Urban Vagabond: Reload

A sea route in the dead of night, with not even the moon up.

SSSHHHHHH—

A small fishing boat carrying drifters cut through the current as it moved forward.

Before long, it was so dark that it was hard to make out even a few yards ahead.

“Feels like we’re going farther than last time.”

“And there’s fog today, too......”

The fishing boat moved relying on a faint light, and the drifters didn’t even know where they were going.

A situation where even someone with a strong heart couldn’t help swallowing hard with anxiety.

Of course, there was someone who didn’t fit that at all.

“Han. You nervous?”

Kim Muhyuk, who’d been watching the other drifters on the boat like he was sightseeing, poked Han Jaechun in the side.

Han Jaechun, stiff with tension, answered in a voice that barely came out.

“......Of course I’m nervous. Aren’t you?”

“I’m not totally fine.”

Kim Muhyuk shook his head, saying he wasn’t unaffected either.

Maybe because it felt like he’d returned to the days when he used to work as a drifter......

“Somehow, I’m kind of excited.”

“You lunatic.......”

Kim Muhyuk narrowed his eyes at Han Jaechun.

“Even you are calling me that? Why does everyone call me a lunatic?”

“Maybe you’re a lunatic because you don’t know why.”

“Han. Training martial arts has gotten doable lately, right?”

“Hey, that’s cheap.......”

The two traded jokes to kill the boring time, and thanks to that, Han Jaechun was able to relax.

How far had they come, riding the boat like that? The boat began to slow.

TAP TAP— TAP TAP TAP.

Kim Muhyuk, staring out at the distant sea, tapped the earpiece in his ear with the prearranged signal.

Because something had just entered his sight far away.

I poured internal energy into my eyes, and beyond the sea fog, I saw a huge ship moving, faint and indistinct.

A cargo ship.

So enormous it looked less like a ship and more like a massive structure.

Seeing it drifting farther away, it seemed it had already dropped the goods and left.

“Start loosening up!”

At the Three Evils Society leader’s shout as he stepped out of the wheelhouse, the drifters rose one by one with frightened faces.

“.......”

“.......”

Han and I looked at each other, then slowly loosened up too.

A little later, dozens of fishing boats gathered in one place, giving off faint lights.

That’s the Black Heaven Society boat, no question.

Among the small fishing boats, one vessel stood out.

A speedboat with its entire hull painted black.

Several times larger than the others, with a high deck—and on the upper deck, even a mounted machine gun.

And that wasn’t all.

They even laid spellcraft on a boat that big.

I clicked my tongue quietly at the spellcraft aura drifting from the Black Heaven Society’s boat.

The kind of obscene spending only a force on the level of the Five Great Unorthodox Sects could even dream of.

Then—

“Lights off.”

The voice that echoed low carried powerful internal energy.

The fishing boats shut their lights off all at once. In pitch-black darkness, the boats rocked slowly from side to side.

“We’ll wait here for a moment.”

Giving orders in a tightly tensed voice, the Three Evils Society leader took a life raft and transferred onto the Black Heaven Society’s boat. Others could be seen transferring from other fishing boats, too.

I checked the silhouette of a man standing at the center of the speedboat and whispered to Han.

The guy who just told them to kill the lights—he’s the Black Heaven Society’s handler. He’s a master, so you have to move while avoiding him no matter what.

Why did they call the Three Evils Society leader over? Last time, we dove right away and brought the goods up.......

The scale is different. They’re gathering the subcontractors first and tightening the leash.

Not just the Three Evils Society—many small unorthodox organizations operating nearby had gathered here.

But even if some of them got caught by the Coast Guard or the Martial Alliance, the Black Heaven Society would cut the tail without hesitation.

So we need to secure as much evidence as possible that links the Black Heaven Society to the smuggling. Catching the handler would be best, but.......

I decided to judge after watching the situation.

Whether he’d thrown up a qi barrier or not, I couldn’t hear the conversation on the speedboat.

And then—

[The net is almost complete. Wait and hold for the signal.]

At the voice in my earpiece, I nodded.

Then, in a voice loud enough for anyone on the boat to hear, I muttered as if talking to myself.

“This is fucking hilarious. Doesn’t it look like a swarm of piranhas rushing in to tear meat apart?”

“Hey, you! Can’t you shut up? Han Jaechun, keep your brat under control!”

Lee Jaeik glared at us and barked, but neither of us even answered him.

Han asked in a voice so low it was nearly inaudible.

We’re starting?

We’ll start by laying the bait.

I looked around with a dissatisfied face and grumbled.

“Fuck. How long are we supposed to wait? Why don’t we just jump in and haul the goods up?”

“Shut the hell up, you bastard! Want me to pour concrete on you and dump you into the sea?”

Lee Jaeik threatened in a low voice with a vicious scowl, but I just glared back, like, what are you going to do about it?

“Aren’t you just a lackey? Want to go a round right here?”

“You son of a—!”

Among drifters, especially rookies, there were always guys who couldn’t read the room and lived like their life didn’t matter.

Lee Jaeik thought the guy Han Jaechun had brought was exactly that kind of bastard.

Because unless you had a death wish, you wouldn’t deliberately cause a disturbance with the Black Heaven Society watching.

Do I just kill him here?

But if he killed one guy for no reason and the other drifters panicked, it could ruin the job.

As he wavered, a low voice came from the speedboat.

“Quiet.”

It was the same voice as before, the one that had ordered the lights off.

The man who revealed himself on the speedboat had a long scar running across his face. Looking down at me, he smiled coldly.

“We’ll begin shortly, so I’d appreciate it if you waited a bit.”

“.......”

Even I, who’d been swaggering a moment ago, lowered my eyes quietly in front of him.

Of course, not because I was actually scared.

After deliberately stirring things up to confirm the smuggling handler’s face, I glanced at Han.

You got it clearly, right?

Han, who had a tiny camera hidden in his clothes, silently raised a thumbs-up.

*****

Episode 118. If You Don’t Throw It Away

A sea route in the dead of night, with not even the moon up.

SSSHHHHHH—

A small fishing boat carrying drifters cut through the current as it moved forward.

Before long, it was so dark that it was hard to make out even a few yards ahead.

“Feels like we’re going farther than last time.”

“And there’s fog today, too......”

The fishing boat moved relying on a faint light, and the drifters didn’t even know where they were going.

A situation where even someone with a strong heart couldn’t help swallowing hard with anxiety.

Of course, there was someone who didn’t fit that at all.

“Han. You nervous?”

Kim Muhyuk, who’d been watching the other drifters on the boat like he was sightseeing, poked Han Jaechun in the side.

Han Jaechun, stiff with tension, answered in a voice that barely came out.

“......Of course I’m nervous. Aren’t you?”

“I’m not totally fine.”

Kim Muhyuk shook his head, saying he wasn’t unaffected either.

Maybe because it felt like he’d returned to the days when he used to work as a drifter......

“Somehow, I’m kind of excited.”

“You lunatic.......”

Kim Muhyuk narrowed his eyes at Han Jaechun.

“Even you are calling me that? Why does everyone call me a lunatic?”

“Maybe you’re a lunatic because you don’t know why.”

“Han. Training martial arts has gotten doable lately, right?”

“Hey, that’s cheap.......”

The two traded jokes to kill the boring time, and thanks to that, Han Jaechun was able to relax.

How far had they come, riding the boat like that? The boat began to slow.

TAP TAP— TAP TAP TAP.

Kim Muhyuk, staring out at the distant sea, tapped the earpiece in his ear with the prearranged signal.

Because something had just entered his sight far away.

I poured internal energy into my eyes, and beyond the sea fog, I saw a huge ship moving, faint and indistinct.

A cargo ship.

So enormous it looked less like a ship and more like a massive structure.

Seeing it drifting farther away, it seemed it had already dropped the goods and left.

“Start loosening up!”

At the Three Evils Society leader’s shout as he stepped out of the wheelhouse, the drifters rose one by one with frightened faces.

“.......”

“.......”

Han and I looked at each other, then slowly loosened up too.

A little later, dozens of fishing boats gathered in one place, giving off faint lights.

That’s the Black Heaven Society boat, no question.

Among the small fishing boats, one vessel stood out.

A speedboat with its entire hull painted black.

Several times larger than the others, with a high deck—and on the upper deck, even a mounted machine gun.

And that wasn’t all.

They even laid spellcraft on a boat that big.

I clicked my tongue quietly at the spellcraft aura drifting from the Black Heaven Society’s boat.

The kind of obscene spending only a force on the level of the Five Great Unorthodox Sects could even dream of.

Then—

“Lights off.”

The voice that echoed low carried powerful internal energy.

The fishing boats shut their lights off all at once. In pitch-black darkness, the boats rocked slowly from side to side.

“We’ll wait here for a moment.”

Giving orders in a tightly tensed voice, the Three Evils Society leader took a life raft and transferred onto the Black Heaven Society’s boat. Others could be seen transferring from other fishing boats, too.

I checked the silhouette of a man standing at the center of the speedboat and whispered to Han.

The guy who just told them to kill the lights—he’s the Black Heaven Society’s handler. He’s a master, so you have to move while avoiding him no matter what.

Why did they call the Three Evils Society leader over? Last time, we dove right away and brought the goods up.......

The scale is different. They’re gathering the subcontractors first and tightening the leash.

Not just the Three Evils Society—many small unorthodox organizations operating nearby had gathered here.

But even if some of them got caught by the Coast Guard or the Martial Alliance, the Black Heaven Society would cut the tail without hesitation.

So we need to secure as much evidence as possible that links the Black Heaven Society to the smuggling. Catching the handler would be best, but.......

I decided to judge after watching the situation.

Whether he’d thrown up a qi barrier or not, I couldn’t hear the conversation on the speedboat.

And then—

[The net is almost complete. Wait and hold for the signal.]

At the voice in my earpiece, I nodded.

Then, in a voice loud enough for anyone on the boat to hear, I muttered as if talking to myself.

“This is fucking hilarious. Doesn’t it look like a swarm of piranhas rushing in to tear meat apart?”

“Hey, you! Can’t you shut up? Han Jaechun, keep your brat under control!”

Lee Jaeik glared at us and barked, but neither of us even answered him.

Han asked in a voice so low it was nearly inaudible.

We’re starting?

We’ll start by laying the bait.

I looked around with a dissatisfied face and grumbled.

“Fuck. How long are we supposed to wait? Why don’t we just jump in and haul the goods up?”

“Shut the hell up, you bastard! Want me to pour concrete on you and dump you into the sea?”

Lee Jaeik threatened in a low voice with a vicious scowl, but I just glared back, like, what are you going to do about it?

“Aren’t you just a lackey? Want to go a round right here?”

“You son of a—!”

Among drifters, especially rookies, there were always guys who couldn’t read the room and lived like their life didn’t matter.

Lee Jaeik thought the guy Han Jaechun had brought was exactly that kind of bastard.

Because unless you had a death wish, you wouldn’t deliberately cause a disturbance with the Black Heaven Society watching.

Do I just kill him here?

But if he killed one guy for no reason and the other drifters panicked, it could ruin the job.

As he wavered, a low voice came from the speedboat.

“Quiet.”

It was the same voice as before, the one that had ordered the lights off.

The man who revealed himself on the speedboat had a long scar running across his face. Looking down at me, he smiled coldly.

“We’ll begin shortly, so I’d appreciate it if you waited a bit.”

“.......”

Even I, who’d been swaggering a moment ago, lowered my eyes quietly in front of him.

Of course, not because I was actually scared.

After deliberately stirring things up to confirm the smuggling handler’s face, I glanced at Han.

You got it clearly, right?

Han, who had a tiny camera hidden in his clothes, silently raised a thumbs-up.

After returning to the boat, the Three Evils Society leader glared at me once, then issued orders to the drifters.

“Prepare to dive! Put on your gear and go in immediately!”

The drifters put on oxygen tanks and diving equipment they’d brought and jumped into the sea with loud splashes.

“Let’s go.”

Han and I exchanged one last look, then dove into the sea together.

SPLASH—

Relying only on the headlamp light on our heads, we pushed through the pitch-black water and descended deeper and deeper.

My hand pointed in one direction.

There.

I could see waterproof containers sunk on the seafloor. They’d been coated with fluorescent dye so they’d stand out.

There were at least five of them. In front of each container, someone who looked like a Black Heaven Society martial artist waited—one per container.

After checking the divers, the Black Heaven Society martial artist opened the container door.

About first-rate level.

From the way they moved, I gauged their rough level.

First-rate masters might sound weak, but to bottom-tier drifters, there wasn’t much difference between a first-rate master and one of the Ten Great Masters of Korea.

In the sense that either one could easily take your life.

SHHK—

The Black Heaven Society martial artist swung their sword underwater and cut through a rock, and the drifters’ eyes went wide.

A show of force to make sure no one dared try anything stupid.

Along with the other drifters who’d shrunk back, I entered one of the containers. Han scattered in the middle and headed to another container.

They brought a lot.

Inside the container, boxes sealed tight in waterproof wrapping were stacked neatly. All forbidden smuggled goods.

The Black Heaven Society martial artist glared and gestured to take the goods up. The divers carried the boxes up one by one and loaded them onto the boats they’d arrived on.

BEEP. BEEP. BEEP.

While no one was watching, I stuck nail-sized trackers on the undersides of several boxes.

Then I grabbed the smallest box.

In my experience, small but tightly packed boxes had a high chance of holding the most expensive goods.

Stop dragging your feet and get up there!

I passed the Black Heaven Society martial artist, who was glaring hard.

The passage was narrow enough that our shoulders nearly brushed.

At that moment, I swung the box straight into their head.

A little slow—fast enough that they could barely notice and react.

THUNK!

The Black Heaven Society martial artist staggered hard after taking the hit just off the temple, and I swam off with the smuggled-goods box held to my chest.

......!

A fierce killing intent flared behind me.

When I glanced back, the Black Heaven Society martial artist I’d hit was swimming after me, slashing their sword.

Hooked.

A chase underwater began.

I rose toward the surface while keeping the distance razor-thin.

And the Black Heaven Society martial artist—eyes flipped from getting hit by a mere diver drifter—chased me like their life depended on it.

WHOOM—! WHOOM!

The sword skimmed past, close enough to brush my back.

Still swimming to kill the bastard fleeing from them, they reached the surface before they knew it.

“Ptoo! I’ll kill you—!”

As the enraged Black Heaven Society martial artist surfaced and yelled, everyone’s attention snapped to them.

“That bastard attacked me and ran off with the goods! We have to kill him!”

The instant the Black Heaven Society martial artist shouted and pointed at me fleeing through the water, the Three Evils Society leader and Lee Jaeik turned deathly pale and screamed.

“T-that crazy bastard!”

“Get back here right now with that, you bastard!”

I’d dared to lay hands on the Black Heaven Society’s goods—so they could get lumped in as accomplices and die too.

In contrast, the handler on the speedboat looked calm.

“Sometimes you get one that thrashes around like that. Not knowing whether they’re bold or just stupid......”

But when killing intent gathered in the handler’s eyes as they looked over the fishing boats, everyone realized how furious they were.

“Bring him. Unless you want to all die under collective responsibility.”

At that one sentence, the fishing boats started their engines in unison.

“Catch that bastard!”

“Block him so he can’t get away!”

The people on the boats roared as they threw nets and harpoons at me, and even the drifters who’d been diving stopped hauling goods and chased after me.

SWISH! SWISH!

I tossed off the heavy oxygen tank entirely and stirred up chaos, dodging back and forth underwater.

If I draw their eyes just a little more.......

Then—

A prickling sensation raised the hairs on my head, and I twisted with everything I had.

SHHK!

A sharp blade aura carved a clear trace across the surface.

One unlucky fishing boat got caught in it and was torn in half.

After pressing my bleeding shoulder to stop it, I looked up at the handler on the speedboat.

“So that’s why you looked strong—pinnacle expert?”

And at that moment, I saw the scar running across the handler’s face twist.

“He dodged?”

The mutter carried not rage, but surprise.

A bottom-tier drifter who’d come along as a diver had dodged their strike—inside water that was several times harder to move through.

Not something luck could explain.

Only then did the handler sense something was wrong, and they shouted as they looked over their subordinates.

“It’s a trap! Get out of here immediately—”

THUD!

“Too late. Not one of you is getting out of here.”

The moment I leapt onto the speedboat and faced the Black Heaven Society handler—

WIIIIIIIIIIING—!

With a blaring alarm, the spellcraft broke, and Coast Guard speedboats that had been hiding rushed in.

“It’s the Coast Guard—!”

The fishing boats tried to scatter in every direction, but the Coast Guard speedboats surged in and surrounded them, aiming their guns.

And that wasn’t the end.

PFOOOWAAAH!

A small submarine punched through the dark-blue surface, revealing a steel-colored body.

It was a small submarine that could only carry a few people.

But in the martial world, what mattered wasn’t numbers—it was who was inside.

“Count to five.”

An old man in a flight jacket stepped out as he swept the battlefield with a razor-cold gaze.

“Those who throw away their weapons will keep their lives.”

Choi Geon—who had recently begun operating again as the Martial Alliance’s Shadow Sword—smiled chillingly as he drew his sword.

SHING.

“If you don’t throw it away, the body below your neck will stay in the sea when you leave.”