Chapter 51

Chapter 50. Black Market (3)

A bunch of muscle-bound men, their bodies inflated like balloons, appeared.

"Hey, yellow monkey. Say that again. Are you saying our casino is breaking the law right now?"

David glared with his eyes wide open.

He was already in a bad mood, and now he looked like he had been caught in the act.

The one who farts is the one who gets angry.

At this point, it seemed that having a thick skin was a global custom.

Of course, one could laugh it off as hypocrisy.

But there was one thing he couldn't let slide.

"Yellow... monkey?"

"Yeah, your East Asians all look the same, don't you? Besides, what kind of face does a guy have? It's as delicate as a girl's."

That decided it for me.

"First, let's see how long it takes for your face to turn yellow."

The conversation continued.

"A completely insane guy who has lost all his courage. Take him inside so he doesn't disturb the guests."

David waved his hand as if he was bothered.

Then the security guards cracked their knuckles and approached Jinhyuk.

"Yes, sir."

"What, if I just squeeze a little, all his bones will break?"

"I don't know what kind of nerve he has to act like this."

"I'm looking forward to seeing him crawling around later."

The overwhelming physical presence of the Westerners.

And the security guards here were the cream of the crop.

However, the moment a giant hand touched Jinhyuk's shoulder.

Crack!

A bone-chilling sound of bones breaking echoed.

"Aaaah! My arm! My arm!"

The scream came about a second later.

His right arm, twisted 180 degrees.

The muscular man screamed at the top of his lungs.

"What, what is this?"

Everyone's faces twisted in shock. But there was no time to process the situation or react to it.

Having dealt with one, Jinhyuk moved on to the next target.

Bang!

"Ugh!"

Crack!

"Aaaah!"

His movements were light.

But the results were anything but.

"Ugh..."

"Please, save me. Please..."

Broken arms and legs.

With their ligaments completely torn, they would never be able to hold a fork with their own hands again.

Those with broken arms were lucky. Some looked like they would end up in wheelchairs.

It was a cruel and merciless hand.

"Is this even possible? How many did he just take down?"

"It's a player! That guy is a combat-type player!"

"Well, if it wasn't that, there would be no way to explain it."

The cruel yet flashy hand movements made even the onlookers gasp.

Now only one was left.

"Aaaah!"

The largest white man swung his fist.

He seemed to have some training, aiming precisely for the temple.

Of course, Jinhyuk simply moved his head to dodge.

At the same time, his right hand moved like lightning.

"Ugh?"

Instantly, the white man's breathing stopped.

His neck was clamped by a hand as hard as steel.

But the truly astonishing part was just beginning.

Grr!

Standing at just under 180 cm.

Weighing only 70 kg, the East Asian man was lifting the 200 cm, 100 kg white man by the neck with one hand.

This grotesque scene finally made David admit the truth.

"What the hell...?"

Realizing his judgment was completely wrong.

"No. Ugh! Ugh! Nooo!"

As Jinhyuk's hand tightened, the man writhed in agony.

He knew better than anyone what would happen if this continued.

"Done."

Crack!

With the clavicle shattered.

The last security guard joined the ranks of the miserable.

That's it.

With the troublesome ones out of the way, it was time to deal with the friend who had his mouth taped shut.

"Looks like you're the one who's going to be crawling around, isn't it?"

Jinhyuk shrugged.

"Huh, you'll regret this. Our casino has a contract with the Scavenger Guild."

"Scavenger?"

"Yeah. It's not too late to run. No matter how strong a player you are, you can't stand up to a guild."

Scavenger. Scavenger.

A guild I've heard of before...

"Isn't that the place where a guy named Milo or something is?"

"How do you know that?"

How do I know?

I met him when I played [Tower of Trials] before. He had mediocre skills but acted like a trash can, massacring newbies in the beginner zone.

He even picked a fight with me when I was there on business, and I took him down properly.

'I even buried him alive in the mudflats, leaving only his head exposed, and used the tidal range for a geology experiment. I also killed him with a spoon.'

Thinking about it, I was also quite immature back then.

Anyway, after following and killing him about 30 times, he disappeared completely.

His pride was completely crushed.

And they were relying on those guys?

"It's nothing."

Jinhyuk smirked.

***

'What kind of confidence does he have?'

David tilted his head, puzzled by Jinhyuk's calmness.

Even an awakened player is just one person in front of a guild.

It means there are limits to what one can do, no matter how much they try.

Especially a top-tier guild like Scavenger, a grade A guild. The normal reaction would be to back off the moment you hear the name.

Then it happened.

Static!

David's earpiece crackled.

It was a call from the security room.

"S, sir. I found what you asked for just now!"

"You asked for something. Ah! Right. The profile. How did it go?"

"W, well, the thing is..."

"Damn it! Don't keep me waiting, just tell me quickly!"

"His name is Jinhyuk Kang. He received an S-rank in Korea yesterday. I checked the martial arts video, and he's a complete monster. You absolutely, absolutely must not fight him."

"S, S-rank? S-rank!?"

David was so shocked that he almost bit his tongue.

Staggering.

His legs went weak without him realizing it.

Thump, thump, thump.

His heart began to beat out of rhythm.

'So, he's that high a rank.'

In the United States, there are fewer than twenty S-rank players.

Even with national support, that's the number.

And he had just messed with one of them.

For a mid-level guild like Scavenger, the entire guild wouldn't stand a chance against him.

'I've stirred up a hornet's nest.'

Even the ignorant David knew.

The influence that high-rank players have in the modern era.

And if the opponent decided to go all out...

Swallow.

Cold sweat trickled down his back.

Forget the casino's reputation.

His mind was filled with the thought of survival.

So he said it.

"I'm sorry. I didn't recognize you and I made a mistake."

In the most sincere and earnest voice he could muster.

But.

"Why are you suddenly apologizing?"

Jinhyuk's face twisted even more.

As if he had heard something he shouldn't have.

"What? I just heard from the security room about Player Jinhyuk Kang."

Why did his attitude change 180 degrees?

"After hearing his rank, you thought you messed with the wrong person, right? That's why you're apologizing?"

If he was F-rank or a regular person, you would have continued to ignore him, right?

"M, my point is not that..."

David tried to explain, but it was too late.

Smack!

"Ugh!"

The deep punch to his abdomen caused excruciating pain.

"Just doing what you want and apologizing isn't enough, is it? If you were going to do something wrong, you shouldn't have started in the first place."

Is killing someone and saying 'I'm sorry' enough?

Is shedding a few tears in regret enough to make everything right?

"M, right. I won't make a mistake again. I won't..."

"Whether you do it again or not is none of my business. Let's just deal with what you've already done."

He promised.

To beat him until his face turned yellow.

And Jinhyuk was serious about it.

"Ugh... aaaaah!"

Bang!

Bang!

Jinhyuk punched David's face.

One punch. One punch.

Relieving the stress he had built up since coming here, he put his weight behind each blow.

After about thirty punches, David started to make dying sounds.

"Please... please save me. I'll do anything. Just please stop..."

His nose was broken, and he was bruised all over.

Jinhyuk stopped the pounding.

"Anything?"

"Yes! Yes! Anything!"

"Then, go stand in front of that hand mirror and play rock-paper-scissors until I win. If you stop in the middle, I'll hit you again, so remember that."

"R, rock-paper-scissors?"

"If you don't know, forget it. I'll just keep hitting you. I think that would make me feel better."

"N, no! I'll do my best! Just give me a chance!"

David staggered to his feet and headed to the hand mirror.

He started playing rock-paper-scissors with all his might, as if it were the last battle of his life.

Jinhyuk sat back down at the table.

In front of him stood a dealer with a stunned expression.

"Then, let's continue, shall we?"

"Continue... what do you mean?"

"The game we were playing. Since we didn't finish, I want to continue."

"Y, you're serious?"

"I know you cheated. But it doesn't matter."

Jinhyuk smiled meaningfully.

Cheating?

Skills?

Do whatever you want.

If you can, that is.

[If I use my skills again, I'll end up like the manager. I can't do that. I don't have a reason to risk my life for this.]

Through the 'Eye of Greed,' David's voice was heard.

"I will always go all-in from now on. You know what that means."

Jinhyuk pushed all his chips forward.

The game resumed.

***

About 5 minutes later.

The Scavenger Guild arrived at the casino.

"Manager David?"

John Smith, an A-rank player of the Scavenger Guild, had no idea how to interpret this situation.

On the floor were security guards, their limbs broken, groaning in pain.

And David, who had called them here, was completely ignoring them and playing rock-paper-scissors with all his might.

"Manager! Snap out of it!"

Only after Smith shouted again did David turn his gaze from the mirror.

"Ah...!"

"What the hell is going on? Who did this to you and the security guards?"

"N, no. Nothing... nothing happened."

Nothing could have happened.

How could anyone believe that nothing happened after seeing this mess?

At that moment, Smith's gaze fell on the table.

Specifically, on Jinhyuk, who was sitting with an absurd pile of chips.

"That's the guy."

No explanation was needed.

In this situation, he was the only one calmly playing the game.

But.

"Wait. Damn it, wait! Absolutely, absolutely don't touch that guy! We're fine. Just go. Please."

David pleaded with a pale face.

"Manager...?"

While Smith was trying to understand the situation,

"Ouch. It's already this late? I'm busy, how long will it take to cash out all this?"

Jinhyuk stretched and stood up.

As he did, he firmly placed a 10-dollar chip in David's hand.

"Ah! Manager. I had a good time today. You must be cold and tired from counting money. Use this to get a hot bowl of rice soup on your way home."

Indeed, a hot bowl of rice soup is the best when you're feeling down.