10 Years Later (End)

The situation was literally appalling.

It had been one hour since gunmen had stormed the bank. The plan was perfect.

Epsilon hacked the police lines to buy them time while Alpha, Beta, and Gamma collected the money. The time required to do all of that was around 300 seconds. Delta was waiting outside with the van for their escape.

Of course, Alpha wasn't foolish enough to flee with the same car. Every time they moved a certain distance, they would change the car. This way, they could run away without leaving a clue.

The plan was perfect from the beginning to the end. Then why was the situation like this?

However, it was too late to feel regret, as the water had already spilled. Alpha shouted in an irritated voice,

"What are you doing? Be sure to keep the hostages! Those bastards are our lifeline!"

Beta's face distorted as he held a gun to the hostages.

"You do it if you have a complaint! What? A perfect plan? This? Huh? If you have something to say, then tell me!"

Alpha was dumbfounded. Alpha was just the leader this time. Beta had more experience and skills than Alpha. No, it was a big hit that Beta joined the team in the first place. He was a former mafia veteran who could handle skills.

Then Gamma, who hadn't been seen for a while, approached.

"Hyung-nim. Why are you fighting all of a sudden? The situation might have changed but aren't we allies? Smile instead of looking like you are chewing shit."

Gamma said with a bright expression. The impatient Alpha exploded.

"T-This bastard! What are you saying? Don't you know why the situation is like this?"

"Isn't it because your leadership wasn't good?"

Alpha couldn't endure it anymore and swung his fists at Gamma.

"Come on, Alpha. We are allies until the end of the operation."

"Just…! Fuck! This happened due to that monkey-like bastard!"

"Gamma is also a team member. Forget it. First, let's think about getting out of here."

"Okay, I understand. Damn…"

There were only three members here, including Alpha. Somehow, they had to overcome this crisis with their own strength. Alpha glared at the grinning Gamma. He was a complete bastard.

He had been put on the team as a penetration expert. He was excellent at picking locks and disabling security. But that wasn't the problem.

"That Satan-level bastard…"

Gamma had made a mistake. He accidentally caused the alarm to ring. He tried to leave the bank, leaving the money bag in the safe. It was literally an internal enemy. In the end, their plan to rob and escape the bank had failed. Now they were holding the customers hostage and were demanding a helicopter to escape.

Gamma rubbed his palms together and said,

"Beta hyung-nim, please rest! I will manage the hostages!"

"Shit! Once this is finished, I will kill the the broker who introduced me to that bastard!"

Beta gestured to the agitated Alpha and went to a corner to start talking to the hostages. He told Gamma to keep an eye on the hostages.

"First of all, calm down and listen. I don't like it but in order to leave here, we have to show a strong appearance. If the police don't listen to our demands then one by one, the hostages…"

As Alpha and Beta were talking in secret, a familiar voice was heard.

"Uh, are you going to kill the hostages now? Then I don't have time to play around."

They turned their heads and saw the smiling Gamma.

"Hey, you should be watching the hostages…uaack!"

So far, Gamma had always been moving like a sloth, but now he moved at a fast pace. Gamma caused Alpha to trip and then fell on Beta's back. Then he twisted Beta's arm and forced him to the ground.

"W-What? This bastard!"

Beta shrieked. His arms were covered with silver handcuffs. Alpha's expression was shocked.

No way, that bastard…!

Gamma said with a smile.

"Hyung-nim, thank you for your performance this month. I am Detective Seo Tae-hyuk from the Gangdong Police Station. Kim Dong-soo and Bae Sung-jun, I am arresting you for special robbery and the illegal trafficking of guns. You have the right to remain silent…"

"Aaaaack! Son of a bitch! How dare you deceive us! This scammer! Do you know who I am?"

Detective Seo Tae-hyuk laughed at the agitated Kim Dong-soo.

"Huh? I don't care about who you are. Rather, shouldn't you be wondering about where you will be going? You won't be able to leave for at least three years."

"Aaaaack!"

@

"Detective-nim! I arrested Delta, who was hacking the security network, and Epsilon, who was in the car. They really were where Detective-nim said they were."

"Really? You went through a lot of trouble."

"However, it has only been a short while since Detective-nim entered. You already solved so many big cases… What is your secret?"

"Well, a burning sense of justice?"

The cops laughed at Seo Tae-hyuk's joke. Tae-hyuk took off the coat that he was wearing. Then he muttered in a small voice so that no one else could hear.

"It seems like I am finishing up the blacklist."

The reason he was able to catch so many criminals during a short period of time after becoming a detective was simple. It was because he knew. It was a secret that Seo Tae-hyuk couldn't tell anyone.

He knew the future for the next four years. Most of it was about criminals, but there were many changes due to the butterfly effect. But they were golden memories for a detective.

He thought about the moment 10 years ago when he decided to become a detective.

'Crime skills… Now that I think about it, that really was a dreamlike year.'

He remembered the last crime skill that he got.

'Wasn't it the Proxy Attendance skill?'

He thought it was a useless skill when he first got it. 10 years ago, Tae-hyuk was left alone in the Wolsang Institute to stop the Clown's Core Drive.

He was reminded of the newly learned crime skill as he was talking. Then he decided to find out what type of power it was. It was a skill to create an 'agent' to do something on behalf of the caster.

'In order to be used as an intermediary, I had to offer an object of equal value. And I…'

He offered up the crime skills as the sacrifice. An alter ego was created to destroy the Core Drive. The thing that appeared was a ghoulish face. There was a hollow space where the eyes were and the mouth was ripped from ear to ear.

It said to Tae-hyuk.

–Don't think this is over. As long as human evil remains in the world, someone will become the God of Crime again.

Ah, was that so? Then he woke up on the bed in his own house.

As he thought back to his high school days, Seo Tae-hyuk suddenly heard a loud noise in his ears. Two people who seemed to be security guards were in front of the bank.

"Oh, Boss-nim is coming, but who blocked the entrance with this car? It looks expensive so I can't remove it."

"Wah! Sunbae! This car is a Lamborghini Aventador!"

Do you know the car?"

"Of course! It is the most expensive model among the Lamborghinis, a man's romance!"

"…H-How much is it?"

"This has all the options. Is it around 700~800 million won?"

"Wah…that is at the level of a house I would need to be reincarnated three times in order to buy it, Who the hell would be riding this type of car?"

"Maybe it is a chaebol or a celebrity? At any rate, it isn't for people like us…"

Tae-hyuk scratched his head and approached the guards.

"Oh, that is mine. I had business so I parked it in front of the bank for a moment…I'll take it away right now."

The guards stared at Tae-yuk's face and they started to exchange glances. It seemed like there was a strange misconception so Tae-hyuk coughed a few times and pulled out his identification.

"I am Seo Tae-hyuk from the Gangdong Police Station."

Then the senior guard said with wide eyes,

"D-Detective-nim! Ah, I'm really sorry. I had a weird misconception…"

"Haha, it is okay. Please do your best."

Tae-hyuk bowed, took the key out of his pocket and entered his car.

"Wow, it really is his."

"Oh my god. I thought he was a delinquent instead of a detective at first. But to think he would be driving an expensive car…"

"Hey! I told you not to evaluate people based on appearance."

"I-I will keep that in mind."

As he parked his car elsewhere, a person called him.

–Ah, Tae-hyuk! What happened to the case?

"Ah? Kang-suk hyung. Of course, no civilians got hurt. The culprits were arrested."

–Wow! This brat. You work so hard every day. Why are you leaving work when the chief needs to stay behind and work overtime? Isn't this a fully developed police station?

A smile appeared on Tae-hyuk's face.

Cho Kang-suk became a pot-bellied uncle and was now in a much higher position than before. But he was still the same.

–Ah right, don't you have a date today? Let me meet them next time. I wonder who it is. How pretty is she that you would hide her from me?

"Um… It is someone that Hyung knows."

–R-really? Now I am even more curious! I will have someone investigate this!

"Wah… Isn't that an abuse of power?"

–Then let me meet them! Sheesh. At any rate, you can leave now. Just make sure to submit the report tomorrow.

"I understand, Superintendent Cho Kang-suk."

-…You are giving me goose bumps.

Tae-hyuk hung up and laughed. There were still a few people remaining on the blacklist. He still had a lot of cases after that, but it wasn't a problem.

He had experience as the God of Crime, tangling himself up with numerous criminals. Everyday was a fight against the new God of Crime that would someday reappear… If there was just one small problem―.

Tae-hyuk bumped into a woman dressed in a suit.

"Ah, I'm sorry."

"It's nothing, it was probably because I wasn't looking."

Tae-hyuk nodded and suddenly got an ominous feeling.

'Wait a minute, don't tell me…'

He placed his hands in his pockets to check if they contained something. He touched a piece of soft cloth. It was probably…

'…Damn, I stole it again! A detective is going to be arrested!'

Tae-hyuk silently screamed as the woman passed by him. Fortunately, it seemed like she hadn't noticed that something had been stolen.

Yes, it occasionally happened. Why did he keep stealing things whenever he bumped into another person?