Chapter 556: Episode 20 Age-old Connection
Chapter 556: Chapter 50 Episode 20 Age-old Connection
âAre you Lee Su-bok from the Chamchi syndicate?â
A low voice rumbled. Lee Su-bok strained his eyes. In the ink-like darkness, a figure of a man was barely visible. He missed his timing to respond.
A pointed toe of a shoe buried itself in his side. The kick was without any restraint, devoid of any mercy.
Lee Su-bokâs upper body crouched like a shrimp. The gut-shredding shock made him come to his senses.
âYou bastard. When he asks, you respond right away. Do you get it?â
Nupchi growled like a beast that starved for many days.
âYes. am Lee Su-bok.â
âYou are lying. Are you left-handed or right-handed?â
Lee Su-bok felt ominous. He needed his left hand intact to feed himself.
âYou lied again! I shall discipline you.â
Lee Su-bokâs right pinkie was abruptly thrust toward the back of his hand.
Lee Su-bok, startled, pushed back his pinkie to no avail. He tried all of his might but his pinkie approached the back of his hand bit by bit. He had to fight against his own pinkie! Lee Su-bok was suddenly reminded of a scene from the movie The Omen. In the scene, a young childâs head was thrust toward
Lee Su-bokâs face paled. If an infectious disease specialist saw it, they would have diagnosed him with the terminal seizures of acute tetanus.
âWhat scheme is he plotting? Why is he freaking out on his own?
Dolbbak wondered. The circular light of the flashlight shone upon a man who shivered, holding his own finger. A sound like a dry twig breaking was heard. The finger, surpassing the terminal angle, was broken.
Lee Su-bokâs soulful scream was blocked. The mysterious power that broke his finger blocked his mouth too. Lee Su-bok, who was about to jump up, collapsed again as if hit in the head by an invisible hammer.
His finger betrayed his will and was broken on its own. A tremendous power broke his finger and blocked his mouth. Lee Su-bok was overcome with tremendous fear.
âNupchi, there, there is a ghost here!â
The flashlight was shaken. Dolbbakâs hand was trembling.
âYou wanna die? Stop shaking!â
Nupchi growled right into Dolbbakâs ear. A dry voice devoid of any emotions flowed out of the darkness.
âLee Su-bok. Thatâs the payment for your lies. You are left-handed.â
âTam. I am left-handed.â
âStop trying to fool me. How old are you?â
Fearful, Lee Su-bok confessed his real age.
âWhoa! He lied about his own age! He is indeed a con man.â
Nupchi clucked his tongue.
âHis face looks so old! I believed he was 42. How did Mu Ssang know?â
âBe quiet. He knows everything.â
Dolbbak closed his mouth shut.
âI took only one finger this time. Next time, I will take your teeth. When did you start conning people?â
âL entered an apprenticeship under Chamchi at 22.â
âThat is quite a career. Why did you touch Mr. Kimâs fabric business?â
Lee Su-bok felt dizzy. He could lose a finger. That affair needed to be taken to his grave. If he opened his mouth, he didnât need to worry about his finger. It was his neck that was at peril.
âL simply got a job to make ends meet. I orchestrated a strike to improve the working conditions!â
âThe ring finger of his left hand was fractured without a warning. His left hand, shone by the flashlight, was looking grotesque. A white bone tore through the palm and the tendons and muscles were visible in the torn skin. That wasnât all. A healthy tooth shot out of his mouth.
âThe pain of a healthy tooth being extracted was quite tremendous too. Lee Su-bok covered his mouth with his bleeding hand. The gesture covered his face with blood. The miserable sight made Kim Gi-taekâs face pale. He had led an ordinary life. He had never witnessed a gruesome sight like this.
âYou ignored my warning. The night is young. You still have many fingers and teeth. You also have toes. You also have ribs. You also have a penis.â
âItâs a nightmare!â
Nupchi and Dolbbak shuddered at Mu Ssangâs emotionless voice. He was saying he could extract all the exposed appendages and if that doesnât prove sufficient, he was going to unroot the manâs penis. They themselves had severed fingers with an ax and extracted teeth with tweezers but it was nothing
compared to the nightmare before their eyes.
âPlease make it right!â
Lee Su-bok, with his mouth blocked, couldnât scream and could only shiver. The second time, the pain was tenfold. The fear was tenfold. His head was emptied.
He no longer feared the threat and danger of a loan shark syndicate. He was faced with a demon, not a human. A demon in oneâs backyard was ten times more fearsome than Japanese invaders across the sea. He now only wanted to own up and evade the pain and fear.
âShall I grant you one more chance at owning up?â
Those words were the gospel itself. Lee Su-bok nodded countless times.
âWhy did you target Mr. Kimâs fabric business?â
âOur clients coveted the corduroy fabric produced by Mr. Kimâs factory. It is much more convenient to take an existing factory than to build one from scratch and import machines.â
âList everyone who was involved in the scheme.â
âJang Gi Su paid 5,000,000 won as a deposit. He planned the scheme. Chamchi supplied the manpower. The manpower consisted of low-level nobodies from the Pungguk syndicate. The one in charge of them was Kang Cheol-min from the Pungguk syndicate. Jang Gi Su bribed up the police and the
Ministry of Labor so the operation went smoothly.â
Lee Su-bok was feeling overwhelmed. As a con man, he was quick with thoughts. He was faced with someone who saw through his lies. If he lied once again, his neck was going to be snapped in half.
Kim Gi-taek clenched his fists and shivered.
âWhat was your remuneration?â
âThe deposit of 5,000,000 won was used up as expenses. Chamchi received 10,000,000 won. I got 7,000,000 won.â
âWhat about the ones from Pungguk?â
âThey also got considerable amounts.â
âNupchi, did you hear that?â
âYes. We shall retrieve the illegal compensation from Chamchi. But.
Nupchi didnât finish his sentence. The Sam Shik syndicate colluded with his uncleâs syndicate. Nupchi couldnât decide it on his own.
âI will take care of that.â
âLam sorry. We are not strong enough to touch the Pungguk syndicate.â
âI shall take care of that too. You just keep battering the con artists.â
âMu Ssang tossed Lee Su-bok a sheet of letter paper and a ballpoint pen.
âFrom now on, you will describe the scheme in detail, elucidating what, why, where, when, who, and how. If you lie or skip details, you know what will happen. It is up to you if you will stay on earth or pass onto the afterlife. You have two hours.â
âMu Ssang stood without any regret. His status didnât make it seemly for him to keep conversing with a low-grade con artist. It was also a waste of time.
âNupchi, when he finished writing, let me know. If I deem the content unsatisfactoryâŠâ
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âMu Ssang threw a gaze upon Nupchiâs side.
âI will make sure it is satisfactory!â
âLam counting on you.â
Mu Ssang exited the back garden. Kim Gi-taek followed him.
âDolbbak, staunch his bleeding first. Because of him, my own rib is going to be extracted!â
Nupchi growled in distress behind Mu Ssangâs back.
âHey, he is the vilest of the con men. Will he dig his own grave?â
âDonât worry. Syndicates have their own ways. Lee Su-bok will now be able to remember the number of grains he ate ten years ago. If he doesnât, he will crawl on the ground for the rest of his life or enter his grave early,â Mu Ssang answered indifferently.
He had two faces that were different from each other. He was kindest to the good-hearted people but he didnât consider evil people as proper humans. For them, he was the Angel of Death.
âPhew. I still donât understand what is happening.â
Kim Gi-taek sighed deeply many times. He was an ordinary businessman. He had a lot of grudges but when he witnessed Lee Su-bok being tortured, it affected him. He sensed an oncoming massacre that made his heart tremble.
âA good person like you may be better off not knowing. You will need to endure further disgust at the level of wretchedness some humans can attain.â
âMu Ssang muttered inaudibly.
âMu Ssang, back in his study, opened his wallet and took out all the banknotes.
âLwas graced by your favor eight years ago. I couldnât keep my promise up until now. It is late but I am paying you back.â
âWhat? Donât. I said I am lending you money but that was an excuse. I was just giving you some pocket money. It wasnât a great amount either. My conscience doesnât allow me to receive it.â
Kim Gi-taek tried to wave it away.
âFor a thirsty person, a bowl of water is worth more than gold. When you wander in a desert for a few months, you consider anything else than water and food worthless garbage. You quenched the thirst of a thirsty one. You must pay for the inn fees and clothe your family properly.â
âYeah. I accept your favor.â
Kim Gi-taek, holding the money, flushed. Mu Ssang was feeling content. He could always trust someone who keeps his conscience in times of need. Kim Gi-taek lived up to Sang-hanâs fatherâs words who vouched for him.
âMu Ssang, he has finished writing.â
Quite some time after midnight, Nupchi brought him a 20-page report. Mu Ssang read it and nodded. Lee Su-bok was indeed a clever con man. The report was well written, covering from the preparation to the ongoing circumstances, with clarity and conciseness.
Mu Ssang was slightly startled. On the list of the bribed civil servants, police officers, and prosecutors, there was a familiar name. The chief prosecutor, Kim Dal Su. He was the prosecutor who demanded five years for Mu Ssang according to the investigation report forged by Jang Chi Soo and Mu Ssangâs
âA baby should know his place. When you rot in prison for a few years, you will know how to live in this world.â On the day Mu Ssang was sentenced, he had said such words with a smirk in the prison van. He was also a member of the Jang family.
âHaha. It is said that nemeses are bound to meet. This time, I shall teach you, Kim Dal Su, how to live in this world.
âMu Ssang laughed mischievously. He began this endeavor to help Mr. Kim. But now it was his own business.
âSir, what shall we do with the con man?â
Since he was asking, they hadnât killed him yet. If they did, they would have handled it on their own.
âDo as youâd like. Do the same with the involved ones.â
Nupchi felt grim at such a vague order. Such ambiguous order was the most difficult, from a subordinateâs perspective. It didnât sound as if he trusted them with the task. It sounded like a threat that they shall be held responsible for the outcome.
âShould we sell them a slave to fishing ships? Should we cripple them and sell them to a salt farm?
Nupchis hesitation deepened. Mu Ssangâs indifferent, vague order unwittingly threatened the lives of one con man and 20 thugs.
âMu Ssang got on the CitroĂ©n. A long night was bound to be eventful.
âThank you. Let us go.â
Kim Gi-taek was wanting to leave the gruesome scene. He hurriedly got in the passenger seat. The Citroén, leaving Eungsim-je in the middle of the night, passed a park and headed for the industrial complex.
Kim Gi-taek was feeling anxious. He was worried that they might find the inn. The CitroĂ©n took a turn left at the intersection in front of an elementary school in the direction of a womenâs high school. It pulled over in front of a dilapidated three-story building. The building was simply marked with a
palm-sized sign that said âinnâ without any further distinction.
âLwill bring them out.â
Mu Ssang, who was about to get off, sat back in. There was a situation ongoing that needed him to get off the car, but he deemed it resolvable outside the building. Kim Gi-taek pushed open the sliding door and ran into the building.
âThere are thugs everywhere.â
The location of the hassle was the rightmost comer room on the third floor whose window was open. The threatening voice of a man, the noise of a resisting woman was heard clearly. Without looking, Mu Ssang knew it was a thug who targeted a woman living alone in a cheap inn.
âHe is not worth a 100-won coin.â
âMu Ssang fumbled in his pocket to find a 10-won coin. The worthy 100-won coin retuned inside the pocket. The copper coin, receiving Resonance Wave, glowed incandescently. The coin left Mu Ssangâs hand and swooped into the window.
The common showers are at the end of a third-floor hallway. The man suppressed the woman and was about to defile her. The circular object that had just flown through the window attached itself to the manâs cheek.
âThe man covered his face and screamed. White steam rose from the center of his cheek. The copper coin, controlled by Psychokinesis, buried itself into the manâs cheek. The man, suddenly attacked, struggled to get it off. The womanâs eyes widened at the incomprehensible sight.
â Are you just going to stay there?
The woman, surprised by a voice from nowhere, covered herself and ran out of the showers.
âA thug is not worth 10 won, to be honest.â
âMu Ssang hummed and bit on his cigar. The thug was going to live the rest of his life with the number 10 engraved on his cheek. To erase it, he will need to remove the deeper part of his skin.
Since this day, Novatopia imported a great number of 10-won coins from Korea. The laboring criminals had the number 10 engraved on their left cheek, and the Buddhist tower on their right cheek, which was the image on the other side of the coin. Novatopia was not a corrupt country like Korea..