily."

At Joker's words, Lee Shin said in a playful tone.

"You'll get used to it from now on, so just let it go. And isn't it foolish to be honest in that kind of situation? Still, now that we've formed an alliance, I'm being honest with you, aren't I?"

At Lee Shin's words that hit the core, Joker shut his mouth.

He knew well that in the underworld, if someone deceived another, it was the one who was deceived who was the fool and the idiot.

Lee Shin, seeing Joker who had composed himself in a short time, smiled as if satisfied.

"You've probably heard enough, but these guys have an environment that's incomparably superior to yours. If you're seriously dreaming of revenge, holding these guys' hands would be the best choice."

Lee Shin finished his words and looked at Joker.

"Now, then, I think I've given you enough time, so let's hear your answer."

Grin-

"Are you going to walk a thorny path towards the ideal of achieving your own revenge? Or will you accept the proposal and choose a realistic revenge?"

"Haa~"

At Lee Shin's question, Joker sighed for an unknown reason.

Because it was a problem with a very clear answer.

"Before we form an alliance, let me ask just one thing."

"What is it?"

"What is these people's objective? Seeing as they are planning something like this, they must have some purpose."

"Hmm, well, to put it simply..."

Lee Shin thought for a moment and then said.

"Should I say... world peace?"

(End of Chapter)