Bad Born Blood

Chapter 222

Sonsu Industries was located on the outskirts of Border City.  

The premises of Sonsu Industries consisted of a single factory reeking of iron, a four-story office building, and a shabby dormitory.  

'It's not a particularly large company.'  

The employees of Sonsu Industries handled both combat and production duties. Some of the combatants who had aimed their guns at me earlier had already changed clothes and were heading into the factory.  

'Aren't they professional fighters?'  

If they weren’t, their level of training was exceptionally high. I had assumed they were professional mercenaries or former soldiers.  

"……If you pay the same wage and make them do two jobs, the company's efficiency doubles. That's the spirit of a businessman. I don’t understand why everyone hires separate combat personnel. Hah, do they just have money rotting away?"  

Son Seok-jae, having noticed my gaze, added an explanation. His reasoning was absurd. It was a mindset that would drive a business into the ground sooner or later.  

'But Son Seok-jae is no fool. There must be another reason.'  

I narrowed my eyes. I had slept for thirty minutes, but I was still exhausted. My headache was severe, and I could feel the pressure in my skull rising. I had a bad feeling something serious would happen soon.  

"I’d like to wash up."  

With an important negotiation ahead, I brought up the matter of bathing. Son Seok-jae shrugged and laughed. Because of the cigar smoke, he kept his distance from me. Not that it made much of a difference—the smell still reached me.  

"There’s a communal bath on the second floor of the dormitory for employees. It should be empty now, so go ahead. Ah, but we’ve turned off the boiler for this season, so there won’t be any hot water. It’s not too cold, though."  

He was quite the miser. Compared to Jafa, who spent money on employee welfare as if it were water, the difference was striking.  

"Do you have a medical drill? Just asking, just in case."  

"There’s an infirmary on the first floor of the dormitory. If it’s not there, then we don’t have one."  

Son Seok-jae didn’t ask for a detailed explanation. He, too, was one of those so-called extraordinary individuals. Even in our short encounter, I could sense his peculiar presence.  

'More than anything, Sonsu Industries is much smaller than Jafa Trading. Yet Jafa isn’t taking Son Seok-jae lightly.'  

Jafa did not look down on Son Seok-jae. That meant he was the kind of person who could put a knife to Jafa’s throat.  

'I need to align myself with a force that can keep Jafa in check. I've been too dependent on Jafa up until now.'  

As I walked toward the dormitory, I mulled over my next move. My plan was to introduce a third party—Sonsu Industries—to balance the scales between myself and Jafa.

'Jafa and Son Seok-jae must both find it difficult to interfere with me.'  

I would deliberately create conflicts, entangling interests in a complex web. Amidst the ensuing chaos, I would carve out my own safe zone.  

……Ah, yes. This was exactly what Kinuan did in the Empire.  

Memories from my youth stirred within me, heating my body. Warmth crept up to my ears, and my headache worsened.  

My vision blurred as though splitting in two. The sounds of the world dulled as if someone had turned down a speaker’s volume. Even the smells merged together, becoming indistinguishable. My sensory organs were dulling.  

Step.  

The dormitory building had no automatic doors, nor even the most basic security measures.  

'They're running a factory on the outskirts of Border City—an area with poor security—without proper walls or security systems.'  

The conclusion was obvious. Sonsu Industries must be a group that the locals feared. There were likely terrifying rumors surrounding them, enough to keep even vagrants away.  

Throb.  

A sharp pain shot through my temple.  

I frowned. Enough thinking. First, I needed to administer emergency treatment.  

I pushed against the grimy glass door and stepped inside. A corridor that looked like it hadn’t been cleaned in decades stretched before me. The musty stench of old grime seeped out from between the tiles.  

'I'm already missing Jafa Trading's headquarters.'  

Jafa Trading’s headquarters was practically a luxury hotel in comparison.  

Creak, creak.  

The floor beneath me was slippery.  

Carefully stepping through the corridor, where layers of oil and grime had accumulated, I made my way to the infirmary on the first floor.  

'……Sonsu Industries is bizarre.'  

Despite the rundown exterior, the infirmary was stocked with a surprising amount of professional medical supplies.  

I turned to look at the "medical tools" hanging on the wall.  

[Sanitize before use.]  

The tools weren’t stored in any sterile compartments.  

Instead, they were strung up haphazardly on the wall, with a spray bottle of disinfectant placed beneath them.  

And most of these so-called medical tools were originally just regular hardware tools. Well, considering the minimal difference between surgical instruments and hardware tools, they could technically be interchangeable, but still……  

"……What kind of company is this?"  

Calm down, Luka.  

I had spent too much time in well-maintained environments, and that was why this squalid setting felt so repulsive to me.  

The facilities of the Imperial Guard and Jafa Trading were top-tier, even by Planet Novus standards.  

I shouldn’t judge the world by such a high standard. Even so… I couldn’t shake the thought—'Isn’t Sonsu Industries a bit extreme?'  

'Is this… supposed to be a medical drill?'  

I imagined this was how an imperial noble’s pampered son would feel upon visiting the lower districts for the first time.

The handle of the drill had the words "FOR INDUSTRIAL USE" boldly printed on it. Even without the label, anyone could tell that this wasn’t meant for medical procedures. The drill’s painted surface was a bright, high-saturation yellow.  

But the drill bit—now that was something else entirely.  

"Ha, damn it…"  

I stared at the drill bit, unsure of who had used it or when. Dried blood and bits of flesh were still stuck to it, crusted over. It hadn’t even been properly cleaned—just left there as it was.  

[Sanitize before use.]  

I read the sign posted next to it once more. Even without the warning, anyone looking at this mess would scrub it down thoroughly.  

I picked out the cleanest and thinnest bit I could find. After meticulously washing and sterilizing it, I secured it onto the drill.  

"Huuh…"  

I knew this was some crazy shit.  

But I still had hours of work ahead of me. I needed my insight sharp enough to pick up on subtle shifts in the situation.  

I looked into the mirror and pressed the drill against the area above my temple—specifically, the upper right corner of my forehead.  

If this were a gun instead of a drill, it would look like I was about to blow my brains out.  

"Nothing to stress about, Luka. It’s not like this is the first time you’ve done some dumb shit…"  

I really hoped this wouldn’t end up being my last words.  

Click.  

I pulled the drill’s trigger.  

Whiiiiiiirr!  

Holy shit.  

Tat-tat-tat-tat!  

I could feel it vibrating all the way to my front teeth.  

Screeeeech!  

What an awful sound.  

Psshhhhh!  

It was almost over.  

I drilled a hole into my skull. The moment the bit broke through the bone, thick, sticky blood squirted out like water from a toy gun. The pressure inside my skull had been too high.  

As the blood drained, the pressure eased.  

Hsssss…  

A faint, soothing sound filled my ears, like air slowly escaping from a balloon.  

It felt as if my mind had been cleansed of all the clutter. The soreness in my eyes faded, and my senses became sharper.  

"Much better."  

I muttered to myself while looking in the mirror.  

A man with blood streaming from what looked like a bullet hole in his head stared back at me.  

Now that my mind was clear, everything else fell into place. I calmly wiped away the blood, disinfected the area, and finally placed a gauze pad over the hole, securing it with tape.  

With my head cleared, even the most tangled problems were starting to make sense. My thoughts flowed smoothly. I could see exactly what needed to be done.  

Shaaah.  

I rinsed my face and the blood off in the sink.  

'This schedule is going to be tight.'  

I grabbed a foul-smelling towel and wiped my neck and jaw.

As my mind cleared, pain signals began flaring up all over my body. I lifted my shirt and slapped on several pain relief patches. As the medication seeped in, I finally felt somewhat human again.  

'This is the best I can do for now.'  

Life was full of unexpected events, and most of them were unpleasant.  

That meant you often had to face obstacles and despair unprepared. And that was an incredibly shitty thing.  

But no matter how shitty, there was no other choice. If you didn’t want to get swallowed up by this world, you had to keep moving—even if it felt like you were going to die from exhaustion. If you stood still, you’d just be devoured. The world didn’t wait for you just because you were struggling.  

Right now was one of those moments.  

Step. Step.  

Having finished my emergency treatment, I stepped out of the dormitory.  

A confrontation was unfolding in the open lot. I spotted an airborne vehicle sent by Jafa Trading. The serpent insignia on its side made it unmistakable, even from a distance.  

"This is private property, Equessian friends. No matter how rough things get in Border City, mercenaries working under a corporation shouldn’t be trespassing."  

Son Seok-jae, flanked by his armed employees, was standing off against the Equessian mercenaries.  

- Ho-yyot, ho-yyot. I merely wish to have a brief conversation, President Son.  

A life-sized hologram of Jafa flickered in front of Son Seok-jae.  

"You must be in quite a hurry, seeing as you deployed your hounds so quickly."  

Son Seok-jae chuckled as he puffed on his cigar. Even in front of Jafa, he showed no signs of intimidation.  

'Equessian, En.'  

I walked forward, fixing my gaze on En. He was staring at me as well. Even through his combat helmet, his seething rage was palpable.  

'He probably thinks I betrayed them.'  

Of course, it wasn’t betrayal. Jafa wouldn’t see it that way either—Jafa was too shrewd of a businessman for that.  

'Jafa must have already realized that I’m trying to use this situation to balance things out.'  

Including En, there were five Equessian mercenaries. Even without drawing their weapons, they radiated an overwhelming presence.  

- Mr. Luka is currently in my employ. He is a member of Jafa Trading. As such, Jafa Trading has the primary claim to his spoils and seized assets.  

"I didn’t know Mr. Luka was part of Jafa Trading. I thought that place was crawling only with aliens. Anyway, we have a contract regarding the remains of Mushir al-Kashura—"  

- A contract for transport rights, yes. But ownership is a separate matter.  

"Sonsu Industries handled the transport, so we can implicitly claim priority over ownership rights."

So they were aiming for implicit ownership rights—I hadn’t expected that move.  

The two businessmen continued their legal back-and-forth.  

- Ah, the concerned party has arrived. Mr. Luka, let’s have a chat.  

Jafa’s hologram spotted me and spoke. I stood in the middle of the mess.  

"Ah, good timing. That damned snake keeps pulling nonsense."  

Son Seok-jae handed his cigar to his secretary and approached me. Placing a hand on my shoulder, he acted as if we were close.  

I calmly parted my lips to speak.  

"You’re not after Mushir al-Kashura’s physical remains—you want the technology and schematics inside it. If I’m wrong, say so now."  

I brushed off Son Seok-jae’s hand while keeping my composure.  

Neither of them denied it. They simply waited for me to continue. Taking a brief breath, I pressed on.  

"I intend to give Sonsu Industries priority in negotiations. But Jafa, you have a point too. I don’t intend to make an enemy of you, and I’ll continue carrying out my missions."  

Son Seok-jae burst into laughter at my words.  

- Go on. It is about time we renegotiated.  

"Send Lapis Lazuli here. She will participate in analyzing and reverse-engineering Mushir al-Kashura’s remains. That way, Jafa Trading will also gain access to the schematics and technology. Whatever you do with that—whether you use it or sell it for profit—is up to you."  

For a moment, Son Seok-jae’s smile faltered before returning.  

"Hold on, even if we get priority…"  

"Sonsu Industries is aiming to win a federal weapons development bid. Jafa Trading won’t sell the technology before the bidding ends. We can put that in the contract. Even if Jafa were to betray that trust and secretly sell the technology to a competitor, they’d still be slower than Sonsu Industries. Your patent registration would be faster anyway, giving you the upper hand in the bidding war. Or… are you saying that even with a head start, Sonsu Industries is too incompetent to maintain its advantage?"  

I laid it all out in one breath.  

Son Seok-jae stroked his chin, where his short stubble gave his jaw a bluish tint.  

"Alright. I’ll concede on this point. Now, in exchange for handing over Mushir al-Kashura’s remains, what do you want? If your terms aren’t excessive, we can settle this deal right here and now."  

I gave En a brief signal. Clicking his tongue, he deactivated the hologram device and stepped back.  

Chhhhk.  

With the connection severed, Jafa’s hologram flickered and then disappeared.  

…From here on, it was just me and Son Seok-jae. A deal between the two of us.