Chapter 33: The Black Society
“You idiots—can’t even manage a single branch properly?”
“…”
The boss of the Black Society, President Jeong, walked down the long corridor with a displeased expression.
The ten executives trailing behind him remained silent.
President Jeong turned to one of them and spoke.
“Hey, Bong Jun-gyu. Aren’t you supposed to be managing the Seoul branches properly?”
“I’m sorry, President. I’ll make sure something like this never happens again.”
“You should’ve been on top of it before anything happened. Huh? What if they’d hit the Yongsan black market too? What then, huh?”
“I’ll be more careful.”
President Jeong was dying to know who had the balls to pull this off.
‘They left the black market untouched, so it doesn’t seem like they were after money. But the fact that they specifically came looking for me… personal grudge?’
Having started from the very bottom and climbed to this position, President Jeong had been through every kind of hardship imaginable.
Even before the Great Change eight years ago, he had dabbled in smuggling, loan sharking, hired thuggery—all sorts of illegal activities.
What he gained from that wasn’t just brute strength, but survival instincts, quick judgment, and bold action.
After awakening during the Great Change and gaining real power, he had purged the old guard of the underworld who couldn’t adapt to the new era.
That allowed him to seize control swiftly.
In the process, he had made more enemies than he could count, so it wasn’t easy to narrow it down.
‘But if someone’s strong enough to wipe out the Yongsan branch single-handedly, I should at least recognize them.’
The description from his subordinate was unfamiliar, and the bizarre power they used was completely alien.
“Is Ma Du-hwan still unreachable?”
“Yes. We tried contacting the Dark Horse executives too, but they say they can’t reach him either.”
“That son of a bitch Ma Du-hwan. Probably trying to wipe us out with those bio-weapons he’s making from Black Rose.”
President Jeong suspected Dark Horse’s boss, Ma Du-hwan, was the most likely culprit.
With SP Guild’s collapse shaking his position, perhaps he had decided to strike first.
“No matter how strong his bio-weapons are, they won’t be able to handle all of us.”
“With the President at peak 3rd-grade and the rest of us at 4th-grade combining our strength, we’ll be more than enough.”
The silent executives finally spoke up.
At the end of the corridor, in front of a massive door, President Jeong let out a short scoff.
“You lot—big mouths, that’s all.”
“We’ve got loyalty too!”
“…Shut up. Don’t let your guard down for a second. Even if there weren’t any 5th-grade or higher Hunters in the hideout, this bastard took on more than thirty Hunters alone.”
“We’ll keep that in mind, President.”
“When I give the signal, attack all at once. Don’t show any openings.”
The executives nodded vigorously in silence.
As President Jeong, still at the front, reached out to open the door—
Creak—
The door opened on its own, revealing the vast interior of the warehouse.
Organization members lay groaning on the floor, arms and legs broken.
Fortunately, none seemed dead, but not a single one could move properly.
And right in the middle of it all, sitting casually on the bare concrete floor, was a man in a black suit.
“Why’d you bring such a big entourage? I only asked for President Jeong.”
The brazen attitude made President Jeong’s eyebrow twitch.
One of the executives, scanning the scene, tilted his head in confusion.
“There’s not a single trace of mana.”
President Jeong noticed several strange things as well.
The man’s physical abilities and mana level were only around 8th-grade at best.
Even if he were hiding his strength, President Jeong would have sensed it.
More eye-catching than that was the hamburger in his hand.
Several crumpled wrappers were scattered on the floor—he had clearly eaten a few already.
Caught off guard by the unexpected sight, President Jeong was momentarily speechless.
“…”
“Ah, sorry. I got bored waiting, and I had a sudden craving for late-night snacks. Are you President Jeong?”
President Jeong didn’t respond immediately to the suited man’s words.
You never knew.
Even this carefree hamburger-eating could be part of some scheme.
Perhaps this seemingly insignificant guy was bait, and someone else was watching from the shadows.
He scanned the surroundings warily, but nothing stood out.
“What, are you mute? Why aren’t you saying anything?”
“What’s your identity? Who sent you?”
Only now did President Jeong finally speak his first words.
He subtly moved his hand, signaling the executives.
“Answering a question with another question. This is exactly why there’s no point talking to uneducated trash.”
“You’ve got some nerve. Did the Dark Horse bastards give you some kind of bio-modification?”
While the executives prepared for combat, President Jeong kept the conversation going to buy time.
Fortunately, the suited man remained seated and didn’t move, responding calmly.
“You brought up a good topic. Do you know where Ma Du-hwan is?”
The suited man crumpled the empty hamburger wrapper and loudly slurped his cola.
In that instant—
Tap!
President Jeong’s figure shot forward like an arrow.
Swiish—!
At the same time, he drew thin daggers from inside his coat and hurled them.
Yet the daggers halted in midair right in front of the suited man’s face.
Seeing this, President Jeong’s lips curled into a smirk.
He had already heard from his subordinate that the opponent could control objects remotely, like psychokinesis.
He had anticipated this much.
The moment he clapped his hands—
Kwaaaang!
The daggers exploded in a massive blast.
Thick blue smoke billowed from the large amount of mana detonated.
But President Jeong didn’t let his guard down. If it was a bio-weapon, it wouldn’t end this easily.
More importantly, the executives who should have joined the assault by now were nowhere to be seen.
“Why aren’t you coming in right n—”
The moment he turned around mid-sentence, he shut his mouth.
The executives—ten of them, all 4th-grade Hunters—were writhing on the ground, limbs broken, foaming at the mouth, convulsing.
They had been neutralized without making a single sound.
He couldn’t even sense the flow of mana.
It was almost like he was seeing things.
“When the hell did you…?”
A chill ran down President Jeong’s spine as he whipped back toward the suited man.
Swoooosh—
A gust of wind instantly cleared the blue smoke.
From within it, the suited man walked out completely unharmed.
“President Jeong.”
“You… what the hell are you?”
President Jeong still hadn’t shown all his cards, but he was already being overwhelmed in terms of momentum.
His mind raced quickly.
Fighting this monster would be a loss.
Even going all out, victory looked unlikely.
‘I’ll run for now. Then Yoon Soo-ho…’
That was the moment.
“Kneel and bow your head.”
“What the fu—”
Before President Jeong could finish—
Kwaaaang!
His head slammed straight into the ground.
***
“Tired?”
“…No, sir…”
At Chae Jin-young’s question, President Jeong answered in a crawling voice.
Having slammed his forehead into the floor and prostrated himself, his body trembled like an aspen leaf.
There was no way such a posture would be physically difficult for a Hunter.
The reason he was shaking was because Chae Jin-young had just brutally worked his body over.
Every bone in his body was broken, every muscle screaming, yet he gritted his teeth and endured.
The worse the pain got, the clearer his mind became, making it hard to even faint.
“Your voice got quiet again. Want to go another round?”
“No, sir!”
President Jeong squeezed out every ounce of strength to shout loudly.
“That’s better. See? If you’d just listened when I spoke nicely, we both could’ve benefited.”
“I was ignorant.”
Hands in his pockets, Chae Jin-young circled slowly around the prostrated President Jeong as he continued.
“I figured someone like President Jeong would at least know Ma Du-hwan’s location. Was I expecting too much?”
“I know the location of the villa where Ma Du-hwan sometimes stays. He usually holds meetings there…”
“Then arrange a meeting with him as soon as possible.”
“I’d love to, but he’s been unreachable for some time now.”
“Why?”
“After the SP Guild went missing in the contaminated zone, he seems to have gone into hiding.”
Chae Jin-young nodded as if he understood.
With Min Hae-joon—the one who had been backing him—vanishing without a trace or any contact, Ma Du-hwan had no choice but to lay low for the time being.
“So. You’re not going to find him?”
“I’ll use every means possible to locate him. No—I will find him!”
Whether he meant it or not, President Jeong had no choice but to answer affirmatively.
Otherwise, he felt like his neck would snap.
And if Chae Jin-young were to find and eliminate Ma Du-hwan, that would be a gain for President Jeong as well.
Assuming, of course, that he himself stayed alive.
“And why are you so obsessed with Jeon Yu-hwan? If he’s gone missing, just drop it already.”
“Jeon Yu-hwan… you say?”
The unexpected name made President Jeong’s voice waver with clear confusion.
“You’re still going to keep looking for him?”
“No! We were only looking because of the debt he owed. I’ll treat him as nonexistent from now on!”
“Debt? Is it legal?”
“…It’s illegal.”
“Then obviously you shouldn’t collect it. Why act like you’re doing something grand?”
“My thinking was shallow.”
President Jeong gritted his teeth even harder as he spoke.
Whether from humiliation or sheer exhaustion, it was impossible to tell.
Still, as long as he preserved his life for now, he could always plan for the future.
“How’s Yoon Soo-ho doing these days?”
“…!”
President Jeong’s body swayed for a moment in shock.
“Why so surprised? Who doesn’t know you’re cozying up to the Peace Party?”
“Could it be…?”
“Oh? Still curious?”
President Jeong clamped his mouth shut at the mad glint in Chae Jin-young’s eyes.
Judging by everything he’d done so far, this man seemed more vicious than any villain he could imagine—yet if he wasn’t from Dark Horse, his affiliation was impossible to guess.
Moreover, to overpower someone like him, who stood at the top of 3rd-grade, the man had to be at least 2nd-grade. And if neither his face nor his abilities were known…
‘Fuck. I’m screwed.’
There was only one possibility.
The National Intelligence Service. And not just any agent—a secret agent.
As far as President Jeong knew, there was only one 2nd-grade secret agent. He’d never seen the man himself, only heard that he focused more on overseas operations than domestic ones.
“I can practically hear your brain spinning from here.”
“N-No, that’s not—”
“I’m not telling you to cut ties with Yoon Soo-ho. Just a little… readjustment.”
“…?”
President Jeong couldn’t grasp the full meaning behind Chae Jin-young’s words and remained silent.
“Just don’t do anything that makes me come find you again.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
Chae Jin-young had no intention of completely wiping out the Black Society.
Even if he destroyed them today, similar organizations would endlessly spring up—like cockroaches that hid deeper in the shadows the more you tried to exterminate them.
In that case, it was better to keep a manageable group in place and control them.
A necessary evil, so to speak.
From what Chae Jin-young remembered, President Jeong was obsessed with money, but unlike Dark Horse, he never crossed certain lines.
Things like human experimentation with Black Rose or launching terrorist attacks in the city.
In the pre-regression timeline, the Black Society had never been involved in any major incidents.
‘Seeing him in person, I get it now.’
President Jeong’s top priority wasn’t money or power.
Those were secondary. His one and only true priority was self-preservation. He was the kind of man who would do anything to survive.
Ironically, that very trait was why he never crossed the line.
He knew better than anyone that the moment he did, it would be his end.
‘No wonder the two of them got along so well.’
In the original timeline, Yoon Soo-ho had filled that role. This time, Chae Jin-young intended to take his place.
Of course, in a much more direct way.
“Well, you lot will probably keep watching Yoon Soo-ho’s mood anyway. But people can change unexpectedly.”
“…”
Since President Jeong lived in Yoon Soo-ho’s shadow, he was surely receiving solid protection.
He was probably already planning to somehow survive this crisis and run straight to Yoon Soo-ho.
If that happened, it would also have the nice side effect of dragging the lazy Yoon Soo-ho out into the open.
“Find Ma Du-hwan. Don’t look for Jeon Yu-hwan. Simple, right? Let’s call it a day here.”
“Yes…”
Just as Chae Jin-young was about to leave—
Ring ring—
A phone rang from inside President Jeong’s pocket.
With psychokinesis, Chae Jin-young pulled out the smartphone.
The caller ID read: Seoul City Hall Vice Mayor Lee Ju-hong.
“Lee Ju-hong is calling?”
“You can hang up. He’s not someone important.”
President Jeong never expected Lee Ju-hong to call at a time like this.
“Stand up and answer it. On speaker.”
“…Yes.”
Only then did President Jeong stagger to his feet.
His forehead, now a bloody mess, was caved in deeply.
“Hello.”
—President Jeong, it’s Lee Ju-hong. I’ve knocked Jeon Yu-hwan out and captured him alive. Where should I bring him?
“…”
The hand holding the smartphone trembled violently.
President Jeong bit his lip, thinking this man was utterly useless in life.
He was too afraid to meet the eyes, but he forced himself to lift his head and look at Chae Jin-young.
Chae Jin-young casually pointed at the floor with his finger.
—President Jeong?
“Bring him to the Yongsan branch. The warehouse at the very back.”
—Yongsan branch? Should take about fifteen minutes at most. I’ll be there soon.
“…Yeah.”
After ending the call, President Jeong tried to hand the smartphone back to Chae Jin-young.
Chae Jin-young tilted his head.
“Isn’t that yours?”
“Ah…”
President Jeong’s mind was so rattled he could barely think straight.
Chae Jin-young looked at him and said,
“You look really tired. How many hamburgers have you eaten so far?”
“Huh?”
The sudden hamburger comment made President Jeong doubt his own ears.
“Waiting for Lee Ju-hong is boring, right? Time flies when you’re eating this.”
Chae Jin-young pulled a hamburger out of his subspace.
The wrapper was already torn open, and there was a clear bite mark from someone.
“What the— you already took a bite? Still okay, though?”
“…”
President Jeong just stared at him in utter disbelief.
***
Lee Ju-hong walked down the long corridor of the Yongsan branch, Jeon Yu-hwan slung unconscious over his shoulder.
‘Why isn’t anyone showing their face?’
Having been here before, he immediately sensed something was off.
Normally, there would always be organization members coming out to greet him, but now the corridor was completely empty.
He couldn’t feel any presence from the rooms on either side either.
‘Those damn bastards. Treating me like trash just because I got kicked out of City Hall.’
When he was still Vice Director of the Awakened Affairs Department at Seoul City Hall, they used to grovel at his feet. Now they wouldn’t even glance his way.
And it wasn’t just President Jeong.
Starting from Yoon Soo-ho, who had first brought him into politics, to prosecutors, judges, assemblymen—almost everyone had turned their backs on him.
The only lifeline left was the grudging help thrown his way by Yoon Soo-ho and President Jeong.
No matter how dirty, he had to endure it.
‘Looks like they’re all gathered here.’
As he reached the door at the end of the corridor, he could sense the mana and presence of Hunters beyond it.
He wondered why they were all assembled just to deal with Jeon Yu-hwan, but it wasn’t his concern.
The moment he reached out to open the door—
Creak—
The door opened by itself.
He was wondering whether he should at least be grateful for that much when—
“What the hell…”
Every single member of the Black Society lay sprawled on the floor, limbs broken.
And the man who appeared to be President Jeong was standing there in punishment, forehead pressed into the ground.
In the center stood a man in a black suit. When he saw Lee Ju-hong, without even lifting a finger, he pulled Jeon Yu-hwan toward him.
Jeon Yu-hwan floated limply through the air and landed right on President Jeong’s back, still prostrated.
“President Jeong said you really wants to avoid the North Korean Contaminated Zone boundary duty. Is that right?”
“Wh… who are you?”
After seeing the situation, Lee Ju-hong instinctively knew this wasn’t someone he could treat carelessly.
“Both President Jeong and you—why is everyone so curious about my identity? What would change even if you knew?”
Lee Ju-hong couldn’t believe what kind of lunatic this was, but he held back and spoke.
“My apologies. As President Jeong said, I absolutely want to avoid the North Korean Contaminated Zone boundary duty.”
“More than dying?”
“Yes. That place is…”
“Then there’s no helping it. You’ll have to go.”
“…Excuse me?”
Lee Ju-hong wondered if he had misheard.
“You haven’t submitted your appeal brief yet, right? Stay put quietly until the appeal is rejected.”
“What are you—”
Tzzzt—
An ominous sound came from behind him, but before he could turn around—
Chwararak—
Black tentacles wrapped tightly around his body.
“W-Wait a second!”
Swoooosh—
He was sucked into the portal and vanished.
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