Chapter 60

Chapter 60

“Now, tell me how you are going to let us leave this place. Let me hear it.”

“I would appreciate it if you refrained from asking questions like that, sir.”

What a shallow trick.

There was no way I was naïve enough to fall for such a ploy.

“If I tell you the method, you will hire other Hunters, will you not?”

“I, Wang Yongsik, do not lack that much business ethics.”

“It is not that I do not trust you, sir. I do not trust human desire. You must want to run outside right away and enjoy freedom.”

“Heh!”

Wang Yongsik laughed.

“A wise answer to a foolish question. Heh heh.”

“I cannot reveal my entire hand as soon as we have opened a deal, can I?”

“I underestimated you too much. I apologize. I will give you a ten percent discount on the price of the items.”

“Thank you.”

Yes, that was how it should be.

At least Wang Yongsik was not a difficult opponent to trade with.

Even before I had gone back to the past, I had traded with him a few times, and I remembered that he had been comfortable to deal with because his work was clean and his mouth was sealed tight.

He had also occasionally cut prices for me like this.

“Two years, is it? Fine, that is not impossible to wait for. At least until two years pass, I will keep my eyes and ears shut and behave myself.”

“That is wise.”

“Yes, as you said, this is a deal.”

As if his throat were burning, Wang Yongsik poured whisky into an old-fashioned glass filled with ice and downed it in one gulp.

“Grandfather, I am sorry to interrupt your conversation.”

A girl who looked about ten years old approached carefully and asked for permission.

Her gait was awkward and limping, as if something was wrong with her.

Wang Hyoeun.

Wang Yongsik’s granddaughter.

It was only because she had entered Yongpal Trading Company around the age of ten and her physical growth had stopped, but she was a proper adult.

Her illness was cancer.

I thought it was called a malignant brain tumor, a brainstem tumor.

“An urgent reservation has been made. What should we do?”

“How long will they take?”

“They said they will arrive in one hour.”

“The guest will be leaving soon, so do not worry and tell the next guest to come.”

“Yes, Grandfather.”

“Greet him.”

Wang Yongsik introduced me to Wang Hyoeun.

“He is the person who will free you from this place.”

“By free, you mean…….”

“He says he knows a way to cure your illness.”

Wang Hyoeun’s eyes shook for a moment, just a very brief moment.

But that was all.

“Hello. My name is Wang Hyoeun.”

Her pronunciation was clear.

It was a calm voice that did not match the appearance of a girl around ten years old.

“I look forward to your help.”

“Yes, I look forward to working with you as well.”

“Then, I will excuse myself.”

Wang Hyoeun left without looking back.

“……Please understand.”

Wang Yongsik apologized to me in a bitter voice.

“She is like that because she hates having pointless hope. It is all because of this worthless grandfather.”

“I understand.”

How could I not know?

Wang Yongsik had made every effort to treat Wang Hyoeun, but all of them had failed.

No Hunter and no miraculous medicine had been able to cure Wang Hyoeun.

As a result, hope must have come to Wang Hyoeun as an even greater despair and pain…….

But I knew.

I knew how to cure an incurable disease.

As long as one had a certain item from a certain Gate, neither humans nor any other living creature would ever die from illness.

Natural death from aging would be another matter.

***

It did not take very long for the equipment I had requested to be prepared.

“Chairman, the items are ready.”

One of Wang Yongsik’s subordinates approached and spoke.

“Follow me.”

“Yes, sir.”

When I followed Wang Yongsik deeper into the jungle, wooden boxes and containers were piled up like mountains.

Yongpal Trading Company’s logistics warehouse.

Thanks to its spatial characteristics, Yongpal Trading Company had the advantage of being able to preserve any item permanently.

Food did not rot, iron did not rust, and living beings did not grow old or die from illness.

The items I had requested were prepared in front of that logistics warehouse.

An Etherium Battery bike painted with stealth coating, small EMPs, drones, ammunition, machine guns, grenades, anti-tank rockets, Claymores, and so on.

“If someone saw this, they would think you were going to wage a war.”

“If one is going to wage war, this level of military supplies is necessary.”

“…….”

Wang Yongsik’s expression stiffened.

It was obvious he was wondering whether he should hand over the items.

From Wang Yongsik’s perspective, if a problem occurred, it would interfere with his business, and if I died, he would only suffer a loss.

“Big-brother, there are too many items.”

Duhyeon, who had rolled up his sleeves and was carrying items together with Wang Yongsik’s subordinates, spoke as if troubled.

Yes, of course there were.

A one-ton truck would not even come close, and even loading them onto a three-ton truck would not be enough.

“My car’s trunk is…….”

“It is fine.”

I took several blank cards from the deck.

Sssss!

The cards flew over and absorbed the equipment Wang Yongsik had prepared.

[The bike has been obtained.]

[The Small EMP Generator has been obtained.]

[Ammunition has been obtained.]

……

[Grenades have been obtained.]

The cards returned and entered the deck.

“Now it is done, right?”

“…….”

Duhyeon’s mouth fell open.

“That is a fascinating ability.”

“Yes, well. It is.”

“Just what exactly are you?”

“There is no need to ask, is there? You will look into it anyway.”

“Hah.”

Wang Yongsik clicked his tongue as if fed up.

“Then, I will take my leave now.”

“Take care. Do not die.”

“Yes, I will see you again soon.”

After leaving Yongpal Trading Company and exiting Electronics Land.

“Whew. I really thought I was going to die.”

“It is fine, so there is no need to be scared. They are not such bad people.”

“Pardon……?”

“That too is ultimately a way of surviving. A way to postpone death.”

“Honestly, I do not really understand, but since you say so, Big-brother, I will accept it.”

“Good. That attitude.”

Just as Duhyeon started the car.

VROOOOOOM!

A black full-size SUV passed right in front of us and stopped at the entrance of Electronics Land.

It was a Cadillac Escalade, a model that was hard to obtain now, and the Hunter I remembered who rode that was…….

‘Wi Taewoong.’

Sure enough, Wi Taewoong and Lee Hyun got out of the Escalade.

‘So the customer with the urgent reservation was Wi Taewoong.’

I remembered the conversation between Wang Yongsik and Wang Hyoeun.

It could not be certain.

After all, Yongpal Trading Company was not the only Black Market inside Electronics Land.

“Shall I take you ho…….”

At that moment.

Bang, baang!

Bullets flew in.

“Get down!”

I hurriedly pushed Duhyeon’s head down and lowered my posture.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

Even then, bullets kept flying in, but not a single one actually hit the car.

When I slightly raised my head and looked, the bullets had struck a spot roughly one meter in front of the car.

“Start the car and pull out.”

“Pardon?”

“It means get lost, so do not worry and pull the car out.”

“Ah, yes.”

Duhyeon started the car while lowering his posture as much as possible, then stepped on the accelerator.

VROOOOM, SCREECH, VROOOOOOM!

The car quickly reversed, then drove around the area near Electronics Land.

“Haa, haa…….”

Duhyeon breathed heavily, unable to calm his startled heart.

“That temper of his, seriously.”

My mood was not particularly good either, so nothing pleasant came from my mouth.

To fire warning shots all of a sudden without even knowing who was inside.

Perhaps because he was a bastard who saw nothing in front of him, even the way he acted was extremely violent.

‘I will have to repay that debt.’

Since I would not be able to maintain a good relationship with Wi Taewoong anyway because of Lee Hyun, I promised myself I would settle it later.

Right now, I was not strong enough to argue right and wrong with the Abyss Clan.

“Where shall I take you?”

“Bucheon.”

“Pardon?”

“Drop me off near Sosa Station.”

“But Bucheon is…….”

“You can just drop me off and go. There is nothing to worry about.”

“Understood.”

Duhyeon drove toward Bucheon.

***

Bucheon, Gyeonggi-do.

A city on the road connecting Seoul and Incheon, with a population large enough to belong to the capital region.

It had once been home to many young people because housing prices were relatively cheaper than Seoul, while commuting to Seoul was easy.

However, in this era, Bucheon had become an area people avoided for various reasons, and its population was decreasing day by day.

The decisive cause was, of course, a large-scale Transference Crisis.

About ten years ago.

Three large-scale Transference Crises occurred in succession, destroying more than half of Bucheon’s infrastructure.

Because of that, the current Bucheon was gradually becoming a ghost city due to its shrinking population, and as all kinds of criminal organizations occupied the empty spaces, it was turning into a lawless zone with each passing day.

“We have arrived, Big-brother.”

“Good work. You are off work today, so I will see you tomorrow.”

“No. I will wait nearby, so please contact me when you are done.”

“There is no need for that. I can take care of myself.”

“Come on, it is still broad daylight. I cannot clock out already. I will wait. Please go comfortably.”

Duhyeon stubbornly insisted until the end, so I told him to do as he liked and got out of the car.

“What a mess.”

Those words came out on their own as soon as I got out of the car.

Sosa Station on Line 1, now closed, was firmly locked with iron bars, and most of the buildings around the station were crumbling.

The few buildings that were still intact were inevitably filled with signs for adult entertainment businesses such as karaoke bars, nightlife pubs, talking bars, and kissing rooms.

The appearances of the people walking along the streets were also far from ordinary.

Drug addicts, mentally unstable people, thugs with irezumi tattoos all over their bodies, and so on.

I thought there was a reason this place competed for first or second place among areas with the worst public safety in the capital region.

Of course, this too was probably one of the common sights of this era…….

‘Let us start looking around.’

I walked along the road and observed the surroundings.

Perhaps because the infrastructure had collapsed long ago, the CCTV cameras the government had installed on every street looked as if they had stopped working a long time ago.

Among them, many had lenses smashed as if someone had intentionally broken them.

‘Well, of course. This place is full of bastards who would be in trouble if CCTV existed.’

I clicked my tongue inwardly and called Choi Yura.

It was time to keep my promise, and since she seemed very impatient, I intended to start talking about it.

• Yeah.

A short answer.

It seemed she was very angry.

It had only been a day…….

“Where are you?”

• Why?

“I am going to keep my promise. I thought I would meet you and talk.”

• You do not need to keep that little promise anymore.

“Suddenly?”

• I know now. Who killed Big Brother.

I wondered what she was talking about and doubted my own ears.

“You found out the culprit?”

• Yeah.

“How?”

• I heard it.

“From whom?”

• Would you know if I told you?

“Do not tell me you heard it from Jeong Mujin.”

A brief silence flowed.

• How do you know that?

A voice came through the receiver, sounding as if she could not understand it at all.