From the next day.
The news started buzzing again.

[60-year-old traditional liquor company on the brink of collapse overnight]
[The killer’s atrocities return… Is Korea the main target this time?]
[50 bodies hanged in broad daylight. Nearby residents hospitalized from shock.]

It had been days since I paused my killings after drunk driving laws were amended.

The public and media had started to relax, thinking I was done.
My sudden return left them stunned.

Unfortunately for them, I didn’t give them time to regroup.
I had no intention of being considerate in the first place.

[Prominent activist Kim found hanged at home. Entire fortune donated to struggling workers.]
[Campground owner Han leaps to death during meal with family and friends.]
[Three-term city councilor submits resignation citing responsibility, then goes missing. Found dead in nearby hills.]

More died the next day.
Unlike the previous day, these seemed unconnected on the surface.

But in truth, they were vermin tied to Han Song Makgeolli.

Local elites, wielding influence behind the scenes for generations.

Their jobs might look modest, but inherited connections, vast wealth, or shares let them throw their weight around.
Using that power to exploit or swindle others.

‘Leaving them alive is a waste of rice.’

So I killed them all and redistributed their wealth to society.
What era is this for them to act like feudal lords in the provinces?

Eliminating such influential figures would likely cause significant chaos for a while.
Filling the power vacuum will spark accidents, big and small.

‘That’s a price worth paying.’

Long-term, this is the right move.

Leaving these societal and national cancers unchecked is worse than ripping them out now, roots and all, isn’t it?

The best way to fix a small society’s problems is to smash the society itself.
Subject it to independent public authority, and bizarre injustices or exploitation vanish.

[24 city hall officials commit mass suicide.]
[Massive corruption linked to Han Song Makgeolli exposed. Public sector no exception.]
[National Audit Office launches investigation into all officials in the region.]

Finally, those in office who took bribes or covered up exploitation were hanged. Literally.

This part was the hardest.
Deciding where to draw the line was tricky.

I could roughly gauge how guilty each was, but determining if it warranted death? Not easy.

For now, I crushed the ringleaders but spared those who merely followed orders, exposing only their crimes.
Death’s too harsh for low-level lackeys with no real authority.

“This should clean up Korea for now.”

–All done, then?

“I wish, but there’s still a long way to go.”
“If I only kill in Korea, they’ll suspect my nationality.”

With Korea handled, it was time for the rest of the world.
To avoid suspicion of my origins, I scoured for cases like Han Song Makgeolli abroad and tore them apart.

It wasn’t hard to find.
The world’s big, and scum are plentiful.

[Beijing construction company executives found hanged in their office building.]
[Revealed to have donated entire fortunes to workers before death, sparking discussion.]

Take China’s Jang Jin company, for instance.
They sent workers to Brazil for a factory project, confiscated their passports, and treated them like slaves.

Passport seizure, seven-day workweeks, forced wage remittances, mandatory recontracting regardless of workers’ wishes.

Less egregious than Han Song, but still despicable by Chinese standards.

So they paid their due price, and their wealth was offered as atonement to victims.
Many victims were already dead, but the living deserved rightful compensation.

[Famous online shopping mall CEO dies of heatstroke in sauna due to equipment failure.]
[Food company executives, who ordered child exploitation and forced labor, kidnapped and vanished by cannibal tribe.]

Others were dealt with in ways fitting their crimes.

Executives who forced grueling labor in sweltering warehouses without AC or medical support? Boiled to death.

Those who exploited children in poor countries for pennies? Enslaved and devoured in kind.

In total, I crushed over 50 companies and killed at least 4,000 people.

‘That should raise some awareness.’

I don’t expect global executives and tycoons to turn saintly from this alone.
If that worked, communism would’ve won ages ago.

Still, I hope it creates a cautious atmosphere.
A small change where they think twice before doing something vile.

“Ugh.”

Maybe even that’s too much to hope for.

National Investigation Headquarters, South Korea National Police Agency.

“Damn it!!”

–Crash!

A curse echoed through the Special Abilities Investigation Department’s office.
Accompanied by flying pens and stacks of papers.

“It’s starting again?! What’s the problem this time?!”

The culprit behind the trashed office was Han Hyung-jun, the department head himself.

Normally not this volatile, but the news of the drunk driver killer’s return sparked a stress explosion.

“The Assembly changed the laws! They gave them everything they wanted!! So why’s this lunatic killing innocents?!”

Tens of thousands died worldwide because of one maniac’s delusion.

They complied reluctantly to calm the killer, thinking it was over.
Why was this happening again?

Are they addicted to killing?
Planning to wipe out every last drunk driver?

How long will they toy with and torment the world?

“Whew… Okay, who died this time? How many victims?”

“Hundreds or so. A company’s bosses, executives, and regional officials and politicians.”

Answering was Kang Hyunsik.
An inspector transferred from Seoul Police Station to the department with his team a few days ago.

Having led investigations with the most exposure to the killer’s cases, his experience earned him a spot in this unit handling Awakened and Hunter-related crimes.

“A company? What kind?”

“A makgeolli producer. Called… Han Song?”

“Sounds familiar.”

Han Hyung-jun’s face brightened slightly as he pondered.

“Oh, that place? The one said to brew makgeolli by grinding people instead of rice.”

“Is it well-known?”

“Infamous, in a bad way. A trash company you’d never want to work for.”

They broke more laws than they followed.
How they hadn’t been shut down was a mystery.

“Then it’s not so bad.”

As police protecting the public, he shouldn’t say this, but he felt relief.
Those people were truly despicable.

A company running a 21st-century slave system? Their deaths felt refreshing.

They’d dodged punishment with connections forever—finally getting what they deserved.
Better than innocent victims.

“I get why the killer picked them. ‘They deserve to die,’ something like that.”

“They chose socially despised targets?”

“Yeah. That bastard’s obsessed with legitimacy.”

From the detectives’ and investigators’ perspective.
The killer put effort into justifying their actions publicly.

Even when killing drunk drivers, they painstakingly targeted only habitual offenders with three or more violations.
They had victims write declarations to broadcast their motives worldwide.

This was likely the same.
They chose targets the public would deem deserving of death.

“The victims’ families are demanding the killer’s arrest…”

“Impossible. We don’t even have a lead.”

“That, and local police aren’t exactly eager to investigate. They’re like, ‘Why bother for these scum?’”

“That bad?”

“Yeah. Short of outright refusing, they’re barely preserving scenes or collecting evidence.”

If even complaint-averse officials acted like this, the victims must’ve had terrible reputations.

A company flouting labor laws and facing boycotts? A good reputation would be weirder.

They probably threw their weight around with obnoxious behavior* and abused their power*.

“What a messed-up world.”

Clicking his tongue, Han Hyung-jun leaned back in his chair.

“If only we knew how the victims were targeted.”

The Special Abilities Investigation Department had plenty of Awakened with useful investigative skills.
Experienced investigators and ample equipment too.

They weren’t on the killer’s level, but they’d caught many criminals with unique abilities and brought them to justice.

Even a sliver of information could push the investigation forward significantly.

But without that chance, frustration was inevitable.

“Uh… Chief?”

“What?”

“One of the victims is alive. Conscious, with clear memories, and currently under treatment in a hospital.”

“Start the car now!!”

Maybe there was some luck after all.
The heavens weren’t entirely heartless.