WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR

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◈ The Police Do a Better Job Than Heroes

Chapter 45

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Even a Sparrow's Steps Are Steps (1)

A week passed.

Kang Jin-ho had become famous, genuinely famous, in a way that put everything before it to shame.

TV news covered the "villain hideout sweep operation" in a big way, and one segment mentioned that "an active-duty police officer played a major role." Now, when he patrolled the streets, it wasn't rare at all for someone to recognize him.

And it wasn't just reality. Online communities buzzed with talk of Kang Jin-ho too.

-guys, does it make sense that an active duty cop carried a bunch of A rank heroes?

-you believe that? might as well believe the earth is flat

-but all the heroes on scene are saying the same thing lol;; there's even video of them telling the story;

-probably not a total lie. heroes wouldn't just make stuff up out of nothing

-this. probably did something decent and it got puffed up with some extra padding. everyone knows the government's desperate to find something to show off

Half the crowd insisted it was pure fabrication and refused to believe a word. The other half figured it probably wasn't 100 percent false either. Either way, one thing was certain: the existence of a man named Kang Jin-ho had been dragged into the light.

-so between C rank White Lily, Chris, and Jade, who's prettier?

-you blind? obviously White Lily

-nah Jade wins dumbass

Well, even so, his name recognition was still only around C to B rank hero territory... but for an ordinary police officer to get anywhere near hero-level fame in the first place was a big deal. Even Detective Mierou, who ranked at the very top for name recognition among police officers, couldn't hold a candle to heroes.

But had Kang Jin-ho's gains from this rescue operation been limited to fame? Not exactly.

The day after the operation, he showed up at the precinct for his shift, and there was a man in a black suit waiting for him.

"I'm from the government."

The man in the black suit and black sunglasses didn't ask Kang Jin-ho any questions, pro or con, about anything at all.

Honestly, from the government's perspective, they didn't want to touch Kang Jin-ho if they could help it. Without them lifting a finger, he was already running around building up results on his own, and the Korean government got to enjoy the benefits right along with him. Why intervene and risk irritating him into quitting the force?

Still, they'd come by because doing absolutely nothing felt awkward, and also to quietly feel out Kang Jin-ho's intentions.

"This money is purely a gesture of gratitude... and, going forward, if a case comes up that's too tricky for the police, or some kind of special crime occurs, would it be all right to request Officer Kang's cooperation?"

"Well... if it's something I can help with, sure."

"Thank you."

Kang Jin-ho accepted without hesitation, and the man in black grinned and held out a thick envelope of documents.

"This is a government reward for this case, and also a token of encouragement, hoping you'll keep being a fine officer going forward."

The man left coolly, and when Kang Jin-ho quietly peeked inside the envelope, there was a check inside.

"...100 million?"

Way too much money for a lowly police officer. A staggering 100 million won, just sitting there...!

"Getting rich might be easier than I thought..."

Kang Jin-ho, thoroughly impressed by the government's generosity. And the next day, when he showed up at the precinct.

"...2 billion?"

"Yes! If you'll just sign here."

"...seriously, 2 billion?"

The person who'd come from the Hero Association held out a check with the number 2 billion written on it.

"No, seriously, does the Hero Association really have this much money to throw around?"

"Actually, the official bounty on 'Labyrinth' is 1 billion won. Most of the other heroes gave up their share of the bounty, so Kang Jin-ho's cut comes to 800 million won."

"Then where'd the other 1.2 billion come from?"

"That's Silver Knife's personal reward money."

The fact that other heroes had given up their shares to hand him 800 million was surprising enough, but the fact that Silver Knife had personally thrown down 1.2 billion was even more shocking.

"Silver Knife's famous for being loaded..."

As it turned out, Silver Knife had spent years as a first-generation hero building up a solid fortune, then compounded it through a string of successful investments, ending up with assets worth hundreds of billions.

As strict with himself as he was with everyone else, Silver Knife was ruthless about settling debts of gratitude. Hearing that Kang Jin-ho had played the single most decisive role in the rescue, Silver Knife had tossed out a cool 1.2 billion without blinking.

(Of course, there was probably also some intent to smother the recent rumor going around that "the fake Silver Knife actually had a better personality.")

Anyway, 100 million won from the government and 2 billion won from the Hero Association. Kang Jin-ho immediately donated 2 billion of it.

As a result, he managed to earn a staggering 200,000 karma in one lump sum...

"Ow! Sorry about that."

"...hey rookie, you've been bumping into stuff all over the place lately?"

"Haha, I had a lot to drink yesterday..."

"With who? A girl?"

"...Jin-ho, are you seeing someone?"

"No! Not at all! I drank alone!!!"

His physical abilities had shot up so suddenly that he genuinely couldn't calibrate his strength anymore. He couldn't exactly go around breaking things, so he tried to move as gently and carefully as possible... which, unfortunately, invited some unnecessary misunderstandings.

Oh, and what happened to the remaining 100 million? He just kept it. He figured he might need a lump sum someday if he ever got hurt on the job... and honestly, if he was being real with himself, lately he'd been living for the simple joy of eating something delicious every night.

Considering he spent his days working as a cop constantly rubbing shoulders with villains, surely he'd earned a little luxury like that?

"Yo, Jin-ho. Morning."

"Yes! Good morning!"

"Yeah, yeah. Let's give it our all today too."

To sum it up, Kang Jin-ho had become a reasonably well known officer. If his current status were phrased as a game stat, the status window would probably read something like "Beginning to attract attention."

But the attention Kang Jin-ho had drawn wasn't limited to heroes and ordinary citizens.

"..."

Inside a room so spotless, so blindingly white, it made the sense of space itself feel dizzying.

A single figure dressed in black, standing out sharply against all that white, stroked their chin while looking down at a photo of Kang Jin-ho.

The one behind countless 1-rank villains, the genius of evil who had been thwarted by Kang Jin-ho time and time again.

The urban legend of Light City that no one had ever managed to identify.

"...interesting."

Director Baek had taken notice of Kang Jin-ho.

**

One day, a peaceful afternoon at the precinct.

"Oh my, that's the one from the news, right? Such a fine young man, ho ho."

"Yes, ma'am. Get home safe."

The daily scenery at the precinct these days had shifted a little from before. Even ordinary citizens who came in for simple complaints or directions recognized Kang Jin-ho often enough now.

They'd toss out a compliment or a kind word on their way in or out, and thanks to that, the shoulders of everyone at the precinct got a little puffed up too. The feeling of, hey, I'm coworkers with someone that impressive!

"Jin-ho, forget the paperwork, just go sit at the front desk."

"Huh? Is that all right?"

"People like seeing you. Just go sit there."

"Yes, sir..."

So instead of doing his data entry work, Kang Jin-ho sat near the entrance. Still feeling a bit self-conscious, he straightened his uniform and adjusted his cap, and just as he did.

-Ding!

"Officer Kang! Are you busy right now?"

The precinct door swung open hard, and a man with sweat beading on his forehead rushed in, his face urgent.

"Detective Mierou?"

He was the ace of the Metropolitan Police Agency, and also the detective who owed Kang Jin-ho a debt of gratitude from before.

"Wait, why didn't you call ahead..."

"...there's a situation where I can't use electronics right now. More importantly, are you busy?"

"No, not particularly..."

"Good. I need your help."

Mierou gulped down a quick cup of water from the water cooler, then launched into a rushed explanation.

"There's a case in Eastern District 9, some kind of theft or something, and it's an absolute mess."

"The scene wasn't contained?"

"No, the scene's been handled. The problem happened after that."

Here's how it went down.

Recently, the police had gone to arrest a businessman indicted on charges of illegal smuggling. But when they arrived on scene, the businessman was sitting on the floor, dazed, wailing that "my entire safe got cleaned out!"

Since the scale of the theft was too large for it to be some ordinary burglar's work, the police judged it needed backup and requested help from the Hero Association.

"So the information type heroes showed up on scene... and that's where things went sideways."

Mierou pressed at his temples as he kept explaining.

"Two information type heroes showed up on scene, and they started arguing with each other about who was right. Started as a simple shouting match, but now they've apparently grabbed each other by the collar."

"...does this happen often?"

"Yes, which is why we usually only call in one information type hero at a time... but the guy who sent the cooperation request this time happened to be a rookie..."

Mierou suddenly grabbed Kang Jin-ho's hand.

"Anyway, the police were the first to receive the report, and there's a jurisdiction issue too, so we want to keep control of the situation on our end somehow. Officer Kang, you carry a decent amount of authority among heroes these days, don't you? Could you please go to the scene and mediate between those two?"

"Hmm..."

Kang Jin-ho thought it over for a moment, then nodded firmly. It seemed like he could earn some karma out of it, and it looked like the kind of thing that could net rewards from both the police and the heroes.

"I'll go."

"Then let's head out right away. There's a car waiting outside."

"Got it. Let me change first and come right back."

Just as Kang Jin-ho, resolve firmly set, sprang up from his seat.

"..."

A chill of murderous intent came from somewhere, and Kang Jin-ho's steps froze in place.

"Wait, hold on a second. Detective Mierou?"

"Yes? What's wrong?"

"Would it be all right if my training officer came along too? I feel like I do better deduction when Eun-yeong-sunbae's around..."

"Oh? I can come along too?"

"Of course. I focus so much better with you there, sunbae. Ha ha ha ha!!!"

Kang Jin-ho secretly wiped the sweat off his forehead and thought.

That was close. Real close!

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