Chapter 192 (2/2)
“You mean, no magic was detected?”
“Yes.”
“Even if there was no magic detected, it didn’t mean that it wasn’t the act of an awakener, wasn’t it?”
“Yes. Actually, I think the same thing.”
“Then, why?” Lee Ju-ho asked in frustration.
“But what if this is about emotion?”
“Emotion?”
Lee Ju-ho was still confused. Su-hyeun turned the page and showed it to Lee Ju-ho again. That page was about another case. There were clips of overseas news and records.
“…Beijing, the capital city of China, was paralyzed. Half of the citizens didn’t go to work, as if they had decided collectively. Shops on the streets are closed even on weekdays…economic damage… What the hell?”
It was an absurd case. More than 20 million people lived in Beijing, and, according to the news, half of them didn’t go to work. It sounded like a funny and nonsensical story, but it was actually a significant case because the capital of China was paralyzed.
“It happened this morning. I’m sure the internet is busy talking about it right now.”
“Ok. But what about this?”
“Wrath and sloth.”
“Wrath… sloth…?”
“Pride, envy, wrath, sloth, greed, gluttony, lust.”
The seven deadly sins. Lee Ju-ho blinked his eyes a few times and looked over the tablet again. When he read again about the first and second cases, he could see what Su-hyeun was trying to say. In Paris, people recklessly attacked each other. It was wrath. In Beijing, half of the people didn’t go to work. Sloth.
“Are you linking the cases to the seven deadly sins?”
“Doesn’t it make sense?”
“It does…but…”
“Yes, I know. I’m overthinking it,” Su-hyeun shrugged and went on, “But anyway, this isn’t something to just overlook.”
“If it affects the whole of Beijing, it isn’t something small, for sure, whether it’s because of dungeons or awakeners.”
There was nothing bad to worry about. If they were related to dungeons, as Su-hyeun said, they could figure out. Even if they were crimes of awakeners, they could take action.
“Our first destination is Paris, then Beijing. And please find more related incidents,” Su-hyeun said.
“Something related to the seven deadly sins?”
“Yes, please.” Su-hyeun nodded and got up from the seat. “Maybe those two aren’t the only ones.”
***
Beijing, China. Wang Shuian, an ordinary office worker who lived there, was confident that he had been very busy. He was born in an impoverished family, but he had been studying hard and working without rest. He finally had managed to enter a major Chinese company in his late twenties. He thought he had made his success in his own way. He never spent a day meaninglessly. But…
<<I don’t want to do anything.>>
Wang Shuian frowned at the sunlight, lying in bed. The alarm from his phone continued. Usually, he turned off the alarm as soon as he heard it and got out of bed. But today he felt too lazy to even turn off the alarm. He had been lying in bed and doing nothing like this for the past couple of days already.
<verything is bothersome.>>
He even didn’t want to think, so there was no way he could move an inch. ‘Bothersome’ came to him as if it was his reward for his entire busy life so far.
Rumble—
He was hungry. It was natural, since he hadn’t eaten for two days. He thought about making instant noodles or something, but the same thought crossed his mind again.
<<I don’t want to do anything.>>
He really didn’t want to do anything. Laziness suppressed his hunger. And so many people in Beijing were in the same situation as him.
***
Paris, the capital city of France, had been paralyzed because of countless recent accidents. An accident from a dungeon would be better, since the government could ask for an overseas guild to help. But what had happened there were just simple assault cases. The problem was that there were so many of them.
“It drives me nuts!”
Benoît, the director of the Awakeners Authority of France, sighed. The only thing he could do these days was just sitting down in his office and sighing.
<veryone is crazy…>>
He could catch the criminals. But the problem was that there were so many of them. And these weren’t one-sided assaults, either. It was always a two-sided fight. At regular intervals, when people met each other’s eyes, they began to swing their fists or weapons at each other. Numerous people had died because of it.
<ven policemen are acting violently.>>
Even the police who tried to stop people used violence as well. In the process, some of them used guns, and the situation got worse and worse. It was certainly not an ordinary case. It was evident that something was causing this. And it must have seemed like it was related to awakeners.
The National Police Agency asked for help from the Awakeners Authority as soon as they figured that out. But the problem was that even the awakeners who had been dispatched by the Authority showed the same symptoms.
<<I wish Adel Castle could help us…>>
Adel Castle was the best awakener in Europe. This was the time that people really needed his help. But Adel continued to refuse even the Authority’s requests for cooperation. He said the price was too low and demanded an outrageous fee.
<<I guess we have to empty the budget to hire him…>>
Ring, ring, ring—
The phone rang as Benoît was trying to figure out a solution. He knit his brow and reached out to the phone.
-Sir! We have good news.
“Good news?”
Benoît, who had been wallowing in sorrow, opened his eyes wide. Right now, there was only one piece of good news possible.
“Can we get help from Adel Castle?” Benoît asked in a loud voice, starting to rise from his chair.
He thought if they got help from S-Rank awakeners, even if not Adel Castle, it would be good news.
-No, sir. It was the Paragon Guild.
The reply that came back to him was very different from what he expected. But the Paragon Guild sounded familiar.
“Paragon Guild? What’s that?”
-It is the guild formed by Kim Su-hyeun and Gordon Rohan.
“Kim Su-hyeun…? Gordon Rohan?” Benoît opened his eyes big.
His eyes were filled with joy and surprise. He remembered that there had been an uproar when Kim Su-hyeun and Gordon Rohan formed a guild together.
“So? What about them?”
-The Paragon Guild contacted us… They said they would handle the situation.
Benoît sprang to his feet. “Where are they? Where should I go now?”