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Sector 30 is a daily war against crime.
With commercial zones adjacent to slums, many incidents were reported and just as many officers were deployed.
“Pull yourself together!”
A loud voice echoed in Homicide Team 5’s conference room.
“Are you not going to do your jobs properly?”
The subordinates hung their heads under Lieutenant Otis’s continued scolding.
He was harsher than usual.
His face was full of urgency, like someone sprinting to catch the last train.
Anyone could tell he was desperate to shake off the title of Underheaven Police Department-30’s perennial last-place team.
“Will this be enough? Huh?”
When Lieutenant Otis slammed the table with his prosthetic arm, the coffee in the mug splashed over.
“Do you think our Necromancer would drink this garbage coffee?”
“It’s the best we have at the precinct…”
“You, rookie!”
“Yes! Sergeant!”
“Go buy the best one nearby. You know, the one that’s farm-grown.”
“A-are you serious?”
“Yes! I’ll give you my card, go!”
Lieutenant Otis was anxious.
He needed achievements to get out of Sector 30, but the cases assigned to his team always had problems.
Either there was no perpetrator, or there was one they couldn’t catch.
In that context, this case was an opportunity.
“Run!”
“Yes!”
The rookie ran out of the room and immediately came back.
“The Necromancer has arrived!”
At that announcement, everyone including Lieutenant Otis rushed out of the conference room.
The barren hallway.
Sophia was wiping blood from her hands with a handkerchief, and Baek Ho watched her, clicking his tongue.
Otis rubbed his palms together and approached Baek Ho.
“Um… did the conversation go well…?”
Sophia answered for him.
“Will you speak with me?”
“Sh-should I?”
“Come in and talk.”
“This way, please!”
Otis headed into the conference room with Sophia.
The other team members clustered around Baek Ho.
As ordered by Otis, they began bragging about who could give the best shoulder massage.
“I switched to a prosthetic arm with a massage gun function!”
“My fingers have a vibration feature! I’ll satisfy you with fantastic technique!”
“Don’t touch my body. Especially you. Move before I pull your fingers out.”
Leaving the hallway commotion behind, Otis and Sophia sat facing each other in the conference room.
“Did that guy confess everything?”
“Yes.”
“C-can you tell me?”
Otis was desperate.
If Sophia refused here, they’d have to conduct the interrogation themselves.
Recently, limit-release procedures have been spreading like a trend among the Undead.
They can enable killing humans, or stop functioning on their own.
I heard the Surgeon guy also had his limit released.
A while ago, a neighboring team suffered when an Undead died during interrogation.
There’s no way a Necromancer from headquarters would come here to save a perpetrator.
Bringing one from outside would be prohibitively expensive; just thinking about it is stressful.
Contrary to Otis’s worry, Sophia’s answer was straightforward.
“Of course, I’ll tell you.”
“Phew! Thank you!”
Not just beautiful in looks, but in heart too!
The happiness was brief.
Otis’s face turned pale at Sophia’s next words.
“White Bone Society is involved.”
“W-what?!”
White Bone Society is one of the five gangs controlling the city’s underworld.
They are known as one of the most brutal.
“Then you don’t need the detailed story, right?”
“W-well…”
Otis hesitated.
If it’s related to White Bone Society, orders from above would surely come.
To cover it up properly.
Baek Ho’s group left the police station and headed to the outside parking lot.
Otis had repeatedly warned them never to park in the indoor lot when they first came in, now Baek Ho understood why.
The place was a mess with drunks, drug addicts, and people who had had their prosthetics stolen.
“White Bone Society, huh? This is going to be annoying.”
“Indeed.”
“Shall we hand this job to another Fixer?”
“Another Fixer?”
Baek Ho stopped walking and looked at Sophia.
“Is there another Fixer you deal with besides me?”
“Of course, there are two teams.”
One was for monitoring Wataru, and the other was for appearances.
’…Two teams?’
To Baek Ho, who didn’t know her inner motives, this sounded different.
He felt like an interloper was poking its snout into the honey pot he’d salted away.
“You seem more eager to expand your business than you appear.”
“I tend to put my all into anything I start.”
“Ah… is that so? Anyway, I’ll take this job.”
“In case it’s dangerous…”
“No, I’m definitely taking it.”
Sophia felt a pang in her heart at Baek Ho’s intense gaze.
She took it as chivalry to help someone in trouble.
“Since the Necromancer says so, I’ll trust and leave it to you. Shall we summarize?”
This was what they learned from interrogating the Surgeon.
The White Bone Society is behind this case.
He said the man was one of several Tech-surgeons contracted with White Bone Society.
His work was to put ordinary people on the operating table, anesthetize them, and hand them over to gang members.
He moved his clinic under White Bone Society’s protection and made most of his income by taking cosmetic surgery fees in advance right before a move.
The reason the remains were found in the wall was simple.
If he stayed hidden that day, a White Bone Society member would come to the clinic the next day and take him.
“He still sounds like a piece of trash. Frank, you packed the stuff properly, right?”
Baek Ho asked as he turned around.
Frank nodded with a fist-sized metal case tucked under his arm.
Maybe thinking about recovering the swindled money made his expression brighter than before.
The three arrived at Baek Ho’s car.
A large, angular black SUV was parked, taking up two parking spaces.
The Underheaven Police Department officers who had been cursing at the car scattered when Baek Ho appeared.
“Frank.”
“What?”
“Shake your shoes off and get in.”
“Bad luck.”
Sophia followed Frank in shaking her shoes off, then stopped mid-action.
“D.”
Baek Ho answered as if he’d been waiting.
“Why didn’t you say anything? This car has a classic exterior…”
“No. It’s not that. Something came up. I can’t accompany you today.”
Sophia said with an embarrassed face.
She’d just received an urgent message from the Reaper she’d been tailing on Wataru.
“How about checking White Bone Society’s warehouse tomorrow?”
“No. This is a kidnapping. If we miss the golden time, it’s over forever.”
“That’s true, but…”
She was a Reaper from the special missions unit, not a broker.
A command from the commander outweighed a request.
Monitoring Wataru and protecting Baek Ho were higher priorities.
“Fine. You two can go. And aren’t you a broker? How long are you going to follow me around?”
“It’s that D-grade Fixers learn from brokers…”
“What are you talking about? I’m C-grade.”
Baek Ho extended his left hand forward.
A hologram of a Fixer license appeared above the back of his hand.
At the letter C, Sophia gasped and clapped her hands.
“Wow~ Amazing.”
For someone born with everything at S and A grades, C was unfamiliar.
“I just had a good idea. Today, let’s accompany a different Fixer.”
“No.”
“I’m the broker, you know?”
“…”
“M. o. n. e. y. You understand?”
In Underheaven, money is power.
There are no exceptions.
It rains often in Underheaven.
Because this vast city exists internally rather than outside, the rain is a climate phenomenon created by water-class mages.
It’s an artificial creation, not natural.
A collaboration between the seven mega-corporations and the government.
So why do they make it rain?
There were many theories among the citizens.
To purify the air.
To counter rising temperatures.
To clean the outer walls of mega-buildings.
It’s the gods’ tears, and so on.
Baek Ho knew all of them were bullshit.
A noble Necromancer of Underheaven and a member of one of the seven mage families, he knew the exact reason.
Corrosion through humidity.
It was to hasten the replacement cycle of mechanical prosthetics, the main business of the seven mega-corporations.
At one time, a few well-educated citizens raised objections about this.
About the seven corporations’ tyranny and possible solutions.
But when the scientist who invented a waterproof coating for prosthetics died under mysterious circumstances and his family was ruined overnight, no one ever spoke of it again.
Whish—
Baek Ho’s car cut through the rain and arrived in a dim neighborhood.
The area was filled with low-rise buildings with their lights out.
Not far away, the mega-buildings of the commercial district scattered light like giants swallowing neon signs.
This place was bright and dark at the same time.
“How’s the ride comfort?”
Frank hardened his expression at Baek Ho’s question.
He folded his arms with the air of a distinguished critic.
“I’ll be honest. Considering the exterior, interior finish, and everything, for this money…”
Frank stopped speaking.
He was a familiar linked to Baek Ho.
Baek Ho’s anger traveled through the vessel (implanted device) and made his whole body tremble.
“…You bought it perfectly. Where did you get a car like this? It’s really cool. The seats are so plush and great.”
“Right?”
“I wasn’t going to say this, but I’ll still say it.”
“What is it?”
“The audio’s killer. Frank, my eardrums slightly melted.”
<You who always believe my words~♬
“Right? Frank, you’ve gotten a bit smarter lately?”
“Thanks. It’s all thanks to friends.”
<You’re an idiot~♬
When he turned off the engine, the I_Vu music that had filled the car vanished.
Baek Ho got out and looked around.
He scanned for the Reaper planted on Sophia like a fly on honey.
His gaze, sharpened by emotion, soon landed on one man.
“There he is.”
In front of a dark, rundown storefront.
Under a half-broken awning stood a slim man.
His long black hair nearly touched his shoulders.
He wore a shabby long coat.
He had old-model headphones on his head, hardly used nowadays, and bowed his head slightly.
He was the only person at the meeting spot.
Judging by the dark blue aura around his chest, he was definitely that Reaper.
Swoosh—
Baek Ho and Frank pushed through the rain and went under the awning.
Staring at the long-haired Reaper, Baek Ho flicked his coat.
Because it was a coat meant to avoid splattering demonic being’s blood, the rain scattered off it easily.
“You.”
The long-haired man looked up at Baek Ho’s call.
Sharp, defined features.
A long scar across his forehead slightly marred his handsome face.
The scarred man hung his headphones around his neck and spoke.
“Nice to see you again.”
“…Huh?”
A relaxed voice with a peculiar accent.
He was the guy who had been causing a scene with an axe when they went to meet the Undeadog company boss recently.
He had been wearing a gas mask then, so they hadn’t seen his face clearly, but his eyes now looked hollow.
“You’re the one contracted with Sophia?”
“Yes, she contacted me suddenly yesterday. Tall lady? I don’t know, but she said she’d pay a lot, so I took it.”
He was the type who had been acting as a guard dog for civilians to make money.
A money-obsessed man wouldn’t pass up a honey pot.
“I was surprised when I first got contacted. Broker and Fixer? I assumed they were a master and familiar.”
“Anyway, let’s do well.”
“Yes, please take care of me. I’m Li Mujin.”
“…Li Mujin? A car?”
“Family name Li. Given name Mujin. I’m from Binmilgul so my name’s a bit messy. Just call me Mujin.”
He scratched his cheek as he spoke.
His voice and expression exuded slow boredom.
“I’m D. This here’s Frank.”
“Nice to meet you, big guy.”
“I’m not glad.”
“It’s okay. I understand.”
When Mujin reached out, his coat opened to reveal an I_Vu merch T-shirt underneath.
Seeing it, Frank twitched his lips and clapped his hand once.
“I liked it a bit.”
“Thanks.”
“You’ve heard roughly about today’s request, right?”
“I heard it’s a kidnapping request related to White Bone Society.”
“Right.”
“So who do we have to kidnap? Human or Undead?”
“Not kidnapping, but rescue.”
“Oh, really? Thank goodness.”
He didn’t sound relieved at all; his tone implied he didn’t care what it was.
“Just follow me for now. We’ll find out the details when we get there.”
Shortly after.
Baek Ho dismissed the notification and peered down the stairs.
The basement of an old building.
It was pitch dark.
“The piss smell is strong. I want to pinch my nose.”
Frank led the way.
He activated the Necroshell mounted on his right arm, and its circulation circuit bathed the area in dark-blue light.
Inside was just as dilapidated as it looked from the outside.
Offensive graffiti and unknown liquids covered the walls.
“Is the kidnapper here?”
“No. This is White Bone Society’s meeting spot.”
At the bottom of the stairs, an old iron door greeted the three.
The peeling paint bore the marks of time.
A modern device incongruous with the surroundings was attached beside the door.
It was a device for recognizing Smartbone lenses implanted in the eye.
“I’ll rip it off.”
“No, I have the key.”
Baek Ho took something out of the bag tucked at Frank’s side.
It was the head of the Surgeon, with his eyes tightly shut.
“…What is that?”
“I borrowed it from an investigator.”
“I thought it was some kind of fake bread.”
They pried open the head’s eyelids and held them to the device, but it didn’t work.
Baek Ho, as if he’d expected it, breathed black magic power into it, and the Surgeon’s eyes snapped open as he exhaled.
“Kiek…”
His facial muscles twitched several times, then he spoke in a deflated voice.
“Oh my… Necromancer… you found me well…”
“Yes.”
“So will you reconnect my body as promised…?”
“I’ll attach you after the job.”
“Yes… I trust you…”
They brought the Surgeon’s head back to the device.
Lights flickered as the Surgeon’s eyes were scanned.
Clunk—
With a dull sound, the door creaked open.
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