Chapter 247

Two hundred years ago, when the heroes of a chaotic era, including Drake Stingray, selected the location to establish New Valhalla City, they considered a variety of factors.

Environmental factors such as year-round weather and climate.

Geopolitical factors such as nearby Otherworld Transformation zones.

Defensive factors for resisting [Mystics].

Resource deposits and various economic factors.

In addition, countless scientists and experts who had survived the calamities, along with the geniuses of that turbulent age, agonized and deliberated over where to build the final sanctuary of humanity. After much contemplation, the present-day New Valhalla City was established.

And among the factors considered at the time was this: “‘It must be far from the Ring of Fire.’”

For reference, the Ring of Fire referred, in plate tectonics, to the boundary where the Pacific Plate—the largest of the tectonic plates covering the Earth’s crust—interlocked with the Eurasian Plate, the Indo-Australian Plate, and others.

As had once been the case with Japan, countries near the Ring of Fire frequently suffered disasters caused by crustal activity such as earthquakes and tsunamis.

Naturally, there was no reason to build humanity’s last city in a location that had to shoulder such risks, and thus the location of New Valhalla City was chosen far away from the ‘Ring of Fire.’

In other words, New Valhalla City’s location could be said to have the least connection to crustal shifts such as earthquakes or volcanic activity…… and yet today, tectonic movement began to stir within New Valhalla City.

More precisely, in the Underworld of Sector E.

Of course, the ground was not literally shaking—it was merely a metaphor. But for those living in Sector E’s Underworld, a cataclysm akin to a magnitude 9.0 earthquake was sweeping through the area.

-“I hear those ‘Beast’ bastards got wiped out.”

-“So?”

-“What do you mean, ‘so’? Isn’t that pretty shocking news?”

-“Why don’t you go get that cyberware in your prefrontal cortex checked—the one you had installed last time? You’re the one who brought it up and you can’t even remember. Seems like there’s something wrong with your OS program.”

-“Shut that mouth of yours.”

-“Quit fighting, both of you. I could hear those bastards got wiped out ten times and still be glad. Fuck, how many junkie corpses did I have to clean up in front of my house because of the drugs they were pushing…… At least until some new assholes start spreading something else, it should be quiet for a while.”

‘The Beast bastards got wiped out?’

Inside a bar in Sector E.

An Attendant who had concealed his identity and was gathering information under the orders of Kallia Stingray frowned at the unbelievable story.

That was only half the reason, though. The other half was that the synthetic whiskey tasted like utter garbage. Were the Sector E punks seriously paying this much money to drink something like this and call it whiskey?

In any case, he activated his Hearing-Enhancement Module to better catch the patrons’ voices. Instantly, the bar’s noisy clamor vanished, and he could eavesdrop in detail on only the conversations he wanted.

-“So, who’s next?”

-“Next?”

-“The Salvatore Family got swallowed, and Beast got wiped out. After that, ‘Brotherhood’ and ‘Asian Boys’ teamed up, clashed with them head-on, and then tucked their tails and crawled back.”

-“Why leave out the Chicago Family? They tried to do something and got beaten and dismantled before they could even start.”

-“No one even died there, did they? For fuck’s sake, if you’re a man and you draw a gun, you’d better be ready to stake your life on it. Not a single member died—does that make sense? It pisses me off that I used to keep my head down around punks like that without even making eye contact. That wasn’t even a war.”

-“That’s just because you’re a coward. Anyway, counting the ones you didn’t mention, nine places have either gone under Kim Cheolsu or got crushed trying to fight him in just one week. They’ve picked fights everywhere and eaten their fill—so you think they’ll just wipe their mouths and put down the spoon now?”

-“So you think the Kim Cheolsu faction will reach for other organizations too?”

-“Of course!”

The Kim Cheolsu faction.

At that name, the informant pricked up his ears and began searching through the VCPD personnel data he had been handed before coming to Sector E.

If he was truly someone that formidable, he would surely be proudly wearing a few heavy criminal records like medals.

Yet contrary to the informant’s expectations, no remarkable individual appeared when he searched the name ‘Kim Cheolsu.’ Most were pure and innocent citizens who knew nothing of the underworld, and the few Kim Cheolsus with records were petty criminals who had stolen a few snacks from a supermarket.

‘Where the hell did he come from?’

He had no clue.

Then was he someone who had never been issued a Civilian ID? Or perhaps the hidden illegitimate child of some underworld big shot…… Thinking along those lines, he closed the file.

Unaware that the very Kim Cheolsu he was searching for had been one of the petty criminals listed on the second line just moments ago, he refocused on the drunkards’ voices.

-“The world’s changing.”

-“What are you getting worked up about? Don’t you remember saying the same thing last year when the Blood Wolves were running wild?”

-“This is different! Did the Blood Wolves ever expand this fast and this recklessly? I guarantee you—give it another week or two, and Sector E will have a single master.”

-“And that’s Kim Cheolsu?”

-“Yeah!”

-“Ridiculous.”

Another man refuted the claim that Kim Cheolsu would rise as Emperor of the Underworld.

-“I admit he’s impressive, but that’s looking down on the other organizations too much. I guarantee you, the Kim Cheolsu faction will collapse soon enough, just like the Blood Wolves.”

-“Why do you think that?”

-“I told you. The other organizations are still intact. The Kim Cheolsu faction swallowed too much in a single week, and it’ll take time to digest it. And when a beast falls asleep with a full belly, that’s when it’s easiest to cut off its head.”

-“Hmm.”

The man who had advocated for Kim Cheolsu’s unification theory softened somewhat at his friend’s rebuttal. Even to him, the argument sounded plausible.

In truth, one could not live in Sector E without forming some kind of connection to the Mafia or gangsters.

Just as the political world deeply influenced the lives of citizens in Sector C and above, the power struggles between organizations were closely tied to the lives of Sector E’s residents.

And they knew from experience.

Just as this city, built two hundred years ago, had always been ruled by the Stingray Group, the ruler of the Underworld had never changed drastically.

The heads of each organization might be replaced from one generation to the next, and sometimes wars would change the masters…… but the conclusion was always the same.

The Underworld served multiple masters, and it would continue to do so.

There would be no unification under heaven.

The real rulers of this city, such as the Stingray Group, did not wish for criminals to grow too powerful, and whenever one side expanded excessively, they would intervene from the shadows to maintain balance.

So this time would be no different.

Though the Kim Cheolsu faction was currently rising in prominence, it would not last long. That they would completely unite the other organizations and fully dominate Sector E? That was something that would only appear in a novel.

That was what everyone believed.

However……

Reality was often more novel-like than fiction.

Beneath Sector E lay sewage facilities built long ago.

Some facilities had once been used as hideouts by Ashita-kyo during its peak expansion, while others had been remodeled by gangs and Mafia into secret clubs or meeting halls.

Today’s meeting hall was one of those places. Long ago, there had been a mayor of New Valhalla City who, quite unusually, had no connections to Megacorps or the Underworld. In other words, he had been the cleanest mayor in history, and he had once declared war on crime.

At that time, the VCPD and police special forces had swept through Mafia and gangs like exterminators hunting rats. Cornered to the brink, the organizations had joined forces to create a refuge—this very place.

Of course, that mayor, being excessively righteous, had fallen out of favor with the Megacorps including Stingray, and was eventually executed—both politically and physically.

After that, this secret meeting hall went unused for a long time, until it was finally brought back into use.

Those summoned were the heads of each organization.

The Gang Leader of the Black Dragon Gang, ‘Ryu Takashi.’

The Leone Family’s ‘Marcello Leone.’

The Cyberwatch gang’s ‘Overseer.’

The leader of Technotology, ‘BR29.’

The topic of this meeting was the Kim Cheolsu faction.

They were here to discuss how to deal with the group that had recently been expanding recklessly. Each leader attended with only minimal escort forces.

The Gang Leader of the Black Dragon Gang, who had convened the meeting, carefully rose from her seat and announced its beginning.

“We presume you have all heard of the recent events. Thus, we shall omit trivial explanations and instead ask for your opinions on how to deal with ‘Kim Cheolsu.’”

She covered her face with a folding fan, her eyes smiling—an utterly enchanting sight. Yet those who knew that her true identity was an ancient hag with multiple personalities showed no reaction.

Rather, Overseer of the Cyberwatch gang—infamous as a pedophile—furrowed his brows in displeasure. Under normal circumstances, he would have made some crude remark about the smell of a chicken coop, but given the situation, he seemed to restrain himself.

Suppressing his irritation, he spoke.

“Why overthink it? If he’s a nuisance, we kill him. That’s this city’s rule. Before they swell any bigger, we punch a few holes in that bloated belly of theirs and they’ll quiet down.”

“How do you intend to proceed?”

“It’s obvious. We go straight to war—”

“I oppose.”

Marcello Leone objected to Overseer’s call for war. The white-haired old man continued in a calm voice.

“Rather, we should speak with him—give what must be given and take what can be taken. With the general election so close, is it wise to spill blood and draw the political world’s attention?”

“One vote for war, one vote for peace. Then what of the rest of you?”

Ryu Takashi cut Marcello Leone off at an appropriate point.

Leone was known as a chatterbox; once he started talking, he would not stop.

This time, ‘BR29,’ leader of Technotology—a gang composed solely of self-aware Androids—muttered a single word in mechanical synthesis.

“[Neutral.]”

Thus, there was one vote in favor of war, one against, and one abstention. All that remained was the host of the meeting—the Gang Leader of the Black Dragon Gang.

“This humble concubine casts her vote for war.”

“Ah…….”

Leone shook his head as though exasperated, but the Gang Leader of the Black Dragon Gang seemed to have something she trusted. She snapped her fingers, and as if they had been waiting, her guards flung open the meeting hall doors.

And through them, a new figure entered.

Black hair. Golden eyes. A woman bearing a nobility that did not belong in a place like this.

Kallia Stingray.

“There is a chance of victory.”

Her red lips parted.

“I will support you.”

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