The Crazy Mercenary Commander Goes to Work in the Entertainment Industry

Kang Jae-ha faced his new Subordinate, Ryu Hyuk, his face changed by the ’Ability’ Mask. And at the same moment, the woman’s voice came.

【You have encountered your 8th Ally (Subordinate) within the Segment 2 you’ve entered.】

【You are continuously maintaining your encounters with Allies (Subordinates), and an ’Additional Perk’ is hereby granted to Kang Jae-ha-nim.】

Just like when he’d received the Mask, it was handing him another Additional Perk. Kang Jae-ha smiled to himself.

’Hard at work, this woman’s voice.’

No, or was he the one putting in the hard work? Either way, last time Segment 1 had ended, and the instant he plunged into Segment 2, the voice had said Additional Perks would keep getting handed out, and sure enough it was true. The moment Jae-ha met Ryu Hyuk, an Additional Perk got tossed his way.

’At this rate, I’ll have to hustle around even harder, huh?’

If he kept up things like Ally (Subordinate) encounters, the ’Reality Adaptation Project’, and the ’Pension Program’ and ramped up his activity, he could rack up Additional Perks even faster. Around then, the woman’s voice reached Kang Jae-ha once more.

【Please select the ’Additional Perk’ you wish to receive.】

【1. Additional Pension of 20 billion won】

【2. Defense (Ability)】

This time, too, the Additional Perk options came up as money and an ’Ability’. If there was one difference from last time, it was that the sum of money had changed. Originally it had been 10 billion, but this time it had doubled to 20 billion. 20 billion? An obscene amount of money, sure. But Kang Jae-ha’s choice was already made.

’If it were something like 100 billion, maybe, but this time, too, it’s the ’Ability’, obviously.’

It was a jaw-dropping sum, but 20 billion or so was a figure Kang Jae-ha could earn under his own power. So he picked the ’Ability’, the thing that couldn’t be farmed.

By the time Kang Jae-ha had decided, his new Subordinate, Ryu Hyuk, staring at the Jae-ha now wearing Face A, was half out of his wits.

”......”

His widened eyes, locked on the Kang Jae-ha before him with the altered face, on this cold-eyed man, showed no sign of shrinking back to normal. No wonder. It was all because of the line the man had dropped: ”A mercenary who used to hack and tear, working as a detective. How amusing.”

A mercenary? Ryu Hyuk’s heart began to pound.

’...What is this guy?’

The guy had shown up out of nowhere and brought up mercenaries. An ordinary person would have just written him off as a Crazy Bastard and left it there, but Ryu Hyuk couldn’t do that. Because he himself was, in fact, a mercenary.

’The other world... does he know about it?’

He couldn’t ignore it. As Ryu Hyuk looked at the man across from him, his tension spiked several times over. A storm of thoughts and second-guesses tore through him. Should he attack? No, there was no telling what might happen if he made a careless move. Above all, right now Ryu Hyuk was a detective.

Lashing out recklessly might only make things worse.

’For now... I need to try talking to him.’

It was the first time Ryu Hyuk had heard the word ”mercenary” since he’d opened his eyes in this world. He’d vaguely wondered whether there might be other mercenary comrades out there, but he’d never met one. Ryu Hyuk, his eyes still wide.

’......Should I give it a try.’

He’d made up his mind about something. He’d decided to try using the ’Ability’ he carried. Less an attack than a bit of reconnaissance. Well, his Ability wasn’t the aggressive type to begin with. The information-digging type, if anything. Soon Ryu Hyuk used his ’Ability’, fixing his gaze on the man across from him. That is, on Kang Jae-ha.

But.

’Huh??’

It didn’t work.

’What the. Why isn’t it working?’

It was strange. This was a first, using his ’Ability’ and having it not take. Ryu Hyuk was thrown by the ’Ability’ that hadn’t worked. His head was a jumbled mess. Even so, choking down his alarm inwardly as best he could, he managed to speak.

”...What are you talking about? Mercenaries? This isn’t a place for jokes.”

The face-changed Kang Jae-ha let out a short laugh.

”What do I mean? Don’t play dumb when you used to flit around in the Mercenary Corps’ Scout Unit.”

”!!”

Ryu Hyuk’s eyes went even wider. Indifferent to that, Kang Jae-ha spoke again.

”Hold on a second.”

Having ordered him to wait, he picked the Additional Perk first. What he chose was ’Defense (Ability)’.

【’Defense’ is an Ability that blocks any physical attack, including those from Abilities, one time. Easiest to think of it as a protective shield. You can wrap the shield around yourself or a designated target, and ’Defense’ can be applied to yourself or a designated target only once per day. There is, however, no limit on the number of targets you may designate.】

【For yourself or a designated target, the shield holds until the single ’Defense’ you possess is spent, and only after it has been spent can you designate a new ’Defense’. 】

【※Caution: even with ’Defense’ in place, Kang Jae-ha-nim’s ’Absolute Obedience’ still applies and is absolute. An Ally (Subordinate) may therefore die by ’Absolute Obedience’. Please take note.】

Having finished its explanation of the ’Ability’ Defense, the woman’s voice added a closing line.

【Confirmed. The Additional Perk ’Defense (Ability)’ is hereby granted to Kang Jae-ha-nim.】

【As stated, from Segment 2 onward, the more you maintain Ally (Subordinate) encounters, the ’Reality Adaptation Project’, and the ’Pension Program’, the more ’Additional Perks’ will continue to be granted.】

【Well then, fighting.】

With that ”fighting” as the sign-off, Kang Jae-ha called to mind the ’Ability’ Defense he’d just acquired.

’Defense, not bad. In a way it’s as good as having one more life. For everyone I designate, myself included.’

The ’Ability’ Defense, like the Mask, was plenty useful. How to put it, it felt like being able to take out a powerful insurance policy.

’Well, looks like ’Absolute Obedience’ still gets through all the same, though.’

Either way, the gap between having and not having the ’Ability’ Defense was enormous. To take the Mercenary Corps as an example, back then, if someone got their throat slit or died one way or another, that was simply the end. But what if he’d had the ’Ability’ Defense back then?

’Since it blocks one hit no matter what, I’d have cut my way around even more, without a care.’

Next, Kang Jae-ha pushed his Defense experiments off until later. After all, he had to talk to Ryu Hyuk, who sat across from him with shock written all over his face.

”You’re rattled. Well, of course. Someone who knows about mercenaries just turned up.”

Jae-ha jerked his chin at Ryu Hyuk.

”You used your ’Ability’ just now too, didn’t you?”

”......”

”But it wouldn’t have worked on me.”

Only at this point did Ryu Hyuk stop hiding that he was a mercenary.

”Who the hell are you?”

Kang Jae-ha answered with a smile instead. The reason he’d met Ryu Hyuk with his face changed was simple. His investigation into Ryu Hyuk was already more or less finished, but he was being all the more careful. Caution, vigilance, there was no harm in being mindful.

There had been the recent Yang Na-hee business, after all.

Fortunately, unlike with Yang Na-hee, there was time to talk things over with Ryu Hyuk, and meeting him as Face A rather than letting himself be seen as the Commander would give a clearer read on Ryu Hyuk’s true intentions, perhaps?

If by chance Ryu Hyuk belonged to some organization that even Lee Chan-hoo’s investigation couldn’t dig up, this Bait might just flush that organization out as well. Because if he did belong to one, Ryu Hyuk wouldn’t sit still; he’d make some kind of move.

A plan layered double and triple, fold upon fold.

He’d also weighed Ryu Hyuk’s temperament. Even back in the Mercenary Corps days, Ryu Hyuk hadn’t been the sort to strike first without solid grounds.

In any case, Kang Jae-ha, wearing Face A, leveled his index finger at Ryu Hyuk.

”There are others like you.”

”...You were Mercenary Corps too?”

”That’s right.”

”But...... I’ve never seen you in the Mercenary Corps.”

”Who knows. At the very least, I know you.”

Had the man not been a standout figure in the Mercenary Corps? It was strange. Ryu Hyuk was sure he was seeing the man before him for the first time, yet somehow there was a familiar flavor to him.

”You’re saying mercenaries... are gathered together?”

Kang Jae-ha nodded.

”You could put it that way. So don’t go feeling lonely.”

”How many are there?”

”That’s something you’ll learn when we meet again.”

Ryu Hyuk, calmer now, took the measure of the man before him.

’No question, this guy crossed over from the other world too. But I can’t tell whether he was Mercenary Corps. No matter how I rack my brain, his face isn’t one I remember.’

Mercenary Corps or not, that the guy had come over from the other world was all but certain.

Just then, the man across from him abruptly rose, smooth and silent.

”I’ll be in touch again, so check the message and come to that place on that day.”

”...You know my number too? No, before that, how did you even find me?”

Kang Jae-ha cracked a crooked grin and offered a brief goodbye.

”You’re looking healthy. Better than back then.”

Watching Jae-ha’s back as he walked out of Detective Team 2, Ryu Hyuk made no real move to stop him. Even if he had, it wasn’t a situation that would yield any answers.

’Fuck, my ’Ability’ doesn’t even work on him. Who the hell is that bastard?’

A short while later.

Stepping out of Seoul Gangseo Police Station, Kang Jae-ha walked toward the parking lot and lifted his phone. He meant to call Lee Chan-hoo. The line connected almost at once.

”Yes, Commander. Did you meet Ryu Hyuk?”

Kang Jae-ha answered Lee Chan-hoo on the other end of the line.

”Yeah. Just met Ryu Hyuk and walked out.”

”How’d he take it?”

”How do you think?”

”He’d have been knocked flat, obviously. Some stranger he’s never laid eyes on bringing up mercenaries out of the blue.”

”Right. I’ve thrown the Bait at Ryu Hyuk, so we keep an eye on him for a couple of days, and if there’s no team or organization and no trouble...”

”Yes. I’ll send the message right away, just as you instructed. If we can swing it, I’d like Ryu Hyuk to come on board too, since we’ll keep needing talent.”

Kang Jae-ha let out a short laugh.

”My gut says Ryu Hyuk’s a solo. He’s got a feel a lot like yours.”

”Aw, but I’m number one, aren’t I? And the Figurehead CEO. Oh, and Director Kwon Sung-min says he’s got something to talk about with ’Condensation: Euphoria’. Feels like it’s finally taking shape. Want to take a look together?”

”Sure, got it. Set up the meeting.”

”Yes, yes, I’ll lock in a meeting date right away.”

Having hung up like that, Kang Jae-ha turned his thoughts straight to the ’Ability’ Defense he’d just gained.

’Defense. Once a day I can cast it on myself or a designated target, and there’s no cap on the number of targets I can designate...’

Defense, which blocked any ’Ability’ or physical attack save ’Absolute Obedience’. If the woman’s voice’s explanation held, it was the type that blocked most attacks one time, no exceptions. On top of that, once cast, the shield stayed up until it was spent, and once an attack spent the shield, it could be cast again.

Which meant that as long as he held Defense, he was just about invincible.

Once in the car, Kang Jae-ha cast the ’Ability’ Defense on himself first. As with the Mask, a man’s voice came. A question, asking who he wanted to cast Defense on. When he said he’d cast it on himself, there was no real sensation of anything changing, just like with the Mask.

Apart from a faint warmth spreading through his whole body.

He’d have to run tests, but Defense was probably as dependable as the Mask. Having raised the shield around himself, Kang Jae-ha called his other Subordinates to mind, Lee Chan-hoo and the rest.

’Starting tomorrow, I’ll put Defense on every single one of them, one at a time.’

He intended to set Defense over every last one of his Subordinates.

Then, the next morning, the 10th.

Ha Yeon-ji, her brown hair twisted up into a bun, was busy. Because she was in the middle of leaking information to all sorts of people, from fellow journalists to ex-reporters who were now YouTubers, and more.

Naturally, just as the Commander had instructed, this was her work of building public momentum around the ’New Light Truth Church’.

Ha Yeon-ji either handed information over outright.

”Hey, sunbae, you interested in cults?”

”What are you on about all of a sudden??”

”No, come on, you said a while back that you wanted to take a crack at that kind of thing, didn’t you.”

”What is it? Cut the preamble and just get to the point.”

”There’s a tasty little something about a Cult, but I’m just swamped these days.”

”That’s odd. Even if you’re busy, you could sit on it and break it yourself later, couldn’t you?”

”Aw, come on, you’re more of an expert in that area, sunbae. And you’re good at it.”

”Ahem! So what is it? Out with it.”

In a vague, roundabout, slip-it-in-quietly way, she kept seeding the ’New Light Truth Church’ to those around her.

The whole operation took roughly half a day.

Before long, the nibbles slowly started coming in. It began on the community boards. After all, Ha Yeon-ji had scattered Bait across various anonymous communities too.

From the press side, articles began getting tossed out from late afternoon on. The seeds Ha Yeon-ji had sown were slowly starting to sprout.

Next came the YouTube side.

Given the nature of YouTube, dramatization was naturally baked in, and ’Cult’ was a keyword bound to pull in serious Aggro. From thousands to tens of thousands, the view counts climbed faster and faster. Plenty of people, drawn in by the word ’Cult’, tapped on the videos.

As the response rolled in, similar videos kept multiplying as time went on.

-[Former Believer Interview: What Really Went On in There?! The Truth Behind a Cult (New Light Truth Church) | Reporter Hong TV]

The blackout veil draped over the ’New Light Truth Church’ was beginning to lift.

*****

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