Chapter 103. Information Gathering (3)
As the thugs lunged for him, Seo Jun-Ho dodged as quick as lightning, grabbed one by the face, and hurled him back, which broke the marble table on impact.
Bang!
“Ack!”
Before he could even hit the ground, Seo Jun-Ho kicked back the sofa, hitting the three guards that were running toward him. They slammed into the wall behind them.
“Gah!”
“Get him, you idiots!” Haus screamed as he looked at them on the floor. He was speechless at how pathetically his guards had been beaten by just one man.
“Hm.” Seo Jun-Ho reached down for the fallen chips. He seemed to be studying them between his fingers. As the other thugs came running forward, he threw them out like daggers.
Swish! Swish!
“Gah!”
“My eye! My eye!”
They had simply been hit by chips but they all collapsed to the floor. The chips had been infused with magic.
“You idiots!” Haus kicked a guard that had been hit in the stomach and was crying. He reached inside his jacket. “Stop!”
Seo Jun-Ho stopped throwing his chips to stare at the weapon in Haus’s hands. “A gun?”
“Yes, a gun! You Players love to use these.” He pointed with his weapon. “I don’t want this either. Hand over your chips and fuck off, and I’ll let you live.”
“So you’re not gonna give me any information?”
“No!” Haus scowled. It seemed like Seo Jun-Ho still couldn’t understand his situation. “Fuck off while I’m being nice!”
Closing one eye to look through the scope, he aimed it at Seo Jun-Ho’s head. Or rather, he tried to.
“What…” His eyes widened. At the exact moment he blinked, Seo Jun-Ho disappeared like a ghost.
“You gotta aim for the head.” Seo Jun-Ho’s voice spoke into his ear. He felt the cold metal touching his temple.
“H-how…” Haus slowly turned to face him. Seo Jun-Ho was standing right beside him, holding a revolver. Haus didn’t even see him move.
‘You’re telling me that he’s only around level 30?!’
Bullshit. He had beaten up tons of Players who had tried to cheat him before, most of whom were above level 50.
‘Those bastards! They should’ve just told me they don’t know anything.’
Surely, the Players who gave him the information must be lying. Seo Jun-Ho moved like he was at least level 80.
“L-let’s think this through, Seo Jun—I mean, Mr. Seo…” Haus couldn’t help but begin to speak formally and carefully. His face paled with every passing second, and sweat rolled off his body like rain. His entire body was frozen with fear. It felt like that black gun would take his life away at any moment.
As his life started to flash before his eyes, Haus slowly raised his hands.
“Uhh…” He took a hesitant step back, shaking like a leaf. “I-if you pull the trigger, it’ll be a hassle to clean up. Y-you don’t want that, do you?”
“Do I?”
Click.
Seo Jun-Ho pushed the hammer down, and all of Haus’s hairs stood on end. The clicking of the hammer as it was pulled down was the sound of death approaching. It felt as if the grim reaper was standing just behind him, holding a scythe to his neck. Cold sweat dripped down his neck, and his pupils dilated in fear.
“P-please…”
Time slowed. He closed his eyes, but all he could see was the scene of the bullet ripping through his head. It felt like his soul was being sucked into the gun that was being pressed against his temple. As the seconds ticked by, his fear only grew, and so did his frustration.
‘Am I, Haus, going to die here? Like this?’
Once he started imagining his death, he couldn’t stop it. What would happen if he died here? The businesses and establishments he had raised would be thrown down the drain and become public property. All that work—only for him to die so pathetically? What a waste.
Goosebumps pricked his skin.
‘I want to live. I don’t want to die.’
He realized that he had been living a good life. He ate expensive food, wore expensive clothing, and went to sleep in a luxurious bed.
‘I-If I give him the information, then maybe…’
Maybe he would be able to live. Haus opened his mouth to surrender.
“You’ve got guts,” Seo Jun-Ho muttered as he pulled the trigger.
Bang!
A gunshot rang inside the VIP room.
“Huff… huff…”
Haus fell over, gasping for breath as the world spun around him. He stared up at the dimming ceiling as tears poured down his cheeks.
“Dammit… I was gonna tell you…” He sobbed.
Crunch.
He turned his head in surprise when he heard a sharp crunching sound, only to see Seo Jun-Ho crushing a bullet between his fingers.
“You should’ve said so earlier.”
“…?” Why was the bullet in his hand? Haus slowly began patting his chest, stomach, neck, and head. There was no blood.
‘Then… Did he catch the bullet that he shot?’
What the hell was this monster? Haus looked up with fearful eyes at the chuckling Seo Jun-Ho. He had never seen the bullet coming, only the darkness of the chamber. He had assumed that he was dead when he heard the shot. And yet here he was, staring at the very bullet that was supposed to be in his head and at the being who had caught it.
“Son of a bitch…” he breathed.
“So, can you tell me about the nobles now?” Seo Jun-Ho asked once more.
Haus stared blankly for a second before he nodded frantically.
“O-of course!”
***
Seo Jun-Ho brought Haus back to Dewdrop Inn and led him to his room on the fifth floor, but he stopped at the room next to him. Voices could be heard from the inside.
“Do you really expect me to talk all day? Just write down the basic stuff and tell him that’s all I know.”
“But if we get caught…”
“We won’t. Do you really think that he’s a god or something? And did you forget who your boss is? You’re my subordinate, you bastard.”
When Seo Jun-Ho slammed the door open, Ply and his subordinate jumped in surprise.
Ply’s eyes went wide. “Y-you’re here. Please knock next time…”
“I’m not a god, but my ears are pretty sharp,” Seo Jun-Ho spoke as he stared at Ply
“Eek!” Ply squeaked as he went white. But Seo Jun-Ho ignored him. “Go in.”
Haus slowly stepped forward, but he squinted when he saw Ply. “Moneybug? Why are you here?”
“Haaa. You always act so high and mighty, but you ended up being caught too.”
“Too?”
“Yeah. Got something to say?”
The 2 Scoundrels of Gilleon glared at each other, then sighed as the reality of their situation started to sink into their minds.
“Do you have any booze?”
“Yeah, the cheap kind.”
That night, they shared a drink for the first time in 20 years. Misery loved company, after all.
***
“…Baroness Khunta likes to arrange flowers. She goes to gatherings every week. The heir of Gilleon’s baron has an incurable disease. He has bought hundreds of medicines and is even looking for a priest, but nothing has worked so far. Viscount Harmod’s children are heavy gamblers. They lose dozens of gold at my establishments every month.”
The next day, Seo Jun-Ho made Haus spill what he knew. He nodded to himself as he compared Haus’s information to Ply’s.
‘Mm it’s definitely not as extensive as the documents from the Big 6, but…’
They knew important, up-to-date details. No matter how strong they were, the Big 6 wouldn’t have enough time to update their database every time something changed with the residents here.
‘I got a lot of useful stuff. I have a basic plan now.’
He decided to reach level 50 in Gilleon before going to the Canal Mountains, which had powerful monsters that were around level 80.
‘It’s best to just stay here until then.’
Haus had also heard a valuable piece of information last week in one of his pubs—the governor of Gilleon would be holding a large-scale hunting competition in two weeks.
‘He said that registration would start in a week.’
It was said that countless Adventurers, mercenaries, and Players would be participating. The goal of the hunt was to wipe out a clan of Kobolds in the eastern plains. The best hunter would personally receive a reward from the governor. It was also a good opportunity to catch the attention of the nobles.
‘It would’ve been a shame if I left Gilleon without knowing this.’
“Good work, everyone.” Seo Jun-Ho waved them off. It had been five days since he captured Haus.
“…Are we really allowed to go?”
“You’re not joking, right?”
The two scoundrels had a look of hope on their faces when they looked at him. They had lost weight and their voices had long become hoarse from days of talking without rest.
Seo Jun-Ho grinned. “Why, do you wish I was?”
“N-not at all!”
“I’ll gather my stuf… oh, I don’t have anything. I’ll take my leave now.”
“Lead a life of virtue. Don’t steal people’s money with loan scams or rigged gambling.”
“I’m a new person now.”
“I’ll make my gambling dens virtuous. I swear…”
They quickly left the inn, afraid that Seo Jun-Ho would change his mind. The Frost Queen sighed as she watched them leave.
“Finally, peace and quiet. I thought that I would die after hearing them talk for a week.”
“They were pretty rowdy, but at least I got this.” Seo Jun-Ho waved the 233-page book in his hand. It was a record of all the information that Ply and Haus had given him. It was basically a guidebook on how to reach level 50 in a week.
