Chapter 10

"New job?"

Sector 49. Jenny's bar.

I've already been coming in and out of her workplace nearly a dozen times.

Now, I'm starting to get used to the dimly lit lobby of this bar.

Renock, sipping the whiskey Jordan handed him, repeated what Jenny had said.

"Yeah. I don't think you're here just to chase bounties all the time, right? To be honest, if you want to be a bounty hunter, there are better places than here."

"Hmm..."

"I know you really like this job, but realistically, unless you capture a high-risk criminal with a death warrant, the reward is fixed. Or do you really want to chase after those psychopaths?"

"Not really."

While there are massive bounties of hundreds of millions of cells on the worst criminals directly wanted and tracked by the Balkan government, that's not Renock's goal.

If someone has the ability to commit crimes without being caught despite city-scale tracking, they likely possess a power as formidable and tricky as Renock can hardly predict.

There's no benefit in confronting such monsters head-on at this point.

Seeing Renock show a slight interest, Jenny seized the moment and continued.

"Of course, I'm not so heartless as to force you to give up what you want to do. But if you need a lot of money to start a new identity, as you mentioned last time?"

"..."

"There are plenty of ways to earn a fortune with your magic. Surely you're not still holding onto the nonsense I said about testing your abilities?"

Listening quietly to Jenny, Renock inadvertently chuckled.

She's quite skilled at playing with words.

It was obvious that she was trying to nudge Renock into more lucrative jobs, but her mix of flattery and provocation didn't make him feel bad.

From her perspective, she probably wants to handle jobs that bring in more fees.

Ultimately, after some deliberation, Renock nodded.

"Alright. What job do you recommend?"

In fact, as she said, besides the 20 million cells needed to create a new identity, more money is needed to expand his activities into various fields.

He can't stay in this small hotel forever, so he needs to secure a place to live, and he'll need to spend money on various efforts to stay healthy.

Until now, he has been repeating jobs in Sector 49, getting used to the atmosphere and avoiding drawing attention prematurely.

He needs to be careful.

If Renock lets his guard down and makes a mistake, his talent will soon stand out, and he will inevitably attract attention.

Of course, it's good to have his abilities recognized by others, but that's something for after he has enough strength and preparation to protect himself.

Renock still can't guarantee his safety in this 40s sector, where all kinds of criminals roam.

Renock's words made Jenny smile broadly and chuckle.

"Good thinking. Do you know how many jobs in this line require a magician? You can just pick any."

With that, she immediately led Renock to the back of the bar.

It's probably not a conversation to have in an open place.

The large underground chamber behind the bar where he brought Taylor Evans' body.

After sitting at a corner table, Jenny immediately brought a file and laid it out in front of Renock.

A report in a completely different format from a wanted poster, densely filled with small text.

Renock picked it up and read it quickly.

While his eyes scanned the document, Jenny spoke from beyond.

"The new Charlotte company cosmetics factory in Sector 42, which was recently completed. 80% of the construction costs were funded by the city government, leading to allegations of collusion. There's been a lot of talk because there are testimonies that the skin lotion to be produced at this factory went through large-scale human testing."

"Human testing?"

"Yeah. On page 8, you'll see that in the fourth review stage, they tried to create the most perfect environment for regenerating dead skin by peeling off human facial skin entirely."

Renock's brow furrowed involuntarily as he turned to the page Jenny mentioned.

The report contained not just text but also very vivid photographic evidence.

"Isn't the truth already clear? I don't understand what more is needed."

"What are you talking about?"

Jenny frowned at Renock's words.

"Whether it's true or not, Charlotte company won't abandon the factory over such photos. They've invested government funds, and they won't care about negative rumors."

"..."

"The plan for this job came from the Barits company, not the city government. They've recently started getting into the cosmetics business and don't want Charlotte to expand further."

Barits.

Even though Renock has only been in Balkan for a short time, he has heard of the company's name.

Just go to any market or supermarket, and you'll find products with the Barits brand, and the familiar wing-shaped logo is on the front and back of cars driving around the city.

It's probably one of the tentacle-like corporations in this huge city.

"The conditions Barits offered to our agency are two. One is to destroy the manufacturing plant to the point of no recovery. The second is to secure the production process algorithm data for their lotion. 50 million cells for the first condition, and 300 million cells for the second."

A total of 350 million cells in success fees. An astronomical amount.

Hard to imagine as a reward for just one job.

But Renock easily grasped the hidden meaning.

"Does that mean we get the reward if we succeed in either one?"

"Pretty much."

"......The second condition is practically impossible to achieve."

"Right. You're sharp, as expected of a magician."

The difference in rewards for the two success conditions in one job is too large.

Considering the gap in the client's offered rewards and the difficulty of the tasks, breaking into Charlotte's security is probably dozens of times harder than destroying the factory.

Jenny shrugged as she took the file back from Renock.

"Actually, extracting the algorithm data is an unrealistic request. You'd have to infiltrate the factory system management room, break through Charlotte's firewall, and retrieve the data. You'd need at least 500 million cells to find a hacker or engineer with that level of skill. This is just Barits trying to get a hacker on the cheap."

"Do hackers get such high rewards?"

No matter how skilled they are, the idea that people working in cyberspace can earn over 500 million cells per job was a fresh shock to Renock.

"Varies by skill, but for a company like Charlotte, they probably used top-notch engineers to build their firewall. A skilled person who can breach such a robust security network and extract data without damage would naturally earn hundreds of millions of cells."

"I see...."

Renock nodded seriously.

Seeing that he seemed to understand the explanation, Jenny waited calmly for his decision.

Renock didn't realize that the questions he was asking her were very basic and common, but Jenny patiently explained in detail.

She mistakenly thought Renock was a magician who had just returned from isolated training.

Magicians who study ancient traditional magic often focus on training in remote areas rather than relying on modern civilization, and Renock was thought to be one of them.

Especially for elemental magic users, it's common for them not to show their faces in the academic community until they reach a certain level, so it's not strange that Jenny and Jordan were mistaken.

After much deliberation, Renock slowly nodded.

"Alright. Destroying the factory seems possible."

For a moment, he had been mistaken for a righteous crusader against criminals, but his job is not to eliminate criminals who violate human ethics.

It's just about getting his share in a world of corporations and criminals where interests and grudges intersect.

Whether he can maintain his morality and values in this world is entirely up to Renock's choice.

Jenny smiled and said, "Since we've roughly agreed, I'll introduce you to a partner for this job."

"What?"

"Come in!"

With that, the side door at the back of the chamber opened, and someone came in.

A man with a well-built body, visible even under a thick leather jacket, wearing a mask that looked like a pro wrestler's, and carrying various metal objects on his back.

Jenny introduced the man to Renock calmly.

"Dylan O'Keechy. A mercenary from the Antares agency. A very cheap guy who works wherever he's called."

"Jenny, what will my new partner think of you saying that?"

"Who knows? A pro wrestler mask-wearing lunatic?"

"Hahaha!!"

Despite Jenny's cold words, Dylan burst into laughter and extended his hand.

"Dylan O'Keechy. Mercenary. Your partner for this job. So, you're a magician?"

Renock shook his hand reluctantly and replied.

"....Half. I handle electrical magic. What do you mean by partner?"

"Exactly that. It seemed like a job too big for one person, so I was looking for someone else."

"This annoying woman said she couldn't do it alone. She said she could bring someone today, so I waited."

"......"

The atmosphere turned cold at Dylan's straightforward words, but Renock remained calm.

"Next time, let me know what kind of partner I'll be working with."

".....I'll keep that in mind."

Although an unexpected partner appeared, Renock wasn't particularly upset.

What he's doing is essentially looking for jobs at a temp agency.

He doesn't know what job he'll get each day or who he'll work with, which isn't really surprising.

If someone is a liability, he can cut ties cleanly.

It wouldn't be strange if Dylan had the same thoughts.

"So, the 50 million cell success fee will be split 50-50?"

At Renock's words, Dylan scratched his mask.

"Shouldn't we pay a commission to this woman?"

Jenny quickly responded, "Since I didn't tell Mr. Ban about the partner, I won't take a commission this time. I was a bit hasty because there aren't many direct jobs from Barits. I apologize."

Dylan whistled without a word.

Even though the 10% commission is a significant amount, her quick and clean withdrawal made Renock narrow his eyes.

She made a mistake and quickly rectified it.

It's a good approach, but Renock didn't believe she made a mistake by chance.

She's probably testing how far she can push him, gauging his reactions.

If Renock had reacted angrily and summoned his magic, she might never have mentioned a partner again.

In a way, he's letting her maintain her current attitude, but it's not a bad thing.

Showing some goodwill and maintaining a proper relationship is not a loss in the long run.

Especially since Renock plans to solve his funding issues this way for the time being.

If she crosses the line, he can deal with it then. The initiative in this relationship is gradually shifting to Renock.

Whether she knows it or not, Jenny clapped her hands once and changed the topic.

"Let's take a look at the factory blueprints in Sector 42 now."