Became a Dark Merchant in the Academy - Chapter 156



155 – Fiance_14

“Do you think Kang Chun-sam’s words are trustworthy?”

Outside the Hero Association’s underground interrogation room.

Yurin Lee looked into the interrogation room through a special window and asked for the opinion of the association president, Kang Incheol.

The story that Kang Chun-sam told was so shocking that it seemed like he was just telling a tall tale based on his delusions.

That’s understandable, since all the villain organizations active in the underworld of South Korea have gathered together and formed an alliance.

Putting aside how they managed to avoid the eyes of the association or the state, it seems like a stretch to say that these guys, who were impatient because they couldn’t eat each other, got together at some point and formed an alliance without any noise.

The reason they committed this terrorist attack was to overthrow the country and create a world of villains. It was a smokescreen operation to avoid being caught doing what they were planning.

No matter how much I thought about it, it was nonsense unless the villains all collectively lost their minds at the same time on the same day.

No, even if he was crazy, he couldn’t have been this crazy.

“I would like to dismiss it as a lie, but isn’t the world a mess these days? From the 17th Federation terrorist attack in China to the LA incident. And there’s no evidence that what I said is a lie, so I guess I should leave open the possibility.”

Kang In-cheol crossed his arms and rested his chin with one hand.

On hold, or to be precise, despite having gone through verification through various methods, no evidence was found that the statement was false. Rather, only the credibility was proven, so Kang In-cheol, a cautious person, had a nuance that it was still difficult to make a judgment.

“Does this mean that something similar to the LA incident could happen in South Korea as well?”

“That could be the case.”

“…”

“Of course, we can’t be sure, so we’ll have to interrogate them again and cross-examine them several times. It’s easy to tell a lie once, but hard to repeat it.”

Kang In-cheol made an annoyed expression.

“I’m concerned that it could be a deception on their part, or that they’re trying to use it to confuse the investigation.”

“then…”

“Even so, there’s no need to rule that out from the beginning. There aren’t any other clues, right? And if by any chance that villain’s words are truly true…”

Kang In-cheol trailed off.

If what Kang Chun-sam said was truly true, it meant that the greatest disaster since the cataclysm that occurred over 100 years ago was approaching South Korea.

As the head of the Hero Association and as a citizen of the Republic of Korea, I must be extremely cautious.

“So the important thing now is to secure other clues and evidence. For now, we should proceed with the investigation based on the information provided by Kang Chun-sam. I think it would be good to proceed in the form of finding out other information as well.”

“All right.”

Yurin bowed her head slightly.

Kang In-cheol’s answer was not wrong.

Ultimately, it was a basic principle of investigation: keep all possibilities open.

“Anyway, things will get busier from now on. I’ll make sure to hire more people. Do you have any people you need?”

“Then, can we receive 3 teams?”

“Team 3?”

“From now on, I think force will be necessary…”

“Ah, I see. Hmm… I’ll give you not just 3 teams, but 4 teams as well.”

Since there were already a lot of investigators, it was time to worry about other things.

I wish Kang Chun-sam’s words were false, but that’s not the case.

Obviously, force will be needed.

“Thank you. Aside from that, public opinion is noisy these days, so what should I do…”

“If we find out about this story, which may or may not be true, it will only cause more trouble. Throw them some food so they won’t notice and divert their attention. It’s not too late to make the details public after everything is resolved.”

“Yes, I will do that.”

“Then, I guess I trust Team Leader 1.”

Then Kang In-cheol patted her shoulder.

It meant that he was trusting me.

‘It’s heavy.’

Normally, I would be jumping for joy at being close to becoming the next president, but given the circumstances, it was hard to be happy.

It was partly because of the sense of responsibility as a hero, partly because of the pressure of expectations, partly because of public interest, and partly because of the trustworthiness of the association president.

‘…’

It was also because there was a huge, thick, stuffy lump that couldn’t pass down my throat.

So I tried to figure out what was what. No matter how much I thought about it, I just couldn’t figure out what was stuck in my throat.

“I’ll go and see.”

Leaving behind a hint of uneasiness, Yurin Lee bowed her head to Kang Incheol again and immediately left the association.

**

It wasn’t long ago that strange things began to happen in the social fabric of the Republic of Korea.

If we take the starting date from when the rumor started to spread, it would be around 60 days ago.

The underworld is a destination for trash who have failed to adapt to society and have fallen away, and who worship crime and violence.

In such a place, it was almost like a daily routine for various incidents and accidents to occur every day.

So even if something strange happened that they didn’t know what it was, most people didn’t care or had no capacity to care unless it was related to them.

It wasn’t something that involved a famous villain, or a huge organization, or a hot topic, and it wasn’t something that happened in the Gyeonggi area, the center of South Korea.

What happened in the Passer region, where those who were defeated and ran away from the organization or villains gathered.

So even if you hear stories like, ‘Some villains go missing, then come back and act strangely,’ the reality is that no one except those in that area is interested.

‘Should I have paid attention then?’

It may seem like nothing will change if you regret it now, but Han Sang-won, the leader of the Namseoul faction, still regretted it.

If we had noticed it then and taken preemptive action, it wouldn’t have turned out like this.

Of course, even if I had been interested, I don’t know what would have happened. Even so, if I had known, I would have definitely been able to prevent the unfortunate event of half of the country being united under that unknown organization in such a short period of time.

‘I can’t help it.’

But I couldn’t stop it. Now I had to think of a way to deal with it.

Otherwise, we will surely be eaten by that unknown organization that continues to expand its power.

That’s why we gathered those who realized the danger and united as one.

It was the birth of a union that would account for more than 50% of South Korea’s social structure.

“So, everyone, please tell me freely what you think we should do with that organization.”

A secret room in a high-rise building located somewhere in Seoul.

Han Sang-won looked around at those sitting at the round table.

‘Gangwon Axe Party, Black Bear Party, Sangun Party…’

The heads of organizations with a certain reputation across the country were gathered in one place.

At this point, it was worth fighting that unidentified organization.

“Tell me? Are you talking to me like you’re my boss?”

“…”

But the road seemed distant.

In the first place, there’s no way the villains would get along well with each other, right?

There are so many things intertwined between business areas, areas of activity, and other organizations.

Even if they had no choice but to get together because a danger was approaching that they couldn’t handle on their own, their relationship would not have improved.

Since they are the heads of organizations that have made a name for themselves, their pride is very strong…

‘after…’

Han Sang-won sighed as he looked at Sangwoonpa leader Lee Sang-woon, who was sitting across from him with a bewildered expression on his face.

“Yes, even though you suggested it like Sangwoon said, I hope you don’t think you’re above me.”

Then, the leader of the Iron Curtain Party sitting next to him opened his mouth.

“Yes, even if you are the leader of the Namseoul faction…”

After that, the Black Bear faction opened their mouths.

“Those Black Bear cubs think they’re something.”

After that, the Gangwon Axe Party opened their mouths.

“what?”

“It stinks, so keep your mouth shut.”

“…Do you want to die?”

“On the topic?”

“If you want to die so badly, I’ll kill you.”

The commotion caused a commotion.

Some even went as far as to draw their swords.

They seemed to have no awareness that danger was imminent.

‘The last meeting and the one before that were all like this…’

If things continued like this, it seemed clear that this time too we would fail without being able to decide anything.

‘That can’t be.’

Even if I tried to force it through force, there was a risk of hearing a cracking sound at any time, so I held myself back, but patience was enough after two attempts.

There is no time to delay now.

We couldn’t tolerate division when we never knew when those guys would barge in.

Han Sang-won attracted mana.

Then, he strengthened his right fist with the gathered mana and struck the round table.

-bang!

A huge, thunderous noise echoed through the room.

However, it wasn’t just the loud noise that was huge.

The round table shattered and went into the ground several meters deep.

Dust rising in clumps.

Han Sang-won’s eyes shone in the obscured vision.

““…””

Then, a silence fell on the secret room, to the point where it seemed as if the commotion up until then had been a lie.

It’s not like they couldn’t do it like Han Sang-won, but they couldn’t do it that easily.

In other words, I shrank down because I felt the difference in status.

This was a passage that allowed us to understand why he reigned as a leader for more than 10 years in Seoul, the largest power base in South Korea.

“It’s quieter now.”

I should have done this a long time ago.

I was the one who invited you. I treated you like the head of an organization, but you don’t know how much I can do.

“Can we continue the meeting?”

“Tsk.”

“…”

There was no answer.

But there was no opposition.

“Then let me say it again. Does anyone have any good ideas on how to deal with that organization?”

But that didn’t give me an answer.

If we follow what they say and just give our opinions here, this meeting will prove that this union is not equal, but is under Han Sang-won.

It was an act to preserve some self-respect and authority.

““…””

Silence fell.

This situation was extremely frustrating for Han Sang-won, but there was no solution.

I got angry earlier because it was so frustrating, but I couldn’t deal with all of them, let alone one or two.

If that had been possible in the first place, I would have dealt with the unidentified organization alone and not gathered them together.

In other words, they were in a position to ask for help from each other.

For that reason, time was wasted without any solid discussion taking place.

‘Is this the end again?’

Han Sang-won let out a small sigh inwardly.

‘I guess it was impossible.’

I feel like I should give up.

This was worse than not getting together at all.

“then…”

That was the moment when Han Sang-won was about to close the government.

“Sorry I’m late.”

As if waiting for that moment, a voice echoed through the closed room.

It was not the voice of the person sitting at the round table.

That’s why the gazes of those sitting in the secret room naturally turned towards the entrance of the secret room, which was the source of the voice.

“you…”

“I’m Eishun, the one who invited you this time. Anyway, I have a good plan. Would you like to hear it?”

At the entrance to the secret room, in the backlight, a man was smiling eerily.