Chapter 37

Chapter 37

“Thank you for your cooperation.”

A well-groomed man with a close-cropped beard bowed his head. Despite his polite demeanor, he exudes an air of discomfort.

“You don’t have to say hello if you don’t want to. There are some of us who don’t like you.”

Kim glanced behind her. Sure enough, Jenna was giving him a disapproving glare. Not at Kim, but at his interlocutor.

A distinctive blue hazmat suit. Three pairs of wing symbols on the chest. He was a high ranking member of the Rapid Response Force.

“……Dustborn Corporation, was it? I heard about you through Congress, and you’ve already accomplished so much in such a short time.”

I responded with a shrug. I felt like I was slapping gold on my face if I said yes, but I didn’t feel like being humble.

“Why don’t we just use the council as a go-between in the future? I don’t have any beef with the Guard, they’re comfortable with each other.”

“You’ll have to, and to be honest, we don’t like you.”

It was nothing to be offended by.

In the meantime, Dustborn has been commissioned by the council to keep order in Kilikia, a partnership that, on the surface, seems to be a partnership with the law enforcement.

“No, actually, it’s a partnership.

There’s a sensitive issue. Everything Dustborne does is a “hard case for law enforcement to solve. It’s a pain in the ass for them.

Ordinary citizens act as vigilantes. Their solutions tend to be violent, and they can look like a criminal reserve army to law enforcement.

“This side of the boulevard, they’re cursing the police for being useless.

Structures that cannot be interlocked. Preferably unrelated.

“…But we’re also feeling grateful, because we certainly couldn’t have handled this incident on our own.”

Allen, the deputy chief of police, stared behind the counter of the motel. The blasted wall revealed a hidden passageway.

Just in time, law enforcement officers rescued the kidnapped citizens and escaped. The few survivors of No Face were taken into custody and dragged out.

“This is my second time coming to this building.”

“In a motel? Not that personal.”

“…….”

A cold glare shot out. Kim didn’t look away, but met his gaze. Allen pressed his forehead and explained again.

“He’s been investigated for other crimes. They checked the surveillance footage and didn’t find anything wrong.”

“Well, we can manipulate the footage. The building itself must have been owned by them. Any access logs?”

Legally registered establishments are obliged to have a scanner at the entrance. The data from the scanner is sent directly to the bureau, not the building owner.

“I asked the bureau, and they said there was no problem again, so we didn’t get permission to search.”

“Funny.”

The darkness was deeper than I thought. Suddenly, I remembered Roscoe’s words on my first day in Kilikia.

The bracelets that served as identification and said, “I’m trying to keep the peace,” were useless if the officials were corrupt.

“That’s why today’s events are so significant. Just as the battle in Metropolis changed the underground, it will change the surface.”

“This must be a good situation for you guys.”

Allen replied with a thin smile.

It’s not just NoFace. It’s not just NoFace that will be punished, but also companies that have been secretly supporting criminal organizations.

The evidence is mounting, and the cause is clear. The council and the magistracy will wield the sword without mercy, as they have been wont to do.

Kilikia is in a moment of transformation. New underground businesses are emerging, and the elimination of red tape will strengthen public power.

“I feel so weird.

It’s not an exaggeration to say that Kim led all of these changes, and he felt proud and refreshed.

At the same time, I was concerned.

“It’s not going to change for the better.

Conflict is inevitable. The next time, the police force might be corrupt. Tragedies will happen, like Mary’s death, that never happened in the game.

Of course, future events will have their own causes, and Kim’s stake is certainly one of them.

“I’ll have to stop by once in a while.

You can’t just twist the scenario and say, ‘My job is done. I felt responsible. I guess you could say aftercare.

Well, in moderation.

* * *

Two additional NoFace strongholds were discovered. Bryce and his crew made it happen.

All of them were smaller than the locations that Kim and Ghost cleared. The No-Faces were easily subdued as the security forces swooped in.

The news was that they had been captured alive, avoiding shooting as much as possible. But Kim believed it would be difficult to get any useful information from them.

“They don’t even scream when they die.

It’s more of a Makashal feature than a no-face.

Every time you change form, it’s excruciatingly painful, and with repetition, the nerves themselves become desensitized to the pain.

Regardless of their interrogation skills, it’s hard to get anyone to talk. And even if they do, it’s doubtful that the information will be useful.

“In a few days, he’ll wash his identity again.”

“It’s the most troublesome part of nofaces. It’s virtually impossible to eradicate unless it’s self-extinguishing.”

Ghost, sitting across from me, chimed in.

“Yes, but we’ve probably taken care of most of the people in Kilikia. There probably weren’t many of them in the first place, and their main operations are in the east, far from here.”

You’ve already been swept up once, and it’s unlikely that you’ll be able to bring in more people right away.

NoFace left in the city can only do menial jobs to avoid detection, or give up and leave the city altogether.

“You played a big part, Hyun. You did a lot of damage in one fell swoop, and if it weren’t for you, we’d be in for a mud fight. No Face’s backers would have been disrupted.”

“Maybe it’s because you’re more experienced, but you have a different weight.”

“I saw a lot of dirt, and after I was cleaned up, I was semi-forced to step back from the front lines.”

Ghost smirked, reminiscing about old times.

“It wasn’t too bad as an instructor, surprisingly, though he eventually quit and became an agent for the Lab.”

By all accounts, Ghost has had a turbulent life. How many of the Rap’s agents had lived a peaceful life.

“Hmm. Your tale of woe is worth hearing. …….”

Tak.

Kim set the disposable cup she was holding down on the table. Apparently, the drinks at the cafe near her office didn’t taste right.

“You didn’t call me here to talk about that, did you?”

It’s around 2pm. It’s way too early to leave the office, but Kim and Ghost are the only ones in the office.

Everyone else was out of town.

It’s been five days since the No Face incident. Kilikia is a tumultuous city. Five days was plenty of time for new trouble.

“I thought you said arms trafficker.

It’s not much different from the usual agenda. The only difference is that Kim wasn’t there. It was his choice, not Ghost’s.

“We’ll have to get them used to it ahead of time.

Ensure that we can continue to work as we do now after Kim leaves. To ensure that Dustborn’s Kilikia chapter can continue to function without problems.

I thought about taking them all with me, but I didn’t want to lose the ground I had gained. Having a city I could return to at any time and act freely was invaluable.

Anyway.

For Kim, today was a rare day off. I had planned to stay in bed, but Ghost called, and I had to make room.

“Let’s cut to the chase, I think five days is enough time to catch your breath.”

“Hmm.”

The words the Ghost tried to say in No Face’s stronghold. It was time to hear what he’d been putting off.

“I’m sure you didn’t just say, “I’m going to ditch the rap this time and move on to Dustborn.””

I asked half-jokingly, half-seriously. If so, I had to say no. Ghost would be better off continuing to work in the lab.

“Haha. That’s a no-brainer.”

Luckily, he was wrong. The ghost, lightly unclean, soon spoke in a serious tone.

“But when it comes to transfers, it is.”

“Huh?”

“Hyun, why don’t you come to the lab again?”

It was the same suggestion I’d heard the other day.

“I’m not asking you to go out alone. You’re welcome to come over with the rest of Dustborn, it’ll be a significant force multiplier for us as well.”

“Did you talk to your warden?”

“That’s my dogma for now.”

Does that mean he didn’t consult Leila, which is odd for a Lab agent.

As a frontline combatant, Leila is no different from any other agent. However, her status within the lab is very high.

The same is true among non-combatants. His external position was at least as prestigious as that of a lab director in the organization.

It has to do with her origins… but that’s something we won’t find out until later. Initially, she’s more of a sidekick to the player.

“I know you have a lot of secrets, and you can keep them if you don’t want to. I’ll tell Kushan and HR, but it’s worth the bitterness.”

“You’re being too nice.”

Kim was puzzled; she didn’t understand why he was so low.

Less than ten people who have somehow made it to Snowfield. I doubt they’re the kind of force you’d recruit with the promise of preferential treatment.

“Is it Asterique after all?”

“Nope. To be honest, I don’t think he’s a very good operator. He was wearing a spell suppressor during the match. He seemed to have trouble dealing with spells.”

He wasn’t wrong. It’s a bomb that’s hard to handle in the real world.

“It’s a little different now.

The change was not in Asterike himself, but in Kim.

You’ll be able to pull out a piece of equipment that is jokingly referred to as Ast’s personal weapon. Asterique will become even more active than she already is. Though I don’t know when.

“Of course, we recognize the potential. He’s already proven it against the Legion’s cadre. There are a lot of people in the lab who are well-versed in spells, so they might be able to help.”

However, the Haggis ghosts have taken over.

“I realized it when we clashed with Legion in Faoria. We have a big problem, and it’s not going to be solved by bringing in talent.”

“……Continue speaking.”

Kim adjusted his posture and started listening. The problem in the Cellbrosics Lab. It was a development that hadn’t happened in the game. We couldn’t ignore it.

Ghost asked a somewhat outlandish question.

“What do you think of Leila’s character?”

“Well, whatever. Nice, isn’t it, gentle.”

“Yes. Agents have been affected, too. I’m no different, and I’ve never thought of it as a problem until now.”

“So far.”

Slowly, the story began to take shape.

“The Legion’s methods… are nasty, and they’re not above inhumanity, which means they have a lot of tools at their disposal.”

But what about the Celbrox Labs.

“Leila is too reserved. She’s limited in how she operates. She’s fighting the Legion at a disadvantage from the start.”

“…….”

“I watched you closely as I helped with this. You stood out as calculating and cold. Your application of the spell was unique.”

Kim scratched her cheek in embarrassment. She blurted out a question to hide her nervousness.

“Is Leila in command of the operation?”

“Not always. In Floria, the Professor was in charge. He’s a brilliant man, but… he’s basically like Leila.”

“May I ask a rude question?”

“At will.”

He asked pointedly.

“How many agents were killed in the operation?”

“Two.”

“Oh, right.”

It’s no different than in the game. The same casualties occur in the existing story.

This was as serious as it sounds. I mean, you’ve gotten two people killed using a ghost that you wouldn’t normally take on a mission.

I understood the situation perfectly.

‘Cub. Slipping away.’

In his fiction, the professor often shows a cold-hearted side. He is usually humane, but when dealing with his enemies, he tends to be unforgiving.

Because he learned firsthand that if you snap, you die. Because of Ghost’s sacrifice.

“But I saved his life.

Not only was Leila distraught, but so was the professor. It was obvious what two flower children would do to each other if they were allowed to hang out together.

Ghost cleared his throat.

“Of course, I don’t expect you to lead professionally. I just need a team that can run the operation more efficiently than we’re used to, that’s all I’m asking.”

Kim took the straw again and popped it into his mouth. The flavor of the Americano wafted through his mouth. He thought for a moment before answering.

“Come back tomorrow. Bring Leila and Pablo.”

I couldn’t leave it alone.