ACSPGC 92🔐

Chapter 92 …

A Civil Servant Who Hid His Power Is Really Good at Possession 

So, Kang Si-bang’s (age ???, birthplace Incheon Dungeon, Slime) statement went like this:

[I was living peacefully with the other slimes, and then those bastards just came in?! X-bang!]

Could you maybe leave out the swearing…?

[Especially our Great King Slime hyung…]

From there, Kang Si-bang seemed choked up.

By the way, hyung?

Is there some kind of age hierarchy even among slimes?

A Confucian slime… I thought to myself.

[Anyway, as soon as those bastards came in, they wiped out our entire dungeon, set up all kinds of things however they wanted, and then pale-faced guys, black guys, guys with scars on their faces—basically all sorts of weird-looking humans—came barging in!]

What can I say…

It felt like an overview of an ‘80s redevelopment forced eviction incident.

The natives strongly opposed the forced eviction, the hired thugs stormed in, and people got hurt or even killed by bulldozers pushing them aside—

[And then some of my slime little siblings ended up… terribly…]

Thinking like that, a wave of sympathy for Kang Si-bang hit me.

So you were basically homeless.

“Then is this what you meant by the pale-faced guys?”

I whispered some Russian to Kang Si-bang. He strongly confirmed.

[Yeah, that tsu-bak-shi-ba bastard!]

Ah, now we’re getting somewhere.

In the original story, Gocheol-won had used his position as mayor to set up unregistered illegal dungeons all over Incheon.

Through those dungeons, he smuggled items illegally to North Korea, Russia, and other places.

But the exact method wasn’t described in the original story. Hearing that Kang Si-bang’s hometown was one of those dungeons, it became clear.

That bastard…

He had been exploiting the local greenbelt areas for illegal smuggling dungeons.

Most likely, those dungeons had multiple entrances and exits, connecting to North Korea and Russia.

With a rough map in hand, I decided to infiltrate the site with Kang Si-bang to gather evidence.

I could have reported this to headquarters first, but that would complicate things.

They didn’t know the original story.

If I reported to Gwon Ik-seong—

“We will send a cooperation letter to the local government to confirm matters related to this.”

…they’d give a bureaucratic response.

If I reported to Pi-so-won—

“First, let’s deal with the smugglers. Come on.”

Stirring up the smugglers could lead to leaks and I might lose the Gocheol-won lead.

More importantly—

“…Choi Woo-jin will get involved in this.”

Because the dungeon where Choi Woo-jin’s parents died was nearby.

Even in the original story, Choi Woo-jin began destroying this dungeon to get closer to the circumstances of his parents’ death.

So this needed to be done without him knowing.

If Choi Woo-jin learned too much about his parents’ case prematurely—

“He’d find out about my mom too.”

Even if he might already know, I didn’t want him to know unnecessarily, in advance.

I recalled what I told Yoo-gyeom three hours ago:

“Still, don’t overdo it.”
“What?”
“What you’re doing now.”

Yoo-gyeom was fiddling with his certificate of death, saying:

“It’s dangerous.”

I understood the meaning behind those words, but I didn’t respond to them.

Because, thanks to this damn quest, my life was already mortgaged with a time limit.

And in this world, no bond lasts forever.

We learned that early.

So get stronger, Yoo-gyeom.

I’m doing the same.

My silence meant that.

[X-bal! Those bastards are going in there?]

Kang Si-bang had already climbed up a tree and pointed out the entrance where the guys from that truck were heading.

“Good. We’re going in too.”

I said quietly to Kang Si-bang and headed toward the dungeon entrance.

But… is this the dungeon entrance?

Checking that no one was near the headlight-less truck, I looked up at a massive tree.

Under the tree was a sign: “Natural Monument – Dohwa-dong Zelkova Tree.”

There was a rather grand explanation below it, roughly saying:

In the past, sailors departing from Dohwa-dong or their families would perform rituals here praying for the safe return of the ship. This tree has been considered a sacred tree with spiritual power.

…Thinking about the civil servant who dug through both official and unofficial records to make this, I felt tears welling up.

Regardless, this zelkova tree played a major role in having this area designated a greenbelt. It was recognized for historical value and nature preservation.

‘Not wrong, but—’

The problem is that under this sacred tree lies a massive dungeon where slimes live peacefully, and the citizens of Incheon had no idea.

If a dungeon like this exists, proper management is needed. Otherwise, the municipal dungeon management office or Hunter Management Bureau should conduct regular safety inspections to prevent secondary or tertiary accidents.

If the dungeon is unsafe, monsters could burst out of its entrance, or it could increase nearby dungeon break sensitivity, triggering a dungeon break.

That’s how people could die unexpectedly, like Choi Woo-jin’s parents.

A tree that once protected the area has now become a hub of corruption and a disaster for the region.

Truly ironic.

[Quickly, greet him.]

It was then.

Kang Si-bang said something I didn’t understand.

Greet whom? There’s no one here.

[This tree is our great hyung.]

…Oh. Oh…

I see.

This Confucian slime.

Without a word, I bowed my head to the silent tree.

“Hello….”

It’s one thing to have your home taken, but you can’t just wander around the site that remains.

As I thought this and greeted, suddenly the massive knot in the middle of the tree trunk began to widen.

“…?”

I was momentarily startled.

Could this be… the dungeon entrance?

Opening this easily?

I had Kang Il-yeon make me a related item in case a barrier stone was installed at the dungeon entrance.

But the barrier opened with just a greeting.

[Thank you, hyung!]

I watched Kang Si-bang climb onto the knot, giving what felt like a noir-movie style greeting.

He looked back at me and said:

[What are you doing, not coming, X-bal!]

…Coming, I’m coming…

I sneaked another glance at the sacred tree and bowed once more.

“I’ll be there in just a bit…?”

As soon as I finished speaking, the tips of the tree branches swayed.

Probably the wind, but somehow it felt like the tree had responded to me.

Inside the dungeon, at first, there seemed to be a dim corridor, but soon it opened into a cave-like structure.

Nearby was a crude office-like building made from containers, and the surrounding area was as forested and lush as the outer woods.

[That’s where I used to live. The dew there tasted great, kyaa! X-bal!]

You used to drink the dew…?

I swallowed the question and hid in the bushes.

People’s heads became visible the moment we entered the dungeon.

Then I activated my skill:

Being There Yet Not (A)

This was the special skill I had acquired the last time I possessed Kang Si-bang’s body.

The expensive treats and bonding had been worth it.

I knew that the Great King Slime’s body became semi-transparent as it grew, but I didn’t expect it to come with this skill.

This skill specialized in concealing one’s body.

In other words, it turned the body transparent.

However, it didn’t hide presence entirely, so caution was needed.

Much like a Great King Slime being transparent doesn’t remove its mass or touch.

I quietly watched Kang Si-bang blend into the bushes without standing out and whispered:

“Over there.”

I nodded toward the containers where people were bustling behind.

The real infiltration investigation was about to begin.