MRUCM 18

Chapter 18

“Huff… hah… KUHH!”

Muyeonggui Tian was bound on the operating table.

His entire body was in shambles.

Broken ribs were piercing his lungs, and his muscles were torn.

But more terrible than the physical pain was the sickening sensation burrowing into his brain.

Baek Gang-jin watched him with an indifferent expression.

Just moments ago, all kinds of viruses had infiltrated Tian’s brain.

“Now… how does it feel? Must feel like your brain neurons are melting, right?”

Baek Gang-jin pulled over a steel chair and sat down.

*Squeak.*

An unpleasant scraping sound echoed.

“Want to talk now? Who sent you?”

“Ugh… KHAAAAH!”

Tian twisted his body as if having a seizure.

The bound chains pulled taut, making sounds as if they were about to snap.

He tried to endure with mental fortitude.

But it was useless against the viruses Baek Gang-jin had personally created.

The viruses shattered the rational control function of the frontal lobe.

And they were maximizing the fear response in the amygdala.

Tian’s lips, white foam forming at the mouth, twitched uncontrollably.

“Ba, Baekho Guild… Kang Cheol-min!”

It all spilled out.

How he had come to Korea, and what the purpose of the request was.

He vomited up all the information.

“Kang Cheol-min… ordered me to kidnap… the Royal Essence producer… GHHH!”

Baek Gang-jin nodded with a dry gaze.

There was nothing more worth hearing.

“Kang Cheol-min, huh.”

Baek Gang-jin pulled out his smartphone from his pocket.

He immediately typed the name into the search bar.

News articles filled the screen.

Baekho Guild.

One of South Korea’s top 10 guilds.

A corporate-style guild that had amassed astronomical wealth by monopolizing over 30% of the existing elixir distribution market.

The smiling face of CEO Kang Cheol-min, standing at its peak, appeared on the monitor.

*’So my Royal Essence cut off his meal ticket.’*

The motive was more than sufficient.

Secretly killing a competitor or kidnapping them to steal proprietary technology.

It was a common, predictable trick in the Awakener world.

*’How should I handle this?’*

Baek Gang-jin stroked his chin.

Several scenarios passed through his mind.

The easiest method was to casually toss this information to Association President Go Jin-hyeok.

*’That old man would definitely foam at the mouth and go ballistic.’*

The Association President would mobilize all his power to audit Baekho Guild’s taxes.

And pressure them by controlling gate access.

But that was too bland.

Punishment through law and systems.

They’d hit the guild with a business suspension or tens of billions in fines.

But there’s no way a massive cartel like Baekho Guild would completely disintegrate.

Kang Cheol-min would surely hire expensive law firms, execute some tail-cutting, and slip out comfortably.

It would just become a bit more annoying.

Kang Cheol-min’s comfortable daily life would remain peacefully intact.

*’I don’t like that.’*

In times like this, there’s no need to go through proxies or rely on the bounds of the law.

You have to step on them directly and crush their skulls—that’s the only way they won’t try any more tricks.

Of course, if he acted directly, the name and face of “Baek Gang-jin” could surface.

If the identity of the essence producer was exposed, all sorts of shit-flies from around the world might swarm in.

*’Doesn’t matter.’*

He never intended to hide forever in the first place.

Sweeping up trillions in massive wealth—how long could he really stay quiet and hidden anyway?

If the information was going to leak eventually anyway,

it was better to use this opportunity to put on a spectacular and definitive showcase.

*’I need to show them directly what happens when you mess with me.’*

Overwhelming fear.

That was the most perfect shield to protect himself and his niece.

Baek Gang-jin rose from his seat.

Looking down at Tian, he spoke in a cold voice.

“And as for you—it’s better if you disappear from this world.”

Was it thanks to the virus’s influence?

Tian had confessed all his misdeeds.

Not just pillaging, but also many cases of killing innocent people.

Baek Gang-jin wasn’t a champion of justice, but he had no desire to release such garbage back into the world.

A light mana manipulation.

Flames engulfed Tian’s body.

“KHHHAAAH…”

No matter how much he thrashed, the fire once lit wouldn’t go out.

Moreover, the magic Baek Gang-jin had conjured wasn’t simple flame.

It was hellfire that burned using the mana flowing within the body as fuel.

“……”

Perhaps because the mana was abundant?

The scorching heat filled the room with a warm glow.

But only for a moment.

Tian’s body burned to white ash.

All that remained was white powder.

For the reputation of an SSS-Class Awakener, it was a truly pitiful end.

—

*In the heart of Gangnam.*

Baekho Guild’s headquarters building was majestic.

The access control turnstiles were equipped with cutting-edge mana recognition systems and facial recognition cameras.

Without an employee ID or official visitor pass, not even an ant could get through.

*Tap… Tap…*

Baek Gang-jin passed through the revolving doors with his hands in his pockets.

His steps were as leisurely as someone out for a stroll.

Invisible viruses scattered like heat haze around him.

*’Perception Distortion Virus.’*

The viruses, entering through the respiratory tract, forcibly disrupted the brain’s visual and auditory information processing areas.

They caused no physical harm whatsoever, but they manipulated the reality perceived by the brain.

“……”

The burly security guards didn’t even notice Baek Gang-jin passing right before their eyes.

No one stopped him.

Baek Gang-jin stood before the access control turnstile.

And hopped right over it.

“……”

He leisurely crossed the lobby and boarded the VIP-only elevator.

He pressed the button for the top floor—the 60th.

*Wheee.*

The elevator rose smoothly.

*Ding.*

With a soft chime, the doors opened.

A corridor paved with premium marble.

Original paintings by famous artists hung on the walls.

And at the end of the corridor, the office door came into view.

The secretary sitting at the reception desk raised her head.

“……?”

The uninvited guest, Baek Gang-jin, was clearly visible to her eyes.

That was because Baek Gang-jin had deliberately revealed his identity.

“Oh? Who are you? How did you get up here?”

The secretary, unable to hide her fluster, sprang up from her seat and demanded.

She couldn’t understand how a man in a hoodie had breached this ironclad security.

“Did you make an appointment with the CEO? What’s your name?”

The secretary blocked his path and questioned strictly.

But Baek Gang-jin casually ignored her as if listening to a mutt barking.

And immediately turned the office doorknob.

*Click.*

The heavy door swung open.

The office was empty.

Kang Cheol-min was away.

*’Where the hell did that bastard Kang Cheol-min run off to?’*

Baek Gang-jin clicked his tongue and entered.

His eyes fell on the premium Italian natural leather sofa in the center of the room.

Without hesitation, he walked over and flopped down onto it.

The plush cushioning wasn’t half bad.

He pulled out his smartphone from his pocket.

He opened the martial arts webtoon he’d been following lately.

“E-excuse me! What do you think you’re doing!”

The secretary who had followed him in screamed in shock.

“Who are you to barge into the CEO’s office! If you don’t leave right now, I’m calling security immediately!”

Her shrill, high-pitched voice echoed through the spacious office.

But without taking his eyes off the screen, Baek Gang-jin picked at his ear with his pinky.

“Loud. A guest comes and you don’t even offer hospitality? Go brew me a cup of coffee or something.”

“Wh-what…”

This man wasn’t someone you could reason with.

He must be completely insane.

The secretary, face pale, hurried back to her desk and grabbed the emergency intercom.

“Se-security chief! A mad intruder has broken into the CEO’s office on the 60th floor! Please send someone immediately!”

—

*Exactly 5 minutes after the secretary’s urgent call.*

The office door opened and about half a dozen large-built men poured in.

They were C-Class Awakeners on standby at the guild headquarters.

They carried batons and mana-suppression handcuffs.

“Get up right now, can’t you?”

The burly man at the front shouted.

But Baek Gang-jin was still lying on the sofa.

He merely waved his left hand as if shooing away an annoying fly.

“KHACK!”

A vortex of mana.

The security team caught in it spun like tops in midair.

And crashed onto the marble table in the reception area.

*CRASH!*

The thick natural marble table shattered, scattering debris in all directions.

“Wh-what! What just happened…”

“He’s a mage! Spread out and attack now!”

The remaining Awakeners, panicked by their colleagues’ plight, simultaneously raised their mana.

Someone cast a fireball, another hardened their body and charged in.

But their struggles were nothing but meaningless convulsions.

*WHACK!*

*CRACK!*

*SNAP!*

Baek Gang-jin still hadn’t stood up.

With every flick of his finger, highly compressed mana bullets split the air.

The results were brutal and merciless.

“KHHHAAAH!”

“My arm! My arm is broken…!”

The CEO’s office, once boasting premium interiors, had become a bloody scene.

Awakeners lay sprawled on the floor, foaming and groaning.

One had a leg grotesquely bent, another had collapsed ribs and was coughing up blood.

Not a single one of the half-dozen combatants remained standing intact.

“This webtoon’s pretty good. The action scenes have great impact.”

Baek Gang-jin chuckled as he watched the highlight scenes of the webtoon.

The groaning Awakeners at his feet were completely beneath his notice.

The secretary, who had witnessed the brutal spectacle, collapsed to the spot, her legs giving out.

—

*Another 10 minutes passed.*

*Ding.*

The top-floor elevator doors slid open once more.

This time, the person who appeared was no drifter.

Baekho Guild’s Chief Security Officer, Ma Seok-jun.

And behind him, like shadows, four elite strike team members.

All were pure A-Class rated—elite among elites.

In particular, Chief Security Officer Ma Seok-jun was on the verge of S-Class.

He was one of the top five fighters within the guild.

“……”

Ma Seok-jun’s thick brows twisted fiercely upon entering the office.

At the end of his gaze was Baek Gang-jin.

*’Should I call the police?’*

It was the easiest method.

He could also request emergency support from the Awakener Crime Task Force or the Association.

But Ma Seok-jun soon shook his head internally.

That would be nothing short of an act of suicide that would bring down the guild’s reputation.

What is a guild?

It’s an organization where force is power, and strength is money.

If their own headquarters—the CEO’s office no less—got raided and they couldn’t even handle it themselves, that would be utter humiliation.

If news of this spread, the guild’s stock price would halve, and they’d become the industry’s laughingstock.

*’We have to end this within our ranks no matter what.’*

The intruder before his eyes.

There was no way he would leave this place in one piece.

After uncovering who was behind him,

he would pay with his life.

“You’re one gutsy bastard.”

He spoke in a low, gravelly voice like phlegm bubbling.

“Do you know where this is, causing a ruckus? Looks like you’ve got two lives to spare, huh?”

Only then did Baek Gang-jin take his eyes off his smartphone screen.

He let out a wide yawn and slowly rose.

“Can’t even see a trace of the master. But the mutts just keep crawling in one after another.”

Baek Gang-jin spat out in a dry tone.

At those words, a thick vein bulged on Ma Seok-jun’s forehead.

“This bastard really is crazy.”

*Shing.*

Ma Seok-jun drew his twin swords.

Heavy mana blazed blue along the blades.

The A-Class Awakeners lined up behind him also drew their weapons in unison.

“I’ll ask one last time. What organization do you belong to, and who sent you here?”

An intimidating threat dripping with killing intent.

For an ordinary person, the pressure of this overwhelming mana would make their legs give out and they’d piss themselves on the spot.

But Baek Gang-jin let out a snort.

“I have nothing to say to underlings. Get your boss out here.”

“The Guild Master is not someone a piece of trash like you should be mentioning with your mouth.”

“Do you really think so?”

Baek Gang-jin stood up from his seat.

And used magic.

*’Change Gravity.’*

Magic that manipulates gravity.

Ma Seok-jun and the four Awakeners were flattened to the ground.

“GUHHH…”

“KHHHAAAAH!”

If he increased the gravity just a little more, this place could become a splatter movie set.

Fortunately, Baek Gang-jin controlled his power.

He crouched down and spoke to Ma Seok-jun.

“You were running your mouth so confidently. I thought you’d last at least one second.”

“Now then, you weaklings. Where is your master?”