Here's an Opportunity
Chapter 62: Hello! DGs! (2)

Chapter 62: Hello! DG's! (2)

Relying on his sharp Hunter ears, Kim Ki-Rok heard one of the Awakened criminals mutter about livestreaming. As if to make a point, he fished around in his pocket and pulled out a smartphone, launching the recording app.

"Ahem, hrmm. Tss, tss." He cleared his throat lightly and loosened up his lips.

Meanwhile, Aeple repeated a string of strange sounds to warm up her voice. "Horolololo, horolololo."

At the sight of Kim Ki-Rok fiddling with his phone, especially after someone had just mentioned a livestream, some of the Awakened criminals seemed about to lunge at him.

—If our formation collapses, we're finished. Ignore him.

Had it not been for the caporegime's radio order, they would already have charged in. Finally calming down, the Awakened criminals found the time to get a better look around.

They were completely surrounded by Hunters, and the situation was dire.

"Damn it!" one of them shouted in frustration.

If this turned into a livestream, their faces would be known worldwide. But if they moved clumsily, they risked getting caught or killed on the spot.

"Ahem. Good evening, dear viewers nationwide. Despite the late hour, many of you are already watching this live the moment we started streaming..." Kim Ki-Rok started.

"Whether you're munching on fried chicken or pizza, or maybe having a can of beer and some expensive snacks to go with it, we welcome you all," Aeple added unnecessarily.

"This is Kim Ki-Rok, Guildmaster of DG Guild," he introduced himself.

"And I am Aeple, leader of Fairy Flower. "

"Applause! Clap clap, clap, clap." Not only did Aeple call for applause, she started clapping for herself.

"For those of you wondering where we are now... that's a secret. I just wanted to turn this on for a moment. So to all of you at home with your fried chicken and pizza—"

Aeple interjected, "Or maybe you're eating pig's feet or bossam..."

"To all the viewers. We will resume the livestream as soon as possible. Bye bye!"

"Bye-bye!"

Tap.

With that, Kim Ki-Rok slipped the smartphone back into his coat pocket.

"Huh?" The Hunters who had been sighing nonstop since Kim Ki-Rok had started his livestream were now taken aback.

"You really think I'd go live in a situation like this?" Kim Ki-Rok answered their baffled stares.

It was a perfectly valid point, but somehow, it felt wrong hearing that from Kim Ki-Rok.

"Then what about the time with Ma Ak-Soo?" someone asked.

"Back then, the perimeter was already sealed. No matter how he struggled, there was no escaping. That's why I was able to start a livestream right in front of Ma Ak-Soo and his underlings. But this time is different."

Whenever Kim Ki-Rok showed up on the battlefield, the mood changed dramatically. The Hunters on the subjugation side seemed to be absolutely jovial, much to the annoyance of the criminals, one of whom jeered, "Ha! As if. You're just afraid of retaliation—"

Kim Ki-Rok interrupted him. "Oh? Afraid that one of the big criminal groups taking part in this raid would retaliate? Nope. You're welcome to fight back. Why would I say no to free money?"

"What a li—"

"It's not a lie. Whenever I plan a livestream featuring Awakened criminals, of course I'll be revealing their personal information. They're criminals anyway. But, as it turns out, that can be...tedious."

"Nonsen..."

"You think I'm bluffing just because I don't actually know anything? That's not it, Mr. Choi Jae-Ha."

The criminal had been ready to yell at Kim Ki-Rok for repeatedly interrupting him, but the words died in his throat.

Kim Ki-Rok stared down Choi Jae-Ha like a cat watching a mischievous mouse. "Haha. Not going to answer? Twenty-nine-year-old Choi Jae-Ha from Ansan, Gyeonggi Province..."

"Enough!" Choi Jae-Ha shouted.

Choi Jae-Ha shuddered to think that a stranger he had met for the first time today knew not only his birth year, but his hometown, and even the real name he had abandoned upon becoming an Awakened criminal.

"Heh heh. Mr. Choi Jae-Ha?"

"Shut up."

"As I'm sure you know, I have a skill called Discernment. It's an advanced version of Appraisal that allows me to obtain more detailed information," Kim Ki-Rok boasted with confidence now that he genuinely possessed that skill.

"Of course, it doesn't show me the criminal history of an Awakened criminal, but with a little effort, one can discern a lot about an individual given basic information."

Having essentially pacified Choi Jae-Ha, he now shifted his gaze to the heart of the criminals' tight formation. "Mr. Yoo Tae-San of Black Money."

The man he called out had been checking his smartphone to track the location of incoming reinforcements, but was suddenly jolted after getting called out.

"Mr. Yoo Tae-San with seven counts of fraud."

"W-what?!"

Kim Ki-Rok kept going, "And Mr. Black Mask, an A-Class Awakened criminal affiliated with Black Money."

He was an A-Class criminal like the caporegime of the Old Wolves, and was Black Money's hidden card. Expertly skilled in handling two swords, Black Mask was a target of interest even for the Association's Criminal Pursuit Team. Unlike the others who had been addressed by Kim Ki-Rok thus far, Black Mask kept his attention fixed on the Hunters, not letting his guard down.

"Uh... Hello...? I hate being ignored. Hmph!" Kim Ki-Rok said, pouting. "Mr. Black Mask, your parents were victims of fraud in the past, right?"

Only then did Black Mask turn his head, a vicious killing intent pouring out of him.

"Though I guess calling it the 'past' might be a stretch. Only five years ago, after all. Getting to the point, your parents, after being scammed and saddled with massive debt, tried to take their own live—"

Shhhiiiik!

Mirror. Kim Ki-Rok activated the skill, copying the stats of Black Mask and immediately deflecting the flying aura sword with his blade.

The aura attack flew at incredible speed but was split in two, flashing past Kim Ki-Rok's left and right sides and exploding.Behind him were two metal containers now with giant holes where the aura blades had pierced through.

Kim Ki-Rok glanced briefly at the destructive power of that aura and let out a forced gasp, then continued yapping away, "After that incident, Mr. Black Mask—no, Mr. Lee Chil-Sung—worked hard to pay off that debt to care for your younger sibling. You were a shining talent on track to become a top Hunter, right up until that sibling's tragic accident."

"Shut... up!" Lee Chil-Sung boomed, seeming ready to charge at Kim Ki-Rok at any moment.

Paying no mind, Kim Ki-Rok raised his left hand and pointed at Yoo Tae-San. "It's him."

"I said shut..."

"He's the bastard that scammed your parents."

Lee Chil-Sung froze, as if locked down by a binding spell or skill.

"What?" he said in a low growl.

"Yoo Tae-San was the one who scammed them," Kim Ki-Rok repeated.

Lee Chil-Sung turned abruptly toward the accused, Yoo Tae-San, who did his best to look sincere. Raising his voice, he pleaded, "That's a lie! He's just trying to make us turn on each other!"

But doubt lingered across Lee Chil-Sung's face.

"Yoo Tae-San, he's thirty-eight years old and awakened three years ago. But until three years ago, he was living under another identity—'Prosecutor Park Tae-Min' at the Seoul District Prosecutors' Office—though it was obviously a fake to run scams, not a real prosecutor. He also has five fraud convictions, specifically targeting the elderly."

Lee Chil-Sung shook his head. "He does not fit the composite sketch."

"What kind of crazy con artist would commit fraud without a disguise? Oh, and..."

"And?"

"Your sibling's car accident? Black Money orchestrated that."

It wasn't just Lee Chil-Sung. Every Awakened criminal present had their eyes glued to Kim Ki-Rok's mouth. The tension was so thick that, if this weren't a life-or-death standoff, one might have expected the spectators to break out popcorn and soda.

Kim Ki-Rok began to explain, "Black Money is filthy rich, but they don't have the strength to protect all that money. In order to recruit powerful Hunters, they often resort to what they call 'jobs.' So why did they set their sights on you, Mr. Lee Chil-Sung, and pull that job on you? First, you have no other family. Second, you have a huge debt. Third, you unflinchingly risk your life going through Gates to support your only relative—your younger sibling. So Lee Moon-Geum, the boss of Black Money, hatched a plan to ruin the sibling so that you'd have no choice but to lean on them."

Lee Chil-Sung's body trembled as he began to swell with anger.

"The opportunity came quickly. Sadly, your sibling got caught up in a Break and collapsed for... various reasons. Days passed, then weeks, then months, with no sign of waking up."

"S-stop him!" Yoo Tae-San barked at his men anxiously.

However, Lee Chil-Sung bared his teeth at the criminals. "If anyone tries to interfere, I'll kill them! I'll kill all of you! And if you run, Yoo Tae-San, I'll kill you on the spot!"

He unleashed his mana to suppress everyone present, then looked back at Kim Ki-Rok and urged, "Go on."

"The doctor probably said that your sibling had lost consciousness after being attacked by monsters that escaped after the Break, correct?"

Lee Chil-Sung nodded.

"Actually, the damage that had been done was not due to a monster's attack, but rather a certain parasite that can be found inside the Gate."

Clang!

As he kept on explaining, an Awakened hired by Black Money tried to inconspicuously silence Kim Ki-Rok, but his attempt was in vain.

Lee Chil-Sung blocked the criminal's path and swung his sword, knocking the ambusher down. Unperturbed, he requested once again, "Please continue."

"All right. So did the hospital really not know about that parasitic bug? They did, but they lied to you about it."

"Why the hell would they do that?"

"I told you, Black Money worked their 'job' on you. In other words, they set you up. Think about it," Kim Ki-Rok said, using the same phrase as before.

Lee Chil-Sung clenched his eyes shut.

"It was a chance for Black Money to recruit an A-Class Hunter who had a strong attachment to his family but also a promising future. The ambulance arrived faster than expected, didn't it?"

He nodded along, piecing together this new information with what he recalled of the past.

"Black Money's pockets run deep, but they're powerless on their own. Put differently, they have no real muscle, but they do have a shit ton of money. It's easy to summon an ambulance, or rather, there was no need to summon one when they could simply buy one. Using their bought ambulance, they escorted civilians who were caught in the Breaks, moving a particular person to a hospital where they had prearranged everything to happen."

Lee Chil-Sung stood silent for a brief moment before completing the narrative, "My sibling."

"Yes. That's how they singled your sibling out."

"It was a major hospital. No matter how much money they have, that's impossible..." He tried to find a way for this not to be true.

"It's simpler than you think. They only had to bribe the doctor in charge of your sibling and a few staff members on the administrative side. Like I said, they stand to gain a prospective A-Class Hunter with strong family ties as their recruit. That's a small investment for such a big payoff. So after a day passed, then a week, and then a month without your sibling waking up, the hospital director called you in. Correct?"

"T-that's right."

"He told you about an unauthorized drug that was dangerous, in limited supply, and extremely expensive. Probably phrased it a bit differently, but that's basically it, right?"

It was as though Lee Chil-Sung was back in the hospital director's office, hearing the same story being fed to him again.

"Desperate for even a straw to cling to, you agreed, and the drug did work. If the story ended there, well, you'd be in luck. Since Black Money planned to recruit you, however, they put your sibling back into a coma."

And they accomplished that by feeding his sibling a parasite.