< 116. Shock and Terror (14) >
***
“Oh my, this neighborhood was quiet for a while, but now it’s in chaos again. Inspector, can you send me a different dispatcher?”
The sweaty vigilante grumbled because of the hot weather. Jeong-pal pretended not to hear. Then the human youth started the engine and groaned again.
“Yes? Please. I want to work in a different town than the Orc community. I’ve lived here my whole life, but I’d be crazy to work here. I want to escape, escape!”
Jeongpal mutters indifferently.
“How can I move you when I have no connections or power?”
I picture someone’s face in my head, but I quickly erase it.
The two had just come back from a brawl at the Oak Pub. With their unemployment period growing longer, their time on their hands and their discontent growing, the sturdy orcs had been drinking heavily since noon, and the fight was quite intense.
It was fortunate that there were no gun accidents, because after the collapse of the Ork Gang and Red Star, they had no money to buy bullets.
The moment Jung Pal burst in and gave a battle cry, the situation ended. However, Jung Pal, the vigilante behind the wheel, and everyone in the Orc community knew that this would happen again.
The young man continued to grumble.
“What the hell is going on? They don’t do any work and just sit around fighting all day. It’s driving me crazy.”
“Wouldn’t they work only if there was someone to pay them?”
“It used to be there, but now it’s not there?”
“They’re all dead, in jail, or missing.”
The influence that Chairman Kim Gwang-woo and Red Star had on the economy of this neighborhood was so great.
Even if they didn’t necessarily pretend to be thieves or do gangster things, the two groups and their offshoots had many businesses, so many orcs became unemployed.
Because not all of them were transferred to another employer.
“Workers who were employed by Marxists are said to have kept their jobs… but they are mostly schools or charities, and there are limits.”
“Marx? Did someone like that live in this neighborhood?”
The young man tilts his head.
Since he said he was a follower, he seemed to think that the object of his following would naturally move along with him.
“There were even people following you? This is the first time I’ve heard of it.”
“···He is not from this town, nor is he a living person. He is the thinker that the Red Star guys idolize.”
“Oh, you’re talking about those commies. Then just say it like that. I won’t understand if you say it indirectly.”
Yes, it was my fault. Jeongpal lamented the level of education of the natives of the Orc community. Then the vigilante said.
“Huh? It’s Jenkins.”
The old police car’s air conditioner was not cool, and since it had been parked under the blazing sun, the interior was like a steamer. Even if you open the windows, it didn’t cool down easily.
“Can you just take one hard drive over there?”
The vigilante parked his car in front of a convenience store. Next to the sign that read “Jenkinson 25,” he saw a cutely drawn red dragon caricature. It was a drawing that ignored realism, with the eyes taking up half of the face.
It is a common strategy for corporate PR teams to portray the head of a conglomerate in a friendly manner to win the favor of the public. However, this logo was a very unique case that was hard to find. It was rumored that the chief secretary who served the red dragon had been putting in a lot of effort in the design department for several months.
“What? Did they rob us again?”
The glass exterior of the store was shattered. The vigilante poked his head out and asked.
“Sir, are you doing business?”
The harsh language is back.
“You have to do business, Nimiral. To make a living.”
After paying for two ice creams, Jeong-pal asked the convenience store owner. He glanced at the broken glass.
“Did you report it?”
“What are you going to do? You don’t even think about looking in here. I even personally handed the store’s CCTV footage to the police, but there’s still no sign of them moving!”
“I’ll check it out myself when I get back. It looks like the case was filed while I was out.”
“Huh! Don’t even expect it. After all, no one in this neighborhood cares about this guy other than Inspector Park. And it’s not like Inspector Park can catch and punish every single thief. Please, hire more police officers! Or, bring in more from somewhere else.”
The police-to-population ratio in this neighborhood is actually lower than in the wealthier areas, despite the neighborhood needing far more police.
‘Even if I tell the chief, it won’t work…’
At that moment, the person he had a meeting with that evening came to Jeongpal’s mind again.
‘Should I talk to that gentleman?’
As if it wasn’t an empty promise, Assemblyman Choi Pan-seok contacted him today to ask him to have dinner. Jeong Pal was surprised, but he didn’t refuse.
‘After all, isn’t that what a member of the National Assembly is supposed to say?’
Certainly, he could tell that the Orc community was acting strangely these days.
In the past, such blatant store robbing was not uncommon. It means that household finances are getting worse.
Action is needed.
Jeongpal spoke to the convenience store owner as he passed by.
“I’ll explain the situation to a high-ranking official I know and ask for support.”
“Huh, well, he’s just the chief of police, right? If I had talked to that guy and gotten through to him, it would have happened a long time ago.”
The convenience store owner snorted.
***
Minjun was dumbfounded.
“Mr. Kim, it looks like we were hit by that reckless sword.”
“Huh? What do you mean?”
After questioning, he told Frypan what he had found out.
“It seems like the fact that the cell phone signal was cut off here was part of the sword’s scheme. The wizard is not here.”
“······?!”
“These guys don’t even know the connection between the wizard and the blade in the first place.”
“then···?”
“The assassins here were planning to track down and dispose of Blade. They wanted revenge for the murder of their comrades.”
Knowing that, Blade used the police.
“It seems like he expected the police to follow the wizard’s footsteps. That’s why he deliberately approached this area and turned off his phone.”
It was assumed that the purpose was to have the police, who had been tracking the signal, confront them.
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It pitted the two groups pursuing him against each other.
Killing two birds with one stone, murder with a borrowed knife.
They did not know where the Blade was, but the Blade knew where they were. This gap in information was what ultimately led to the assassins’ downfall.
“Ugh···.”
Kim Cheol-su let out a sigh.
And then he says, as if he suddenly remembered something.
“Then how were they going to chase after someone whose face and identity they didn’t even know?”
Minjun explained that too.
Coming all the way here and beating up the assassins wasn’t a completely useless exercise. As a result of the interrogation, he obtained another important piece of information.
“These guys were so sure that Blade would show up soon. They were so sure that he would never leave Korea.”
There was some basis for that.
“Blade still has more people to kill. Here, in Korea.”
“Are you saying you got another request?”
“That’s not it.”
Kim Cheol-su made a face that showed he couldn’t understand.
“Blade is said to occasionally commit murders that aren’t commissioned. Is it a kind of leisure activity? He kills without receiving any money. Isn’t that unbecoming of a contract killer?”
The half-elf concubine would be a representative example.
The original target was Gwak Do-chul, but he ended up killing the person with whom he had an affair.
“If Headquarters doesn’t know, Blade sometimes uses his own money to buy information on certain people from Headquarters. Things like location information and behavior patterns. Information needed for assassination.”
“If you check on that person later, he’ll be dead.”
“The neck was cleanly cut off. That’s right. It was a murder without a client. But, it seems that Blade bought information from the headquarters even after arriving in Korea.”
Minjun recalled the scenery from the troll’s memories.
In the past scene, the troll and Choi Seon-ah (controlled by the sword) exchanged bills and cigarettes without saying a word. This was before the relationship with the headquarters became strained.
“All of this is a target that has never been requested to be killed by headquarters.”
Kim Cheol-su noted that his expression was plural.
“There are several people?”
“Yes, I will now call out your name and address, so please take note of it.”
The number of names Minjun recited was more than expected.
A whopping twenty-nine people.
“Abrams headquarters believes that Blade will not leave Korea until he kills all twenty-nine people. That has been the pattern so far. And they are confident that he will reappear to kill them.”
Kim Cheol-su’s eyes grew wide.
“then···.”
“Yes, if you stay by their side, you can grab the blade.”
At that time, the name and address that Minjun had handed over were confirmed. Kim Cheolsu frowned after seeing the result.
“Somehow, I thought I’d heard those names somewhere.”
“Why is that?”
The wizard spoke in a gloomy voice.
“These targets have one thing in common.”
“What is it?”
“These are people who were just elected to the National Assembly and have just begun their term.”
“······?!”
Minjun asked back and confirmed.
“All of it?”
“Yes, and··· they are all from the same party.”
Ruling party or opposition party?
However, Kim Cheol-su mentioned the name of a third party.
“It is a human-centered party.”
The agent was silent for a moment.
A group of racists who claim that this planet originally belonged to humanity and that all power should be returned to humanity.
“But why twenty-nine of them?”
As far as he knows, this time they won thirty seats.
But Minjun quickly realized the reason.
“I see, you killed one of them first.”
A member of parliament whose head was cut off by a troll controlled by Blade.
He also belonged to the Human-Centered Party.
Kim Cheol-su muttered.
“A plan to kill dozens of members of the National Assembly, if carried out, would be tantamount to terrorism against the country.”
Minjun was lost in thought.
Of the thirty members of that party, one was killed upon formal request, and the remaining twenty-nine are being killed without a request.
What on earth is this change of heart?
‘Anyway, if I stick around with those racists, they’ll show up.’
He scratches his chin and mutters to himself.
‘No, instead of just waiting, why don’t we try setting a trap?’
Of course, I had no intention of getting the consent of the person who would be the bait for that trap.
***
Jeongpal thought he had become a fool.
Or maybe you’re deaf.
“Huh? I’m sorry, Senator. I think I misheard you.”
The clock was pointing to ten o’clock at night. It was too late for dinner. Rep. Choi Pan-seok, who had apologized for his busy schedule and agreed to meet at this time, showed up at the Korean restaurant exactly five minutes late.
The food was served, and the two of them were alone in the room. The words he said were enough to make Jeong-pal flustered.
“Let me say it again.”
Choi Pan-seok repeated words that made Jeong-pal lose his mind.
“Would you like to receive public nomination this time?”
“······.”
Jeongpal froze like a piece of ice.
Choi Pan-seok gave him time to gather his thoughts. He picked up his spoon. It was true that his schedule was packed, but he really looked like he was eating before a meal. He ate without hesitation, with an appetite that did not match his age.
After a while, Jeongpal said with a dumbfounded face.
“My bag straps aren’t even long···!”
“Education level and number of votes are not proportional.”
“And I don’t know anything about politics!”
“Statistics show that more than 50% of first-term lawmakers come from non-political professions.”
“And I have no connections···.”
“You say you have no connections? Even if you ransack Yeouido right now, I don’t think you’ll find anyone who has connections with Superintendent Park Jeong-pal. And I’ll also play a minor role as a supporter.”
Jeongpal was confused.
At best, I thought it was a request for help with the campaign.
But, a public offering!
“···Not even in 4 years, but this by-election?”
“That’s right. So we don’t have much time. You have to accept it as soon as possible so we can move quickly.”
Then, Choi Pan-seok briefly explained the current situation in the political world of Yeouido.
“When I looked at the results of the general election, it was very different from what I had predicted. The ruling and opposition parties got almost the same number of votes. That’s why this by-election is very important.”
And to replace the Orc who had been elected and then passed away in the Orc community, a new face was needed.
The Oak voters were fed up with Kim Kwang-woo, who had become an icon of corruption, bribery, and betrayal. All old-fashioned politicians associated with him should be excluded.
“I’m sorry about one of our Oak Council members. Would you like to take a look at this? This is why I’m so busy these days.”
He took a document out of his bag and handed it to him. Jeong-pal politely accepted it with both hands and turned the page. The title was quite long. ‘Special Act on Promotion of Urban Redevelopment in Ubeom Areas’.
“In short, this is a bill to create a basis for redevelopment by pouring national finances into the Oak community.”
Of course, the Orc community is not just a place where only Orcs live together.
However, the area designated in the document was the most underdeveloped and had the highest crime rate among them all… an area that was difficult for anyone other than an orc to even set foot in.
“Most of the real estate in this area that Kim Gwang-woo and Red Star occupied has been reclaimed by the state or passed on to Red Dragon. The other owners are mostly ordinary orcs. Commoners.”
The real estate values here are so low that it’s almost embarrassing to even call it Seoul.
Because no one wants to invest.
“Do you know why we are doing this?”
“···I understand the gist.”
The congressman nodded and said.
“Why are orcs still treated as second-class citizens in this country? Because they are a minority? No, the time when orcs were considered a minority has long passed. In time, they will become as numerous as humans.”
He pauses for a moment and sips some barley tea.
“And yet, the reason our people are treated unfairly and persecuted is because the majority of orcs are poor. They have nothing, so they are ostracized regardless of their numbers. They are pushed out of the mainstream. So to turn this around, we need to redistribute wealth to the orcs on a meaningful level. This bill is the first step.”
The purpose of this law is to make the orcs rich.
But Jeong Pal couldn’t believe that something like this would pass the National Assembly. He didn’t know much about politics, but he could come to that conclusion just by thinking back on the newspaper articles he had read.
“The opposition party will oppose it, right?”
The only people who will be happy about this bill are the orcs, red dragons, and those who have already bought up the real estate in the area.
The argument is that the rich and the oak barns should be filled with taxes, and the opposition party will not support such an unequal bill.
“If we win this by-election, it is entirely possible.”
Jeongpal couldn’t understand.
“I don’t know. Sir, please forgive me if I say something out of the blue.”
“Speak.”
“In the past, it would have been a fight between the opposition party and the ruling party. But isn’t the situation in the National Assembly different now?”
In this general election, contrary to everyone’s expectations, a third party won a whopping 30 seats.
The ruling and opposition parties, whose seats are almost equal, have no choice but to obtain their cooperation in order to achieve victory. In effect, they have become casting voters in the National Assembly.
“There is no way the Human Centered Party will cooperate with this bill. Naturally, they will oppose it in solidarity with the opposition party. No matter how many votes they get in the by-elections… this bill will not pass.”
Then Choi Pan-seok smiled leisurely.
It was an expression that Jeongpal couldn’t understand.
“Yes… They are also mountains we must overcome.”
He adds softly.
“But I don’t know. Before the by-election… maybe a miracle will happen?”
< 116. Shock and Terror (14) > End
