The Hero Has Returned

Chapter 15 - Hero is born (4)

The gang that originally occupied the Ilsan Hunter Industrial Complex was a small organization.

It was when they started getting into distribution that they began to expand their influence and grow in size.

I recalled the past, remembering the contents of a news article.

<< The Chi-do Gang, Busted! >>

[The boss of the gang occupying the Ilsan Hunter Industrial Complex, Cha Chi-do, has been arrested and indicted.

The man is accused of smuggling narcotics worth over 800 billion won into South Korea.

During the search and seizure process, what was discovered in his room was…]

'Well, it was something like that.'

It was a long time ago, so I don't remember the finer details.

But the item discovered in the gang boss's room shook the world enough to be remembered for generations to come.

I grabbed the handle of the safe door and applied force.

GRIND.

As expected, it was fitted with a special lock, so it didn't open easily.

If I were to explode my mana and activate , I could probably force the entire door off.

However.

'It would be incredibly noisy.'

Judging by the model of the safe, it was structured so that the more you tried to force it open, the more securely the lock would fasten.

There were still two gang members standing guard outside the door.

If I needlessly caused a commotion, it was obvious they would swarm here in an instant.

I pressed a button on my helmet and activated the suit's manual.

Text appeared in the air in my VR vision.

<< P1 How to Uze! >>

Nite-vizion for when ya can't see at nite.

Suck-shun cups on hands for wall climbin'.

How to work the wire.

......

The interface was a complete mess, as if Kkalkki had built the software himself.

'This is no time to be complaining.'

I scrolled down and quickly found the part I needed.

17. Door Lock Hackin'.

This function was for opening locked doors, but I figured it could be used on a safe as well.

I took the round hacking device from near my chest and attached it to the safe's dial.

BEEP-BOOP-BEEP.

The numbers on the mechanical device, which had stuck to it like a magnet, changed rapidly, disabling the safe's secret security system.

KA-CHUNK.

Immediately after, a heavy sound, like a pistol being loaded, rang out.

I grabbed the handle of the safe and pulled.

The door swung open without resistance.

Inside the safe were numerous glass boxes, each the size of a palm.

Inside the glass, which was filled with a clear preservation fluid, were pairs of long ears.

These were...

'Elf ears.'

I had prepared myself, but I felt a wave of nausea.

The gang boss, Cha Chi-do, was a collector of non-human body parts.

Furthermore, he was a man who felt a thrill from kidnapping elves and personally cutting them up with a sashimi knife.

I reached out and took all the glass boxes, placing them on the cape.

"This is a confiscation, you psycho bastard."

The boxes didn't just contain elf ears.

1kg gold bars, bundles of 50,000-won bills, wads of dollars, etc.

There was a considerable amount of wealth that could be used immediately.

Even at a glance, it amounted to tens of billions of won.

How did the boss of a mere gang come to earn this much money?

It was because of the system at the Ilsan Hunter Industrial Complex.

The gang extorted money from the foreign workers' wages every month under the pretext of 'management fees.'

The vast sums of money taken in this way were used to line the pockets of the gang boss.

"This son of a bitch."

I swept up everything I could and placed it on the cape.

That's right. This was, by all accounts, thievery.

But I don't think it's wrong.

There was something the factory president was fond of saying to the employees.

"There are plenty of other bastards to do the work even without you!"

I have no intention of calling myself a righteous thief.

I didn't want to justify my stealing either.

It's just that...

Kkalkki worked for only half of my salary.

He was so frugal that he couldn't even buy a padded jacket, and in the cold winter, he would work wearing several layers of socks.

Even so, he often got frostbite.

Kkalkki's friend Khan, who worked at the 1st Factory, was once rushed away in an ambulance after inhaling dust from working with a cheap mask.

Simply, things like that made me angry.

The president's tyranny and the gang's exploitation.

To change all of this, someone has to step up.

That is a hero.

This was my job to do.

I grabbed the edges of the large cape and gathered them toward the center.

The Dvergr Cloth's effect activated, and the size of the items inside shrank.

I fashioned the cape into a bundle, slung it over my back, and tied the knot diagonally across my front.

With that, the mission was complete.

I left the broken door as it was and exited the room.

In the hallway, the two gang members I had taken down were still passed out.

If I were to leave through the window now, it would be a perfect crime.

I placed my foot on the windowsill and got into position to escape.

At that moment.

The first-floor door opened, and I heard the presence of people.

"Ah. It's a truly beautiful moonlit night."

From my position on the second floor, the area below was clearly visible.

A man with pale skin and reddish under-eyes entered.

A knife scar was etched by the corner of one eye, and the glint coming from his eyes was menacing even from a distance.

The moment I saw him, I froze.

The gang boss.

'Cha Chi-do.'

His subordinates followed behind him.

"Isn't it? Yeong-cheol-ssi."

I saw a familiar face next to Cha Chi-do.

It was the gang's second-in-command, the lanky guy.

The lanky guy bowed his head low.

"...I'm sorry. I intended to stay until the end. But it seems this is as far as my capabilities go."

"Ayy! What's there to be sorry about? When you're in an organization, sometimes you get disillusioned, sometimes you want to quit, that's just how it is. Isn't that right?"

The lanky guy kept his mouth shut without a word.

Looking at the situation, I could easily grasp what was happening.

The lanky guy had told me he was going to quit the gang.

'He told me to run.'

It meant that Cha Chi-do over there was no ordinary madman, and getting entangled with him would lead to no good.

It was the final piece of advice he gave me as someone leaving the gang.

In any case.

Now is the perfect time.

While they are leisurely chatting, I can just slip away from here.

"......"

But why?

My feet wouldn't move.

The lanky guy opened his mouth, his face filled with fear.

"I will never speak a word about what happened here. I'll go quietly to the countryside and live as if I were dead."

"What happened here?"

Cha Chi-do took something out from within his coat.

The chillingly sharp blade of a sashimi knife glinted as it reflected the light.

"What? What kind of things?"

Cha Chi-do moved to a spot where sacks of cement were piled up.

"Things like this?"

The sashimi knife sank deep into a cement sack.

When he pulled the knife out, black powder poured out.

That was what they called 'Black Pearl.'

Its hallucinogenic effects were dozens of times stronger than the usual stuff, and its addictive symptoms were severe.

In a few years, an incident will occur where a group of factory workers die after indiscriminately taking Black Pearl.

Cha Chi-do scooped up the black powder that had fallen to the ground with his sashimi knife.

"Hoo."

The black powder rode the wind and scattered into the air.

The gang members who were watching stood as silent as the dead.

"Hoo... It's shining particularly black today, isn't it? I wonder if it's because the moonlight is so nice."

Cha Chi-do, his eyes now bloodshot, stood before the lanky guy.

Looking closely, the gang's formation was strangely divided into two.

One group of subordinates stood behind Cha Chi-do.

A smaller number stood behind the lanky guy.

The two groups faced each other.

The lanky guy took a step forward.

"I am prepared for the consequences. Please, hit me as much as you'd like. I will leave after properly completing the withdrawal ceremony. But in exchange..."

He glanced over his shoulder at the men behind him.

"Please, leave my younger brothers alone. This is my last request, Big Hyungnim."

Cha Chi-do patted the lanky guy's shoulder.

"Ayy. What kind of era do we live in? Why would we do something so old-fashioned like a withdrawal ceremony? Just go."

"I-Is that true?"

"Of course. But you still have to take responsibility, don't you? For what it's worth, I am the boss. I have my dignity to think of."

The lanky guy nodded his head so hard it looked like it might fall off.

"If it's money you want, I will give you everything I've saved."

Starting with his words.

The subordinates behind him added a word or two.

"I'll chip in too. But if Yeong-cheol Hyungnim leaves, I'm also quitting the gang.”

"Me too! Please let us go, Big Hyungnim!"

To any observer, the lanky guy was clearly the eldest.

But they all seemed to be terrified of Cha Chi-do.

Cha Chi-do guffawed.

"Wow! Now that I see it, you all have such strong brotherly love. What's the secret? Yeong-cheol-ssi."

Cha Chi-do, who had been all smiles, suddenly stopped laughing.

"Alright. Then let's do this."

He took his sashimi knife and approached the subordinates standing behind the lanky guy.

"Yeong-cheol-ssi, you can just go. Your younger brothers here can take the responsibility for you."

SWISH.

In the blink of an eye, the sashimi knife cut through the air.

Plop.

The ear of one of Ki Yeong-cheol's subordinates fell to the floor.

"Kkuaaak!!!"

The subordinate let out a belated scream, clutching the side of his head as he rolled on the floor.

"Everyone here. Just offer up one side each. Then I'll let you go."

Agonized screams and a heavy silence coexisted.

Cha Chi-do gestured with his head toward his own subordinates.

"What are you all doing? Grab them."

Cha Chi-do's side, which had the superior numbers, easily subdued the lanky guy's men.

Cha Chi-do could not hide his madness and covered his bursting laughter with his hand.

"Let me be clear, I am a merciful man. I'm only taking one side, not both, see? Now, offer it up."

The sashimi knife touched the ear of the lanky guy's subordinate.

This time, it wasn't a fast cut like before.

He began to saw back and forth, slowly, like with a saw.

"Uwaaak!!!"

"St-Stop it, please!"

"Big Hyungnim! Please!! Aaack!!!"

...By the time the ears of the second, third, and fourth men had been cut off.

The lanky guy fell to his knees before Cha Chi-do.

"I-I was wrong! Big Hyungnim!"

The gang's second-in-command trembled, clinging to Cha Chi-do's pant leg.

"What was that?"

"I was mistaken. Please forgive me! I'll stay in the organization."

"Hmmmm."

Cha Chi-do tilted his head.

"Ayy. That's not it. This isn't such a simple problem. If I stop here, what does that make me? Yeong-cheol-ssi, you've embarrassed me several times today."

"Ah, no. That's not it... Ugh!"

Cha Chi-do kicked the lanky guy.

"Let's make an example. First, one!"

He plunged the sashimi knife deep into the chin of the lanky guy's subordinate, from bottom to top.

"Keuk."

The sashimi knife, having pierced through the jaw, exited through the crown of his head.

As he pulled the knife out, blood poured out like a waterfall, and the subordinate collapsed lifelessly.

"Ah, ahh..."

Ki Yeong-cheol, having witnessed his subordinate's death, lost his sanity and shot up from his spot.

"You son of a bitch!!!"

He lunged at Cha Chi-do, unleashing his unique skill , but he stopped dead in his tracks before long.

It was because Cha Chi-do had stabbed the lanky guy in the thigh with the knife.

"Aish. The same technique for years now. Tsk tsk. Yeong-cheol-ssi, you have ab-so-lutely no growth."

With a thwack!, he struck the lanky guy's chin with the handle of the sashimi knife.

The lanky guy once again fell to his knees.

He glared at Cha Chi-do, panting heavily.

"...I said I'd take responsibility. So just stop. I said stop!!! You crazy bastard!!!"

The lanky guy burst into tears and roared.

Cha Chi-do looked down at him and held the sashimi knife with the back of the blade facing out.

"Alright. Then you take responsibility, Yeong-cheol-ssi. How? It's simple. You die. How about it? Fair, isn't it?"

Why had I just been watching them this whole time?

I had already achieved my goal in the first place.

The internal strife within the gang had nothing to do with me.

However.

The lanky guy, his bloodshot eyes streaming with tears, left his final words.

"Yeah. Kill me. You son of a bitch. You'll be punished the same way someday."

Cha Chi-do opened his mouth with a vicious smile.

"Punishment? When? My, I can't wait."

Just before the sashimi knife could plunge into the lanky guy's head.

I had already finished buying the second hero's ability.

Ding.

[ You have purchased the Hero Speeder's ]

With a BOOM!, I kicked off the floor and descended.

From the second floor to the first.

A speed that took less than 0.2 seconds.

Cha Chi-do couldn't even tell what had happened.

He could only stare at me blankly.

"Who are you?"

"I'm the one who's come to punish you..."

I slowly lifted my head, my hand gripping the blade of the sashimi knife.

"An apostle of justice.”