54. War Against Crime (3)
Yoo Jia’s side was locked in a dead even struggle.
A security company and four national representative rankers were defending against the gang’s intrusion.
And the gang members, more than twenty of them, were also throwing themselves into the fight like their lives depended on it.
“Ugh, these bastards are disgusting.”
Hong Ari frowned and grumbled as she controlled her summons.
“If it feels like you’re getting pushed back, you should know when to back off. Why are you clinging on like this?”
No matter how low South Korea’s level might be, they were still four national representatives.
If they had been ordinary gangsters, they would have tested the waters a little and run immediately.
But these guys were a little strange.
No matter what, they were trying to break through the encirclement and get inside the grounds.
More precisely, into that apartment complex.
“They’re trying to go after Player Baek Jinwoo’s parents!”
Yoo Jia cried out urgently.
“They know this is their only chance for a gang to gain a foothold in South Korea!”
At present, there was no one in South Korea who could face Baek Jinwoo by force.
That was true for rankers, and it was true for gangs as well.
“Rip that bitch apart first!”
Taat!
One of the enemy summons leaped out and went after Yoo Jia, but—
Crunch!
One of Orang’s wolves bit into that summon’s neck.
“Aren’t you taking us a little too lightly?”
Oh Sunyoung’s voice was cold to the extreme. That was just how her personality was.
If guild master Hong Ari was cheerful, then vice guild master Oh Sunyoung’s nickname was Ice.
“It’ll be useless just to hold out. Our Arirang guild members are on their way as support.”
Flinch.
At those words, the gangsters trembled.
Arirang was one of South Korea’s Big 3. Compared to that, their own side had weak membership.
And wasn’t their gang boss Jo Jihak absent too?
‘Is it really right to keep fighting this?’
The headquarters will be here soon, and Daeseong too… and now Arirang is coming as well?
This feels bad.
They felt wronged.
When they had first received the information, they had been told this would be an easy opponent.
Baek Jinwoo was in Dubai, and above all, they had supposedly been told that support from rank 9 and 10 would be there.
But what the hell was this?
Forget the support issue—why were Arirang executives planted here holding the line?
And was that all?
Those Carpe Diem brats were rampaging as if they were battle-crazed ghosts.
“Kuhahaha! Die, you bastards!”
“Yeah, makes you yawn, right? Boring, right? Fucking no fun, right? Pissing you off, right?”
On top of that, just listening to those high schoolers’ taunting way of talking was enough to make their low blood pressure magically heal.
‘Those little shits.’
Are they elementary school kids or what?
Still, there were twenty people here. All of them were Players known to be capable fighters.
Even in the gang’s cell-like organization, they were considered named figures.
That was why they were still able to hang on even against four national representatives.
However—
A gang wasn’t exactly a group with strong solidarity.
Rather than gathering because of shared purpose, they had gathered to satisfy personal greed, which made that even more true.
“Hey, let’s just run!”
In the end, one of them turned his back and prepared to flee.
“Jo Jihak, that son of a bitch, is just throwing us away like chess pieces, so why the hell should we loyally fight for him?”
This was the moment the barely maintained balance collapsed.
But what they feared was—
‘Jo Jihak’s revenge.’
He hadn’t taken the seat of the criminal organization’s boss for no reason. Jo Jihak was vicious, sinister, persistent, and terrifying.
“I don’t give a fuck! I’ll just leave South Korea!”
“Would leaving South Korea solve anything? No matter where you run in the world, he’ll find you.”
“But if you think about it, won’t that bastard get killed by Baek Jinwoo?”
Yoobaek.
And on top of that, they had attacked his family.
No Player in his right mind would leave Jo Jihak alone. He would draw his blade without hesitation.
“That’s true! Okay!”
“I’m running too!”
“Me too!”
Everyone tried to pull out high-mobility summons and escape, but—it was already too late.
—Kiaaaaaaaaaaa!
The wyvern’s roar from high in the sky, far away, sounded as though it were proclaiming the end to those trying to flee.
“Mr. Jinwoo!”
Yoo Jia was the first to recognize him.
‘That Celestial Wyvern.’
It was the one whose head she often patted while working out together in the training ground.
—Kiaaa! Kkia!
The wyvern dived vertically from the sky.
Despite the incredible speed, Baek Jinwoo’s posture did not waver in the slightest.
The result of steady training and all the tempering he had gone through in the Advanced weekday dungeon!
“Explosive Dragon.”
Baek Jinwoo muttered.
“Yes, dear friend.”
Explosive Dragon Sorcerer, who had been tightly hugging his waist from behind, replied in a quiet whisper.
And then—
Fwoooosh!
Explosive Dragon Art, Secret technique - Transformation.
An enormous wall of fire began to wrap around the entire site.
The Explosive Dragon Wave that had been accumulated all this time through flame erupted all at once as if detonating.
“Aaaargh!”
“Wh-what is this?!”
Naturally, the gang members’ summons could not cross those flames.
Cross alone while trusting in a barrier?
It meant nothing.
The moment they lost the summons they could use, it would only be a matter of time before they were caught.
“Fuck!”
“We can’t run!”
“What do we do? Fight again?”
“What do you mean fight again?! That’s Baek Jinwoo! Baek Jinwoo!”
Gang members were Players too.
Ridiculous as it was, even they had felt a rush of national pride watching Baek Jinwoo in action.
They knew very well that no matter how much they combined their strength, they wouldn’t even be a match for him.
He was the guy who could wipe out the domestic rank 1 in a minute, after all.
Of course—
They didn’t have very long to ponder whether to run or fight.
“Gale Slayer.”
—Krrrk…!
The speed of Gale Slayer, who sprang forward holding a scythe, was absolutely insane.
That was thanks to the stacks built up since before having a meal with Jasim.
Stab, slash! Stab, slash!
The transparent creature shot downward at tremendous speed, stabbed into the back of a summon, then twisted—and that was the end of it.
Every nearby summon was torn apart as easily as paper ripping.
—Kkirarararara!
By the time the wyvern landed on the ground—all of the gang’s summons had already been shredded, and the gang members’ barriers had been broken.
Now, even if they wanted to cross those flames, they couldn’t.
“Th-this is insane.”
The one who cursed wasn’t a gang member. It was Hong Ari, one of the national representatives.
“Is he even human?”
She knew Baek Jinwoo was strong, but to arrive and butcher all the gang members who had been matching the four of them the moment he got here?
They said twenty gang members, but in terms of summons, that meant a total of 300 creatures.
Each person could summon 3 teams, meaning 15 creatures each.
“…It’s definitely astonishing.”
Oh Sunyoung also murmured quietly.
“As expected of big brother Baek Jinwoo…!”
“Waaah, you’re so amazing, sir!”
Gi Jaehyuk and Kang Jihoe raised their thumbs and cheered.
‘Why are they here?’
Baek Jinwoo tilted his head for a moment, but soon swept his surroundings with cold eyes.
The war was not over yet.
“First, let’s subdue them all.”
* * *
The gang’s assault sent a huge shock through South Korea.
[Gang attacks Yoobaek without fear! In Hanam City, about 20 minutes of bloody war! All captured!]
[2 dead, 5 seriously injured in gang terror attack. All victims reported to be Player personnel affiliated with the security company.]
[Yoo Jia offers condolences to the bereaved families. Compensation procedures will be carried out.]
Public opinion exploded in an instant.
Wasn’t their intent obvious!
-H-have those crazy bastards lost their minds?
-They were trying to kidnap his family, right?
-Out of everyone they could’ve messed with, they chose Baek Jinwoo? You should never have touched Baek Jinwoo.
People were furious.
The nation’s only hope, the one expected to shine in this World League.
And the gang had touched that.
What was more—
[Shocking breaking news! O Ji-myeong and Park Ho-seop were won over by the gang!]
[Attack on a cafe near Hanam City! The reason? Were they targeting Baek Jinwoo’s younger sister?]
[Female college student at the scene testifies: “Baek Jinwoo just went swish! and subdued them in one second.”]
-Wow. Total lunatics.
-They were doing so well, so why did they suddenly go and sell out the country?
-Because they got crushed in that team match last time?
-No way. If that’s true, then they’re even worse than trash.
-Even in real life they got one-seconded lol. They actually lasted longer in the team battle, didn’t they?
All 23 gang members were captured at the scene.
For the time being, they were blindfolded and had their hands tied behind their backs so they couldn’t summon anything (to summon a creature, they had to click Y with either their gaze or a finger), and they were locked up in a heavily guarded location.
And then—just as expected, Baek Jinwoo was extremely angry.
[Baek Jinwoo releases official statement! Declares war on the gang, says he will root out the crimes being committed in South Korea!]
[Head Director decides to fully support Player Baek Jinwoo’s intentions!!]
-Kyaa!
-When Baek Jinwoo says it like that, it’s actually terrifying.
-The gang guys must be pissing themselves······.
-Did you see his expression when he made that statement in front of the reporters? It was chilling.
-He has every right to be mad. They didn’t come at him directly—they tried to go after his family like cowards.
-Jo Jihak is screwed.
Baek Jinwoo even said this: Any Player who belonged to the gang, or had ever belonged to it...
He would give them one day.
Within that time, they were to turn themselves in and pay for their crimes.
What would happen after that, he said, he’d leave to their imagination.
-H-he’s so cool.
-No joke, the guy just oozes style.
-Does that mean we don’t have to be afraid of gangs anymore?
-Still don’t know. Jo Jihak isn’t some ordinary guy.
-So what if he isn’t ordinary? He’s up against Baek Jinwoo, lol. A measly rank 30.
Jo Jihak probably doesn’t know either. Just like how unranked Baek Jinwoo flies around like that.
* * *
And at that same time—
Baek Jinwoo was meeting Park Changseok at headquarters.
After founding Yoobaek, he had gotten fairly close with Park Changseok.
Since they met often and talked, they had naturally started speaking comfortably.
“You’ve really been through a lot. This is all work the headquarters should’ve been handling.”
Park Changseok smiled bitterly.
This time, they had harvested more than ten executive-level members alone.
Something headquarters hadn’t been able to do despite working themselves to the bone for three years, Baek Jinwoo had done in a single day.
“No, sir, you’re the one who’s been working hard.”
“So, you want to meet the prisoners?”
“Yes.”
Baek Jinwoo did not smile. His expression did not soften either.
Park Changseok let out a quiet breath.
“...You must not kill them.”
Ordinarily, gang members deserved summary execution. But these were executives.
There was a lot of information to extract, so for now they were being kept alive.
There was also plenty of work left to do, like stripping away the summons and items they possessed.
“Yes, they absolutely must not die.”
Baek Jinwoo gave a faint smile.
Seeing that, Park Changseok felt a chill run down his spine.
What was that supposed to mean? Did it mean they wouldn’t be allowed to die easily?
“Nothing unusual will happen. You said you’d help me, didn’t you?”
“That’s right, that’s right.”
Park Changseok had already done all the groundwork. Headquarters had decided to follow Baek Jinwoo’s will. After all, they were people he had captured.
Honestly, whether he roasted them or boiled them alive was his business.
“Go in.”
“Yes, sir.”
* * *
“Mmphhh!”
“Mmph! Mmphhh!”
The 23 prisoners were locked separately in well-equipped solitary cells.
The solitary cells were made of sturdy steel, and every one of them was blindfolded, gagged, and tightly bound hand and foot.
Human rights?
What human rights could there be for dangerous individuals who could handle summons?
There were no guards present.
Park Changseok had asked for the area to be cleared for one hour.
“HunGyo.”
—Yes, my lord.
Sssst!
HunGyo was summoned.
Ever since he awakened last time, he had become incredibly reassuring.
‘Even if Lamba didn’t build stacks separately, was there anyone who could beat him right now?’
Wouldn’t even Rachel struggle?
That was what Baek Jinwoo thought.
The yin energy of the Nine Yin Severed Meridians was just that sweet.
“You said it before. That you could get all the information out of them.”
—That is correct, my lord.
HunGyo nodded.
Inside his head was knowledge of the best interrogation techniques in the world (A-rank), as well as every kind of martial torture method, from basic pressure-point strikes to tendon-severing and bone-dislocating techniques.
Handling humans with weak willpower like these would be no trouble at all.
—Shall we begin immediately?
At HunGyo’s question, Baek Jinwoo slowly nodded.
No comments yet. Be the first to leave a review!