Chapter 42: Spectator at the Crime Scene
"Team Captain, can we head back to that shop in the narrow alley once this operation wraps up?" Ji-Woo asked, lowering his voice as they waited in the shadow of the damp alleyway.
Jin-Man scowled. It was the umpteenth time Ji-Woo had whined about that place today, right in the middle of a high-stakes tactical deployment.
He admitted the VR capsule’s realism was extraordinary—likely the first technology of its kind in the world. But as far as Jin-Man was concerned, it was still just a game. Approaching fifty, he had little interest in digital illusions. Real life was built on real power, not virtual headshots.
"Can you shut up and focus on the mission?" Jin-Man barked, his voice a low, irritated growl. "Do you want to get demoted to directing traffic? The city launched a clean-up campaign, and we’re tasked with dismantling the biggest wild gang in the sector. You think we can afford to get distracted?!"
Jin-Man internally gritted his teeth. He had never expected a simple investigation into a small, obscure shop tucked away in a back alley to cause such lingering headaches in his daily routine.
"I’m sorry, Team Captain," Ji-Woo mumbled, lowering his head.
Still, he couldn’t help it. The lingering thrill of playing Counter-Injustice hadn’t faded. Although he hadn’t noticed any dramatic physical changes yet, the hyper-realistic shooter had awakened something in him. In the violent crimes unit, most of his work involved hand-to-hand scuffles, batons, tasers, and tedious interrogation rooms. Firearms were seldom authorized for open use.
Counter-Injustice had given him a taste of high-intensity tactical engagement, and his brain was practically humming with residual adrenaline.
Even so, he had no intention of losing focus or carrying out his duties half-heartedly.
As he scanned the dark alley, Ji-Woo felt surprisingly clear-headed. His eyesight felt sharper, picking up subtle movements in the shadows, and his hearing caught the faintest echo of distant footsteps. He attributed it to pre-mission focus, entirely unaware that the VR capsule’s stat-synchronization was already bleeding into his real-world body.
"Get ready," Jin-Man ordered suddenly, checking his watch. "Precinct units flushed out seven gang members. They’re heading right down this funnel."
Ji-Woo nodded, his posture snapping into high alert as distant police sirens began to wail.
Seconds later, seven panicked thugs burst into the narrow alleyway, sprinting as fast as their legs could carry them to escape the approaching patrol cars.
"Move!" Jin-Man commanded.
The two officers sprang from the darkness. Ji-Woo moved with unnatural speed, vaulting smoothly over a pile of wooden pallets to cut off the lead runners. With two quick, fluid strikes honed by tactical instinct, he swept the legs of the first thug and drove an elbow into the second, pinning them both to the concrete.
Jin-Man stepped out to intercept the third, letting the remaining four panic and sprint toward the dead end ahead—where the rest of their squad was already waiting in ambush.
"You piece of shit!" the trapped gang member spat, recognizing Jin-Man instantly. "How dare you betray us after taking our bribes for years?!"
Jin-Man didn’t blink. "Betray you? How can I betray a group I was never part of?" He let out a cold, quiet chuckle. "You idiots should have surrendered when the precinct officers gave you the chance."
He glanced back briefly. Ji-Woo was several yards away, fully occupied with subduing two struggling gang members amidst the chaos of distant sirens. The noise of the street was more than enough to drown out their conversation.
"Give me the ledger," Jin-Man said, reaching into his jacket and pulling out a heavy six-shot revolver.
The thug’s face paled. "W-What ledger?! I don’t know what you’re talking about!"
"Save the act. Why else would I bother dragging myself into this dark, filthy hole if not for the ledger?" Jin-Man cocked the hammer back with a sharp, metallic click, pointing the barrel directly between the man’s eyes. "There are too many important names written in that book. It needs to disappear tonight."
The gang member’s eyes widened in horror as realization struck him like a physical blow.
"Y-You... how did you know it was with me?!" the man stammered, terror trembling in his voice. "Did you plant a spy inside our upper circle? Who told you?!"
Realizing the deadly corner he was backed into, the gang member rotated and scrambled away in a panic, desperately trying to put distance between himself and Jin-Man. Knowing mere space wouldn’t save him, he pivoted toward the entrance of the alley and screamed at the top of his lungs.
"Hey, officer! Detective, help! I surrender! Arrest me!"
Before Ji-Woo could hear the plea or even turn his head, a heavy gunshot echoed off the damp brick walls.
BANG!
Ji-Woo and the two gang members he was wrestling with instinctively ducked, pinning themselves flat against the pavement.
’What was that?! Did the Team Captain shoot?!’ Ji-Woo thought, his heart hammering against his ribs. ’I didn’t even know he brought a live firearm for this raid!’
Urgency surged through him to run toward the gunfire, but he forced himself to stay grounded. He quickly snapped handcuffs onto the two terrified thugs lying prone on the street, securing them first before rushing to his superior.
Meanwhile, deeper in the alley, Jin-Man stared down at the dead gang member with cold, indifferent eyes.
The moment the man had started screaming, Jin-Man had closed the distance in a single fluid stride, kicked the man onto his back against the pavement, and shot him straight in the chest.
He knew negotiation was a waste of breath. When dealing with desperate street scum, the crudest method was always the most efficient: kill first, search later.
Keeping his movements methodically quiet, Jin-Man pulled a clean handkerchief from his jacket pocket and used it to unwrap a small, untraceable switchblade. He pressed the handle firmly into the dead man’s twitching fingers to coat it in the suspect’s prints.
"Ah, shit... gotta make it look like self-defense," Jin-Man muttered under his breath.
He folded the handkerchief, shoved it between his teeth to muffle his own groan, and grabbed the dead man’s knife-wielding hand. Guiding the blade toward his own lower abdomen, he drove it deep into his side.
"F-Fuck...!" Jin-Man hissed through gritted teeth, cold sweat instantly breaking out across his forehead. "Hurts like hell... damn it."
He yanked the blade free, letting it fall naturally beside the corpse, and immediately pressed the folded handkerchief over his bleeding side to staunch the flow.
"That... should be more than enough reason to justify puttin’ a bullet in this bastard," he wheezed, adjusting his posture to look slumped and exhausted against the wall. "Now... time to find that damn ledger before the kid gets over here."
Moments later, Jin-Man’s fingers closed around the sleek, leather-bound ledger hidden in the inner pocket of the dead man’s coat.
He was about to slip the book into his own jacket when a sudden spark of dark ambition flashed in his eyes.
’Should I keep this for myself? With this ledger, every corrupt higher-up and prominent figure in S City would be dancing on the palm of my hand...’
The dangerous thought hung in the air for a fraction of a second before his pragmatic survival instincts overruled it.
’Forget it. Holding onto a ticking bomb like this just turns me into prey for bigger predators. Staying alive and wealthy is better than getting erased.’
He shook his head, quickly tucking the ledger deep inside his inner pocket just as heavy footsteps sprinted toward him.
"Team Captain! What happened?!" Ji-Woo shouted frantically, rushing to his side and taking in the sight of the dead thug on the concrete.
His eyes immediately darted to Jin-Man’s hand, which was desperately clutching a blood-soaked handkerchief against his lower abdomen.
"D-Don’t worry, Team Captain," Ji-Woo stammered, his face pale with concern. "Criminals must be punished! Even if this seems excessive, you were stabbed—you had no choice but to defend yourself!"
The corner of Jin-Man’s lip twitched into a faint, suppressed smirk.
’What a delightfully naïve kid,’ Jin-Man thought cold-bloodedly. ’Foolishly jumping to his own self-righteous conclusions. He still has no idea how the real world works.’
By midnight, the initial phase of the crackdown drew to a close. In this alleyway alone, twelve gang members were arrested, and one was killed on the spot. Across three other sectors, coordinated police raids netted another twenty-nine suspects.
Yet, the operation was far from over.
This campaign was aimed at completely dismantling the entire wild gang network—an syndicate boasting over three hundred active members. Tonight was merely the opening salvo.
Meanwhile, lurking in the shadows just past the yellow police cordon, Donape casually pulled his hoodie over his head. He had jogged all the way here following the precinct’s speeding patrol cars—yet despite covering miles at high speed, he wasn’t out of breath at all.
"Wow," Donape muttered softly, taking a sip from a warm can of cheap coffee he had just bought. "I actually managed to keep up."
As he watched the forensic team and officers busy securing the crime scene, he felt a mild sting of regret for arriving too late to intervene directly.
"Ah, what a shame... missed the action. But whatever, this operation obviously isn’t over yet."
He was certain the gang crackdown was far from finished. The System hadn’t issued a completed chime, nor had it slapped him with the dreaded quest failure. As long as the notification remained silent, he still had a chance to clear it.
As Donape took another sip from his warm cup, his gaze happened to meet the eyes of a detective stepping out of the alley.
"Huh? Isn’t that the shopkeeper from Origins VR Cafe?" Ji-Woo asked, pointing toward the edge of the street in surprise.
Jin-Man turned his head, his scowl deepening instantly. ’Why the hell is that kid here?!’ the veteran detective thought, a surge of cold confusion washing over him. ’How did a mere shopkeeper wander all the way from his back alley to an active crime scene miles across the district?! Coincidence... or what?!’