AECS 56

Chapter 56

War Against Crime (5)

In fact, George-hak and the gang leaders didn’t have many options.

Surrender?
100% execution.
Their crimes were basically on the level of anti-state organizations.

Run away?
Not easy.
Judging by Baek Jin-woo’s moves so far, he seemed to have information-gathering abilities beyond the state.

Then there was only one answer!

“Attack together!”

George-hak immediately deployed his summons.

‘Baek Jin-woo, I know you’re strong.’

But.
Charging in alone against our gang leaders wasn’t the best choice either.

“Go!”
“Die!”

In an instant, countless summons surrounded Baek Jin-woo.

As expected from a gang, they were all PvP-type summons.

Baek Jin-woo didn’t stand still either.

Swish!
Hoon-gyo drew his sword.

Whoosh!
Doldoli lifted his scythe.

But.

The speed at which they raised their weapons was insane.

Not just insane—it felt alien.

‘What?’
‘Why so fast?’
‘I can’t even see it.’

It felt like they existed in another space-time.

And that made sense.
Each one had been stacked by Lamba for over 2 hours.

Thunk!
The Death Reaper chopped the head of one summon with the scythe.

“……!”

The eyes of a few leaders widened for a moment.

Whirl!
The scythe spun in a circle.

Splash!
The entire area was filled with blood and torn flesh.

‘C-Crazy?’
‘What kind of speed is that?’

In that one strike, about thirty summons that were preparing to attack had their HP instantly drop.

Right.
Surviving a single blow like that wasn’t hard.

Doldoli wasn’t using a graduation rune, just a normal high-grade rune.

The problem wasn’t that.

Fwoosh! Whirrrrr!

The speed of striking and spinning was incredible.

Most summons couldn’t even react, and it was like Doldoli had more than eight clones.

It happened in an instant.

Over 90% of the attacking summons were recalled in just 20 seconds.

“This is impossible.”

George-hak, watching, muttered without realizing it.

Even after seeing world league top players and global rankers, he’d never said that.

But seeing Baek Jin-woo’s summons…

It really was impossible.

“…This is just ridiculous.”

The world was unfair.

Even globally, where could you find summons like that?

Even the famous Rachel would shake her head at this.

“If I knew someone like that would appear, I wouldn’t have joined the gang.”

He would have just lived quietly, enjoying life moderately.

Swish!

While Doldoli spun the scythe, Hoon-gyo didn’t stay still either.

Hoon-gyo actively sought out enemy summons and finished them off.

Swish, slash, cut!

Moving through the space, dodging attacks and striking vital points—it looked like he was dancing.

Gang leaders.
The gang’s elite.
Were being taken down by just two summons.

And quickly.

Most of their shields were already broken, and with the Dragon Flame Mage’s firepower, they couldn’t escape.

And that wasn’t all.

Snap!

When Hoon-gyo saw a player without a shield, he lightly snapped his fingers, hitting a blood point.

A five-minute bone-crushing strike.

They paid the price for daring to ignore their master’s warning and attack.

“Guaaaah!”
“Kkheeeeeah!”

One by one, they collapsed to the ground, rolling in the dust.

Ha.

George-hak exhaled shortly.

There was nothing they could do against this approaching natural disaster.

All they could do was wait for the next turn.

“Damn it.”

Fwoosh!

The flames from the destroyed building felt especially hot.

Ten minutes after Baek Jin-woo arrived,

Members of the headquarters, the police, and Congressman Park Chang-seok arrived at the abandoned building.

The situation had already been resolved.

Bound tightly by Lamba, the gang members were drooling and shivering.

Baek Jin-woo guided them to Park Chang-seok.

“Seriously… all I can say is he’s crazy.”

Congressman Park admired him.

George-hak, who had evaded capture for three years, was caught in less than a week.

Not only him, but gang members hiding across the country were forcibly uprooted like old trees.

All by just one player.

“Please take care of the cleanup, sir.”

“Of course!”

Park Chang-seok held Baek Jin-woo’s hands tightly.

He was now, without a doubt, the nation’s top talent.

A true hero deserving every support, designated as National Intangible Asset No.1.

“Thank you.”

Park Chang-seok was a congressman, elected by the people.

So on behalf of the citizens, he expressed gratitude.

“Thanks to you, Korea is a little safer today.”

Today.
The gang, the symbol of crime in Korea, was wiped out.

The public felt relieved.

[Baek Jin-woo player destroys gang overnight!]
[All gang members with murder records sentenced to death, citizens cheer!]
[Gang members’ testimony shocks! “The elite gang fell in less than a minute.”]
[Player HQ to enforce stricter rules on summoning-related crimes!]

With the gang captured, and HQ declaring a complete end to crime, everyone cheered.

Even those who used to stay home out of fear began eating out and shopping.

The domestic economy started moving again!

“Hahaha.”

At the Player HQ meeting room,

The director couldn’t stop smiling.

Baek Jin-woo’s rise made the public praise the HQ as well.

• “HQ giving another trillion? Seems a bit much, but okay.”
• “I’m HQ staff. Policy changed slightly. They’re fully backing Baek Jin-woo now.”
• “Of course! That’s right!”
• “Park Chang-seok is fully on Baek Jin-woo’s side, the director can’t refuse it either.”
• “Oh.”
• “Next time we should select him again. If he does well, we should give more tasks!”

“Hahaha.”

The director laughed childishly, ignoring his age or dignity.

It made the meeting atmosphere very light.

“Director, what did I say?”

Park Chang-seok spoke.

“Just push Baek Jin-woo player, and half the work is done, right?”

“Hahaha! Not half! He could just fly off into space!”

“By the way…”
“Hmm?”
“We need to give him a reward, right?”

Baek Jin-woo had completely healed Korea from gang problems.

If someone receives healing, shouldn’t they pay for the medical cost?

“Reward! Yes, of course! Absolutely!”

The HQ had spent a lot handling the gang.

Baek Jin-woo reduced that cost, so there was reason to reward him.

Park Chang-seok pointed that out clearly.

Also, the public’s reaction would be negative if he didn’t get rewarded.

“How much should we give?”
“Use all the remaining HQ budget this year.”

“……All of it?”

The director looked a bit shocked.

HQ needed money to function.

“It’s okay. Baek Jin-woo is doing everything HQ should. Keep only what’s needed for HQ and give the rest to Baek Jin-woo. Cash isn’t allowed per rules, so support him with runes and items.”

“Hmm… okay? Then let’s do it.”

“Good decision. I’ll discuss it with Yu-baek and get final approval.”

Park Chang-seok had 5% shares in Yu-baek.

It wasn’t current, but he could receive it later when HQ issued it.

Yu Ji-a had the system contract tied to it, so no one could interfere.

And.

Baek Jin-woo was Yu-baek’s asset.

Supporting him with 1 trillion? That meant 50 billion would go to Park Chang-seok.

From now on, Park Chang-seok would maximize HQ to increase Baek Jin-woo’s value.

“Yu Ji-a.”

After finishing everything, Baek Jin-woo met Yu Ji-a at HQ.

“Oh, Jin-woo. You’re here?”

She greeted him warmly while organizing documents.

Lately, Yu Ji-a was busy.

Baek Jin-woo kept appearing in news and online communities, so she had set up a management and response team.

“Yes, I wanted to tell you something.”

“What is it?”

“You did well, but next time, don’t hesitate to call in an emergency. A desperate call.”

Baek Jin-woo understood everything.

And.

He also understood why Yu Ji-a hadn’t called him immediately in a previous urgent situation.

It was for Ah-jin’s sake.

To prevent him from feeling confused when both sides made a desperate call.

Her intention was noble, but unnecessary.

“Hoon-gyo has grown stronger. Now, he can respond even if both sides call. If something seems strange, use him immediately.”

Last time?

If he went to Ah-jin first, released Hoon-gyo, then used Doldoli on Yu Ji-a’s side, it would have been faster and safer.

Baek Jin-woo wanted to let her know.

“I understand. Thank you for telling me.”

“I should be the one thanking you. Oh, and… those rankers back then?”

He had been too angry at the gang, focusing only on punishing George-hak, and overlooked other things.

Especially the four rankers:
Hong Ah-ri, Oh Sun-young, Ki Jae-hyeok, Kang Ji-ho.

Without them, it could have been disastrous.

Yu Ji-a or his parents could have been kidnapped.

He couldn’t ignore it.

“Oh! Them!”

Yu Ji-a clapped her hands.

“Actually, that day, they came to see you.”

“Me?”

“Yes. They still seem to want to see you, but you’ve been busy lately, right?”

“…Yeah, that’s true.”

“So we gave them some apartment rooms to wait and rest.”

This was Yu Ji-a’s clever move.

Since Baek Jin-woo kept leaving HQ, she provided apartments for rankers to stay.

“They’re probably still waiting.”

“Really?”

Hmm.
He should go check.

Baek Jin-woo had all the contact info of those selected for national representation.

At the training ground, he called them, and the four who received the message quickly ran over.

“Brother!!!”
“We heard! You’re amazing, brother!”

Ki Jae-hyeok and Kang Ji-ho had become almost like younger brothers to him.

“…Hmm, well. You were a bit cool.”

“……”

Hong Ah-ri and Oh Sun-young kept a little distance, listening carefully.

“First, I want to thank all four of you.”

Baek Jin-woo bowed first.

“No, brother!”
“No need! Bowing to a younger brother!”

The two high school boys jumped excitedly.

Hong Ah-ri waved her hands awkwardly.

Especially Oh Sun-young.

“Fighting against crime is natural. We don’t expect thanks for doing what’s right.”

She came forward and lifted Baek Jin-woo’s bowed head.

Then she exchanged glances with Hong Ah-ri, Ki Jae-hyeok, and Kang Ji-ho.

Their gazes were intense.

Finally.

Ki Jae-hyeok stepped forward.

“Brother!”

He closed his eyes tightly and shouted.

“If you’re really thankful! Please accept us as your disciples! I beg you!”