I wonder what Hwang Jiho has to say?
After he just said that his ability was not absolute, I hurriedly stopped him from talking.
“Wait a second.”
“What is it?”
“Are you going to reveal your weakness or something?”
“Well… Yes, you can call it a weakness.”
Hwang Jiho isn’t making any sense right now.
A flight attendant passed by our seats to hand out some tea.
“The truly good Daehongpo tastes good even after having it nine times. It is a tea leaf that deserves red silk clothes from the emperor of the Ming Dynasty.”
Hwang Jiho praised the tea with a monotonous voice.
He doesn’t seem to be completely out of his mind seeing that he didn’t let anyone eavesdrop on what we were talking about, but he didn’t seem to be in his right mind anyway.
Is this old man becoming senile?
‘I think it’s better not to know what he’s about to say.’
Wouldn’t it be really bad if I fell into the hands of the bad people and revealed Hwang Jiho’s weakness?
That’s what’s on my mind, but my heart tells me otherwise.
‘Considering Hwang Jiho’s history in the game, the Black Screen will eventually figure out how to catch Hwang Jiho anyway.’
In the game, Hwang Jiho lost a lot of things.
In that situation, Hwang Jiho, who would’ve acted more thoroughly than now, disappeared.
It’s safe to assume that the Black Screen already knows how to get rid of Hwang Jiho.
‘If I listen carefully, I might figure out something like ‘how to kill Hwang Jiho’
Hwang Jiho went silent for a while as if thinking of something.
After a few moments, he looked at me and said something.
“Alright. Let’s compare my “wish” to a game of chess.”
“Chess?”
Hwang Jiho formed a golden chess board shape using his energy wave.
He pointed to the empty chess board.
“Let’s say this chessboard is the Korean Peninsula. A place where the grace of Heaven touches. On the other hand, let’s say this King is my true self. If you think about it like that, it’s like my spirit and soul that moves the chess piece and determines the next moves.”
Hwang Jiho touched the golden King chess piece on the board.
The chessboard and chess pieces formed by Hwang Jiho’s magic seemed to be real products made of gold.
“And, thanks to the Heavens fulfilling my wish, I can increase my chess pieces and alter ego as much as I want on the chessboard.”
Jiho snapped his finger and more chess pieces appeared all over the chess board.
Pawns, knights, bishops, rooks, queens… there seemed to be no regularity between the new chess pieces.
There were two queens, four rooks, three bishops, six knights, and a single pawn.
It completely disregarded the standard rules of chess.
“Just as these other chess pieces do not play the same role as the King, so does my alter ego. My alter ego does not have the same level of presence as my true self, and it also can’t use light skills.”
“But isn’t it possible for it to use other skills, or fight bare-handed?”
“Of course. If my mental powers allow it.”
Even if the alter egos couldn’t use light skills as he said, I thought they would be strong enough.
“In addition, it’s possible to move several alter egos at the same time. Increasing and decreasing the number of alter egos too.”
Hwang Jiho gestured at the chess board again, and the chess pieces increased and started moving simultaneously.
Not only that, but the knight turned into a bishop, the rook turned to a queen, and a queen turned into a pawn.
The golden chess pieces, just like Hwang Jiho the fraudster, showed random movements that showed no regularity.
However, there was one piece that didn’t change.
The first actualized chess piece, the one that Jiho likened to his true self.
The King.
The King hasn’t moved a single square since it first appeared on the chess board.
I pointed at the King and asked him something.
“So the King is your true self, and the rest of the pieces are your other selves?”
“You can put it that way too, but you got one thing wrong. Because I can exist anywhere.”
What does that mean?
When he saw my face show confusion, Hwang Jiho pointed his fingers back at the chess board.
Fwaa!
A light surrounded the chess board which made it look as if it was shining.
But something more shocking happened.
The chess pieces on the chessboard glitched and began to change into King pieces at once.
‘Don’t tell me…’
There’s always only one King on a chess board, but all the chess pieces turned into Kings.
I could predict what Hwang Jiho was trying to express.
“Don’t tell me… The alter egos on the Korean Peninsula can turn into your true self anytime?”
“Correct. That’s what it means when I say this body can ‘exist anywhere’. It doesn’t just mean that I can increase the number of my alter egos.”
It seems like my prediction was right.
Hwang Jiho was more fraudulent than I assumed.
“So you’re a complete sorcerer then.”
“Hahaha! No matter how many chess pieces there are on the chessboard, not one piece can replace the King’s authority.”
Hwang Jiho clutched the King in his hand and continued speaking.
“It’s impossible to move the other pieces if the King itself is not on the chessboard. There’s also a limit to the alter egos if the King is away. Moving the alter egos while the true self is outside the Korean Peninsula is quite tricky. In other words… it’s like I need to create a separate hand with energy wave to be able to move the other pieces on the board.”
I can’t exactly comprehend how complicated it seemed, but it’s certain that there were considerable restrictions on moving the alter egos left by Hwang Jiho on the Korean Peninsula.”
“The ability to think, the precision of skills, and the ability to concentrate are greatly reduced. That’s why I took care of everything important before hopping on this overseas trip.”
In other words, Hwang Jiho is close to being omnipotent as long as his feet are on the Korean Peninsula.
In the game, although the Red Tiger died, I think Jiho would’ve stayed in Korea still.
Then how in the world did the Black Screen catch Hwang Jiho?
“Oh, looks like we’ve just entered the Korean Peninsula. Shall I try moving on to my alter ego?”
As expected of this guy.
Contrary to what I expected, the way to kill Hwang Jiho became even more of a mystery now.
* * *
After we arrived in Korea.
Seodol was the first one to get up from his seat.
“Looks like you guys have lots to do, so I’ll be leaving first. Ah, but Jo Euishin, if you want to receive my order, then I can stay behind for a few more…”
“Get lost.”
After leaving somewhat of a greeting, Seodol disappeared away.
Mok Wooram was transferred to an ambulance with the logo of the Hwangmyeong Foundation.
As Hong Gyubin watched him be taken away, he sighed helplessly.
“Sigh… Alright, looks like this is how I’m going to go back to the association. We have lots of paperwork to accomplish, and we have more things to look into.”
Unlike when he was beside Jegal, Hong Gyubin’s face looked lifeless.
Just like the Class Zero seniors, Hong Gyubin planned to tag along in the newspaper department’s coverage trip.
Looks like that plan’s impossible to do now.
‘…Was it too much to ask him to throw away his vacation?’
Should I try making Jegal appease Hong Gyubin in some way?
No, I don’t want to bother my other playable character.
I’m sure he’s just as busy as Hong Gyubin.
Then how can I appease Hong Gyubin without bothering Jegal?
Fortunately, I’m going to get some time to organize my thoughts some more.
“Wait a second, Hong Gyubin.”
Hwang Jiho, who was checking his device, caught Hong Gyubin.
Ah…
Does this guy have no intention of hiding his identity from Hong Gyubin?
Hwang Jiho, a 17-year-old kid, spoke informally to Hong Gyubin.
Hong Gyubin stared at Hwang Jiho in disbelief, visibly shocked.
“You’re….!”
Hong Gyubin seemed to have recognized Hwang Jiho’s true identity.
Given the fact that Hwang Jiho and Hong Gyubin have interacted a few times in the past, it wouldn’t have been that difficult to recognize him.
“The service company hired by Namgung Group is threatening the students from Eungwang High.”
The gangsters that Saeum mentioned were from the Namgung group?
I didn’t expect to encounter one of the four major groups like this.
‘Why is he saying this to Hong Gyubin?’
The Player’s Association isn’t involved yet.
Wouldn’t it be smoother and more accurate to handle this situation within Hwangmyeong Group’s power?
While I doubted Jiho’s decision in my mind, the two continued talking.
Hong Gyubin replied to Hwang Jiho with a nervous face.
“Did you say Namgung Group?”
“Yeah.”
With the same flustered look, Hong Gyubin spoke again in a heavy voice.
“I’ll look into it.”
“Alight. I’ll take care of Mok Wooram from here. You put that one as your priority.”
“…Understood. I’ll be going first.”
After Hong Gyubin bowed his head, he started walking away really fast.
“You’d better hurry.”
Before I could ask about what the heck just happened, Jiho narrowed his forehead and said something.
“We’re not the only ones moving.”
* * *
There’s no perfect system, nor a perfect government, anywhere in this world.
Although a relatively clean and proper government could exist, it’s not absolute.
The Gwangil Police Station in Gwangil-dong, located just near the Eungwang Light Nursery, was a perfect example.
At the moment, police officers from the Gwangil Police Station were either asleep on their desks or lazing around on the sofa with their legs up.
Some of the officers didn’t even go to work, yet this behavior goes unchecked and unpunished in their personnel evaluations.
There were occasional messages from their radios, but not one officer in there responded with a sense of urgency.
The Gwangil Police Station was kind of like a beehive guarded by so-called high-ranking personnel who were all friends with each other and therefore tolerate the kind of lazy behavior they all exhibit.
“Alright, alright. Aigoo, I took care of it just as the department head told me to. You don’t have to worry.”
The one who just spoke was Police Superintendent Kim.
They received a response code “Code 1” from General Control Room 112 yesterday.
Code 1 is next in order of priority response to Code 0.
This code refers to the need for immediate dispatch necessary for the protection of human life and property from crime.
However, the officers at the police station who received the Code 1 alert replied to the radio with “we’re going to go!” but never did.
They lied to the operator and chose to stay at the police station.
Around 4 hours after receiving the alert, all they did was pass by the reported area in their patrol car and took a small walk.
“General! Where are we going to have our company dinner tonight?”
“The Department Head will lend us a room.”
Giggles and applause were heard from the bunch of police officers.
The newly assigned officer looked dazed as he didn’t know what kind of “room” his coworkers were referring to.
The senior officer beside him whispered in his ear to let him know.
The face of the new officer turned pale after realizing what “room” it was.
As the conversation grew vulgar, he asked about something else.
“…Is it really okay? Didn’t the General Control Room radioed you some instructions yesterday?”
“Why would I even bother? That thing’s over so don’t worry about it.”
“But if one of the students who reported the case files a complaint…”
“We’ve been through this kind of situation once or twice before. Filing a complaint won’t even cross their minds cos they’ll soon go crazy about it anyway.”
“Eh? What do you mean go crazy…”
‘Did they do something bad to those students?’
Such thoughts were running through the new officer’s mind.
However, he had no courage to say those words out loud.
He had no choice but to stay silent and eventually be okay with it.
And then…
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Clutter!
Tha main glass door of the Gwangil Police Station was smashed with a loud noise.
Police officers lying on the sofa near the door covered their faces from the shattered glass with some newspapers.
“Ahkk!”
“W-what the hell!”
It was a nail-studded baseball bat that shattered the glass.
Those gathered near the door had their mouths wide open from shock when they saw the bat.
“Look at these effing babies who had no balls to respond to an emergency. Look at all of you trembling with your tails between your legs!”
When the officers looked toward the parking lot, they saw their patrol car smashed and crumpled like a mere useless scrap of metal.
The girl who wielded the nail-studded baseball bat came to the police station.
Even though she wasn’t that big of a person, her aura felt huge.
It’s convenient that she covered her face meticulously.
“I think the guy who was messing around in my area yesterday is involved with you guys. You’re all the rust that stains this country. How do you stomach living like this? I’m giving you all five seconds. You better show yourself in the count of five. 5, 4….”
The girl continued to countdown with a murky mechanical sound.
