Chapter 183

Chapter 183. Fishing (2)

His voice was calm, like water in a lake deep in the mountains.

“I, I know nothing. Really!”

Listening quietly, he realized the familiar voice belonged to the man speaking with him.

‘It’s Changyoung.’

He was an intermediary manager for this workshop, and unlike him, who was no better than a slave, he committed all sorts of atrocities by associating with high-ranking government officials.

Recognizing this, he began to notice scenes that had been invisible until now.

Kneeling before the man wasn’t just Changyoung alone.

Managers of various hierarchy levels were gathered there, half on the verge of death.

These fellows, who frequently killed low-rank players for amusement, were now kneeling and trembling, a sight that made a chuckle slip out despite himself.

But that moment quickly passed, and he lay on the cold, hard floor, gritting his teeth.

‘To die being treated the same as those punks.’

He never expected his end to be this pathetic.

Though it was humiliating, it wasn’t a grievance.

He had always thought it wouldn’t be surprising if things ended up this way.

‘How many months has it been now…’

After being discovered as a player by a high-ranking politician, he hadn’t lived a single day in peace.

With each terrible act, nightmares grew thicker, and the stink of blood clung to his hands.

But with a twelve-year-old son, a wife, and both sets of parents at risk, there was nothing he wouldn’t do to keep them safe.

‘I don’t expect forgiveness.’

His greatest fear was what would happen to his family on Earth if he died here.

He doubted the politician who enslaved him would take care of them.

He would likely silence them without anyone noticing.

‘All because of me.’

This happened because he got caught up in this game.

Fear for the uncertain future brought tears to his eyes.

But he had no idea what more he could do from here on.

The man with the spear was a grim reaper he could never defeat.

‘Status window…’

Player La Wian (1st Selection) – Bronze rank

Codename: Balloon

Mana: 2566 (Attribute mana: 20)

Chaos Rate: 27.33%

Affiliation: Earth, Senoa Order

Race: Human (Player)

Nationality: China

Rank: Gamma

A black shadow pervaded La Wian’s eyes. Rising once to the Silver rank was merely past glory.

His mana number displayed on the status window stood at a meager mid-2000s.

Despite being a 1st selection player, La Wian, whose mana had been extorted, remained in the Bronze rank.

Was there any way to escape from that monstrous player’s clutches in such circumstances?

‘No.’

No matter how hard he pondered, no solution came to mind.

Death was the only recourse left.

‘Oh, god.’

Was it the severe helplessness that brought the memory of a order he seldom attended, the prayer his parents occasionally urged on him, now vivid?

As La Wian was engulfed in despair, unable even to refuse his impending death, his gaze inadvertently caught the eyes of the man who lowered his gaze to the ground.

La Wian froze, unable to even breathe.

The man seemed on the brink of rushing toward him with his spear, having confirmed he was alive.

Of course, this was La Wian’s illusion.

Instead of approaching to kill, the man spoke again in a leisurely manner.

“Well, you might not know.”

La Wian regarded the man with a puzzled heart.

‘Why…?’

He saw that he was alive, yet why not kill him?

He could eliminate him with a mere flick of a finger.

“It’s not a big deal, so don’t worry much.”

The man’s voice was flat, without any particular inflection, as he reached out to Changyoung, who spilled blood from his mouth while kneeling.

So when his hand moved gracefully and snapped Changyoung’s neck with a ‘crack’, it was hard to comprehend immediately.

“If you don’t know, excluding you is enough.”

Shortly after, a piece of paper dropped from the man’s slack hand beside Changyoung’s limp body.

On the paper soaked in red blood lay the recently deceased Changyoung’s face.

‘A composite sketch…?’

That was evidence that previous captives had provided information to them.

Could the information they revealed only pertain to the managers?

‘No way.’

They likely divulged everything about this organization as well.

The man was now merely interrogating these managers as a last confirmation.

And once the interrogation finished…

‘He’ll clean this place up.’

Without leaving any future troubles behind.

Judging by the plentiful corpses of players around, this was an evident fact.

Realizing this, La Wian’s eyes turned black.

All hope of surviving here had been completely abandoned.

Then the man, flitting through another paper in his hand, raised the corners of his lips.

“There must be one among them who knows something. I just need that one.”

He spurred an encouraging invitation, suggesting that anyone who might know anything had better raise a hand and speak up.

The man continued in a nonchalant manner, nudging the dead Changyoung with his foot as he spoke.

“So if you know anything, any bit, just confess it.”

A distinct blue light flashed in the man’s eyes, sunken in shadow.

“If you know something I don’t, I’ll let you live.”

Almost immediately after his icy cold voice ended.

“Tamalon was the one who supplied the goods!”

“Senoa introduced him! Payment was only in gold! We brought in gold from Earth to purchase!”

“We often traded items collected as war loot!”

“Zhang Tianyu! This organization was founded by a woman named Zhang Tianyu!”

“A member of the Communist Youth League! Lives in Beijing!”

“I heard she’s supported by the Central Political Bureau!”

“This is the last hideout!”

“There are still some Biharin alive in the basement!”

Everyone screamed, frantically confessing the information they held.

Eager to make their mark in the man’s eyes and survive, a palpable desperation filled the air.

Watching their frantic struggle left me incredulous.

Even I, merely a slave, had resigned myself to death, yet they clung to hopes of survival for what reason?

‘Idiots.’

Did they think that grim reaper-like man would extend mercy?

Lying flat on the stone floor, having given up everything, La Wian looked at the managers with contempt.

“Kuh.”

Then abruptly, amidst this scene, mismatched laughter rang out.

The managers, who had been shouting over each other, halted in unison.

But La Wian wasn’t surprised.

He merely cast a glance at the man with the spear, as if he knew all along who was laughing.

Sure enough, the man was slightly shuddering with one hand covering his mouth.

After a short moment of muffled, restrained chuckling, the man uncovered his mouth and curled one side of his lips upward.

“I already know all of that.”

The managers before the man showed befuddled expressions.

“I forgot to mention, but I’ve already drafted your organization’s map. Of course, I know Zhang Tianyu’s age, birthday, blood type, the school she graduated from, her social media ID, address, and even her parents’ names and occupations. I have the means to find that much.”

He had interrogated merely on a hunch, hoping to uncover something.

“But seems no one knows more than I do.”

The man muttered softly and stood up.

“I see you want to live.”

“Yes, yes…”

Someone reflexively responded to the man’s words.

With a repetitive chuckle, the man raised his head.

“This is a genuine question.”

Then monotonously, adjusting his grip on the spear, he spoke.

“Anyone here ever spared someone who begged for their life?”

The managers seemed unable to grasp the situation and looked at the man with blank expressions.

With a sly grin, the man raised the spear and muttered.

“Didn’t think so.”

And with a crack.

Sparks flew from the spear blade as a gust of wind swept through.

I couldn’t even properly track the man’s movements, and already the spear was swung.

Immediately, the managers sitting in front of the man had their bodies burst forth with blood as their heads rolled away.

La Wian watched with hollow eyes briefly, then closed them.

‘Now it’s my turn.’

After confirming I was alive, he ignored me because he was busy interrogating the managers.

Now that he was finished, he’d certainly kill me too.

I was convinced, yet why didn’t I feel the sharp edge penetrate my skin?

‘Maybe someone like me isn’t worth killing directly?’

It’d be better if he didn’t foster any false hopes and just ended it quickly.

As he bit his lips, contemplating how much longer he’d have to wait.

“There’s one Bronze rank guy left, take care of him.”

La Wian’s eyes flew open.

And he met the gaze of the man who was looking directly at him.

‘Spared…?’

Not accidentally spared, but deliberately kept alive?

‘Because I’m a Bronze rank?’

In this organization, not reaching Silver rank indicated mana exploitation.

Was he deliberately sparing me knowing that?

Even in bewilderment, La Wian’s heart began to pound wildly.

It was entirely different from a moment ago when he had resigned to death.

The slender hope that he might survive ignited emotions, his body trembling with overwhelming feelings.

Whether the man knew La Wian’s sentiments.

“Let’s compile the list of those secured today.”

The man casually conversed with the holy knights.

“Yes, understood. By the way, you haven’t rested for days during this hunt. Let us handle the prisoner transport and take a break…”

It seemed like he was contemplating it, considering he didn’t respond immediately.

After a brief pause, the man, wiping blood from his hands on his clothes, nodded willingly.

“Sounds good. I’ll review the list and field reports tomorrow.”

“Leave it to us. We’ll see you at headquarters tomorrow.”

After a few more exchanges, the man left before the holy knights finished their conversation.

* * *

Finding the organization members involved in human trafficking hadn’t been difficult at all.

‘I have a map.’

In the middle of the corrupted area, I only had to find the clusters of red and blue dots.

Although the Silver ranks hid their mana, bronze ranks and the Biharin don’t, making them easy to find.

After a few raids, they tried to be clever by going underground or setting up barriers.

The map couldn’t render 3D, but it did capture underground mana.

And setting up barriers ultimately just pinpointed their hideouts.

When all mana disappeared from an area with a barrier, even others without a map could locate it through ordinary Mana Detection.

Thus, rooting out the crime organizations related to human trafficking in Bihar was not a challenging task.

‘The issue is time.’

It took a month to capture those within Bihar and dismantle the organization.

‘Faster than initially planned.’

Yet, the results were unsatisfactory.

Reflecting on the incident that occurred half a month ago, urgency was necessary.

However, the human trafficking organization was too expansive, limiting us.

I clicked my tongue internally and swiftly left the place.

I aimed for the massive iron door we saw while entering the underground hideout.

Pulling out thick paper from thin air, I confirmed one of the symbols drawn there matched one on the iron door and muttered.

“As expected…”

The spaces used by remnants of the human trafficking networks operating throughout the north felt oddly familiar.

Their layout was similar to the underground bunkers I once discovered near Viceta Fortress.

Previously, I was unsure about the purpose of this space, unlike now.

‘An aristocratic faction of the Kairoth Kingdom’s refuge.’

This place was a hideout constructed by certain noble factions who distrustful of the Kairoth royal family pooled funds.

The testimony from a merchant who secretly supplied materials during the construction of this place unearthed that fact.

Having already secured a rough list of nobles involved through his testimony.

As we advance, we will meticulously search locations where those nobles owned land.

In search of any survivors.

‘Unlikely to be alive.’

Swallowing a bitter smile, I shook my head and continued walking.

After exiting the underground bunker, I headed to the temple at Somol Fortress.

From there, I took a portal to Loborre’s temple.

Approaching the sacred statue of the World Tree, the holy knights requested me to disclose my status window.

‘They’re doing a good job.’

After revealing only the nationality section, I stood before the World Tree, triggering a monotonous system window.

「Return to Earth」

Different scenery from when a map used to appear.

Damned System