Chapter 82 – Phantom Opens His Eyes #4
20 people gathered in a large operating room, with more than half of them being Chinese. They were dark doctors belonging to the triad. They knew that a bomb was installed in T Medical Center so their expressions weren't so good.
"Bomb… Is it really installed here?"
“I heard an explosion before."
“Crazy!" (Chinese)
Various Chinese voices were heard in the room. In the meantime, the security guards, who were mostly Koreans, talked among each other.
“If we shoot them then will that guy spare our lives?"
“Let's just watch the situation. Still, surely he won't kill fellow Koreans."
The faces of the security guards were relaxed. It seemed like they thought the culprit couldn't kill fellow Koreans.
Beep!
A large monitor in the centre of the operating room turned on and a man wearing an opera mask appeared on the screen.
"T-That person…"
“He is the culprit that installed the bomb here!"
"That bastard…!"
Phantom bowed towards the people gathered in the operating room.
-Hello. First of all, I will tell you two things. In 120 minutes, all the bombs installed in this building will explode.
"W-What?!"
“L-Listen! Aren't we both Koreans? Spare us, please!"
Several guards grabbed the surveillance camera and started begging. However, Phantom's expression didn't change.
–I'd like to ask what made you so anxious. You don't have to worry, as I don't want to kill anyone.
Sighs of relief were heard.
–Kukukuk. I’m sorry but I am a liar.
“T-Then you will kill all of us…!"
–Think about it slowly. I gathered all of you in order to play a game. The rules are very simple. In the meantime, you people have done this.
The screen switched to something hanging in the ledger room.
–You should be familiar with this image. These are the prices for each body part on the black market.
One heart is 130 million won.
A kidney is 300 million.
An eye is 170 million…
Everyone who works here will see this list every day.
“W-What game are we playing with it?"
–Yang Wei said that he would pay money if I spared his life. Does everybody agree with this?
"O-Of course! I will pay however much you want, just please spare me…"
If they paid then they could live. The people started begging Phantom again to spare their lives.
–I want a sum of three billion.
"Ah…"
The guards slumped down at such a huge amount, but light filled the eyes of the doctors. They could pay three billion won. Rather, they felt that was cheap compared to the value of their lives. So far, they had cut apart hundreds of people and earned tens of billions of won in profit in a year. If they thought about it, that was very affordable.
-Of course, I won't receive it as money.
"Huh? T-Then what?"
-You should be very familiar with them.
"D-Don't tell me… Our body parts?"
–You noticed pretty quickly. The rule is very simple and the time limit is two hours. In the meantime, use the things in this room to produce three billion won worth of products. Of course, it doesn't matter who it belongs to. For reference, they should be able to be implanted in others.
“I-It will be hard to make three billion won with the current international market value!"
One doctor shrieked,
–I will give 10 million won for one arm or leg. Oh, don't you guys hate anesthesia? So I specifically removed all anesthesia from the room. Of course, the other tools are all intact so there won't be any problems with the surgery. Then, I hope you manage it.
Phantom turned off the monitor and there was an uproar in the operating room.
“Three billion won is ridiculous!"
"Ha, ha, ha… A joke? Why are you looking…"
“Jump on that bastard! If we kill one person then 500 million won will come out. Then only three people need to die!"
They spread out and started trying to kill each other. However, there were those who tried to resist.
“D-Don't kill! If we die then surgery is impossible!"
“I can take it out roughly!"
“Aaaaack!”
Obviously, Phantom had stated that it should be able to be transplanted. However, they couldn't think of such things as madness filled their heads.
They had to kill others in order to live. Yang Wei muttered to himself as he shot the head of a security guard trying to kill him.
“He obviously gave a choice to everyone. But eventually this will happen. Phantom… Really scary."
And the throat of Yang Wei was sliced with a doctor's scalpel.
Tae-hyuk recovered the bomb installed in the boiler room and muttered,
“I would be crazy to use one more bomb."
In fact, he almost died using one to escape the guards underground. Therefore he never intended to use this bomb.
"Now, let’s see. There are two more left."
One bomb was recovered safely. The last one had such tremendous destructive power that he didn't even bring it in the first place.
“In the end, there was one more condition for Doll Play."
Three billion won worth of organs and body parts. At least half of them had to give up their lives. However, if they didn't do anything and waited then everyone could live.
It was a hidden condition using the criminal's dilemma.
Tae-hyuk called himself a liar. He only said one lie, which was that a bomb would go off two hours later.
“If there was a good person among them then they might have noticed the trick.”
Tae-hyuk muttered quietly,
“Then I'll pray for you. I hope you survive."
Tae-hyuk placed the bomb in his bag and quietly left. A scream seemed to be heard from somewhere.
"Son of a bitch… What type of human would do this?"
Kim Soo-bin safely escaped from hell and was able to receive treatment at the hospital. However, her arm had been cut off a week ago so it couldn't be helped.
After a few days, she was able to talk about the incident with Detective Cho Kang-suk.
“Detective Cho Kang-suk, thank you for coming to see me. That is all I know."
"Y-Yes… I'm sorry that I had to ask you this."
"It's okay. I know that it is a detective's job."
Kang-suk's heart was burning.
He knew the hard life that the child on this bed had lived. Moreover, her life would be even harder in the future. But there was nothing that Kang-suk could do. All he could do was introduce a social worker whom he knew well.
Even so, he had to keep asking questions and reminding her of what happened. It was the first time that he hated his job as a detective.
“By the way, he was called Phantom? He rescued you?"
"Yes. Do you know the Phantom of the Opera? It's a musical that I went to see when I was at the orphanage. He wore the same mask as the protagonist.”
"God of Crime…"
“I’m sorry but I don't know his face."
“It’s okay. I'm not disappointed. Well, that is it for today."
Kang-suk got up from his seat and Soo-bin desperately tried to stop him. However, she only had one arm so she fell back on the bed.
“Can't you stay a bit more? I hate being alone."
"…Brat."
Kang-suk patted Soo-bin's head.
"Yes? The food here is delicious. Eat lunch before leaving."
“Isn't it better for Hye-mi to eat the food?"
"H-Hye-mi?"
"Yes. She said she would die if she couldn't come visit now. I am going to pick up Hye-mi."
"Ah…"
Soo-bin looked at Kang-suk with a touched expression. He was different from other detectives, and felt more like a dad than a detective.
Ddrrrung!
It was a call from Kim Do-shik. Kang-suk left the room and spoke quietly so that Soo-bin couldn't hear.
"Ah, Inspector. I've finished listening to the victim. I will write up the report later in the afternoon."
–Detective Cho. Is there a TV near you right now? Turn to ABS Station and watch. Crazy fucker. That bastard appeared.
"Huh?"
–The crazy bastard who is a criminal.
"P-Phantom appeared on TV?"
–Yes. Don't just ask questions, watch the TV!
A few days ago, Phantom announced the hippo case that they had been concealed from the public. Since then, the prosecutors had been searching for Phantom. But a TV appearance? Furthermore, it was ABS Station that spread the truth of the hippo case. They had said that Phantom threatened them with a bomb and it couldn't be helped. The clean-up from that situation still wasn't over.
“D-Did you say Phantom?"
Kim Soo-bin asked in a trembling voice. Cho Kang-suk had shouted so loudly that it entered Kim Soo-bin's ears.
"It seems like it."
"The TV remote control… Ah, here it is! I'll play it right away."
A man wearing a Pandora mask appeared on TV.
"Pfff! What? That mask makes no sense."
"……"
Phantom made exaggerated gestures like it was a play.
–People.
This is the whole story of the incident at T Medical Centre. They kidnapped weak children and took their lives. Therefore, I judged them. I'm sure you are all angry after hearing the horrible truth. Some people will think they died well. But don’t forget. You are also an accomplice. 100 children went missing, but was there even one person who cared about their disappearance? The missing reports were ignored. Rather, there were more people who were excited about their deaths because they could survive.
This is the reality. Not one person tried to save the children, so I moved. I did it – I, Phantom. A criminal who judges other criminals!
The video quickly spread throughout the country. The appearance of a horrible crime scene without a mosaic produced many controversies. The Phantom's appearance in front of the public became the top story in the media for a while.
Shin Se-ho, the only journalist who Phantom contacted, received love calls from numerous media. In the end, he had a contract with ABS Station and decided to honor it until the end.
The newly appointed police commissioner gave an order to everyone.
“Get that crazy criminal right now! It doesn't matter how much manpower has to be committed! God of Crime? Phantom? He might think of himself as a hero, but he is just a self-conscious child!"
Eventually, the whole country was calling for Phantom. No one knew the identity of the man wearing the opera mask. The universities started practicing Phantom of the Opera, and more than 100,000 copies of the Phantom mask were sold in a day. Psychologists appeared on TV and talked about masks and personas. There were people who claimed that Phantom knocked on their doors.
Phantom, the God of Crime, became the new trend.
What was Phantom doing now? That was the only thing the country was interested in.
But Tae-hyuk was actually making tteokbokki in the kitchen. Ha-ran invited Kim Soo-bin to their house to celebrate her discharge.
“The food she wanted to eat was tteokbokki…"
Cho Kang-suk had announced with a serious face. Seo Ha-ran also invited Song Hye-mi.
Tae-hyuk laughed,
"…By the way. Why haven't I received the reward yet? Is the Demon Revealing Mirror broken?"
He had roughly solved the case but there was no news about the rewards.
Ding dong!
Brr!
There were two sounds at the same time.
“Tae-hyuk! Did you wait long? I was a bit late due to buying a cake!"
Seo Ha-ran was carrying a cake box on the porch. She was followed by Song Hye-mi and Kim Soo-bin.
"Hello?"
“Excuse me!"
“Hyung has come! Eh? Tae-hyuk. Why are you looking like that? Don't you want to see Hyung?"
Tae-hyuk was acting like this due to the message that suddenly rose on the Demon Revealing Mirror.
[The Doll Play mission has been accomplished.]
-10 blacklist points have been acquired.
-20 stat points have been acquired.
[All conditions are fulfilled and you can upgrade to 'Noble',]
– If you become a Noble, you can gain a wider variety of crime skills.
-Some skills will evolve to a higher tier if the conditions are met.
[Do you want to upgrade to a Noble status?]
– Y/N
Tae-hyuk quietly reached out his hand.
[TL Note] Exciting news! .