Chapter 138 : Business Expansion (5)
The boss of the Cherrypickers was a man with an intellectual and cool-headed impression. He was young, with fair skin and round glasses. He had the feel of a young entrepreneur rather than the boss of a gang that had built a prominent position in one district. According to Sylvester’s information, he was actually an elite who had completed a proper education curriculum.
That must have been why he could come up with the idea of peaceful cooperation without bloodshed between gangs, competing for one market. He was quick-witted.
“What, what kind of monstrous bastard…”
But was he drunk on success? His response was extremely slow and irrational.
“Is it that surprising?”
I answered calmly and crossed the hall head-on. The Cherrypickers’ base. Of the members who had filled the magnificent warehouse, the only one left was the boss in front of me.
“It was innovative for an ignorant gang to build a loose cooperative system by handing over crumbs to each gang. Let’s not fight and make money. It’s easy to understand and rational.”
Corpses lined both sides of the path I walked. The sweep of the Cherrypickers was not a difficult task. It took less than an hour for one organization to be annihilated.
The boss of the Cherrypickers stared at me with a face full of fear.
“The reason other guys haven’t done that so far is simple. They’re not saints, so why would they bother sharing what they can have all to themselves?”
In this world, there are monsters that have surpassed human limits. Just as an ant swarm is trampled by a beast no matter how many of them there are, a human wave tactic was nothing more than the desperate struggle of a disorganized mob.
In that sense, my decision to take on the Cherrypickers with the Drexier Mercenary Corps was a perfect placement.
“Your method is just a second-best option to make up for your lack of charisma. It’s a half-baked structure that will collapse as soon as a real skilled person appears.”
While reviewing the operation, the thing I had put my heart and soul into was how to gather the executives of the Cherrypickers in one place. How to beat them, the matter of victory or defeat, was out of the question from the beginning.
“You, you! Do you think you’ll be safe after causing such a mess in District 17? Not only the Cherrypickers, but also the Balban Mercenary Corps, the loss caused by our collapse will be charged to you!”
I pushed the muzzle of my gun against his bloodshot eyes.
“The reason your half-baked structure could be maintained was because of the peculiarity of District 17. But you know, right? The board has changed.”
District 17 is uniting under one flag. The symbiotic relationship of the guys who were entangled in a web-like stake structure had lost its meaning.
“The bill for your downfall will not come back.”
“W-wait!”
He shouted urgently.
“You! I was wondering where monsters like you guys came from, but it was them! Damn it, I thought it would be my turn soon, but I was too careless.”
“……?”
“It’s a surrender. I’ll go under you. I know how great you guys are now. Let me keep my position. Then I promise to cooperate obediently.”
As soon as he said that, he reversed his attitude, relaxed his tension, and sat down. It seemed he was confident that I would not harm him just because he had surrendered.
It was strange. A bloody dispute between gangs does not have a peaceful ending where all grudges are buried with a single surrender. Surrender was a final plea to be killed comfortably. I know that there are guys who are even more cruel, just for fun or because they lack spirit…
It was a strange reaction to believe that he would naturally be spared because he had surrendered.
“But why did you make such a big deal? This kind of armed conflict is not the way you guys prefer. I would have understood if you had just said it. I did resist a bit, but that was just to raise my ransom…”
“You seem to be mistaken.”
I readjusted the sights on him.
“I know who you’re talking about, but we have no connection with them.”
“Huh, huh?”
The guys he was talking about were probably the ones who were currently unifying District 17. They had been making strange moves, such as preserving the existing organizational structure and executives while expanding their power. He must have thought he could save his life just by surrendering.
“But we have a lot of questions about those guys.”
The process of expanding the business in District 17, a battle with those guys was inevitable.
“If you give me a satisfactory answer, I’ll let you live.”
He nodded his head like a madman.
***
I came out of the warehouse. The sun was already setting beyond the horizon. The interrogation had taken longer than expected.
As I turned on the earpiece, a voice came through immediately.
[What happened?]
“Mission complete. There will be no external support from the Cherrypickers.”
[It took longer than expected. The Cherrypickers’ strength shouldn’t have been that much.]
“I interrogated the enemy of District 17 a bit. I found out some things.”
[Really?]
Milina’s voice was slightly excited. I sat on the hood of a dented sedan and continued.
“They say their organization’s name is ‘Guardians of the Dawn’, have you heard of it?”
[No, it’s the first time I’ve heard of it. I’ll let the intelligence department know and have them check.]
“They started expanding their power in earnest in District 17 half a year ago, and since they seem to be an external force, they must have entered before that.”
[That’s not particularly special information.]
“Although they are an external force, it’s not that they are a force from outside District 17.”
Further out than that.
“They are guys from outside this city.”
An external city.
[That… is surprising. Just looking at their resourcefulness so far, they are not a disorganized mob, but for such an organization to leave their hometown and settle in this city as a group.]
After the danger of the border between the cities had increased, private exchanges between the cities had practically stopped. To cross the border, one had to take a considerable risk.
Of course, immigration on an individual basis was still rampant. This was because, on an individual basis, there were circumstances that made them choose to immigrate even if it meant taking such a risk, such as crime, debt, or espionage.
On the contrary, it was rare for an organization to do so. If they were active in District 17, they were already a well-established force. To abandon their home and cross over to another city was a crazy challenge that could not be described as a gamble.
“They did that crazy thing because they are crazy.”
[Yes?]
“They say their purpose is proselytizing.”
[Proselytizing…?]
“They say the Guardians of the Dawn is a cult.”
Cromwell’s guess was right. The fact that they had absorbed an organization and had been able to keep the existing executives without any trouble.
‘They must have brainwashed them. It’s a common thing in cults.’
However, brainwashing is not a simple task. It requires a long period of preliminary work. Six months? It was a short time to explain the phenomenon where the rest of the organizations were silent and obediently cooperating, even if the first organization the Guardians of the Dawn had devoured was different.
‘They must have given them that much of a benefit.’
And I had a rough idea of what that was. Guardians of the Dawn. I had heard this name before. Whether these guys were the same organization as the ones I knew… was something I would have to find out in the future.
“For now, this is roughly what I found out from the interrogation. It’s your job to dig deeper based on this.”
[Yes, just finding the clue that they are a cult from outside the city is a big harvest. Now that we have a direction, there won’t be any more missteps like before.]
Although not as much as the pan-continental organization, the Brotherhood, megacorps also have influence in external cities. The reason they hadn’t known about the Guardians of the Dawn until now was not because they lacked the capability, but because their direction was wrong.
[Although we have swept the Cherrypickers, the operation is not over yet. There are still remnants.]
“The purpose was to first destroy the Cherrypickers’ base and then make the rest fall apart.”
[Yes, dealing with the remnants will not be difficult. Since the central point has disappeared, picking them off one by one will work well.]
“How is the Balban Mercenary Corps doing?”
[The operation is still in progress. They are not as fast as your side, Allen, but it is going smoothly.]
“Watch them carefully so they don’t cause any accidents.”
[For now, we are managing them so that they don’t act out of line under orders.]
Now that I knew that the Guardians of the Dawn were not just a gang, but a cult from an external city, it was something to refrain from a hasty clash. The decisive battle could be decided after digging into them thoroughly.
“It won’t take long for the Balban Mercenary Corps to be sorted out, right?”
[The judgment is that it will end around the same time as the cleanup of the Cherrypicker remnants. It’s not that the Cherrypicker remnants are as strong as the Balban Mercenary Corps, it’s just that the physical time it will take to chase and exterminate them will be that long.]
“Will there be a problem if I pull out of that work?”
[That won’t be a problem, but… are you planning to pull out?]
“If you’ll allow me.”
[The reason is….]
“It’s a personal matter. I’ll be back soon.”
[……I understand. I will contact you before the next operation, so please make sure to carry your communication device with you.]
“Okay, and send me the map data for District 17.”
A few days of free time that I had earned by finishing the mission quickly. I had no intention of wasting it on repetitive labor like chasing remnants. I scanned the map that Milina had sent me and narrowed down the candidates.
‘It must be one of these.’
It was a candidate for the factory I had escaped from.
***
The main gate of the factory was blocked by a barricade, and a supervisor was on guard in a guard post. Although factories are uniform in structure and appearance, they are not all the same. And this place was the space in my memory that I had forgotten. It was the very factory that I had escaped from after waking up as a worker named Allen.
“Stop, who, who are you?”
A supervisor in a stained work uniform came out, chewing on beef jerky. Was he a new recruit? He was not a face I knew. But even if the person was different, was it that people with similar temperaments were hired?
Sleepiness was stuck to his eyes, and the hem of his clothes was stained black with unwashed blood.
“What’s the matter?”
As I stood there silently, another supervisor came out from the opposite guard post.
“Hey, did you hear anything from the factory manager?”
“No, I personally asked and confirmed that there was no schedule today.”
“Are you mistaken?”
“You can tell he’s a high-ranking person just by looking at him. An attendant would have brought him, so how could he be mistaken?”
“Hmm.”
“Is the factory manager inside?”
I asked around that time.
“Yes, he should be in his office.”
The supervisors answered obediently, as they had mistaken me for a great person.
“But who are you really?”
I didn’t answer and walked away. As I pushed aside the barricade and entered confidently, the supervisors couldn’t stop me and just awkwardly scratched the back of their heads.
「The World Tree looks around, immersed in a special emotion.」
Me too. I had gone through all sorts of hardships to escape this place. But when I came back, the supervisor didn’t even ask for my identity or business and just let me pass. It was just that kind of neighborhood.
According to Sylvester’s investigation, it was a factory that made a living by supplying parts, and the organization that was backing it was not that great. It was so pushed back in priority that the Guardians of the Dawn hadn’t even tried to recruit them yet.
Even though it was a place I had forgotten, my footsteps moved naturally. As I opened the door of the workshop and entered, a blast of hot air rushed in. Was it in the middle of work? The sound of screams, shouts, and machinery hit my eardrums.
“Huh? Who are you?”
A supervisor holding a whip approached and asked. Perhaps because it was a place where violence and curses were rampant, his tone was much more threatening than the supervisor at the main gate.
“You don’t look like a new guy… well, whatever. Stop slacking off and go to work!”
At the sound of the whip hitting the floor, the workers flinched and quickly moved their fingers.
‘Revenge.’
As I watched the supervisor’s tyranny again in front of my eyes, I felt a forgotten anger boiling up.
‘It’s not that big of a deal.’
A request was in progress with the entire District 17 as the background. Even if it wasn’t a faded grudge, causing a commotion here was not an appropriate action. So, I had no intention of making a big deal out of it.
Instead.
“Are your earholes blocked?! Move quickly… keoheok!”
A little bit of letting off steam would be fine.
(End of Chapter)