NOVEL ONLINE FREE Chapter 14 - Bond Girl
Chapter 14 – Bond Girl
“Welcome back, Jin.”
A now-familiar voice greeted Jin.
“Hey, Po.”
Jin greeted back casually as he walked straight to the table and took a seat on a backless stool.
“I came because Khalifa contacted me.”
“You’re referring to the request.”
“Yeah.”
“Would you mind waiting a moment? The manager is currently handling another matter.”
“Take your time. I’ve got plenty.”
Saying so, Jin crossed his arms on the bar table and swept his gaze over the liquor bottles lined up on display.
With their flashy labels, they all looked expensive, showcased behind the transparent glass in an impressive array.
“…That’s a lot of booze.”
“Well, it is a pub, after all.”
“Wasn’t this just a front business?”
Jin asked, without any malice—he had honestly thought so.
“A lot of people assume that. It’s something the manager finds a little disappointing. She may not seem like it, but she takes the pub’s operation quite seriously.”
“Ah, my bad. I didn’t mean to offend.”
“No worries. It’s true that most Linker offices operate with a façade. But Anekdote is not one of them.”
As Jin nodded in acknowledgment, Po placed a plate and a glass in front of him.
“Cookies and milk? Wow, thanks.”
Having skipped breakfast, Jin made quick work of the snacks right then and there.
The plate was emptied in an instant, and he washed it down with milk—nothing could have been more perfect.
Except… it lacked a balance of salty and sweet.
That irresistible contrast.
Almost instinctively, his mind wandered to a spicy kimchi stew, and in that moment, he was reminded yet again of his roots as a Korean.
Jin chuckled at himself.
“By the way, that’s some new gear you’ve got.”
“Oh? You noticed?”
Jin’s face brightened at Po’s words.
After all, when you get a new toy, it’s only natural to want someone to notice.
He immediately drew the pistol from his waist and dropped it onto the table with a solid thud.
Then, lowering his voice, he declared:
“Gravis 707. Thirty-two centimeters long, weighing ten kilograms—a monster of a gun made by, uh… what was it again?”
“Luger & Dolman?”
“Yeah, that. A legendary piece of junk from Luger & Dolman.”
Why was it called a piece of junk?
It was originally designed as a weapon for beastkin, but—blah, blah, blah…
Jin was about to go into full detail, but the clicking sound of heels interrupted him.
And there, approaching without a hint of timing, was Khalifa.
As always, her voluminous red hair swayed with a striking shine, and the familiar bittersweet fragrance surrounded her as she greeted him.
“Hey, Jin. Have you been waiting long?”
“You should’ve taken a bit longer. I was just getting to the good part.”
“…?”
Perhaps caught off guard by his response, Khalifa turned her gaze to Po for an explanation.
The bartender merely offered a faint smile, while Jin clicked his tongue and holstered his Gravis.
Now, to the main topic.
“So, what’s the request?”
“Wow, not even a little small talk? Just straight to business?”
Khalifa spoke in a tone that feigned disappointment, but she didn’t seem genuinely upset.
Before long, she slid a file folder across the table toward Jin.
“Read it.”
Jin did as told, and as his eyes moved across the document, Khalifa waited in silence.
Only after he flipped to the next page did she begin speaking.
“Area 49, commonly known as Mute Town. Like the rest of the 40s district, it’s a total dump—just like Downtown. But the situation is even worse. A gang war that lasted over five years just came to an end.”
“Isn’t it a good thing if the war is over?”
“Not when it wasn’t stopped by law enforcement. The war ended because a winner emerged. A new warlord rose, eliminating all opposition.”
Right as she said that, Jin reached the section of the report detailing what she had just explained.
“The Beast, huh?”
“Yeah.”
With Khalifa’s confirmation, Jin shifted his focus to the fine print in the report.
The Beast (TB).
A gang living up to its name—every single member was a beastkin.
Unlike your average street thugs, each of them was a skilled fighter.
Their symbol: three diagonal red scars, resembling the marks left by a predator’s claws.
Their leader: Taha, a lion beastkin.
While reading through various lines of information, Jin tilted his head in confusion.
“You’re telling me I have to take on all of them? This seems way too big. No matter how much I’m the future solo king, this is pushing it.”
It wasn’t for nothing that Khalifa mentioned the word “warlord.”
The resources, equipment, and scale of what they managed were all far beyond any small-time gang.
Steel Arms, who only operated a single club, felt almost cute in comparison.
Fortunately, Khalifa was firm.
“Are you really going to take on the entire TB by yourself? Of course not. There’s no way a rookie like you, who’s only on their second assignment, would be tasked with something so crazy. Even if there was, it wouldn’t be from an Anekdote, right, Po?”
A confirmation of “Of course” came back, and with a slight smile, she looked back at Jin.
“If you read more of the report, you’ll see that this mission isn’t a full-scale war against TB. It’s about destroying one of their logistics warehouses.”
Jin’s expression became strange at that.
Destroy a logistics warehouse?
Which means…
“There’s a resistance force against TB, huh?”
“Yeah, that’s right.”
Confirming with a nod, Khalifa, seeing Jin’s self-congratulation inwardly, smirked.
Ah, sharp deduction.
I’m kind of sexy.
Of course, this was a conclusion that could easily be drawn from just examining the case’s outline.
A quick glance at a few pages of the report, with details from photos to captions, would have made things clear.
Yet Jin was feeling pleased with his conclusion without even reading the neatly compiled documents provided by Anekdote.
However, Khalifa didn’t bother to mention anything about that, likely because, unexpectedly, many solo players preferred verbal communication over written information.
They were the type who’d get dizzy after reading more than three lines.
For that reason, her continued explanation was the result of Jin assuming she was one of those solo types.
“Just as you guessed, there is indeed a resistance group in Mute Town. When TB’s victory in the war began to show signs of turning into a dictatorial regime, a group formed in opposition. And, of course, they’re the ones who planned this job.”
“Oh?”
Jin’s eyes lit up.
The keyword “resistance” made his mind naturally drift back to his homeland’s history.
The Korean Provisional Government and the Independence Corps, France’s Resistance.
StarCraft’s Raynor’s Raiders…
Wait, are these guys revolutionaries?
As Jin seriously pondered the heroes who fought against dictatorial autonomous states, Khalifa spoke up again.
“The resistance has promised a 30 million credit reward. They’ll also provide the explosives to destroy the warehouse. So, what’s your decision? Are you up for it?”
“…?”
Jin, lost in his thoughts, slowly lifted his head.
“Did I hear that right? How much?”
“30 million credits.”
Crash!!
Lightning struck Jin’s brain.
At the same time, his fragmented self spoke in unison:
“Three!”
“Thousand!”
“Ten thousand!”
How is that even a reasonable number?
One, ten, hundred, thousand, ten thousand, hundred thousand, million, ten million.
Multiply that by three?
How many hotdogs could that buy?
How many meters if lined up in a row?
It was truly a cosmic horror!
Jin shuddered in his seat.
Of course, it probably didn’t look normal to others.
“…Is there a problem?”
While Khalifa examined his expression, Jin barely managed to keep his thoughts in check.
He recalled a famous saying:
There’s no such thing as a free lunch.
Everything has a price, and in this case, the free lunch was worth 30 million credits.
Where in the world is money this easy to make?
The chilling reward was a clear indication that this mission would be far more dangerous than the first one.
In times like these, one should approach things carefully and cautiously…
Yeah, right.
The money is 30 million.
And besides, I can’t turn it down because of the quest.
And just like that, a sharp, square spear seemed to materialize in front of him, as if it were calling his name.
The third request.
Three filters.
It was a condition to become a true solo.
Progress Status (1/3)
Failure if the request is rejected
*Reward: XP 10,000
*(Unknown) Story Unlocked
──────────────
Jin’s forehead twitched at the distasteful interface.
If he could, he’d punch it, but he held back.
Wasn’t it said that a noble’s revenge takes ten years to accomplish?
Use what you can.
Take what you can.
I’m not submitting to the system.
I’m making a rational choice.
So, just get lost.
“Alright. I’ll do it.”
Jin accepted, and the quest window slid away.
Beyond that, Khalifa nodded with satisfaction.
“I thought you’d say that.”
She glanced at the wall clock, mumbling to herself.
“Then it’s the two of you… A strange combination, huh?”
“What?”
“You’ll have a partner for this request. I think he’ll arrive soon.”
“Huh?”
Jin tilted his head.
There’s another person?
“Surprised? Actually, it was all written in the report. If you’ve changed your mind, you can still reject it now.”
“I don’t mind.”
It wasn’t a casual remark—Jin felt reassured.
Right.
If they told me to handle a 30 million credit request alone, that would be weirder.
So, who’s it gonna be?
It’d be nice if it were a pretty woman, though.
Hmm.
Mission, partner, woman, beauty.
As Jin pictured his Bond Girl, the sound of the door to Anekdote opening rang through the air.
Jin, Khalifa, and Po all turned their eyes at once.
“You’re here? We were just talking about you.”
“Good to see you.”
Unlike the two who had already known, Jin, who had been off in his own world, froze in place, looking like he just bit into something bitter.
The other party wasn’t faring any better.
“What? Why is that guy here?”
The expression beneath the oni mask scrunched up in distaste.
***
Fenrir would rather have worked alone than with Jin, and he made it clear he wouldn’t cooperate.
The main reason was that he didn’t trust working with a rookie who hadn’t even passed his first filter, but honestly, it seemed his disdain for Jin was more personal than professional.
So, Jin couldn’t help but be irritated.
“Did you get beaten up by that rookie?”
“What? You little—!”
Fenrir placed his hand on the sword hilt, and Jin gripped his Gravis in response.
Khalifa, watching from the side, slammed her hand on the table.
“Enough. Can we be professionals here?”
Tch.
Jin clicked his tongue but relaxed his grip.
Khalifa flashed a small, thankful smile before turning her head to Fenrir, who was still grumbling.
“Fenrir. You agreed to this beforehand. If you’re a solo who can collaborate, it shouldn’t matter who it is.”
“That does not include this rookie…!”
“Fenrir.”
Khalifa interrupted in a calm tone and added,
“Stop putting Jin down. It’s for your own good.”
Fenrir’s mouth, which had been getting longer and longer, fell silent, and Jin flinched at the sudden change.
What?
When did this happen?
Fenrir, now having taken his hand off the sword, sighed deeply.
“Sorry… I got a little carried away.”
“Alright. Let’s act like veterans, then.”
The tense atmosphere was softened as Khalifa picked up the file folder on the table and spoke up.
“Now, how about we go over the operation plan carefully?”
With that, Jin, now paired with the werewolf Bond Girl, sighed inwardly.
This is gonna be a headache.