Neo-Joseon Cyberpunk

Chapter 110: The High Corridor (1)

‘What a complete mess.’

The corridor of Furry Land.

The moment I set foot there, I could tell exactly what kind of situation this massive independent collective was in.

‘They call this a Council…….’

According to the information Little Sister had organized, decision-making authority in Furry Land was heavily concentrated in an institution called the ‘Council.’

It was true that White Bear held absolute power, but that Demi-god seemed to be deliberately trying not to use his strength to its fullest.

‘Totally different from my first impression.’

A legendary existence symbolizing power.

Yet rather than running Furry Land through brute force, he tried to establish ‘order’ so the place could operate independently on its own.

‘It’s not like I don’t get it…….’

Furry Land wasn’t some back-alley gang operation.

It was a communal collective with a clear sense of agency.

And White Bear knew better than anyone that he couldn’t rule this place forever.

Because he wanted Furry Land to endure even without him, he must have deliberately refrained from intervening too actively.

“Execute him immediately!”

“There are witnesses and evidence. There’s nothing more to deliberate!”

That said, the beasts sitting in the council seats right now were nothing but pathetic fools spewing their assigned lines without a thought.

If I had been sitting in White Bear’s seat, I would have chopped their heads off long ago.

‘The man’s patience is unreal.’

In my eyes, I could see White Bear’s almost superhuman restraint.

The way he tried, as much as possible, to follow the laws of civilization rather than the laws of beasts.

‘I’ve got a rough idea of how to untangle this.’

From my perspective, Furry Land was walking a razor-thin line.

A balance between the absolute existence called White Bear and some individual who had gradually seized power while he slept.

‘That beastman.’

The fox beastman named Dima, who had been pouting at me earlier.

The one White Bear had personally appointed as his successor.

“Explain.”

Preparations were complete.

I had grasped the current situation here, and I held the weapon to break it apart in my hands.

Now all I needed was a single, impactful line to deliver the shock.

So I spoke firmly.

“You must beat this White Bear Beastman to death immediately.”

“W-What, what, what did you just say?”

“What kind of obscene nonsense is that!”

“We must add contempt of the Council to his charges……!”

At my words, an uproar broke out.

Only four individuals in the corridor remained calm.

Myself and Tae-oh Barosi.

And White Bear and Dima.

“Beat him to death, you say.”

As White Bear’s heavy voice sank low, the room fell silent all at once.

“You must have a legitimate basis for making such a claim, yes?”

To the Demi-god’s question, I answered without the slightest hesitation.

“Of course.”

“Then speak.”

“……L-Lord Urmus! Are you truly going to listen to the words of such a rogue?”

“Yes! There’s no need to hear him out! Proceed directly to sentencing……!”

Once again, the hall erupted in noise.

Despite the fact that White Bear had clearly said he would listen.

‘Our Demi-god’s authority really is in shambles.’

With that thought,

I spoke without restraint.

The words White Bear desperately wanted to say, yet had only swallowed down.

“You vulgar pieces of trash.”

“……?”

“You’re Council members? Just how rotten to the core are you?”

At my blunt language, the faces of those seated in the council twisted.

But that didn’t matter.

The only expression I needed to care about was the one at the very top.

So I lifted my head and looked up at the Demi-god.

And on White Bear’s face……

“Hmm…….”

There was a faint smile.

“W-What is this…….”

“How dare a lowborn wretch who doesn’t know his place!”

Soon, the council members regained their senses and began hurling insults at me.

‘Simple-minded to the end.’

To be sitting in a political position where running one’s mouth is more important than anything, yet reacting this emotionally.

Another stereotype about beastmen was being firmly reinforced.

‘Now I get why White Bear went to such lengths to create a space just for beastmen.’

A race known to be pure and strong.

Those who relied on instinctive senses rather than mental calculation to solve problems.

Which was exactly why there was no race easier to fleece than beastmen.

In fact, if you looked at the class distribution by race, beastmen were always at the very bottom.

‘And it’s not like they were good at banding together, either.’

With countless subspecies among them, uniting all beastmen as one was nearly impossible.

The one who had miraculously accomplished that impossible task was none other than the Demi-god White Bear.

By building a utopia called ‘Belobog,’ not this commercial facility known as ‘Furry Land.’

So I muttered, as if lamenting,

“How did it end up like this.”

“Hmm……?”

“Just a few decades ago, this place should have been a symbol of unity and a cultural center.”

“What kind of nonsense are you spouting now…….”

“Are you insulting our Furry Land?”

“No. I’m not insulting this place.”

I raised a finger and pointed at the council seats.

“I’m insulting the bastards who made it this way.”

Dima frowned and looked toward White Bear.

“Lord White Bear, how long must we endure such disrespect?”

“…….”

But White Bear said nothing and remained silent.

I took that as tacit approval and continued speaking.

“You may not know this, but originally this place was a peaceful beastmen’s sanctuary called ‘Belobog.’ The purpose behind White Bear founding Belobog was to create a place where beastmen—the most marginalized race in the world—could live without fear.”

“…….”

“But look at what this place has become now. The beautiful plazas have turned into opium dens where drugs are sucked down, and the educational facilities that once housed young beastmen have fallen into cheap lodging houses.”

At my words, White Bear sank into deep thought.

Every single point scratched exactly where it itched.

But anyone could talk.

What mattered was how to solve it.

“I did not come here as a perpetrator.”

“W-What…….”

“I am a ‘witness.’”

The council seats stirred once more.

“A witness…….”

“Y-You’re not in cahoots with that White Tiger Beastman!”

But I continued without caring.

“And what I will testify about has nothing to do with the incident where that rude White Bear Beastman’s arm was torn off.”

“Hm……?”

“What are you talking about!”

“If you’re going to discuss an unrelated incident, remove him at once!”

‘So damn noisy.’

Their patience was worse than that of elementary school kids.

How White Bear had endured carrying things like these all this time.

Was passing through such ascetic suffering a requirement to rise to the rank of a Demi-god?

“I came here to expose the contraband rampant in Furry Land.”

“What……?”

“S-Smuggling……? That’s impossible……!”

I looked up at the council seats and observed their reactions.

Every last one of them reacted as if drawing a fierce line.

‘Naturally. Smuggling is treated as the gravest crime here.’

“I’m hearing this for the first time. Are you certain?”

White Bear, who had been listening in silence, asked me.

“I am certain.”

“Then present your evidence.”

At the Demi-god’s words, I pulled a hologram projector from my pocket and displayed images.

The secret information uncovered by Little Sister, the hacker behind this operation.

“These are all transaction records that took place in Furry Land. In the Pacific Zone, eggs of fantastical deep-sea creatures classified as endangered species were traded. In the Tropical Rainforest Zone, seeds of gigantic carnivorous plants. And in the Desert Zone, a hallucinogenic substance called Crystal Dust.”

An extremely diverse range of items—from flora and fauna to minerals—floated up, accompanied by dates, locations, and images.

At the materials I presented, the council seats, which had been noisy just moments ago, fell into deathly silence.

“Among them, this is what you should pay the most attention to. It’s the most recently smuggled item—and the most dangerous.”

I pulled an item from inside my clothes.

“Director Michya, do you know what this is?”

“……!”

A black pellet compressed into a round shape.

The White Bear Beastman flinched in shock upon seeing it, then immediately feigned ignorance.

“K-Khm. What is that? I don’t know.”

“Really?”

“Yes! I don’t know that item! And in the first place, this seat is meant to pass judgment on the incident where I was attacked by that tiger! Why are you suddenly spouting nonsense!”

“You don’t seem to understand how the situation is unfolding right now.”

“……What?”

“That no longer matters.”

At my reply, the White Bear Beastman rolled his eyes and glanced toward Urmus.

He was wearing an expression more intrigued than ever.

“L-Lord White Bear, please return to deliberating on the original matter……!”

“No.”

“……!”

“Continue.”

At that, I held up the pellet in my hand.

“This pellet is called a Monster Blood Pill. It’s made by condensing monster blood, and it is strictly prohibited worldwide. Yet someone smuggled this into Furry Land ‘today,’ and even went so far as to ingest it on the spot under the pretense of testing it.”

As I began my explanation, the White Bear Beastman’s face grew anxious.

I looked back at Michya and asked again.

“Do you know why this is banned?”

“……How would I know?”

“Because consuming it causes extreme mana exhaustion as a side effect.”

“…….”

“To put it plainly, the moment you swallow this pellet, all the mana flowing through your body disappears. And while the effect lasts, you’re unable to use any magic at all.”

At my words, reactions completely opposite to before began to spread among those seated in the council.

“……Is that true?”

“Something that dangerous was smuggled into our territory……?”

Had they truly not known that Furry Land had its hands in illegal dealings?

Some conscientious beastmen muttered quietly.

‘Ridiculous. Drugs are fine, but pellets aren’t.’

That line of thinking of mine was an outdated mindset that didn’t fit this era.

This was a world where you could buy drugs from vending machines.

“You damn bastards……! What nonsense are you spouting! Even if Monster Blood Pills are in Furry Land, it has nothing to do with me! You idiots!”

Michya shouted toward the council seats in a flustered panic.

Voices of agreement followed.

“T-That’s right! The criminal is muddying the essence of the case and talking about something completely different!”

“If you’re going to accuse him of a crime, bring proper evidence first!”

“Evidence, you say.”

I seized on one of their words.

“Would you believe it if I had it?”

Pajijijik…….

Small sparks crackled from my hand.

“Evidence that this White Bear just consumed a Monster Blood Pill.”

“W-What are you saying right now……!”

“It’s magic! He’s using magic in the sacred corridor!”

“What are you doing! Summon the White-Clad Guard at once—!”

Another uproar broke out.

But.

“Silence!”

Thud……!

White Bear Urmus slammed the armrest of his chair with a clenched fist.

Then he stepped down from his seat and walked straight toward me.

“Withdraw your mana.”

“……Yes.”

At White Bear’s words, I extinguished the sparks.

‘Surely he’s not going to let this slide?’

It wasn’t entirely impossible.

After all, Michya was a White Bear Beastman.

And among the beastmen White Bear cherished most, bears were foremost.

As that anxiety took hold of me,

Urums looked at me and asked.

“Mana exhaustion is the side effect.”

“That is correct.”

I instinctively realized I had to keep this conversation going somehow.

So I looked at White Bear and spoke cautiously.

“If you permit it, I can bestow magic upon him and prove it.”

But the answer that came back was firm.

“No.”

“…….”

“There’s no need.”

The Demi-god in the form of a polar bear raised his massive arm.

“I’ll test it myself.”

Soon, glittering ice began to form in the air.

And with it—

“…….”

The White Bear Beastman’s face began to crumple.