<h4>Chapter 580: Devil of the Power nt (5)</h4>
“The Shupigel Company.” Yuri knocked on the desk and said, “Shupigel Hathaway owns thepany, and Shupigel Hathaway owns the body I’m currently using.”
“<i>Hmm??</i>Does that have anything to do with the n?” asked Shin Sung-Hyun.
“Company? That word bothers me a bit,” said Seo Jun-Ho.
“...What do you mean?”
“We saw a simple production facility on our way here,” said Seo Jun-Ho. He could still remember the machinery and the numerous workers he had seen earlier. “Since it’s called apany rather than a factory, it definitely has other departments, right?”
Yuri nodded and said, “Correct. This factory is just a part of what thepany does.”
“Is that so?” Seo Jun-Ho turned to Yuri and urged her to continue with his eyes.
“You don’t need to know everything there is to know about thispany, Specter-nim, but thispany has a department that is crucial to our n.”
“What is it?”
“It’s the prisoner supply department.”
“A prisoner supply department?” Seo Jun-Ho thought about it, but it didn’t take him that long to deduce the department’s job. “Does the prisoner supply department catch prisoners and turn them over to the power nt?”
“Correct,” said Yuri.
“We thought about it hard and long, but we couldn’t find any other way to infiltrate the power nt aside from using that department,” Wei Chun-Hak chimed in as he lit his third cigarette. “I didn’t proceed with the n because I was alone, it would have been meaningless if I had done so.”
“Yep,” Yuri said with a nod. She couldn’t join Wei Chun-Hak because she had to hand over prisoners to the power nt using Shupigel’s body.
‘<i>Wei?Chun-Hak couldn’t have done anything by himself even if he had seeded in infiltrating the power nt.</i>’
It was impossible for anyone to destroy such a huge power nt by themselves, and it was probably the reason why they had been crying out in Community’s public channels.
The n they had in mind couldn’t seed with just one or two people.
“I have a question,” Shin Sung-Hyun asked, “What crimes do you have to do to be a prisoner of the power nt?”
“I want to know that as well,” said Seo Jun-Ho.
Every Overmind was precious because of their low poption. It seemed wasteful to use Overminds asbor rather than failures.
“The prisoners of the power nt all had one crime inmon.”
“...Is it murder?”
Yuri and Wei Chun-Hak nodded.
“An Overmind murdering another Overmind meant that their lengthy lifespan had gotten to them. In other words, you can say that they have gone mad.”
“That’s weird. Can you really entrustbor to a madman?”
“I don’t think so, but considering how they have a strict demand for prisoners…”
“It must be no ordinarybor.”
“I think they’re doing some experiments on those Overminds.”
Seo Jun-Ho nodded. An Overmind prisoner was a precious test subject.
“<i>Hm,?</i>how many Overminds can we use to enter the power nt?”
“We located nine Overminds with a bounty on their heads.”
“Nine? I don’t think that’s good enough,” said Seo Jun-Ho.
Shin Sung-Hyun emerged from his contemtion and asked, “Jun-Ho-nim, do you still have the bombs you used to destroy the Radio Tower?”
“No.” Seo Jun-Ho shook his head and said, “I used them up to destroy the Radio Tower.”
Seo Jun-Ho had already run out of Dwarf Special Bombs after using them to destroy the Imperial Pce of Neo City and the Radio Tower of Babe.
“So we have to destroy the power nt with only nine people.”
“I think we can fit one more person if we try,” said Yuri.
“What do you mean?” asked Shin Sung-Hyun.
Wei Chun-Hak answered, “Overminds are going missing in this city recently. There isn’t a bounty on the perpetrator just yet, but rumor has it that a bounty will be announced on their head soon.”
“A bounty? Howe when it isn’t even a murder?”
“I don’t think there’s much of a difference.”
“I guess, so we can infiltrate the power nt with ten people by impersonating the perpetrator behind the recent missing persons'' case.”
“Yes, but we have to capture those criminals first.” Wei Chun-Hak ced several wanted posters on the desk and said, “I could easily find them using my ghosts, but we can’t use magic here.”
In addition, they had to catch such criminals without using even a drop of magic.
‘<i>When was thest time I fought without magic?</i>’
Seo Jun-Ho couldn’t remember it at all. He had never cked in his training, but the Overminds were simply too powerful to fight without using magic.
“This is going to be difficult…”
“Well, I guess all we can do is try our best.”
“You’re right.” Seo Jun-Ho got up from his seat and said, “Do you guys happen to know the Devil?”
“The Devil? <i>Hm…</i> I’ve certainly heard of the Devil of the Power nt before, but…”
“We looked into it, but it seemed like it was nothing more than just a rumor.”
“Is that so?” There was a high chance that the Devil of the Power nt was just a rumor made to deter people. After all, even the vige chief couldn’t confirm whether the Devil of the Power nt truly existed or not.
“Do I just incapacitate them and bring them back here?”
“Yes, and if anyone asks about what you’re doing. Just say that you’re from the Shupigel Company’s tracking team,” said Yuri.
“Is there anything else I should know before I leave?” asked Seo Jun-Ho.
“Ah, yeah!” Yuri eximed, “You might run into anotherpany’s tracking team. The power nt’spensation in exchange for criminals is quite impressive, so manypanies have also created their own tracking team to track criminals.”
“What should I do then?”
“That really depends on what you want to do, Specter-nim, but…” Yuri shrugged and said, “If you allow them to take one criminal away, it would be one less criminal we could use to infiltrate the power nt.”
“I guess I shouldn’t let them take any of the criminals away,” said Seo Jun-Ho with a nod. He could still remember the districts he had seen on the map earlier, so he turned around and walked away to begin the operation.
“Let’s start,” he said.
***
It was nighttime, and forty-three yers—as well as two hundred failures—were wandering the streets of Float City. Seo Jun-Ho was in charge of District 24th’s 7th Street north of Float City.
- <i>Beep.</i>
- The next stop is District 24th’s 7th Street.
Se Jun-Ho got off the bus and looked around.
‘<i>How can the atmosphere of this street be so different from the other streets when it’s in the same city?</i>’
The bus ride took three hours, but Seo Jun-Ho was finally at one of the ces that Wei Chun-Hak had marked on the map.
‘...<i>It’s old.</i>’
District 24 was certainly different from District 51, which was filled with healthy workers.
District 24 was a deste district with streets filled with nothing but mice and empty liquor bottles.
“...” Seo Jun-Ho wordlessly worked down the street, and he could feel the shady and vignt eyes of the residents in the district. Seo Jun-Ho heard that District 24 was an isted district that the residents of Float often avoided visiting.
Seo Jun-Ho entered the biggest-looking bar in town, and the noises in the bar abruptly vanished.
An awkward air pervaded the bar, but Seo Jun-Ho calmly walked in front of the bartender and sat down before asking, “I want something smooth and weak.”
“...”
The young bartender wordlessly poured him a ss of white wine. He started cleaning the other sses with a yellow rag before asking, “Are you an outsider?”
“...From Gt, yes.”
“Yikes.” The young bartender clicked his tongue and asked, “I heard about the tragedy that unfolded there. Are you okay?”
“I’m not sure if I can say that I’m okay.”
“I’m sorry to hear that. This one’s on me.”
“Thanks; I appreciate it.” Seo Jun-Ho took a sip and looked around. “I’m looking for someone. Can you help me?”
“No. You better give up.” The young bartender raised the ss toward the light and said nonchntly, “Outsiders can’t be reckless in this ce.”
“...I’m afraid I can’t give up. I recently got a job, and I need to do my work.”
“What job?”
“I don’t know if you’ve heard of it, but I’m working for the Shupigel Company.”
“Damn it.” The young bartender put the ss down and red at Seo Jun-Ho. “You’re a part of the Shupigel tracking team?”
“Are you mad at the tracking team?”
“Those who get involved with the tracking team always end up suffering a terrible fate,” replied the young bartender. Eventually, he sighed and asked, “Who are you looking for?”
“Jodi Arkson—thousand and twenty-eight years old. He has red hair and a long scar on his left cheek,” said Seo Jun-Ho.
The young bartender pondered over it before shaking his head. “I don’t recognize that person, and there’s no way I would fail to remember such distinct traits.”
“Is that so?”
<i>‘That’s fair. There’s no way a criminal could juste and go to a bar like this.’</i>
Seo Jun-Ho held out the currency he had received from Yuri and asked, “Let me ask you another question, then. I heard that there are many abandoned factories up north. Are they all empty?”
“...” The young bartender shut his mouth tightly and looked around carefully. He covered the money with the yellow rag he was using to clean the sses before muttering, “You better not go there.”
“So there’s something going on there?”
“...Is Shupigel going to conduct a major raid or something?”
“No. I’m on my own.”
The young bartender did a double take at Seo Jun-Ho, and his gaze made it obvious that he felt like he was staring at a madman.
“Those Shupigel bastards probably didn’t bother to exin things to you since you’re an outsider, but the abandoned factories up north are being illegally upied by those whom even Float City Hall had decided to give up on prosecuting.”
“How about the army and the city enforcers?”
“<i>Hah.</i> there’s no way the army would make a move against a local gang. The enforcers ignore them because the gang shuts them up with bribes, and it’s not like the enforcers can handle them even if they want to.”
Seo Jun-Ho blinked and asked, “Wait, Then, those on the wanted posters are…”
“Yes. Those who had made mistakes would get thrown under the bus. It’s called sending them to school,” said the young bartender.
“<i>Hmm…</i>”
If the young bartender’s story were true, the abandoned factories up north were sanctuaries for criminals.
‘<i>Wait, if I catch those guys… the biggest Gate in Float’s history might open.</i>’
Seo Jun-Ho downed his alcohol and got up. “Thanks for the information.”
“Are you still going?”
“No. I don’t think I can handle this by myself. I’ll have to go to work tomorrow and ask for reinforcements.”
“It’s useless. A mere tracking team of apany cannot handle them. Besides, the reason no one has done anything about the gang is that leaving the gang alone is more profitable in the long run.”
Seo Jun-Ho smiled and thought, <i>‘I guess the emperor’s words about how Babe is a paradise of integrity is a bunch of bullshit.’</i>
“We’ll see about that.”
“<i>Tsk</i>. Are the citizens of Gt as stubborn as you?” said the young bartender while shaking his head.
Seo Jun-Ho ignored the young bartender’s remark and turned around to leave the bar.
‘<i>I’m not a hundred percent sure since I can’t use magic to confirm it, but…</i>’
Seo Jun-Ho could feel the eyes on him getting more intense.
Seo Jun-Ho looked around a couple of times before decisively running away.
“Damn it. Get him!”
Several men screamed and chased after him. Seo Jun-Ho nced at them with a perplexed face. He panicked and entered an alley only to stumble upon a dead end.
“<i>Hah</i>. You’re done for you, ugly Gt rat.”
“You actually came here by yourself? I guess those Shupigel bastards are cruel.”
‘<i>There are two of them… one’s big, and one’s slender.</i>’
Seo Jun-Ho swept his gaze across the two and said, “I’m a member of the Shupigel Company’s tracking team, so if you mess with me—”
“Nothing will happen even if we mess with you,” said the slender man with a sinister smile.
Therge-framed man chimed in. “<i>Kekeke</i>. Do you have any idea how much we pay your boss?”
“That’s news to me,” said Seo Jun-Ho.
“Of course, it’s going to be news to you, you dumbass. Why would he tell you about it?”
‘<i>No, I really haven’t heard of it. Yuri didn’t tell me anything about bribes.</i>’
It seemed that Yuri couldn’t read the memories of the dead.
“Well, at least one thing is clear.”
The two men had to have chased after him to nip him in the bud before he could cause trouble for the gang. After taking a closer look at the two, Seo Jun-Ho recalled seeing them on the wanted posters.
.
‘<i>I guess they’re wanted because they’re still atrge.</i>’
Seo Jun-Ho was convinced that more yers and failures could infiltrate the power nt if he managed to capture the gang members up north alive.
“Everyone,” muttered Seo Jun-Ho, “District 24th’s 7th Street.”
“Why are you talking to yourself?”
“Oh, you heard that? Yes, I wasn’t talking to you guys.” Seo Jun-Ho shrugged and grinned. “Well, then. Shall we have fun until they arrive?”