NIS Agents Tearing Up the Japanese Empire - Chapter 20



Only Krnovel

Nobody – 2

After changing into more formal clothes at the hotel, Murayama and Katsuyama led their group straight to the Governor-General’s Office.

And I looked for Maruyama, the head of the Keijo branch of the Black Dragon Association, at the Governor-General’s Office, but he wasn’t there.

“None?”

“Yes, he hasn’t come to work since he left yesterday to look around the site.”

“Hahaha… This can’t be happening.”

Murayama took out a handkerchief and wiped the large beads of sweat from his forehead, which had widened significantly, and looked back at Katsuyama.

“Katsuyama, it looks like something’s wrong.”

“Could this be kidnapping?”

“I guess so.”

“You did something the day before yesterday, and now you’re kidnapping the police chief… I don’t know who you are, but your determination is unparalleled.”

“Just stop talking nonsense.”

Murayama turned around and left the Governor-General’s Office.

He thought that since he couldn’t meet the police chief, there was no point in wasting any more time here.

“Mr. Murayama, what should we do now?”

“I’m thinking about it.”

The Black Dragon ronin, including Murayama, lived their entire lives in the Japanese archipelago and knew virtually nothing about other regions.

That’s why the upper echelons gave Maruyama, who had worked in Gyeongseong for a long time, a position, but the other side struck first.

“How did he know that Maruyama was one of our people?”

“I heard that the Jongro Chief’s office was blown to pieces by an explosion. Maybe that ghost guy got information there and tried to erase his traces.”

“Kawaguchi… He was such a talented person that it was a shame for him to die like this… I feel regretful.”

“Don’t dwell on the past like outsiders. As locals, we must break through the darkness with a steely spirit and pioneer the future.”

“Oops! I made a mistake.”

“Be careful.”

Although he said that, Murayama, who had no real plan, took a moment to collect his thoughts.

‘Is the reason why the Ghost of Gyeongseong kidnapped the Chief of Police to investigate his connection with our Black Dragon Society?’

It was not known what materials the guy had obtained from Kawaguchi’s office.

But seeing as he immediately touched the police chief, it was possible to infer that it was at least related to him.

‘Did he kill Maruyama?’

That was something unknown.

The material I read on the way to Gyeongseong was not enough to know what kind of person he was.

‘Even though there is no one in Gyeongseong who doesn’t know his face, we haven’t even properly defended against his attacks, let alone arrested him.’

The bastard, like his nickname, a ghost, would appear whenever he wanted and harass the police.

What is even more surprising is that, unlike other evil spirits, the ghost of Gyeongseong did not kill people indiscriminately.

Judging from the information so far, the Gyeongseong Ghost seemed like a person who would not take someone’s life without caution unless he thought it was really necessary.

‘If we leave aside the two police officers and one spy who died in the operation to arrest Kim Sang-ok, the only people confirmed to have died by his hands are a detective from Jongro and the chief of Jongro.’

Of course, this could also be because the bastard’s active period was not long.

Thinking like that, Murayama’s head became even more complicated.

“It’s difficult… It’s really difficult.”

Although he said that, Murayama immediately thought of the next move and gave the order.

“Maruyama forgets.”

“then···?”

“I’m going to Jongno Police Station.”

“But there will be little left there from the last explosion.”

“Even if things like data disappear, people remain.”

What Murayama wanted was not a chart or report summarizing the events of the Gyeongseong ghost story, but rather the experiences of people who had met him in person.

I wanted to know the little habits of the ghost of Gyeongseong, his voice, and even which hand he used most.

‘To catch a ghost, you have to think and act like a ghost.’

Things were a bit messy from the start, but Murayama didn’t care.

Rather, he felt a strong curiosity towards the person who was doing this and, with the intention of digging a little deeper, he led his group to Jongno Police Station.

******

I stayed up all night interrogating him, and my body felt like it weighed a ton.

There was a lack of various facilities necessary for interrogation, and since the subject of the interrogation, Maruyama, was not young and was not in good health, it was necessary to adjust the intensity.

So, although I wasn’t able to extract enough information to be satisfied, it wasn’t completely fruitless.

‘It is said that the Black Dragon Society manipulated the Iljin Society behind the scenes to annex Joseon.’

Their next target seemed to be China.

Their funds had already flowed into the hands of several Chinese figures, and detailed military maps of each region seemed to be flowing into Japan.

While spouting out the obvious nonsense of Greater Asianism, they were also gradually expanding their activities in sunny areas.

‘Compared to its size, its actual military power, intelligence capabilities, and financial resources are considerable.’

According to the information obtained from Maruyama, the number of regular members belonging to the Black Dragon Society was not that large.

They created numerous subordinate branches under their command, just like modern-day yakuza, and used homeless ronin as their own servants.

‘It is said that when Japan opened up, they brought in samurai who had lost their place to go and dealt with those in Japan or Korea who seemed to oppose their will.’

If it had been a sane country, it would have nibbled out these cancerous cells before they could spread internally, but fortunately or unfortunately, Japan was not normal.

Now, in the era of Taisho Democracy, with an unprecedented economic boom in Japanese history and the pride of being the best in Asia, even politics were becoming more “democratic,” so on the surface, everything would seem fine.

Until now, that is.

‘If the government cannot properly control the military, the wounds will eventually burst open and all kinds of problems will erupt.’

Signs that this uneasy peace was about to be shattered were appearing everywhere.

In the political world, they started to suppress politics in the name of the National Security Preservation Act, saying they would crack down on communists, and with the political and business worlds tied together as one, corruption continued to occur everywhere.

There, the party politics that had been attempted for the first time in Japan had difficulty settling down, and the two sides were too busy fighting each other to properly control the military.

And yet this flawed system continues.

‘That’s because the economy is experiencing an unprecedented boom.’

Compared to Japan’s bubble economy days, it may be a bit shabby, but even so, Japan at this time was very economically prosperous.

Today, Japan lacks technological prowess compared to the West, and the quality of its manufactured goods is low, but even so, as soon as they make something, it sells like hotcakes.

It was thanks to this that Japan was able to fill the void left by encroaching on the Asian market while Western countries, including Europe, were struggling due to the last great war.

‘The economy is booming, so everyone is so focused on making money that they don’t care about the state of the country.’

So, a criminal group like the Black Dragon Society, with the support of the state, pursued absurd goals like conquering Asia.

“I’m going to die···.”

As I was worrying about this and that, my already unwell body started to feel even more uncomfortable.

I was also tired from staying up all night interrogating Maruyama last night.

“When a patient gets close to alcohol, new illnesses that did not exist before tend to appear.”

“Umm… I was having a quick drink with some business associates, but somehow things got heated up….”

“It’s not just because you like drinking, right?”

“That could be it. Oh my… I don’t feel like working today. How about we all just call it a day and go home?”

He pretended to be suffering from a slight hangover and tried to send Kim Hu-dong out again.

“There’s still some cleaning to do. I’ll just finish this and go back, so you two, Mr. Lee and Mr. Chunsik, go first.”

However, Kim Hu-dong was delaying leaving work, saying he would clean the company for no reason.

“No, why would someone like the CEO do any cleaning? We can just hire people to do that…”

“The building isn’t that big, so who are you going to hire? And you say you’re the president, but the president here is this teacher.”

“still···.”

Maruyama was still tied up underground.

It wasn’t a big deal right away since he had been drugged and put to sleep after the interrogation last night, but it would be a headache if Kim Hu-dong discovered the basement while cleaning.

“Haha! What I meant was, what kind of era is this that a woman cleans by herself?”

I snatched the broom from her hand and naturally handed it over to Chunshik.

“Isn’t that right, Mr. Chunsik?”

“······?”

Chunshik took the broom, held it, and looked at me with question marks all over his face.

“As expected, Mr. Chunsik, as expected from the most enlightened person in Gyeongseong, seems to understand what I mean!”

“???”

While pushing Chunshik’s back, he whispered quietly in his ear.

“Kim Hu-dong, follow him around and keep a close eye on him so he doesn’t get interested in the basement.”

“?!”

“What are you talking about?”

“I was telling Chunsik to clean up the dust behind the desk because it seemed to be a lot.”

And so, before I knew it, I ended up doing some major cleaning.

“This teacher is feeling unwell, so please don’t overwork yourself and just rest comfortably.”

“Haha… Then I’ll go organize my books.”

“Yes, that’s right.”

While the two of them were sweeping and mopping the floor, I organized the books on the shelf one by one.

Of course, my gaze was still directed at Kim Hu-dong.

I didn’t forget to distract her by asking her everyday questions in case she was paying attention to the bookshelf.

“How are you doing with the children?”

“Of course~ Thanks to this teacher’s care, I am getting along well with the children without any shortcomings.”

“That’s great. If there’s anything that bothers you, don’t worry and just let me know and I’ll take care of it.”

“I appreciate you saying that, but… I feel burdened when I just receive like this.”

“Isn’t it true that swordsmen work hard to collect famous swords not because they’re going to use them, but because they might use them someday? So, Mr. Kim, don’t feel too uncomfortable, and always stay in top condition like Mr. Chun-sik here.”

Kim Hu-dong looked slightly moved, but that was a good thing.

“You don’t have to clean it too thoroughly. Since I’m not going to invite anyone here anyway, just make sure there’s no visible dust or trash.”

“yes.”

Saying this, he finished cleaning up roughly and practically kicked Kim Hu-dong out by pushing his back.

However, I did not forget to adjust the speed appropriately so that it did not look too strange.

“Well, thank you for your hard work today.”

“You’ve worked hard too, teacher.”

“Compared to Ms. Kim, who has to look after the kids after work, it’s not even hardship.”

“That’s true… These days, kids are getting thicker and thicker, so they don’t listen to you as well.”

“Oh my!”

“Yesterday, I ran into a group of ronin at Gyeongseong Station, and I followed them to get a closer look at them…”

Two words stuck in my mind: Gyeongseong Station and a group of ronin.

“Really? A group of ronin from Gyeongseong… Are you sure it’s not like the Geomgye that existed back in the Joseon Dynasty?”

“No. They all have weird hairdos and black dragon embroidery on their clothes…”

The group of ronin she saw matched the uniforms of the Black Dragon Society that she had heard about from Maruyama last night.

“That’s right.”

The Black Dragon Society sent someone to Gyeongseong.

Their goal seemed to be to capture me.

“Please go in carefully.”

“Teacher, you too, take care.”

After seeing Kim Hu-dong off, I returned straight to the company.

Then, Chunsik opened the basement door and was waiting for me.

“It seems like you’ve dug up all the information you can find, but are you releasing it today?”

I shook my head.

“There is a change of plans.”

He quickly picked up the sharp hatchet lying on the basement table.

Then he kicked Maruyama, who was tied to the chair, and made him lie on the ground.

“Hmm.”

“Are you coming to your senses?”

“Wh, what···.”

Maruyama looked up at me with a fearful expression, as if he was remembering the events of last night.

“Maruyama, I’m sorry, but I have to break my promise yesterday.”

“?!”

Within moments, Maruyama’s body began to shake violently.

And then his face turned pale.

Chun-sik’s face also turned pale as he watched this.

“Huh… Chunsik, give me just one sharp knife.”

“Yes, yep.”

I roughly wiped the blood that had splashed on my face and prepared the bait to lure the wolf pack in earnest.