Chapter 166: Reputation

"Johnson, are you sure this won't kill anyone?"

That was the first thing Karl said after the Enforcer came to a stop. Johnson, thinking he was referring to the people in the Thorton Colby, answered without hesitation:

"Relax, they won't die. I'm experienced in this—I've never had a single casualty when intercepting a vehicle."

Actually, I wasn't talking about them… but whatever. Not a single death so far? What kind of legendary driver is this guy?

Karl was just relieved that Oliver wasn't around. If Oliver had been here, he'd probably try to pull off the same stunt next time.

Once or twice is fine, but doing this too often? That's not good for your heart.

Sure, Karl could escape even if something went wrong, but being able to escape and actually enjoying a game of bumper cars are two very different things.

"Urghh..."

Jade, who had been holding it in, couldn't take it anymore. He rushed out of the car, bent over, and started throwing up beside the Enforcer.

Seeing this, Johnson clicked his tongue:

"Getting carsick already? Kid, you need to work on your tolerance."

"Johnson, I think it's more likely he's experiencing autonomic nervous system dysfunction from extreme stress, which is causing nausea and vomiting."

After getting out of the car and dusting off his now-messy clothes from all the turbulence, Karl turned his attention to the vehicle they had just intercepted.

Inside, he saw two people struggling to free themselves from the wreckage.

"Damn, Johnson, you really do have skills. Not a single fatality."

Watching the two bloodied men trying to crawl out, Karl smirked.

"At most, they're just a little banged up."

"You think I was bluffing? Best driver in the precinct—no contest."

Johnson stepped up to the mangled Colby, raised his foot, and kicked open the crushed door.

At the same time, he lifted his Ajax rifle and pointed it at the two men as they tumbled onto the ground.

"NCPD—you're under arrest."

"Fuck you, NCPD!"

One of them gritted his teeth and tried to get up.

BANG!

The Ajax's gunshot rang out.

A bullet punched a hole in the ground right next to the man's head.

Feeling the heat of the bullet as it grazed past, his pupils contracted in terror.

Johnson calmly adjusted his aim, now pointing directly at his forehead.

"Say one more thing I don't like, and the next one goes through your skull. I only need one of you for questioning."

Hearing that, the other guy—who had also been trying to get up—immediately gave up and lay back down.

Dying while resisting wasn't the problem.

But dying while your partner got interrogated, flipped, and walked away free?

That was unacceptable.

People who've sold someone out once—who's to say they won't do it again?

Before the interrogation, Karl checked on their injuries.

After confirming that neither of them would be dying anytime soon, he called over Jade, who had just finished vomiting and looked completely drained.

"Do you know these guys?"

Jade leaned against the Enforcer, took one look at the two men, then turned away.

"I used to. Not anymore."

Traitors. What was the point of recognizing them?

Especially the kind that tried to get you killed.

The two men lying face-down on the ground immediately recognized the familiar voice.

Lifting their heads, they saw Jade.

"Jade!"

They had suspected it might be him, but actually seeing him here—alongside the people who had chased them down—was almost unbelievable.

"How did you find out it was us?!"

"How the hell did you get NCPD to chase us down?!"

These two idiots clearly hadn't considered that Karl's crew could've pulled up their information in seconds.

They were just guilty bastards running from the law, hoping they could escape before NCPD caught them.

But now, faced with reality, seeing that it was Jade and the very people they had locked inside the cold storage, their faces turned pale as death.

The first of the two traitors, still pinned under Johnson's Ajax, immediately started begging for his life.

"Jade, please, let me go! We've known each other for years! It was just a moment of weakness—I was tricked! It was all his idea!"

The other guy, hearing how quickly his so-called friend threw him under the bus, reacted just as fast:

"Jade, please, I swear—I only wanted to trap you, that's all! Lowering the temperature to kill you? That was HIM! He said we couldn't leave you alive since you started getting suspicious of us! I never wanted to hurt you, I swear—it was all his idea!"

Hearing the two of them pathetically beg, Jade kept his head turned away, refusing to even look at them.

He had nothing to say to traitors like these.

Karl sighed.

"They actually think they can weasel their way out of this? That's just ridiculous."

This level of shamelessness was beyond words.

They betrayed their friend. Tried to kill him.

Now that they were caught, they were crying about 'friendship' to get off easy?

What a joke.

Still…

The heart of a traitor is cold. But the heart of someone who truly cared?

Always leaves a sliver of hesitation.

Karl glanced at Jade, who was deliberately avoiding their gaze.

Even now, despite everything, there was a small part of him that felt something.

And that was just sad.

Karl leaned down, lowered his voice, and asked Johnson a quick question.

After getting confirmation, he turned to the two traitors:

"Start talking. Be honest, and I might just let you live."

"You'll do time, but at least you'll have a chance to get out someday."

Karl tapped their heads with his Nue, his tone calm, yet ice-cold:

"Lie to me, or hold anything back…"

"You know what happens."

The instant they heard "there's a chance to live," both men completely ignored Jade and turned eagerly toward Karl.

They were about to spill every secret they ever knew—hell, they were probably ready to confess to stealing candy as kids—but then…

They saw Karl's face.

Black hair. Smiling expression.

In a split second, their faces twisted in absolute horror.

They finally realized who Karl was.

"KK! IT'S KK!"

One of them screamed like a madman.

"PLEASE! PLEASE DON'T TURN ME INTO A LIMBLESS CORPSE AND ROAST ME OVER A FIRE! I'LL TALK! I'LL TELL YOU EVERYTHING! I'VE GOT 3,000 EUROBUCKS IN MY ACCOUNT—JUST KILL ME QUICK, I'M BEGGING YOU!"

Karl's entire face was filled with confusion.

Turn people into limbless stumps?

Roast them alive?

…Have I ever done something like that?

What the hell kind of reputation do I have?

As Karl sat there, looking utterly dumbfounded, the two traitors sobbed like broken men.

Meanwhile, Kenichiro stood silently to the side, watching.

His cyber-eyes flickered for a brief moment.

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