My Alter Ego’s Path to Greatness

Chapter 31

"Hey, want another drink? On me?"

"Someone called for a substitute!"

"Hey there, handsome. How about a drink together here? What do you say?"

Despite the messed-up security, the streets at night still had their own lively atmosphere.

Loud voices of the drunken, hustlers trying to attract attention, and even those picking the pockets of the intoxicated.

Hans's detection spell, powered by his servant magic, had improved in range and precision over time.

With a wider scope, incidents within the area occurred more frequently, making Hans busier than ever.

Initially dealing with all sorts of petty criminals, he now prioritized punishing serious offenders as the range expanded.

'Still, word about Hans seems to have spread a bit. Lately, the criminals seem a bit wary.'

Engaging in law enforcement activities, Hans had encountered numerous criminals, including organized groups with their own influence in the back alleys.

Of course, he didn't just blindly crush criminal organizations; he focused on disposing of those caught in the act or those who had clearly crossed the line.

Dealing with the root of the problem wasn't entirely feasible, and even if he cleaned up, new individuals would fill the vacuum.

So, he mainly kept an eye on the potential threats after identifying them.

- Deep Game Land

The place Heinz was in now was one of the organizations he had identified back then.

An adult arcade located in a remote alley.

As the door with sticky sheets opened, the view inside was obscured by thick cigarette smoke.

Upon entering, the gaze of the people inside focused on Heinz.

"Why did a young man like you come here? To play a round?"

Approaching with a cigarette in his mouth, a burly man exuded a casual demeanor but displayed a subtle sense of vigilance.

Among the patrons inside, there were those discreetly moving their hands, searching for weapons.

'Well, I can understand that sentiment.'

A sudden visitor in a secretive space where visitors were usually scarce.

Moreover, with a head shaved close, a black suit, and a black mask covering the area below the eyes, it was an undoubtedly conspicuous attire.

Not drawing attention would be strange.

'I even considered wearing sunglasses, but that seemed a bit too much...'

Becoming a vampire had drastically changed Hans's appearance.

The pale skin and altered facial features made it hard to recognize his original self.

However, engaging in illegal activities and revealing his face anywhere wasn't an option.

That said, completely concealing oneself is a hassle. In that case, using the changed appearance would be more helpful in hiding one's identity. The most significant factor in the altered impression is deliberately exposing sharp eyes, creating an entirely different image from Hansung-hyun. Such thoughts, along with a well-thought-out outfit, shaped the current appearance.

Walking around at midnight with sunglasses might attract more attention.

"I want to sell something."

"Something? This is an arcade; you're trying to sell game consoles? We don't deal with general merchandise."

I tucked my hand, adorned with a bracelet, into my pocket and pulled out a gold coin, showing it to the burly man.

Upon gazing at it for a moment, he furrowed his brow and looked at me.

"You're a new face. Who introduced you?"

"Does it matter?"

"It matters. In this business, trust is the most important rule. We can't trade with someone we don't know."

"Well, you're not wrong."

This place was an organization that facilitated various illegal trades and smuggling.

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An organization that Hans left behind because it was too difficult for him to directly use.

I put my hand back into my pocket and tossed a metal badge to him.

Taking the item lightly, he stared at it for a while before sighing.

"I heard most of them got slaughtered by some crazy undead."

The badge was an item given to the high-ranking members of the organization that Hans had annihilated—those involved in human trafficking and long-term smuggling.

Naturally, I had turned all of them into undead.

"Most of them died, and the organization fell apart. I was lucky enough to escape. So, I want to get rid of the remaining items."

Of course, after using dark magic to investigate the brains of the masterminds and executioners, eliminating those involved in heinous crimes, unless someone was exceptionally lucky to escape, there wouldn't be any remnants.

He seemed to be considering my words and eventually returned the badge.

"Well, if that's the case, you came to the right place. It's unfortunate what happened to Boss Park, but the survivors have to keep living."

Speaking in a more casual tone, the burly man continued, "Anyway, thanks for coming all the way from Daelan-dong. Must have been a bit far."

"Two."

"Huh? What's that supposed to mean?"

I simply observed the burly man, who was scratching his head, without saying anything more.

After a moment of locking eyes, he cleared his throat.

"Well, that should do it. Follow me."

With a cough, the burly man finally led me inside.

Onlookers who had been observing turned away one by one, starting to chatter among themselves.

'That human, contrary to appearances, seems quite capable.'

The conversation a while ago was a kind of covert confirmation process.

The organization's boss wasn't Park but Joe, and the base was Garae-dong, not Daelan-dong.

It wasn't necessary to step forward and correct it.

In fact, information like this could be obtained in various ways, and the process was initially designed to filter out individuals like them.

The crucial thing was answering hidden questions.

In simpler terms, 'how many mistakes were made in the conversation?'

'Probing the brains of the executives to read their memories isn't bad, considering. Actually, I knew that when I came here.'

Each group had pre-discussed questions and answers, periodically changing them.

Testing the other party by remembering all of them indicated that the burly man was probably a more intelligent individual than he appeared.

"Come in this way. I won't see you off when you leave."

After navigating a complex corridor, the burly man arrived at a door and disappeared without saying more.

Without hesitation, I opened the door and entered.

Inside the room, a wall had a hole only for the upper body, connected to a table like a bank counter.

"Alright, what do you want to trade?"

A masked man sitting across the wall looked at me and spoke.

"Straight to the point, I like that."

No greetings, straight to business.

I sat in the chair across from him and pushed the gold coin I had been holding through the hole.

He silently received the item, pushing it to his side without a word.

Though not visible behind the wall, the atmosphere suggested that there were several people in the opposite room.

They probably handed over the item to an appraiser.

Swoosh—

After a moment, he received a piece of paper handed over from the side and glanced at it before extending it towards me.

A simple piece of paper with numbers written on it.

I furrowed my brows.

"Aren't you hitting too hard?"

"That's how things are traded in a place like this. Didn't you know when you came?"

Of course, I knew, but I didn't expect it to be this excessive.

After a moment of contemplation, I nodded.

In truth, I still had a significant amount of cash.

It wasn't necessary to resort to this method.

'I've cleaned out the coffers of criminal organizations.'

A pile of gold bars, various real estate documents, and heaps of cash that were stored in their vaults.

Hans carefully stashed those items in his personal space.

However, the reason I was willing to endure this cumbersome process was...

"Alright, can I receive something other than cash?"

"As long as the price is right, anything is possible. What do you want?"

"Lotto jackpot."

No matter how much cash one has, if it can't be used, it's useless.

There are limits even to cash transactions, and in this day and age, relying solely on that for all economic activities had its limitations.

What I needed was 'legitimately usable funds' as Hansung-hyun.

And the record of being a Lotto jackpot winner would serve as a smokescreen even when using cash in the future.

"...That will come with a significant fee. Are you okay with that?"

"Of course. How much can you manage?"

"Hmm."

The sound of a keyboard being typed lightly echoed from the opposite room.

Whether there was a monitor next to the hole in the counter on that side or not, he turned his gaze slightly and seemed to be reading something.

"The highest amount we can arrange immediately is 6.1 billion. The collection period is four months."

"And after that?"

"4.4 billion. Ten months."

These guys were more competent than I thought.

"But do you have items of that value? With this amount of gold coins, it seems impossible."

Well, given my current state of being empty-handed, it was understandable to be skeptical.

Using the spatial magic tool, I extracted gold bars from my personal space and stacked them neatly on the table.

"...You have quite valuable items."

For a moment, the man's expression changed.

Greedy eyes that could be discerned even beyond the mask.

Considering that the spatial manipulation item itself was precious, it was natural to covet it.

Even with plenty of money as an organization, certain items were beyond reach, making it reasonable to be ambitious.

'Yeah, I expected as much.'

I looked directly at him.

Heinz's eyes turned crimson, and the scent of blood spread thickly in the vicinity.

"······!"

Not only the man with the mask, but even those present in the same space seemed to stiffen.

It may be a reasonable amount, but the scale of the transaction is large, and the other party is a self-proclaimed remnant of a fallen organization.

If a tiger crawls into your mouth defenseless and you don't swallow it, you are not part of a criminal organization.

'It's a necessary process for a proper deal.'

They would have tried to devour me somehow if I hadn't shown any strength, be it through force or whatever means necessary.

So, it was necessary to demonstrate my power to some extent.

"We're going to make a cool deal and end it nicely. We'll be seeing each other often."

After a brief period, thinking I had sufficiently pressured him, I released my grip and addressed him.

"...Ah, yes? My mistake."

Fortunately, he seemed to have understood my warning, as he cleared his throat and brought a stack of gold coins from the front to his side.

The appraiser seated beside him still seemed uneasy, but soon recovered and assessed the gold coins, providing the valuation.

'Indeed, force is the ultimate form of communication, isn't it?'

The appraisal value had definitely improved compared to before.

It seemed that they had taken various measures to benefit me in terms of fees.

I nodded with satisfaction.

"By the way, we only deal in face value. Handle the tax issues yourself."

In addition to exchange fees and the extra fees for receiving Lotto, there was also the tax to be paid when claiming the winnings.

Even with the substantial amount of gold, the profit obtained when selling it didn't even amount to a fraction.

'With this amount of gold, and especially considering that these items have an untraceable origin, there's no other choice. But it still stings...'

"The total appraisal value is slightly over 7.8 billion. If you go for the 6.1 billion Lotto, after deducting the fees, the remaining amount... Will the rest be in cash?"

"Hmm, just a moment."

Heinz feigned a momentary hesitation, buying time.

During that time, the main body at home quickly searched for information on the internet.

'If it's a 6.1 billion Lotto jackpot from eight months ago... Only three winners? There hasn't been anything similar recently. This won't work.'

While legal money could be obtained, there was a risk of being traced by those actively looking for it.

I didn't know the extent of their information-gathering capabilities, but it wasn't worth taking unnecessary risks.

"Instead of the 6.1 billion, how much is possible to receive all in Lotto for the settlement amount?"

"All of it? Hmm, then after deducting the fees, it would be around 6.5 billion."

"Then divide it by... no, split it reasonably into three parts. 3 billion, 2 billion, and 1.5 billion. Is that possible?"

"If it's similar, it should be possible..."

The masked man seemed visibly uneasy.

However, understanding my intentions, he soon nodded in agreement.

"You're quite cautious, huh? In reality, we mostly use it here for the purpose of laundering funds. Not many are so obsessively secretive about their identity here."

The recent average amount of Lotto winnings was around 2 billion.

With dozens of winners every week, tracking was absolutely impossible.

"We're also in the position of intermediaries, so we can't precisely match it. We'll roughly distribute it within the amount."

"No problem. But you seem to be well-prepared. Are there many people using your services?"

"Not that many. Probably because the taxes are substantial. There are also many more convenient and efficient methods for laundering funds."

He shrugged, mentioning that there were still quite a few people looking for such services.

As I had thought, there was nothing better for legitimate use in Korea.

With taxes paid and funds received, there was no basis for tracking, and there was no one to question my luck.

"Is that so? Then how long will it take for the items to be ready?"

"Hmm... It'll probably take about an hour to bring everything here."

It seemed like they had entered into some kind of business agreement with others doing similar work.

Just one hour to match such an amount.

'I could use someone like this. If I had a subordinate in this field who could handle minor issues and run errands...'

Well, perhaps eliminating an entire back-alley organization wouldn't be a bad idea.

It would save me from these troubles, and it seemed useful in many ways.