Perfect World [EN]: Chapter 457

“Quickly. Move the injured!”

Numerous ambulances were arriving at the MR Security temporary base. Police officers were both transporting their injured colleagues and confronting the hooligans who continued to riot.

The sheer number of hooligans made suppression impossible, but they couldn’t retreat. Reporters, having heard the news, had gathered to film the scene.

If the police were seen retreating in front of the media, the image of public authority would greatly decline.

“We can’t let them break through to the north road! Reinforcements will arrive soon, so we must hold them back until then!”

Amidst the bustling police activity, Beomseok leaned against the half-destroyed MR Security bus, talking with Margaret. He was curious about how the situation was unfolding and didn’t want to go outside where the reporters were gathered.

Although he was covering his face with the sun visor, he could be caught up in unnecessary gossip if it were to be removed. If the media found out that a Gladiator [a top-tier athlete] of the national team was fighting with ordinary citizens at a hooligan riot, it would be a very awkward situation.

“Margaret. How is the situation unfolding right now?”

“As you can see, the police are being pushed back by the hooligans. They are outnumbered, so the police can’t help it.”

“I can see that much. The point of my question is, how did so many hooligans gather?”

Margaret surveyed the busy police officers and quietly said,

“I just found out through a resident employee of the company that this situation seems to be organized. Looking at the Balike Hooligan organization’s website, they found evidence that detailed information about today’s operation was emailed to members.”

“Hmm. I can understand that much. Otherwise, they couldn’t have moved so systematically. But there are too many of them. I heard from a police official that there are about 20,000, which is a lot for Balike hooligans.”

“I’m not sure about that, but it seems that hooligans from other regions have joined in. Many people sympathize, thinking it’s a festival that usually happens during the World Cup. There have been times when about 30,000 people gathered like this before.”

Beomseok said with a dumbfounded expression,

“This mess is a festival? Are they not afraid? They could go straight to jail!”

“Not really. Even if tens of thousands participate in such riots, not many go to jail. At most, those who steal or attack innocent citizens might get in trouble. Based on past cases, they’ll be taken to the police station, but only a few with serious offenses will receive actual sentences.”

Beomseok, resting his chin on his hand, nodded as if it made sense. Even if the crime was serious, it would be difficult for the police to arrest over 20,000 people.

The prison facilities were not sufficient, and it was difficult to create over 20,000 criminals for something citizens considered a prank. Many would be arrested, but only a few would be punished as an example.

“Hmm. I guess so. Besides, if you put over 20,000 people in jail for a month, it would cost tens of millions of Krang [currency] just for food, which would cause financial problems.”

“Yes. Including other incidental costs, it would cost hundreds of millions.”

“By the way, how are the police handling this situation?”

“I just spoke with the police chief, and it seems that mobile units are being urgently dispatched from police stations around the region. They’ll be arriving soon, so there shouldn’t be any major problems with suppression.”

“Really? Then what are we supposed to do now?”

“We’ll probably have to wait. Now that the media is fully involved, the police will be hesitant to have us, an outside contractor, step in. But they can’t just let us leave because they are short on personnel.”

“So, we can only step in to clean up the mess after an accident happens.”

“Yes. That’s the summary.”

Beomseok stroked his chin and said with a disappointed tone,

“That’s a shame. It was quite fun.”

Margaret glanced at him. She didn’t understand what was fun about this situation.

“Sigh~ Anyway, Beomseok, you should go back now. Once support arrives from other regions, there won’t be anything for us to do. Besides, there are a lot of reporters around, so it’s hard to move openly, right?”

“Well, that’s true… Margaret, instead of this, why don’t we just tell the police to move our MR Security to another conflict zone? A zone without reporters but occupied by hooligans?”

“That might be difficult. They’re barely holding this place, so they wouldn’t move us to another location, would they?”

“That’s true, but they might send us if there’s violence against ordinary citizens, right? For the sake of establishing order.”

“Then they’d send the police mobile unit. We’re only playing a supporting role. That’s how the contract is.”

At that moment, a commotion arose from the group of police blocking the street. Beomseok, hoping for another clash, looked on with anticipation, but there was no sign of it. The hooligans facing them were not attacking but looking up at the distant sky.

“Such a fuss over nothing… Tsk, tsk.”

However, Margaret sensed an unusual atmosphere. The reporters, who had been gathered with the police, were now pointing their camera lenses at the distant southern sky instead of the protest scene.

Suddenly, screams erupted from some of the hooligans.

“Damn it! If anyone does that, we’ll all get caught!”

“Shit! We’re screwed! Everyone, run away! We’re all done for if we stay here!”

Soon, some of the hooligans began to retreat, hastily fleeing through the deserted alleyways. Wondering what was happening, Beomseok approached the wall. The numerous hooligans were now breaking off their confrontation with the police and scattering.

Following this, the police formed an assault formation and shouted loudly,

“Everyone! We’re advancing to the Lima City Colosseum! Subdue any hooligans in the way without mercy! We must retake the Lima City Colosseum quickly!”

Beomseok stared blankly at the police, dumbfounded by the absurd order. Approximately 200 police officers had been carried away in ambulances. It didn’t make sense that they were going to fight over 20,000 hooligans with less than 3,000 people.

“Hey. What’s wrong with those people? If support units are coming, they should wait. What can they do by themselves here?”

“That’s what I’m saying. What’s going on?”

The officer who had ordered the charge looked at Beomseok and Margaret and shouted,

“MR Security. You guys come and join the charge too!”

Beomseok pointed at himself and said,

“Us too? Why?”

“Can’t you see! We need to occupy the Lima City Colosseum as soon as possible and allow the fire trucks to approach!”

At those words, Beomseok felt a chill down his spine. He gently tilted his head to the side, looked at the brightly shining southern sky, and widened his eyes in shock. This northern entrance road led straight to the Lima City Colosseum, and it was on fire.

“Who the hell did this!”

Beomseok, losing his reason, jumped over the school fence and joined the police assault formation. The Lima City Colosseum was the home of the Gods Knights and the goddess of victory for the Avand national team hosting this tournament. It absolutely could not burn down.

Soon, the MR Security personnel who had been waiting also quickly formed an assault formation, and the order to charge was given.

“Everyone, charge! We must not retreat this time! The prestige of our police is at stake!”

At the same time, Beomseok stepped forward and charged towards the hooligans. He punched a bewildered hooligan in the stomach, jumped, and simultaneously struck the faces of two elves standing behind him.

“Damn it! You’re all dead! Prepare yourselves!”

The hooligans, unable to resist Beomseok and the police’s aggressive charge, began to flee. Although they were numerically superior, their morale had been greatly diminished.

They had thought they were participating in a World Cup festival, but now they realized they could all be dragged to the police station. The Lima City Colosseum was the center of the World Cup finals. If it burned down, the local police would not stand idly by.

“Hey. It wasn’t me! We didn’t do anything wrong!”

A hooligan in front of Beomseok waved his hands frantically and retreated, but he was not spared. Beomseok, filled with anger, kicked him in the stomach and crushed him to the ground. An elf underling who had been fighting with an MR Security guard rushed at him with rage but was immediately grabbed and thrown to the ground.

Beomseok twisted her arm and handed her over to the approaching security guard.

“Take them both into custody!”

“Yes. Understood.”

As the security guard dragged them away, Beomseok glared ahead with gleaming eyes. Many hooligans who had not grasped the situation were still fighting with the police in front of him.

He gripped his baton tightly and ran towards them.

“There are always stupid bastards who don’t know when to quit!”

Beomseok stepped on a trash can placed near the street and leaped into the air. Some hooligans spotted him and swung their clubs, but they were swept away by the violent rotation of the baton and thrown backward. There was no way a mere human could block the attack of Beomseok, who possessed a modified body.

Beomseok landed lightly on the ground and plunged into the crowd of hooligans, wielding his baton.

“Everyone, run away! We’re doomed if we get caught!”

A man urging others to flee was clubbed by a police officer as he tried to enter a nearby alley and rolled on the ground. Until now, they had loosely regarded it as a World Cup event, but now the police had no choice but to think differently.

If the Lima City Colosseum were to be completely destroyed, they would not be safe either. They were already busy running away from the hooligans, and if a major public building was damaged, they would be in real trouble.

The Lima City Colosseum had to be secured as soon as possible.

“Wipe them all out! Show no mercy!”

Blood splattered everywhere, staining the ground red. Hooligans who had failed to escape were helpless, struggling on the ground under the police’s merciless attacks. And the reporters who roamed through this scene were busy pressing their shutters.

The burning Lima City Colosseum and the violent protest scene were the biggest news stories of this World Cup finals. They couldn’t miss a single scene.

“Alright. The path is open! Head straight to the Colosseum!”

Amidst the ongoing charge, police mobile units from other regions continued to land from the sky. The sound of fire truck sirens was constantly heard around them, and paramedics were busy loading the injured hooligans subdued by the police onto floating stretchers.

Meanwhile, the police continued to move south along the wide-open northern entrance road.

“Damn it, this is driving me crazy.”

The first sight Beomseok saw upon arriving at the Colosseum Plaza was the scattered, overturned, and broken public property. The damage wasn’t too severe, but his anger soared to the top of his head. He wanted to vent his anger somewhere, but the hooligans had all run away, fearing the worst.

‘There’s no time for this. I need to go in and check quickly.’

Beomseok looked at the sky where acrid black smoke was rising. Fire trucks had already arrived and were spraying water everywhere.

It seemed that the fire had not yet spread to the entire stadium, but he couldn’t help but worry. Without the forest area, the upcoming quarter-final matches and beyond would be a thorny path.

He quickly began to run towards the entrance of the Colosseum.

“Hmm. It’s fortunate. It seems the fire hasn’t spread to the entire building.”

Beomseok, who had broken through the entrance for spectators, wore a somewhat relieved expression. Although there was a slight smell of soot, there were no signs of fire spreading in this area. Still, a fire might have started elsewhere. He quickly began to circle the inside of the building along the corridor.

“What? There’s no fire at all on the building side. Is it okay?”

Beomseok, who had toured the inside of the Colosseum, tilted his head in confusion, wondering if it was okay. There had been a fire, but there was nothing wrong with the building side. The only problem was that the floor was a bit dirty due to the hooligans’ intrusion, but if they cleaned the inside well, there would be no problem letting the audience in.

‘Then, could it be?’

Feeling something strange, Beomseok quickly ran up the stairs. Judging from the burning stadium he had seen earlier and the still lingering smell of smoke, a fire must have been happening somewhere.

Otherwise, the fire trucks wouldn’t have come and sprayed so much water. And the most suspicious area was inside the stadium. There was a forest area in the center, so it was perfect for burning.

“Shit. I knew it!”

From Beomseok’s perspective, standing on the steps, he could see the almost completely destroyed stadium. The lush green forest had almost disappeared.

Fortunately, the firefighters had put out the fire early, preventing it from spreading outside the stadium, but he couldn’t help but feel dizzy. Without the forest area, the upcoming quarter-final matches and beyond would be nothing short of a thorny path.

============================ Author’s Notes ============================

I investigated the Knights Templar the day before yesterday and yesterday. I judged that it was worth investigating because it was an organization that appeared in several famous novels. But unexpectedly, there were many interesting facts. The connection theory of the Freemasons, and the story of the Freemasons being connected to the Illuminati again… But the goal is world domination…? It seems like a well-organized conspiracy theory, but anyway, the Freemasons are an interesting existence to me. Hehe. Actually, I had thought about world domination before, and I came up with almost the same method as this organization. I don’t know if I’m as smart as them. Or maybe they’re as stupid as me, but anyway, I feel a bit of kinship and I like them. Hahaha.

Then everyone have a nice day. I’ll see you again tomorrow.