Chapter 19 – 019. Vampire Detective
019. Vampire Detective
I entered the game of ‘Vampire Detective’ and sat in front of the computer, turning on the messenger.
Genius hacker Kang Yu-jin uses a dedicated messenger chat that is safe from hacking risks to communicate with clients.
‘Kang Yu-jin has been passive all this time. Except when acquiring new clients, he never initiates conversations with clients, and only responds to transactions when clients contact him first.’
Kang Yu-jin was cautious.
He mainly sold information and didn’t take on any risky requests. Even when selling information, he sold it at a fairly low price. He was worried that if the price was too high, clients might harbor resentment, so he avoided it as much as possible.
The client Kang Yu-jin was most flustered by was Moon Ji-hyuk. Looking at the chat logs, he would answer other clients casually, but he was polite and kind to Moon Ji-hyuk, even using honorifics.
‘Because he’s a detective. He must be intimidated.’
He even sold information worth over a million won for just 300,000 won.
I clicked my tongue.
‘What a pathetic bastard. What’s the point of being a genius hacker if you’re such a coward?’
I sent a chat to one of the clients, reporter Han Sung-woon.
Taker – Got some good info, wanna buy?
About five minutes later, Han Sung-woon contacted me. For reference, the ‘T Messenger’ created by Kang Yu-jin could also be installed as an app.
Han Sung-woon was the son of the chairman of Korea Daily, a famous newspaper company in South Korea. He was currently working as an editor-in-chief to build up his resume before taking over as chairman.
Han Sung-woon – …It’s the first time you’ve contacted me first.
Taker – Not gonna buy?
Han Sung-woon – Your tone seems different too. Are you perhaps someone else?
Taker – I’m a bit short on cash. Not gonna buy?
The reply didn’t come immediately. He seemed flustered by Taker’s changed demeanor. I waited.
‘He’s a client who’ll give me money, a few minutes is nothing.’
Han Sung-woon – Taker’s information has always been reliable so far.
Han Sung-woon – Let’s hear it first. What kind of information is it?
Han Sung-woon – Just so you know, I won’t be satisfied with just any information.
Taker – A secret meeting between a member of the National Assembly and a member of the Japanese House of Councillors. How’s that?
Han Sung-woon – ……You’ve suddenly come up with something huge. But that’s not enough.
Han Sung-woon – The important thing is what they talked about when they met.
Taker – Economy. The National Assembly member received money.
I sent a simple reply.
Currently, the economic relationship between South Korea and Japan is at its worst. South Korea is experiencing a nationwide boycott of Japanese products, and Japan is taking a defiant stance.
In this situation, this information has enormous value.
Han Sung-woon couldn’t possibly be unaware of this. And Korea Daily was big enough to handle it.
Han Sung-woon – Alright. How much?
Taker – 200 million.
Han Sung-woon – ……That’s too expensive. It’s excellent information, but I don’t think it’s worth that much.
Taker – I have solid evidence. With this, Korea Daily could make more than double the profit, whether by trading with the National Assembly member or whatever, right?
Taker – It’s a National Assembly member’s act of treason. Considering the damage that will be done to the National Assembly member and their party if this is revealed, 200 million is too cheap.
Taker – And three Korean companies are involved too.
Taker – I’m giving it to you cheap because I’m short on cash.
200 million was really cheap.
The moment this information becomes public, Korea would be shaken up. Using this information to blackmail the National Assembly member or the companies was also an option.
‘I don’t need to force my way to make money like that, so I’m just selling it cheap.’
That would require at least a week, up to a few months of effort.
I don’t have that much time. Moon Ji-hyuk would have already become a vampire. I don’t have time to play with money.
Han Sung-woon – …Alright. Can I deposit it into the account you gave me before?
Taker – No. A different account. I’ll tell you. The down payment is 100 million. Deposit it in installments.
Some time passed.
Han Sung-woon – Deposited.
Taker – I’ll send the data by email. There are some photos too, so it’s solid. Check it and deposit the rest, ok?
Ten minutes later, a reply came.
Han Sung-woon – The rest has been deposited. But how do you get this kind of information?
Taker – Secret. Good work.
How would a hacker get information? Obviously, by hacking. For reference, this was information from the National Intelligence Service.
‘Well, Kang Yu-jin is really good, he even hacks American conglomerates. He didn’t touch the US government because they’re cowards.’
The reason Kang Yu-jin hacked the National Intelligence Service was simple. He just looked down on them. He was confident that he wouldn’t get caught even after hacking them.
I contacted other clients as well.
I didn’t demand hundreds of millions like Han Sung-woon. Han Sung-woon, the heir to Korea Daily, was special. For other clients, I asked for a minimum of 3 million won, and up to tens of millions.
I didn’t just deal with clients here. The information I had could be used in other ways as well.
I opened the computer drawer. There were more than ten burner phones.
I picked one up and sent a text to someone.
Taker – Yo! Popular pro baseball player Kim Chu-young!
Taker – I’m Johnson.
Taker – Don’t ignore this text if you don’t want to die.
I sent him some photos I had roughly scraped from the dark web. They were gruesome photos that would make anyone feel nauseous.
A little over a minute later, a reply came.
Kim Chu-young – I don’t know who you are, but this is a very bad joke. I’ll report you to the police.
Taker – Report my ass.
Taker – Wanna counter-sue? You drug addict bastard.
There was no reply. Kim Chu-young must have been flustered. He was one of the best pro baseball players in Korea, but he was actually maintaining his position with drugs.
I didn’t stop and sent another photo. It was a photo of a white English instructor from the US, Nate. Kim Chu-young bought drugs from this guy.
Taker – But you’re also having an affair? It’s not cool that your affair partner is a fellow player’s wife.
Taker – Your wife’s phone number starts with 9598, right?
Kim Chu-young – What do you want?
Taker – Money, what else. If you deposit 30 million into this account, nothing will happen.
Kim Chu-young – How can I trust you?
Taker – Don’t trust me then. But you make a ton of money, right? Do you want to risk it for just 30 million?
Taker – You seem to be hesitating. Let me help you with that.
Taker – I sent a text to your wife.
I actually sent it. The content was, ‘Can’t you manage your husband properly, you bitch.’ I swear, I wrote and sent it without thinking.
Kim Chu-young – Please don’t bother my wife.
Kim Chu-young – I’ll deposit the money.
Kim Chu-young – Please, I beg you, don’t contact me again.
Taker – Ok, bye.
I spent five hours doing this and gathered a total of 300 million won. I earned in just five hours what Kang Yu-jin had carefully earned over several years.
“Actually, I was careful too.”
Kang Yu-jin’s computer had a lot of incredibly corrupt information that was really hard to use. I carefully selected this information and only used the ones that wouldn’t cause any trouble.
“Still, 300 million is not enough. I need at least 1 billion.”
I pondered for a while and then reached for the keyboard again. The person I was going to deal with this time was a dangerous guy who also appeared in the original story.
Taker – Hi hi
Taker – I know it’s a bit late, but please answer me.
Taker – I’m in a hurry
Taker – I said I’m in a hurry
Taker – Hurry
Taker – Hur
Taker – H
Taker – H
Taker – H
Kang Wook-sung – Who are you?
Finally, a reply came.
Kang Wook-sung was a broker who mainly laundered money.
I knew his secret. Kang Wook-sung had a fake identity. He was an overseas Korean from the UK and a vampire.
His real affiliation was with ‘Cantra,’ a secret vampire organization in Europe.
Taker – It’s me.
Kang Wook-sung – Taker doesn’t talk like that. Did you kill Taker?
Taker – Kill? I’m Taker.
Taker – This is my real personality.
Taker – The reason I was acting all innocent was because I didn’t know you well.
Kang Wook-sung – So now you know me well?
Taker – Vampire. UK. Cantra. Or should I call you Jay? Or Jayden?
Jay was a nickname, and Jayden was his real name.
Kang Wook-sung – How did you know?
Kang Wook-sung was calm. His attitude showed his experience. I grinned. It was better if the other party was calm. I was going to propose a deal to him.
Taker – You haven’t forgotten my nickname, have you?
Taker – More importantly, the main point.
Taker – I want you to launder 300 million.
Kang Wook-sung – 300 million? That’s too much. It’s not good to talk about this over chat.
Kang Wook-sung – If we launder it the way we’ve done it with you so far, it’ll take three weeks.
If it were Kang Yu-jin, who prioritized safety, he would have replied that it was okay, but I wasn’t like that.
Taker – I’ll come to you tomorrow evening. The pawn shop in Yukseong-dong alley, right?
Kang Wook-sung – You’re coming in person? You? And you’re coming even though you know I’m a vampire?
Taker – It’s not like I’m going there to fight.
Taker – I’m in a hurry for money. And I have information worth 700 million, wanna buy? Cash, of course.
Kang Wook-sung – You’re talking too fast. I can’t understand.
Taker – It’s nothing. We’re just making a deal.
Taker – The list of vampire hunters from the Korean Black Cross Society.
Taker – That’s worth 700 million, right?
The Black Cross Society was an organization of vampire hunters, the greatest enemies of vampires. The reason Kang Wook-sung was working as a broker in Korea was to monitor Korean vampire hunters and gather information.
Kang Wook-sung – Are you talking about the entire Korean list, not just Seoul?
Taker – Yup
Kang Wook-sung – Then I’d want to buy it even for 1 billion. If your information is real, that is.
Taker – It’s real. Check it tomorrow. Oh, prepare 1 billion in cash. And launder the money without taking a commission. You can do that much as a service, right?
Kang Wook-sung – It’s difficult to prepare 1 billion right away.
Taker – How much do you have?
Kang Wook-sung – 400 million. I need about three days for the remaining 600 million.
Taker – Then 400 million first.
Kang Wook-sung – Alright.
Kang Wook-sung – But only if the information is accurate. If it’s not, you’ll die.
Taker – It’s accurate, so I’ll live.
I turned off the messenger.
In fact, Kang Yu-jin’s computer didn’t have the list of vampire hunters from the Korean Black Cross Society. I had to go get it tomorrow.
I closed my eyes and reviewed the plan.
No, it wasn’t even a plan. If things went as I thought, it wouldn’t take more than five minutes.
‘……Should I call a call girl?’
I genuinely thought about it, but then stopped myself.
•••
The next day.
I headed to Apgujeong. The headquarters of the Korean Black Cross Society was located here.
‘Found it.’
It wasn’t hard to find. I knew the location and shape of the building from watching dramas.
It was a building with more than ten floors. There were guards near the entrance, and a key card was needed to enter. On the surface, it looked like a normal company with tight security.
A large express bus was parked across from the building. It must be a commuter bus.
I openly looked up at the building from the front gate and picked up a burner smartphone. I could feel the guard watching me.
‘The building’s height doesn’t exceed 30 meters. Well, it doesn’t matter even if it does.’
[Hacking successful.]
[You can hack Kim Seo-jin’s computer for 3 minutes.]
I roughly hacked a random computer in the building and infiltrated the Black Cross Society’s dedicated network.
‘Found it. The Korean Black Cross Society’s personnel list.’
A total of 913 people. Among them, 174 were combatants, vampire hunters, who fought vampires at the risk of their lives.
‘Easy.’
I looked at my smartphone and headed to the hamburger shop right next to me.
Thud.
I bumped into someone while walking. I took my eyes off my smartphone and looked up to see a man with a scowl and another man who seemed to be his companion.
I immediately recognized who they were.
Vampire hunters Park Ki-joo and Jo Joo-hyun.
“Ugh. It’s not polite to look at your phone on the street. Be a little careful, huh?”
Park Ki-joo said in a delinquent manner.
I scoffed at them and said,
“You guys should be careful.”
“What?”
I ignored them and headed to the hamburger shop.
“Ki-joo. Stop it. You know we’re busy?”
“I have time to teach that rude bastard some manners.”
“No, you don’t. Do you want to write another incident report? The atmosphere at headquarters is already bad because of those mosquito bastards. Do you want to cause more trouble?”
“Ah. Okay, okay.”
Just as I was about to open the door to the hamburger shop.
[Hacking successful.]
[You can hack the large express bus for 15 seconds.]
Vroooom! Crash!
Suddenly, one of the large express buses parked across from the building suddenly accelerated, broke through the glass doors of the building entrance, and crashed inside.
I glanced at the building.
Park Ki-joo was hit head-on. I couldn’t see the body, but blood was slowly spreading on the floor.
Jo Joo-hyun was hit off-center. Even so, he wasn’t unscathed. Even if he received quick emergency treatment, he would have to live as a disabled person.
‘I told you to be careful.’
Just getting rid of the persistent Park Ki-joo was a gain. Park Ki-joo was one of the vampire hunters who tormented Moon Ji-hyuk until the end. And he was a guy who had a very high chance of interfering with me in the future.
One of the biggest obstacles had just disappeared.
With this, I was closer to my real goal, the ‘Bead of Life.’
