S Chapter 31

“Customer.” That single word was the signal. Smack! Shin Jukyeong abruptly slapped the guard across the face. He deliberately controlled his strength, making the sound loud but the pain moderate. Wouldn’t want him to faint.

“You son of a bitch, are you messing with me?”

And even vulgar curses he’d never used before.

“……?!”

“……?”

The guard was startled by the slap, and Yang U-dam reacted to the cursing. In any case, both of them were staring at Shin Jukyeong with wide eyes.

“Are you messing with me? Right now, you motherfucker, you should be bowing down to me, but instead, you’re questioning me? Time? Ha! I wanted to go but couldn’t. Because you fucked up the job so badly, I just came back from the brink of death. Hey, you bastard! I came here to buy an ability, not to die! Is this how you do business?!”

This was called ‘The Grand Strategy of Shouting the Truth to the World’. Because, originally, the one with the loudest voice wins.

Of course, such a crude method doesn’t always work. There are many ways to avoid suspicion, but usually, people try to build trust by providing information about themselves. That’s the norm. However, that only applies to civilized, intelligent people with manners. It doesn’t work on these bastards with no romance.

So this is what he chose. Because for people, the emotion they are most familiar with always seems the most transparent and honest. To someone who curses or resorts to violence when feeling wronged, a person acting the same way would appear that way.

“What are you staring at, you motherfucker! Get your boss out here!”

“……!”

Hitting a bad guy anyway. He didn’t feel any guilt. No, rather, he liked it.

“You think my words are funny, huh?”

One more hit, just like this!

Smack!

One more time!

Smack!

If you hit the right cheek, the left cheek too!

Smack!

Encore, just because it’s so satisfying!

Smack!

It was a feast of endless slaps, like a scene from an Indian movie. Hmm, felt good. Shin Jukyeong raged, showcasing his superb acting skills. He didn’t hesitate to threaten, starting with “Do you know who I am?” and vowing not to leave them alone.

As he raged like a monkey whose banana had been snatched, the guard was flustered. He had imitated some of the troublesome complainants he’d seen before, and it was remarkably effective. The guard, who had been thoroughly beaten, urgently spoke.

“Calm down! Please calm down! I apologize. We made a big mistake… We’ll prepare you a special, yes? A special product instead. Could you please let that appease your anger…?”

“Special product?”

“Yes, yes! I will escort you. We had instructions to only show you the best items anyway. Haha…!”

“Why are you only telling me this now! Dammit!”

“Hieek.” Suspicious, but it would look strange to refuse, wouldn’t it? What to do? Should I follow him or not…? Shin Jukyeong was silent for a moment before replying slowly.

“Ahem! Fine. I’ll give you one more chance. Lead the way.”

Yes, it would be better to deal with everything first, then grab his brother and run.

‘You’re all dead.’

Just as Shin Jukyeong smirked secretly to himself and was about to follow the guard.

“Ah.”

Remembering his brother belatedly, Shin Jukyeong turned around. There, Yang U-dam stood, arms crossed, frowning, looking like a forgotten sack of barley.

Oops. Gotta put a leash on him before he causes more trouble.

“Wait patiently.”

“What? Are you messing with me?” Just as expected. A prickly response. Well, he hadn’t expected U-dam to meekly say, “Yes, big brother,” anyway. U-dam was the type who responded better to a carrot than a stick. Shin Jukyeong glanced at the guard, then added another word to U-dam.

“If I find something good, I’ll share it with you.”

“……What?”

“Since you’re here anyway, you don’t want to get some crappy ability, do you?” Shin Jukyeong shrugged his shoulders, and U-dam furrowed his brow. Although there was no explicit answer, seeing a hot-headed guy remain silent, it seemed he had understood perfectly.

The place the guard led him to was quite far from the original location, and the facilities were much more luxurious.

‘Is it for VIPs? The world is going to hell…’

At this rate, they’ll probably have crime omakase services later.

‘They say it’s a robbery with a surprisingly exquisite taste, combining dirty and trash talk matured over 12 years of elementary, middle, and high school, plus Noryangjin blades crafted by a 90-year-experienced master, used to seize others’ property. In Korean, it’s also called gangdojil (robbery). The next course is prepared by a recently released gangster chef from the XX gang…’ This is insane, truly. Shin Jukyeong scoffed, arms crossed. His expression was chilling. Just then, the guard re-entered. Perhaps interpreting Shin Jukyeong’s ferocious face differently, he hurriedly approached and chattered nervously.

“You’ll definitely like the product.”

He bowed obsequiously, his face swollen. His arrogant attitude was long gone.

“……”

Shin Jukyeong didn’t reply. He merely gestured with his chin, meaning ‘hurry up’. His oppressive, heavy aura was like a bomb about to explode. It wasn’t the kind of intimidating presence a mere nineteen-year-old could exude.

“Ahem… then I’ll bring him.” The guard chuckled awkwardly and radioed someone. He probably knew that stalling would only get him more curses.

After a short wait, the back door opened. The figure who appeared was a familiar face.

“Ugh…”

Won Go-yu. Why are you here again? Shin Jukyeong decided to book a Hospital appointment for tomorrow immediately. It seemed his gastritis had flared up again. Yang U-dam. Won Go-yu. These damned brats were tearing his stomach to shreds. …Honestly, isn’t this practically harassment?

‘Damn it. My head is throbbing.’

These criminal bastards must not have brains. No, they shouldn’t have brains. Otherwise, it makes no sense. After all, it’s Won Go-yu. The current Hunter Association Chairman’s grandson. His one and only precious grandson, Won Go-yu!

‘Why is that guy in such a state?’

He didn’t know what had happened to him, but it was clear he was in pain. Was he hit on the back of the head? No, a Manifested wouldn’t collapse from just that. Unfortunately, a proper status check was impossible here. Anyway, he didn’t look good.

‘I feel bad for Won Go-yu, but it’s convenient for me.’

It actually worked out well. Being out of his mind helps. You… hmm, yes. Just lie there quietly. Big brother will get you home safely.

“Hey.”

Shin Jukyeong called the guard. The trashy guy who had been excitedly babbling about S-rank and whatnot approached, saying, “Yes, yes.”

‘Damn you, bastard.’

Shin Jukyeong struck him on the head without an ounce of hesitation. Thwack! It sounded like a watermelon splitting.

“Aargh!”

The guard tumbled on the floor.

‘That’s for laying hands on a kid.’

Shin Jukyeong hid his true thoughts and furiously yelled. In summary, it was, ‘Are you trying to ruin my life by bringing a student from the same school here?!’

“If you know who I am, you must know what school I attend. This is clearly you telling me to go screw myself, isn’t it? Or what, you don’t know who this kid is? It’s Won Go-yu! Are you trying to get me killed by the Hunter Association Chairman? Are you praying for my death?!”

As he pressed him with a terrifying aura, the guard hastily shook his head. “I-It’s fine. We’ll just extract his ability and dispose of him right away… There are no witnesses currently, and if we finish it today, there won’t be any problems!”

Dispose of him? Finish him? He’d never heard of ‘extracting abilities’ in his life. Several hypotheses formed in his mind. Then, could it be that the man who was dragged away earlier…?

‘Have they been extracting abilities from Manifested individuals, then killing them to destroy evidence? Is that even possible?’ Shin Jukyeong let out a short sigh. If all his hypotheses were true, there was no evil more heinous than this. Moreover, the guy lying collapsed in front of him was only nineteen. Meaning his ‘flower bud’ hadn’t even fully bloomed. You bastards, don’t you have younger siblings?

‘There must be more victims.’

Ha… Shin Jukyeong sighed inwardly and rubbed his forehead. He had intended to just clean up casually, but it looked like he wouldn’t be able to unless he rooted it out properly.

“Lead the way.”

“Yes?”

“Lead me to your boss here. I need someone I can trust, don’t I? How can I proceed with something this big without even seeing the boss’s face?”

He emphatically told the hesitant guy that there would be no contract without a meeting with the boss. It wasn’t a cancellation of purchase, but a conditional contract. They wouldn’t dare treat a customer willing to pay a large sum so carelessly.

“You said you know who I am anyway, right? Fair’s fair, I want to know a bit about you too. Let’s hold each other’s weaknesses and win-win.” Shin Jukyeong smiled slyly.

Unexpectedly, A readily granted the meeting. He didn’t even change rooms. The only difference was that Won Go-yu had been dragged out. It was a decision Shin Jukyeong was grateful for.

“Please wait a moment, he’ll be here soon,” the guard said, watching his reaction.

‘Does he have nothing to fear? How brazen.’ Shin Jukyeong twisted his lips. It’s not a generalization, but the dirtier the scoundrel, the higher their vigilance and caution, often double that of others. It’s probably a habit from trying not to get caught. But this guy, A, is different. He has no qualms about revealing himself.

‘For me, it’s arigato gozaimasu, you bastard.’ (※ It should be ‘arigato gozaimasu’.)

Just then, someone opened the door and entered. The person who appeared was not unfamiliar.

“We meet again?”

He even greeted him with a relaxed smile. This bastard… It was A. The same guy who had babbled about salvation and whatnot at the very beginning.