Chapter 17: Unification of the Gangbuk (2)

Author's Point of View.

"Did you hear?" asked a short-haired high school girl to her friends in the school hallway.

"I heard that Hanju currently controls the northern district" informed the young woman in a low voice.

"No, that's impossible" refuted another long-haired schoolgirl with a skeptical expression.

"Yes, yes, I learned about it just this morning" she affirmed assuredly.

"If you don't believe me, you can ask Soha Yang since her older brother is an executive there" she said with a little smile while looking at her silent friends.

"So Soha? Is this rumor true?" she asked, leaning towards Soha Yang who was a bit surprised to be brought so suddenly into the conversation.

"My brother just told me that major changes were happening recently in the northern Gangbuk, but he didn't tell me anything more" she answered, remembering her brother's worried face when he came home late last night.

"You see? Nothing proves that Hanju took control of that place" said the long-haired girl in a smug tone.

"Believe what you want but you'll have to admit I'm right later" said the other, shrugging her shoulders.

While they were discussing among themselves, they hadn't noticed that their friend was completely lost in thought, staring at his phone.

"I hope he's not too hurt" thought Soha Yang, clearly worried about Hanju.

Even if they only meet occasionally, so rarely, she kept discussing with Hanju on the phone.

"Should I go find him?" she debated mentally.

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While Soha Yang was immersed in her thoughts about Hanju, other people were also thinking about her savior.

"Interesting" thought Eugene as he looked over the documents brought by his spies within the Gangbuk.

"I knew that the chaos left by Johan within the Gangbuk would inevitably give rise to a new monster, but I didn't think that "monster" would get swallowed by another one" said Eugene in a low voice.

"What do you mean, Mr. Eugene?" asked Mandeok Bang, slightly confused.

"I simply mean, my dear Mandeok Bang, that soon we'll have another major crew emerging, and I hope they'll be an ally" expressed Eugene in a carefree tone.

Eugene knew he would need all available forces to get rid of Charles Choi, and at worst, that those forces don't intervene.

"Ally or enemy, no matter, he won't stop me from getting rid of Charles Choi" he said, taking a cup of coffee.

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It was the end of classes and as Hanju had predicted, Suhyeon Kim came to him without Hanju having to find him personally.

"Hanju, can you explain to me why the Northern Gangbuk is attacking us?" he asked, frowning.

The current Suhyeon Kim is much stronger than his Questsim counterpart and his training sessions with Hanju greatly helped him .

"You know very well why they're attacking you, right?" simply answered Hanju before getting up.

"We'll discuss much better outside" he said, heading towards the door with the goal of reaching the back of the school.

"So are you going to tell me your motivations? I thought we had become friends again" asked Suhyeon Kim in a frustrated voice.

"Yes, we're friends but currently we're both leaders of rival factions. You understand, right?" said Hanju, looking for a cigarette to light up and smoke.

"If you're not happy about it and you want to stop the invasion of the Northern Gangbuk..." he said, approaching Suhyeon Kim.

"You just have to beat me here and now" he informed, exhaling smoke in front of Suhyeon Kim who was looking at him with determination.

"You asked for it" answered Suhyeon Kim, throwing a punch right at his face.

"My word, you're still so sneaky" said Hanju, dodging it slightly.

"You know very well you don't stand a chance, right?" he asked Suhyeon Kim, pushing him back with just a kick to the chest that sent him violently against a wall.

"Believe me, I don't want to beat you but for now I need the whole Gangbuk and once I'm done..." he said, walking up to him.

"I can leave it to you since that's not my ultimate goal" he explained, holding out his hand to him.

"So Suhyeon Kim, do you want to join me?" asked Hanju in an unusual sincere tone but he had already grown too familiar with Suhyeon Kim and his group.

"Yes, but on one condition" said Suhyeon Kim, staring into Hanju's emotionless eyes.

"I want a duel against you in a month and if I win or if one of my friends wins, then you'll give me back not only my territories but all the districts" expressed Suhyeon Kim with determination.

"I don't think you understand one thing: YOU'RE NOT in a position to set conditions here" explained Hanju, frowning and withdrawing his outstretched hand from Suhyeon Kim.

He could easily tell from looking at his current stats that there was a huge gap between him and the current Suhyeon Kim.

Name: Hanju Gu.

Height: 6'2"

Strength: Z

Speed: YYY+

Intelligence: S-

Potential: S+ (Transcendence)

Toughness: Z+

Name: Suhyeon Kim

Height: 5'10"

Strength: MR+

Speed: LR+

Potential: S (Awakening)

Intelligence: A

Toughness: MR

"Normally yes, you're right but currently we have Johan Seong on our side" after Suhyeon Kim said those words, Hanju's phone rang.

"Boss, we have a problem... it's Johan Seong"

After hanging up, Hanju threw an approving look at Suhyeon Kim and gave a faint smile.

"Not a stupid idea but I expected it" he said, laughing a little, which made Suhyeon Kim uncomfortable.

"I'll accept your duel in a month but if you don't keep your word after your defeat, then not even your sister will be able to help you" he said, turning his back on him but Suhyeon Kim shuddered as he could clearly feel Hanju's bloodlust.

"I forgot, thanks Suhyeon Kim, because of you I now have a real reason to confront Johan Seong"

Hanju left Suhyeon Kim who was completely confused by the parting words from Hanju.

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After leaving Suhyeon Kim, Hanju went straight to the spot where Johan Seong had been located by his subordinates.

"Hi ex-legend and colleague" greeted Hanju casually, walking up to Johan who was sitting in the park.

There were plenty of Northern Gangbuk members there so some were lying unconscious on the ground.

"Colleague?" said Johan, intrigued by Hanju's words.

"I'm also currently working for Tom Lee" he said, flicking away his finished cigarette.

"I'm excited to meet you under these kinds of circumstances" expressed Hanju, stopping in front of Johan.

"Tell me, Johan, are you still seeing clearly?" he asked in a low voice.

Johan's gaze changed from indifference to astonishment.

"Yes, I know about your vision problems and also about your mother..."

Hanju couldn't finish his sentence before receiving a violent attack from Johan.

"He really packs a kick, reminds me of Hansu but slightly weaker" thought Hanju, frowning as he observed his future opponent.

"Who told you all that?" asked Johan, getting up.

"What if I said my little finger?" answered Hanju, taking off his belt with a wide smile that puzzled the Northern Gangbuk members.

"I'll make you spill the beans" said Johan, throwing him a murderous look that sent shivers down the spine of everyone present.

"No one interferes, got it?" he ordered, rushing towards Johan.

"I shouldn't fight logically against him" thought Hanju, remembering all the opponents Johan had had to face.

Johan only lost in Lookism against monsters like Gun Park or Goo Kim but also against Samuel Seo who has no martial arts knowledge and he struggled against Eli Jang at the Vivi club.

"I'm not as savage as Eli or Samuel but I have more in common with Zack Lee" he concluded, striking a blow with his belt wrapped around his fist, the buckle side pointing outward.

Of course, Johan dodged the attack but that had been anticipated by Hanju who actually wanted to grab him.

"Gotcha" he said before feeling a sharp pain between his legs and taking a punch to the jaw.

But as he took the hit, Hanju unrolled his belt to whip Johan in the face.

"I see mister likes to play dirty and luckily we're two" said Hanju, sweating a bit from the blow to his privates.

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Author's Note: Yes, I invented the stat progression after XXX (so I put Y, YY, YYY and Z).

And Suhyeon Kim's strength is equivalent to where Hanju stopped reading Questsim.