Chapter 19

Chapter 19

Jung Juho had no idea he’d left my heart feeling all tangled up. He brought up the black market and furrowed his brow.

“You want to mess with the black market? Hey, be honest with me. Are you a spy sent by a rival department to get rid of me?”

“Not at all.”

“Come on, you are. Let’s just be honest now. It’ll make things easier. Huh? Please, just say yes. Please!”

Was it really that shocking to suggest taking down the black market while we were at it, along with catching Berserker?

“Motion denied. Absolutely not.”

“May I ask why not?”

“If I started explaining, three days and nights wouldn’t be enough. Fine, here’s the short version. If the black market falls, South Korea falls with it.”

“……”

“You don’t get it, do you? It’s simple. The black market is where the interests of every person of power in South Korea are tangled together. And it’s the only breathing hole in this suffocating web of regulations.”

Jung Juho’s explanation went like this.

Currently, South Korea had extremely tight regulations not only on guilds but on corporations as well. This was to prevent guilds’ military power and corporations’ financial power from surpassing the state, but the resulting discontent was considerable.

The black market existed to give that discontent an outlet. It was a melting pot where guilds, corporations, politicians, villains, public service Hunters, and all sorts of people mixed together to create a release valve for their grievances. No responsibility, no taxes existed there, which was how it had grown to its current scale.

The reason it neither grew nor shrank was that it didn’t cross the line the government permitted.

“If you touch this, everyone who profits from it will try to kill you.”

In my past life, I’d survived even after that.

Anyway, I understood what Jung Juho was getting at.

“So it’s illegal, but everyone acknowledges it as neutral ground.”

“That’s about right.”

“And turning a blind eye to the villains who use it is also a kind of fence.”

“It makes it easier to track their movements and round them up whenever we want.”

Jung Juho didn’t deny it.

In the end, the black market’s interests were far more deeply entangled than I’d thought, with far more important people involved.

It was also a fish farm for villains.

“Not everything in the world runs on good and evil. Corporations and guilds need a place to breathe under all those tight regulations too, don’t they? They launder some money there, that sort of thing. So this plan is scrapped.”

“Understood.”

“Why can’t you be like this all the time? Fine, I’ll specially exempt you from the spy suspicion.”

“But am I allowed to visit the black market as well?”

Jung Juho’s smiling face immediately twisted.

“…You can use it if you need to use it. But why do you want to go?”

“Reconnaissance. Berserker might show up.”

“How many black markets are there? You think Berserker’s going to appear at the one you visit? You’ve got some other scheme, don’t you?”

“May I ask what your gift is?”

“It’s not mind-reading. Anyway, if you say you’re going, I can’t stop you, but please, just be reasonable. Reasonable. Hah! Not that you’re the type to listen. If you’re done with your business, get out.”

Jung Juho waved his hand dismissively, then remembered something.

“Ah! And I heard there’s a legendary medicine there that’s good for hair. If you see one, buy it for me. Don’t look at me like that. I’m just preparing in advance. Huh?”

I’d never seen that kind of medicine until the time I regressed.

Still, Jung Juho’s gaze was so earnest that I couldn’t refuse outright.

“I’ll look for it.”

* * *

When I stepped outside, I saw Jung Dahyun looking hollow-eyed, as if she hadn’t slept in days.

“You look exhausted.”

“Do I? I guess I haven’t been sleeping well lately.”

Watching her faint smile, I fell into thought. I knew what was wearing her down, so I couldn’t just let it pass. I should give her at least a small hint.

“Would you like to grab a cup of coffee?”

“Sure.”

We went to a cafe and each ordered a drink.

“Did your talk go well?”

“It was rejected.”

“What did you propose?”

“I suggested an operation to sweep the black market.”

I didn’t mention Berserker—she would’ve been horrified.

“The black market, huh. That makes sense. I don’t exactly have a favorable view of it either, but too many things are tangled up in it.”

“The Director already gave me an earful about it.”

“He says that because he cares about you, Junho. The Director only speaks casually to people he’s close with.”

“For someone who cares, he keeps making unreasonable demands.”

“Unreasonable demands?”

I started to speak, then shut my mouth, remembering that hair loss is directly tied to a man’s pride. Jung Dahyun seemed to understand the meaning of my silence and didn’t press further.

I recalled my original purpose and changed the subject.

“I understand the urgency, but overworking yourself is never the answer.”

“Have you ever felt desperate, Junho?”

“Yes. Beyond desperate—I was utterly without hope.”

“That’s surprising.”

Jung Dahyun was surprised, but around this time in my past life, I’d been truly pathetic. I raged that the world didn’t acknowledge me, and I took out my resentment and anger on my family. I chased power blindly, using any means and methods I could.

That accumulated and accumulated until it became the Blood Lord.

I saw no reason to let someone else make the same mistakes I had.

“Rest matters.”

“Rest. Right.”

“If you want to get stronger, Dahyun, the quality of your training matters more than the quantity. You should always train in the best possible condition. If you feel off today, resting well will actually help you advance to the next step more than pushing through.”

“Quality of training. Quality.”

“Yes.”

“Thanks for the advice. I’ll really treat you properly next time. Is there anything you like?”

“There’s an ingredient I wasn’t able to add to the doenjang hot pot last time. If it had been included, it would have been several times more delicious.”

Jung Dahyun’s eyes sparkled brighter than when she talked about training.

“There’s a magical ingredient like that? What is it? Tell me!”

“It’s the head of an Owl Boar.”

“An Owl Boar head… I’ll try it!”

“I’ll look forward to it.”

Would she be happy if I brought back an Owl Boar head when I went to the black market?

* * *

Visiting the black market for the first time in this life, I recalled old memories.

Back when I’d turned everyone into enemies as the Blood Lord, my living situation had been far from comfortable. Whenever my whereabouts were exposed, pursuit followed without fail, so the black market was the only place where I could get what I needed.

In my case, I used to buy only what I needed from the black market and quietly disappear.

It was only after hearing Jung Juho that I learned pursuit had followed my black market visits.

The black market usually opened once every twenty days to a month, running from evening until dawn, then withdrawing without a trace by morning.

It formed on the outskirts of the Seoul metropolitan area.

Not far from the harbor, within the territory of major corporations and large guilds, and in a place where villains could also access it—a convergence of interests.

“So that’s why it’s divided into zones.”

When the black market formed, it was usually split into three or four major zones, with boundaries drawn between factions.

I’d worried that my refined appearance after returning to the past might get me turned away at the entrance, but the worry was for nothing—I passed right through.

“It’s been a while.”

My reason for visiting the black market was nothing special. Since I’d given up on the sweep operation, I was here to look around and find another way to weaken it.

The process of villains gaining power was when they absorbed the displaced people who had left the cities, growing their numbers, arming themselves with firearms, then raiding Hunters.

For low-level Awakened, firearms were still effective, so villains used to sweep up the black market’s stock of guns.

They raided hunting Hunters, and among those Hunters was Yunhee. And when they grew strong enough, they attacked provincial cities—where my parents lived.

So I had every reason to weaken the black market.

And wiping it out entirely would be even better.

“It’s the same as before.”

The black market has exactly two categories of people.

Buyers and sellers.

Customers and merchants alike were all tight-lipped. There was no reason to draw unnecessary attention, and voices could reveal identities.

The only conversation happened when exchanging payment for goods.

As I quietly looked around, my thought was that the black market was a place where interests meshed with absolute precision. I understood well why Jung Juho had tried to stop me.

For one thing, if I killed everyone here, it didn’t look like it would be easy to clean up. Chasing them all down wouldn’t be easy either.

If Jung Juho couldn’t cover for me, my existence would be exposed, and even if the villains didn’t care, the major corporations and large guilds wouldn’t let it slide.

I rated highly the part of him that tried to maintain balance amid all the incidents and accidents. Jung Juho wanted me to not become a villain because I was useful, and that’s why he stopped me. And since I’m a public service Hunter, I also try not to kill when apprehending villains.

Only the ones I can justify, of course.

The surest path is to obtain transcendent recognition through Level measurement and seize authority. As for attention, I’d already received plenty as the Blood Lord, so I didn’t particularly care.

I could just put up with the hassle. The only thing I wasn’t certain about was what effect it would have on my family.

“Not here.”

I’d looked around hoping Berserker might be here, but I couldn’t find him. I’d heard he occasionally showed up at the black market to buy things he needed—was today a miss?

Then I spotted a familiar item.

It was a monster’s heart corresponding to a Tier 4 Hazard. The price was reasonable and it was easy to liquidate, so back when I was being pursued, I’d dealt in Tier 3 and 4 hearts a lot.

“How much is this?”

“Twenty million won, no haggling.”

“……”

“If you’re not buying, get lost.”

I was so shocked I didn’t even bother cursing.

In my past life, when I sold to merchants, I’d sold them for three million won apiece. Don’t tell me I’d been ripped off. Even though I’d visited the black market many times, I hadn’t cared about prices since they weren’t things I needed.

Wait—could it be the same for other items too?

I went around the black market checking the items I’d sold in my past life. They were being sold for anywhere from three times to over twenty times the price.

Now I finally understood why those black market merchants had approached me, risking their lives.

“…I was a sucker.”

If they’d been in front of me, I would have smashed all their heads in.

Having opened Pandora’s box, I moved to the outskirts of the black market, reeling from the shock.

When I’d first visited, I’d thought the black market was a place where everyone won. You could sell stolen goods you didn’t need, and buy what you needed, if a bit overpriced.

The only victim in all of it was me.

So profit mattered more than their lives? I came to realize just how brazen people could be when blinded by money.

Then a thought suddenly crossed my mind.

“…That could work.”

The black market is a place where the interests of multiple factions are entangled. Jung Juho was worried that if I collapsed it, those factions would turn hostile.

So then—what if I made it rot slowly instead?

Say, for example, a villain visits the black market. Anyone who visits the black market has considerable skill and money, so their purchasing power is substantial. That makes them all the more dangerous.

What if that villain goes missing after visiting the black market?

And what if it’s not just one or two—what if the number keeps steadily rising?

Villains would start watching their backs, and the black market would see fewer customers spending money.

I didn’t need to eliminate them too openly. I just needed to do it consistently enough to instill fear in the villains.

Eliminating villains is a legitimate exercise of official duty. I just needed to not get caught.

And if Berserker happened to take the bait, all the better.

Stepping out of the black market, I began searching for prey.