Mercenary Black Mamba

"Keok?! N-no, you can't!"

Bak Gi-chung began hastily, rapidly waving, flaying his arms around in manic panic like a desperately drowning man. The images of sleek legs and full breasts began to flood through his dwindling awareness, jolting it sharply back from the brink. The whites in his eyes reverted back to how they were as if it had all been a mere deception.

Nupchi grinned in smug satisfaction. This fatso had not much to occupy himself with around this space, but still had too much money and an active sex drive. An idiot like that would have nothing but various vices in his mind! To him, the junior the source of his pleasures was the reason for his existence. Something as precious as his own life itself.

"Hey, b*tch, you wanna sit to piss for the rest of your life? Start singing when we say sing, and start dancing when we say dance, got that?!" Nupchi grinned while not forgetting to glare intensely by using his thuggish Sanpaku eyes.

"Y-yes, I got it."

"You 'got it', eh? Would you listen to this punk?"

Smack, smack-

Nupchi used a steel pipe to repeatedly smack Bak Gi-chung in the head.

"Ouch?!" Bak Gi-chung hurriedly shielded his head and crouched lower.

"Hey, as*hole, no matter how chaotic the world becomes, a bloody leech can never become a water snake, do you get my drift? How dare a f*cking loan shark knobhead (boss) complain to us?! Before I crack open your damn skull, call the bus here, you dipsh*t!"

"Y-yes!" Bak Gi-chung couldn't say anything else and hurriedly picked up the phone.

Nupchi narrowed his eyes and glared at the fatso. His demeanor suggested that any unwise action would lead to Bak Gi-chung getting his skull cracked open with a blade chop.

"A trash is trash no matter what, huh. Tsk, tsk."

This fatso was just another yangahchi, no more, no less. A leader's true colors would be displayed in the moments of crisis. And a bastard who didn't show one iota of concern for his bloodied, unconscious subordinates and couldn't even endure superficial pain was at the peak of trash-dom. It seemed that Mu Ssang dressed himself in stab-proof gear just to take out some trash.

"Nupchi, drag that punk over here."

"Yes, sir!"

Nupchi dragged Kang Min-Seok and dumped the latter on the couch before proceeding to ruthlessly, ferociously slap the rat-faced bastard on the cheeks. Kang Min-Seok's head spun this way and that, but he still didn't regain his consciousness. Feeling troubled now, Nupchi could only carefully gauge Mu Ssang's response.

"Well, he'll come around once I shake his brain up a bit." Mu Ssang grabbed the back of Kang Min-Seok's head and began circulating the resonance wave strike

Vrrrr-

A powerful quake rocked Kang Min-Seok's brain. One mistake in this treatment, and he'd end up either as an idiot for life or merelyt brain-dead.

"Kkuh~uh..." Kang Min-Seok cracked open his eyelids.

"Hey, as*hole, keep your eyes peeled and take this sight in if you don't wanna die."

Slap-!

Nupchi mercilessly slapped Kang Min-Seok's cheek, prompting his eyes to regain their focus.

Mu Ssang tossed a calculator at his way. "The original amount was three million Won. Annual interest rate, 25%. The loan duration is 46 months. Get it wrong, and I'll cut off your hand. Remember that."

"Ei, ei udduhstend." (I, I understand)

Kang Min-Seok's jawbone was broken and the inside of his mouth was torn apart like a rag; no wonder he couldn't speak properly. Sensing the imminent danger to his life, he used his left hand to tap on the calculator with all of his dedication while whimpering and grunting away.

*

'Hoek?! Are you telling me that monster went on a rampage just because of a loan for some loser named Kim Gi-taek?!'

Bak Gi-Chung's eyes grew super-wide. Wasn't this basically the same as a pest control dude burning down the entire house just to catch a single cockroach?! Completely dismayed by what he just found out, he began glaring murderously at Kang Min-Seok. Bak Gi-chung oh-so badly wanted to shatter the skull of the motherf*cker that summoned a demon into their house.

'F*ck me, why the hell are you glaring at me for?! It's not my fault, you know!'

Kang Min-Seok has been making his living through his ability to gauge situations. Obviously, he had seen through Bak Gi-Chung's current moods by now. His only fault was simply adhering to the business policy set out by his boss, and his reward for doing that was getting the living daylights beaten out of him.

The one who wanted to shed tears at the unfairness of it all was Kang Min-seok, not Bak Gi-chung!

*

"Even though I haven't smoked in a while..."

Mu Ssang pulled out a gold-plated cigarette case. Hakam Chartres enjoyed smoking these, and that led Mu Ssang to enjoy them, too. Of course, he was talking about Cohiba Siglo.

Chartres's recommendation played a part in why Mu Ssang decided to start smoking. The major reason for him to start smoking was to mask the stench of blood he disliked so much. And that eventually turned him into an avid smoker. Cohiba Siglo had this appetizing, smoky aroma, perfect for neutralizing his sensitive olfactory senses.

This unique aroma easily on another realm compared to the locally-produced tobacco often proved to be a fly magnet for the agents of imported tobacco inspection squad. Mu Ssang even got halted by the agents from the Monopoly Bureau and was forced to pull out his diplomat's identification this one time.

Such a thing might be unimaginable now, but even right up until the 1988 Seoul Olympics, you had to pay a considerable fine if you got caught smoking imported tobacco.

The president of the country stepped up to declare that anyone smoking imported tobacco didn't deserve to be called Korean. Once upon a time, banners proclaiming [Don't buy or smoke foreign cigarettes that undermine the country's economy!] blanketed every street as far as eyes could see.

Just like that, smoking the local tobacco turned you into a patriot, while you were a traitor for smoking the imported stuff. As a result, the pathetically-poor quality of the local tobacco didn't get a chance to improve for a long while.

Funnily enough, the greater level of prohibition only made the status of imported tobacco to soar even higher. Poor folks wrapped loose tobacco in newspaper and smoked that, but those with some disposable income smoked stuff like Camel, Marlboro, or Lucky Strike. The rubbish quality of the local stuff played a role, sure, but a part of it could be blamed on the tendency of Koreans that did things the more prohibited they were.

The Monopoly Bureau's (the current-day Korea Tobacco and Ginseng Corporation) inspection squad acted just like the police by searching through your personal belongings, your workplaces and even your private homes. And if they found any imported tobacco on your possession, then never mind confiscation, you could even get charged with a crime. This was a rather sad portrait of the time when the country was still under the military dictatorship, but back then, Korea was in a desperate need for foreign currency so it couldn't be helped in some sense.

Cohiba Siglo was a luxury tobacco product with each cigar costing around one dollar the US to import. Smuggling a case of ten cigars and selling it would net you around hundreds of thousands of Won. No smuggler was dumb enough to risk bringing in a tobacco product that likely wouldn't sell.

It was actually Bell Man who sent shipments of Cohiba Siglo from the USA. A box with around one thousand cigars got delivered last month, so Mu Ssang was in no danger of running out anytime soon.

He lightly tapped on the end of the cigar to cut it open. Nupchi on standby with a lighter in hand lit up the cigar with the speed of a lightning bolt. The gentle yet aromatic scent of the tobacco was a good match to the acrid stench of the spilled blood.

"Thanks."

"N-no, not at all, big bro." Nupchi bowed deeply while backing off.

His face was filled up with all sorts of emotions, including respect, admiration, fright and many others of that kind. The figure of Mu Ssang leaning obliquely against the couch and smoking a thick cigar was so mesmerizingly cool in Nupchi's eyes. Even Mu Ssang's bored expression looked so damn cool.

'Is this what they call the air of the strong? Will I also get to pose like that one of these days?'

Unlike his usual self, Nupchi came up with a somewhat philosophical proposition for himself.

*

"Oggae, iddts fibe point eighteey seex milleon Won." Kang Min-seok finished his calculations and began mumbling away while cautiously glancing at Bak Gi-chung.

Although his pronunciation was strange, the amount wasn't that hard to hear - 5.86 million Won. Mu Ssang pulled out a thick wad of ten thousand Won notes from his inner pocket. It was six million Won he prepared before coming here.

"Well, a debt should be paid regardless of what, no? Alright. Bring me the loan ledger and its accompanying documents, the loan contract for President Kim Gi-Taek, and finally, the principal repayment certificate."

Kang Min-Seok's troubled face continued to glance in Bak Gi-Chung's way.

"E-excuse me, brother. Allow me to personally write down the confirmation letter for Kim Gi-taek's loan repayment. That's why, how about we..."

Pow-!

Nupchi mercilessly kicked Bak Gi-chung's side with force.

"Ouch!" The overweight yangahchi toppled over like a bowing shrimp after a lightning bolt out of the blue struck him down.

"You f*ck, one of your employees can't even help your customer properly because he's too scared of his boss!"

Pow, bang-!

Nupchi mercilessly kicked Bak Gi-chung. The latter could only release, let out pathetic cries while rolling around on the floor.

"You dumb sh*t, because you ran your company like sh*t that my busy big brother had no choice but to personally come down here."

Nupchi's kicking got fiercer and fiercer.

Unable to endure the poor abusive treatment anymore, Bak Gi-chung suddenly yelled out loudly. Sure, the business transactions ledger was as important as his life, but what was the point if he wasn't alive in the first place?! Bak Gi-chung wanted to yell out why should some random bastard care about how he ran his business, but a completely different thing leaped out of his mouth instead. "H-hey, Viper, you dumbass! Do you want to die?! Hurry up and show them the documents and issue them with a payment receipt already! Hurry the f*ck up, will ya?!"

Tears and snot flooded down Bak Gi-Chung's face as he yelled. The bewildered-looking Kang Min-Seok staggered toward the cabinet as quickly as he could.

Mu Ssang casually perused through the thick pile of loan ledger, the loan contracts, the certified copy of Kim Gi-taek's resident registration, the certificates of various seal impressions, and other documents including written memorandums of understanding. He then handed this pile as thick as a handspan over to Nupchi.

Nupchi retrieved a golf bag from somewhere, dumped all the golf clubs inside on the floor, and filled it with the documents.

'You dumb motherf*cker?! You're supposed to hand over Kim Gi-taek's documents only! Why are you giving him everything?!'

Bak Gi-chung's complexion paled in an instant. They'd have to suck on their fingers if their operational funds were to vanish overnight. Growing ever anxious now, Bak Gi-chung continued to fret and fidget like an ant with its feelers removed. However, he couldn't overcome the fear and kept his mouth shut.

*

"Hmmm, what a horrible mess." Mu Ssang scoffed after checking out the contents of Kim Gi-taek's loan contract. Not one business owner in their right mind would ever agree to such rubbish conditions while taking on a loan. "Hey, Deputy Kang. Looks like we'll have to add the crime of private document forgery on top of everything, no?"

The corners of Mu Ssang's lips were curling up, but his glare remained deathly cold. Kang Min-Seok was tempted to say, "Thank you!" just then. Rather than letting this demon continue to torment him, he'd much prefer to get handed over to the police. Actually, he'd never forgotten the kindness if that happened!

Even if the crime of document forgery was added on top of money-related blackmail and physical threats, you'd only serve around two years in the slammer, anyway. And that's in case you already have priors. However, the problem Kang Min-Seok had at the moment was his gut feeling. It said that this demon-like bastard would choose to go with even more horrifying torture instead of letting the cops handle this mess.

"..."

"Tsk!" Nupchi picked up Jang Yeong-pal's tomahawk.

That prompted Kang Min-Seok to reply urgently. "Y-yes, I did temper with the contract."

"I'll keep this as evidence at least for now." Mu Ssang stored away the forged loan contract and the principal repayment certificate, then tossed the wad of money on the table. "Here. Now that the loan's been paid up, it's time for the boss to sign it off, no?"

Bak Gi-chung dazedly leaning against the wall snapped awake and rushed over to sign his name in one stroke of a pen.

"Well, then. Although I did pay off the loan out of old loyalty, what will I do to put food on my table now? Sucking on fingers will get salty after a while, you see... It's not like I can go around ripping people off, like some people I know..." Mu Ssang muttered that as if he was talking to himself.

Bak Gi-chung wasn't slow. He was quick to catch on that two plus two obviously equaled four, and that rustling sound was unmistakably from the next door widow's skirt coming undone as she sought to quench her man-thirst.

'Finally! Sounds like the demon is ready to leave!' Bak Gi-chung inwardly cried out in elation after figuring it out.

Finally, this demon-like bastard was about to leave them alone. Not only that, but it seemed that a path to get the ledger and loan documents back have opened up, too.

"Excuse me, brother. May I briefly go to the third floor?" Bak Gi-chung asked while rubbing his hands.

A raging tiger will grow docile once its belly gets full. To calmly drive out a tiger invading one's home, there's no choice but to feed it well. Bak Gi-chung wanted to make this demon leave as soon as possible, even if that meant sacrificing every single cent stored in the safe upstairs.

Toss-

Mu Ssang flicked the cigar he'd been smoking.

Whoosh-

A crimson 'dot' crossed the air and smacked straight into Bak Gi-Chung's forehead.

Puff-!

Embers scattered everywhere.

"Hothothot-!" Bak Gi-chung jumped around ungainly.

"I don't have a younger brother as badly fermented as you. Nupchi, you should go and help this fella with his heavy load."

"Yessir!"

When Nupchi went along with him, Bak Gi-Chung's expression crumpled even worse than before.

'Hehehe. You think I'm an idiot that works for free? These bastards have a tendency of treating their brains as decorations, don't they?' Mu Ssang grinned softly to himself.

His personal dictionary had no such thing as 'free service'. Getting compensated for exerting himself was only natural in his book. Mu Ssang's favored method of calculation was not the principle of the beneficiary's burden, but that of the perpetrator. Whenever he went on important missions like Sahel, Syria, and Ituri, the beneficiary and the... 'subsidizer' of his travel costs were different. Today's beneficiary was Kim Gi-Taek and his family, while the one paying for his travel cost was Bak Gi-chung.

*

Bak Gi-chung came down the stairs while carrying a travel bag. Nupchi was following very close by while carrying a small Boston bag - the so-called reimbursement for the travel cost.

Mu Ssang chuckled. "Fut!"

Bak Gi-chung's eye was swollen into a black shade of bruise. It didn't take a genius to figure out what happened. He must've tried to pack a small amount of money in the bag, only for Nupchi to beat the living daylights out of him. The safe upstairs should be emptied out by now, then.

"Brother, you've taken our operational budget and even the slush fund. Isn't it fine to give us back the ledger and those sundry documents? With that, we can both say that you were never here and I've never seen you before. What do you say, brother?" Bak Gi-chung began rubbing his hands while making a desperate expression.

If you judge a person solely by their facial expressions, then Bak Gi-chung looked even more pitiful and deserving of your sympathy than, say, an Eritrean refugee who lost their entire family while trying to flee the conflict.

Mu Ssang could only sigh at length at a human's endless capacity to act foolishly. This fatso's life was about to fall to the depths of the netherworld, yet he was still worried about some ledger? What a pitiful bastard.

"Bak Gi-chung. Whenever you rode around in the shiny new supercar bought with the blood and tears of your victims, and when dozens of underlings bowed ninety degrees before you, you must've felt like you were the emperor of the world.

"The reason why a Yangahchi will always remain as a yangahchi is simple. It's because you don't have 'roots.' An Yangahchi using violent means to steal and rob from other people is no different from an unruly animal. And in the animal kingdom, the one with the most power is the king.

"A Yangahchi torments those weaker than them while being oblivious of how high the heavens can be. But the moment someone stronger than you shows up, it's your fate to get all of your roots yanked out."

Mu Ssang stopped talking there, scanning all the Yangahchis laid out on the floor. Now that he had paid off Kim Gi-taek's debt and received the loan repayment certificate, the first part of this trip was basically over. As for the... sightseeing tour of the Pungguk gang members, it was now up to them to determine whether it'd end in South Korea or get an extension in the desert of Africa.

*

"Bak Gi-chung, there's an old saying about how the animals in existence could be classified as 'insects'. Those would be Inchung (scaly insect), Wuchang (winged insect), Mochung (hairy insect), Gaechung (insect with carapace or shell), and finally, Nachung (naked insect). Whether your life ends as a Nachung here or you get another chance at reverting back to a human being will depend on your answers from now on."

'What the hell is up with this conman bullsh*t he's busy spewing?!'

Bak Gi-chung was inwardly confused, but he did his best to keep his wits about him. Since this man was impossible to read, who knows what kind of torment he'd unleash upon Bak Gi-chung at the slightest hint of a slip of the tongue?

"What's the purpose of those buildings in the back surrounded by the tall walls?"

"Those are military facilities we bought from the Americans. We've been using them as a dormitory for our boys."

"And your family has how many members?"

"It's fifty-two."

Including Kang Min-Seok, a total of 35 were lying on the office floor right now. Which meant seventeen were still unaccounted for.

"That's quite a lot. Do all 52 stay in the dorms, then?"

Bak Gi-chung flinched. "N-no, not really..."

"You better tell us everything while I'm still being civil. Three barracks around one hundred pyeongs wide can house three hundred people, easy. What's the reason for such tall walls? You have something to hide, don't you?"

"N-no, no way. What you see is exactly what the Americans have sold us. It has a training facility and even a medical facility for the..." Bak Gi-chung jumped up in alarm.

"A medical facility, you say?" The corners of Mu Ssang's lips curled up, but the glare in his eyes had grown so much sharper.

He got interested in the old barracks simply because of the strong stench of disinfectant. The stench was trying to disguise another smell wafting around in the air - the acrid stench of blood. A stench that could only be picked up on a battlefield was wafting around in the middle of a normal city, which shouldn't be possible in normal circumstances.

There was one other thing to consider here: Yangahcis didn't understand the concept of loyalty, to begin with. You'd not be called a Yangahchi if you actually spent your own dime to operate a medical facility for your underlings.

"I-it's only on the level of employing a nurse to stick an IV drip, brother." Bak Gi-chung was now visibly panicking. He was thinking to himself, 'Sons of b*tches! What are those damn Japs doing, taking their sweet time?!'

He was getting exceedingly nervous right now.