Chapter 249

“Uwaaaaaaaah!!”

A scream leaked out from inside the office. At the sound, the newly appointed executives of the Kim Cheolsu Faction flinched and swallowed nervously.

– The Boss is having another episode.

– It’s dangerous to touch him at times like that.

– We should come back later.

For reasons unknown, a rumor had begun circulating among the Organization Members that Kim Cheolsu suffered from dissociative identity disorder.

Apparently, the Boss had multiple personalities, and depending on the situation, a different one would pop out and throw him into confusion.

The cause of that rumor was, of course, the occasional cracks in his not-quite-perfect acting as the ‘Emperor of the Underworld’.

Naturally, people believed what they wanted to believe. No one even imagined that he was nothing more than a weak-hearted small citizen—a mere figurehead.

And it made sense.

The current members of the Kim Cheolsu Faction were originally followers of other figures.

They had either clashed with the Kim Cheolsu Faction and been crushed and absorbed, or they had gotten scared and bowed their heads first.

Faced with the shocking truth that the man they had swallowed their pride to serve was actually a coward who couldn’t even kill a bug… it was far easier to believe he was insane than to shatter their own dreams and hopes.

Well, however the process went, as long as the result was good, that was all that mattered.

Whatever the reason, thanks to their misunderstanding, loyalty toward Kim Cheolsu soared to the heavens. And the budding sprouts of the Underworld lit up their eyes at the Kim Cheolsu Faction’s growing infamy, each one eager to join.

As the Organization continued to expand like this, swallowing Sector E whole would soon be only a matter of time.

However…

“What do you expect me to do with this!!”

The one truly suffering was the Boss himself—Kim Cheolsu.

The Organization he had unwillingly come to lead was ballooning at an exponential rate, and the problems arising from it were far from few.

First, internal conflict.

After devouring groups like the Salvatore Family, the Brotherhood Gang, the Asian Boys Gang, the Chicago Family, and more, their backgrounds had become far too diverse.

Rather than a ‘melting pot of races,’ the Kim Cheolsu Faction had become a ‘melting pot of organizations,’ and tensions between members of different origins were severe.

Some who had once been executive-level in their former groups found themselves reduced to ordinary Organization Members and harbored dissatisfaction. Meanwhile, former subordinates who had long disliked their superiors now found themselves on equal footing—and seized the chance to pick fights.

Second, store management.

With the mergers came a flood of clubs, bars, brothels, drug manufacturing facilities, and more—all at once. Managing them was far tougher than I had ever imagined.

I didn’t know whom among the Organization Members I could entrust with reliable oversight, and it was impossible for me—who had no operational know-how—to handle everything myself.

Worse, some establishments hid secrets that would spell real disaster if they caught the attention of the police.

For example, we had uncovered a secret club catering exclusively to the Upper Class of Sector A with particularly unsavory tastes. Aaron had declared it crossed the line and ordered it wiped out entirely.

Even if the club’s owner changed, as long as it operated smoothly, the high-ranking individuals would likely have continued visiting quietly as customers. But Aaron had forcibly shut it down, thereby offending those “esteemed figures.”

Of course, if Aaron revealed his identity and said, “How dare you?”, they would all wet themselves and run. But naturally, he showed no intention of doing that.

As a result, corrupt prosecutors and police, acting under orders from those powerful figures, were sharpening their knives to crush the Kim Cheolsu Faction—and bearing the brunt of that pressure was my responsibility.

As of just yesterday, a bounty of 3 billion Credit had been placed on Kim Cheolsu’s head, and upon hearing that news, I had screamed, “I didn’t even do anything!”

And finally—the biggest problem of all.

The war wouldn’t end.

“Are you Alexander or something!? Why are you constantly waging wars of conquest!”

An Organization was supposed to grow at a certain pace.

Not just gangs or Mafia—even when running a company, blindly expanding without restraint led to bankruptcy. Hadn’t Smile Corporation once gone under after recklessly expanding chain stores and failing to repay its loans?

Too much was as bad as too little.

Expanding the Organization was certainly good—but if we kept going like this without resolving internal issues, we might burst like a balloon overfilled with air.

And yet, for some reason, Aaron tossed aside operational concerns and remained focused solely on war. Just yesterday, he had crushed three small gangs whose names I didn’t even know and wiped out a place everyone in Sector E would recognize.

As a result, the workload I had to handle only increased. I hadn’t properly rested for days, managing the Organization to the point that dark circles sagged down to my cheeks.

“Ugh… sob… sob…”

Of course, it wasn’t all bad.

Back when I worked as a low-ranking member of the Black Dragon Gang, plenty of people looked down on me and picked fights, and life had been harsh. The name of the Black Dragon Gang hadn’t done much to improve my circumstances.

But now, everyone in Sector E feared the name Kim Cheolsu.

Sure, it was a headache having to put on an act and maintain swagger in front of others, but the quality of the clothes I wore and the food I ate couldn’t even be compared to before.

Every tribute item that came in was top-grade. Among them was even an Aerial Sports Car I had genuinely wanted.

But what was the point?

I couldn’t even drive it.

“This black company makes Stingray look merciful… sob…”

“Do you hate working that much?”

As I shed tears in a place away from prying eyes, I suddenly sensed a presence in front of me and jolted in shock.

It was Aaron.

“Uwaaaah!? Wh-when did you get here, sir!?”

“Around when you started talking about conquest wars.”

It meant he had heard everything worth hearing.

Kim Cheolsu’s heart sank halfway to the floor. He desperately tried to think of a way to escape this crisis, but nothing came to mind.

His lips only fumbled uselessly, unable to produce any proper excuse.

Contrary to his worries, however, Aaron seemed completely unfazed. He casually leaned back against the sofa meant for receiving guests and jerked his chin lightly.

“Sit down.”

“Y-Yes, sir….”

Kim Cheolsu worried that Aaron might smack him on the head. According to an unverified rumor, Aaron had once killed a man with nothing but a flick to the forehead….

Even while flinching inwardly, Kim Cheolsu took the seat of honor like a proper ‘Boss.’ Aaron then quietly placed a Databox in front of him.

“Wh-What is this?”

“It’s about time we wrap this up.”

“…Pardon?”

Kim Cheolsu asked back in confusion, but Aaron merely gestured for him to check the Databox.

With no choice, I downloaded the contents and opened them. A highly detailed map of Sector E popped up.

“I obtained information that the big fish will be making their move soon. It seems they’re planning to form an alliance and strike us.”

“Ah… then…?”

“Yes. This will be the final battle.”

According to the explanation attached to the map, an unprecedented coalition—formed by the Black Dragon Gang, the Cyberwatch Gang, the Marcello Family, and Technotology—was expected to launch an all-out war against the Kim Cheolsu Faction.

The map contained detailed information: how to station Organization Members at each of our establishments in preparation, how to counterattack in case of a raid, and which enemy locations would suffer the greatest blow if we struck first.

I couldn’t help but marvel at how thorough the information was.

“A-Amazing, sir… I haven’t even finished figuring out exactly which places we’ve taken over yet….”

“The informants from the Salvatore Family are far more capable than I expected. Thanks to them, things should proceed much more easily. We should be able to finish everything within a week. Congratulations.”

“…Pardon? F-For what?”

“Soon, you’ll become the first man to seize the entire Underworld in your grasp.”

“I-Is that so….”

I wasn’t happy at all.

That just meant more work.

At my lukewarm reaction, Aaron’s eyes narrowed.

“Are you not pleased?”

“…Sir?”

“I worked this hard to make you the ruler of Sector E. Aren’t you happy?”

“N-No, I’m happy! Of course I am! Waaah—!”

I poured every ounce of effort into acting ecstatic. Aaron smiled faintly and muttered,

“I’m joking. Don’t be scared.”

Damn it.

I swallowed the curse that rose to my throat.

“Anyway, the summit is within sight. For a while, you’d better take special care of yourself. They’ll use every dirty trick they can to win this war. Hide somewhere no one knows about for about a week. Don’t even trust your Organization Members.”

Since we had expanded so rapidly, the Organization wasn’t fully stabilized. If the Boss died, it would undoubtedly collapse beyond recovery. More importantly, the possibility of a traitor within our ranks was extremely high.

Aaron went on to explain various plans and precautions, and for the sake of my own survival, I stuffed every single one into my head.

Just as our conversation was drawing to a close—

Knock, knock.

Someone rapped on the door.

Aaron deactivated the Sound-Canceling Device and quietly put on his mask. I straightened my back and arranged my face into a stern expression.

“Enter.”

At my permission, the one who stepped into the office was Salvatore Morone.

Recognized for having once been the Boss of the Salvatore Family, he held the highest position after Kim Cheolsu and Aaron. He paid his respects politely before getting straight to the point.

“Everything has been prepared as instructed.”

“That was quick.”

“You told me to handle it quickly.”

Aaron praised him, but since I had no idea what they were talking about, I tilted my head inwardly.

“We have the location the boys found surrounded. If you give the order, we can storm it immediately.”

“No. Absolutely not. There’s no guarantee the same thing won’t happen again. Wait until we arrive.”

“Yes, sir.”

At Aaron’s gesture, Salvatore Morone finished his report and left the office.

Only after confirming that his presence had faded did I activate the Sound-Canceling Device again and ask Aaron,

“W-What was that about just now? Did something start moving on the Black Dragon Gang’s side…?”

“No.”

Aaron shook his head.

“It seems you’ve forgotten. Lately, you’ve been focused only on managing the Organization and the war.”

“F-Forgot what, sir?”

“Tell me. What was our original objective?”

“Ah…!”

The reason we had spent the past few weeks waging war against other gangs and expanding our power. Unifying the Underworld had only ever been a means to an end.

Our—no, Aaron’s true objective was…

“Dragon…!”

“Yes.”

Aaron nodded.

“At last, we’ve found traces of the Dragon.”

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