Machine God with EX-rank talent (Deus ex machina)

Drugs are expensive.

Refined ones are far more expensive than pure gold by weight.

Not just by two or three times, but several dozen times more expensive.

Considering the price, how hard is it to make them? Not that difficult.

You just grow plants like poppies, process them, and apply some chemical treatment.

Something like marijuana can be easily grown at home by the average person.

Compared to gold, which requires mining and is limited in quantity, the effort to obtain drugs is almost nothing.

The real problem is distribution.

Even in the age of Hunters, possessing drugs is a serious crime in most countries.

This means they can't be imported through normal routes.

In the past, you'd only have to worry about getting through checkpoints, but now, there's another issue.

The loss rate during transportation to other cities or countries is enormously high.

All of these problems stem from monsters.

Whether transported by road or by sea, monsters are everywhere, ready to attack.

If it's a government-supervised shipment, it can be moved relatively safely, but can drugs be treated the same way?

Drugs are usually smuggled in hidden within cheap construction materials.

If you hire cheap Hunters, they’re likely to abandon the cargo and run at the first sign of even a weak monster.

Insurance can cover some of the losses, but how can you insure drugs?

For all these reasons, it's not easy to distribute or purchase drugs in this era.

"But something strange happened because of your trading company."

"...It's probably because the accident rate is 0%."

Using sea routes for trade has the advantage of moving much larger quantities at once compared to land routes, but it also has a fatal drawback.

If you encounter monsters on land, you can run away and come back later to recover the cargo, but that's impossible at sea.

If you abandon the cargo and flee, you're lucky. If the ship sinks, not only is the cargo lost, but the loss of life can be severe.

The Ex Machina Guild has completely solved that problem.

Their maritime trade, using mermaids, was yielding far greater results than expected.

Operating at minimal cost, they haven't had a single accident so far.

Hyun Suho precisely understood what Branch Manager Kwon Cheol-jung was implying.

"You mean a large amount of drugs is being distributed through our merchant ships."

"That's right."

Despite charging relatively low transportation fees, the accident rate is zero.

All merchants are happy, but for drug dealers, it's like a dream come true.

Hyun Suho spoke with a tone of disbelief.

"But... we have been thoroughly conducting drug inspections to prepare for this kind of thing."

They used Nova’s abilities to search for drugs.

Nova’s detection abilities are hundreds of times more effective than those of drug-sniffing dogs.

In fact, they've caught drugs several times before, hidden in bizarre ways.

But now, despite all that, drugs were being distributed...

Hyun Suho examined the drugs Kwon Cheol-jung had given him.

'How about it?'

Every substance emits chemical molecules.

Humans and other animals detect those molecules through olfactory receptors, which convert them into electrical signals that allow them to smell.

Especially substances like highly refined drugs emit strong odors.

With Nova’s abilities, they could identify the entire chemical composition from just a single molecule.

However, the response from Nova was unexpected.

[I cannot detect anything.]

'You mean you can't smell anything? Are you saying you can't identify the drugs?'

[It's not just that.]

'Then what?'

[Even if this were just fine dust, I could analyze its composition. But with my olfactory sensors, I can't detect this substance at all. If I couldn't see it, I would have denied its existence.]

'Is it really that extreme?'

Hyun Suho gently rubbed the round pill with his fingers. It turned into powder and scattered into the air.

Yet Nova still couldn't detect any drug components.

Instead, Kwon Cheol-jung shouted in surprise.

"Be careful! That drug is dangerous enough to cause addiction with just a tiny amount!"

Hyun Suho, who had unconsciously brought it close to his nose to smell, quickly pulled back.

He had endured the venomous breath of an ancient dragon before, but it’s better to be safe.

This was a new drug that even Nova couldn't detect.

"This... could be a serious problem."

Even after turning it into powder, Nova couldn't detect it.

That meant no device or drug-sniffing dog could find it either.

'But is such a thing even possible?'

This went beyond mere surprise—it defied common sense.

Just in case, Hyun Suho used Doom Eye's ability to scrutinize the drug closely, but...

"Nothing’s visible."

As expected, it was futile.

"Hmm!"

Hyun Suho crossed his arms, his face contorting in displeasure.

In the end, he was inadvertently aiding the drug trade.

No matter how much money they made through maritime trade, he had no desire to be associated with such a business.

"Understood. I'll take care of it."

At Hyun Suho's words, Kwon Cheol-jung's eyes gleamed.

"Will you really?"

"This happened because of our negligence. It's only right that I handle it."

It wasn’t just out of irritation that he was stepping up.

Given his position of overseeing numerous guild members, he could have easily delegated the task to someone else.

Kwon Cheol-jung was pleased because the Light Bringer himself was stepping in, instead of delegating it to others.

Hyun Suho took the matter more seriously than Kwon Cheol-jung did.

"I have a bad feeling about this."

Now, Nova could even detect mana.

The fact that even Nova couldn’t detect anything meant only one thing.

Divine power was involved in the manufacturing of this drug.

It suggested that at least a high-ranking Hunter was involved.

Hyun Suho held up the drug and spoke.

"Can I take this with me?"

"Of course. We still have plenty of samples left. Just a word of caution: don't get too curious about that drug. That's how all addicts start."

"Don't worry. But... what is this drug called?"

This was a new drug he had never seen before.

A drug of this potency surely had a name.

"It has quite a grand name. It's called Halo."

"Halo?"

"Yes. Like the halo above the heads of angels or saints in religious texts."

"Certainly a grand name."

"We'll share the information we've gathered so far. Please help us prevent this nasty substance from entering Korea."

"Of course."

Hyun Suho pocketed the drug named Halo and left the room.

* * *

Most of Earth was already dominated by monsters.

Now, the only places where humans could stay were a few small areas, protected by walls, barely holding back the monsters.

Walled cities.

These are fortress-like residential areas equipped with the minimum defenses to repel monsters.

Most of them are managed by governments.

This is because transporting goods, or even just acquiring food, requires cooperation at a national level.

But that only applies where proper governments still exist.

In regions where entire countries were wiped out during the Great Cataclysm, such infrastructure was naturally absent.

Most of those areas became abandoned lands, but in some places, outlaws and dangerous criminals, who couldn’t live in cities, began to gather.

Vladivostok was one of the rarer cases.

A city in Russia, known as a northern port that rarely freezes.

Russia’s vast landmass made it impossible for the government to control all areas.

So they granted autonomy to those with power.

This led to the emergence of lords of cities, reminiscent of the Middle Ages.

Of course, "autonomy" was just a fancy word; these were essentially unlawfully occupied territories.

Those who took over the cities wielded absolute power, ruling like kings.

There were even invasions by external forces and internal revolts over the position of lord.

Vladivostok, with the advantages of being a port city, naturally became a target for those eyeing the lordship.

Perhaps that’s why the people there were more violent than in other places.

"Stop!"

As a truck loaded with cargo approached, someone stepped forward to block its path.

Men with menacing expressions, clearly displeased with something.

Though they looked every bit like highway robbers, surprisingly, they were not.

These were the guards of Vladivostok.

While most Hunters had varying attire, these men were dressed in matching uniforms, resembling military attire.

As the guards blocked the road, Jeon Jung-gu, the head of the Mir Merchant Guild, quickly got out of the driver's seat and spoke.

"Hello, thank you for your hard work."

"Where are you coming from?"

"We're a merchant group from Korea. We've been here a few times before."

Jeon Jung-gu swiftly pulled out the entry certificate he had on him.

Trading with Vladivostok carried significant risks, so most merchants were reluctant to do so.

But what choice did they have?

To make a living, merchants sometimes have to deal not just with Vladivostok, but even with monsters.

Back when the Mir Merchant Guild was on the verge of bankruptcy, they had traded with this place a few times.

After the situation improved, he stopped coming, but the old records were still on file.

However, even after seeing the entry pass, the guards didn’t soften their expressions.

“This is a two-year-old entry pass, isn’t it? Where do you think you’re going with an expired pass?”

When monsters run rampant, it’s often impossible to procure basic necessities. That’s why no city blocks the entry of merchants.

Yet, the reason these guards were so thorough was due to Vladivostok’s situation, where incidents and accidents occurred almost daily.

Troops disguised as merchants trying to infiltrate the city were as common now as they were in the past.

Fortunately, Jeon Jung-gu knew well how to persuade these guards.

“Oh dear! I completely forgot about this. I have another document here.”

What Jeon Jung-gu handed over was another expired document, along with a white envelope attached underneath.

The important thing was the envelope.

It contained enough money for the guards to drink to their heart’s content at a bar for several days.

After confirming the cash in the envelope, the guards exchanged glances and cleared their throats before speaking.

“Ahem! Ahem! Alright. But we still need to check everything.”

“Of course.”

They still did their job, even after accepting the money.

That was what set them apart from other fools.

"Open the cargo hold!"

When the guard gave the order, Jeon Jung-gu quickly moved to open the cargo hold.

Inside were indeed goods to be delivered to Vladivostok and a single Hunter waiting to guard them.

Having a Hunter accompany the goods was only natural.

In fact, it was more unusual that there was only one.

“Is this all the company you have?”

“Times are tough these days.”

The guard was easily convinced.

If that weren’t the case, they wouldn’t have driven a truck all the way to this city.

The guard then spoke perfunctorily to the escorting Hunter.

“Show me your Hunter ID.”

The escorting Hunter obediently handed over their Hunter device.

When the guard scanned the device...

Beep!

All of the Hunter's information was revealed.

"Only level 3? And your equipment doesn't seem up to much either. You’re pushing your luck."

The guards, notorious for their brutality, were almost concerned at how weak this level and equipment were.

It was hard to believe that they managed to traverse the Red Zone with such a small force.

As the guards finished a cursory inspection of the cargo, they concluded the search.

"Everything’s clear."

Jeon Jung-gu, who had been inwardly nervous, sighed in relief and asked,

“Then, can we… pass through?”

“You can go. But you, stay behind.”

The one told to stay was the escorting Hunter.

Caught off guard, Jeon Jung-gu swallowed nervously and asked,

“Why… why are you leaving the escort behind?”

The guard replied irritably,

“It’s the Lord’s orders. There’s trouble in the city, and he’s conscripting all available forces.”

“B-but if you take my only escort, what am I supposed to do?”

“We’ll just need him briefly and then return him! In the meantime, you can hole up in an inn!”

“But…”

This unexpected situation left Jeon Jung-gu flustered, glancing around nervously. But the escorting Hunter, Hyun Suho, calmly said,

“It’s alright. I’ll be back soon.”