Bad Born Blood Chapter 221

221
The road where Mushir al-Kashra and I fought was reduced to a horrific ruin, reminiscent of a battlefield.

A line of wrecked vehicles was belching smoke and fire, and corpses were strewn about in disarray. It was evidence of a massacre.

I stared in the direction where Kashura’s metal box had disappeared.

‘You walk around with your brain in a metal box?’

Thinking back, it was still absurd. I never expected that Kashura’s body would be a metal box.

“shit…….”

I looked down at Kashura’s empty shell. After all that hardship, I had lost Kashura.

Kkieeeeing!

The tinnitus in my ears was getting louder. My pupils felt like they were going to pop out because of the increased intraocular pressure, and my nasal mucosa burst and bled profusely.

… … The clues to finding Kinuan were cut off. I thought that I should track down Kashura even now.

I shook my head as I thought about it.

‘It’s difficult to continue any further.’

I was too weak to detect the metal box’s departure. If there was an ambush or trap, I would have been caught without being able to react.

Thud, thud.

I walked down the broken road, picking up my thrown coat and pistol.

‘I’ll leave the cleanup to Jafar.’

There may be some useful information to be gleaned from Mushir Al-Kashra’s body, but it would be best to retrieve it.

Straight, straight.

I opened the network and squinted at the noise.

‘Jamming?’

There was a high density of radio interference in the surrounding area. Even when I changed the line, all external communications were blocked.

“What the hell are you talking about again… … .”

I was so angry at this world that kept throwing problems at me.

I pressed my heavy eyelids and gathered up what little concentration I had left. It felt like squeezing dry dirt to collect a single drop of water.

Sssssss.

Armed soldiers appeared at the end of the road. They were approaching me, maneuvering tactically between vehicles. At first glance, there were probably a dozen of them. They seemed to be well trained.

‘I’m really out of the scene now. I feel like I’m going to faint at any moment.’

I just rolled my eyes here and there to figure out the escape route.

“What are you doing! Put the gun down right now!”

A shout was heard from behind the soldiers. It was a rather rough voice.

Cackle, cackle.

A middle-aged man walked out, smoking a cigar. He was dressed in a neat suit and coat from the old days, and his leather shoes were shiny. It was a 20th-century revivalist fashion.

The middle-aged man smoked a cigar vigorously even in the smoke of the wrecked car. He looked at me with his thick face and smiled as if I had met a close friend.

“I apologize to the staff. I am Seokjae Son, the CEO of Sonsoo Industry. What is your name?”

A middle-aged man who identified himself as Son Seok-jae walked briskly toward me. Judging from his gait and his demeanor, he did not appear to be a trained human being. He did not have a prosthetic body, nor did he appear to have received any biological enhancements.

“Don’t worry about him, he’s just a vagrant who happened to be passing by and got into an accident.”

I tried to pass by Son Seok-jae.

“The person who single-handedly took down Mushir al-Kashra could not have been some mere vagrant.”

I squinted my eyes and rubbed my sore neck.

‘They don’t know that I’m weak. They think I’m just tired.’

There was no one here who could tell what was going on with me.

“Were you watching the battle?”

“I couldn’t get a good picture because he was moving so fast, but I did take some pictures. If I release this, there will be chaos. He defeated Mushir Al-Kashra all by himself.”

Son Seok-jae said, sweeping his gray bangs back with his bangs.

“If you don’t want to be caught, destroy the records. If they ever become public, I’ll personally wipe out your company.”

“… … There is no need to be hostile. I want to negotiate with you. I want you to hand over the remains of Mushir al-Kashra to me. I want to secure it legally.”

Son Seok-jae clearly stated his purpose.

I checked the communications network again. The interference was still thick.

‘The armored body of Mushir Al-Kashra is of great research value. If we reverse engineer it, we will be able to obtain a lot of technology.’

It wasn’t strange that they coveted it.

‘But I don’t know anything about Son Seok-jae.’

I was reluctant to even negotiate hastily.

“Turn off the jamming. I’ll talk to my sponsor.”

“I hope it happens as soon as possible. For your own good. Other companies won’t negotiate legally and gently as I do.”

Son Seok-jae looked back and gave a signal. One of the armed personnel touched the jamming device on his back.

I stepped back, keeping my distance from Son Seok-jae. Soon, I heard Jafar’s voice on my communicator.

-Hoyoyoyo! Luca! What’s going on? We have information that Mushir Al-Kashra has appeared. I’m so worried because I can’t contact him…!

Jafar was talking twice as fast as usual.

“What are you worried about? I’ll tell you the details later. First, tell me about Son Seok-jae from Sonsoo Industry.”

-Are you suddenly talking about President Son?

Judging from the way he spoke, it seemed like he knew it well.

“Yeah, that Mr. Son.”

-You will have to come into contact with President Son… … .

“Jafar, stop thinking about the question and answer. I’m really tired right now. I don’t want to play a battle of wits with you, trying to figure out your intentions. If you don’t give me the information, I’ll decide on my own. I might even reconsider our cooperative relationship. I know your weaknesses now.”

If Jafar reveals my existence to the Empire, I will spread the past of Anguis Regina and Jafar throughout Border City.

If you know each other’s weaknesses, you won’t be able to easily touch each other.

– It seems like there’s a misunderstanding between us. Hoyooooo, it’s all a misunderstanding, Luca. I still want to maintain a cooperative relationship with you. I’ll be happy to support you as I am now. I’ll even provide you with information.

Jafar spoke as if he was bowing down to my rough attitude full of emotion. What I just said wasn’t just a joke.

If Jafar had tried to bargain with me even a little bit, I would have let out my full fury and lashed out at him.

‘I feel like my head is going to explode.’

The feeling of irritation was beyond my control. I felt like a mouse was going to fly out of my head.

-CEO Son Seok-jae is the head of Sonsoo Industry. He is an excellent engineer himself, but unlike other engineers, he is good at dark things and quite clever, so you should be careful.

It was unexpected. Judging from his appearance and demeanor, he didn’t look like a technician or engineer. He felt like the boss of an illegal business.

“What about handicrafts?”

-A company that is currently fiercely competing on the front lines for the development of new weapons for the Bellato Federation… … Hoyat? Wait, wait! No way, why didn’t you ask for our support?

Jafar was smart, after all. He seemed to have roughly figured out my situation.

“The situation would have been over before the Equusian mercenaries arrived. And right now, I’m not sure if I can trust you completely. You might attack me when I’m tired. This is what it means to have your trust broken, Jafar.”

– Did you subdue Mushir al-Kashra? Did you capture him? Where is he? I will send you the yen right away.

Japa was also shaken. I responded calmly.

“It’s too late. If what you say is true, President Son will do whatever it takes to get Kashura’s combat uniform. Tell me the terms of the negotiations or any information that will give me an upper hand.”

-You’d better hand over the negotiation rights to me. I’ll talk, no, hoyot, that is, in this language, swearing, ah, damn it!! Idiot! I’ll kill my mother! You’d better not tell President Son that you’re cooperating with me. He has extreme xenophobia. He’s at the level of telling the Empire to go away.

I raised my eyebrows slightly.

‘Hate aliens?’

Although the Bellato Federation is centered around humanity, it is still a multi-ethnic nation.

Well, it wasn’t strange. Just because the national policy was multi-ethnic coexistence, it didn’t mean that individuals had to agree with the ideology. Even the empire, a controlled society, couldn’t do that.

“Okay. I’ll contact you later.”

-Just a minute!

I disconnected the call. Jafar’s pitiful voice faded and disappeared.

“Did you finish talking with your sponsor?”

Son Seok-jae said, blowing cigar smoke out of his nose.

I shrugged my shoulders and wiped my right hand on my pants. Son Seok-jae, who saw my actions, also prepared to shake hands.

Ssuk.

I opened my mouth and stretched out my right hand.

“My sponsor is Jafar of Jafar Company. I intend to negotiate with you, filtering out Jafar, depending on your conditions. Jafar and I are equals, so you don’t have to worry about the conflict.”

When Japha’s name was mentioned, Son Seok-jae frowned slightly, but then smiled after hearing the rest of the story.

“I wondered who would have such a talented person like you, and it was Jafar. He’s one of the better guys among the trash-like Tajirun. And his burgers are delicious, too.”

Congratulations, Jafar. I hear you’re a good friend to the xenophobes.

It seemed that Jafar had an unusually good reputation among the Tajirun.

“Japa makes good burgers.”

“But even so, they are aliens. They do not understand the human mind. For now, we don’t have much time, so first, you have to sign the paperwork regarding the transport of the remains of Mushir al-Kashra.”

I quickly read through the electronic document. It was a sham contract, executed in an informal manner.

‘Son Seok-jae is obsessed with legal procedures.’

It seemed like he had been dealt a huge blow when he tried to do things the old-fashioned way. If you are going to be in charge of a federal weapons program, there has to be no illegal element in even the smallest detail.

‘I’m tired.’

The accident did not proceed smoothly.

“Get the vehicle ready to move. Your company will discuss the rest. Oh, and you will also ride in the same vehicle as me. Sit across from me.”

“I like how meticulous you are in everything you do. I wish my employees would learn from you, Mr. Luca.”

Son Seok-jae called my name after seeing the signature on the document.

“And there should be two fire-light series weapons made of ignium nearby. If you can retrieve them, get them.”

Son Seok-jae gave instructions to his subordinates and then called the air vehicle that was on standby.

Sssss.

Son Seok-jae climbed onto the air vehicle, exhaling cigar smoke. I followed him.

OMG.

The door of the air vehicle closed. I put out Son Seok-jae’s cigar by rubbing it with my fingertips.

“And I’m a non-smoker.”

“Oh, oh, sorry. Do you drink alcohol?”

Son Seok-jae didn’t show any sign of being offended. He licked his lips cheerfully and took out a bottle of alcohol.

“No alcohol. The same goes for everything else. I’m not thirsty enough to drink what you’re offering. How long until we get there?”

I was already at my limit. I didn’t think I could even close my eyes. If I even slightly closed my eyes, my consciousness would evaporate. I was barely able to suppress the nosebleed that was about to burst.

“It will take about twenty minutes.”

“I’m going to close my eyes for a bit.”

Son Seok-jae spread out both his hands and showed them.

“I won’t do anything foolish either.”

I put my hand inside my coat and put my finger on the trigger. I just closed my eyes.

‘Twenty minutes.’

I was thinking of just sleeping for twenty minutes. Even a short rest would dramatically improve my condition.

I wonder if I can wake up in twenty minutes, but I didn’t learn sleep control techniques in the guards for show.

My consciousness immediately disappeared. At this point, I wasn’t asleep, I was just unconscious.

“……seed?”

I opened my eyes when I heard a voice and felt someone put a hand on my shoulder.

Whirl!

A fierce battle reflex guided my body. I twisted the opponent’s arm and placed the gun on his temple. Soon, I was on the verge of pulling the trigger.

“Oh, oh, oh, oh! It’s me! You still haven’t gotten up in thirty minutes… … .”

Seokjae Son, who was subdued by me, screamed.

“Thirty minutes?”

I blinked. My head felt clear, even though I had only slept for twenty minutes.

“I have arrived at my factory. The remains of Mushir Al-Kashra will arrive soon. Then you can proceed with the remaining contracts.”

I also immediately finished assessing the situation. Everything Son Seok-jae said was true.

I didn’t learn sleep control techniques just for show.

‘Sleep control failed.’

That could be because I was that tired. But I had an ominous feeling.

‘Decreased brain function.’

If this is temporary, that would be great. But even if it isn’t, I hope it lasts at least until we find Kinuan, or rather Giselle.

Beep, beep, beep.

I checked the connected terminal. Jafar was constantly sending me messages like an obsessed lover.

OMG.

As soon as the sky car opened, a secretary in a suit approached. He was a cold-looking young man.

“Sir, I’m receiving a call from Japa Corporation. It’s urgent… … .”

“The boss said he’s not coming to work today.”

The secretary whispered something in his ear for a moment and then spoke to Son Seok-jae again.

“It’s a weekday, so how can you not go to work?”

“Then let’s say our company has a three-day workweek! It’s a different level of welfare from those worthless alien companies, dammit.”

As soon as Son Seok-jae got off the aerial vehicle, he put a cigar in his mouth and hurriedly lit it.

Smoke billowed out. Son Seok-jae looked quite happy while smoking. It seemed like he had endured it for a long time because of me.

“Welcome to the Handicraft Industry.”

Son Seok-jae, who had gone ahead, looked back at me and bowed his head.