Sand Mage of the Burnt Desert

Chapter 102

[Translator – Peptobismol]

Chapter 102

Thud! Thud!

Someone knocked on Zeon’s door.

As he opened it, Mandy was standing there.

“Come in.”

“Did you sleep well?”

“I slept soundly.”

“That’s good.”

Mandy sat down on a chair.

In her hand, there was a stack of papers that seemed to have been printed out quickly.

“Is that it?”

Handing the stack of papers to Zeon, Mandy said.

“Once you read it, you’ll see that he’s quite a troublesome person.”

“Is he a big shot?”

“Someone favored by a big shot?”

“A troublesome figure indeed.”

“Exactly.”

Zeon read through the document that Mandy had printed out. It detailed Tajik’s background in detail.

“An underling of Xiao Lun? The Xiao Lun who’s known as the leader of the south?”

“That’s right.”

“He’s more than just a big shot.”

“Yes! He’s a giant with tremendous power that reaches far and wide within Neo Seoul.”

Even the term ‘big shot’ falls short in describing him.

Xiao Lun not only had the stature of an S-rank Awakened himself, but also had S-rank or A-rank Awakeneds under his command.

He wielded immense power that could easily wipe out a colony outside of Neo Seoul in an instant.

Tajik was one of the pawns under Xiao Lun’s control.

His official title was ‘Head of SSC.’

“SSC?”

“Security Service Company. It’s essentially a security service firm.”

“A security service firm. A very ambiguous name.”

“It’s a company that’s perfect for extending influence in various ways.”

“SSC, so Tajik is the head of this security company?”

“That’s correct. He also oversees a few other minor businesses. But the greatest power lies in SSC, the security company.”

Zeon tapped his chin with his finger as he flipped through the pages.

“Security service, meat processing plant, chemical dye company. All of them are suitable for shady dealings. Based on what’s written here, Tajik seems to be some kind of problem solver.”

“Wow! You figured that out at a glance.”

Mandy couldn’t help but exclaim in admiration at Zeon’s insight.

As he said, Tajik was indeed the problem solver under Xiao Lun’s command.

The companies Tajik managed were tailored to suit his activities.

The security service company was perfect for employing Awakeneds undercover, while the monster meat processing company was suitable for making backdoor deals. The chemical dye company could conceal any dangerous substances it handled.

Each of them was perfect for pulling off schemes.

Based on this, Zeon speculated that Tajik was Xiao Lun’s problem solver.

Zeon moved on to the next page.

The last paper detailed the current status of the companies.

Mandy said.

“This is the best I could find out. If we dig any deeper, Xiao Lun and Tajik will catch on.”

“This is sufficient.”

Whoosh!

Fire erupted from Zeon’s hand, quickly incinerating the document.

“Now what are you going to do? As you can see, Tajik has the behemoth Xiao Lun backing him. If we make a wrong move, the entire slum will be razed to the ground.”

Even she, who was fearless during her activities as Eloy, feared Xiao Lun, the leader of the south.

Not to mention Mayor Jin Geum-ho was a given, but the leaders of each district were also monsters who had lived for many years.

Each of them had built up immense power under their command, which could be considered the essence of Neo Seoul itself.

Going against such individuals was as reckless as charging into battle without any armor, while facing an S-rank monster head-on.

Even Mandy’s other personality, Eloy, who was crazy, was not that crazy.

Zeon said to her.

“I have no intention of becoming an enemy of Xiao Lun.”

“Really?”

“That’s right.”

Even with Zeon’s coldhead response, Eloy’s expression was still not cheerful.

“Ha! I don’t know. Figure it out yourself. With this, I have paid off my debt.”

“Yes!”

“I’ll take my leave now.”

Mandy got up.

Zeon bid her farewell and then sat back down.

The contents of the document were firmly stored in his mind.

“Xiao Lun was using the Crocodiles to secretly smuggle drugs, and when the Crocodiles were wiped out by me, the drug smuggling route was cut off. The alternative is to either recruit or eliminate me.”

This was the information he had obtained from the Inazuma Raid Team.

The one orchestrating all of this was Tajik.

Leaving it alone would only lead to endless repercussions.

That was why Zeon had come to Neo Seoul.

Zeon approached the window and looked out at the view of Neo Seoul.

“Hmm!”

***

The SSC condo was located on the outskirts of Neo Seoul’s southern region.

As it operated by dispatching manpower needed for each business, the headquarters was not very large.

The headquarters was nothing more than a small warehouse-like building with a few offices.

Being on the outskirts of Neo Seoul allowed them to operate in such a size of warehouse, but if it were in the city center, it would be unimaginable.

Tajik was sitting in his office, at the top of the SSC condo.

Inside the warehouse, the scene was brightly lit.

SSC maintained a warehouse-type headquarters not because they lacked funds.

The warehouse format made operations convenient in many ways.

Inside the warehouse, lower-rank Awakeneds were undergoing training.

They were training to infiltrate by creating structures that resembled the streets of Neo Seoul.

Most of the Awakeneds trained here were D or E-rank.

“Do it again with all your skills.”

“Is that your limit? You idiot! You have to squeeze out your limits to make the skill stronger.”

“Pay attention to mana distribution. You idiots!”

The instructors pushed the Awakeneds harshly.

Most of the instructors here were C-rank.

They were higher-ranked than the Awakeneds being trained, and they had a lot of experience. That’s why they were assigned as instructors to assist in the training of lower-rank Awakeneds.

“Good!”

Tajik looked down on the scene with a satisfied expression.

There were fifty Awakeneds gathered here.

Once they completed rigorous training, they would be dispatched as elite personnel to the businesses managed by Xiao Lun.

In this way, Xiao Lun’s power would become more solidified, and Tajik’s strength would also increase.

“Haha! The real deal is underground here.”

He took the elevator and descended to the warehouse’s underground.

The underground space was as vast as the warehouse aboveground.

The underground space was thoroughly separated by partitions.

Each partitioned area was conducting research that could not be revealed to the outside world.

[Translator – Peptobismol]

Tajik headed to the deepest research lab.

In the lab, research was being conducted on substances that couldn’t be revealed externally.

Behind the glass of the lab, a man was tied to an operating table.

Tubes were connected to various parts of the man’s body, and an unknown liquid was being injected into him.

The more liquid was injected, the more intense the man’s suffering became.

The muscles throughout the man’s body were swollen as if they were about to burst, and his veins were bulging out.

Yet, it was remarkable that he was still alive.

Tajik asked the researchers.

“How is it going?”

“We’ve had some success, but it’s difficult to progress further.”

“The quality of the drug is still the problem. The drug that came in this time has many issues.”

“As expected…”

“The drugs supplied by the previous source were better. They were perfect for experiments, as they used human blood as a medium and had minimal side effects. How can we obtain them again?”

“Just wait a little longer. We’re already working hard.”

“Hmm! If this research succeeds, it will be possible to forcibly awaken ordinary humans. Then, we’ll be able to mass-produce Awakeneds like pots in a factory.”

Tajik nodded in agreement with the researcher’s words.

The research being conducted here was based on hints obtained from the drugs supplied by the Crocodiles.

The drugs supplied by the Crocodiles were of very high purity and were perfect for explosively enhancing human potential through special methods of production.

They created drugs to momentarily boost an Awakened’s abilities.

Researchers wondered if they could awaken ordinary humans based on this premise and proceeded with the research.

The research was conducted secretly.

Since they couldn’t openly conduct it, all the people who became subjects were kidnapped from the slums.

The ones carrying out this research were the Crocodiles themselves.

They were useful in many ways. That’s why their absence was even more regrettable.

That was why Tajik was gauging Zeon.

“His abilities are sufficient for now, but he doesn’t seem like he’ll easily obey orders.”

The Inazuma Raid Team was by no means an easy entity to handle.

He wasn’t naive enough to believe that they failed to escape the dungeon due to bad timing.

“It’s clear that he somehow got rid of the Inazuma Raid Team.”

The problem was that it happened within the dungeon, so they didn’t know the method.

Therefore, they couldn’t accurately assess Zeon’s abilities.

“The simplest way would be to confirm his rank insignia. But he’s not going to show it willingly…”

Their means of coercion were limited.

It was difficult to intervene easily because the slums had their own order.

This time, they were lucky to be able to use the Goblin Market, but there was no guarantee that it would happen again.

“Do we have no choice but to act directly?”

Tajik muttered as he left the research lab.

It was just after he left.

Swoosh!

Suddenly, sand flowed in through the ventilation ducts.

The research building was rigorously managed.

Naturally, there were various devices installed in the ventilation ducts to prevent external intruders.

Not a drop of water or even a grain of sand was supposed to seep in.

If this much sand had flowed in, alarms should have sounded. However, strangely, all the systems remained silent.

The sand piled up on the floor wriggled as if it were a living creature and soon transformed into the shape of a human.

It was a Sand Soldier made of sand.

There was only one being on Earth who could create soldiers out of sand, and that was Zeon alone.

Zeon created the Sand Soldier by sending sand through the ventilation ducts.

Maintaining a Sand Soldier was not easy, especially in a distant location underground. Yet Zeon somehow managed to maintain dominance.

Zeon observed what was happening inside the research lab through the Sand Soldier.

‘Using drugs for forced awakening… If we’re not careful, there will be an overflow of Awakeneds below standard in Neo Seoul and the slums.’

Drugs themselves were harmful to humans, but if they were combined with human desires, the results would be terrible.

The research seemed to be in its early stages now.

The research progress was slower because the drugs supplied by the Crocodiles had been cut off.

If the drugs made by the Crocodiles were supplied again, the research would progress rapidly.

As Zeon observed the activities inside the research lab through the Sand Soldier, he furrowed his brow slightly.

‘As expected, Brielle is the problem.’

Since they had already formed an alliance, he couldn’t just leave her be.

He had to make sure her abilities didn’t become exposed.

‘It would be best to sever the link for now.’

Zeon muttered to himself and summoned the Sand Soldier.

The Sand Soldier, once again turned into sand, came out through the ventilation ducts.

Zeon stood in a remote alley far from the ventilation ducts. Waves of sand flowed towards him as if they were waiting for him.

In an instant, Zeon’s subspace opened.

The sand flowed into the subspace as if it had been waiting for this moment.

The sand, particularly the majority of it, was orange in color.

The sand that infiltrated through the ventilation ducts flowed into Zeon’s subspace without leaving a trace.

Zeon closed the subspace and muttered to himself.

‘How should I erase it?’

[Translator – Peptobismol]