Bad Born Blood Chapter 243

243
Ishmael gave me freedom. The word “granted” may sound harsh, but there’s nothing I can do about it.

‘I think Ishmael is my superior now.’

Ishmael was supporting me from the top levels of the Federation.

‘More than anything, Ishmael is a man who can take risks. If he is a conservative, there is no room for negotiation or deal-making.’

It was pure luck that I came into contact with an enterprising bureaucrat. My gamble paid off.

I remembered Ishmael’s words.

‘Mr. Luca, your asylum application will be processed within three days. Do not leave Border City, and no matter what happens, you must contact me unconditionally. I will have to prove to my superiors that you are under my control.’

That’s right. I have to wear the leash that Ishmael gave me. It’s important to wear the leash as loosely as possible, but I can’t refuse the leash itself.

‘I feel stuffy around my neck for no reason. It must be psychological.’

I unbuttoned the top button of my shirt with one hand and stroked the back of my neck.

Border City has returned to normal. The Legion and the MAU’s racing and fighting has quieted down as if it were just a commotion. This may also be due to the Federation’s information control.

I headed to the hospital where Jafar and Lapis were admitted. Since it was a hospital used by the upper class, there were armed guards walking around.

‘And the Equusian mercenaries.’

Familiar Equsians were wandering around the inside and outside of the hospital. They were mercenaries under the direct command of Sergeant Japha. They recognized me and nodded slightly.

‘We fought together in the past, so the hostility has subsided a lot.’

I felt that Equusian’s gaze had become gentler than before.

After completing the identity verification, I entered the hospital. I walked through the pure white hallway and stopped by Lapis’s hospital room for a moment.

Beep, beep.

There was an intermittent beep. Lapis was still breathing, leaning against the life support machine.

‘I will find the culprit.’

Another one of my goals is to make whoever is the culprit suffer terribly.

Lapis is one of the few consciences I’ve met in Border City.

‘This is the absurdity of the world. The villains walk around brazenly, and the good have to face misfortune.’

If the world were just, this wouldn’t happen. But reality isn’t ideal, and we rationalize our cynical views with the excuse of being realistic.

I too am that kind of person. A cynical, bankrupt person.

Thud, thud.

After leaving Lapis’s hospital room, I walked to Jafar’s hospital room.

Profit, profit.

A louder respiratory sound was heard than before.

Jafar was submerged in the incubator, with only his head sticking out. A blue liquid was circulating beyond the incubator’s thin glass window.

‘Full body regeneration treatment. What a brilliant treatment.’

When I saw Jafar, I thought of En, who had been beaten by Legion. En must be receiving treatment somewhere in this hospital. Considering the durability of the Equusian’s body, he probably isn’t dead.

Gulp.

I raised my eyebrows slightly.

One of the various medicine packets hanging on Jafar’s bedside was empty. The medicine had entered Jafar’s body.

“Kaaaak, ugh, kekeke!”

Jafar woke up with a loud noise. The drugs that entered his body seemed to be painkillers and stimulants.

“Did you set it up so that it would wake you up when I come?”

It was quite a powerful mentality. It must have been an order given when he regained consciousness from time to time.

“Ah, for a moment, my consciousness is confused, hohoho, hohoho.”

Jafar took a deep breath. The respirator that had been hanging from his mouth automatically lowered to his chin.

I sat in my chair and waited for Japha to come back to reality. Japha’s unsteady pupils dilated and shrank repeatedly.

“Shh, shh… … .”

Japha, who had taken a deep breath, stared at me.

“This was an attack aimed at me.”

“Hoyot, I don’t blame you.”

Jafar said with a much more relaxed expression. I shrugged.

“Of course I don’t feel sorry towards you. You hired me even though you knew the Empire was after me. It was something you had to endure someday.”

“But I didn’t know you would be so bold in targeting Mr. Luca. It seems you are a much more important person than I thought.”

There are things that are important, but there are also things that are ‘obsessive’. Ivan Krachia sometimes showed me a strange obsession.

‘I’d rather think of myself as an important person.’

I did not necessarily deny Japha’s reasoning.

“Currently, I am in the process of applying for asylum.”

“That was your intention. You could have contacted federal officials through me.”

Despite being forcibly awakened from a serious injury, Jafar did not lose his judgment and composure.

“I decided that it would be better for several people to share my share as a human being. That way, I wouldn’t be subordinate to anyone, and my voice would be raised.”

“Hoyooo… … I’m not quite ready to embrace you, Luca. I’ve been realizing this lately.”

Jafar seemed somewhat discouraged.

“I’m still tracking down Kinuan. It’s a high priority for me, so don’t worry.”

Jafar laughed self-deprecatingly.

“I have no choice but to believe you now. You are out of my control.”

“That doesn’t mean we’re completely out of the woods yet. Just kiss the hell out of Deputy Ishmael or any Federation official when they come. I still need your help, Jafar.”

Jafar and I have coordinated on a few matters. Jafar will take care of it.

“… … I have nothing to hide from you anymore. I’ve revealed everything.”

“know.”

I clearly saw Japha’s agony and determination.

I stood up. There was nothing more to talk about here. While Japha was awake, I had to receive reports on the company’s situation and decide on a course of action.

“Jafar, I am looking for Giselle Custoria.”

“I know that arrangement too.”

I turned around at the door.

“And why?”

Jafar opened his eyes wide and laughed.

“Hello.”

* * *

There were two days left until my asylum application was processed, and the terminal rang as if to interrupt my rest.

-Mr. Luca, I found out where Agent Oh is.

I moved as soon as I received Son Seok-jae’s call.

Oh Dae-ri is the person who disappeared as soon as Lapis’ air vehicle exploded, and he was in conflict with Lapis on every issue.

‘He’s a strong suspect.’

But it didn’t seem like Agent Oh was the culprit. It wouldn’t be strange if there was someone else behind it.

‘who?’

At first, I suspected Son Seok-jae, but he wasn’t. Was this Japha’s self-directed plan to create a rift between Son Soo-gong-eop and me? That wasn’t it either.

‘Then Kinuan?’

Kinuan and Lapis have very little in common. Kinuan causes chaos out of nowhere… …but he doesn’t create senseless killings or suffering.

What does Kinuan gain by hurting Lapis? My suspicion? Pain?

It is strangely different from Kinuan’s previous actions.

‘Who is behind this?’

First, we need to find Agent Oh.

‘At best, he’s an ordinary person. It’s not hard to get the truth out of him.’

I walked down the street in Border City.

Squeak.

A pitch-black sedan pulled up in front of me, and the door opened upward.

In the driver’s seat was an employee of the handicraft industry, and in the backseat was Son Seok-jae, wearing a black suit that was sharper than usual.

“Let’s get in. I’ll explain on the way.”

I rode next to Son Seok-jae without saying a word.

“Where is Mr. Oh?”

“It’s a low-quality entertainment district. In fact, it’s the kind of place that someone on the run would go to. Our staff is searching it out right now, so you’ll get a call soon. If you know the neighborhood, it’s easy to find.”

As he spoke, Son Seok-jae repeatedly tapped the cigar box. He seemed to be quite eager to smoke.

“Smoke one. But he’s older than me, so you shouldn’t be too careful.”

“Well, then I won’t decline. By the way, regarding Manager Oh… … .”

“He’s a man who will soon become a corpse.”

Son Seok-jae lit a cigar and drew in the smoke. His gray hair mixed with the smoke.

“Whew, I feel like I can live a little now. When I meet with Manager Oh, let’s at least confirm the facts. Then we’ll decide on a course of action.”

“You seem to care quite a bit about your subordinates.”

“That’s why everyone follows me. Among my subordinates, Manager Oh is the most diligent. He even goes out to do volunteer work on weekends. I don’t think Manager Oh would set up a bomb. In short, Manager Oh is a tough guy, but he’s a good guy. He must have a story.”

Son Seok-jae spoke to me as if he was trying to comfort me. He smiled through the thick smoke.

“I won’t beat up or kill that guy for no reason. I’m the one who’s more curious than anyone else about the real culprit. I don’t think that guy committed the crime alone.”

“Haha, good. It seems like our trust is deepening. You know what? Since I met Mr. Luca, my work has been going smoothly. I really need the goddess of luck.”

The expression is a bit jarring, but let’s move on.

The road was narrowing. It seemed like it was becoming difficult to drive a car any longer.

“Take good care of your vehicle.”

Son Seok-jae and I got out of the car, leaving the driver alone.

As I entered the alley, I saw staff members waiting for me. They were wearing light bulletproof vests under their everyday clothes, like coats, and had pistols and knives hanging from their waistbands.

“Sir, I found Manager Oh. He’s been staying in that building since yesterday.”

An employee reported to Son Seok-jae.

“Just Luca and I can go in. The rest of you control the surrounding area.”

Son Seok-jae gave instructions to his subordinates. The Son Soo-gong-eop’s employees surrounded an abandoned building and took control.

‘Everyone is used to this kind of thing.’

If you just look at his actions, he’s no different from a gang member.

I went into the building alone with Son Seok-jae.

It was an apartment building without even electricity. The only lighting was the light coming in through broken windows and half-collapsed walls.

“Mr. Luca, please remember what we talked about earlier. Confirming the facts comes first.”

Son Seok-jae gave instructions as he climbed the stairs.

We arrived in front of the room where Mr. Oh was staying.

I blinked. My senses expanded as if they were squeezing through a crack in the door. All sorts of information from beyond the door entered my head through the sensory tracts.

Akies Victory’s intuition was looking beyond the door as if seeing through it.

‘Sigh, sickness.’

I swallowed my sigh without letting it show.

Rattling.

Son Seok-jae opened the door. At that moment, I extended my palm in front of Son Seok-jae’s face.

Ta-Ang!

A gunshot rang out.

Cheeeeeee!

The bullet stopped in my palm. If I hadn’t stopped it, Son Seok-jae’s face would have been pierced.

Kang.

The bullet stuck in my palm fell to the floor.

“Oh, Agent?”

Son Seok-jae said, sticking his head out next to my palm. He didn’t seem too shaken even though he had just almost died. He also knew that I would protect him no matter what variables came up. Even considering that, his courage was amazing.

We looked at the scenery inside the room. As it was an abandoned building, the interior was naturally desolate.

‘Oh, Agent.’

I saw Agent Oh. He was standing there holding a knife and a gun.

‘And Tarpa’s body.’

On the bed was the corpse of Tarpa. Judging from her strange attire, she was a pros**tute of the Tarpa tribe.

‘Did you strangle her? That’s horrible.’

It is not easy for a civilian to strangle someone with his bare hands. It requires tremendous emotional hatred.

“Wait, wait, Agent Oh. Why, did you shoot at me? Calm down.”

Oh Dae-ri glared at Son Seok-jae, holding back tears and snot.

“S, Sir, I promised you, right? I’ll let you hate all alien species to your heart’s content. But, by the way, will you, will you, cover me with tarpa, tarpa?”

“No, you bastard. When did you talk about the enemy… .”

“Shut up, shut up!”

Oh Dae-ri pulled the trigger again. I reached out again and blocked the bullet.

… … It seems that Seokjae Son and I made fun of the malice of the common people. This is why the world is in chaos.