NOVEL NEXT Chapter 101
Chapter 101
As soon as Si-hyun stepped out of the Security Chief’s Office, he couldn’t help but let out a cheer.
His joyous feelings were clearly visible on his face.
It was a place absolutely essential for the guild’s plans.
The place he had desired the most.
He had been secretly thinking that even if he couldn’t go this time, he would definitely wait for a few years to go there.
But he ended up getting to go all at once.
He had saved a tremendous amount of time.
How could he not be in a good mood?
“Hey, Section Chief, it seems the interview went well?”
Seeing Si-hyun’s expression, the Security Chief asked.
“Yes, it went well.”
Si-hyun replied with a smile.
◈ ◈ ◈
“Brother, are you going to the 6th Floor?”
As soon as he bumped into Kang Baek in the break room, he asked.
“Oh, why?”
“The Security Chief’s going there, right? They must not have enough people or something?”
“No, I applied for it myself.”
“Huh… Is that so? Guess it fits you perfectly, brother…”
Kang Baek shook his head.
“What do you mean?”
Si-hyun said that while getting cold water from the water cooler.
As soon as he finished drinking, Kang Baek opened his mouth again.
“I heard from other seniors that no one wants to go to the 6th Floor.”
“That makes sense.”
“See, brother? You knew and applied anyway.”
“I actually prefer managing inmate order with problematic inmates.”
Si-hyun answered with a smirk.
“You’re really something else.”
“A guard like me is needed for things to run smoothly.”
“Yeah, yeah, I got it.”
“I’m serious, you know?”
“Yeah, yeah.”
Kang Baek replied in an exaggerated tone while giving a smile.
“By the way, did you enjoy your sweet vacation?”
“…It was the worst.”
Si-hyun’s smile vanished, and a bittersweet expression quickly replaced it.
“Huh, really?”
Seeing Si-hyun’s expression, Kang Baek realized it was no joke and opened his eyes wide.
“Yeah, well… something happened.”
“Oh gosh, I must have brought it up wrongly. I’m sorry, brother.”
“It’s fine, there’s nothing for you to apologize about.”
Si-hyun waved his hand dismissively.
“Take care during your remaining shifts. I’ll head out first.”
◈ ◈ ◈
A position was arranged the very next day.
It was the Section Chief position for the newly formed 6th Floor Ward.
Originally, the 5th and 6th Floors were managed together under one Ward Chief, but now the 6th Floor had been separated and made independent.
The Ward Chief who originally managed the 6th Floor didn’t show any discontent.
On the contrary, he seemed quite pleased about it.
After all, he had two fewer wards to manage.
Especially since those wards were notorious for being difficult within the facility.
Si-hyun opened the door to the ward office on the 6th floor and stepped inside.
The Ward Chief responsible for the 3rd Ward was using the 5th floor office while the 6th floor was being used by the subordinate Ward Chief.
However, from now on, this would be Si-hyun’s workplace.
He never imagined while at Rank 9 that he would become the Ward Chief in an office.
His expression while touching the office desk was peculiar.
He still couldn’t fully grasp the reality of it.
Standing idly in front of the desk for a moment, Si-hyun’s gaze suddenly shifted to the clock.
“Ah, shoot.”
It was a bit past the morning inspection time.
Now, he wasn’t just preparing for the inspection; he had to conduct it himself.
He felt a slight pang of guilt towards the Duty Chiefs.
Having worked as one himself, he knew well how it felt when the Chief was late for the inspection.
Standing around waiting for the Chief to arrive wasn’t exactly pleasant.
Si-hyun tidied up his attire and stepped out of the office.
And he immediately headed to Unit 1 on the 6th floor.
As soon as the Duty Chief of Unit 1 spotted Si-hyun, he turned around and shouted.
“Attention!”
His voice resonated loudly throughout the ward.
Si-hyun liked the Duty Chief’s volume.
A correctional officer’s voice needed to be loud.
“Inspection for Unit 1 on the 6th Floor is ready!”
Turning back to look at Si-hyun, the Duty Chief shouted with vigor.
Si-hyun nodded with a satisfied expression and slowly walked toward Room 1.
As it was a solitary confinement cell, there was no roll call of the inmates by number.
“Room 1!”
Only the Duty Chief’s voice echoed.
The bars of the 6th floor appeared considerably thicker than those elsewhere.
After all, this was the place where higher-ranked Hunters were imprisoned, so the facilities themselves were clearly different.
Si-hyun approached the bars of Room 1 to observe the inmates.
At that moment.
‘Hm?’
[Warning: A highly notorious individual has been detected nearby.]
The seasoned guard’s insight triggered, and an all-too-familiar warning window appeared.
It was a notification indicating the presence of a B-rank notorious individual.
‘Well, look at that?’
Starting off with such a situation.
Si-hyun experienced well how dangerous such individuals could be.
There was no way these people would reform after being locked up for a while.
Unless managed by the Iron-Blooded Guard, they were sure to reoffend without fail.
Si-hyun sensed the need for action right from the first room.
Transforming these individuals through the Iron-Blooded Guard would be an immense accomplishment.
It would be akin to saving countless potential victims in the future.
With a smile, Si-hyun looked into the cell.
“Hello.”
“Who’s there?”
A pale-looking man in his 40s stared at Si-hyun.
“I’m the new Ward Chief that will be taking charge from today.”
“And so?”
Although his words were brief, Si-hyun’s smile remained unshaken.
It was confidence stemming from experience and ability.
“I hope we can work well together from now on.”
“Whatever.”
The pale man replied dismissively with a look of annoyance.
Si-hyun sensed the Duty Chief’s unease as he observed the interaction.
Everyone in the facility knew that Si-hyun emphasized inmate order heavily.
They all considered Si-hyun a strict and powerful guard, so they were worried that an issue might arise from this incident.
However, contrary to the Duty Chief’s concerns, Si-hyun seemed completely unfazed, chuckling as he moved on to the next cell.
The Duty Chief reacted a beat too late to Si-hyun’s unexpected behavior.
He hurriedly followed after Si-hyun and shouted.
“…Room 2!”
Si-hyun maintained his smile as he greeted the inmates.
He didn’t particularly point out any issues regardless of what he observed.
The Duty Chief was trying hard to conceal his bewilderment.
This was too different from the rumors.
He had expected a loud argument with the inmates right from the first day, but they were displaying behavior completely outside his expectations.
“Room 10!”
It was the last room.
Another warning window appeared in Room 10.
[Warning: An extremely notorious individual has been detected nearby.]
It was the A-class warning he had seen with the death row inmate Kang Tae-eun.
Si-hyun approached the bars closer this time.
The inmate in Room 10 was a young man in his 20s.
He had a well-balanced, muscular body and a face that could easily be deemed handsome.
Once again, one shouldn’t judge criminals based on their looks.
“Hello.”
Si-hyun greeted with a smile.
“Hello.”
‘Uh?’
Si-hyun’s eyes widened in surprise.
For the first time, he received a polite greeting from an inmate.
The young man was smiling just like Si-hyun.
‘He’s not an average guy.’
Si-hyun instinctively felt this to be true.
Could he possibly be A-class?
Even B-class individuals were far from ordinary, but this one seemed to carry a completely different atmosphere.
“I’m the new Ward Chief starting today.”
Si-hyun introduced himself.
“I see. My name is Kim Cheol-hyung. Nice to meet you, Chief.”
This was the first time an inmate offered his name during an inspection.
It was also the first time someone initiated a polite greeting.
‘Interesting. Kim Cheol-hyung, huh…’
Si-hyun observed the eyes of the man who introduced himself as Cheol-hyung.
Cheol-hyung met Si-hyun’s gaze with a look that seemed equally inscrutable.
“I look forward to working with you too, Cheol-hyung.”
Si-hyun kept his smile intact.
That marked the end of the morning inspection for Unit 1.
Before moving on to the next inspection for Unit 2, Si-hyun asked the Duty Chief.
“Rooms 1, 4, and 10 have inmates charged with murder, right?”
All of them were individuals indicated by the warning window as notorious.
“Ah, Rooms 1 and 4 are indeed for murder. But Room 10 was charged with assault, not murder.”
“Not murder?”
Si-hyun asked again in confusion.
“Yes, that’s correct.”
“….”
“Is there a reason you’re asking?”
“Oh, it’s nothing. Just curious. Good work.”
The Duty Chief responded with a salute.
As Si-hyun turned his body, the Duty Chief’s booming voice rang out once more.
“At ease!”
◈ ◈ ◈
“That’s a strange thing.”
After finishing the inspection and sitting in the ward office, Si-hyun muttered to himself.
So far, the notorious individuals he had encountered had murder as a baseline.
To gain infamy in that other world, they’d have committed heinous acts multiple times.
He had speculated that either they awakened to powers similar to those of their core personalities or awakened powers that bore consequences.
So far, that speculation seemed to hold some truth.
But not for murder?
It had to be one of two things.
Either he had committed murder but hadn’t been caught, or he genuinely hadn’t committed murder.
If it was the latter, he was anything but ordinary.
The man named Kim Cheol-hyung from Room 10.
It seemed necessary to keep a close watch on him.
◈ ◈ ◈
“Is the guild running smoothly?”
After work, Si-hyun called someone.
Soon enough, an excited response came back.
-Oh, Chief? How have you been!
“Tone it down; I’m about to lose my hearing. And it’s Chief now, not just a Chief.”
-Oh gosh, understood, Chief! Congrats on your promotion!
The other person was Lee Hae-chang, one of the inmates Si-hyun had first assigned in the Special Detention Center.
Si-hyun had tasked Hae-chang to establish the Yangji Guild and initially serve as the guild leader.
And he had faithfully followed those instructions, setting up and managing the Yangji Guild.
“Got it, but how about responding to what I asked earlier?”
-Ah, yes. So far, it’s been running without any problems. The newly recruited guild members are listening to me very well, just like you said. I was worried because they were C-class, but thankfully, it’s been good.
Since he only sent inmates thoroughly reformed under the Iron-Blooded Guard, Si-hyun had expected there wouldn’t be any issues, and he was right.
“What’s the income like?”
-It was a bit tough in the beginning, but it’s good enough to get by now.
“You’re not paying other guild members, right?”
-No, following your orders, we have absolutely not paid anyone. We’re carefully selecting only the people you sent and letting them join.
“Good job. Keep it up.”
-Thank you, Chief!
“Tone it down.”
-Oh gosh, I’m sorry. I’m really sorry, Chief!
“That’s enough. Contact me right away if anything happens.”
-Of course. I’ll contact you immediately.
“Good. Keep up the good work then.”
-Yes, I’ll work hard.
Si-hyun hung up the phone.
Some might think that all his members being ex-convicts could lead to issues, but to Si-hyun, they were a group he could trust more than anyone.
They wouldn’t dare to dream of betrayal, and they had no choice but to obey Si-hyun’s orders.
For Si-hyun, who wanted a reliable shield, there was no better group.
Of course, they were still not quite at the level he could confidently call a shield.
They were simply a guild consisting mostly of E-ranks, D-ranks, and a few C-ranks.
But that was only for now.
The plans were certainly progressing.
Having work assignments in the 6th Floor Ward had become a critical driving force for the plans moving forward.
If he could control the higher-ranked B-class Hunters on the 6th floor and gradually release them based on their release dates, Si-hyun’s Yangji Guild would evolve into a formidable guild.
He looked forward to that day.
“First, rehabilitate them.”
With a smile, Si-hyun murmured to himself.