Chapter 8 - Justification for a Fight
The lanky guy looked down at and spoke.
"First, I'll ask as a courtesy. Justification is pretty important to our side, you see."
The Confucian scholar of the Spring and Autumn period, Confucius, advocated for the Rectification of Nas doctrine.
A king must be king-like.
A subject must be subject-like.
A father must be father-like.
......
Well, it continues on in that fashion.
It roughly ant that everyone should act in a way that befits their role.
According to the lanky guy's logic.
It ant, 'A gang must be gang-like.'
When I first encountered the Rectification of Nas, I had scoffed.
Because my father was not at all father-like.
The lanky guy continued.
"As if destroying a perfectly good press wasn't enough, you even incited the workers? Wow, you're a real piece of work!"
It may seem like this thing called justification grants a plausible degree of legitimacy.
But in reality, if you hang it on your ear, it's an earring; if you hang it on your nose, it's a nose ring.
"Why'd you do it? I should at least~~ hear your reason. Not that it matters, since you're gonna get your ass beat anyway."
See?
Depending on the justification, doesn't violence sotis beco justice?
That's why I believe justification is no different from a lie.
It's more truthful to just be upfront about pursuing your own interests.
"Why, you ask?"
I lifted my chin and looked up at the lanky guy.
"Because the side dishes tasted like shit."
"What?"
The lanky guy's brow furrowed as he scowled.
If I had left the press as it was, soone else's hand would have been cut off, even if it wasn't Kkalkki's.
It might have even been my own hand.
But that was the real reason.
And I had no intention of telling this bastard what was on my mind.
"You guys probably wouldn't know, since you only stuff your faces with delivery food. Co try the cafeteria soti. You'll be confused whether they're serving it to people or to dogs."
The lanky guy's reaction was one of sheer disbelief.
"That's your only reason?”
"Yeah. That's right."
One of the factory workers watching us went Pfft. and burst out laughing.
"We grind our asses off all morning, the least you could do~~ is feed us properly."
"Hear, hear!"
Kkalkki's voice ca from behind .
"A piece of a steel scrubber ca out of the pork crap-let today! Are you tryin' to make eat that and croak? That's just too much, I tell ya!"
The president hid behind the lanky guy and goaded him on.
"Look! Look at the disrespectful way those things are talking. They'll be very dangerous if you leave them be. Director-nim, please teach them a lesson!"
The lanky guy nodded.
"You're right, President Kim. Looks like we'll have to teach your employees just how scary the world is."
It wasn't that I was underestimating the gang's second-in-command out of sheer arrogance.
Though I acted nonchalant on the outside, I had been cautiously observing the bastard the entire ti we were talking.
Habitual liars don't trust others easily.
Just as they are adept at deceiving others, they never let down their guard of suspicion.
It was the sa for .
I wasn't getting cocky just because I had Awakened.
The hero ability,
: 1 million won per use.
2) .
BEEP!
A phrase appeared along with a warning sound.
[ Conditions have not been t ]
Damn it. Then tell what the conditions are.
"Cap'n!"
Kkalkki's worried voice was directed at .
The other factory workers also faltered, looking terrified.
If I were to lose here, what would happen next was painfully obvious.
They would co to the 4th Factory whenever they felt like it, raise hell, and harass the employees.
Protection fees, union dues, severance pay, and so on.
They would surely tear even more money from our salaries.
I couldn't bear to see my colleagues suffer that fate.
Isn't there so way?
[ Conditions have not been t ]
As I stared intently at the phrase, I saw sothing engraved in small letters below it.
[ 4/5 ]
It was a number I hadn't noticed at first.
Racking my mory, I think it had been increasing little by little since I arrived here from my morning commute.
Four out of five tis.
Just one more, and the count of five will be filled.
'Don't tell .’
I dusted myself off and got up.
The lanky guy clapped his hands once.
"Whoa, what a real man!"
I had a vague idea of what the condition was.
It would have been nice to test it out leisurely, but I suppose I have no choice but to apply it in a real fight imdiately.
The plan was simple.
First, shut up and attack.
I rushed at the lanky guy, throwing a one-two with both hands.
Whoosh. Whoosh.
As expected, my fists only hit the empty air.
The withdrawal notification didn't sound.
It was likely because I hadn't landed a valid hit.
"Ooh! So close! Almost got !"
The lanky guy dodged skillfully with exaggerated movents.
"Lookin' at your form, seems you learned so boxing sowhere. I used to go to a gym back in the day, too. One! Two!"
The lanky guy threw jabs in the openings.
He only used one hand, but his speed was so fast that I couldn't even tell where the punches were coming from.
The fierce blows landed squarely on my face.
My lip split open, and sparks flashed in my vision.
TH-TH-TH-THUD!!!
It was a one-sided beating.
My mind grew hazy and I wanted to collapse, but I grit my teeth and endured.
The area around my eyes swelled up, and blood from my split lip dripped onto the dusty ground.
"St-Stop it! You rotten bastard!"
Kkalkki tried to jump in, but the other factory workers held him back.
"St-Stay put!"
"It's dangerous if you jump in, too!"
However, in my narrow field of vision, I caught the foreman moving.
He quietly gripped the monkey wrench hanging from his hip.
"That's right. It's one-on-one, so we hold back for now. But, the mont Yong-gi falls, we all jump in."
My face was a swollen, bloody ss, but a smirk escaped my lips.
Who was it that said he would never join the fight to protect himself?
The lanky guy's lips curled upwards.
"Heh heh. You're laughing? You're a much crazier bastard than I expected."
His afterimage blurred, and his voice echoed from all around.
"Your na's Choi Yong-gi, right? I like your guts. You interested in joining our organization?"
A battered wreck, I coughed up a glob of bloody phlegm and raised my guard.
"Go tell your mother to join."
I had finally confird my position.
The spot I had been luring him to while taking his attacks head-on.
It was right under the shade of a wisteria trellis, where purple petals drooped.
I raised my fist.
"I told you it's useless."
The lanky guy dodged the attack with ease.
It didn't matter.
My target wasn't him in the first place.
My fist, with mana concentrated in it, slamd into a pillar under the wisteria.
CRACK.
Ding.
– Withdrawal: 1,000,000 won.
One of the four-sided pillars broke, and the wisteria rest area ca crashing down.
Simultaneously.
Ding.
[ Conditions have been t ]
]
[ Awakened's Balance ]
: ₩1,068,565,998
My balance, now down by a total of 6 million won.
At the sa ti, mana spread to every corner of my body.
A sensation just like stepping into a bathtub filled with hot water.
Sothing is embracing .
If I were held in the warm embrace of a gentle mother, wouldn't it feel like this?
I lowered both hands from my guard.
A completely defenseless state.
The lanky guy, covered in wisteria vines, irritably swatted the branches away.
"Are you giving up? What kind of stupid stunt is this?"
As the leaves covered his entire body, the lanky guy's shimring form beca clear.
I quickly grabbed the bastard by the collar.
"Caught you."
The lanky guy was startled for a mont but quickly regained his composure.
"So what if you caught ? Does that change anything? I told you, didn't I? I'm gonna bust your jaw!"
The lanky guy displayed his specialty, his speed, and in the blink of an eye, planted his fist on my chin.
Tink.
However,
The bastard's fist slipped off.
No, to be precise, it bounced off.
Super Kid's
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