Chapter 96

With over 10,700 favorites and over 5,440,000 page views, ranking 9th in the genre's daily ranking, thank you for your support.

---

Three men ran down the dimly lit stone-paved passage without looking to the sides, giving it their all.

"What the hell is that!?"

"Just run! We'll be caught if we don't!"

"Damn it! I shouldn't have made that detour!"

The men, running at full speed down the passage, deeply regretted their decision. After completing a certain transaction, they had discovered an unfamiliar and mysterious building out of curiosity and decided to explore it. It turned out to be a dungeon. After a while, they encountered a monster and fled in panic, leading to their current situation.

"There's the exit!"

"Run! Run!"

"Shit! They're catching up!"

As the men turned the corner of the passage, they saw the exit where sunlight was streaming in. However, from behind them, the menacing howls of the monsters could be heard. The exit was still a bit far, and if they continued running, they would be caught before reaching it. One of the men stopped, turned around, and aimed his automatic pistol at the monsters.

"Damn it! Take this!"

He pulled the trigger at the four-legged monster that was closing in. The sound of gunfire echoed through the stone-paved passage, and the bullets hit the monster.

But...

"Aaaaah!"

The monster, unaffected by the bullets, lunged at the man's left arm, which he had instinctively extended, and bit down, blood streaming from its neck.

"Ugh, damn it! Die, die, die!"

The man, enduring the intense pain in his left arm, repeatedly fired the pistol in his right hand into the monster's body. The sound of gunfire echoed through the passage. The other men, who had been running with him, stopped and watched as the man fought the monster.

The monster, hit by the bullets at point-blank range, released the man's arm and collapsed, lifeless, on top of him.

"Are you okay!?"

"I think so. But, get this thing off me, it's heavy!"

"Got it."

One of the men rushed to the bitten man and quickly moved the monster's corpse.

"Damn, it hurts!"

"Alright, I'll wrap this to stop the bleeding. Hey, water!"

"Ah, right!"

The men, who had been running, treated the bitten man's wound. They washed the wound with water and applied pressure to stop the bleeding using a piece of cloth made from a torn shirt.

"Damn, the wound is deep. We need to get you to a doctor quickly..."

"Yeah, hurry... Wait?"

As they were about to rush the bitten man to the hospital, the monster's corpse disappeared in a flash of light, leaving behind a fist-sized, silver metal block.

"What is this?"

"Hey! What are you doing? Hurry up!"

"Ah, sorry!"

The man quickly pocketed the metal block and helped the bitten man out of the dungeon.

---

After safely reaching the city, the men took the bitten man to a local underground doctor and then reported the mysterious building to their boss along with the results of their transaction.

"You guys... You managed to escape safely? That's what it is. It's called a dungeon, which is causing a stir these days."

The boss, smoking a cigar, listened to their report and let out a sigh of mixed admiration and exasperation.

"A dungeon...?"

"Yeah. Take a look at this."

The boss turned on the TV in the room, and the screen showed news about the dungeon. The men stared at the news, their faces growing pale as they understood the content.

"As you can see, this news is making headlines worldwide. People who entered the dungeon without a plan, like you, have resulted in thousands of casualties. ...You were lucky."

"Y-Yes."

"..."

The men, their faces contorted, managed to respond weakly to the boss's praise.

The boss, watching their pathetic state, puffed on his cigar and got to the point.

"So, what did you get from the dungeon?"

"Wh-What?"

"It's not 'What?' You saw it in the news, right? Defeating the monsters in the dungeon yields treasures. If you defeated that monster, you must have gotten something."

The man, reminded by the boss, remembered the metal block he had picked up in the dungeon and put in his pocket. He fished it out and placed it on the boss's desk hesitantly.

"Ah, well... This is it. I don't know what it is, but it was left behind after the monster disappeared."

"Huh? This...!?"

The boss, glancing at the metal block, let out a shocked exclamation, nearly falling off his chair.

"What's wrong!?"

"Idiots! This is a block of platinum!"

"Platinum... Platinum!?"

"Wh-What!?"

The men, understanding the boss's words, stepped back in shock and stared at the platinum block on the desk.

"Given its size and weight, this platinum is worth over $100,000 for sure."

"Wh-What!?"

"Is that true?"

"Yeah, why would I lie about something like this?"

The men, their eyes wide, continued to stare at the platinum block. The boss, seemingly having an idea, puffed on his cigar and pondered.

Then...

"Hey, do you remember where the dungeon was?"

"Wh-What? Ah, yes. I remember the general location..."

"Where?"

"Ah, well... around here."

The man, questioned, drew a circle on the map the boss had taken out, indicating where the dungeon was.

"Can you pinpoint the exact location?"

"Um, I'm sorry. I think I can remember the exact location if I go there..."

"Alright. Prepare immediately and take your men to the dungeon!"

"Wh-What? Now?"

"Yes. Prepare immediately!"

"Y-Yes, sir!"

The men, shouted at by the boss, hurriedly left the room. The boss then picked up the phone and gave instructions to his subordinate.

"It's me. Find the owner of the XXX forest area. What? What for? To buy it, of course. ...Yeah. Start with a legal negotiation. ...What? If they refuse? You know what to do. ...Yeah, that's right. Got it."

After giving instructions to his subordinate, the boss hung up the phone, leaned back in his chair, and puffed on his cigar.

"This is an investment... no, a speculation. Well, it's not a bad bet."

The boss, looking at the platinum block the men had left behind, smiled slyly.

---

The men, carrying large bags, were trying to cross a fence but hid in the underbrush to avoid the searchlight from a patrol car.

"It's no good. The border patrol is too strict, and our usual methods won't work."

"Exactly. Since the dungeon appeared, border security has become so tight that our business is in trouble."

"Yeah... There's nothing we can do. Let's retreat and report the situation to the boss."

"Got it."

The men gave up on crossing the border and left the area before being spotted by the patrol.

"So, crossing the border is impossible..."

"Yes. The appearance of the dungeon has made it extremely difficult to cross the border. Even if we send a large number of amateurs, it's unlikely that anyone will break through. It would just result in the authorities seizing our goods."

"Understood. We'll suspend the delivery of goods for a while. The security won't last forever. Once things calm down, we'll resume deliveries."

"Got it. In the meantime, what about...?"

"Yeah. We'll use the dungeon we secured to teach our men magic and level them up."

"Got it. I'm looking forward to a few months from now."

"Yeah. And make sure to collect the dungeon usage fees properly."

"Understood. We'll collect a portion of the dropped items as payment in kind."

The boss, satisfied with the man's response, nodded and added a warning.

"Leave it to you. Don't overdo it."

"Got it. We don't want a rebellion from the underlings who gain power."

"Exactly. Tell the direct subordinates to level up quickly."

"Got it."

The man, nodding, left the room. After confirming that the man had left, the boss lit his cigar.

"As expected, the border security has tightened. At this rate, it might be impossible to deliver goods for half a year."

The boss, puffing on his cigar, checked the calendar on the wall.

"Well, it's fine. We have other sources of income."

The boss opened a drawer and looked at the items collected from his subordinates who had entered the dungeon. They included bottles of liquid, scrolls, and small glowing stones.

"Seems like the return on investment will be faster than I thought."

After smiling slyly, the boss closed the drawer.

---

The men were vigorously swinging picks and shovels, digging into the ground. The compacted earth was as easy for them to dig as pudding.

"After all the leveling up in the dungeon, we end up digging holes?"

"Stop complaining. This is important work. Once this is done, delivering goods will be much easier."

"Still, it's not fair. You can use magic..."

"It's called using the right tool for the right job."

The man, shoveling earth into a cart, looked enviously at the man who was using magic to pave and reinforce the tunnel walls in a semicircle.

"You can also deal more damage thanks to your weapon enhancement skill. That shovel is a cheap one, right? Normally, it wouldn't be able to dig through such hard rock."

"Well, yeah..."

"Come on, we're almost there. Let's finish up and go for a drink after work."

"Alright."

Feeling somewhat coerced, the man gripped his shovel and resumed digging. After watching him, the man using magic to reinforce the walls continued to attach wooden planks to the reinforced sections.

Three days later, the tunnel, which the men had been digging for about half a month, was completed.

---

About twenty lightly dressed men and women of various ages were walking quickly through a long underground tunnel lit by lights. The man leading them turned around and scolded the group, which was starting to spread out.

"Hey, walk in a single file on the right side! Hurry up! When you reach the other side, get into the trucks as instructed!"

After leading the group through the tunnel, the man confirmed that everyone had exited and quickly disguised the entrance to the underground tunnel.

"Alright, let's move. Everyone, get into the assigned trucks."

The man divided the group into smaller teams and disguised them with cardboard boxes of appliances, loading them into the cargo trucks along with real appliances. A few minutes later, the prepared cargo trucks left the warehouse.

But...

"Stop! Police! We need to inspect the cargo!"

As soon as the trucks left the premises, they were stopped by police who seemed to have been lying in wait. Multiple police cars surrounded the cargo truck, and police officers with rifles aimed their guns at the truck.

The man, who had been leading the group, gave up on resisting, raised his hands, and got out of the truck. He was pushed to the ground and arrested by the police officers with rifles.

"There they are! The illegal immigrants mentioned in the information!"

"We found them too! The appliances are filled with a large amount of drugs!"

"Understood."

The police officer, who seemed to be in charge, listened to the reports from his subordinates and nodded with a stern expression.

"Really, you gave us a hard time. You'll tell us everything about the smuggling routes and more!"

"..."

The officer knelt next to the man's face and berated him from above. The cargo truck was seized, and the underground tunnel was discovered during a search of the warehouse.

---

The boss, with a grim expression, was listening to the report.

"So, the A tunnel was raided?"

"Yes. The illegal immigrants who were arrested for overstaying their visas revealed the tunnel's existence during interrogation."

"Damn it! What about the idiot who leaked the information?"

"He has already been deported, so we dealt with him internally."

The man reported the aftermath of the individual in a matter-of-fact tone. The boss, after listening to the report, puffed on his cigar and calmed down.

"Well, it's fine. We have more than one tunnel. What about the disguises for the other tunnels?"

"We are thoroughly re-disguising them in response to this incident."

"Good. We should also start digging new tunnels."

"Yes. It's always better to have backups."

"Alright, arrange it."

"Got it."

After the man left the room, the boss puffed on his cigar and muttered.

"Is this a game of whack-a-mole...? Not very interesting."

---

This is a story about a certain organization in South America.

If a small organization can secure and keep a dungeon in the early stages, it can accumulate power and funds in both military and financial aspects, right?

If that happens...