Chapter 23
‘Special Law Enforcement Zone.’
In this space where every criminal in Hanseong seemed to gather, countless interests were entangled.
Drug deals.
Business operations.
Storage of smuggled goods or stolen property.
A den of villains, each watching the other and waiting for a chance to stab them in the back.
In a web of forces intertwined so tightly, it was never easy to secretly orchestrate something.
If it was difficult for just one person, how much harder would it be for an entire organization to move?
“Is that true?”
A seven-story building in the very heart of the Special Law Enforcement Zone.
Seated in an office at the very top floor, a man asked into his comm module, his voice heavy with disbelief.
“You’re saying… that Park Bok-ja, that wench, abandoned her entire business?”
Letting out a hollow laugh at his subordinate’s report was none other than Dok Go-seong, the head of the Geomgye* syndicate that dominated this district.
He had quickly set other subordinates to investigate, but the news they brought back was the same.
—Yes, boss. We had the boys check everywhere. It’s solid. District 3, Lower Block 77, Central Residential Block 47… every single gambling den managed under Park Bok-ja’s name has been cleared out.
“Huhhh…”
The gambling dens that had run under the name of the tavern mistress, and the thugs who worked those dens,
They had vanished from the Special Law Enforcement Zone without a trace.
“Unbelievable. When we told her we’d take over, she swore she’d rather die than hand it over. And now, suddenly… why?”
“Could it be the woman’s gone senile in her old age?”
The executives who had gathered began grumbling.
Because it wasn’t just anyone, it was Park Bok-ja.
The infamously ruthless tavern mistress of Pyeong-un Tavern. For her to abandon the empire she had built over a lifetime, as if it were a worthless rag, and simply run away?
No matter how they thought about it, it made no sense.
“Tae-wan.”
—Yes, boss.
“Sniff around the ones who used to work under Pyeong-un Tavern. Find out where they’re going, who they’re talking to. Report back the second you know anything. And tell the others to do the same.”
—Ah, understood.
Beep.
After giving orders to his “brothers” outside, Dok Go-seong rested his chin in his hand, sinking into thought.
Park Bok-ja.
That woman, who’d been clinging to the Eastern Quarter, had suddenly disappeared overnight.
‘And she didn’t even sell it for money. It’s as if she pulled a midnight escape, leaving no trace at all.’
If that was the case, then every kind of rat would rush to take over the empty establishments.
Which meant that the hard-won order of this district would be thrown into chaos once again.
And in that chaos, the disappearance of Park Bok-ja would be buried and forgotten.
‘Knowing her character… she planned this from the very start.’
Just as Dok Go-seong was sinking deeper into thought—
—Boss, we found something!
It was Tae-wan, reporting back.
—There’s a huge building under construction in the Central Residential District. The punks who used to work at Pyeong-un Tavern keep going in and out of there.
“The Central Residential District?”
—Yes.
The Central District. A massive building. And the thugs of Pyeong-un Tavern are moving in and out.
Which could only mean one thing, why they abandoned all their gambling dens across Hanseong.
“They’ve grabbed onto something bigger.”
At his conclusion, the executives repeated after him in surprise.
—Something bigger?
“Yeah. Not small-time shops like these. Something on a completely different scale. An enormous score.”
This place was, after all, just the Special Law Enforcement Zone.
No matter how well you did here, you were nothing more than a back-alley thug in the end.
But Park Bok-ja had stepped out of it.
Into the Central Residential District.
It meant she was planning to launder her identity and build a proper enterprise.
“But… is that even possible?”
One of the underlings finally spoke up.
“For people like us at the bottom, laundering an identity… isn’t it impossible without noble connections?”
“That’s right. To change your citizen grade or personal record, you’d have to tamper with the Hanseong Database.”
Even for a woman who had raked in mountains of money, it wasn’t something she could pull off on her own.
Which could only mean one thing: Park Bok-ja now had someone backing her.
Someone who could access the citizen database and erase her criminal record.
Someone among the nobles.
She was starting a business hand in hand with them.
“….”
Dok Go-seong fell silent, deep in thought again.
‘A business with the nobles involved. And if Park Bok-ja was willing to abandon her entire base to dive into it, then without a doubt… it’s something massive.’
But right now, even the building wasn’t finished yet.
Which meant the business was still only in its preparation stage.
Park Bok-ja and the men under her were all subject to the whims of their noble backer.
And that meant…
‘If I play my cards right, we could take that business for ourselves.’
It’s impossible to refuse rice cakes placed right in front of you.¹
Having finished his thoughts, Dok Go-seong immediately connected his comm line.
“Boss, who are you calling?”
“Who else?”
To get involved in a noble’s business, you had to use a noble yourself.
And Dok Go-seong had just the right connection for such a situation.
“Our regular customer.”
A client who never revealed status or name, only specifying where the “merchandise” should be delivered.
After a few buzzes, the interface flashed green, signaling the line was active.
“This is Dok Go-seong.”
—What’s the matter? For you to contact us first.
The voice on the other side was that of a middle-aged man, deep and weighty.
But Dok Go-seong knew better.
This man was nothing more than a messenger. The real figure was elsewhere.
“We’ve stumbled upon a rather interesting opportunity. I know it’s presumptuous of someone as lowly as me to even mention this, but…”
Yet, the situation had changed.
“Would you be able to pass a message along to Cho Seong-hwan, young master of the Pungyang Cho Cla?”
If someone had the kind of backing to run such a large enterprise, then Dok Go-seong would make use of every connection he had.
****
“Good! A little more to the side—yes, that’s it!”
“Special orders here! If anyone skimps on the materials, I’ll hang them in the marketplace for all to see. Got that?!”
Heavy construction drones and laborers fitted with artificial body parts bustled about the site.
With the groundwork complete, it would only take about two more weeks for the building to rise.
Another week for interior work, and by next month at the latest, it would be fully operational.
While the upper floors went up with clanging and hammering, in the basement, already completed, two bodyguards sparred, their artificial bodies fully activated.
BOOOOM!
On one side, Seo Taewoong had fully engaged the combat modules centered on both his arms.
On the other side, Moo-yeong steadied his breath, holding a practice saber at the ready.
“Your condition looks good. You’re even handling that artificial body as if it’s your own.”
“I’m… still far from there…!”
These two were none other than the bodyguards of Chang-woon.
And the reason they were training here in the basement of an under-construction building was simple—
The training hall of the main Andong Kim clan had already been seized by other bodyguards, leaving those serving the now “fallen noble” Chang-woon with nowhere to practice.
Feeling pity, Chang-woon had spent a fortune building a training arena beneath his new business venture.
And this was it, the private sparring hall set aside exclusively for his bodyguards.
“Already tired? I thought you were consistent with your conditioning.”
“As if… that could be true…!”
Breath settled, Moo-yeong straightened his stance once again.
Seeing this, Seo Taewoong clenched his fist, ready to meet the boy’s blade.
‘Young master has truly found a gem in the rough.’
When people heard of an ability user, they usually thought of overwhelming powers wielded by noblemen.
The lightning hurled by the Andong Kim clan.
The winds unleashed by the Pungyang Cho Cla.
But the truth was different.
Most who were called “Ability user” could do little more than spark a flame the size of a lighter, or make a pebble float in their hand.
The overwhelming phase powers wielded by the scions of today’s ruling families were the result of generations of selective breeding.
‘But Moo-yeong… this boy’s power is on a completely different level.’
After sparring with him, Seo Taewoong realized it instantly.
A physical ability strong enough to overload a first-class artificial body wrapped around his entire frame.
And those mechanical arms that threatened him with equal output, they were nothing more than tools, mere supplements to Moo-yeong’s true strength.
CLANG!
The moment he blocked the incoming blade, another strike came out of an unexpected angle.
“Damn it, again…!”
“…!”
Moo-yeong let out a frustrated cry at being blocked again, but Seo Taewoong wasn’t faring much better.
Block once, and another strike followed.
Block that, and yet another came.
Even with the motion sensors in his eyes tracking straight ahead, Moo-yeong’s blade sometimes came crashing from the side, or even from behind.
‘Unbelievable. His reflexes are too fast for the machines to keep up with.’
For a man like him, hardened by countless missions and wars, to barely fend off the boy’s strikes through sheer instinct, at that age, with this much ability, how much stronger would Moo-yeong become in the future?
‘But still…!’
As the senior bodyguard, he couldn’t afford to lose disgracefully here.
GRAB!
In the midst of exchanging blows, Seo Taewoong deliberately left an opening. The moment Moo-yeong lunged at it, he seized the incoming blade.
“?!”
“To pressure your opponent, seize the flow, and capitalize on it—that’s all very good.”
Muttering under his breath, Seo Taewoong yanked the blade in and seized Moo-yeong by the collar.
“But your movements… are far too hasty.”
The next moment, Seo Taewoong hurled Moo-yeong straight into the training hall wall.
BOOOOOM!
With a deafening crash, Moo-yeong slammed into the wall.
If not for the inertia neutralizers installed in the sparring hall, the entire basement—built at such great cost—might have been blown apart.
“Kuhk…! Khhhuk…!”
Coughing up breath, Moo-yeong clenched his teeth and dropped the saber from his hand.
Eleven bouts. Eleven defeats.
In the end, Moo-yeong hadn’t been able to wrest even a single victory from Seo Taewoong.
“Thank you… for the spar, senior.”
“Hmph.”
Lying on the floor, too dispirited to rise, Moo-yeong looked crushed.
Seeing this, Seo Taewoong walked over slowly and extended his hand.
“What’s got you so desperate?”
“….”
Lifting Moo-yeong to his feet, Seo Taewoong asked.
But Moo-yeong gave no answer, and Tae-ung let out a quiet sigh.
“Your power is among the rarest, even compared to the noble scions. You’re growing fast, and every time we spar, your skills are improving.”
“I know that! But still…!”
“Is this because you were made to wait during the last rescue mission?”
“…!”
At that piercing remark, Moo-yeong shut his mouth.
‘So that’s what it was.’
The rescue operation during the face-to-face ceremony, when they had saved Lady Yu Arin.
In that mission, the ones who had shined were Chang-woon, who shot down the armored helicopter, the programmer of Hahoe and Imetal , who tied down the Royal Guards.
All the while, Moo-yeong had done nothing but wait near the operation zone.
And that had gnawed at him ever since.
After receiving such a great favor from Young Master Chang-woon, yet being unable to make any meaningful contribution—he had grown restless.
“The senior’s duty is to protect Young Master. My duty is to eliminate those who threaten him.”
“That’s right.”
His artificial body was a standardized issue model from the Andong Kim clan.
It could handle public missions, but not covert assignments.
“Which is why I must grow stronger. As quickly as possible. Otherwise…”
“You think the young master will cast you aside?”
“T-that’s not what I meant, but…!”
When Seo Taewoong poked at his hidden worry, Moo-yeong flinched, his embarrassed reaction almost amusing.
As the two bodyguards prepared to leave the training hall—
“Moo-yeong.”
“Yes, senior?”
Seo Taewoong, having just received a message from Chang-woon, spoke with a faint smile.
“…It seems you don’t have to worry after all.”
“…What?”
The same moment he asked, a message also popped up for Moo-yeong.
[ Tae-ung, Moo-yeong. Come to these coordinates immediately. ]
[ Urgent. Hurry. ]
Their master was calling them.
[TL: Geomgye – It was an actual criminal organization in the Joseon dynasty.]
---The End Of The Chapter---
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