episode_0030

Friend (3)

(thud, tap, thud)

In the casino office, Arthur was using the computer.

“Hashimoto, has the amount of money to be laundered from President Choi Myung-wol increased this time?”

“Oh, yes, sir. It seems that President Choi Myung-wol has also expanded his business by securing additional territory after winning in the war, so there seems to be a lot more money available.”

“Well, that’s good for me.”

“Not only President Choi Myung-wol, but also quite a few organizations and some companies have come to us for requests.”

“Will this help us build a building with the commission?”

My casino, known for establishing a casino and being the only legal casino in the F district, was making tremendous profits. It was generating profits comparable to those of major mid-sized companies. However, there was an additional business generating supplementary income here.

That business was money laundering.

Casinos are very useful establishments for money laundering. In fact, before the world was destroyed, large criminal organizations operated casinos behind the scenes and used them for money laundering. Of course, there are various methods for money laundering, but excluding some methods due to more cons than pros in the current world where more than half has been destroyed.

So, I started laundering money through my casino. Of course, starting with Anderson, who is connected to me, I helped with money laundering for surrounding organizations and companies in exchange for a commission.

This isn’t just about providing money laundering services. Helping with money laundering for other organizations is akin to entering into an unbreakable treaty with the organization that entrusts me with money laundering.

As a very solid entrepreneur, it was simply impossible for me to refuse a business concept that catches two birds with one stone by collecting a commission while ensuring safety through money laundering.

(rumble~~~)

“…”

“…”

(thud!)

“Darn it.”

When the building shook slightly, Arthur muttered quietly.

“There goes another villain.”

“There seem to be a lot of villains these days.”

A-class hero Snow Flower, also known as Mr. Seolha, settled in the F district, attracting many heroes to the F district. However, at the same time, villains also flocked to the F district, and thanks to this, villain activities seemed to have increased at least tenfold.

“…It seems like we need to clean up.”

“Clean up?”

.

.

.

.

“Hahaha!!”

(bang! bang!)

The ground rose in the middle of the road, causing vehicles to overturn or become immobile.

“Ugh!!”

(Kugung!!)

This time, one side of the building collapsed, falling toward the road.

“Stop right there!”

Uttering these words, the hero revealed himself before the villain.

“Villain Rock Killer!”

“It’s Stonekiller! Rock Killer sounds like a music genre, doesn’t it?”

“Ahem, fine, Stonekiller! Regardless, I’m arresting you!”

(Thud!!)

At the hero’s shout, the ground beneath him surged up, propelling the hero into the air.

“Now let’s finish what I was doing.”

(Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump!)

The villain Stonekiller, who had just launched the unknown hero into the air, was once again wreaking havoc on the road from the rooftop of the building.

“Hahaha!!”

(Rumble)

“?”

Amidst the lively terror, Stonekiller turned around upon hearing a noise from behind.

“!”

As Stonekiller turned around, he saw Mad Hatter pouring tea into a cup on the table.

“Aren’t you the famous Mad Hatter?”

Recognizing Arthur, Stonekiller spoke cautiously.

“Weren’t you supposed to be in Zone C?”

“I move with the flow, following the wind.”

(Sip)

Arthur said as he sipped his tea.

“So, what brings you here?”

“Just because the surroundings were too noisy.”

(Swish)

Stonekiller subtly reached behind his back.

“I think a little tidying up is necessary.”

(Swoosh! Kugung!)

In that moment, as Stonekiller struck the ground with his hand, the ground rose on both sides of Arthur, attempting to flatten him into 2D.

(Swish, thud!!)

Quickly, Arthur sprang forward, evading the ground, and at the same time, drew a pistol from his holster.

“Darn it.”

Seeing the gun, Stonekiller leaped off the rooftop.

(Kwaddddeuk!)

It was a dangerous height to fall from, but Stonekiller descended safely by slowing down with his hand against the wall.

“Hmm.”

At this height, it was inherently difficult to hit a target with a handgun, especially a single shot, even with a low accuracy rate.

(Beep!)

Arthur’s pistol targeted Stonekiller.

“If I had a regular handgun, it would have been difficult.”

(Drrrrrrrrrrk!!)

With the sound of the pistol cocking, bullets were rapidly fired.

The bullet flying in a straight line suddenly began to change direction rapidly.

“!!”

(Kugukwang!)

Feeling the bullet approaching, the stone killer hurriedly tore up the ground.

(Tadadadak!)

Almost simultaneously, as the bullet hit the torn-up ground, the stone killer felt a sense of dread. If he had raised the ground just one second later, he would have been hit by the bullet.

“I should have just fought.”

To quickly escape from Asa’s gaze, the stone killer entered an alleyway.

(Chulkk!)

The moment he entered the alley, a gun was aimed at his forehead.

“……”

“Where are you rushing off to?”

Jim, wearing a skull helmet, said to the stone killer.

(Wi-i-ing)

Immediately, Asa descended from the rooftop holding a wire machine with one hand.

(Hwiririk!)

As Asa descended to the ground, the wire from the rooftop wound into the device in Asa’s hand.

“Mr. Stone Killer.”

Approaching the stone killer, whose body stiffened with the gun in front of him, Asa said,

“You weren’t originally from Sector F, were you?”

“…”

“I’m not feeling great about all the commotion in our neighborhood right now, you see?”

“…”

“Now! It’s quiz time! What should the stone killer do here?”

[1. Cease villain activity in Sector F]

[2. Pull the trigger right now and get a hole in your forehead]

[3. Become the test subject for Mad Hatter’s new weapon]

[4. Die]

[5. Die a painful death]

Asa brought out the quiz panel and said. And the examples on the panel were all unsettling.

“Number 1! I’ll choose number 1!”

“Hmm, too bad.”

Asa genuinely sounded regretful.

“Mr. Stone Killer, your conduct isn’t that bad, so that’s why I’m giving you these options.”

“…”

(Kugwang!!)

“…Sigh.”

Hearing the sound of a villain advertising nearby, Asa let out a sigh.

“Let’s go.”

(Swish)

Asa and Jim disappeared behind the alley.

“…”

The stone killer was just staring at the spot where they had vanished.

“What? 12 people?”

“Yes, a total of 12 C-grade and B-grade villains were found dead.”

“……”

Detective Layton looked puzzled as he glanced at his subordinate’s report.

“What do you mean?”

Next to the corpse, there was a silk hat and one trump card.

“Mad Hatter.”

“Yes, it seems that the Mad Hatter has started activity.”

“Went to Zone C, then quiet for a while, what is this… anything unusual?”

“There was one villain for each of the Trump cards from A to K. But it seems they were killed in the order they were first suspected.”

“…Was it planned? Or did they just stop after killing 12 people?”

“And there were two letters. One was for the detective.”

(…Rip)

Detective Layton received the letter and opened it.

“Thank you

-Mad Hatter-”

“…This lunatic.”

That’s how Detective Layton grabbed the back of his neck.

“Killing 12 villains…”

Wearing a costume, Snow Flower handed over documents at the police station.

“Yes, he killed 5 B-rank and 7 C-rank villains. The peculiarity is that 12 victims… the villains’ activities overlapped within 3 days.”

The officer, who was about to say “victims,” changed the word to “villains.”

“And also, apart from the killed villains, there are more villains who have been attacked.”

“Failed to kill them?”

Detective Layton, receiving the report, asked.

“No, according to testimony, in some battles, they fought until just before death.”

“…So they let them live?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“…A person who has killed at least 20 people so far wouldn’t be afraid of murder, and is there a commonality among the surviving villains?”

“It’s not certain, but compared to the 12 deceased villains…”

“Compared to?”

“…They are less evil.”

“…”

“…”

“…”

“…”

In the meeting room, the hero and the police officers looked silently at the police officer briefing them.

“Ahem! Anyway, we are trying to piece together the paths of these villains, but we haven’t found any specific commonalities.”

“Too bad, it would be nice to track their residences based on their routes.”

“And we are also conducting handwriting analysis, but according to the experts, each letter seems to be from a different person.”

“…This guy is incredibly meticulous.”

(Slam)

The man sitting at the head of the conference table, the police chief, put down the documents and spoke.

“Listen up, even though the number of heroes has increased this time, the number of villains has also increased at the same time. Of course, this is not the fault of the heroes.”

Sergeant, who was speaking, looked at where Snow Flower and other heroes were sitting and said,

“Anyway, the number of villains will increase, and as the number of heroes increases, it becomes lower.”

“It’s okay. Please continue.”

“Yes, then. If low-level villains enter the organization like this, it will cause trouble. Anderson and Donald are already about to go to war soon, so there’s already a lot of talk, and if real villains get involved here, we’re screwed.”

“Yes! Understood!”

“Well then, good work.”

The sergeant got up from his seat and left the conference room, followed by the others.

“Um, Miss Snow Flower.”

“Yes, Detective.”

Before Snow Flower left, Detective Layton called her.

“This time, Mad Hatter left a letter. It’s for you, Snow Flower.”

“… ”

“The inspection is over, so it’s safe.”

(Swish)

Snow Flower received the letter and opened it.

“What is the biggest problem with the sweater? Snow Flower Yang

-Mad Hatter-“