I Became an NPC That Rankers Are Obsessed Over

“Why did you suddenly decide to go to Chinatown, ma’am?”

Sang-moon asked while turning the steering wheel.

He glanced at Executor, who sat with her arms crossed.

Her expression was much harsher than usual.

It was probably the first time she looked like this since the war with the Association.

“It seems like something happened to Si-ho.”

“What? To Miss Si-ho?”

Sang-moon turned his head to look at Executor.

She pushed his face back toward the road.

“Just focus on driving. The roads here are a mess.”

The large man let out a deep breath.

Steam escaped from his bull-like face.

Sang-moon checked the side mirror to confirm the cars of his subordinates.

Behind their black sedan were rows of Starexes and SUVs.

“Still… I didn’t think you’d call almost the entire staff…”

He cleared his throat and turned the corner.

Executor casually adjusted her sunglasses.

“She’s a business partner. If I don’t save that kid, what businessman will trust us for protection?”

The woman with red eyes calmly explained to her subordinate.

Sang-moon murmured to himself, seemingly impressed by her words.

“Of course—because she’s a business partner.”

He smiled faintly and nodded.

Executor turned her gaze out the window, as if annoyed by his comment.

A cluttered slum and tall buildings rose in contrast.

Even though it was only May, the residents of Chinatown were walking around in T-shirts.

Among them, a woman dressed entirely in black caught Executor’s eye.

She focused her gaze on the woman and tapped Sang-moon on the shoulder.

“Stop for a moment.”

Sang-moon obediently pulled the car toward the sidewalk.

This caused the vehicles behind them to slow down, resembling a funeral procession.

“Anna!”

At Executor’s call, a woman wearing a hat stopped in her tracks.

She held a bundle of clothes in her hand.

Clothes that Si-ho had worn at the department store…

As soon as Executor realized this, her face turned terrifying.

Before the car even came to a complete stop, she jumped out and approached Anna.

“You little…”

Executor grabbed Anna by the collar.

The tight tank top she wore stretched taut.

“What did you do to Si-ho?”

Anna stared at Executor with an expressionless face.

Her face was marked with traces of dried tears.

Executor, caught off guard by Anna’s unexpected appearance, felt a twinge of confusion.

At that moment, Anna effortlessly broke free from Executor’s grip.

“She left her clothes behind.”

Anna spoke in a hoarse voice.

She showed Si-ho’s clothes to Executor.

“I’ve been looking for her to return them.”

“Return her clothes? So, she was at your house until just recently?”

“Yes.”

Hearing that they had been together and that Anna had even helped her change clothes, Executor scoffed.

Si-ho had disappeared from the department store, and I thought she had quietly gone home… but she followed Anna instead.

And they’re even sharing clothes?

“She’s probably in pajamas by now.”

“You sent her out in pajamas in this weather?”

Does this woman have any sense or not?

Executor placed her hands on her hips, feeling exasperated.

She wanted to tear Anna apart on the spot, but she held back with a sigh.

Finding Si-ho came first.

“Fine. I’ll hear what happened at your place later. But how did the kid disappear?”

“When I told her to leave, she vanished.”

A straightforward answer.

The red-eyed woman regretted expecting anything more from this psychopath.

This was Chinatown, the most dangerous place in anarchic Korea.

Disappearing here was as good as being dead.

Executor thought deeply.

When Si-ho had called earlier, she’d said she didn’t know where she was.

After being kicked out of Anna’s house, she must have wandered into Chinatown and said as much.

She must have called me from there and disappeared right after.

That means she vanished somewhere near Anna’s house, the first place she’d encountered in Chinatown.

Having sorted her thoughts, Executor asked Anna,

“Anna, where’s your house?”

“Why are you asking about my house?”

Anna glared at Executor with suspicion.

A killer’s hideout was a crucial secret.

“I think Si-ho disappeared near your house. Let’s start searching there.”

After a brief moment of hesitation, Anna finally pointed to a building.

It was a particularly tall officetel, even in Chinatown.

It looked like a place frequented by women on business trips.

Executor lowered her sunglasses briefly and scanned the surroundings with her eyes.

Her gaze settled on an alley behind the building.

Two women in flashy qipaos giggled as they entered the alley.

Women going into a shady alley like that…

Executor was sure there was another bustling area on the other side of that alley.

The red-eyed woman pulled out a cigarette.

An expensive one.

She usually smoked it before taking on a big job.

Having found a lead in the search, Executor shouted loudly,

“Guys, park the cars.”

As the subordinates parked their vehicles, Executor headed into the alley with Anna.

Soon, men in black suits followed them.

The sudden appearance of the group drew wary glances from the locals.

But the residents soon scattered, retreating into their homes to avoid the menacing group.

Smoke rose from the cigarette.

Executor flicked the butt onto the ground without a second thought.

“We start investigating here. A girl, about 160 centimeters tall, with short hair and a mole under her eye—find anyone who’s seen her and bring them to me.”

“Ilshim!”

The men shouted in unison.

Their voices drowned out the bustling noise of the Chinese residents.

The subordinates got to work, storming into stores and questioning addicts in back alleys.

Meanwhile, their leader stared at the discarded cigarette butt.

The still-smoldering cigarette slowly rolled toward a drain.

“…?”

Something was visible under the drain.

A cellphone.

Executor’s attention was drawn to the familiar design.

“This is…”

She pulled leather gloves from her inner pocket.

With the gloves on, she carefully lifted the drain cover.

She retrieved the phone and examined it closely.

Anna, curious about her actions, approached.

Her brows furrowed as she spoke.

“This is… Si-ho’s.”

“I know. The problem is why it’s here.”

There’s no way Si-ho would have thrown her phone into the drain herself.

If she had dropped it by accident, the power wouldn’t have been turned off.

She would have kept it on to wait for my call.

Someone must have intentionally turned off her phone and thrown it away.

The Executor raised her head and slowly looked around the area near the drain.

Soon, she spotted a nearby brothel.

There were two prostitutes soliciting customers there.

The prostitutes were covering their mouths with fans, scanning for potential clients.

Then, they noticed two women approaching from a distance.

“Oh my, we don’t have male hosts here…”

One of the women spoke to the Executor in broken Korean.

A woman in a qipao standing next to her nudged her companion, laughing.

“You never know. Maybe they like our kind.”

They giggled among themselves as if they found the two killers amusing.

The Executor suppressed her twitching fists, trying to remain as “gentlemanly” as possible.

“—.”

But there was no need for her to hold back her fists.

Before she could act, Anna moved first.

Anna darted forward and grabbed one of the prostitutes by the neck.

The sudden pain twisted the woman’s face into a grimace.

Even the makeup she’d carefully applied cracked under the strain.

“Si-ho. Where is she?”

“Si… Si-ho? Who’s that?”

The prostitute choked out her question.

Her companion, startled, ran inside the brothel in fear.

“A girl with short hair and a mole under her eye. Have you seen her?”

The Executor spoke in place of Anna, who wasn’t great at communication.

But the prostitute didn’t respond to the question.

Her gaze suggested she knew something, yet she remained silent.

Anna’s grip tightened further around the woman’s neck.

The Executor, watching leisurely, took out a pack of cigarettes.

They were of the Doota brand.

Realizing this, the red-eyed killer felt annoyed.

As she lit her last cigarette, a burly man emerged from the brothel.

He wore a sleeveless shirt, and a large tiger tattoo sprawled across his shoulder.

“Who the hell are you to lay hands on one of our people?”

Anna, still holding the prostitute by the neck, turned to look at the man.

The man swung a massive fist to stop what was happening.

At that moment, the silver-eyed killer casually released the prostitute.

She grabbed the incoming arm and twisted it sharply.

“—!”

The man, unfamiliar with such combat skills, collapsed like a beast.

He groaned in pain, shouting in Chinese.

He was noisy.

The red-eyed killer exhaled smoke and addressed the silver-haired killer.

“Anna.”

“What is it?”

“Kill this bastard.”

“I was planning to.”

Anna pulled out a dagger with her free hand.

She stabbed the man’s body without hesitation.

Seeing the brutal act, the remaining prostitute clutched her face.

Even someone accustomed to Chinatown’s horrors couldn’t help but cower before Anna.

The Executor questioned the trembling prostitute.

“Speak up if you know something. Otherwise, you’ll end up like this.”

Anna hadn’t yet targeted all the man’s vital points.

In the past, she would have slit his throat immediately, but this time, she deliberately left him alive.

Had she changed a bit since the last time I saw her?

“I… I saw her.”

“Good. Now tell me slowly.”

The Executor spoke in a soft voice to reassure her.

While puffing on her last cigarette.

“Master Wi Cheong-san took her to the shop.”

“Wi Cheong-san?”

Hearing a name she’d never encountered before, the Executor’s brow furrowed.

She’d never set foot in a place like Chinatown before.

“He runs the largest brothel in Daerim… All the women in Chinatown respect him…”

The prostitute stammered, trembling as she spoke.

The Executor, unable to catch her words clearly, crouched down to meet her gaze.

The beautiful killer asked again.

“Where is that brothel?”

“Hongjeomru…”

The prostitute, seemingly entranced by her beauty, pointed to a building.

It was an upscale establishment with Chinese-style tiled roofs.

“Anna, let’s go. We’ve found the target.”

The silver-haired killer took a deep breath.

She pulled the blood-dripping dagger out of the man’s body.

The burly man collapsed onto the ground, finally able to fall.

His weight crushed an innocent signboard.

“Send him to the hospital. If he’s lucky, he might survive.”

The Executor adjusted the jacket draped over her shoulders.

She called Sang-moon and ordered all subordinates to gather at Hongjeomru.

In the meantime, Anna hurried ahead toward the brothel.

The Executor ended the call and quickly followed after her.

“—.”

From a distance, the sound of Chinese opera echoed.

Following the music up the hill, they arrived at the grand gates of the brothel.

A faint scent of herbs wafted from inside.

The Executor recognized the smell.

It was the drug once proposed by Chinese organizations to Ilshim for import.

A vile aphrodisiac that excited women and dulled their judgment.

Ilshim’s chairman had refused, saying such filthy goods wouldn’t be purchased.

But it seemed smugglers had secretly brought the substance into Chinatown.

Was Si-ho, who had no combat ability, really here?

The Executor furrowed her brows and sighed deeply.

The thought of the powerless girl suffering in this place was unbearable.

“—!”

While she was still contemplating her next move, Anna abruptly kicked the brothel door.

The once-imposing gate shattered like straw, sending debris flying everywhere.

The sight left the staff at the counter pale with fear.

“——, —.”

They babbled in Chinese, retreating in terror.

Anna ignored them and strode inside.

She didn’t understand Chinese anyway.

“Si-ho!”

The silver-eyed woman shouted loudly.

The Executor watched her and thought.

Anna had grown more emotional than before.

She was angry now.

Whether her anger was directed at Si-ho or herself, the Executor couldn’t tell.

But one thing was certain.

Everyone in this brothel would die today.

Because the Executor was just as displeased as Anna.