< 116. Shock and Terror (14) >
"Ugh, I thought this neighborhood would be quiet for a while, but it's in chaos again. Lieutenant, could you please transfer me to a different precinct?"
A neighborhood watch member, drenched in sweat from the hot weather, complained. Jeong-pal pretended not to hear. The young man started the engine and pressed again.
"Huh? Please. I want to work in a different area, not the Orc Community. I've lived here my whole life, and now I'm working here too. I'm going to go crazy. I want to escape, escape!"
Jeong-pal muttered indifferently.
"How am I supposed to move you when I have no influence or power?"
He thought of someone's face but quickly erased the thought.
They had just been on their way back from dealing with a brawl that had broken out at an orc pub. Orcs, having been unemployed for an extended period and getting increasingly bored, had been heavily drunk since the afternoon, and the fight was quite intense.
It was fortunate that no firearms incidents occurred. After the collapse of the Orc Gang and the Red Star, they didn't even have money for bullets.
The situation ended the moment Jeong-pal burst in with his battle cry. But both Jeong-pal and the neighborhood watch member, along with every resident of the Orc Community, knew that such incidents would likely repeat.
The young man continued to grumble.
"Why is this place so chaotic? They don't work and spend all day fighting. It's driving me nuts."
"Don't they need someone to pay them to work?"
"There used to be, but not anymore."
"They're all dead, in prison, or missing."
The impact of Chairman Kim Kwang-woo and the Red Star on the neighborhood's economy had been profound.
Even without actively imitating vigilantes or gangster activities, the numerous businesses that sprang from these two groups left many orcs unemployed.
Not all of them were absorbed into new jobs.
"Workers employed by Marxist followers managed to keep their positions, but… those places are more like schools or charity organizations, and they have their limits."
"Marxists? Were there people like that in this neighborhood?"
The young man tilted his head.
He seemed to think that if there were followers, the figure they followed would naturally be involved as well.
"Even people who followed them? I've never heard that before."
"...Those aren't people from this neighborhood, and they aren't even alive. They were thinkers that the Red Star worshipped like idols."
"Oh, you mean those commies. Just say that then; you're making it hard to understand with all these roundabout ways."
Yes, my mistake. Jeong-pal internally lamented the education level of the Orc Community locals. At that moment, the neighborhood watch member spoke up.
"Oh? It's Jenkinson."
The old police car's air conditioning was ineffective, and parked under the blazing sun, the interior felt like a sauna. Even with the windows open, it was hard to cool down.
"Let's quickly grab a hard drive from there."
The neighborhood watch member parked in front of a convenience store. The sign's "Jenkinson 25" was accompanied by a caricature of a red dragon drawn as cutely as possible. The drawing, where half the face was occupied by eyes, ignored realistic details.
A common strategy of corporate PR teams is to portray the CEO in the most approachable manner to win public favor. However, this logo was an exceptionally unique case. Rumor had it that the secretary of the Red Dragon had spent months fine-tuning the design.
"What? Was it robbed again?"
The store's glass facade was severely shattered. The neighborhood watch member stuck his head out and asked.
"Sir, are you still open for business?"
Harsh curses came back.
"Of course, I have to run the business, damn it. I need to make a living."
After paying for two ice creams, Jeong-pal asked the store owner, glancing at the broken glass.
"Did you report it?"
"What good would that do? They don't even bother to look into it. I even brought the store's CCTV footage to the police myself, but there's been no sign of action!"
"I'll check it myself when I rotate shifts. Looks like it was reported during an off-duty period."
"Hmph! I don't expect anything. After all, it's only Officer Park who cares about this neighborhood. And Officer Park can't arrest every petty thief. Please hire more police! Or bring more from elsewhere."
In terms of police-to-population ratio, this neighborhood is actually lower than affluent areas, despite needing far more police.
'Even if I tell the Chief, it probably won't make a difference...'
At that moment, Jeong-pal recalled the appointment he had for dinner that evening.
'Maybe I should mention it to him?'
It wasn't an empty remark; Representative Choi Pan-seok had contacted him to have a meal that evening. Jeong-pal was surprised but didn't decline.
'After all, isn't that what members of parliament are there for?'
It was clear that the situation in the Orc Community was unusual.
In the past, open robberies like this weren't common. This indicated worsening economic conditions.
Action was needed.
Jeong-pal told the convenience store owner as he passed by.
"I'll explain the situation to a high-ranking person I know and request support."
"Hmph, but he's just a police chief, right? If talking to him would have worked, it would have been done by now."
The store owner snorted.
Min-jun was incredulous.
"Kim, it seems we've been caught in the blade's scheme."
"Pardon? What do you mean?"
After the interrogation, he revealed what he had learned from the frying pan.
"The fact that the phone signal was cut off here seems to have been part of the blade's plot. The mage isn't here."
"······?!"
"These guys don't even know the connection between the mage and the blade."
"So…?"
"These assassins were intending to eliminate the blade. They wanted revenge for the death of their comrade."
Realizing this, the blade had used the police.
"They seemed to expect the police to follow the mage's trail. So they deliberately approached secretly and then cut off the phone signal."
It was presumed their goal was to have the police and the assassins clash.
A two-for-one deal, borrowing a knife to kill.
While these assassins didn't know the blade's location, the blade knew theirs. The difference in information ultimately led the assassins to disaster.
"Hmm…"
Kim Cheol-soo murmured in thought.
Then, as if struck by a thought, he asked.
"So, how were they planning to track someone whose face and identity they didn't know?"
Min-jun explained that too.
Even though defeating the assassins wasn't completely useless, it wasn't a total waste of effort. From the interrogation, he had obtained another crucial piece of information.
"These guys were certain that the blade would reveal himself soon. They were adamant that he wouldn't have left Korea."
There was a reason for that.
"The blade still has people left to kill. Here, in Korea."
"Does that mean there's been another request?"
"No, it's not."
Kim Cheol-soo looked puzzled.
"They say the blade sometimes commits murders without any contract. It's like a leisure activity for him, killing without payment. It's quite uncharacteristic of a hitman, isn't it?"
A prime example would be the half-elf mistress.
Originally, the target was just Gwak Do-chul, but he also killed the person involved in the affair with him.
"How the headquarters knows is that sometimes the blade buys information about certain individuals with his own money. He buys location data and behavior patterns. Information necessary for assassination."
"So, if we check on that person later, they would be dead?"
"Precisely. With a clean cut to the neck. It's a murder without a client. However, even after the blade arrived in Korea, he apparently bought information from the headquarters."
Min-jun recalled the scene from the troll's memory.
In the past, the troll and (under the blade's control) Choi Seon-ah exchanged cash and cigarettes wordlessly. This was before the headquarters' relationship deteriorated.
"All of them were targets that the headquarters never requested to be killed."
Kim Cheol-soo noticed the use of the plural form.
"Several people?"
"Yes, I'll list their names and addresses for you to note down."
The names Min-jun recited were more numerous than expected.
As many as twenty-nine people.
"Abrams HQ believes that the Blade won't leave Korea until he's killed all twenty-nine of these people. That's the pattern they've observed. And they're confident that he'll reveal himself again to accomplish this."
Kim Cheol-soo's eyes widened.
"So…"
"Yes, by guarding these individuals, we might be able to catch the Blade."
At that moment, Kim Cheol-soo finished verifying the names and addresses Min-jun had provided. The result made Kim Cheol-soo frown.
"No wonder these names sound familiar."
"Why is that?"
The mage spoke in a gloomy tone.
"These targets have one thing in common."
"What is it?"
"They're all people who have just been elected as National Assembly members and started their terms."
"······?!"
Min-jun confirmed the information.
"All of them?"
"Yes, and… they're all from the same party."
The ruling party? Or the opposition?
But Kim Cheol-soo mentioned the name of a third party.
"The Human-Centric Party."
The agent fell silent for a moment.
This group of racial supremacists who claim that this planet originally belongs to humanity and that all power should be returned to humans.
"Then why exactly twenty-nine people?"
As far as he knew, the party had thirty seats in this election.
But Min-jun quickly realized the reason.
"I see, one of them has been killed already."
The National Assembly member who was beheaded by the troll controlled by the Blade.
He was also from the Human-Centric Party.
Kim Cheol-soo murmured.
"To plan to assassinate dozens of National Assembly members is equivalent to terrorism against the state if realized."
Min-jun fell into thought.
One member of the thirty from that party was officially assassinated under a contract, and the remaining twenty-nine are targeted without any contract.
What could have caused such a change in sentiment?
'Anyway, if I guard these racial supremacists, the Blade is bound to show up.'
He scratched his chin and muttered to himself.
'No, rather than just waiting, maybe I should set a trap?'
Of course, he had no intention of asking for the consent of the person who would be the bait.
Jeong-pal felt like he was becoming a fool.
Or perhaps he was deaf.
"Pardon? I'm sorry, Representative, I think I must have misunderstood."
The clock showed ten o'clock at night. It was late for dinner. Representative Choi Pan-seok, who had agreed to meet at this hour due to a delayed schedule, arrived at the Korean restaurant exactly five minutes late.
When the dishes were served and they were alone in the room, what Choi Pan-seok said was enough to astonish Jeong-pal.
"I'll repeat myself."
Choi Pan-seok repeated the shocking offer.
"Would you like to run for office this time?"
"······."
Jeong-pal froze like a block of ice.
Choi Pan-seok gave him time to gather his thoughts. He picked up his chopsticks. It was indeed true that his schedule was packed, as if it was a pre-dinner event. He ate with an appetite unbefitting his age, devouring the food without hesitation.
After a while, Jeong-pal, looking dumbfounded, spoke.
"But I don't have much of an education…"
"Education and vote count don't necessarily correlate."
"And I know nothing about politics!"
"According to statistics, more than 50% of first-term legislators come from non-political backgrounds."
"And I don't have any connections…"
"No connections, you say? Even if you searched every corner of Yeouido right now, you probably wouldn't find anyone to match your network. And I, even if weakly, would be willing to support you from behind."
Jeong-pal was confused.
He had thought it was just a request to help with the election campaign.
But a nomination for office!
"...Not in four years, but in this by-election?"
"That's right. So there's not much time. You need to accept as soon as possible so we can get moving quickly."
Choi Pan-seok then briefly explained the current political situation in Yeouido.
"The results of the general election were very different from predictions. The votes for both the ruling and opposition parties were almost identical. So this by-election is very important."
To replace the orc who had been elected from the Orc Community and then died, a new face was needed.
Orc voters were fed up with Kim Gwang-woo, who had become an icon of corruption, scandal, and betrayal. All the old-fashioned politicians associated with him needed to be excluded.
"We're missing one orc representative. Do you see this? This is why I've been so busy lately."
He took out a document from his bag and handed it over. Jeong-pal accepted it respectfully with both hands and turned the pages. The title was quite long: 'Special Law Proposal for Promoting Urban Redevelopment in High-Crime Areas'.
"To summarize, this is a bill to create the basis for pouring national finances into the Orc Community for redevelopment."
The Orc Community, of course, was not exclusively inhabited by orcs.
However, the area designated in the document was among the most underdeveloped and high-crime areas... a place so inhospitable that only orcs could set foot there.
"The real estate in this area, previously controlled by Kim Gwang-woo and the Red Star, has mostly been reclaimed by the state or handed over to the Red Dragon. The rest of the owners are mostly ordinary orcs—common people."
The real estate value here was disastrously low. It was embarrassing to even classify it as part of Seoul.
No one was willing to invest.
"Do you understand why we're pushing this?"
"...I roughly understand."
The representative nodded and said.
"Why are orcs still treated as second-class citizens in this country? Is it because they're a minority? No, the time when orcs were considered a minority has long passed. Over time, they'll increase in number just like humans."
He paused and took a sip of barley tea.
"Nevertheless, our kin are treated unequally and persecuted because most orcs are poor. Without resources, they are ostracized regardless of their numbers. They're pushed out of the mainstream. To overturn this situation, we need to redistribute wealth to orcs at a meaningful level. This bill will be the first step."
The purpose of this law was to make orcs wealthy.
But Jeong-pal could not believe that such a law would pass in the National Assembly. Though he wasn't well-versed in politics, his understanding from reading newspapers over time led to that conclusion.
"The opposition will oppose this."
Those who would benefit from this law would be the orcs, the Red Dragon, and those who had already accumulated real estate in the area.
It was a proposal to fill the coffers of the wealthy and orc communities with taxes, and such an inequitable bill would not likely receive support from the opposition.
"Winning this by-election would make it possible."
Jeong-pal was confused.
"I don't understand. Representative, please be lenient if I say something out of turn."
"Speak freely."
"In the past, it would have been a battle between the ruling and opposition parties. But the current National Assembly situation is different, isn't it?"
In this general election, a third party had unexpectedly won thirty seats.
With the number of seats almost equal between the ruling and opposition parties, they would have to seek cooperation from the third party to secure victory. They had effectively become the casting voters in the National Assembly.
"The Human-Centric Party will not cooperate with such a bill. They will naturally ally with the opposition to oppose it. No matter how many votes we get in the by-election... this bill will not pass."
Choi Pan-seok then smiled leisurely.
Jeong-pal found his expression hard to understand.
"Well... They are indeed a hurdle we need to overcome."
He added softly.
"But who knows? Before the by-election... perhaps a miracle might happen?"
< 116. Shock and Terror (14) > End