World of Vampire Detective [1]

In the drama 'Vampire Detective', Moon Ji-hyuk's life takes a dark turn when he's attacked by a vampire progenitor on his way home from work. As a result, Ji-hyuk becomes a vampire himself.

However, it's not the kind of vampires you'd typically find in horror flims.

In this world, vampires blend in perfectly with humans, showing no visible signs of their vampire nature. They can move around during the day, though their bodies feel heavy and sluggish.

At night, they exhibit superhuman physical abilities. They crave blood but don't necessarily need it to survive.

"Moon Ji-hyuk investigates to find a way to become human again and eventually learns about the Life Orb."

To cut to the chase, Moon Ji-hyuk becomes human again in the drama. It's a happy ending.

"But this world has a bad ending because I'm planning to get the Life Orb myself."

I checked the internet articles to see what point in the story we were at. This was crucial. I planned to lay low initially, start intervening in the middle, and finally steal the Life Orb near the end.

[Another victim of the random attacks!]

[Police say, 'We're Doing Our Best.' Same old story.]

[Incompetent Police! Seoul citizens are in fear.]

[Where did the victim's blood go?]

"This is the beginning of the drama."

Moon Ji-hyuk becomes the fifth victim and turns into a vampire. So, he's not a vampire yet.

"Should I become a vampire instead?"

Becoming a vampire would give me a superhuman body. But I shook my head. The drawbacks outweighed the benefits. Besides, just because my avatar became a vampire didn't mean I would in real life.

I thought about what I should do.

"Should I preemptively kill the vampire hunters?"

Vampire hunters appear in the middle of the drama as villains trying to kill Moon Ji-hyuk. They also covet the Life Orb, making them inevitable obstacles later on.

I couldn't eliminate them entirely, but I felt the need to weaken their forces to some extent.

"Vampire hunters could become my competitors for the Life Orb."

After some deep thinking, I decided to reduce the number of vampire hunters.

After all, this was a fictional world. There is no need for guilt.

"Everything is for my benefit."

My hacking session ended.

I reached for the mouse and opened hidden files and documents. They were password-protected, but I had already hacked the passwords.

"Why is he collecting dirt on politicians? Planning to enter politics?"

I snickered.

Looks like, Kang Eugene, the hacker, had some sense of justice.

"Could I use this for blackmail? No, that might be too risky."

Kang Yoo-jin had been gathering dirt on high-ranking public officials. CCTV footage, evidence of document forgery, and so on.

I soon realized the reason wasn't a cheap sense of justice, but money and safety. He was collecting dirt as a safeguard.

"This could fetch a good price if sold to other politicians."

Politics is a game of leverage. Knowing your opponent's dirt means holding a significant advantage.

I skimmed through the data indifferently, then stood up at 9 pm.

Sitting here all the time made me restless. No, it made my dick restless. But I had no intention of jerking off in this world.

"Maybe I should hook up with an actress. Or whatever they're called here."

It didn't matter much.

***

My first stop was the bank. More precisely, the ATM to withdraw cash.

"I'm not just some genius hacker. I've got over 300 million won in the bank. I didn't think I'd rack up that much.

I grinned, patting my jacket pockets stuffed with cash. I had 50 million won in cash on me.

"Idiot. Money isn't for hoarding; it's for spending."

I had no idea what Kang Yoo-jin's goals were, but to me, he seemed foolish.

Kang Yoo-jin was 22, very young. At that age, you should be living it up, not saving for old age. Of course, that's just my philosophy.

"I could bring the money into the real world, but… it might be treated as counterfeit."

However, a bit of thought revealed a solution. Convert the money into goods, then bring them into the real world. For example, buy gold with this money, store it in the inventory, and sell it in the real world.

"If that doesn't work, I could just rob a jewelry store and bring the loot to the real world to sell."

With the [Play Life] app, I'd never run out of money.

"The [Play Life] app is the best ability."

Humming, I hailed a taxi.

"Take me to Yeonghyejeong."

"Yeonghyejeong?"

The taxi driver repeated. Not because he didn't know, but to confirm if I was really heading there.

"Yes, Yeonghyejeong."

Yeonghyejeong. In this world, it's a well-known night bar. Luckily, the driver knew it and started driving without further questions. He wasn't an ordinary taxi driver. If he didn't know, I planned to mention a nearby department store instead.

"I'm so excited."

Yeonghyejeong was featured in the drama. In other words, actresses played the hostesses there. Naturally, my goal was them.

Moreover, Yeonghyejeong was one of the top 0.1% high-end night bar in Korea. It's famous among politicians and corporate executives. Detective Moon Ji-hyuk also gets involved there a few times in the drama's plot.

"Have you been to Yeonghyejeong before?"

The driver asked. Yeonghyejeong was off-limits to the general public, so he was curious.

I smirked.

"Just focus on driving."

"..."

The driver seemed offended, but I didn't care.

When we arrived, the fare was close to 20,000 won. I tossed a 50,000 bill at him and got out. I didn't care about the change.

"Oh wow!"

I looked at a building in the heart of Gangnam. It appeared to be just an office building, but it was actually Yeonghyejeong, the top-level salon.

The first floor was just a café, a disguise. Given that politicians frequented the place, they were thorough with such details.

The second floor was an office, but it was empty. I knew this from watching the drama. The real Yeonghyejeong started on the third floor and had over 200 staff.

I passed the café and took the elevator to the third floor. I smirked at the CCTV on the elevator ceiling.

"Politicians use secret passages instead of stairs or elevators, right?"

I wanted to use a secret passage too, but it was only mentioned in the drama, so I had no idea where it was.

Ding!

The elevator door opened to reveal Yeonghyejeong's main entrance. It was a steel door. Without hesitation, I opened it.

Creak!

The door opened to reveal a thug in a black suit sitting in a chair. His face had knife scars, clearly indicating he was a gangster.

I snickered, recalling his future beatdown by Moon Ji-hyuk.

Annoyed by my laugh, he spoke in a low voice.

"This is a restricted area... Leave."

"Who do you think you're telling to leave? Isn't this Yeonghyejeong?"

There was a wooden door behind him; unlike the steel door, it looked antique and must have cost at least a million won. The real entrance to Yeonghyejeong.

"…Customer?"

The thug looked me over.

"..."

I looked down at myself. Faded jeans, a hoodie, and an outdated jacket.

I admit, my attire didn't match a high-end night bar like Yeonghyejeong.

But what does a customer's attire matter? The important thing is the money they have. I was getting pissed.

"Didn't they teach you not to judge customers by their looks? Even Seb Jobs dressed casually."

"You mean Steve Jobs."

"Look at you, pretending to be smart. Ever heard of a joke?"

"Anyway, you can't go through."

The thug glared at me.

I grinned but felt annoyed inside. I didn't come here to tussle with this thug.

"Fine."

I replied nonchalantly and tried to walk past him to the wooden door.

Thud.

The thug grabbed my left arm.

"I said you couldn't go through. Go back. This isn't a place for you."

He spoke solemnly.

"…Hah!"

Smack!

My right palm struck his cheek. His body swayed, and as he was about to fall, he gritted his teeth and swung a punch at me.

Thud!

I easily blocked his punch with my left hand. It stung a bit, but that was it. I swung my right hand again.

Smack!

Blood spurted from his mouth.

Smack!

I slapped his other cheek.

Smack! Smack! Smack!

The sound of slaps echoed. Blood flowed from his nose and mouth, and his cheeks were swollen with bruises.

My physical abilities are currently stronger than those of an average person, but weaker than those of a hunter. I was in the middle. And this level was enough to easily subdue an average person.

I could handle 2-3 thugs like him. Any more might be tough.

Smack! Smack! Smack!

"This...!"

The thug, being slapped, pulled out a knife and lunged at me. I grabbed his wrist with my left hand and twisted it.

Squeak!

"Aaaargh!"

I grabbed the falling knife and stabbed it into the thug's thigh. Just as he was about to scream again, I slapped him hard to shut him up.

Smack! Smack! Smack!

'Shall I kill him? …How dare you not know your place. You're just a character…'

As I entertained murderous thoughts, the wooden door opened, and a man walked in. Dressed in a suit, he looked better than the thug but still had a rough appearance.

"Sir."

His voice was polite.

"We apologize for our rudeness. Please forgive us."

I recognized his face. I couldn't remember his name, but he was definitely the head of security at Yeonghyejeong. His real identity was a gangster underboss, if I recall correctly.

I lowered my raised hand.

"Damn it! My clothes are ruined."

Blood from the thug had stained parts of my clothes. At least my jacket was still intact.

"We're very sorry. If you'd like, we can have your clothes cleaned. Or we can compensate you for them."

"Forget it. They were cheap clothes anyway."

I answered and walked past him. He didn't stop me.

Entering Yeonghyejeong, I approached the counter. A man in a suit was sitting there, his eyes filled with fear as he looked at me. Glancing at the counter, I noticed a CCTV camera.

They had CCTV at the front entrance, unlike the secret passage.

"Uh... Welcome. How can I help you?"

His voice was trembling. I smirked and said,

"Top-tier room, I want three girls. Got a list I can choose from?"

"Yeah, here it is."

He handed me an elegant list.

Scanning the list, I was impressed. It truly lived up to its reputation as Korea's top nightclub. There were over 130 girls, all above average in looks. They could pass as celebrities.

"I want to try them all."

Pushing aside my disappointment, I selected three I'd already decided on.

Two actresses and one former idol from a disbanded girl group. Of course, that's in reality. In this world, they were just hostesses.

"Reika, Hera, and Mi-young."

"Sir, those three are our aces; their selection fee is quite high."

"How much?"

"Aces only go to our top rooms. The room fee is 20 million won. Reika, Hera, and Mi-young each have a selection fee of 5 million won. Luckily, all three are available today. Normally, you'd need a reservation to select them, but we'll make an exception for you."

"Thanks."

I pulled out a wad of 50,000 won from my jacket pocket. It would take some time to count, but the man brought out a money counter. It seemed they had quite a few cash-paying customers.

"Well, using a card leaves a record. Politicians would prefer cash."

After a short wait, I followed Park Chan-sung, who introduced himself as the head of security, upstairs. This elevator was different from the one I had taken earlier.

The room was breathtakingly luxurious. Everything was top-notch. TV, sofa, table, and wall decorations. The chandelier on the ceiling was the crowning touch.

"Since it's a sudden request, it'll take about 15 minutes for the girls to get ready."

"That's fine. I can wait."

"Thank you. If you need anything, please press this call bell."

"Got it."

Just then, another man came in, handing Park Chan-sung a suit wrapped in plastic.

He handed the suit to me with a respectful bow.

"What's this?"

"Your clothes got stained with blood. This is a gift as an apology."

"Hmm… well, if you're giving it to me."

I took the suit. He bowed politely and left. I was alone in the room.

"Good, I was annoyed by the bloodstains."

Without hesitation, I undressed and changed into the new suit.