We Do Business In Full Auto [EN]: Chapter 59

059

Enlightenment (1)

On the way to Cheorwon.

Soojung had thoroughly investigated Baekhwa Ridge and discovered historical evidence suggesting a high concentration of negative energy in the area.

It’s a 400-meter-high peak located about 13km northwest of Cheorwon-eup.

During the Korean War, fierce battles took place here, resulting in immense sacrifices to capture the ridge.

The ridge was so heavily bombarded that its slopes turned white, hence the name Baekhwa Ridge [meaning ‘White Flower Ridge’]. It’s estimated that 10,000 Chinese and 3,400 South Korean soldiers died there, and their remains are still being excavated.

With such a history, Baekhwa Ridge is highly likely to be teeming with vengeful spirits.

Vengeful spirits usually arise when people die far from their hometowns or homes, and it’s unlikely that Baekhwa Ridge was anyone’s hometown.

Therefore, it’s highly probable that at least ten thousand vengeful spirits reside there.

Memorial services are held every year, but do these wandering spirits really ascend to heaven during these ceremonies? It’s possible, but most likely they remain, locked in eternal conflict.

Moreover, 10,000 of the dead are Chinese soldiers.

If they’re tormenting the South Korean soldiers, I thought I should absorb them all and imprison them in my heart, just like I did with the Japs [a derogatory term for Japanese people, used here to reflect the character’s perspective].

Bzzzz.

A call comes in as I head towards Cheorwon.

The caller is Chief Secretary Ahn Seong-cheol.

“Yes, Chief Secretary.”

-Sir, we’ve located K and are contacting you.

“What is he doing?”

-He’s holed up in Mangwon-dong Cemetery and hasn’t come out.

“Mangwon-dong Cemetery?”

-It’s creepy why he’s staying overnight in a cemetery… Anyway, I thought this information might be helpful, so I contacted you.

“Indeed… it’s helpful.”

-Then, I’ll see you tomorrow.

Ahn Seong-cheol simply reported and hung up.

As expected, K went to the cemetery for training, trying to attain enlightenment by any means possible.

He must be thinking along the same lines as me.

“Dad can do it, right?”

“Yeah. I’m going to crush that K bastard no matter what.”

This is a fight I can’t back down from.

If I get entangled badly, even my family could be in danger, so I must reach a higher level.

More than anything, I can’t stand the thought of my family being in danger.

That evening.

My daughter and I spent the day touring various places in Cheorwon.

Since I came here with Soojung anyway, I thought it would be good for her education to actually see the sights.

And as dusk approached, we visited the Baekma Memorial Hall [a memorial dedicated to a heroic unit in the Korean War].

We didn’t actually go inside the memorial hall, but instead, we set up a spot slightly away from it to focus on our training.

Leaving the memorial hall, my daughter and I quickly entered the deep mountains.

I heard that the ridge was completely bare and barren a long time ago, but now it was quite densely covered with pine trees.

And we could see it.

Numerous evil spirits wandering around, with some wearing South Korean military uniforms and others wearing Chinese military uniforms, engaged in battle.

Clearly, in the actual battle, our forces had won, but the enemy had suffered more casualties, resulting in the ironic situation of the South Korean soldiers being pushed back in the afterlife.

-Die!

-You tenacious bastards! You still haven’t been annihilated!

Seeing them fighting with bayonets attached to rifles that couldn’t fire bullets, my heart ached anew.

Where does this sense of duty to defend the country even after death come from? If it were me, I would have ascended to heaven already.

The soldier spirits were engrossed in fighting. This battle had been going on for nearly 70 years.

Well, in Daebumbeokdo [likely a reference to a specific location or concept within the story’s universe], the Japs and our ancestors had been fighting for hundreds of years, so this might be considered mild in comparison.

My daughter and I sat below where they were fighting and quickly absorbed the Chinese evil spirits.

“Soul Collection.”

Swoosh!

-Kuaaaa!

-Aaaaa!

The Chinese evil spirits screamed.

In an instant, we were able to absorb thousands of evil spirits.

I wonder if this was of some help to the South Korean soldiers?

The South Korean souls, freed from their evil forms, gathered with peaceful expressions.

-Thank you so much!

-Thanks to you, we can aim for a reversal!

The highest-ranking among them was the battalion commander’s soul.

Before starting my training, I was able to have a conversation with the battalion commander’s soul.

-We’ve been fighting relentlessly for the past 70 years. It’s been a truly endless battle. We won, but those Chinks [a derogatory term for Chinese people] pushed us back with their numbers. It’s ridiculous that we’re being pushed back in the afterlife because there are more dead enemies. But thanks to you, we’ve been able to gain the upper hand.

“I’m sorry I couldn’t come sooner.”

-What do you mean? Once we annihilate all those bastards, it seems we can finally ascend to heaven.

The South Korean soldiers were vigilantly guarding their surroundings with determined expressions. It seemed that if the Chinese soldiers gathered again, the battle would start anew.

Seeing them fighting evenly despite being outnumbered by more than tenfold, I truly felt that they were South Korean soldiers.

“Get some rest. If those bastards come, I’ll take care of them.”

-Hahaha. Rest, you say.

-We can finally rest after 70 years…

The soldiers comfortably rested nearby. As long as I was there, the Chinese evil spirits wouldn’t dare approach.

Today was a unique experience.

I witnessed the battle between the Chinese evil spirits and the South Korean soldiers and gave the South Korean soldiers a break.

Now it was time for my daughter and me to train.

Deep dawn.

The Chinese soldiers still couldn’t approach this place. Thanks to that, the South Korean souls were enjoying a sweet rest for the first time in a long time.

My daughter and I began our training, absorbing the abundant negative energy around us.

The circle near my heart swelled as if it would burst.

This phenomenon had happened before, but this time, an enormous amount of negative energy was being absorbed, to the point where it seemed the circle would actually break.

If I were to reach the 4th Circle, I felt like I could quickly establish myself while absorbing the abundant negative energy.

Today, while watching the battle between the Chinese soldiers and the South Korean soldiers, I once again gained insight into life and death.

Death leads to a new life.

Even after death, one can exist as a soul or evil spirit, or ascend to heaven. In other words, a new life begins.

Of course, I couldn’t know what happens after ascending to heaven because I hadn’t been there, but I speculated that one might be reincarnated or that there might be a place where souls gather and live.

The South Korean souls were engaging in battle with their respective beliefs.

The beliefs that continued from life were continuing even after death.

What kind of beliefs will I leave behind at the end of my life?

As I thought about that, I felt my heart pounding.

Did I gain some kind of enlightenment?

But it wasn’t a decisive enlightenment, and soon the pounding of my heart subsided. As expected, it’s not an easy journey.

The training continued, and time passed quickly.

“Dad!”

I suddenly wake up from my thoughts about life and death.

Already, pitch-black darkness had descended around us, and it was so dark that I couldn’t distinguish anything in front of me without turning on a light.

The moon wasn’t out tonight either.

This place, the threshold of the demilitarized zone [DMZ, the border area between North and South Korea], had little light, so even denser negative energy was present. From a training perspective, this was a good thing.

“What’s wrong?”

“Soojung has reached the 2nd Circle!”

“Oh, really!?”

“Yes! Look at this!”

Soojung was jumping up and down with joy.

Soojung hadn’t been able to reach the 2nd Circle until now because her heart was small. But as she was about to become an elementary school student, she overcame her limits and reached the 2nd Circle.

The difference between the 1st and 2nd Circles is stark. First of all, the number of spells one can cast is different. Soojung will become several times stronger than before.

“I also have Mana Elixir, so she can reach the 3rd Circle in a few months!”

“Ooh!”

My daughter and I hugged each other, rubbed our faces together, and made a fuss.

If Soojung also reaches the 3rd Circle, her range of activity will expand even further. She will be able to expand the business and take charge of a larger area.

She will be able to put evil spirits into Soojung’s skeletons, and they will work hard 24 hours a day while she is at school or sleeping at home.

This meant that the development of the uninhabited island would be further accelerated.

“Good job, Soojung.”

“Hehe. Dad can do it too. Earlier, it looked like you were about to reach the 4th Circle, right?”

“Yeah. I should train with a more positive mindset.”

“I’m getting hungry, should we make some ramen?”

“That sounds good.”

Of course, it’s not good to light a fire in the mountains.

We performed the bizarre feat of cooking ramen using black magic.

The sun will rise soon.

But this was the realm of enlightenment, so it didn’t seem like it would be a big problem even if the sun rose.

However, there was an advantage that if you gained enlightenment while the sun was setting like this, mana would quickly permeate the circle, making it easier to reach the next level.

I was still thinking about life and death.

I thought about what death really is.

Humans, with their finite time, will eventually face death. And it is said that most people gain enlightenment at the end of their lives.

What kind of enlightenment is it?

At the moment of death, one acknowledges and repents their wrongdoings. This is how a person returns to the pure state before birth.

This didn’t apply to a very small number of villains, but most people went through a process of turning over a new leaf. This is why most people ascend to heaven when they die peacefully without dying in a strange land.

Thus, the dead enter into birth.

I saw that reincarnation or the opening of another life itself was connected to birth.

Then, what is life?

If I have a past life, I thought that death might be directly connected to birth.

“Is death creating life? Perhaps this is…”

I even thought that death might have created the world.

Cough!

Fuhah!

I spat out blood as it was.

“Dad!”

The circle cracked, and negative energy began to be sucked into it relentlessly.

It was an enormous amount of negative energy.

If it hadn’t been Baekhwa Ridge, I wouldn’t have been able to fill the empty circle. That was synonymous with not being a proper 4th Circle black magician.

Flash!

When I opened my eyes, the energy of darkness began to engulf my entire body.

It felt like all my senses were newly born.

Now, beyond the stage of becoming more sensitive, I had gained eyes that could see through to the essence of things.

“Soojung. Dad has finally reached the 4th Circle!”