Chapter 604

Although the ingredients and composition differed, drugs had existed alongside human history since long ago.

Even in humanity’s dark ages, and in its periods of prosperity, drugs were always present.

In any era, there were those who suffered, and they reached for drugs to forget their harsh reality, even if only for a moment.

Of course, there were also those who voluntarily took drugs for pleasure.

In that way, drugs had always accompanied humanity.

Ironically, in humanity’s long history, there was only one time when drugs completely disappeared.

It was after Earth was utterly ruined due to the side effects of terraforming.

There were no materials to make drugs, nor any luxury to afford them.

Each day was so harsh that simply surviving was a high-difficulty mission.

Naturally, no one could even think of using drugs.

Thus, unintentionally, Earth became a drug-free zone for several decades.

Drugs reappeared only after Neo Seoul had somewhat stabilized.

Once people were free from the threat of magical beasts and life became manageable, some genius created drugs again.

And they were made using materials extracted from the corpses of magical beasts.

Their addictiveness was several times stronger, and the side effects even more severe.

Once taken, both body and mind were completely destroyed, and escape was impossible.

Since they were made from the byproducts of magical beasts, it was impossible to even predict what kind of side effects would appear.

Some people simply had their minds collapse, while others temporarily gained superhuman strength and went berserk.

The manifested symptoms were countless and varied, but their end was always miserable.

Originally, drugs had also been rampant in Sinchon. But after Zeon settled there, they had almost disappeared.

That was because Eaton, the ruler of Sinchon, did not tolerate drugs.

Of course, Zeon’s influence had been significant.

Drugs, which had seemed completely gone from Sinchon, had appeared once again.

And this time, someone connected to Zeon had become addicted.

Levin asked Veron,

“Get a hold of yourself. Veron! What happened?”

“Huuuh… Give me the drug. Ple…ase!”

Veron couldn’t regain his senses and only begged for the drug.

It was a typical symptom of addiction.

“Fuck!”

“It’s useless! He’s already deeply addicted—he can’t even hear us.”

Dominic said, lowering his head.

The fact that he hadn’t noticed until Veron had become like this filled him with shame.

If not for Levin, he wouldn’t have even realized if Veron had died.

“What about the others? Veron’s family?”

“I haven’t found them yet. I’m sorry.”

“You have to find them. No matter what.”

“I’ll send the kids out right now.”

“Ask for cooperation from the ones in Dongdaemun and Guro too.”

“Got it!”

Dominic rushed out in a panic.

Levin’s gaze turned to Aaron.

“You gather information.”

“What kind of—”

“To make drugs, they need materials first, right? They must’ve siphoned them from a monster hunting team. Start digging there. Especially focus on teams that mainly hunt rainbow beetles.”

The brain of a rainbow beetle was the most common ingredient for drugs.

Its strong hallucinogenic properties made it favored by drug manufacturers, but it wasn’t easy to obtain.

It was also strictly controlled for medical use, so very little circulated on the market.

“Got it! I’ll look into it right away.”

“Don’t leave it to others—move personally. It’s dangerous.”

“Don’t worry. I’ll find out right away.”

With that, Aaron ran out.

“Huuuh…”

Even then, Veron continued to let out grotesque groans.

His addiction symptoms had already worsened.

Sweat reeking with a foul odor poured from his entire body, and he convulsed as if he might stop breathing at any moment.

Brielle quickly took out a potion from her pouch and made Veron drink it.

“Keuh!”

As the potion took effect, Veron calmed down slightly. But Brielle’s expression did not brighten at all.

“It only calmed him temporarily. If we don’t detoxify him, he’ll go into convulsions again.”

“Let’s go to Remura. With her ability, she should be able to treat him without difficulty.”

Levin immediately lifted Veron onto his back.

They rushed toward the underground city at full speed.

“Remura!”

As soon as they arrived, Levin shouted her name.

“Levin oppa?”

Hearing his voice, Remura appeared from somewhere.

Levin set Veron down and said,

“Hurry and treat this bastard. He’s addicted to drugs.”

“Drugs?”

Startled, Remura’s eyes widened.

“Can you treat him?”

“I’ll try.”

Remura quickly placed her hand on Veron’s head and used her skill.

“Cure!”

A pure white light burst from her hand.

The light spread from Veron’s head throughout his entire body.

Ordinary injuries would normally be healed in a single use of Remura’s skill. But Veron was different.

His expression eased slightly, but the addiction symptoms remained.

‘What kind of drug is this…?’

Though surprised, Remura used her skill again.

Only after using it three times in succession was she able to completely expel the drug from Veron’s body.

A sticky substance flowed out from his pores.

It was the drug that had been lurking inside him.

Even with Remura’s ability, she couldn’t completely eliminate it—only force it out.

Brielle took out a test tube from her pointed hat and collected the substance flowing from Veron’s body.

“This doesn’t seem like an ordinary drug. I’ll analyze it.”

Her expression was more rigid than ever.

Seeing Veron had reminded her of her past—when she had been captured by humans and forced to create drugs.

Though she had done it under threats and coercion, it was a dark history she wanted to erase.

It was only natural that she stepped forward actively.

Holding the test tube, Brielle hurried back to the surface.

Levin asked Remura,

“Veron will be okay now, right?”

“For now, I’ve expelled all the drug substances. But it will take time to heal his damaged body.”

“I’ll pay whatever it takes—just fully heal him.”

“That’s not necessary. Between us, what payment? Even if you didn’t say that, I’d treat him perfectly, so don’t worry.”

“Alright. Thanks.”

Only then could Levin finally let out a sigh of relief.

Remura’s gaze turned to Zeon.

“Oppa, it’s been a while.”

“Yeah. Things were urgent, so I couldn’t greet you earlier. Have you been well?”

“Of course. Thanks to you, everything’s been good.”

Remura replied with a bright smile.

“What about Jeto?”

“He’s handling something else right now. If he hears you’re here, he’ll come running right away. Should I call him?”

“No need to bother. I’ll see him later.”

Zeon shook his head and looked around the underground city.

It had grown even larger.

There were more tall buildings, and it seemed like more people were moving through the streets.

It was to the point that one could believe it was the surface, not underground.

Just then—

“Ugh…”

Veron groaned and regained consciousness.

Levin slapped his cheek and shouted,

“Hey, are you okay?”

“Le…vin hyung?”

“Yeah! It’s me. What happened?”

“Gasp! Hyung, my family?”

Veron abruptly sat up and looked for his family first.

“That’s what I want to ask. Your family wasn’t there—what happened?”

“Well…”

Veron frowned and tried to recall his memories.

Levin didn’t press him further and waited calmly.

“A few days ago, I found some junkies.”

“Drug dealers?”

“Yes! They were making transactions in Dead Man’s Street without any fear. So I secretly followed them to find the source.”

“This bastard… you’ve got no fear.”

“That place is already depressing enough. If drugs spread too, it’ll become beyond recovery. My family could be exposed too.”

“So?”

“I monitored them with Habin and Kaden.”

“If something like that happened, you should’ve told Aaron or Dominic. Why act on your own?”

At Levin’s scolding, Veron shrank.

“I’m sorry, hyung! I just wanted to find out what kind of bastards they were…”

“So you got caught?”

“Yes! I resisted too much, so they injected me with drugs.”

“What about Habin and Kaden?”

“They said they might be useful and took them.”

“Your family too?”

“Yes! I think those bastards took them. Hyung, please save my family and the kids. If something happens to them, I won’t be able to go on living. Please!”

“Alright, you bastard!”

“Hyung… you’ll really save them, right?”

“I’ll do my best.”

Levin couldn’t give a definite answer.

If they were alive, he would save them—but if they were already dead, there was nothing he could do.

“For now, tell me everything you know. Traits, numbers, habits—everything.”

“They were ordinary.”

“Ordinary?”

“Yes! Usually junkies have something that stands out, but those bastards were no different from us. Except for being drug users, they could blend in with people here without any sense of incongruity.”

“So they’re not outsiders?”

“Yes. That’s how it felt.”

“And?”

“Ah! One of them was wearing a peculiar ring. With a scorpion engraved on it…”

“Scorpion? Okay.”

Killing intent rose in Levin’s eyes.

The children working at the problem-solver office all had sharp observation skills.

Since many of their jobs involved surveillance or finding people, they were selected for their keen perception.

Because of that, even in a tense situation, Veron hadn’t missed a clue.

Levin patted Veron and said,

“You stay here and get treated. I’ll take care of the rest.”

“I’ll… trust… you…”

Having said everything, Veron lost consciousness.

Levin gently laid him down.

Remura said to Levin,

“Oppa, leave Veron here. I’ll take responsibility for treating him.”

“I’m counting on you.”

“Don’t worry. Did you forget who I am?”

“Yeah. I trust you.”

Only then did Levin’s hardened expression soften slightly.

Remura called someone to take Veron away.

Once the two were alone, Levin spoke to Zeon,

“What kind of bastards do you think they are? Could they really be an organization that formed naturally in this street?”

“That possibility can’t be ruled out. Ask Eaton for cooperation. He has a firm grip on the organizations in the slums.”

Eaton had become the ruler of Sinchon thanks to Zeon.

He had a complete grasp of the criminal organizations in the area.

“Got it, hyung!”

“Anything else you need help with?”

“I’ll ask if something comes up. For now, I want to handle this with my own hands. My kids got hurt.”

“Alright.”

Zeon understood Levin’s feelings.

The problem-solver office was something Levin had devoted his life’s aspirations to.

Through it, he wanted the children of the slums to earn stable incomes and live without going hungry.

And it had been becoming reality.

But now, drug addicts had appeared, disrupting the order of the streets and threatening the children’s lives.

It was something Levin could never forgive.

This time, no matter what, he wanted to resolve it with his own hands.

That was why he didn’t ask Zeon for help.

“Those druggie bastards… I’ll wipe them all out.”