Chapter 345

Chapter 345

“Hah! So the reason they’ve been releasing cockroaches lately was to secure a high-grade Healer?”

Xiaolun, the ruler of the South District, looked utterly dumbfounded.

He had received reports recently that unfamiliar people were frequently appearing in the South District. But he had not thought of it as especially strange.

It was not as if the South District was isolated behind a special wall. Many roads opened into various parts of Neo Seoul, so people could come and go freely at any time.

There was nothing strange about unfamiliar people entering.

Awakened and residents based in the South District also crossed into other districts easily for work.

The problem was that those who had been frequently appearing in the South District now were Dongdaemun’s fanatics.

The fanatics had not crossed over from Dongdaemun.

They were originally Neo Seoul residents who had been influenced by Johan and become believers. They moved inside Neo Seoul for Johan’s sake.

The Dongdaemun believers appearing in the South District now were those kinds of people.

Neo Seoul residents who worshiped Johan.

The problem was that there was no way to know how many of them there were.

Xiaolun did not call them cockroaches for no reason.

Xiaolun asked his subordinate,

“What level is this high-grade Healer supposed to be?”

“From what we’ve found, she was Grade A from Awakening.”

“Hah! No wonder Dongdaemun’s cockroaches are desperately searching for her. At that level, everyone would believe them even if they passed her off as a Saintess.”

Xiaolun’s eyes gleamed ominously.

There were never enough Awakened, no matter how many one had.

That was even more true for an existence as rare as a Healer.

Healers were so rare they were like animals on the brink of extinction.

To begin with, people who Awakened as Healers were rare, and it took a great deal of time and care to raise them.

Even after raising them with so much effort, their efficiency was not good.

No matter how preciously they were raised, Grade C or D was usually the limit.

The Healers in the South District did not escape that range either. Even so, they were treated as treasures.

Because even Grade C or D was enough to save someone who was dying. Since that was the situation, if someone Awakened as a Healer, every district would rush in to secure them.

But this time, it was a Grade A Healer.

And an ultra-powerful Healer who had started at Grade A.

At that level, Grade S was as good as guaranteed.

The subordinate said,

“If a Grade A Healer falls into Dongdaemun’s hands, those fanatics’ influence will expand greatly.”

“It doesn’t matter much whether their influence expands. The problem is another district securing that Healer.”

“Then we should also…….”

“Secure the Grade A Healer. I’ll provide as much support as you need.”

“Understood.”

“Remember this! If it looks like we can’t secure her, make sure no one else can have her either. You know what I mean, right?”

“Of course.”

The subordinate lowered his head and answered.

Xiaolun waved his hand at him. It was a signal to leave.

After the subordinate left and he was alone, Xiaolun muttered,

“Good things should naturally belong to me. If I can’t have them, then I should break them so no one else can either…….”

＊＊＊

Jeong Sang-mo was an Awakened living in the East District.

A Grade D martial artist.

It was the most common class.

If one gathered all the Awakened in the East District, classes of the same grade as Jeong Sang-mo would probably be the most numerous.

Because of that, Jeong Sang-mo was not treated as important in the East District.

There were so many people who could replace him that he only received ordinary missions.

Jeong Sang-mo was always dissatisfied with that.

He believed he was not being treated according to his abilities.

The ones who approached Jeong Sang-mo then were Dongdaemun’s believers.

Influenced by the believers, Jeong Sang-mo gladly became a believer of Dongdaemun.

Dongdaemun gave Jeong Sang-mo a great deal of support, and thanks to that, he quickly occupied an important position in the East District.

A short while ago, Jeong Sang-mo received a secret message from Dongdaemun.

It told him to find the Saintess.

If he secured the Saintess, he would rise to a higher position in Dongdaemun, and as a result, he would also be able to rise rapidly in the East District.

Blinded by greed, Jeong Sang-mo searched all over Neo Seoul with several other believers.

At first, he mainly searched the East District, which could be called his territory. But when he failed to find any clue, he gradually expanded his range of activity.

Because of that, before he knew it, he found himself in the South District. And the Awakened of the South District were surrounding him.

The South District Awakened jeered at Jeong Sang-mo.

“Well, well. Why is an Awakened from the East District inside the South District?”

“Is there any reason I can’t enter?”

“If you just came in, there wouldn’t be a problem. I go to the East District often too. But if you came looking for a Healer—no, a Saintess—then that’s a problem.”

“How did you……?”

Jeong Sang-mo’s eyes shook.

He was so flustered that he forgot he should play innocent.

Seeing his reaction, the South District Awakened smiled as if amused.

“Heh heh! Looks like my guess was right.”

“Damn it!”

Only then did Jeong Sang-mo realize his mistake, but it was already too late.

The South District Awakened jeered,

“Sedon Price will be pleased when he learns this. To think one of his own subordinates became one of Dongdaemun’s fanatics and started working for them.”

“Shut up!”

“Shut up? Why should I shut up?”

“Fuck!”

Unable to contain his anger, Jeong Sang-mo charged at the jeering South District Awakened.

Swoosh!

His sword shot toward the South District Awakened’s neck. But the South District Awakened was no easy opponent either.

He drew an axe and immediately struck Jeong Sang-mo’s sword.

Clang!

With the sound of metal, Jeong Sang-mo’s sword was knocked away.

Flustered, Jeong Sang-mo shouted to his subordinates,

“Kill that bastard!”

“Smash all those bastards.”

The South District Awakened also gave orders to his subordinates.

“Uwaaagh!”

“Fuck! Die!”

BOOM!

The Awakened on both sides clashed.

Blood sprayed, and screams flew everywhere.

The wounded appeared one after another, and some died.

The problem was that fights like this were not happening only here.

Similar fights were breaking out across Neo Seoul.

＊＊＊

Because of the fighting between Dongdaemun’s believers and the Awakened of each district, Neo Seoul’s atmosphere turned murderous.

To prevent further clashes, City Hall dispatched troops to major areas and tried to maintain order, but it could not cover all of Neo Seoul.

In places City Hall’s reach did not extend, clashes between Awakened continued to break out.

“Hah! What a complete mess.”

Mandy let out a sigh.

When chaos broke out in Neo Seoul, City Hall officials suffered the most.

That was because no matter how large or small the problem was, they had to determine the cause and establish countermeasures. So they were always the first to be summoned and dispatched to the scene.

Mandy had been summoned like that as well.

Being a Supervisor did not grant her any special privileges.

When she had no particular mission, this was her fate: being mobilized for petty work like this.

The place she had been sent to was the boundary between City Hall and the North District.

A battle between Awakened had also broken out here, causing quite a number of casualties. Because of that, City Hall had dispatched Awakened to secure order.

“No, did everyone suddenly go insane? What the hell is this mess?”

A City Hall Awakened dispatched with her grumbled.

Because he had been dragged out during what should have been a time to rest comfortably, his expression was quite fierce.

At least Mandy knew the reason she had been dragged out like this. The other Awakened did not even know why something like this was happening in Neo Seoul.

Naturally, they could not help being angry.

Mandy gave a small laugh and answered,

“Maybe all the Awakened went collectively insane.”

“Even so, they’re fighting all over the place like this? Isn’t this terrorism? Then we should intervene properly.”

“How are we supposed to intervene any more properly than this? Just do it roughly.”

“Roughly?”

“You can tell what the higher-ups are thinking just from the fact that they mobilized us.”

“What? What do you mean by thinking?”

The Awakened who had been grumbling looked puzzled.

“Think about it. If they really wanted to stop the clashes between Awakened, would they have sent us? They would have placed elite troops on the streets or sent official notices warning each district.”

“Ah! Now that you mention it…….”

“This is just a formality. It’s to show that City Hall is responding like this……. City Hall has no intention of stopping them. So we just need to stand here for show, then quietly go home.”

At Mandy’s words, the City Hall Awakened relaxed.

If they saw a fight happening before their eyes and did not intervene, that would be a problem. But if they arrived after the fight was already over, the story changed.

They only had to pretend to clean up afterward a little.

“Then should we rest a bit before going?”

“Come to think of it, I haven’t gone to the bathroom even once. I’ll be back in a bit.”

“Take your time.”

The City Hall Awakened laughed and chatted.

Mandy smiled as she watched them.

A day earlier, Zeon had sent her a letter through Argos’s Eye.

One might wonder why he sent an old-fashioned letter in an advanced city like Neo Seoul, but there was no better method for preserving secrecy.

The letter said that the person Dongdaemun was looking for was a newly Awakened Healer. It also contained Zeon’s predictions about how each faction would move because of this matter.

The reason Zeon told her this was simple.

It meant she should not actively intervene.

He said City Hall would not want that either.

‘He said the mayor or Seo Tae-ran would try sheep-shearing with this chance.’

Literally, each district and Dongdaemun had grown dramatically through dungeon clearing and various rights projects.

His reasoning was that there was no way Jin Geum-ho or Seo Tae-ran would simply watch them grow smoothly.

Amazingly, everything was proceeding exactly as Zeon had predicted.

‘The scariest person is Mr. Zeon. Everyone is playing in the palm of his hand.’

A chill suddenly ran down her spine.

Mandy swore to herself.

‘Ugh! I must never become that man’s enemy.’