Chapter 135: A Public Enemy of Argentina

Episode 135

The elevator door opened.

A well-built man in his late twenties, wearing a suit, stepped out and walked down the hallway.

He stopped in front of the CEO’s office, and two subordinates standing on either side bowed respectfully.

But the man didn’t even glance at them. He simply adjusted his suit with a nervous expression and sighed softly.

His name was David.

He was the second-in-command of the Triunfo Clan’s El Nacon City branch, and he knocked on the CEO’s office door.

“Come in.”

A voice came from inside, and the two subordinates opened the door, one on each side.

Inside the office, Tiago, the branch manager, was taking off his suit jacket and hanging it on a coat rack.

David entered and bowed deeply.

“Welcome back, brother.”

“Get me a glass of water.”

“Yes, sir.”

David immediately poured a glass of cold water from the water purifier in the corner and respectfully presented it to him.

Tiago sat down in the luxurious leather chair behind his desk and took a sip of water.

Only then did he speak.

“About the Nature Animal incident last night.”

“Yes, brother.”

The previous night, the drug factory owned by the Nature Animal Clan, located on the outskirts of the B16 district, had exploded.

The problem was that the incident had been widely reported, and now almost everyone on the continent knew about it.

Naturally, the Triunfo Clan, which had been secretly importing drugs through that factory, was in a state of emergency.

So, an urgent executive meeting was called this morning. Tiago had attended it and was just returning.

“The incident has become bigger than we expected. We could have swept the slave labor of children and disabled people under the rug, but the drug components seem to have caught the attention of other Major Clans, and they won’t let it slide.”

“……”

“So, the Paladins have launched a full-scale investigation.”

David’s expression also turned serious.

The Paladins were all mobilized. That meant all the Major Clans were paying attention to this incident.

If the Triunfo Clan’s involvement was discovered, it could be very dangerous. It could even shake the very foundation of their existence.

“Fortunately, the investigation seems to be stalled because all the Nature Animal members were wiped out. So we can breathe a sigh of relief for now.”

“That’s a relief, brother.”

“Those bastards. They knew there were countless factories like that all over the place…!”

Tiago continued, gritting his teeth in anger.

“Now that it’s become a big deal, they’re pretending to care! They usually don’t even bother looking at the B district because it’s too much trouble…!”

“……”

“Sigh… Tell the guys to be careful for a while. Don’t do anything that could get us in trouble while the Paladins are on high alert.”

“Understood, brother.”

“And this.”

Tiago handed David two posters that were on the corner of his desk.

They had sketches of Kim Jinsung and Karen on them.

The difference from the previous posters was that the bounty for each of them was now 20 billion Blanc.

“I heard these two were the ones who wiped out the Animal guys and destroyed the factory.”

“……!”

“They were seen getting out of a taxi at a gas station on the outskirts of the B15 district about an hour before the factory exploded. The testimonies of the slaves in the factory also match.”

Tiago took out a cigarette and put it in his mouth.

David hurriedly took out a lighter and lit his cigarette.

Tiago took a drag, exhaled smoke, and continued,

“The executive meeting concluded that we need to catch them before the Paladins do. So we decided to designate them as ‘unofficial’ wanted criminals.”

David’s eyes changed.

“So now, not just the subcontracted clans, but also Triunfo Clan members can get involved?”

Tiago nodded in response to David’s question.

“That’s right. It’s out of our hands now.”

Now that the Triunfo Clan had designated them as ‘unofficial’ wanted criminals, the two on the posters were practically public enemies of all Argentinians.

“Make copies of the posters and distribute them to everyone. And don’t forget to distribute them to the secret quest boards in El Nacon City.”

“Yes, brother.”

“You can go now.”

David bowed and left the CEO’s office to carry out his orders.

* * *

[…Last night’s factory explosion, which kept the residents near the B16 district awake.

We reported yesterday that this factory was kidnapping children and disabled people and forcing them into slave labor.

According to the detailed investigation results, the factory was also illegally manufacturing performance-enhancing drugs that exceeded the legal limit…]

The voice of a female news anchor was broadcasted on TV along with footage.

[…The Paladins are investigating the distribution route of the drugs, but the investigation is facing significant difficulties due to the deaths of all the members of the ‘Nature Animal’ Clan, the owners of the factory and the prime suspects…]

‘…That’s to be expected.’

Kim Jinsung, the person involved in the news report, was comfortably leaning back on a sofa, leisurely snacking on chips.

[…The body shown now is that of Jacob, the master of ‘Nature Animal’. As you can see, he died in a very brutal manner.

Not only Jacob, but all other ‘Nature Animal’ Clan members were also found dead with their heads missing…]

Footage of Jacob’s corpse appeared on the TV screen.

Jacob’s body, with its limbs torn off and its eyes and tongue severely mutilated, was beyond the word “brutal.”

‘…I didn’t do that.’

Kim Jinsung thought to himself, then his gaze shifted to the back of Jacob’s shattered head.

‘But I did do that.’

He had to finish Jacob off himself to absorb his abilities.

Kim Jinsung opened his status window and checked the absorbed abilities again.

—

▷ Chosen Tanker: Grants the following traits, skills, and permanent stat increases:

– Permanently increases Skin Defense by 80.

– Permanently increases maximum Skin Defense by 50%.

– Can transform skin into a steel-like substance by infusing mana.

—

‘At least he gave me some decent traits.’

He had been disappointed by the mediocre abilities he had absorbed from the other clan members, but Jacob had at least provided some decent ones.

His Skin Defense had increased to over 1,500.

Considering that his Strength hadn’t even exceeded 1,500 before the Colosseum finals, it showed how high his current defense was.

‘And I also got Karen’s trait.’

—

▷ Bio-Zombie: Grants the following traits and permanent stat increases:

– Does not die from fatal blows and only dies when HP reaches 0.

– Wounds regenerate naturally.

– Permanently increases all stats by 60.

—

‘My regeneration ability was already excellent, but now I won’t even die from fatal blows.’

Combined with his significantly increased defense, his survivability was now one of his greatest strengths.

‘Considering that this is the most dangerous place on Earth, having good survivability isn’t a bad thing.’

Moreover, he was currently being hunted by two of the largest Major Clans in the New Continent.

Considering the possibility of facing even more life-threatening situations in the future, his current survivability was like a reliable last resort.

‘In that sense, acquiring this place is also a good thing for me.’

Kim Jinsung looked around.

This was the place where he had killed Karen.

After killing Karen, he had decided to stay here for the night because the place seemed quite decent.

A bed, TV, computer, sink, bathroom with a shower stall… It was better than most studio apartments.

‘There’s also a lot of hunter equipment.’

Various armors and swords of different sizes were hanging on one of the walls. There were also other weapons, including guns.

There was even a recovery capsule underneath them.

It seemed to be a machine that could quickly recover not only wounds but also stamina and mana.

Everything a hunter needed was available here.

‘If I can avoid being discovered by enemies, I can stay here for a while.’

As Kim Jinsung was looking around the room, the TV sound caught his attention again.

[…The two sketches shown on the screen are the suspects who blew up the factory.]

Kim Jinsung looked back at the TV.

“……!”

Sketches of his and Karen’s faces were displayed on the TV screen.

[The suspects were seen at a gas station on the outskirts of the B15 district shortly before the factory exploded, as confirmed by CCTV footage.]

The screen changed, and footage of the two of them, wearing masks, getting out of a taxi that had just arrived at the gas station was broadcasted.

[After analyzing the CCTV footage with the iris recognition system, the suspects were identified as Lee Jinhwan and Karen, rookie hunters who recently entered through the El Nacon Immigration Control Office.

If you spot these suspects or know their current location, please contact the Paladins immediately…]

Kim Jinsung’s expression turned serious as he watched the TV.

‘They identified us with the iris recognition system?’

This was something he hadn’t anticipated.

He had worn a large mask that covered everything but his eyes, just in case he was caught on CCTV, but he hadn’t expected them to identify him through his eyes.

‘…I need to change my appearance again.’

His current appearance was also a transformation of one of the guys he had killed at the Fight Club.

But since that appearance had been spread as a wanted poster, he needed to change his appearance again.

‘Changing my appearance is not a problem. The problem is this.’

Kim Jinsung looked at the hunter watch on his wrist.

He could change his appearance anytime with the ‘Organism Transformation’ skill. But if the information stored in the hunter watch remained the same, changing his appearance would be pointless, as he would be immediately caught by the Paladins.

‘That means I need to change the information in the hunter watch as well…’

As he was pondering, he noticed a notebook lying on the table next to him.

‘What’s this? A diary?’

The cover of the notebook read ‘Important People’.

Kim Jinsung picked up the notebook, opened it, and looked at the first page.

※ Adrian

Secret Quest Board & Information Broker

Location: 21st Street, B10 District

Direct Number: Changes frequently.

Note: This is a regular quest board for Ukobachi members, so its location must be kept secret from opposing factions.

※ B16 Exchange Street

Various Trophy Exchange Offices

Location: 30th Street, B16 District

Direct Number: XXXX-XXXX-XXXX

Note: Operated by the Nature Animal Clan.

It was a notebook with information about useful places.

Kim Jinsung continued to turn the pages, hoping to find something useful.

A moment later,

‘…Oh, there it is.’

He stopped turning the pages.

※ Hacker Louis

Hunter Watch Information Modification Specialist

Location: 31st Street, B19 District

Direct Number: None

Note: Gives preferential treatment to Ukobachi members. Also…

—