126 – Second Invitation (4)
‘Couldn’t it be that Hwaryeon said everything?’
It was really a joke.
Thousands of thoughts ran through my head.
Anxiety inflated like a full balloon.
The balloon grew in size to the limit and looked like it would explode any time soon.
‘Considering Hwaryeon’s personality, I don’t think he would say that.’
Isol was completely unaware.
Considering that even Lee Sol, who is Ganghwa-ryun’s right-hand man and close to her stepsister, was not aware of it, it was also unlikely that she directly mentioned Kang Cheol-hwan.
‘I want to use my mental telepathy ability to open a steel ring. But with my current abilities, there’s no way. If I do something wrong, Kang Cheol-hwan might catch me.’
I kept a calm mind and glanced sideways at Kang Chul-hwan.
Contrary to my thoughts, however, Kang Cheol-hwan was sipping tea without showing any reaction.
“Hmm? One Western why though?”
Perhaps suddenly realizing that I was paying attention, Kang Cheol-hwan put on a benevolent smile and a slightly better expression. I can’t penetrate the intent of that expression. I cleared my throat for a moment.
“Nothing.”
Cheolhwan Kang’s reaction is not so cool.
He is behaving strangely lukewarm.
As if the words he just uttered were lies, and as if nothing had happened, Kang Cheol-hwan’s self-respecting appearance made me think of many things.
‘After…… Anyway, let’s calm down for now.’
I mentally washed my face and slowly organized my thoughts.
‘You prepared countermeasures under the assumption that Kang Chul-hwan might know everything anyway. I won’t be surprised like an idiot now.’
It doesn’t matter how Kang Cheol-hwan found out now. Let’s think about how to respond better in the future.
‘That’s right.’
I glanced at Kang Cheol-hwan.
‘Kang Cheol-hwan’s reaction is more flat than I thought. Are you acting on purpose?’
From the point of view of Kang Cheol-hwan, who cares deeply for his family, it was clear that I would be seen as an unscrupulous person who made fun of and played with my daughter-in-law.
However, Kang Cheol-hwan just tilted the teacup with a carefree attitude from beginning to end as if nothing had happened.
‘No, wait a minute. Could it be because of that?’
Sulpit Kang Kang-hwan’s personality and purpose came to the surface.
As a result of researching Kang Cheol-hwan, I found out something quite interesting.
It was related to his ambition.
“A West. Don’t stay still like that. Let’s go before it cools down.”
“Yes. All right.”
I was able to wake up from my thoughts at Kang Cheol-hwan’s low voice.
I took one look at Kang Cheol-hwan’s face, who suddenly suggested that I eat, and slowly moved my chopsticks.
I tasted the food for an hour.
Cheolhwan Kang was quietly looking at me.
“A West.”
“Yes.”
“The response is very poor.”
“Yes?”
Cheol-Hwan Kang, who called me out of the blue, clicked his tongue and made a disapproving expression.
“To change the mood, this old man threw a joke…… Judging from your reaction in the West, it must have failed.”
“Nong…… Do you mean?”
Kang Cheol-hwan laughed in vain, saying it was just a joke, but he couldn’t be sincere. Kang Cheol-hwan was convinced. The fact that I have other women. Nevertheless, reacting and behaving like that meant one thing.
…… Could it really be because of that?
Of the five scenarios I thought of, this is a very unexpected one.
“Now, a western. Have a drink.”
“Yes.”
While we were repeating dinner for a few hours, Kang Kang-hwan offered me a drink, and I reached out and took the drink with a straight posture.
After receiving the clear and transparent liquor, I turned my head slightly and carefully sipped it.
By the way.
“…… !”
It was the moment I gulp and swallow.
I felt the red-hot burning pain in my throat.
Should I say that it feels like lava flows down my esophagus and reaches my workplace, setting my whole body on fire?
During the Industrial Revolution, it was almost like this when a worker accidentally swallowed industrial alcohol.
If you were an ordinary person, you would have regurgitated alcohol and gastric juice with all your might while bending your back halfway. Maybe it was written in disarray before he even acted like that.
But I was no ordinary person.
Anyway, he was a hunter who had been trained for several years.
In addition, as Jihyeon joined the clan, she received more rigorous training.
In a nutshell, even if you don’t use your abilities, the criminal’s physical ability and chest are different. I could drink this much without thinking about it with a confident face.
…… No. Actually, it is a bit difficult.
The concentration of surgical alcohol is about 80%, but this damn alcohol seemed to be over 90%.
After absorbing all the alcohol into my stomach, I let out a warm breath and put the glass down. With a crackling sound, Kang Cheol-hwan smiled in satisfaction.
“You drink well like a man. Nice to see.”
“Thank you.”
It was quite a strong drink, but somehow I managed to survive.
“This is Spiritus, a Polish vodka. The alcohol level is about 96.5%.”
Isn’t it good enough for people to eat?
At this level, I wonder if they fed me with the thought of killing me.
“Good vodka is colorless, tasteless, and odorless, but I like to drink it with a little bit of a different flavor added.”
Kang Cheol-hwan quietly raised his glass.
“A West. Can I pour you a drink?”
“Oh, yes.”
I readily accepted Kang Chul-Hwan’s request and carefully picked up the bottle and started pouring it. And. You drink really well.
“Ha, good, good.”
Cheolhwan Kang, who had emptied himself several more times, suddenly lifted the corner of his mouth. Apparently he didn’t even seem to have detoxed the alcohol. I’m worried about damaging my stomach.
“Excellent meals and good drinks…… Today is a good day. Isn’t it?”
“Yes. Thank you so much for inviting me to dinner tonight.”
“Yes…… Is it… ….”
Cheol-Hwan Cheol-hwan, with a calm face, quietly looked out the window, despite having drunk several glasses of that strong drink.
A gloomy darkness was dyeing the land.
The crescent moon shone with a dark shadow.
…… Kang Cheol-hwan tilted his glass and looked up at the crescent moon once before asking me a question.
“A West. Can I ask this old man a question?”
“Yes. You are welcome to speak.”
“Yes thank you… ….”
Kang Cheol-hwan, with his horse’s tail slightly hanging down, drank vodka and licked his lips. Kang Cheol-hwan’s eyes caught the moonlight and yo-yo-ha flashed.
“Whoa…… What does the West think of Heuksanhoe?”
“What if you say Heuksanhoe?”
“There is nothing difficult about it. Because it literally means I wonder what Black Mountain Ash feels like to you.”
“… ….”
A sudden question.
So many thoughts rushed through my head.
The reaction of the girl next door whom I met by chance earlier.
The faces of the children who were afraid of Ganghwa Ryun during their school days.
At the time when Ganghwa-ryun appeared at the gate and was cursed at by some hunters, the hunters shuddered.
All those scenes lingered in my head and soon faded away.
…… There were no factors that made Heuksanhoe positive.
“You must be thinking a lot, you must be thinking a lot… ….”
Cheolhwan Cheol-hwan, who quietly spoke to himself while looking at me, smiled lightly.
“There is no need to be so nervous. Oh, did I ask something too obvious? Well, it could be. To you and to people outside, the Black Mountain Society is just a gangster group.”
“No.”
To outsiders, the Black Mountain Society is nothing but a gangster…….
That’s definitely true.
I don’t think Heuksanhoe is as important as Kanghwaryeon and Leesol.
…… As Kang Cheol-hwan said, I am only an outsider.
“Heh heh. Right.”
Cheolhwan Kang smiled coyly.
It was a laugh intertwined with loneliness and confusion.
He licked his lips for a moment, then drank again.
“By the way. A western…… For me, black mountain hoe is a horse…….”
Cheolhwan Kang looked down blankly at the glass with the moon shining on it like a calm lakeside, and let out a rhyme in a voice mixed with various emotions.
“…… It is everything in life.”
A ripple occurred on the shore of the lake when the glass was tingled and bounced. The moon waned along with the swaying glass.
“To you, it may be a criminal group that eats away at society, but I really invested everything in my life to bring the Black Society to where it is now.”
Cheolhwan Kang, who had been drinking under the dim moonlight, suddenly looked at me blankly. Two serious and serious eyes stared straight at my face.
“In a normal case, no matter how hard you try, it would be impossible to start empty-handed and grow a gang of gangsters this far…….”
Soon, Kang Cheol-hwan lifted his head slightly as if he was reminiscing about his vague old memories.
“…… It was possible in those days.”
It seemed like he was getting drunk and trying to bring up an old-fashioned story, but when he put it off with a serious expression and thought about it, there was a high possibility that it was the groundwork for starting the main topic.
I took the posture of listening quietly and listened to Kang Kang-hwan’s story.
“A West. You must have learned and know. Humanity in a time of upheaval.”
Upheaval.
It means when an unidentified tower and a mysterious creature of unknown origin appeared. Encountering the unknown was a great threat and fear to mankind.
“When a tower so tall that it seemed to pierce the sky rose up and monsters that ate people burst out like a dam…… There was an incalculable loss of life and property damage.”
It was the beginning of a war that will be remembered forever in human history.
“The tower couldn’t be destroyed by physical means, and monsters tore through the space and appeared everywhere. People couldn’t help but tremble in fear of monsters that never knew when to appear.”
Humanity began to be devastated due to the appearance of an incomprehensible natural enemy and an endless war.
“Then one day.”
Kang Cheol-hwan lightly tightened his fist.
“I don’t know if it was God’s blessing or the occurrence of mutations, but just like when monsters appeared, people who suddenly woke up to superpowers began to appear one after another.”
Humanity is faced with a new situation once again with the appearance of a person with abilities.
“As soon as we reach the end of a cataclysm, nothing but confusion comes.”
A period of great confusion.
Towers, monsters, and powers.
Incomprehensible phenomena occurred endlessly. The law and order built by mankind collapsed like a sandcastle. Various apocalyptic theories resounded. The whole world was a mess.
“With the appearance of a person with abilities, mankind has fallen into chaos again.”
“…… Yes.”
It was such a time.
A time when law and order collapsed due to monsters.
A time when anxiety was at its peak and civic consciousness was at a rock bottom.
A time when maturity was lacking, individualism prevailed, and hatred gave rise to hatred.
A period of turmoil was such a time.
“To people, people with abilities were no different from monsters.”
Incomprehensible and different from others leads directly to fear and contempt.
“Discrimination, oppression, and exclusion.”
It was inevitable.
At that time, there were many casualties due to monsters.
For people, people with abilities must have felt in line with humanoid monsters.
“When I think about it now, it was not enough, it was insufficient. Humanity, the legal system, and the consciousness of society as a whole…… It was so insufficient.”
Cheolhwan Kang muttered a bit bitterly.
“Due to the manifestation of abilities, the concept of human beings has collapsed. Conflict between the incompetent and the competent must have been natural.”
“… ….”
“The hatred of people with abilities has been repeated endlessly. Attacks on people with abilities were frequent, and hate groups were prevalent. The talented people even talked nonsense about being infected by a monster. It was a really difficult time.”
“…… It was a very difficult time for humanity.”
“That’s right.”
Kang Cheol-hwan has a calm but heavy smile.
“The government was afraid of the powerful. So it was more strictly controlled. How can we not be afraid of those with powers who can kill dozens or more people with a single gesture?”
I could roughly imagine how talented people were treated at the time.
“But, unfortunately or fortunately… ….”
Cheolhwan Cheol-hwan, after stirring the alcohol once, spits out the words.
“…… Something happened that proved the effectiveness of the tower.”
“Continued to investigate the inside of the tower, it was full of natural resources and many monsters.”
The inside of the tower is like a new world.
New fuel to replace fossil fuel.
A treasure piled up like a mountain and a Noble Phantasm of unknown origin.
A new mystery that will advance the science and technology of mankind and the vast land.
…… For mankind, the tower was a new continent with endless possibilities as well as an object of fear and fear.
“The translation and investigation of the tower were carried out. But examining the interior of the tower was not an easy task. Because the environment and gravity were different, there could be unknown viruses, and monsters populated, it would never have been possible to attack them with ordinary methods.”
To the extent that it was called the Trial of the Gods, the Tower was a very tough and dangerous place.
“Critically, it was very difficult for people with low magic resistance to withstand the poison of the tower.”
“But the ability was fine.”
“Yes, it is. Those with abilities were the right people to investigate and attack the tower.”
Cheolhwan Kang nodded.
“Also, the power of the talented people got stronger, and in the end, it was possible to subdue monsters with only the powerful people without the power of an army.”
“It was too difficult and costly to move the army every time a monster appeared. In order to kill a monster that is impervious to firearms, various missiles and shells have to be used, but the property damage was not easy.”
“Yes. It was kind of a cost issue.”
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However, well-trained talents were able to defeat the monster without much cost.
The cost and effort are excellent.
“It was more effective to hire talented people in defeating towers and monsters, and while the government nurtured talented people professionally, at the same time controlled the media to renew their image, and eventually came up with laws and systems for talented people one by one. It started.”
What comes after cataclysm and chaos is adaptation.
Humanity was gradually adapting to towers, monsters, and powerful people.
“At that time when old concepts were being crushed and new ones were being created and overlaid… ….”
Chul Cheol-hwan chanted in a rather strong voice and swallowed the liquor from the bottle.
“…… Whoa. One man thought so.”
It was a slightly drunk face, but only the eyes were clear.
“Now is the opportunity.”