Chapter 50

“…How long are you going to secretly follow me?”

I turned around and glared at Uchi, who was trailing behind me like a shadow.

Uchi, boldly staring back at me.

“I would never do something as shameless as secretly following you!”

Then what is this?

“I’m following you openly!”

“Sigh…”

It seemed like I had seriously messed up by running into this lunatic.

‘I don’t want to cause a scene.’

I thought about dealing with him, but it didn’t seem like a good option.

He looked like he was dressed as either a villain or a hero, and if I got tangled up with him, it would just be a hassle.

‘Then.’

There’s only one way.

I pulled a smoke bomb from my pocket.

And after pulling the pin, I immediately threw it to the ground.

Pshhhh—!

“W-wait, Doryeong!”

As soon as it hit the ground, the smoke bomb started spewing smoke at an insane speed.

“Ah! Why is this smoke bomb so intense?!”

‘It’s a special smoke bomb made by the Doctor. It’s different from the regular ones.’

“Doryeooooong~!!”

I watched as the guy flailed around, gradually becoming blurry, and then I slipped away.

“Phew.”

After putting some distance between us, I straightened my clothes and looked up at the smoke rising into the sky.

What a weird guy.

He’s such a bothersome guy, always sticking his nose where it doesn’t belong.

‘I hope I never run into him again.’

As I watched the smoke gradually dissipate in the distance, I prayed.

***

“Doryeong~!”

“Sigh…”

And it seemed like that prayer didn’t work.

The next night.

As I wandered through the slums, I smacked my forehead in frustration at the unbelievable coincidence of running into him again.

God must be dead.

No, if the one who dropped me into this world is God, then he must still be alive.

But he’s probably just a rotten piece of trash with a terrible personality.

“How delightful to meet you again! Have you thought about my proposal—”

“It’s not that, so stop following me.”

“Great, Doryeong! Then let’s go protect the slums again today!”

“I said no.”

He just doesn’t listen.

No matter how firmly I speak, he remains stubborn. It’s really annoying.

“Doryeong, you must have some goal, right? I’ll help you. I’m quite familiar with this place since I come here often!”

“Hmm.”

And as if he thought I wouldn’t allow him to tag along, he added more.

From what he’s saying, it doesn’t seem like a bad idea.

‘Besides, even if I refuse, it doesn’t seem like this guy will give up easily.’

Since he claims to come here often, maybe he can help me find clues about the drug from a new perspective.

Maybe the drug dealer will luckily run into him.

‘If leaving him alone is going to be a hassle, it’s better to use whatever I can.’

“Fine. I’ll accept your proposal for now.”

I nodded and accepted Uchi’s offer.

Seemingly pleased, Uchi let out a hearty laugh.

“In return for helping you find what you’re looking for, I’ll patrol with you.”

“That’s more than enough!”

“But, no matter who’s in danger or what happens, I have no intention of helping.”

“What?”

Uchi raised his voice at my words.

In a place like this, it’s highly likely that it’s either a lie or something trivial, so why bother helping?

Uchi glanced at me and asked.

“…What if someone really needs help?”

“I’ll see when the time comes, if I feel like it.”

Uchi made a somewhat uncomfortable face.

“Anyway, let’s start searching.”

I ignored him and headed on my way.

Uchi and I began wandering through the slums.

Uchi was patrolling, and I was looking for the drug dealer.

There were no clues, but things were going smoothly.

“Doryeong! Look over there! Those dark figures are harassing a man who’s nothing but skin and bones!!”

I felt a little sorry for the guy making a fuss over there.

But I responded to Uchi with a nonchalant attitude.

“Probably a loan shark who ran away and got caught.”

Uchi’s antics were beyond imagination.

“Doryeong! Can I give some money to those starving kids over there?”

“You’re just setting them up to get beaten up and robbed by adults.”

And then.

“Doryeong! Shouldn’t we stop that? A scary-looking man and a woman are passing by…”

“That’s just regular prostitution.”

And it kept going.

“Doryeong, look…!”

“Doryeong! Wait!”

“Doryeong…!!”

Every time we turned a corner, Uchi would call out to me, suggesting that we might need to help someone.

Just as my patience was reaching its limit.

“Doryeong! Look over there!!”

As expected, Uchi called out to me again.

I looked at him with a bit of irritation.

“What is it this time? Are you going to suggest we check out some scammers playing poker again?”

“No, it’s not that!”

“Or are you thinking of giving money to a fake beggar who’s actually a robber?”

“No… I’m sorry about that!”

“Then what is it?”

At my question, Uchi pointed in a direction with his finger.

“That guy! That guy’s condition looks a bit off, could he be on drugs?”

At his words, I quickly turned my head and looked in the direction Uchi was pointing.

And there, in front of my eyes, was a man.

“Huh…”

‘Staggering body, dilated pupils, slurred speech.’

Just from that, it looked like he might just be drunk…

“! Hide.”

“Ah!”

I pressed my back against the wall and quietly observed the man.

Then, a robed figure appeared out of nowhere.

The figure was handing the man a plastic bag filled with white powder.

‘Bingo.’

I had just stumbled upon a drug deal.

“You stay here. That’s my target.”

“Got it! I’ll stay hidden like a dead mouse for Doryeong!”

Seeing Uchi nod, I felt reassured and calmly approached the guy.

“Drugs! Drugs…!!”

“This drug…”

As I got closer, I could hear their voices.

The drug-addicted man was begging for more drugs, and the drug dealer was responding in a mocking tone.

“P-please, give me more!! I-I’ll pay!!”

“Well, this drug doesn’t require money~”

The man, kneeling before the dealer with bloodshot eyes, and the dealer, looking at him with disinterest.

The dealer then bent down and met the man’s gaze.

“I told you. From now on, if you want drugs, bring me people.”

“H-how am I supposed to do that!!”

“Is it that hard to catch one useful ability user… or even a kid?”

It seemed like the sales method was also problematic.

‘Human trafficking?’

Useful ability users, catching them, kids.

Just combining those words, you can figure out the situation.

I don’t know what they’re planning to do with the kidnapped people, but given the current situation,

It was highly likely that this guy was the drug dealer selling the Ability Amplifier.

‘If not, there’s no reason to kidnap useful ability users, let alone kids.’

I roughly understood the situation.

Then, should I take them down?

Tap, thud!

In an instant, I rushed toward them and began subduing them.

***

“Ugh…”

“It hurts, it hurts… why me?”

After safely subduing them, I tied them up with a rope that had the properties of my whip.

Looking at the scene, I felt satisfied inside.

‘Good thing I used a stun gun instead of a gun.’

No risk of bleeding to death, and while not as effective as a gun, it’s good for quick subduing.

There are some ability users who are immune to this kind of thing.

I wasn’t sure if using a stun gun would work, but luckily, they weren’t that kind of ability user.

“Wow, as expected of Doryeong!”

Once the situation was mostly over, Uchi showed himself.

He looked at me with a hint of expectation in his eyes.

‘…What now?’

“I knew I could trust you, Doryeong! The way you rushed out after hearing them talk about kidnapping innocent people and kids!!”

“……”

I just subdued them after figuring out the situation.

“And yet, you didn’t lose your cool in anger, staying calm with the sole purpose of subduing them!!”

My goal was this from the start, I can’t just kill them.

As I looked at him with a dumbfounded expression, Uchi smiled like an old man and met my gaze.

“I felt the same heart in you, Doryeong! Your heart carries the spirit of a righteous person! So, become my comrade and—”

“Not interested.”

“So cold, Doryeong!”

More pointless chatter.

I lightly ignored him and spoke to the drug dealer.

“Are you the merchant who’s been selling this drug recently?”

“Pfft! What are you? A cop or something?”

“I don’t think I need to explain myself to you.”

Just answer the questions.

At my blunt words, the drug dealer chuckled.

“Yeah, so what if I did?”

“I need to get information about other drug dealers from you.”

“You think I’d tell you that? Are you going to torture me for information like some hero?”

The drug dealer started getting cocky with me.

He seemed to think I was a hero or someone related to them.

‘Hmm.’

It’s true that heroes wouldn’t go that far to extract information.

They’re bound more by the law than by their morals.

But. The most important thing is.

‘I’m not a hero.’

With a nonchalant expression, I pulled out a potion from my pocket.

Thud.

“?”

And then, I grabbed his chin to keep him from resisting.

“Pfht!!”

I shoved the potion into his mouth.

“Ugh!! Ugh!! Ugh!!”

“Sorry, but I’m not a hero. I’m a villain.”

The potion was already gone.

I tossed the empty bottle far away.

“..Huff..huff..huff… what did you give me?”

“Nothing much.”

I lightly flicked his forehead.

Then.

“Ah..ahhhh!!!!”

The drug dealer screamed in pain and rolled on the ground.

‘What you just drank was the 3000x Sensitivity Potion.’

A potion that amplifies not just pleasure but all external stimuli.

Using it might change the genre of the situation, but… well, it’s optimized in many ways for causing pain.

And then I reached into his clothes.

“Ah!!”

He flinched, twisting his body, wondering what I was going to do next.

‘I’ll give you a friend.’

Squelch—

His face turned pale at the sound.

“W-wait, something’s stuck to my body..!!”

Squelch-! Squelch—!

“Ugh..!”

“I gave you a little friend.”

Now, let’s have some fun until you feel like talking.

Squelch squelch squel~ch!

“Ugh! Ugh! Ugh!”

The drug dealer reached out to Uchi, begging for help, while Uchi avoided his gaze and looked at me.

“Scary Doryeong…”

“Ahhhhh—!!”

The drug dealer’s screams filled the slums.

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