ALL NOVEL Chapter 150
The day after arriving in City No. 1.
I, along with Jin Yeseo, sat across from each other, unfurling the blueprints to double-check our plans.
The Central District, densely packed with factories, surrounded by four outer districts.
“So today, I’m thinking of exploring District A, where the sewage outlet is…”
“…”
I was in the middle of explaining while tracing with my finger when I started to feel a prickly stare growing sharper, poking at my head.
I raised my head to look ahead.
My earlobes were red, and I felt a slight moisture near my eyes. My face looked pale, probably from not having slept well.
A girl with black hair and black eyes was glaring at me intensely, without a glance to the blueprints—even as if she had some deep-rooted grudge.
“Haa…”
I couldn’t guess why she was like that.
After asking an old man, I managed to find the best accommodation nearby. A plush bed was offered, and I had to pass on the chance to wash myself, considering the dirt stains on me.
Was that still not enough?
“…”
Even if she was just a participant, Jin Yeseo was indeed a genuine member of the Baekgwang Family.
When I visited the main families of Jeokhwa and Heukryeon, I had a taste, even if briefly, of a living standard that exceeded imagination.
Having lived in such an environment all her life, it might be only natural for her to be unsatisfied.
Seeing her like that only made me appreciate Leader and the sisters even more. They adapted to that environment so much more skillfully than I ever could.
In truth, what I was doing here was merely imitation of them.
Gather information from shops frequented by locals; act openly like a husband instead of having an ambiguous relationship; mimic confidently, grab her waist, flaunt a friendly distance… and so on.
I had seen Leader and the sisters do these things a few times. Unlike Leader, who seemed reluctant, the sisters were excited and competed for chances.
I’d practiced with the sisters a couple of times, but it never quite sank into my body, leaving me as a source of laughter for Leader.
Still, yesterday went pretty okay. Objectively speaking, I was more natural than Leader. Reflecting on it, I felt fairly satisfied with my imitation.
“If you have something to say, just say it?”
“I don’t…”
Even while shaking her head, she wouldn’t take her glaring eyes off me. There was no doubt she seemed to have many complaints.
But it was Jin Yeseo who offered to help, and she stubbornly followed me to City No. 1.
And honestly, it was true that I felt she was more of a hindrance. The husband imitation from yesterday was the most helpful thing she had done so far.
It wouldn’t be right for her to complain about trivial things like a sleeping arrangement. I had no intentions of appeasing her.
“Well, it’s fine if you don’t. Let’s get going. You remember what you need to do, right…”
“I know! I know! You said it earlier…!”
And suddenly, she yelled, BIK!
“You go explore District A while I gather information at the plaza…! Act like your damned wife…! Got it…?”
“…That’s accurate. But… are you really going to be okay with that?”
“…I’ll keep my word. If I’m doing this, I’ll do it right. You don’t need to worry so much.”
Jin Yeseo, who had been huffing, finally calmed down and spoke.
“Then it’s a relief, but…”
“Just remember this…”
“…?”
“That humiliation from yesterday… someday… haa…”
Without finishing her words, she sighed.
Then she suddenly got up and quickly packed her things before heading outside.
“…”
I gazed blankly at her retreating figure.
Her flowing black hair really made me think a lot.
*
The daytime scenery of City No. 1. Compared to the orange haze of yesterday’s first impression, it looked rather intact now.
The city was still shrouded in thick smog and exhaust, covering it like a mist. Because of that, it felt like a gloomy, cloudy day where sunlight couldn’t possibly reach.
Stores selling groceries and various knick-knacks were bustling with activity. People dressed in hats and clothes headed toward the factories in the Central District.
Except for the poor air quality that made it hard to breathe, the scene didn’t seem much different from the capital.
It wouldn’t be far-fetched to think something eerie was going on underground in this place. It was indeed a perfect rumor for urban legends, a fine story to jabber about over drinks.
I intended to continue my explorations during the day until I could clarify the reality of what I was chasing.
I took a path opposite to the busy pedestrians. After a long walk, the human traffic thinned out, and the landscapes of gray brick roads and dreary alleys began to appear.
The old man had warned me not to venture into the outer districts; it wasn’t just because they were like the Demon Realm of the north.
He was merely worried about a foreign outsider, an unresponsive person with a wife dragged into a ruckus that would be hard for them to handle alone.
The relationship between poor security and the presence of criminals is inseparable.
Just like now.
“Hey! You there!”
Four large thugs appeared out of nowhere, blocking the narrow alley ahead and behind me. They were likely the owners of the prickly gaze I’d felt earlier.
They were a bunch of punks threatening passing foreigners to extort money.
The supposed leader approached, brandishing a short knife, and gave me a pesky grin.
“Strip. From your gas mask to your underwear. Then I’ll spare your life… ugh!”
PFFFFT! THWACK!
“GUAK…!”
“Hyung…!”
“Hey! Everyone, charge!”
But there was absolutely no need for me to waste time with these fools.
I twisted the approaching guy’s arm in the opposite direction. The others who tried to charge me quickly met their fate on the ground.
“GUHH…”
I approached the moaning thugs, picking up the knife dropped by their leader.
“Even so, killing feels a bit sketchy.”
“Wh…what are you doing… GYAAAAAH!”
I’m neither a Warlock nor a demon, so I didn’t need to take lives unnecessarily. Instead, I carefully severed several tendons in their arms and legs. It wasn’t that treatment was entirely impossible, but I wondered if there’d be any medical facilities here capable of such.
Still, I left them each with at least one limb. One had his left arm gone, another his right, one his left leg, and another his right…
‘Why not let us live?’
‘This way, they’ll learn how to help each other out.’
As moans of pain surrounded me, Leader’s voice echoed in my head.
“WOW…”
And then I suddenly heard someone gasp in admiration.
I immediately looked up at the wall where the sound came from.
A little girl, around five or six, peeked out with a genuine look of awe on her face.
“Big brother, you’re so strong! You took out four all by yourself…”
“…”
Does she not have any biases about my bizarre gas mask?
That purity somehow put my mind at ease.
I dusted off my hands and extended them to the little girl.
“Come down. It’s dangerous up there…”
POOF!
And before I could even finish my sentence, the little girl jumped down as if she had been waiting for the moment.
“Hehe~ This is fun! I want to do it again!”
“…It’s dangerous so no.”
“Huh…”
I gently lowered the sulking girl to the ground.
She promptly sprang back up, as if nothing had happened, and started walking ahead of me.
She didn’t forget to glance back occasionally and strike up a conversation.
“Big brother, why are you here?”
“I’m looking for something.”
“A treasure hunt? I want to join…!”
Twisting her body, her eyes sparkled with excitement.
It seemed she was quite adept at finding her way around, possibly having lived nearby.
She might actually be able to help.
“…Kid, do you happen to…”
“Yup?”
But while I was trying to talk to the girl, a sudden noise broke out—a commotion of several voices.
Curious about what was happening, I quickly shielded the girl in my arms.
However, she maintained a calm expression, as if such events were just part of everyday life.
“Do you know what’s causing all this noise?”
“Umm… I think the angel took another friend…”
“Angel…?”
Feeling uneasy, I followed the direction of the ruckus and exited the alley.
A massive sewage outlet was belching out waste, surrounded by a crowd of people squabbling around it.
I might achieve my purpose for coming to District A quicker than expected. The reason I was here was to figure out what was going on with that thing.
According to the blueprints, all sewage from City No. 1 is funneled through the sewers and eventually discharged here. If there’s something suspicious as the old man mentioned, it would surely show traces here.
“Again…”
“I’m so scared… we should leave this damn place already…”
I set the child down and made my way through the throngs of murmuring people.
Floating atop the sludgy water were two pale bodies. A horrific sense of death still lingered on their features.
It was clear evidence of an abnormal death.
But oddly enough, they looked intact. Aside from their skin having turned pale, as if all their blood had been drained out.
“AAAH…!”
“What the, that…”
Someone, perhaps trying to retrieve something from the bodies, waded into the filth to flip them over.
As soon as he did, screams erupted from the crowd.
What appeared normal was just the skin of the face. The back of the head was gone without a trace.
As if something had devoured them whole.
“…”
Something felt off.
Considering the old man’s testimony and the overall situation, I started to think that perhaps a demon was lurking.
It wasn’t unheard of for demons to nest in sewers. I’d seen similar situations before.
However, this wasn’t typical evidence of having fallen victim to a demon. They wouldn’t just devour someone whole without tearing them apart first; that’s not how those bastards operate.
This left an uncanny trail, neither fitting a Warlock’s nor a mutant’s scheme…
“…”
Suddenly, the word “angel” from the little girl popped into my head.
When I climbed back up, the child was still waiting for me.
“Can I ask what the angel means?”
“I don’t know.”
The girl, with her finger in her mouth, shook her head.
“But the sister without eyes said those folks are friends taken by the angel…!”
What’s with this sister without eyes?
It’s hard to interpret the child’s words literally.
Oh dear… where could she have gone…!
“Grandma!”
And then I heard someone calling for someone.
Upon hearing this, the little girl immediately reacted and moved toward that direction.
I followed her closely.
The girl was now wrapped in the arms of a short old woman, receiving a scolding.
“What were you doing wandering around like that! How many times have I told you it’s dangerous…”
“I wasn’t alone! I was playing with this big brother!”
The child shook her head vigorously. Was she following me to create that excuse…?
The old woman cast a wary glance at me while holding the girl tightly.
“…Who are you?”
“Hello there.”
As I bowed and greeted, the old woman’s motives eased up slightly.
“…Looks like you’re a foreigner.”
“This big brother is so strong! He fought off four people and won alone!”
I felt a bit mortified. Surely she hadn’t seen the entire scene from start to finish. Accepting it was one thing, but thinking the girl had witnessed me severing their tendons was another.
“One person took out that bunch? Now I see you’re not an average guy.”
“…I was lucky. But could I ask you something?”
“What is it?”
“The girl mentioned the corpses were taken by the angel…”
“Ah, I see.”
The old woman replied in a disinterested tone.
“There’s a girl who sometimes shows up and looks after the kids. That must be what she said. It’s not easy to explain such things to children.”
“Then who’s the sister without eyes…?”
“That’s her. If you see her, you’ll know immediately what she means.”
Is she blind? If so, the kids could use that expression when describing her.
But it still felt oddly unsettling.
Perhaps the term “angel” came up while tracking the traces of a cult.
It wouldn’t hurt to check it out at least once.
“Where can I find her?”
“I don’t know. She comes and goes as she pleases. Maybe crossing over from District B; I’ve seen her go that way often.”
“B District… Got it.”
“By the way, about those thugs earlier…”
As I was turning to leave after thanking her, the old woman stopped me.
“Yes?”
“Did you… kill them?”
“I didn’t kill them. Why do you ask?”
To my surprise, the old woman bore a look of concern.
“Those weren’t to be trifled with. I’m worried they might take their anger out on you.”
“That won’t happen. I made sure to sever their tendons. They’ll have trouble moving, trust me.”
“Really?”
“Absolutely. If you were to poke them with a stick, they’d fall over immediately.”
“Ha ha, that’s a relief…”
Finally, the old woman appeared to relax a bit.
“If anything happens, come this way. I’ll help you.”
I shared the address of my accommodation with a hint of caution and turned to leave.
The little girl looked disappointed but raised her hand to wave goodbye.
“Big brother! Come again! Let’s treasure hunt together next time!”
*
I wandered around District A for the entire day, but I didn’t gain anything significant.
As dusk started to fall, I headed toward the plaza in the Central District where I promised to meet Jin Yeseo.
A throng of shabby-clothed poor folks hatched around the area looking for jobs. Rusty barrels burned amidst a circle of people chatting.
Among them, one person stood out.
Her messy hair and dirt-streaked face couldn’t hide her innate beauty.
Jin Yeseo was chatting with a group of middle-aged women. Even while talking, she occasionally covered her mouth, smiling cheerfully, evidently enjoying herself.
“…”
Was she really the same girl who used to throw around terms like ‘lower class’ or ‘the poor’?
Now that I think about it, she seemed to get along pretty well with the female students at the cradle. She was a queen among the girls, as opposed to her usually bossy demeanor when with Yeon Minha.
Maybe she wasn’t as unsociable as I had thought. But what was bothering her so much that she was acting that way in the morning?
I moved to fetch Jin Yeseo.
Having sensed my presence, she turned her head towards me, her expression still sullen, glaring at me as if her anger wasn’t entirely gone.
But the next moment…
She seemed to contemplate something briefly and let out a small sigh.
Suddenly, she dashed towards me with a bright smile on her face. She approached me as if she was a wife welcoming home her husband with excitement…
“…?”
Jin Yeseo stood before me, still beaming. I couldn’t gauge what was going on in her mind.
And before I could ask anything in surprise, she turned sideways and, in a flash, wrapped one of her arms around mine, as if we were linking arms.
Then, in a voice full of affection, she spoke.
“Darling. You worked hard today. Not too tough, right? Come this way…”
I had no choice but to shut my eyes tightly.
Her black hair, completely obscuring my view.