Chapter 2330 – 2330. The Savior Of The Academy
The thieves who escaped Maruhan Academy with Namgung Hwayeon’s Ghost Spirit Blade were ecstatic. Even now, as they sped north in their prepared car, their excitement only grew.
The driver, Ma Seongju, struggled to control his foot, which kept wanting to slam on the accelerator.
32.6 billion! That massive sum of money was about to be his! Ma Seongju planned to keep 2.6 billion for himself and use the remaining 30 billion to multiply his wealth at the casino.
He had always lost money gambling because he lacked funds. In his view, gambling was like capitalism, where the rich get richer. Now, he was sure to win.
‘I’ll dominate the casino with 30 billion! …Wait, can I really dominate the casino with 30 billion? There are so many rich people there, it might not be enough….’
A quick and easy way to make more money popped into his head. If the others sitting next to and behind him were to die, his share would increase, wouldn’t it? 130 billion was dancing before his eyes.
“Damn it! We did it! No academy pursuit! 32.6 billion! That’s enough to start a new life!”
“It’s all thanks to my abilities! If it weren’t for my teleportation, we wouldn’t have escaped! The academy will probably struggle to find our trail. Teleportation leaves no trace, so they can’t find us right away. Hehehe.”
“What nonsense. It’s because I broke through the academy’s barrier.”
“You fools. I was the one who caught the cat and swapped it for the Ghost Spirit Blade while you were all falling over yourselves. You were able to escape because of me. This operation wouldn’t have succeeded without me.”
“That’s enough, Hakjun. We all worked hard. We’ll have 32.6 billion soon, no need to ruin the mood. Let’s just think about the good things!”
Gam Donggi chuckled. Yes, 32.6 billion. That money was about to be in their hands. How reassuring.
Ma Seongju’s eyes gleamed as he listened to their conversation. He was exhausted. He had internal injuries. His body had been strong since childhood, so he didn’t feel it was a big problem. Just a little tired.
Gam Donggi looked like he had more external injuries than him. He was smiling as if nothing was wrong, but his eyes were starting to roll upwards.
Shim Eunji was bleeding from her nose and mouth. She had suffered internal injuries when the barrier she had set up in the magic and old school building had been shaken. Even if Shim Eunji was fine, he could have taken her out with a surprise attack.
The most troublesome one was Hakjun. He looked tired, but he could probably use his abilities a few more times. Plus, he had the Ghost Spirit Blade. If he ran off with it, there would be no solution.
‘He can’t run off alone. I’m the only one here who knows the rendezvous point with Guirakgok.’
After driving north for about 30 minutes, the car stopped in a dark, empty lot. Another car was waiting there.
“Get out. We’re switching to that car. I’ll drive again this time.”
“Do we really have to go through all this trouble?”
Shim Eunji asked, wiping the slowly dripping blood from her nose with a handkerchief.
“We need to give those chasing us even a small amount of confusion. Hakjun’s teleportation needs to be used one more time when we cross the border.”
“Even for me, I can’t take all three of you directly to China from here.”
They groaned and got out of the car. As their excitement faded, the pain set in.
As everyone got out of the car, Ma Seongju struck the back of the unguarded Gam Donggi’s head. Thwack! Gam Donggi’s occiput caved in, and he collapsed. A small knife fell from his sleeve onto the ground.
It was an item Gam Donggi had always boasted about. A guided knife. If the blade was stained with an enemy’s blood, it would automatically fly and stab the enemy. The blade was already stained with blood.
“Ma Seongju! What the hell are you doing?!”
Shim Eunji shouted in shock. Ma Seongju calmly picked up the small knife that had fallen on the ground.
“This is the knife Gam Donggi had. You know what it does. The blade is stained with blood. Whose blood do you think it is?”
Shim Eunji used the handkerchief she had to wipe the blood flowing from her mouth and nose. Hakjun was just tired, he wasn’t bleeding. Ma Seongju was covered in blood.
“If I hadn’t killed him first… I would have been killed. Well, think of it this way. Since Gam Donggi is dead, our share has increased.”
Click.
Hakjun’s gun was pointed at Shim Eunji’s head. Shim Eunji’s expression hardened. She glared at Hakjun as if she wanted to kill him.
“…Why?”
“Two-way split is better than an ambiguous three-way split.”
“Did you plan this with that bastard Ma Seongju from the beginning?”
“No, not that. Shim Eunji, you’ve been looking down on me too much. Did you think I was such an idiot that I wouldn’t notice? Farewell, Shim Eunji. My first love, whom I loved when I didn’t know any better. It was shameful that a slut like you was my first love.”
Bang!
Blood spurted from Shim Eunji’s head, and she collapsed to the ground. Ma Seongju and Hakjun got into the car, wary of each other.
After they disappeared, a water droplet appeared from Shim Eunji’s head. The water droplet spat out the bullet that was about to pierce Shim Eunji’s head. The dented bullet rolled on the dirt floor. Then, leaving the unconscious Shim Eunji behind, the water droplet disappeared. A white owl landed near Shim Eunji from the sky.
Inside the speeding car, Ma Seongju and Hakjun eyed each other. They didn’t trust each other.
“Exactly where in China are we going?”
Hakjun asked him.
“Do you think I don’t know that you’re planning to kill me after finding out the destination? You can’t find the destination even if you kill me and search my smartphone.”
“I’ll keep the Ghost Spirit Blade. Don’t think about killing me and taking it. I’m keeping an eye on you. Don’t forget that my nickname is the Master of Escape.”
“Okay, okay. We’ll split the 100 million dollars. 32.6 billion has become 65.2 billion. 65 billion is more than enough money.”
“I’m worried about something else, though.”
“Something else?”
“Guirakgok. Do you think the Chinese will give us the money so easily?”
“They will. This is also a matter of Guirakgok’s credibility.”
“A villain organization talking about credibility? That’s ridiculous.”
“We have to show credibility because we’re a villain organization. That’s the only way to avoid isolation. Don’t worry about the money. Guirakgok are people who can control even the Chinese party cadres. 100 million dollars? It’s not a lot of money for them.”
“Hmm. I’ve heard that Korean chaebols are nothing compared to Chinese chaebols. I guess population size is a big deal.”
They changed cars a few times and arrived near the border.
“Where do we go? Do we just cross the border?”
At Hakjun’s question, Ma Seongju pointed in one direction.
“40km in that direction. The rendezvous point is near there. With your current abilities, you should be able to move there in an instant.”
“Haha. Of course. I have that much ability.”
Bang!
A bullet pierced Ma Seongju’s abdomen. Ma Seongju’s eyes widened, and he slumped to the ground.
“You idiot…! You were blinded by greed! Do you think you can get the money from Guirakgok by yourself?!”
“You underestimate me too much. Do you think I can’t handle a simple transaction?”
“You don’t know the exact location of the rendezvous point!”
“The needle on your wristwatch must be pointing to the rendezvous point. Did you think I wouldn’t notice you glancing at your wristwatch instead of the easy-to-read digital clock in the car?”
“Guirakgok is not an easy place! You don’t have any connections or anything like I do!”
“Instead, I have connections. The other three are all dead, and I’m the only one left. Hehe. 100 million dollars…. 130 billion…. I’m going to go to Japan, the home of VTubers, with that money. And marry a VTuber. Hehehe. 130 billion is enough to make it happen.”
Bang bang bang bang bang!
“Thanks for driving.”
Hakjun, who had finished off Ma Seongju, took his wristwatch and put it on. It felt luxurious, and he quite liked it. There were several needles besides the ones that told the time. One of them, a needle that only pointed in a specific direction, was pointing to Guirakgok’s rendezvous point.
‘40km, you said? I’m going now.’
Poof.
His body disappeared. He didn’t notice the small stain on the end of his sleeve at all.
Hakjun arrived at the rendezvous point. It was a village. A village made up of traditional Chinese houses. The village, with no streetlights, was lit only by the moonlight. Because of that, it felt quite eerie.
-Stop.
Hakjun, who was about to enter the village, stopped when he heard a low-pitched male voice echoing from all directions. It was in Chinese, but it sounded like Korean. It seemed the wristwatch also had translation capabilities.
Hakjun swallowed nervously. At least 300 people were watching him. None of them were ordinary people.
-Where is Ma Seongju, and why are you here?
“Ma Seongju and the other colleagues died from their wounds. But I brought the Ghost Spirit Blade you wanted.”
Hakjun took out the Ghost Spirit Blade and held it up.
They murmured among themselves.
“It’s really the Ghost Spirit Blade. I can feel the ghostly energy from the blade.”
“If we extract that ghostly energy and make it into a Jiangshi… that would be fun to imagine.”
“Control your greed. It’s the blade that Chamsalgui-nim wants.”
A smile spread across Hakjun’s face. Judging by their reactions, it seemed like things would go well.
“Bring the 100 million dollars!”
“Why should we?”
“…What? We made a promise!”
“We never made a promise with you. We only announced that we would give 100 million dollars if someone brought the Ghost Spirit Blade.”
“You bastards! You’re changing your words now?! Give me the 100 million dollars!”
“Judging by the looks of it, you don’t seem to have any backing. That means we can kill you here without any repercussions. Ah, don’t worry. We’ll make good use of your 100 million dollars. Hehe. We’ll make money with this and raise our standing within Guirakgok.”
“You bastards! Do you think I’ll go down so easily?!”
Hakjun used the teleportation that had made him the Master of Escape. But his body remained where it was. The teleportation didn’t work.
“Wh-what the hell?! What is this?!”
-This is our territory. Look around you.
It was full of fog. No, what he thought was fog was actually wandering ghosts. Hakjun felt a chill and gritted his teeth. After hesitating, he dropped to his knees.
“I-I’ll give you the Ghost Spirit Blade. Just spare me…!”
“You have the brains to assess the situation. Your abilities are special… I’ll offer you and the blade to Chamsalgui-nim. He will decide your fate.”
“I, I’ve actually admired Guirakgok since a long time ago. I love China too. The origins of all Korean culture are Chinese! Kimchi is paocai! Ni shi palema! I love Tiananmen!”
“It’s paocai. Give me the Ghost Spirit Blade.”
Hakjun handed him the blade. He reached out to grab the blade. Suddenly, the blade disappeared. Both men’s eyes widened at the same time.
“I-It wasn’t me!”
“You bastard! Take out the Ghost Spirit Blade right now! Take it out before I kill you here!!”
“I didn’t do it! I can’t teleport objects!”
Hakjun desperately waved his hands. The man glared at Hakjun, then looked at Hakjun’s sleeve and was startled.
“Why is your sleeve wet? …When I concentrate, I can feel the energy of a spirit. Are you a spirit user?!”
“A spirit? What nonsense are you talking about?!”
The moisture that had been soaking his sleeve turned into a single water droplet and fell out. The water droplet seeped into his skin. Hakjun was startled and stood up. He felt all the blood in his body rush to his head.
“Ugh…. My, my blood is weird! Save me…!”
Before the man could do anything, Hakjun’s neck exploded. Blood spurted from Hakjun’s neck, and his head shot up into the sky. Like a water rocket.
Hakjun’s head, which had been flying for a while, soon lost its momentum and fell to the ground.
The man from Guirakgok didn’t even glance at the corpse and stared into the air. A single water droplet floating in the air rotated and gradually increased in size.
“…It’s a water spirit. It’s definitely not a low or mid-level one.”
“Is it a high-level one?”
“It’s highly likely.”
“Why did the water spirit kill that guy?”
“That’s something the water spirit knows. Or maybe the person who controls the water spirit. Spirit user, reveal yourself! We know you’re watching! We can even sense the gaze of ghosts! Do you think we wouldn’t notice your gaze!”
The water spirit had already taken the form of a round ball. Inside, water was constantly swirling.
-Indeed, it’s Guirakgok.
A voice echoed from the spirit. It was the voice of a young man. The spirit user who controlled the spirit.
-I’m a bit busy, so I don’t have time to talk to you. Just die.
The spirit’s body burst, becoming a massive tsunami. The tsunami swept everything away and began to surge on the ground.
Ghosts and humans alike were all swept into the water, struggling.
The ghosts couldn’t dare to escape from the water, and even if humans grabbed onto trees or rocks, they couldn’t hold on. The trees and rocks were also swept away and destroyed.
What had been surging soon began to swirl, grinding everything to nothing.
At some point, the water disappeared.
All that remained was the damp wreckage.
