Refining (14)
Street lamps were a very simple and effective crime prevention device.
Criminals hesitate to commit crimes with the slightest hint that someone might be watching their actions.
Even the thugs of White Mountain Street, where crime was as common as breathing, were not much different.
But instead of taking the sensible approach of not committing crimes, they employed the efficient strategy of shattering the street lamps to pieces.
The night road was dark. The lights of buildings flickered in the distance, but there was no light illuminating them.
"Don't stop! Run! If we just get to here..."
"Sh-shouldn't we go somewhere with more people?"
"They're all in on it anyway!"
Seeing is coveting. Yuni's appearance was no different from a walking golden box begging, 'Please kidnap me.'
"B-but there must be good people..."
"It's all the same! If those guys come at us with tools, do you think those people will fight alongside us?"
The guys chasing them were just punks, barely worthy of being called Macheonpa gang members.
But even the gun held by that clumsy punk could kill a person. The bat they wielded could also smash someone's head.
Even if there was a shop owner who would warmly welcome an upper-class girl they'd never seen before, when faced with a life-threatening situation, they would eventually sell her out to protect themselves and their families.
That was the wise choice. Rick couldn't understand why he wasn't acting that way himself.
'If only the Brown Hood people were okay...'
Gang members were those who declared they wouldn't make such 'wise choices.' They would have risked their lives to help him.
But Brown Hood's core personnel had disappeared somewhere, and there were no gang members Rick could trust in this area.
"I-it's dark. This place..."
"Keep your mouth shut from now on."
"Mmph..."
It was a moonless night. The streets without street lamps concealed their movements.
The man and woman who hid in a narrow alley hugged each other tightly and held their breath.
A moment later, the rough curses of the thugs chasing them could be heard.
"Damn it, where did they run off to?"
Though the thugs had good night vision, Rick's hiding position was even more exquisite. Ironically, what they needed now was darkness, not street lamps.
"They'll obviously go there anyway. You two run straight ahead; the rest of us will search around here."
"Boss, I'm a bit uneasy... Didn't they say Hansan?"
"You believe that?"
The leader of the thugs snorted.
"She's probably just a mental patient who believes her father works at Hansan Enterprise. At best, a subcontractor? Well, even that should be enough to get a decent ransom."
Rick frowned. Those guys were breaking the rules.
People killing each other on White Mountain Street wasn't a big deal.
The lives of poor people weren't considered very valuable. Of course, it was sad when someone died, but it didn't cause major problems.
But kidnapping was different. Some idiots would brag about how much they earned by kidnapping a rich man's daughter, but in the long run, it was an act that harmed the entire district.
Businessmen would come to hate the entire district. Police would point guns at suspicious people without warning.
Even if they succeeded in the kidnapping, they wouldn't be safe. If it was the daughter of a mediocre businessman, they might negotiate, but if it was someone connected to Hansan, they would track them down by any means necessary.
They had even gritted their teeth to catch Rick, who committed fraud using all sorts of VPNs, so they wouldn't show mercy to kidnappers.
"Move, move!"
The thugs scattered. As the surroundings became quiet, Rick carefully got up.
"I—is it over?"
"Not yet."
They couldn't go out to the main road. They eventually had to walk to the end of this alley, but Rick hadn't forgotten what those thugs had said.
'They said to go straight ahead...'
Rick was also familiar with the geography of this place. If they ran straight ahead from this narrow alley, they would eventually end up on a main road.
'We can't just hide.'
The alleys were a maze, and there were quite a few abandoned buildings. The thugs had only temporarily left, as they couldn't search every place at once.
If they kept hiding, they would eventually be found. They needed to move when they could.
"Damn, if only I had a gun..."
"A-are you going to fight?"
"We can't just let ourselves be caught."
Rick was confident in his shooting abilities. With a gun in a street fight like this, he wouldn't fear even if ten of those punks came at him.
But now he was defenseless.
'Damn it, was it so hard to secretly bring a gun...?'
Walking around Stella City's slums without a gun was suicidal.
It was as good as a solemn declaration that you would hand over your money without resistance when threatened by an armed robber on a motorcycle.
'Of all times...'
But he had come to apologize. Rick knew how nervous central district people get about weapons.
If the mercenaries accompanying Jung Yuni had searched Rick's body and discovered that he had a pistol, he would have received unfavorable looks.
"If we just keep running straight..."
"There'll be guys waiting for us ahead too. We have no choice but to fight. There should be... that thing here."
Rick, making his way through the alley, found an old vending machine.
"It's still here. That's a relief."
"W-what is this?"
"A gun vending machine. It's not much, but with this..."
Rick searched his pockets. And he realized that he didn't even have the money to buy a few-dollar disposable pistol.
"Ha, sorry. I'm really sorry, but... do you have any money?"
"Here! But where do I insert the card?"
Yuni smiled and held out her card. Rick shook his head.
"Not that. Don't you have anything like bills or coins?"
"Why would I carry those around?"
Just because it was a slum didn't mean they couldn't use cards. But cards couldn't be used at the vending machine.
It was an unmanned vending machine on a street crawling with criminals.
There were robbers who would steal items at gunpoint even from stores with people, so the hardships that a vending machine in such a back alley would have to endure were unspeakably terrible.
Criminals also preferred cash over cards, so there was a need to remove the card reader to reduce costs.
"This won't work. Damn, if only there was a way..."
Footsteps were heard. With the light emanating from the vending machine, they would be discovered without fail this time.
Rick instinctively hid Yuni behind him.
"What, why? What's wrong?"
But the person who emerged from the darkness was an ordinary-looking man.
A completely ordinary person wearing clothes that seemed to have been carelessly bought from a second-hand store nearby.
Rick felt a sense of discomfort.
Too clean. Too confident.
An attitude and walking style that no one in this city could possess. He didn't seem like a thug, but in a different sense, Rick felt wary.
"Who are you?"
***
It's Rick. I had to figure out as quickly as possible how to establish my relationship with him.
If I prioritize eliminating variables, it would be better to kill him here and now.
If I shoot, he dies. If the woman with the hat and Rick disappear simultaneously, Brown Hood will surely be annihilated.
But it's a pity. I want to be a bit more greedy.
If I face the worst-case scenario where I can't negotiate with 'Alphabet' or reduce his hatred, I might need Brown Hood's power.
"Who I am... it's a bit difficult to say right now."
If his wariness had been a little lower, I would have pretended to be a 'passer-by.'
But befitting someone who would lead an organization, his eyes were sharp. He was clearly noticing my abnormality.
"Who is that woman?"
Actually, I was more curious about this. As far as I knew, Rick didn't have any woman personally involved with him.
"She's not really related to me. She's from Hansan, so you'll be in big trouble if you mess with her."
"Th-that's right! My father is a section manager at Hansan Industrial's Stella City branch! I've already reported it, so the police will be here soon!"
If that's true, I shouldn't be here. If the fact that Han Sanwoo is walking around in an alley like this is discovered, it will cause unnecessary vigilance.
If the situation becomes strange and I'm dragged to the police station, while there would be no problems with my safety, it would be difficult to avoid my identity being exposed.
But I could use this.
"Hansan..."
Rick's attitude was suspicious. He was hiding the girl behind him as if she were a 'person to be protected.'
People who have something precious can't help but be cautious. They can't help but be exploited.
Especially if it's someone from Hansan, it's even more so.
"It's noisy over there? Search!"
"Oh no..."
The night was dark, but my eyes could find the thugs approaching here.
"Th-they're already here! What should we do, Rick oppa?"
"Just stay still for a moment!"
Moreover, he is also Enzo's son. He was not of little value.
"Looks a bit dangerous. Want me to help?"
"You appear out of nowhere and offer to help us? What do you want?"
"I'll have to think about that from then on."
I could smoothly handle Rick's voice mixed with dissatisfaction.
Sadly, it seems I'll have to kill people here. Directly with my hands.
There was a suitable object. I took a pistol out of my pocket and held it in my hand.
"How many were there? The people following you."
"...Eight."
Perhaps realizing that there was no hope without my help here, Rick swallowed his pride and reported the situation.
I slowly turned my head, checking each person entering the alley one by one.
No one had drawn a gun. Even if it took a little time, those two people would not be in danger.
"Thank you for protecting Hansan's person."
Actually, it had nothing to do with me. To be extreme, whatever happened to that girl wouldn't disrupt my plans.
But the fact that 'Rick' moved to protect 'Hansan's girl' was a good sign.
If I had to pay a price to commend that non-betrayal betrayal, I could do this much.
"Hansan? What? So you were also from that—"
A gunshot rang out. The classic and common, boring sound of death where gunpowder fires a bullet.
A person fell. Blood splattered.
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