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Chapter 41 : This Isn't a Proposal
District 16, being in the latter half of the numbered districts, was classified as the outskirts of Gellerg City. It was not a distance that could be traveled on foot or by public transportation from District 3, the city's center. The news that there would be a guide from Sylvester was a great relief in my predicament.
‘Is that a vehicle?’
When I arrived at the designated meeting place, a black-tinted van-like vehicle was waiting. I approached the passenger seat and knocked on the window.
The window rolled down, and a man in a suit from the driver’s seat asked, “Who are you?”
“Sylvester’s guide, right?”
Е n um̌ а̌
“That’s right, but… are you the one?”
“I’m Allen, the contract killer who received the request.”
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“Allen, Allen… Ah, that’s right.”
Since my identity was confirmed, I could just sit down. I reached through the window, unlocked the door, and sat in the passenger seat.
“...Aren’t you going to start?”
But this guy was quite slow. When I couldn't stand it and gave him a piece of my mind, the guide finally came to his senses and started the engine.
Е n̄ ǔ m̌ а .і ḋ
“I’m sorry, I was a little surprised.”
He said, repeatedly stealing glances at my face. “I didn’t expect a contract killer who received a request to be so handsome. I was so nervous, thinking it would be a vicious person with three or four knife scars on his face as a medal.”
“It’s a bad habit to judge a person by their appearance in this industry.”
“Is that so? I don’t know much about it.”
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The guide laughed good-naturedly. It was a naivety that was unbecoming of a person who was in charge of guiding a contract request. I had a bad feeling.
“Let me ask you one thing, how many years have you been with the company?”
Е ñ u̇ m̈a
“I’ve just passed a year.”
“A rookie. I thought so.”
“Haha, that’s what they say.”
Even though it was a statement that could be felt as insulting, the smile on his lips did not disappear.
‘Did they really just entrust him with the transport mission?’
It was the moment when my premonition that it was a chore that had been passed on to the youngest because it was troublesome was revealed to be true. Even a leading conglomerate seemed to be no different from other companies in this practice.
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‘It doesn’t seem like he’ll be much help…’
Well, I had to do what I had to do. I asked him at the moment the vehicle was caught at a signal.
“What’s the situation on the ground?”
“You probably have a rough idea, but to be honest, it’s not very good.”
The information that could be gleaned from the request form was not small. First, I was not the only one mobilized for the request. A mercenary group and their own hired hands were already engaged in a battle with the gang. I was, so to speak, an additional force, a stone that had rolled in. The information that could be inferred from that was that the war situation was not very good, so much so that additional forces were needed.
“The gang, Race Lizard, they’re cunning bastards. They thoroughly avoid a frontal confrontation and only continue with sporadic skirmishes. They take advantage of the geographical advantage and dig traps, so it’s impossible to easily approach their base.”
Ё ń ù mа̇ .і d
It was a development I had roughly guessed. They were tenacious bastards who had survived by making a part of the undeveloped land, which was an abandoned land, their home. Among the criminal groups, the gangs, they must have been the ones with guts.
“Even so, the forces that Sylvester has called in can’t handle a single gang?”
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“Well, this is an internal company story.”
The guide lowered his voice even though there were only two of them. It was an attitude that made it clear that it was a secret story without him having to explain it.
“This business is not a very important project.”
“Wasn’t it a project to secure a site for a new business? A new business is treated as important by any company.”
Е̇ n um̌а
“This is a project that was launched by a line that doesn’t have much power among the company’s factions. So the budget is insufficient and the team members are unmotivated. Come to think of it, isn’t it strange in itself to make the swamp of District 16 a business site?”
The guide smiled a self-deprecating, bitter smile. It was a secret of Sylvester that the on-site mercenaries and hired hands, who were the advance party, would not know. Although you might wonder why a large corporation, which verified even a single number like a knife, would handle things this way, it was understandable because it was Sylvester.
‘Was this request one of Sylvester’s failed businesses?’
Sylvester had carried out numerous businesses in the city, crushing them with its size. Although the public, who only remembered the successes, would not know, the success rate was less than 30%. It was the complete opposite of Centrim, which was revered as a golden hand and was on a roll. It was a setting that showed the difference between the perennial number two and the perennial number one.
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‘He’s spouting some surprisingly useful information.’
It was an inside story that a tight-lipped project executive would have hidden at all costs. The inexperienced rookie couldn't distinguish between what should be said and what shouldn't.
Е̌ ň ú m̃ a
‘If this is the case, can I assume there’s no support from Sylvester?’
If you were to name an advantage of a large corporation's request, it would naturally be the ample support. Some requests even went as far as to draw up individual action plans. If the District 16 project was a marginalized project of Sylvester, it was realistic to think that there would be no such support.
“We’ve arrived.”
By the time I had organized my thoughts, the guide had stopped the car. The place visible beyond the tinted window was my destination, the outpost established by Sylvester.
***
The hot and humid air clung to my skin. The ground was strangely damp and wet, as if it had rained. Every place my eyes and feet touched seemed to insist that this was District 16, the swamp.
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“……”
I stopped in my tracks and slowly looked around.
“...It’s quite a sight, isn’t it?”
The guide who had accompanied me inside spoke first. The atmosphere of the outpost, built with temporary structures, was as listless as its shabby appearance. The mercenaries and hired hands, who should have been full of energy in a bad way, were sprawled all over the floor, letting out bored yawns. Some of them, with dazed eyes, exuded a foul smell, as if they were secretly enjoying drugs. It was a lazy scene that was hard to believe for a battlefield where relentless, sporadic skirmishes were said to be taking place.
“I had heard a rough idea of the atmosphere… but it’s worse than I heard.”
Cromwell had diligently briefed me on the information he had about this request. The part he had emphasized the most was this very atmosphere. It was a complete group of defeated soldiers. I couldn't find any motivation to resolve the request at all. When morale drops this much, the client usually takes measures such as kicking them out and hiring new hands or motivating them. Here, I couldn't even find a trace that such measures had been considered. The Sylvester employees who should have been auditing the personnel just passed by, giggling, pretending not to see.
Ën̂ ŭ m̀а̀ . i d
‘They said a low-reputation mercenary group was included, but they’re no different from a gang of thugs.’
It seemed I had drawn the short straw. Although they were better than contract killers, there were also low-quality groups among the mercenary groups. They were guys who had formed a group simply because they were afraid to operate alone, without any clear ideology. They didn't hang their lives on the success or failure of a request. They just needed the title of mercenary.
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“I see why the request is dragging on.”
The people who were supposed to fight had given up on the request, so there was no way the goal would be achieved.
‘If this is the case, is it an open secret that there’s no support from Sylvester?’
Even if they hadn't heard it directly from an employee like I had, they would have felt it with their bodies. That's why they were being so bold with Sylvester. If this project had been a regular project of Sylvester, they would have been disposed of long ago.
En uṁ а̂
“Then I’ll be on my way.”
The guide ended his accompaniment with me and left. Whatever the situation on the ground, he had done his job. From now on, it was my share.
“Are you the contract killer our client brought in as a transfusion?”
As if taking turns, a man approached from inside. A typical mercenary attire, armed with a bulletproof vest, a sword, and a gun. As if he were indeed the captain of the mercenary group, his body exuded the thick smell of gunpowder and blood. He looked me up and down and then clicked his tongue.
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
“Sylvester has really given up completely. Bringing a pretty-faced young master who would tremble at the sight of a gun and knife, and calling him a contract killer?”
I stared at him blankly. In his low-class, provocative tone, I could even feel a sense of amusement. When I didn't respond, he continued in a tone that suggested he had lost interest.
Еn̂um̄ а́. і̃d̄
“I’m Percival, captain of the Python mercenary group.”
“Allen, a contract killer.”
“Forget it, I don’t need to hear it, so just follow me quietly.”
“Where are you going?”
Percival gestured with his chin towards the inside. It was the meeting room he was presumed to have just come out of.
“Let’s have a comfortable chat between the working-level staff, where there’s no annoying surveillance.”
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***
“What’s the content of the request you received?”
Percival locked the door and asked me bluntly. It was a fiery question and answer session befitting a rough mercenary.
“The subjugation of the Race Lizard gang.”
“Hahaha.”
Percival suddenly burst out laughing. He was on the verge of laughing his head off, holding his stomach. He wiped the tears from the corners of his eyes and said.
Ẃӗb n̂ o vе l̀ Е n̆ üm̌ ä
“You’re screwed.”
“What?”
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“You’ve been left holding the bag. You unlucky bastard.”
When I frowned, he added. “The request our mercenary group received is similar to yours, but different. It’s the subjugation of the gang, but if that’s not possible, then it’s the protection of the Sylvester employees.”
The content of the request was different. Even for the same case, personnel could be needed for various purposes, so it could be posted differently, but the intention here was blatant.
“They didn’t even expect the gang subjugation to succeed from the beginning.”
Е̂n̆ü mã . іd
“That’s right, these guys here are satisfied as long as they can properly hold on to their own lives.”
I could finally understand the lazy atmosphere of the site. At first, they must have aimed to subjugate the gang. But when the gang’s resistance was unexpectedly strong, they must have read the situation. If Sylvester’s response had been firm, the story would have been different, but they were not foolish enough to hang their lives on a failed project. The mercenaries had read the atmosphere from then on and had completely changed their course.
“I don’t know who posted your request, but they must have had a different idea. There are always guys like that everywhere.”
There were also people who were serious about the project, like the rookie who had acted as a guide. It was unexpected that one of the upper echelons of the line that had led the business was that kind of person. The sad thing was that with just that one person’s effort, the situation would not change. The site of Sylvester’s request was still the worst in every aspect.
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Of course, the work I had to do did not change.
“You have no intention of helping me complete the request?”
Е̌n̂u m̈ā. і̆ d̄
“Hey, you have to get your words straight. We’re saying that even if we just stand by and do nothing, our request is completed. We’re different from you.”
Percival leisurely put his feet up on the desk. It was a clear expression of his intention for me to suffer alone.
‘Why is it that, except for the Drexier mercenary group, all the guys I’ve worked with have been duds?’
Was this the average, or was my luck just bad? My fortune with people was making me sigh.
“Don’t hold on to any foolish hopes, just think of it as a good lesson and leave. The penalty fee might be a bit of a shame, but if you think of it as the price of your life, it will feel cheap.”
“Thanks for the advice, but that’s going to be a little difficult.”
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It was not a request aimed at money. It was a move to investigate the un-drying spring that had overturned District 16. Even if I gave up the request and focused on the investigation, neither Sylvester nor the gang would look kindly on it. Sorting out the situation was not a choice, but a necessity.
“I’m not stopping you from foolishly going to your death, whether you want to or not. I’m grateful that you’re wasting your life so cheaply.”
I left Percival’s ridicule behind and closed my eyes, lost in thought.
‘It would be difficult for me to wipe out the gang on my own.’
This case was different from the case of the Brotherhood’s 85th branch. At that time, only the branch manager and a few elites had entered the negotiation site, and although it was an assassination aimed at the branch manager, the matter had been easily resolved thanks to the branch manager going berserk on his own and causing a commotion. This time, it was an impossible operation. Furthermore, the Race Lizard gang was on a different level from the Brotherhood’s 80-something branch. Even a rotten fish is still a fish, they were a mercenary group. Although I would have to check the detailed figures, the existence of casualties and the war situation where they had repeatedly been defeated attested to the high level of the gang.
‘It’s not impossible, but…’
Wè b̄ n ǒv̈ е̇ l̀ En ù m ã
It was not efficient. I didn't know how long it would take to finish the preparations.
‘It’s also annoying that if I suffer alone, these guys will just be lazing around.’
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The reward for the success of the request would be distributed fairly. The Python mercenary group could get a large sum of money without even lifting a finger.
‘I’m not a philanthropist.’
I could not tolerate such a windfall.
‘Then what should I do?’
Е n ũm ȧ
I tapped the tabletop with my index finger. If possible, I had to make these guys do their share. But there was no way these guys, who were resting comfortably, would suddenly choose to fight.
If that was the case…
“...I’ll have to force them to fight.”
The conclusion was reached. I lightly loosened my body and stood up from my seat.
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“Still no intention of fighting?”
“You’re overflowing with foolish hopes. If you were in my shoes, do you think you would go through the trouble?”
Е ṅ.ûm̈ӑ
“It seems you’re misunderstanding something.”
I approached him. It was a distance where I could reach him without any problem if I extended my arm. Percival, as if sensing the changed atmosphere, corrected his posture and placed his hand on his waist.
“This isn’t a proposal.”
But it was a futile struggle. I would make it so.
“It’s a threat and a coercion.”
“You bastard, I treated you nicely and you…!”
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Percival drew his longsword and rushed at me.
“I’d like you to follow my orders with that spirit.”
Even a bullet, a consumable, was a luxury. As I raised my fist, the Guardian Falcon tattoo, in response, shone blue.
(End of Chapter)
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