Chapter 56
"Alpha, Beta, and the last one is Joker? Aren't there many others like Gamma or Omega?"
"Well, that's true, but we have our own circumstances."
Puhaha.
Hahaha.
The two lightly probed each other and then began to talk about the deal in earnest.
"First, you're accepting my proposal, right?"
-Yes, there's no reason to refuse when we can make money with such a simple task.
Joker smiled, subtly mentioning the power they possessed.
-Ah, for reference, the commission is prepaid.
"How much?"
-Thirty million won.
At that, Lee Shin slightly lowered his voice.
"I feel like I'm being ripped off."
-We will guarantee the quality of the information.
"Hmm... well, alright."
At Joker's words, Lee Shin readily nodded and threw a part of the money he had brought from [Black Money] to them.
Even Lee Shin, who had no experience in handling bundles of money, could see that the total amount of money from robbing [Black Money] easily exceeded one billion won.
So what was thirty million won?
Joker must have made this proposal because he had half-expected Lee Shin's thoughts.
After finishing the clean calculation, Lee Shin asked.
"Now, then, when and how are you going to give me the information? Personally, I'd appreciate it if you guys didn't disappoint me."
-Don't worry about that.
Joker answered and then paused for a moment before speaking again.
-Beta, throw this smartphone to that person.
"Alright."
Beta frowned slightly but threw the smartphone she was holding according to Joker's command.
Lee Shin lightly snatched the smartphone that was flying in a parabola.
-Now, this smartphone contains the information you want. I've written down the locations and simple characteristics of 30 Black Guilds, so you'll be able to use it usefully.
When Lee Shin briefly checked the smartphone, it really contained 30 files.
Lee Shin smiled lightly, thinking that the speed of bringing the information was faster than he had thought.
"You seem to have a wide network."
-I'm pretty good in this field.
At Joker's words, Lee Shin smiled lightly.
"You haven't played any tricks on the files, have you?"
-Ah, you don't have to worry about that. The life of an information merchant is credit and trust.
"Hmm~ well, alright. It's hard to believe, but I guess I should at least try to believe you. But..."
Lee Shin trailed off and slowly raised his momentum.
"It's a world where it's hard to know if a person is really a person, so I'll just give you one simple warning."
He didn't raise his internal energy, nor did he raise it with all his might.
A small amount, not even half.
Tremble-
But that was enough to break the fighting spirit of Alpha and Beta, the two of them, and wrap them up so they couldn't move.
Hwoooong-
Lee Shin looked at the two and said slowly in a cold tone, as if carving a sculpture.
"If you're thinking of playing a prank on me... it would be better to move after having at least that much resolve."
Just an empty warning.
But the weight of words varies depending on who says them.
And at this moment, Lee Shin's one sentence had an absolute weight for those two.
"Got it?"
Lee Shin finished his words in a playful tone and then withdrew the killing intent he had been continuously emitting.
"Heok..."
"Haa..."
Only then did the two realize that they had not even been able to breathe properly and gasped for breath.
Lee Shin, satisfied with that, said to Joker.
"I wonder if my intentions were properly conveyed."
-...Yes, definitely.
Chuckle-
"Then that's good."
Lee Shin, after finishing his conversation with Joker, looked at Alpha and Beta.
"I'm sorry for suddenly emitting killing intent. But I had to give at least this much of a warning, so please understand."
Lee Shin said and was about to end the call with Joker and leave the spot.
But it was faster for Joker to utter a single word than for Lee Shin to end the call.
-Just a moment, I would also like to propose a deal to you.
"Hmm? A deal?"
Lee Shin said in a voice tinged with a light smile.
But Joker, in his impatience, did not notice the subtle difference.
-Judging from the fact that you requested information on Black Guilds, it seems you will be hunting Black Guilds in the future. Is that correct?
At Joker's words, Lee Shin nodded as if it were nothing.
"That's right. I think I'll need information and money."
-Then let's move together for a while.
"Hmm?"
At Joker's words, Lee Shin let out a small exclamation of surprise, and Alpha and Beta were so shocked that it was obvious even through their masks.
But Joker's resolve was firm.
-We can find out where the safes that the Black Guild guys are hiding are, and we can easily extract the information they're trying to hide.
"Then what do you want from me?"
-Military power. Don't you think this will be helpful enough for each other?
Lee Shin paused for a moment and then said, smiling.
"You certainly seem to have the ability, so we can help each other. Then how will we divide it?"
-We will completely share the information, and we will divide the money exactly in half.
Grin-
"Alright. Let's join forces for a while."
Lee Shin nodded, satisfied with the fact that he had gotten a new toy.
"By the way, I haven't heard your name yet. What's your name?"
"My name?"
Lee Shin thought for a moment and then said playfully.
"Call me Smile."
***
Click-
Joker smiled brightly, looking at the returned Alpha and Beta.
"You're here? You must be tired, do you want to eat? Should I buy you something delicious?"
"......"
"......"
"Aha... ahaha..."
But Alpha and Beta's reactions were cold, and Joker, while feeling a cold sweat run down his back, maintained a smiling face, albeit awkwardly.
Tsk-!
At that, Beta clicked her tongue as if for everyone to hear, and Joker, to avoid making eye contact with Beta, looked somewhere far away and found his peace of mind.
"I'll be showering for about an hour and a half, so buy something expensive and delicious and bring it. I want a 500g sirloin steak and bacon cream pasta with extra bread."
"I want fried chicken, sweet and sour chicken, and a combination pizza. As for drinks, cola."
At the silent forgiveness, Joker smiled brightly and spoke like a machine gun.
"Alright! I'll order it for delivery now, and I'll set it up so you can eat it right when you come out..."
"The delivery fee is a waste, so go and buy it yourself."
"...Alright."
At Beta's words, Joker muttered, 'If I can be forgiven for this much, it's cheap,' and went outside.
As the saying goes, if you have something to be pricked about, you have to bend down on your own.
***
Alpha and Beta, who had just finished showering and were still a little wet, changed into light clothes and came out.
Alpha, with her mask off, was a short-haired girl with black hair who looked to be about a high school student, and she had a blank expression with her eyes slightly dazed.
Beta was the opposite of Alpha.
Beta was a long-haired woman with a faint blue light-colored hair who looked a little older than Alpha, and although she had the same expressionless face as Alpha, she had a cold and intellectual atmosphere.
"Ah, you're here? I've laid out the food I bought on the table."
Joker smiled brightly at the two, wiping the sweat from his forehead.
On the table behind Joker, the dishes that Alpha and Beta had talked about were all laid out.
The two sat down without saying anything, and Joker was fidgeting, unable to say anything.
Sigh~
At that, Beta let out a light sigh and picked up her fork.
It was Beta's own signal that her anger had subsided.
"It's true that we decided that the two of us would play the role of the hands and you would play the role of the head. I have no particular complaints about that. Because I know you've worked hard and done well so far. But..."
Nom-
Beta, after putting the pasta she had been twirling into her mouth, looked at Joker and said.
"I think today's incident needs a little explanation."
"I think the same as Beta."
At Alpha's additional blow, Joker scratched his cheek as if embarrassed and said.
"Alright, I was going to explain to you guys anyway, so let's talk while we eat. It won't taste good if it gets cold."
"...Alright."
"...Hmm."
The two looked at Joker suspiciously, but they put the food in their mouths as a sign that they understood.
Nom, nom-
As they were having their meal and the atmosphere had loosened a little, Joker, who had been reading the atmosphere, slowly opened his mouth.
"The reason I made that proposal to the person named Smile... there are various reasons, but there's one big one."
Joker looked at the two with a serious attitude, unlike a moment ago, and asked.
"That person is strong, right?"
"Yeah, it seemed like it would be hard to win even if Beta and I joined forces."
Since Alpha was the one with the most accurate sense of combat among the three, the two just nodded.
"The fact that that person is strong is the reason I suggested we cooperate."
"Why? Of course, I know he's strong, but isn't it enough for us to just deal with the Black Guilds?"
Beta's question was reasonable.
Although Alpha and Beta were LV.2 players, they basically carried out their operations after thoroughly investigating and preparing for their opponents.
At that, Joker smiled a little self-deprecatingly.
"I think the situation is turning urgent in a direction we hadn't expected."
Joker said, placing a tablet on the table.
At that, the two put down their forks for a moment and focused on the video coming from the tablet's screen.
And the more they checked the video, the more their eyes filled with surprise.
Thump-
Joker paused the video at one scene and then opened his mouth again.
"You remember I said that guys who suddenly started hitting Black Guilds appeared about a week ago, right? This is a video I got by predicting their movements."
"...Who is this person in the middle?"
"The decisive reason I thought I should join hands with that person."
Joker said, looking at the person in the video that Beta was pointing at.
A man holding a sword in the center of the video and swinging it nonchalantly.
Looking at him, Alpha muttered.
"...Strong. I don't know for sure because it's a video, but at least to the point where it's meaningless to compare him to us."
"That's right, I could see a clear difference even with my own eyes."
Joker said, looking at the two.
"Guys with power beyond our expectations are popping up in places we hadn't expected, like the guy in this video or the guy named Smile we saw today."
"......"
"......"
At Joker's words, the two couldn't say anything.
"Honestly, that's why I'm worried. That when the opportunity to get revenge on [Dawn] comes, we won't be able to do anything."
The eyes of the two, who had heard the word [Dawn], changed sharply.
No, it wasn't just the two of them.
Joker, who was speaking, also had his teeth clenched as he uttered the word [Dawn].
(End of Chapter)