The Player Who Stands Above All

Chapter 91

It was a luxurious bar.

The overall atmosphere was dark, with only a few lights illuminating the interior.

On the cupboards, various liquor bottles were arranged, sparkling like jewels under the lights.

The atmosphere was clean, and the service from the employees was excellent.

People who had come after finishing their day were relieving their stress there in their own ways.

On the surface, it was a bar that seemed to be running well without any particular problems.

Screeeech-

However, that was only the surface appearance revealed to the general public.

If you opened the door and went down into the basement, everything changed completely.

"Kuhahahaha!!! Hey! We're out of booze!!!"

"Good, dance! Keep dancing!"

"What's this? A new drug? How effective is it?"

A secret snake pit where countless kinds of pleasure were gathered.

A trading floor where numerous deals and exchanges between people in the back took place.

That was the true identity of this bar.

From the very beginning of its planning, it was created with the influence of various organizations in the back alleys, so many organizations would handle their business here when they had secret deals.

On top of that, it was under the protection of some politicians, so it was also a place frequently used when connections with other places were made.

Vrooom-

Several vehicles began to arrive at that location.

It was nothing strange.

After all, it was a place where several deals were made every day.

But if one were to check the faces of the gathering humans, they would notice something was off.

Because they were all big shots who had recently started making a name for themselves in the underworld and were rising rapidly.

Guided by the employees, they began to gather, descending into a secret place in the deepest part of the bar.

As time passed, the sun in the sky set below the ground, and in its place, the splendid city buildings began to emit their own light.

Screeeech-

Just then, a top-of-the-line limousine made by a Japanese car company cut through the city's brilliant lights and stopped in front of the bar.

"Hah, is this the place? As expected of a trashy neighborhood, even the smell that hits the nose is unpleasant. From a quick look, the atmosphere is also vulgar and lacks dignity."

A man with pure white hair tied in a ponytail muttered, filled with displeasure.

"Hah, what are we supposed to do in a beggar-like neighborhood like this? It would be better to just get it over with quickly."

A man with an orange pompadour haircut chimed in, agreeing with the ponytail-haired man's words.

"..."

A man with long black hair tied into one, remained silent and quietly looked around.

"Hoo... We've finally arrived."

And lastly, a man with messy black hair who got out of the car adjusted his glasses and let out a small sigh as if exhausted.

"Incompetent fool."

Seeing that, the man with the pure white hair muttered as if displeased.

At that, the man with glasses avoided the situation with an awkward laugh.

Fortunately for him, the white-haired man had no intention of reprimanding him for long, so the situation ended with a small click of the tongue.

"Shut your mouth and follow me."

"Yes, Lord Susanoo."

The man with the black ponytail said, and followed Susanoo inside.

The man with the pompadour glared at the man with glasses for a moment before following the two, and the man with glasses quietly followed them from behind.

As they were walking, guided by an employee, the man with the pompadour used his aura to ask the man with the ponytail so that only he could hear.

-By the way, Lord Yagyu. Did we really have to bring that guy to this place? I feel like if we bring a guy from the research institute with us, some people might look down on us.

To that, Yagyu replied with a telepathic message.

-A foolish question, Oowada. That guy's head is useful. Or do you think you can take his role instead?

At that one sentence, Oowada quietly shut his mouth.

He knew, even by his own judgment, that it would be impossible.

-Anyway, be quiet. The conversation from now on might displease Lord Susanoo.

Hearing those words, Oowada looked ahead.

Before they knew it, they were facing a luxurious door on the lowest floor of the basement.

***

Chandeliers, shining brilliantly as if made of crystal, were decorated in a row on the ceiling.

The black marble floor, which boasted a dark luster that absorbed light, gave off a luxurious feeling.

In the room, chairs made of monster leather and a huge table made from the finest dungeon wood were arranged.

And on it, a bottle of wine easily worth millions of won was provided at each seat.

The place and the preparations.

A room of a scale where it wouldn't be strange for a luxurious banquet to be held right away.

However, the thirty people in this place were just sitting quietly in their seats with their already grim faces contorted.

They were either deep in thought about something while sitting in their chairs or just checking the movement of the clock hands, but no one tried to open their mouths.

Screeeech!

"!!!"

In the heavy silence that felt like being crushed to death, the door was violently thrown open at the same time the clock pointed to the promised time.

Thump-

As the sound of the door opening echoed in the room, the people who were sitting stood up from their seats and bowed their heads towards the people who entered.

Thud- Thud- Thud- Thud-

Footsteps echoed.

As they had various thoughts, they quietly looked down at the floor.

And Susanoo took their reaction for granted.

From the beginning, Susanoo had looked down on Koreans deep in his bones and had the underlying thought that only they were superior.

Susanoo walked through the center like an emperor and sat down in the middle seat that had been vacant.

Then, with arrogant eyes, he looked at the people who were standing still like statues with their heads bowed and spat out coldly.

"Sit."

At the voice filled with arrogant weight, the people carefully sat down in their chairs again without even opening their mouths.

However, their eyes were still directed at the floor, and naturally, the room was so silent that one could hear an ant crawling.

Chuckle-

'They're no different from dogs with their tails between their legs.'

Servility and complete obedience.

Satisfied with the appearance they showed, Susanoo spoke with a slight hint of amusement in his voice.

"My time allocated to you is precious, so let's get straight to the point."

"..."

"On my way here, I stopped by each location and checked the items you have gathered."

Gulp-

At Susanoo's words, someone with their head bowed swallowed their saliva.

They were nervous.

It was natural.

Everyone here, when they were newcomers to their organizations, had grabbed onto the lifeline called [Dawn] to achieve a dramatic leap, and now they led organizations so large that no one in the underworld could ignore them.

But now, they were just foolish moths entangled in the lifeline they had grabbed like a spider's web, unable to escape.

In fact, with just a small gesture from Susanoo, the guard behind him would move like lightning and draw a deep, thin red line on their necks.

'And I will disappear into the darkness as if I never existed in the first place.'

This was not a thought in the realm of prediction, but in the realm of certainty.

It was a fact he had confirmed from the examples made several times in the past.

'I must not get caught on even a single small fault.'

Did that thought get through?

What came out of Susanoo's mouth was positive news.

"I checked the items you listed and the items that were actually there one by one, and there were no discrepancies, and you had prepared the full quantity we requested. Good work."

Flutter-

Ryusuke said, and flipped through the papers on which the list of items was written.

It was no exaggeration to say that every drop of ink that formed the densely written words on the thick paper was the blood and sweat of everyone present in this place.

The items on the list were varied.

There was a map showing the dungeons spread across the country, created by dispatching organization members, various information about the monsters inside the dungeons, and information about the environment of those dungeons.

There were items gathered through various illegal methods, various new resources mined from inside the dungeons using debtor slaves, and even a list of players bound in drugs, chains, and individual iron cages.

Each and every one of them was extremely difficult to prepare, and the requested quantity was not small.

'Especially, preparing the humans who had awakened as players was the hardest.'

But anyway, it was over.

At that thought, the people in the room tried to relax their hardened hearts and feel relieved, but it was a little too early for that.

Because Susanoo's words were not yet finished.

"But looking at the overall picture, it was insufficient."

At Ryusuke's cold words, the people felt a sensation as if a cold sword had touched their necks and cowered like turtles.

They did not move their eyes from the floor.

Because any human who could think even a little could predict what would happen if they made eye contact in a situation like this.

"As I said, you faithfully offered the items on the list we requested. But even if we combine everything you have gathered, it does not reach the amount we originally aimed for."

"..."

"Ah, right. Of course, that's not your fault."

Grind-

"It's because of that filthy vermin-like organization called [Underworld] that's been stirring you up."

Susanoo said, grinding his teeth as if the mere thought of it made his anger surge.

He poured the wine on the table into a glass and drank it as if to cool the heat burning in his chest.

The sweet wine cooled the flames, and the scent of grapes lingered in his nose.

"But setting that aside, another thought came to mind. How is something like this possible? Huh? How was it possible to find you who are hiding like cockroaches?"

"..."

"Tsk."

Ryusuke clicked his tongue as if his fun was spoiled when no one could answer his question, but he soon chuckled.

'Well, these guys' heads aren't just for decoration, so there won't be any idiot who wants to stand out and catch my eye.'

When his thoughts reached that point, Susanoo decided to show a little sympathy since he had also drunk some good liquor.

By revealing the answer.

"We have little information about them. But they get information about you and attack. And in the remaining place, they disappear like ghosts without leaving any evidence."

Tap-

"There are few cases where this is possible. We checked our database once, but we could only confirm that no information had leaked. Then that means the information leaked from your side... And here, one question arises."

Tap-

Ryusuke's words, along with the sound of him tapping the desk, took on a strange rhythm and pierced people's ears.

As if aiming for a vital point, precisely.

"Whether this process of information leaking happened by mistake without you knowing... or whether some trash deliberately leaked it for a purpose."

Shunk-!

A sharp sword, drawn at some point, was stuck in the spot where Ryusuke's finger had been tapping.

At the same time, Yagyu and Oowada, who had been standing still behind him as guards, took a step forward and scattered the aura in their bodies, pressing down on the thirty men.

"Hup!"

"Ugh!"

"Kuk!"

At the weight pressing down on their shoulders and heads, they let out groans without realizing it.

Their chests tightened, making it difficult to breathe, and cold sweat broke out.

The people in this place were not weak.

They were a Black Guild in the darkness where the law did not reach, but there was one rule they followed: the law of the jungle.

They had engraved that one principle in their hearts and had not neglected to build up their strength.

Nevertheless, the reason for such an overwhelming difference was simple.

The difference in power.

It meant that those people had the skill to easily cut off the necks of everyone here single-handedly.

That fact came as such a huge threat that their bodies trembled.

Because they could guess what would be said next.

Clank-

"There is a bat among you selling information. That is the conclusion we have reached.”

(End of Chapter)