Chapter 14 – Golden Shield (1)
To make the honeymoon and all the talk about it matter.
Work hell began the next day.
Official activities of the Hunter Association Special Investigation Team begin!
However, the shape was a little different from what most of the team members expected.
As soon as we went to work in the morning, we had to sort out the hunters who were rushing in like water.
“Well, the police station told me to go this way…”
“Yes. Please sit here in turn and wait for your turn.”
Last time I investigated it myself, but that was because the case was so serious and there was a special request from the superior…
Basically, when we receive a case from the police, our role is to organize it properly and hand it over to the disciplinary committee and judge of the association.
In other words, it is similar to the role of the prosecution in general.
The problem is that the prosecution’s work load was quite piled up because it couldn’t handle the Hunter-related case properly.
After giving the team members a rough guide, I ordered them to receive the report.
Of course, Seo Ji-yu is an ex-convict, so he is excluded from regular work.
“Jiyu, buy some coffee for your teammates at the cafe downstairs.”
“Eh… Can’t I interrogate me too?”
“Can you?”
After sending her down, I sat a Hunter across from me.
Actually, I don’t have to do it myself, but there are not enough hands, and I came out to show the team members a demonstration.
Hunter broke into sweat when he saw Alice standing behind me like a jangseung.
Like most hunters, he was even accompanied by a lawyer.
I read the material sent by the police.
“Yoo Jeong-ha, there’s a report of civilian assault. Do you already know the details? I’ll check it again step by step from now on.”
“Yes…”
“You stated to the police that you don’t remember anything, but is it still the same now?”
“Yes. I drank that night, so I can’t remember…”
The last criminal went from being a drug offender to being kidnapped and raped, but this time it’s a simple assault.
It suddenly feels incredibly simple, but it’s not bad.
It is tiring to deal with such super-powerful crimes every time.
I didn’t drag it out for a long time and immediately presented the evidence.
It was a vehicle black box video collected by Yeriel using an oracle at home.
“Then what is this?”
“Ugh!”
A hunter beating a man on the exact day of the report, at the place of the report.
He found his face in the video and gritted his teeth.
He reflexively denied it, but the lawyer sitting next to him looked like he had already lost.
With such strong evidence, there is no way you can escape.
“This, this is not me!”
“Yoo Jeong-ha. It is not the suspect’s right or anything to deny blindly when there is such evidence. It is just a false statement.”
“Eh… As I said, I drank that night…”
“The Hunter Association doesn’t commute sentences for drinking. Don’t you know that with great power comes great responsibility? A hunter who can kill a person with a single wave of his hand is not proud of drinking so much that he is unconscious .”
“Special Investigator. Can I discuss with my client for a minute?”
“I see.”
Apparently, the lawyer who seemed to be an exclusive member of the guild had studied association law in his own way.
After a while, the suspect, who returned to his seat, neatly admitted his guilt.
If you continue to take it off here, only offenses will be added.
Of course, there is really no such crime, but there is nothing good about making me angry as an investigator.
“I’m sorry. I think I did it.”
“You should apologize to the victims, not me. It will probably be suspended for about three months.”
“Ah, yes…”
The suspect nodded weakly as if he had roughly anticipated the punishment.
I added a condition there.
The higher up will allow this much.
“If you get the victim’s forgiveness, the sentence will be commuted.”
“That’s right.”
“If business is suspended for 3 months, the financial loss is considerable, right? It would be better to reach an amicable agreement.”
“Okay. Thank you, Investigator.”
“Then it’s over, let’s go. I hope you never have to see me again.”
When I finished the work roughly and sent the suspect away, Alice muttered a little in the back.
“It’s an assault on a civilian, but at least 3 months of business suspension… Isn’t that too little?”
“Not at all. Mr. Yoo Jeong-ha is a first-time offender. In addition, a simple assault charge with only two weeks of treatment… If it had been a normal person, not a hunter, the prosecution would have been deferred.”
Rather, it should be seen that the punishment is increased because the suspect is a hunter.
I added an explanation to Alice, who asked in detail with a slightly surprised face.
“Is the punishment for assault that light?”
“Because it’s a first-time offender. If you commit a crime again, the punishment will be much heavier. Personally, I also think that first-time offenders should have their sentences commuted only for minor crimes. American-style strict punishment is not universal.”
“… Did someone who thinks so sit down and do assassination activities in private?”
Alice lowered her voice and protested as if she was dumbfounded.
They seem to misunderstand that I sympathize with the suspects.
It is not for such emotional reasons that I oppose strict punitiveism.
“But you can’t just blindly kill those guys, right? There’s a limit to sending them to prison.”
“Is it…”
“Alice, do you know how many prisons in Korea can accommodate hunter criminals?”
“How many are there?”
Alice answered easily, as if she hadn’t thought about it at all, without showing any signs of worrying too much.
I let you know even though I felt a little headache.
“There’s only one place. A hunter-only prison on the outskirts of Seoul.”
“Little.”
“There’s no need for a lot in the first place. Hunters rarely go to prison.”
By the way, the drug maker who was arrested last time and Yoo Si-hyeon, who was under Nom’s command, will also be detained there.
“The real problem is the cost. That one… The country’s only hunter-only prison uses far more operating costs than 10 general prisons combined.”
“Ten times?”
“If you think about it, of course. Hunter prisoners are much harder to control than normal prisoners.”
In the hunter-only prison, everything is special.
The surveillance camera has a thermal imaging function, and the cell door is triple-layered. Mixed use of electronic and mechanical… A pressure sensor is attached to the bottom. Of course, the latest laser security device is also indispensable.
There are a lot of prison guards, and some of them have hunter abilities.
It is a place where hunters who transcend human limitations are confined, so there is no choice but to spend a lot of money.
“It’s a waste of money and manpower to send petty criminals to prison. It’s much cleaner to assassinate them.”
“Is it the conclusion that annihilation is the best in the end?”
“I told you before.”
“…By the way, most of them are petty criminals today.”
Of course.
Not everyone can commit a violent crime like the last time.
Most crimes are committed simply and impulsively.
Such violent crimes cannot and should not happen often.
‘Even if it does happen, most of it will be easily solved by using the Oracle.’
Even if only mild punishment was applied to these petty criminals, the hunter’s crime rate would be significantly reduced.
Until now, they had no awareness that they could be punished.
It’s because the prosecution has done a little bit of work in the meantime.
In fact, what I’m really worried about is not these petty criminals, but psychopaths like Yoo Si-hyun from last time.
Hunters who deliberately crime commits with clear malice!
I found a suspect who seemed to be such a psychopath while quickly handling the cases sent by the police.
Surprisingly, this case was none other than theft.
An incident that seems to refute my theory that ordinary hunter crimes have no ties to the hardships of life.
I stared at the guy who had been caught shoplifting.
He hung his head down as if he had no face.
“Seongjun Lee, raise your head and answer the question.”
“Yes, Detective.”
“Lee Seong-jun, right? Current A-rank hunter. Member of Thornwood Guild. 32 years old. Are there any mistakes?”
“No, all of them are correct.”
“He was accused of stealing products from an electronics store. Why did you do that?”
“I-I don’t have any money…”
‘You bastard, that’s bullshit from the start.’
Contrary to people’s preconceptions, theft is a crime that not a few people with wealth commit.
Cases of stealing despite having enough money.
In my experience, these guys are vicious psychopaths.
There is a high probability that he is already addicted to the thrill of crime itself.
‘Usually these guys become like Yoo Si-hyeon later on.’
Quaang!
Judging that the angle came out roughly, I hit the desk hard.
Shocked by my actions, he trembled his body.
Everyone in the office looked this way, and the lawyer next to him was too surprised to dare to say anything.
It is necessary to go a little harder for these evil people who openly talk nonsense.
“Tell me straight! The incumbent A-rank hunter doesn’t have the money to buy an electronic device!”
“Oh no, that’s…”
“Do you think I don’t even know the minimum annual salary for hunters? If you’re an incumbent A-rank hunter, no matter how little you catch, it’s a billion-dollar annual salary? Do you think I’m funny right now?”
Alice in the back also nodded as if this didn’t make sense.
After going through his account information, I found extremely suspicious circumstances.
A huge amount of money was withdrawn at once from an account that was quite full not too long ago.
Besides that, there were also signs of regular withdrawals of significant amounts.
I showed it and yelled at him.
“Now, here’s your bank account details! Where did the married person spend all this money? If you don’t tell me right now, you won’t be able to go home today.”
“Mr. Investigator!”
While the lawyer is frightened, the suspect is crying with his head down.
He then lied again, causing the fever to rise.
“That… My wife blew it all up as an investment. My wife manages all of my salary, and I get pocket money and spend it!”
“Wife? You sound like a wife. Information on your wife will come out when I investigate.”
After looking for data for a while, I snorted a small snort.
Lee Seong-jun’s wife was a full-time housewife with no job experience.
“Isn’t your wife just a stay-at-home mom? She bought the house she’s currently living in with your salary after the marriage registration.”
“Well, what about it?”
“But she completely entrusted the management of her finances to such a woman? She didn’t even have enough, so she blew it all up with investments? Are you an idiot? Do you think it will work if you keep lying like this? “
“Ugh…”
Now the suspect is trying to reveal his face by distorting his face.
I pushed him harder.
“Did you blow it up while you were on drugs or gambling?”
“Oh no! Really…”
“Aren’t you ashamed to keep making excuses for your wife?”
“…@#Talent.”
“What?”
Did my attack work?
He glared at me with a ferocious face and said.
But his answer was not what I expected.
“Ten… Bastard. Gee married an S rank, right?”
“This bastard is still out of his mind…”
“T-chief, calm down!”
Kim Jung-tae runs from afar and stops me.
Seeing him come out like that, I sensed that something was terribly wrong.
Kim Jeong-tae’s loyalty was by far the best among the Esquire.
He earnestly stopped me and defended the suspect.
“This bastard just married the wrong one!”
“No. That doesn’t make sense. I’m bringing home an annual salary of 100 million won, but it’s a bummer to receive and spend pocket money…”
“There are men out there who live like that!”
While Kim Jeong-tae was tearing me apart. Yeriel sent me the results of the survey through her messenger app her.
Surprisingly, all of the suspects’ statements were true.
His wife her secretly sent money to her parents’ house her without her husband’s knowledge her, but she lost all of her property her due to her failure to invest in real estate and even went into huge debt.
I stuttered, unable to accept that this reality existed.
“How the fuck did this happen…”
“Hey, hehe…”
Pong, Pong…
As the suspect sobbed in front of me, the dripping sound of the coffee Seo Ji-yu bought resonated.
I made up my mind to be a little nicer to Yeriel.
