Chapter 15.
Thieves (2)
After requesting gun manufacturing from Jeong Seo-bin, Kang Hyeon came out of the guild house and walked through the city streets.
He was heading to the pub he often visited, and at the same time, he wanted to observe how the city was functioning.
This city, called Badass Town, had four guilds in conflict with each other. Gwangwol, List, Peaceline, and Badass. Among them, Gwangwol and List had been absorbed into the Peaceline Guild, leaving only two guilds remaining.
However, Peaceline was essentially under the Badass Guild. So, the Badass Guild could essentially be considered the city’s rulers.
Despite this, nothing had changed.
When walking the streets, the sewer smell was still present. Loud voices were exchanged everywhere, and fights were breaking out.
People who had adapted to the rough world after the collapse.
Managing those who had flocked from all over the country was not an easy task.
Dimensional rifts and chaotic beings. Creatures of Earth transformed into monsters by magical powers. Undead invasions. Checks from other guilds and military factions.
The Badass Guild already had more than enough to worry about. In such a situation, they could not possibly manage every single aspect of public security.
“Well, this can’t be helped,” Kang Hyeon shook his head while watching guns and drugs being traded openly on the street.
From the beginning, Kang Hyeon had no intention of suddenly changing this transformed world like flipping a palm.
Even if he tried, it was questionable whether it would work.
What Kang Hyeon wanted was simply for a minimal system to be established.
One might find it strange that Kang Hyeon, who always advocated for freedom, would want a system, but that was not the case.
‘There can be no real freedom without a minimal order established.’
A slight law and order were essential to enjoying freedom. In a world where everything is solved only by force without a system, true freedom cannot exist.
“Oh my! Guild Master has arrived!”
“Here, please have this!”
Residents who now recognized Kang Hyeon immediately offered him things from all directions.
People were trying to win his favor by generously giving food that had become as rare as guns.
At first, he found such situations burdensome, but now Kang Hyeon was accepting it comfortably.
“Oh. Thank you.”
Kang Hyeon smiled brightly while accepting an apple from a middle-aged man. Crunch!
As he took a bite, fresh fruit flesh flowed into his mouth.
“It tastes good.”
“Right? Haha!”
While chewing the apple, Kang Hyeon’s face suddenly hardened.
“Would you like to have a bite too, sir?”
Kang Hyeon handed the apple to the man with an expressionless face.
“What…? No, I’m fine.”
“No, please have a bite.”
“I really am… Urgh!”
Kang Hyeon grabbed the man’s nape and forcibly shoved the apple into his mouth.
“Mmph, mmmph!”
The man desperately struggled not to eat the apple.
“Where’s the trick?”
This was already the third time.
The attempts to kill Kang Hyeon with poison. Including long-distance sniping or bomb assassination attempts, it had already exceeded 10 times.
Roughly once a day, such incidents were occurring.
“Aren’t you tired? Huh? Aren’t you exhausted?”
The man, with the apple fully in his mouth, was streaming tears.
“Hey. Come here.”
“Yes, Guild Master.”
Kang Hyeon called a nearby guild member.
“This guy gave me a poisoned apple. Take him to the guild for interrogation.”
“Understood.”
Anyway, no matter how much they investigated, the result was predictable. He would either have received orders from somewhere or someone would have forced him by holding his family hostage.
Even knowing this fact, Kang Hyeon had to do this.
“Sigh… They should settle this quickly.”
Too many people were displeased with Kang Hyeon’s existence.
Not only the remnant forces of guilds in Badass Town, but recently people were even coming from other places and shooting guns.
Military factions had begun to move in earnest, wary of the Badass Guild’s growth.
They had already experienced what kind of power ability users gain when they become strong.
So they had no choice but to check the Badass Guild, where the strongest ability users in South Korea were gathered.
“What am I going to do with these guys?”
He had suspicions, but no concrete evidence.
Moreover, currently, there were four military factions in Korea.
In a situation where he didn’t know exactly which one was causing trouble, hasty actions were not good.
In the end, he was in a situation where he could do neither this nor that.
“Haaa… Thinking isn’t really my style…”
His head was too complicated.
Honestly, he felt like he could just capture and punish the military factions and be done with it.
But the world didn’t work that simply.
“Should I just step down from the Guild Master position?”
He even thought about entrusting guild management to Han Si-hwan and Ahn Yu-seong and just wandering alone.
“Damn it! I don’t know!”
Kang Hyeon shouted loudly and opened the door to a shop.
“Let’s have a drink!”
It was a quiet pub located in the outskirts, a place he had been visiting almost every day since his return.
The shop owner was initially startled and uncomfortable when first seeing Kang Hyeon but had now become familiar and was having comfortable conversations.
“Huh?”
Confusion filled Kang Hyeon’s eyes as he opened the shop door.
“What is this situation?”
Normally, a middle-aged man in his 40s would be washing dishes in the quiet interior.
However, what entered Kang Hyeon’s view were his guild members lying and bleeding on the floor.
***
Ippotranslation
***
30 minutes before Kang Hyeon’s visit.
The Pub ‘Country Road’ located on the outskirts of Badass Town.
Typically in Korea, when people say ‘pub’, it usually means an interior designed in an English style, but essentially the same as existing Korean drinking establishments.
However, Country Road was different.
The pub’s owner, Park Jeong-bum, is the child of an overseas Korean born in England.
Park Jeong-bum created a store that seemed to have been directly transported from his hometown pub, naming it Country Road.
Since England was already ruined and he could not return, this was to reminisce about his memories here.
Tap tap
It was still too early to do business.
Only the sound of Park Jeong-bum washing dishes echoed in the quiet pub.
“Will she come today?”
Park Jeong-bum muttered, thinking of the pub’s regular customer, Shin Seong-ah.
Despite her high status as the deputy guild leader of Badass Guild, she always came alone, quietly drank her beer, and left without a word.
Recently, the guild leader Kang Hyeon has also been visiting, which was somewhat surprising.
Anyway, they are also customers of this Country Road.
A pub is a place where anyone can drink comfortably without formality.
Even though they are executives who govern the city’s guild, they have never shown any arrogant or frowning behavior.
Thanks to this, Park Jeong-bum was now becoming accustomed to them.
Ding ding.
At that moment, the pub’s door opened, and the first customer of the day arrived.
“What? Is it not here yet?”
The woman who entered seemed to be in her mid-20s and had quite a unique appearance.
Hair dyed blue.
Short shorts and a crop top revealing her snow-white skin.
Her entire body was covered in mysterious, indecipherable tattoos.
She was also loudly equipped with various gear like grenades and ammunition belts.
Even in this city where all kinds of crazy people gather, her outfit was quite rare to see.
The woman walked up to the counter and stared at Park Jeong-bum.
“One beer.”
“Which one would you like?”
“Just give me anything.”
The woman ordered with a disinterested expression.
“This is our Country Road’s special ale.”
As Park Jeong-bum handed her the beer, she downed it in one go.
“Keu… The taste is not bad.”
“Is that so? Haha.”
“Yeah. I’m not really a big fan of alcohol, but this one is quite to my liking.”
Although being spoken to in casual language by a woman who looked like his daughter might have been unpleasant, Park Jeong-bum was smiling brightly.
Partly because he was originally from England.
And because the woman in front of him seemed free-spirited, more than being rude.
“Give me another one.”
“Yes.”
The empty glass was filled again.
“I want to ask you something.”
The woman drinking beer suddenly looked at Park Jeong-bum.
“Is this a pub that Kang Hyeon frequently visits?”
“If you’re talking about Kang Hyeon from Badass Guild, he has been coming a few times recently.”
“Really?”
The woman, who had already emptied her beer, held out her glass again.
Park Jeong-bum silently filled her glass with beer.
“When will Kang Hyeon come?”
“I’m not sure as he doesn’t have a set time for visiting.”
“Hmm…”
Perhaps not used to drinking, her face was bright red from just two glasses of beer.
It was when the woman was blankly staring at her beer glass.
Ding ding
As the bell rang, the next customers entered.
“Hey! Innkeeper! Long time no see!”
Coincidentally, five Badass Guild members had entered.
They noisily settled down and ordered lager beer.
“By the way, there’s a rumor that our guild leader has been coming here lately, right?”
“Haha. He comes occasionally.”
The Badass Guild member’s conversation with Park Jeong-bum caught the woman’s attention.
“What!? Is it true!?”
“Look, I definitely saw him drinking here.”
“Ah, Damn. What should we do?”
“What do you mean what to do? Just have a drink and go somewhere else.”
They were relatively new guild members, so it was inevitable that they would feel burdened by meeting the guild leader.
There was even a guild member who had his jawbone smashed by Kang Hyeon’s fist just a few days ago and still couldn’t chew meat, so it was understandable.
“Hey, You gentlemen there.”
The woman drinking at the counter called out to the Badass Guild members.
“What?”
“I’ve never seen your faces before.”
The Badass Guild members exchanged looks, looking at the woman in her loud outfit.
“Are you the Badass Guild?”
“Yeah.”
“Where’s Kang Hyeon?”
The guild members were taken aback by her sudden question.
“What are you saying?”
“Looks like she’s drunk.”
As they said, the woman’s cheeks were bright red, and her eyes were half-closed.
“Just call Kang Hyeon. I have something to do.”
One of the guild members stood up at her words.
“What are you going to do?”
“Wait and see. Since she’s quite good-looking, let’s just hang out together.”
“Punk. How bold.”
Despite the grumbling, the other guild members were secretly watching their colleague with anticipation.
“Hey. Miss. I’ve never seen your face before. Where are you from?”
The guild member asked, putting his arm around her shoulder.
“Overrrr there. Far away.”
“Is that so? Then you might not know. When a foreigner comes to Badass Town, they have to be screened by our guild.”
“Screening?”
“Yeah, yeah. We don’t just accept anyone. We directly check and let in only those who are okay to stay in the city.”
“Ah…”
The woman nods with a blank expression.
“It’s okay, If they won’t let me in, I’ll just sweep everything away.”
The woman placed a uniquely shaped pistol on the table and spoke.
“Let’s resolve this nicely. From now on, I’ll be the one judging. How’s that?”
“You?”
“That’s right. Even though I look like this, I’m a member of the Badasd Guild. How’s that? Isn’t it a good proposal?”
The guild member’s words made the woman nod.
“Very good! Then let’s start right away.”
The guild member tried to support the woman to help her up.
But he frowned at the tremendous weight felt from the woman.
“Tsk. Why are you hanging so many things?”
“What’s going on?”
“No, how can this woman be carrying so many things? It’s unbearably heavy.”
“Kid. Looking at her, she’s just bones. How heavy could she possibly be?”
“Instead of chattering, why don’t you help?”
The guild members grinned wickedly and supported the woman from both sides.
Pub owner Park Jeong-bum watched with a worried face but couldn’t step forward.
Because this city belonged to them.
Moreover, even if it wasn’t the Badass Guild’s business, all kinds of petty crimes happen in this city.
If one were to react to each of these trivial matters, it would be endless.
“Let’s go. Hurry up! We need to conduct the evaluation quickly!”
“That’s right! Hahaha!”
They were excited thinking about what was about to happen.
At that moment, one guild member secretly tried to touch the woman’s chest.
At that instant.
The guild member who reached out met the woman’s eyes and froze like ice.
‘What kind of eyes…’
Eyes that were long and torn like those of a predator.
The gaze that seemed about to devour him at any moment.
“Who are you guys?”
“Huh?”
“I’m asking what you guys are.”
The woman broke free from the guild members with incredible strength.
The guild members were taken aback by her sudden reaction.
“What? What’s wrong with this woman?”
“Oh, wait a moment.”
The guild member who first spoke to her approached.
“Miss. Are you sober?”
“You must go to the Badass Guild house.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Didn’t you say it yourself? As an outsider. All outsiders must be evaluated at the guild. Don’t you remember?”
The man said with a sinister expression.
“No. I don’t remember.”
As soon as the woman answered, she spread two fingers.
And before anyone could react, she incredibly quickly gouged the man’s eyeball.
“Kaaaaaaah!”
“What’s wrong with this crazy bitch!”
“She, she gouged the eye!”
The guild member was bleeding red from his eye.
Even in that sudden situation where everyone was stunned, the woman did not stop.
She pulled out a pistol from her waistline and immediately struck the jaw of the guild member standing next to her.
“Kuh huk!”
The guild member who was hit in the jaw foamed at the mouth and collapsed to the floor.
He was a man who could only eat through his jaw, which had been broken by Kang Hyeon a few days ago.
“Ugh… What are you guys doing!? Destroy them!”
With two of their colleagues instantly taken down, the guild members were consumed by rage.
Although they were low-ranking members, they were still Badass Guild members.
This meant they had been local gang leaders in their respective areas before joining the guild.
For five such men to be defeated by an unnamed woman was unthinkable.
“She’s not an ordinary woman. Everyone, stay focused!”
The guild members positioned themselves and quickly rushed towards the woman.
The first two were caught by surprise, but they would not allow it to continue.
However, contrary to expectations, the guild members found themselves in a close combat with the woman.
“Can’t you do it properly!?”
“You do it properly, you bastard!”
A frail woman and three grown men were evenly matched in a fistfight.
Perhaps out of shame for this fact, the guild members’ faces turned even redder.
“Heuk… Heuk…”
A moment later.
Only the rough breathing of four men and women echoed in the pub Country Road.
“Ptui!”
Due to being hit in the face multiple times, her face swollen bluish-purple, the woman spat.
The red spit mixed with blood stuck thickly to the pub’s floor.
“Ah…”
It was the moment when the pub owner Park Jeong-bum’s expression turned deathly pale.
“This won’t do.”
One guild member pulled out a gun from his chest.
“You bastard! What are you doing!?”
“Don’t interfere. This arrogant bitch needs to be properly educated.”
“Do you want to be disciplined by the guild? Get a grip!”
One might think that a discipline from the guild would mean little.
But the reality was entirely different.
The Badass Guild was famous for the severity of its disciplinary actions.
In the worst case, one could be kicked out of the guild half-disabled.
Although this likely wouldn’t escalate to that point, firing a gun in the city was a serious violation of rules.
“Shut up! Even if I get disciplined, I’ll be the one taking it, so just watch”
Despite the attempts of his colleagues to stop him, the man seemed to have no intention of stopping.
“You. I don’t know where you crawled out from, but you’ve messed with the wrong person.”
The man gave a savage smile looking at the woman.
The woman also did not back down, smiling and glaring back at the man.
“Shoot? Go ahead and shoot.”
“Are you joking right now!?”
“I’m not joking either, so go ahead and shoot, you bastard.”
The smile on the woman’s lips deepened.
“This is…!”
As the man placed his finger on the trigger, and the moment it was about to be pulled.
Swoosh! Thud!
In an instant, the woman moved at an incredible speed and snatched the gun from the man.
It happened so quickly, one might wonder what just occurred.
This was not a skill done just once or twice.
“Huh…?”
The guild member made a foolish expression, seeing the gun that was in his hand now in the woman’s.
“Pathetic bastard.”
The woman immediately fired the gun towards the guild members’ legs.
Bang bang bang bang bang!
Six bullets flew instantly, piercing the guild members’ thighs.
“Kaaaaaaah!”
The guild members screamed, blood pouring from their thighs.
“Looking at these kids’ level, Kang Hyeon doesn’t seem like much either.”
The woman stepped on a guild member’s face with her boot.
“Ugh… Won’t you stop!? I’ll kill you!”
“Oh really?”
At that moment, the gun in the woman’s hand fired again.
“Kaaaah!”
A guild member trying to draw his weapon in the midst of conversation now screamed with a hole in his hand.
“They say your word is the law in this city these days?”
“Kuh-heuk!”
The woman’s boot stabbed into the man’s stomach, causing him to emit a rough groan.
“If there’s only trash like you in this guild, I might as well clean it all up and take over? Huh?”
The woman looked at the guild members with eyes like a beast.
Just as the guild members were shrinking under that gaze and swallowing their saliva.
Ding-a-ling
The pub door opened, and a familiar silhouette entered.
“What situation is this?”
Kang Hyeon scratched his head and let out a sigh.
Men lying on the floor, bleeding.
Though he didn’t recognize their faces, their attire suggested they were his guild members.
And a flashy-dressed woman stomping on those guild members’ heads.
“Oh…”
The woman’s appearance reminded Kang Hyeon of Ahn Yu-seong in his wild youth.
“Did Ahn Yu-seong have a younger sibling?”
At Kang Hyeon’s sudden words, the woman frowned.
“What nonsense are you talking about!? Wait… Don’t tell me you’re Kang Hyeon?”
The woman’s eyes widened upon seeing Kang Hyeon’s face.
“Yeah. I’m Kang Hyeon.”
Kang Hyeon lightly kicked the guild members lying face down.
“Who are you to have done this to our kids?”
“Kang Hyeon! I’m going to take your head!”
The woman suddenly shouted and charged towards Kang Hyeon.
But she soon staggered and then fell forward towards Kang Hyeon.
Kang Hyeon easily twisted his body to dodge her.
“Ugh. I’m getting drunk…”
Plop.
As Kang Hyeon dodged, the woman naturally planted her head on the floor.
“What kind of crazy person is this…?”
