Neither Go Kyung-soo nor Park Jin-hoo, who were at the scene, would have realized it. But the criminal had been on a call with someone until the stop order was given.

As soon as the patrol car gave the stop order, the criminal ended the call and immediately pulled over.

The criminal glanced at Park Jin-hoo and Go Kyung-soo approaching through the side mirror, slapped both his cheeks a few times, pulled a pistol from the glove compartment, and moved it to the side pocket.

He then received the inspection as if nothing was wrong, and while Park Jin-hoo was distracted sending a message to the center, he aimed at Go Kyung-soo and opened fire.

It was what one might call a nerve test.

To fire at officers just to test their nerve… Seo-jun let out a dry chuckle.

That officer might have protected his own family someday, or perhaps even protected the criminal from danger.

Well… someone like that wouldn't have joined an organization in the first place if they thought that far.

Suddenly, Seo-jun noticed someone trembling beside him.

Ah.

Seo-jun hastily withdrew his killing intent.

The man next to him gasped for breath, having apparently held it all this time.

"...Haah!"

"Are you alright?"

"Huff, huff! Yes..."

"My apologies. I forgot you were there."

Once his breathing had somewhat calmed, Hwang Tae-su, blinking rapidly like a flounder, spoke up.

"I'm alright. It's not like I was going to die or anything."

"Somehow, your words sound a little barbed."

"...That's a misunderstanding."

"The criminal had dreadlocks. He was wearing black shorts and a white t-shirt, and he had a large ring on his right hand."

"Were there any tattoos?"

"There was a cross tattoo."

"Where? On his hand? The back of his neck?"

"On his hand."

"If there's a cross on his hand, it's probably the 13th district guys."

Seo-jun motioned for him to continue.

"They’re mostly called the Brown Bear gang."

"Brown Bear?"

"Their boss, No Se-hoon, his nickname is Brown Bear. He's a giant, and he's vicious too."

Seo-jun nodded. No wonder he would order something this outrageous.

"Now that the Gas Station gang is gone, they and the Dokjeon gang split the 13th district between them."

"Where can we find them?"

"...Forgive me for asking, but are you planning to eliminate them?"

"There's a cockroach crawling in front of you. What would you do?"

"Hmm... of course, I'd smash it."

"Exactly."

Where Gudongho Elementary School used to stand, there was now a cement fortress.

In the past, it had been a fortress to defend against monster attacks from the gate at Maebongsan Park, but over time, its purpose changed.

Now, the real owner of this fortress was No Se-hoon.

In front of the fortress's giant iron gate, an S-Class vehicle came to a stop.

Claaaang!

With a tremendous noise, the iron gate opened.

The car entered and stopped at a newly constructed annex in front of the fortress. It used to be the residence of government commanders.

Now, it was No Se-hoon's mansion.

"You’ve arrived!"

"Yeah."

"How did things go, sir?"

No Se-hoon grinned broadly at his subordinate's words.

"Of course, it went well."

"I heard he wasn't easy to sway. You're incredible."

"What guy with balls doesn’t like the smell of money and women? That guy acted all high and mighty, but after a few brothel visits and stuffing a few cabbage leaves into his nostrils, he melted."

"So then..."

"Hwang Tae-su's transportation business is as good as dead."

No Se-hoon had just met with Lee Ho-jin, the district chief of the 12th district.

No Se-hoon had coincidentally learned about Hwang Tae-su's plan to start a bus transportation business in the 12th district.

At first, he hadn’t paid it much mind. But once he realized the transportation business was meant to be a foothold into the 13th district, he couldn't ignore it.

While pondering, he discovered that his senior was a close friend of Lee Ho-jin, and asked the senior to arrange a meeting—which he had just finished.

"For a while, Hwang Tae-su's side will stay quiet... More importantly, how many new recruits did we get this time?"

"...Apologies. Only two made it in."

"Out of thirty, only two?"

"Only two passed the nerve test this time, sir."

"Kids these days, no guts at all. What's so hard about pulling a trigger? Bring the ones who passed. I want to see their faces."

"Yes, sir!"

As if expecting No Se-hoon's reaction, two fresh-faced recruits quickly appeared from behind.

"Hello, sir! I’m Lee Ji-hoon!"

"I’m Park Dong-min!"

"Good-looking brats."

"Thank you, sir!"

"Let me see your hands."

Lee Ji-hoon and Park Dong-min naturally extended their right hands. On the back of their hands, cross tattoos were engraved.

"You've proven your nerve well enough. Now get it inked on your left hands too."

The two's faces brightened. It was as good as official acceptance into the organization.

"We’ll work even harder from now on!"

"We'll do whatever you ask! Thank you, sir!"

"You’ve got plenty of spirit. Good."

Nodding in approval, No Se-hoon gestured to his usual subordinate.

"Assign Ji-hoon to the arcade and Dong-min to the collections team."

"Back in my day, 'assignment' was only used in video games, but I guess times have changed a lot."

A strange voice spoke up.

It wasn’t from his usual subordinate. It wasn’t from Lee Ji-hoon or Park Dong-min either. No Se-hoon looked around.

By the car, where nothing had been visible, something began to writhe and slowly took on human form.

Click-!

At the sudden appearance of an unknown man, the organization members reflexively pointed their guns at him.

"An awakened one?"

Ordinary people would bow their heads when confronting an awakened individual.

Because they didn’t know what abilities an awakened one might have—and because it could cost them their lives.

But No Se-hoon was different. He leisurely pulled out a cigarette and lit it.

There's a corner they trust in

"Who sent you? President Hwang? Or President Lee? Or maybe..."

Lost deep in thought, No Se-hoon shook his head.

"No. That guy is off the list. So who sent you?"

Despite No Se-hoon's question, the unidentified man—no, Seo-jun—did not answer. No Se-hoon, finding it bothersome, waved his hand.

At that, dozens of gun barrels simultaneously spat fire. Of course, all the bullets bounced off.

Some of the gang members were aghast, but others remained composed, as if they had expected this much.

Still with a cigarette in his mouth, No Se-hoon rummaged inside his jacket. Soon, something popped out into his hand.

"You know what this is, right?"

"Who knows."

"Papyrus. A damn beautiful masterpiece created by the era."

Above scrolls, there were elixirs. Above elixirs, there were codices. And at the very top stood the papyrus.

Papyrus was not called an item. Just as No Se-hoon said, it was called a masterpiece.

There existed unassessable Awakeners in the world. These individuals could not be classified at all.

It was because existing systems and equipment simply could not assess them. In the United States, there was an Awakener named John Pennington.

He too was classified as unassessable, and his main abilities were enhancement and crafting.

Of course, there were plenty of people who had enhancement and crafting skills. But there were few creators who had unassessable skills like John Pennington.

And the papyrus was the extraordinary masterpiece born from John Pennington's endless research alongside his fellow guild members.

If existing scrolls, elixirs, and codices were things that had always existed within the "System," the papyrus was something created by John Pennington himself.

The reason the papyrus was called a rare masterpiece was because it could temporarily awaken a non-Awakener.

And not just a little—boosting the target's stats to three times their normal power.

For example, if the target was an S-rank Awakener, they would temporarily possess abilities equivalent to an SSS-rank Awakener.

Of course, its value was immense. So much so that even the United States had outlawed its export by national law.

Thanks to that, very few in the world actually possessed a papyrus.

But there was a country famous for creating very convincing fakes.

China, at a national level, had researched the papyrus and, after countless trials and sacrifices, succeeded in creating a copy.

Although the Chinese papyrus didn’t grant threefold ability boosts like John Pennington's original, it could still double the abilities.

Of course, even the counterfeit was extremely expensive. The official price was 50 million yuan.

In Korean won, that was over 8 billion won.

The reason No Se-hoon could afford to have such an expensive papyrus was thanks to the massive funds he accumulated through his legal and illegal businesses.

It was precisely because of this papyrus that No Se-hoon could leisurely puff on his cigarette without fear of Awakeners.

'It's a bit of a waste of money though.'

Of course, he could recoup that money soon enough.

Especially if the casino project he was pushing through with heavy lobbying got approved, it would be even easier.

"I don't know what that is, but it won't work."

"We'll see whether it works or not soon enough."

With a crooked smile, No Se-hoon designated his target without the slightest hesitation.

The target, of course, was Seo-jun.

In an instant, a golden flash burst from the papyrus and was absorbed into No Se-hoon's body.

[System Error!]

[System Error!]

[System Error!]

These were the phenomena that occurred when the papyrus was used.

[System activating]

[System activating]

[System activating]

The messages soon stopped, and normal operation resumed.

At that moment, No Se-hoon felt overwhelming power. Message windows popped up before his eyes.

It was a feeling like he couldn’t contain the power boiling inside him.

"So this is it! Feels fucking amazing!"

Chuckling low, No Se-hoon checked the abilities he had absorbed from his opponent.

"Open skill window."

Countless windows popped up before his eyes.

As No Se-hoon checked the skill window, his expression gradually stiffened.

[??:??]

[??:??]

[??:??]

"I told you it wouldn’t work."

"Chief."

"Oh, Mr. Kim."

"Are you getting off work now?"

"Yeah. You too, Mr. Kim?"

"Yes."

"Let's head out together."

The two men left the hospital lobby. As they waited at the crosswalk, the chief patted Mr. Kim's shoulder.

"Good work today. You handled things calmly."

"No, you worked harder than me, Chief."

"And by the way, Mr. Kim."

"Yes, sir?"

"You know how I always yell and curse in the operating room."

"......"

"That's not directed at you personally. It's just things that slip out. So don't take it to heart."

"I understand."

With a faint smile, the chief nodded. After a slight pause, Mr. Kim asked hesitantly,

"Um... Chief."

"Hm?"

"About that patient today."

"You mean Go Kyung-soo?"

"Yes. During the operation, I was too flustered to notice, but after it ended and I thought back, something you said kept sticking in my mind."

"I told you to forget all the yelling."

"No, not that. The ligation."

"......"

"Was there really a ligation?"

The chief did not answer. They just kept walking.

After who knows how long, the chief suddenly stopped in his tracks.

"Mr. Kim."

"Yes."

"How about a drink?"

"A drink?"

"I don't think I've ever had a drink with you before. If you have other plans, that's fine."

"I don't. So, where shall we go?"

"No need to go far. Let's head over there."