Chapter 70 : Divine Physician? Divine Loyalty! (4)
Chapter 70: Divine Physician? Divine Loyalty! (4)
Human.
The characters for person (人) and between (間).
A lifeform that builds relationships by standing back-to-back with others.
Humans live together with other people.
They always have.
And they always will.
Because that was how they evolved.
The same held true in the modern age, the twilight of human civilization.
Even now, as the scent of humanity was gradually buried beneath the smell of cold steel, this society—this system—had been designed so that no one could survive alone.
Relationships with others.
In Lake City, that phrase remained only as a faint remnant.
But in the Central Plains of old...
It had been called something else.
Guanxi (關係).
The romance of a bygone era—
Once thought to be nothing more than an ancient relic—
Had returned to Lake City once more.
By the Creator.
“After cross-checking, we confirmed that the information provided by Kim Changsik perfectly matches the location of the insurgent forces.”
His narrow-eyed subordinate delivered the report.
Even as he spoke, he seemed astonished.
His knot-hole-like eyes opened just a little wider.
Resting his cheek on one fist, Jin Sobang listened quietly.
At first glance, he appeared absentminded.
He wasn't.
He simply felt so hollow that his posture had become slouched.
What was the Beggars' Sect's livelihood?
Their intelligence network.
Yet even with all of their information, they had struggled to locate the rebel group.
And somehow...
Someone had pinpointed their location in a single attempt.
“B-Branch Master.”
“If you find this suspicious, should we investigate further?”
“Or perhaps postpone tomorrow's meeting...?”
“This is a time when we'd grasp at even a straw.”
“Let's proceed as planned.”
“If we're delayed any longer, more Beggars' Sect members will die.”
“Yes, sir.”
Jin Sobang stopped the narrow-eyed man before he could leave.
“Elder Seopunggae has been busy lately, hasn't he?”
“He's been relentlessly pursuing the rebel group.”
“But... if this information is really accurate, I believe it'll all be over tomorrow.”
“Should I inform the Elder?”
“No.”
“It's late.”
“I'll tell him personally tomorrow.”
“Go get some rest.”
“You've suffered enough after ending up with a superior like me.”
The narrow-eyed subordinate bowed and quietly closed the door.
Jin Sobang shoved the paperwork aside and looked up at the full moon.
“What am I even feeling?”
He muttered to himself.
Even if he wasn't one of the Five Garment Faction members who stood at the forefront of information gathering...
Jin Sobang still belonged to the same family.
He couldn't help but feel both empty and threatened.
Half anticipation.
Half anxiety.
He spent the entire night awake.
The bluish hue of dawn felt unusually long.
“It's a pleasure to meet you.”
Finally.
Through Lee Taebaek's introduction...
He met the handsome young man—
Not quite as much of a pretty-faced snake bastard as the other one, but still enough of a pretty boy to qualify.
The moment Kim Changsik saw Jin Sobang...
He greeted him.
“You seem to be carrying many worries.”
“…Pardon?”
Kim Changsik smiled warmly.
He seemed to be advertising his harmlessness through that smile.
“You don't need to feel so discouraged.”
“This matter simply involved information that was easier to discover from a higher vantage point.”
“On the other hand, when it comes to information closely tied to the ground, we're much slower than the Beggars' Sect.”
“So please don't worry.”
“…What exactly do you mean by that?”
Jin Sobang asked.
At the same time...
His gaze shifted sideways.
Lee Taebaek lay sprawled across the sofa, merely tilting his chin.
His expression seemed to say,
"It's perfectly normal not to understand what he's talking about."
Some introduction this was.
Unable to find a response...
Jin Sobang hesitated.
Kim Changsik scratched near his eyebrow with his thumb.
“My apologies.”
“I've grown accustomed to speaking this way within our Order.”
“It's become a habit.”
“So... hmm.”
“I think it'd be better to show you once rather than explain it a hundred times.”
Kim Changsik quietly stood from his chair.
Jin Sobang instinctively tensed.
Lee Taebaek remained completely relaxed.
Kim Changsik took roughly five steps backward.
Then...
He thrust his fingertips deeply toward his chest.
“T-That's...!”
Jin Sobang's jaw dropped.
His pink uvula was fully visible.
A long moment passed before his dried lips finally moved again.
“A Wing Suit.”
“That's right.”
The left wing folded his disheveled collar back into place.
It looked almost like a living creature.
Wing Suits were notoriously difficult to operate.
Ordinary people couldn't even make the steel feathers twitch—
Let alone fly.
Yet Kim Changsik controlled such equipment as naturally as though it were his own limbs.
His understanding of the Wing Suit was exceptional.
If someone like him became an ally...
The Beggars' Sect would quite literally soar through the skies.
Jin Sobang's heart also began pounding.
As evidenced by his steel prosthetic arm...
He had always possessed an overwhelming fascination with cybernetic prosthetics.
To put it simply...
He was absolutely obsessed with them.
A Wing Suit.
It symbolized an era where one no longer needed to mutilate their own flesh.
Gulp.
A trace of envy flashed across Jin Sobang's eyes.
Feeling rather pleased with himself...
Kim Changsik spread his wings wide.
“This is the source of our Order's information gathering.”
“The higher we look from, the broader our field of vision becomes.”
“But the drawback is that we overlook smaller details.”
Although he said that...
His chin gradually lifted higher and higher.
At this rate, he'll ascend to heaven.
Lee Taebaek thought.
Since Kim Changsik's group was worshipped as angels...
With any luck...
Someone might crack a funny joke.
Meanwhile...
Jin Sobang couldn't keep his eyes still.
His gaze constantly shifted between Kim Changsik and Lee Taebaek.
He desperately wanted to ask where—and how—Lee Taebaek had met someone like this.
But...
There's something more important right now.
Jin Sobang moistened his dried lower lip.
Then respectfully cupped his fists.
Like Kim Changsik's Wing Suit...
The fist he clasped was also made of steel...
Its joints sealed with lead.
“It is an honor to meet you, Young Hero Changsik.”
“My courtesy name is Sangdeok.”
“My title is Sobang.”
“Lord Taebaek briefly told me about you yesterday.”
“I heard you're quite a distinguished figure even within the Beggars' Sect.”
“…That bastard actually said that?”
“My apologies.”
“I added the latter part myself.”
I thought as much.
“You seem busy.”
“Shall we discuss business immediately?”
“A man of admirable character indeed.”
“Very well.”
As the conversation progressed...
Jin Sobang found himself nodding more and more frequently.
Before meeting...
He had been filled with caution.
Now...
More than anyone...
He eagerly agreed with everything Kim Changsik said.
He liked him immensely.
His speech was polite.
Simply listening to him was enjoyable.
He also possessed the sense to emphasize only the key points during conversation.
Objectively speaking...
He couldn't say Kim Changsik was more handsome than that snake bastard.
But thanks to his impeccable manners...
He somehow looked far better.
Whenever Kim Changsik casually introduced another topic...
Jin Sobang naturally found himself drawn into it.
His steel fingers busily gestured in response.
They really clicked.
Watching the two of them...
Lee Taebaek quietly chuckled.
Since they were discussing sensitive information...
He'd thought it'd be better if they met face-to-face.
Both of them...
Were on his side.
Kim Changsik by choice.
Jin Sobang unwillingly.
Either way.
He wanted to connect the two people who had helped him—
At least once.
Looks like I'm setting two guys up on a blind date.
The reason was simple.
He wanted the Chaos Order and the Beggars' Sect to work together and assist him.
Before long...
Lee Taebaek's area of operations would expand into the Upper District.
The more trustworthy eyes and ears he had...
The better.
Even better if those two can communicate directly.
Besides...
The two separate channels of information he possessed...
Would become one from today onward.
That was the vision he'd had when arranging this meeting between a Beggars' Sect Branch Master and a Chaos Order executive.
Honestly, I wasn't expecting much.
As long as things didn't become awkward, I'd have been satisfied.
If they'd suddenly started throwing punches, I would've stepped in somehow.
Apparently...
His worries had been unnecessary.
The two men already had their arms slung around each other's shoulders.
Despite meeting only today...
They'd started calling each other “Big Brother” and “Little Brother,” praising each other endlessly.
“The more I look at that Wing Suit, the more incredible it is.”
“Haha, isn't it?”
“You should come visit our Order sometime, Branch Master.”
“We have an exceptionally talented mechanic.”
“If the opportunity arises, I'll even demonstrate the Wing Suit for you.”
As an aside...
The “Big Brother” was Kim Changsik.
Jin Sobang had willingly humbled himself simply because of the Wing Suit.
“R-Really?!”
“Of course.”
“Big Brother!”
“Little Brother!”
Kim Changsik didn't seem to dislike it at all.
No matter what...
The beggar couldn't shake his beggar mentality.
And the cultist apparently possessed a perverse hobby of constantly looking down at the tops of other people's heads.
Watching them any longer made Lee Taebaek feel nauseated.
Once the atmosphere had fully warmed...
Their conversation reached its conclusion.
That was when Lee Taebaek finally spoke.
The voices ceased.
Both men turned toward him.
“I think the most important topic still hasn't been discussed.”
Jin Sobang instantly looked as though all his excitement had vanished.
He let out a deep sigh.
“You really don't know how to read the mood.”
“It's better to settle accounts cleanly.”
“…Right.”
“Of course you'd think that.”
Jin Sobang summoned his narrow-eyed subordinate.
Then gave the man who promptly rushed in two orders.
First—
Use the newly acquired intelligence to eradicate every last traitor.
Second—
Transform the former Magno-Strom headquarters into a religious facility as quickly as possible.
“Use the embezzled funds confiscated from the Branch Masters of Districts 32 through 39 to cover the construction costs.”
“At this rate, we'll end up with a palace fit for an emperor.”
“Yes, sir.”
After hurriedly writing everything down...
The narrow-eyed subordinate immediately departed.
Jin Sobang's orders would spread in an instant—
Like branching streams of water.
Reaching even the lowest-ranking beggars.
Those who endured hardship together inevitably became more tightly bonded.
The Beggars' Sect had already been known for its unity.
This incident would only strengthen it further.
Jin Sobang's own standing within the Beggars' Sect would also rise.
Knowing all that...
He accepted Lee Taebaek's request without complaint.
He belonged to the Blue Garment Faction.
His calculations were quick.
“Oh, right.”
Just before leaving...
Lee Taebaek, one hand already on the doorknob, turned around as though he'd nearly forgotten something.
At that very moment...
The telephone began ringing incessantly.
“I'd like to use the Agreement.”
“The Agreement?”
“For what?”
Lee Taebaek opened his mouth.
Thud.
A moment later...
The receiver slipped from Jin Sobang's hand.
The loud ringing echoed across the floor.
“Branch Master.”
“Oh... you're here?”
“Yes.”
“Thanks to that information, we've already captured one-third of them in just three hours.”
“At this rate, everything could be finished as early as the day after tomorrow!”
“Even Elder Seopunggae praised your achievement!”
“He said you might soon earn another knot!”
“I see……”
“Did something happen after I left?”
“No.”
“It'll happen soon.”
“…?”
“You know Imugi?”
“Yes.”
“He wants to see the Secret Manual.”
“He even used the Agreement.”
“T-The B-Beggar K-King—”
“Contact Elder Seopunggae.”
“And tell him……”
Jin Sobang removed his silk robes.
Then draped himself in coarse burlap.
“That Sobang wishes to meet the Beggar King.”
Guanxi was repaid with Guanxi.
It was one of the Central Plains' oldest traditions.
About an hour after returning to the Eunko Bar...
Just as I was about to sleep...
The doorbell rang.
I opened the door.
“Delivery.”
A Resistance member dressed as a courier handed me a palm-sized wooden box.
Having completed his assignment...
He immediately left.
Ah.
Right before departing...
He gave me a brief salute filled with respect.
Looks like word's already spreading throughout the Resistance.
Holding the wooden box...
I sat down on the bed.
I could already guess what was inside.
A Spiritual Medicine.
The last one had also come in a similarly sized wooden box.
However...
The moment I opened the lid...
No light spilled out.
Instead...
A letter lay over the Spiritual Medicine like a blanket.
It was handwritten by the Supreme Commander.
A quick glance told me...
They had eliminated the Squad Leader of the 0th Battalion for betraying the Resistance.
And the Spiritual Medicine originally allocated to him was being given to me instead.
“Traitors are everywhere, no matter where you go.”
Additionally...
They'd added my personal achievement score...
Upgrading the Spiritual Medicine from a Simyeol Pill to a Great Return Pill.
A postscript mentioned it had come from Shaolin Temple.
Apparently...
They'd stolen it.
After setting the letter aside...
I chewed and swallowed the Spiritual Medicine.
The moment the crushed fragments settled into my Dantian...
They erupted violently, as though waiting for this opportunity.
The sensation of my blood boiling surged through me.
I immediately sat in a lotus position.
Ssssssss.
Circulating icy energy throughout my body...
I gradually suppressed the scorching heat.
I'd clenched my fists so tightly that the blood had drained from my fingertips.
Slowly...
Color returned.
Fortuitous encounters truly arrived without warning.
Perhaps that's why they were called fateful encounters.
And Inyeon (因緣)—
Karmic connection—
Referred to relationships.
What best embodied that word...
Wasn't a miraculous Spiritual Medicine like this.
Nor the principles of overwhelming martial arts.
Nor the profound mysteries of the sword.
Its true essence...
Was connection.
Even in this city...
Where neighbors were regarded as little more than piggy banks to rob whenever cash was needed.
No.
Precisely because this was a dystopian world where such thinking was considered normal...
Relationships shone all the brighter.
My Qi Regulation and Meditation continued for two days and two nights.
The Spiritual Medicine settled within my lower abdomen.
And a far more valuable fortuitous encounter...
Seeped into my mind.