< 52. 21st Century Robin Hood (6) >
***
In today’s world, there are groups that use such expressions to antagonize dragons. Only one thing came to Minjun’s mind.
‘Red Star.’
If you do it this way, the time to uncover the truth will be greatly reduced. Minjun sneered.
“That was a powerful and effective self-introduction. Impressive.”
The woman paid no attention to those words. She must have felt considerable pain because of the clot blocking her blood vessel, but she seemed to be so excited and angry that she didn’t feel it.
Unable to control her body properly, she pointed and raised her voice. In a voice full of hostility.
“You should be ashamed! It is because of voluntary slaves like you that this deformed society is not changing!”
“A slave?”
“Yes! How could you be born as a human and not just help but contribute to this situation?”
The woman, who had no way of knowing that the premise about race was wrong in the first place, spoke passionately.
“You are helping the dragon plunder!”
“what?”
“You have to know that their enormous capital is the price of exploiting ordinary people. It is the surplus value that we paid for with our blood!”
‘Your typical logic.’
“Of course the dragon will pay you handsomely. Meanwhile, what is the truth that is being ignored? While the dragon accumulates more wealth than he can spend on himself, the poorest are struggling desperately! Their days are spent solely on eating and living. They have no freedom! They are virtual slaves!”
The woman looked to be in her early twenties at best. He knew where these people came from and how they disappeared.
‘These are children raised by Red Star.’
Known as righteous thieves, they pour the capital they steal from the rich into various places.
In addition to providing basic aid such as distributing food to slums, they also spared no expense in investing in the future, such as building schools that looked fine on the outside but were actually clean on paper.
Of course, there are differing interpretations as to who that future is for.
If you look into the staff and teachers of such schools, they are all somehow connected to Red Star, and they closely observe the students and report promising resources to their ‘higher ups’. Of course, those with special abilities are given top priority in such a select group.
Children who were raised from an early age by Red Star, eating food provided by them, wearing clothes provided by them, and receiving education provided by them, as if abandoned by the central government, grow up thoroughly brainwashed by their ideology.
So much so that I can say this without hesitation.
“Capitalism is a weapon used to suppress workers! Only by destroying it can humanity be liberated…”
“What are you going to do after it’s destroyed?”
“?!”
Minjun asked indifferently while gathering magic power in his hands.
“Let’s say we replace the dragons with another race. What about the economic system? What do we replace it with? Should we have a rationing system like the old Soviet Union?”
Then the woman shouted without hesitation.
“That’s something to think about after it’s been destroyed!”
“······.”
“We cannot postpone the revolution because we have not yet conceived a perfect alternative! We cannot turn a blind eye to the oppression and suffering that is being inflicted now because the blueprint for the future is incomplete! Once we are free from slavery, the intelligence and autonomy that reside in people will blossom in unexpected ways. And we will create a better system!”
“The first step is to destroy the dragon?”
“okay!”
‘I told you they’re always like this.’
If you look at the content of Red Star’s brainwashing, they show an oddly great hostility towards dragons. Of course, it is true that they control a great deal of wealth, but it is rare for a human tycoon of similar level to be targeted.
This fact has caused many people to have reasonable doubts, but due to the lack of evidence, they remain only suspicions.
‘Anyway, I guess there’s no need to talk any further here.’
It was when I completed the order to drag the woman away.
“Huh… Huh?!”
As soon as the spell reached the spy’s body, an unexpected reaction occurred.
“?!”
The change was instantaneous.
With a bubbling sound, blood flowed from her mouth. The veins all over her body swelled into grotesque shapes and her flesh swelled.
“this!”
Minjun realized that his order had become a trigger.
The magic that had been inactive in the opponent’s body had reacted. The woman seemed to have never imagined that something like that was hidden inside her. As proof, she looked at her hand, which was as swollen as a pot lid, with eyes full of fear.
“no!”
Minjun tried to destroy it, but the magic power was boiling too fast. The woman sensed something and reached out to him. Her face was already swollen like a balloon, and her facial features had turned into a lump of crushed flesh.
“Save me···.”
And the voice was drowned out by the noise.
Boom! A loud noise that seemed to rupture eardrums echoed through the alley. Minjun spread his shadow thinly to create a protective shield, blocking the storm of heat that the woman’s body poured out as it exploded. The shockwave that spread around was absorbed by the enchanted barrier on the bank’s outer wall.
Cheek!
Thud!
A foul smell, including the smell of burning flesh, stung his nose. Minjun, who had removed his shield, looked at the place where the woman had been just a moment ago in despair. It was fortunate that he had entered a dark alley. If there had been someone passing by, he would have been caught in the act.
Scattered everywhere were charred bits of flesh and bone, pieces of a woman whose exact parts were hard to discern.
‘They made it so that if you get caught, you can cut off its tail right away…’
Although he possessed a supernatural ability that could be put to good use, he chose to destroy it rather than let it fall into the hands of the enemy.
It was a common saying among children raised by Red Star. Depending on how the situation changes, they are eventually treated as a throwaway bomb.
‘No matter what, isn’t the trigger too sensitive? What on earth are you alerting yourself to···.’
“Agent!”
“Are you okay?!”
The guards who had been placed there heard the explosion and came running in a hurry. Minjun held out his hand to stop them before they got any closer.
“wait for a sec!”
Minjun stared into space, leaving the guards standing still without knowing what was going on.
The explosion just now seemed unexpected to the woman. She was not killed, but murdered.
——————
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The more horribly a person dies, the lower the chances that their soul will be smoothly absorbed into the spirit world and move on to reincarnation.
Minjun, who noticed that possibility, waited calmly, and that choice turned out to be the right one.
“!”
The guards who were waiting without approaching as instructed felt an inexplicable chill.
What they couldn’t see came into Minjun’s sight. The smoky air flowing out of the charred and charred corpse gradually took on a distinct shape. A naked woman whose entire body was swollen and reminiscent of a drowned body. She was on the verge of explosion.
A miserable mental wave resonated.
=Ahhh! It hurts… Save me… Save me…!=
Minjun was unable to obtain a statement from her while she was alive.
But just because you die doesn’t mean you have to give up everything.
The spy raised by Red Star has become a ghost. The fate of a ghost whose corpse has disappeared while wandering around is to wander the underworld or, with a very low probability, to completely regain his intelligence and memories and become a ghost.
But before that, this spirit had something to do with Minjun.
Minjun recite a spell to subdue the woman and make her his temporary servant. If he had become a ghost right after death, he wouldn’t have been able to do this, but he could do it while still a phantom. The moment he dies, he is possessed by memories and resentment, and his mind is unable to think properly.
Memories flowed into his head in fragments. In the chaotic flow of consciousness, like a tangled mess, Minjun was able to salvage a few meanings.
‘Red Star knew that the incident occurred at the Changcheon Bank headquarters.’
Minjun was convinced after seeing that memory.
‘Then, these guys are definitely the culprits.’
Changcheon did not report to the police that the talent was stolen. How could Red Star know such a secret? It was because they were thieves.
The intention behind sending the woman seemed to be to observe how the bank owner would react and then respond.
‘I guess you must have been really nervous because you shaved something so big.’
I sent it believing that the person with this ability would not be caught, but instead, I ended up getting caught because of it.
I wanted to know how the talent was stolen, but there was no clue in the memory of someone who was raised to be a discarded piece of shit.
‘Damn it, I can’t hold it in any longer!’
Since there was no vessel to tie the body to, the ghost had to be sent away.
The woman let out a bloodcurdling scream and disappeared into the sky. Then, Min-jun finally explained the situation to the security guards. After watching them clean up the scene and report to Chang-cheon to prevent the police from coming, Min-jun left the scene.
***
– Yes, Minjun.
Minjun called Cassie while he was moving.
“Please organize and send me all the information related to Red Star.”
The police will have more information about them than the immigration office, and after sending an official request for cooperation, Cash will receive information that is considered top secret.
It would take some time to sort it out and share it with Minjun.
‘I wonder how the talent was stolen, but I can’t even guess why it was stolen.’
Even if it falls into the hands of such an organization, it will be difficult to trade with it, and if it is illegally exchanged for Earth currency, there will be no profit due to the ridiculous exchange rate and fees.
‘What can those dragon-hating revolutionaries do with the most valuable currency in the universe…’
Minjun could be sure that they didn’t really know what a talent was.
Because even right now, there isn’t much we know.
For example, only the committee knows how to issue the coins, and they cannot print them indefinitely as they wish.
And at this point, talent is the only means by which the soul can be artificially influenced and manipulated.
‘They said that talent is needed even for soul eradication.
This is a punishment carried out by the committee when the inmate commits a crime or when it is judged that reeducation through labor is not meaningful.
‘And it would have taken a talent to erase the memories engraved in my soul.’
Minjun’s interest in the real thing is ultimately to find a clue to regain his memories.
Every time I think of this plan, an eerie and ominous feeling flashes through my mind. The memory of Telesia’s end comes back to me, and I feel like I shouldn’t tamper with it.
But Minjun was trying not to be swayed by these premonitions any longer.
‘Once Jenkinson gets his hands on the actual talent… he can pretend that any part of it is lost or damaged.’
This is a possible explanation, as it is a substance that evaporates quickly if not properly managed.
‘Considering all this, it’s definitely not something that guys like Red Star would want to be greedy about.’
While I was lost in thought, the phone rang.
‘already?’
I thought there was no way the data transfer and organization could be finished this quickly… but as expected, the sender was not Cathy.
“Oh, Jeongpal.”
– Are you busy?
“If you’re busy, then you’re busy… but why?”
Minjun felt his spirits drain as he heard the following words. This time, the matter was again about the frying pan.
Yesterday, the sealing was postponed due to a sudden visit to Changcheon, and it seems that he heard the news from Cassie. Since he didn’t have the energy to worry about it right away, he gave her permission to stop by the office and borrow it.
“Oh, right.”
I was about to hang up the phone when I suddenly remembered something and asked.
‘Come to think of it, the Red Star’s main activity area is the Orc Community, right?’
“Jeongpal-ah.”
– Yes, brother.
“Your jurisdiction, is it still an orc town?”
He muttered in a bitter voice.
– Of course. Who else would want to take charge of this area besides me?
“Then let me ask you something. Have you noticed anything strange about the Red Star kids lately? Maybe they’ve been doing things they’ve never done before, or they’ve become strangely quiet, or vice versa.”
Then Jeongpal said with a puzzled look.
– Huh? Why are you digging up that at the immigration office? Is it because of Chairman Kim Gwang-woo’s case, too?
“······.”
This name came up again.
Chairman Kim Gwang-woo.
When Jeongpal mentioned someone Minjun hadn’t even mentioned, the look in his eyes changed.
“Why that gentleman?”
Jeong-pal explained the situation. The police also knew the official information that the chairman had been away for a few weeks on vacation. However, no one believed the excuse, as did Min-jun.
Chairman Kim Gwang-woo is the godfather who secretly supports the Orc Gang and is one of the targets of intense police observation. When he suddenly disappeared, the police were trying to figure out the hidden circumstances.
– The prime suspect right now is Red Star. You know that the two of them didn’t get along to begin with, right?
“Was that so? Ah… Well, since both of you are in the Orc Community, it’s inevitable that you’ll run into each other.”
Both sides have great interest in the residents of the Orc community.
Red Star wants to train terrorists to attack the rich there, and Chairman Kim Gwang-woo wants to train gangsters who are a means to increase his wealth. So, the two groups have been keeping each other in check for a long time, according to Jeong Pal.
– But we were able to maintain a state of truce for a long time without any invasion of each other’s territory… A few months ago, the Red Star guys were caught hanging around Chairman Kim Kwang-woo’s sphere of influence.
The police judged it to be a sign of war and were watching it more closely than usual, but the chairman suddenly disappeared with some ridiculous excuse.
‘Was it Red Star who touched him, not Changcheon? No, I’m not sure yet.’
After hanging up the phone, Minjun realized that the situation was much more complicated than he had expected. The name Kim Gwangwoo, who at first glance seemed unrelated to the case, kept appearing here and there.
‘Red Star… What are they, that they go around spreading sparks everywhere?’
Minjun stopped his thoughts from going deeper.
‘Regardless of the reason and method for turning the talent… there’s no need for me to rack my brain here for a long time.’
If you wanted to know the reason, you could just ask the other person directly, in a somewhat rough and not-so-gentlemanly way.
Minjun decided to take care of Red Star.
< 52. 21st Century Robin Hood (6) > End
