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CHAPTER 143 – FIELD WORK
“We’re a five-minute standby squad. We wait here, and the moment a report comes in, we deploy immediately. Our top priority is to get there the fastest, assess the situation, and save civilians from danger.”
Ryu Min conducted the theory lesson as he drew lines across the whiteboard set up in the temporary assembly site.
Even though it was evening, the members listening to the lesson had sparkling eyes.
It was hard to believe these were the same people who had been glaring at him resentfully just a little while ago—they were completely absorbed in the training.
“Most criminal players feel like they’re special, but at the same time, they’re mixed with fear about whether they can even survive the next Round. So when they’re pushed to the edge of a cliff, they’re mentally unstable and in a dangerous state.”
The unit members nodded as if they could relate.
They, too, had experienced the fear of the next Round.
“When your mind is worn down, it’s easy to get seized by the temptation to think, ‘If I’m going to die in the next Round anyway, I might as well do everything I want.’ That’s why those bastards don’t have any brakes. It’s the mindset of letting loose every impulse they’ve been suppressing before everything goes to hell.”
That was why player crimes happened so frequently.
“Which is why they have no hesitation committing theft, looting, rape, murder—anything. They already tried killing a person as a ‘mock exercise’ in Round 4, so you could say their rehearsal for murder is over. Those types have no fear. They look down on civilians and even treat the police like a joke. But now, it’s different.”
From behind his mask, Ryu Min’s eyes gleamed.
“We have to plant fear in them. And we have to change the way civilians—who distrust both the police and players—see things. From here on out, we’ll conduct practical training to learn those parts. If you think about it, this is basically the real thing.”
The members’ throats bobbed as they swallowed.
Real field work from the very first day—there was no way they wouldn’t be tense.
“Field work will be conducted in Seoul. According to the statistics, most players’ residences are concentrated in Seoul. Then shall we check whether any reports have come in yet?”
Ryu Min turned on the radio he’d had off.
Chhk— chhk—
He matched the frequency so they could receive reports at any time, and checked the computer to see if any reports had already been logged.
“We’re lucky. Thankfully, there were no reports during the one hour we were training. Some of you might be disappointed we don’t have a chance to practice, but no matter what, the best thing is that there’s nothing to deploy to.”
“Ah.”
“Then let’s resume the lesson—”
That was when the previously quiet radio crackled and a voice came through.
-Incident reported, incident reported, Code 01, Code 01. Player-only emergency bell report received from a convenience store in Seongnae-dong. Requesting confirmation of exact location. Over.
Wiiiiiiing—
The report alert system installed inside the temporary assembly site also let out an alarm.
Ryu Min muttered quietly.
“So much for luck.”
It really was bad luck.
For the criminal player.
Roo-roo-roo-roo—
Riding in a van with a police emblem on the side, the unit members listened to their commander’s explanation.
“Three minutes ago, a report came in from a convenience store in Seongnae-dong. Since they pressed the player-only emergency bell, there’s a strong possibility they’re being threatened by a player. In other words, it’s an emergency.”
At the word emergency, the members tensed up.
They’d been doing DUI checkpoints—this was their first time going out to a scene like this. Of course they would be.
“A criminal player is like a ticking time bomb that could go off at any moment. That’s why fast judgment matters. Since today is your first day, I’ll show you a demonstration. Just watch how it’s done.”
“Yes!”
Two more minutes passed, and the reported convenience store came into view.
Arriving in exactly five minutes, the unit members surged inside behind Ryu Min.
Or rather, they were about to.
Until Ryu Min stepped back out.
“Huh? Why are you coming back out?”
“I already finished assessing the situation. Go in and take a look.”
He’d been inside for, what, about five seconds—and he’d already finished assessing the situation?
With confused faces, the members went into the convenience store.
“Hng!”
“Ah!”
A pained sound spilled from their mouths the moment they saw the scene.
The owner—an employee in his forties, assumed to be the one who reported it—was already dead.
A clear slash across his neck and a checkout counter drenched in blood showed just how horrific it was.
“Fucking bastard. A civilian with no power at all….”
“Where the hell did that son of a bitch go?”
The enraged unit members looked around, but there was no sign of anyone else inside the convenience store.
Judging from the open register, it looked like the culprit had extorted money from the owner, killed him, and fled.
Breathing hard with rage, the members came back outside and approached Ryu Min, who was scanning the surroundings.
“Commander. We checked.”
“Yeah. Did you finish assessing the situation?”
“Yes. The person who looked like the owner is dead, and it seemed like the perpetrator has already disappeared. But how did you assess it that fast?”
“When I went in, there was a dead civilian in his forties at the register, and there was no presence to be felt through Detection. Just from that, you can tell he killed him and ran.”
“Ah. Then shouldn’t we go inside and look for evidence about the culprit? Like checking the CCTV for appearance and clothing—”
“He’s not a simple criminal. He’s a player. This is an urgent situation where a walking time bomb has fled. There’s no time to leisurely collect evidence. We don’t know when another victim will appear.”
“Ah….”
He wasn’t wrong, so the members nodded.
“Then what do we do now? We don’t have any information on the culprit.”
“What do you mean, we don’t have information? If you look at the scene, you can see traces that he fled in a hurry. It was probably his first time killing a civilian. And he’s probably not that smart.”
“Huh? How do you know that?”
“First, there’s no cash in the register. That means money was the goal. Even though he achieved the goal, the culprit killed the owner. That must’ve been out of fear the owner would report him. But even after killing him, he didn’t use something as common as the Trace Erasure skill? A guy who was scared enough to kill someone left evidence behind like an idiot. Why do you think that is?”
“W-well…?”
“He panicked the moment he actually killed someone. In other words, he’s a rookie who isn’t used to this. And it was probably his first time killing a civilian.”
“…….”
The members stared, mouths half open.
He judged all the way to that point from just a brief look?
The more they saw of their commander, the more unbelievable he was.
“Where would a rookie criminal player who just killed a civilian run?”
“W-well…?”
“In my view….”
Ryu Min started walking toward the narrow alley beside the convenience store.
“Rather than an open main road, there’s a high chance he ran into an alley like this. He would’ve wanted to hide in a dark place where people wouldn’t see him.”
“Ah, then if we follow the alleys, we can find him?”
“Right. What you need in a situation like this is a surrounding search skill. Shall we start by using a skill?”
Ryu Min used one of the common skills: [Area Scan].
It was a function that displayed the surrounding area within a 500-meter radius like a mini-map.
A map window appeared in front of Ryu Min—visible to everyone’s eyes.
On the map, many red dots were visible, clearly markers for living beings.
And among them, there was exactly one dot that was moving.
“Look. If you check the map, you see that guy running through the alleys, right?”
“I-it’s really there!”
Just as Ryu Min said, there was one dot that moved while only choosing alleyways.
As if trying to avoid people’s eyes.
“There’s a high chance this is the culprit.”
“Ah!”
“Then let’s catch him before we lose him.”
“Yes, understood!”
The unit members ran into the alleys after Ryu Min.
But the distance quickly widened, and Ryu Min disappeared from their view.
‘W-what? Was the commander’s movement speed always that fast?’
Like a car and a bicycle.
They were sprinting at full strength, but they couldn’t catch up to Ryu Min’s running speed.
Which was only natural.
During the duel, he hadn’t worn any items—but right now, Ryu Min was fully equipped.
His Agility stat had increased dramatically, so his movement speed couldn’t possibly be the same as before.
As the commander’s figure remained nowhere in sight no matter how much they ran, the unit members clicked their tongues.
‘I can’t keep up. Not a chance.’
‘The more I see, the more amazing he is.’
Since they’d lost him from sight, they had no choice but to rely on [Area Scan].
The members who had the skill kept chasing Black Scythe while watching the map.
Not long after, the unit members saw Black Scythe facing off with a suspect in an alley.
But one person’s neck was trapped in the suspect’s arm.
“Don’t come closer! You fucking bastard!”
“P-please save me. Please save me.”
A woman who looked to be in her mid-thirties was being held by the suspect.
A player was threatening a civilian again.
“That crazy fucker….”
It seemed he’d run into her while sprinting through the alleys and took her hostage.
Seeing the man holding a dagger to the woman’s neck, the unit members became certain.
That bastard was the culprit who killed the convenience store owner and ran.
“What are you guys! Why are you chasing me! If you come closer, I’ll stab this bitch’s throat, you hear me!”
The unit members hesitated.
One wrong move and a hole could open in her neck.
If they provoked him carelessly, something horrific could happen.
“H-hey, sir. Please calm down and—”
“Sir, my ass! Do I look like a sir to you? Huh?!”
Spitting as he ranted, the culprit looked mentally unstable at a glance.
“And what’s with that masked bastard? It’s fucking annoying—why’s he staring without saying anything? Is he your friend? And you—put your weapons away, all of you!”
“Please save me, please save me….”
“Hey, you fucking bitch, shut up! You trying to piss me off? Shut your mouth. Or I’ll— I’ll— I’ll stab you—”
That was when—
Thwack—!
The man’s head burst as if it had been hit by a bomb.
Ryu Min’s hooked scythe, stretching out like a whip, pierced straight through the culprit’s face.
So fast there wasn’t even time to react.
Thud—
“Save m— Kyaaaah!”
Seeing the corpse, the woman shrieked and scrambled backward, almost crawling away.
Shhrrr—!
After killing the culprit without hesitation, Ryu Min retrieved his scythe.
At that cold-blooded decisiveness, the unit members could only stare blankly, as if they’d lost the words to speak.
“Are you all right?”
“Y-yes… yes….”
“Don’t worry. You’re safe now.”
After calming the trembling woman, Ryu Min turned to the unit members.
“What’s wrong?”
“W-we didn’t think you’d kill the culprit without even arresting him….”
“According to the Anti-Player Act, there are two cases where you’re allowed to execute a criminal player on the spot. One: if the criminal committed a serious crime like murder, robbery, or rape. Two: if it’s judged to be an emergency situation where the criminal is harming a civilian. He qualifies for both. Of course, him killing the store owner is only circumstantial for now, but if we check CCTV and match the clothing, it’ll be proven. And even if that wasn’t the case, the moment he threatened a civilian, he already qualified for on-the-spot execution.”
“…….”
“On the scene, fast judgment is life. Depending on how quickly you catch the criminal, there may not be additional victims. Like right now. If I hadn’t stepped in, wouldn’t there have been a second victim?”
The unit members couldn’t deny it.
If Ryu Min hadn’t chased him, the woman might’ve been killed just because she happened to run into him in an alley.
Because Ryu Min chased after him with a scythe, the culprit got scared, took the woman hostage—and she survived.
“Trying to capture him alive knowing the risk was too dangerous. That’s why on-the-spot execution is necessary. And that’s why I compared players to time bombs. If you can’t protect everyone by wrapping your whole body around a time bomb, the wise method is to remove the detonator early.”
In reality, it hadn’t been a detonator—he’d blown out the brain—but the unit members didn’t see it as an overly cruel measure.
They had already witnessed a brutal murder scene; it was too late to hold sympathy for the criminal.
And even without that, they were members who loathed criminals enough to become police in the first place.
“Commander. What do we do with the corpse? Should we handle it with Trace Erasure?”
“No. We can’t wipe evidence. Regular police officers will already be coming here after receiving the report. We only need to deal with the player who’s a threat and report the situation. The rest can be left to civilians.”
“Ah, understood.”
“You saw the demonstration, so you roughly understand what to do now, right? The important things are fast judgment, searching for the culprit, and protecting lives. Depending on how fast you move, you can save people. Understood?”
“Yes! Understood!”
Seeing the members now brimming with tension and discipline, Ryu Min smiled in satisfaction behind his mask.