-Karma refers to the accumulated value of the sins you have committed.
-You have taken 485,219,903 lives thus far.
-If you fail to clear all your karma before you die…
‘Games are a disease. If you waste your time on that electronic nonsense, the day will come when you seriously regret it.’
“…”
Why was he only now remembering something his homeroom teacher had said back in high school? If he’d known this would happen, he would have quit gaming and studied diligently so he could get into a better university.
“No, no. Even so, this is just wrong.”
Gang Jinho could say with pride that he had lived conscientiously until now. He might never have done any great good deeds, but he had at least given up his seat to the elderly or helped them carry their luggage.
He’d killed over four hundred million people? Of course he had killed them because it was a game. Simply because he was bored, because it was fun, because the feature had been implemented!
Why, even in games where you built amusement parks, didn’t people do bizarre things like dropping visitors into water or sending them plummeting from great heights? Besides, “Hishishi” was a city simulator, and there was a strange sort of pleasure in watching villains destroy the city.
On top of that, the malicious developers had even added bizarre features like “cause a tidal wave” and “drop a meteor,” so as a hardcore gamer, Gang Jinho had tried using those functions out of sheer curiosity.
“…”
And the result was 485,219,903 deaths.
Considering that “Light City” was a massive megacity with a population of one hundred million, one could say that only killing five hundred million people meant he had played with a certain amount of conscience.
-Current Karma: 485,219,303
-Remaining quota for this month: 4,400
But that “certain amount of conscience” was of no help whatsoever in his current situation. There was an oppressive weight that came with the overwhelming number of five hundred million.
“Haa…”
A sigh slipped out even without him realizing it, but sighing would not change the situation. Right now was the time to assess things as objectively as possible and make plans for the future.
After drinking a glass of cold water, Gang Jinho pressed the part that said “quota for this month” this time.
-Remaining quota for this month: 4,400
-Your karma has decreased by 500 for resolving an incident.
-Your karma has decreased by 100 for completing a day’s work.
-If you fail to reduce your karma by the designated monthly quota, a **serious** penalty will be imposed.
-Your karma decreases by 100 every time you complete a day of work as a police officer.
“…Putting aside the fact that you emphasized it with asterisks just to piss me off, why does working as a police officer reduce my karma?”
-Because it is an act of contributing to social order, your karma value decreases. Similarly, working as a firefighter, doctor, or hero will also decrease your karma value each day.
“Fine, so it means doing good deeds.”
Seeing the status window generate messages as if answering him, Gang Jinho let out a hollow laugh.
He stared blankly up at the ceiling for a while, then slapped his own cheek hard—smack!—and came back to his senses.
The water had already been spilled. No, he had already been transmigrated into a game. The number labeled “quota for this month” was making his chest feel tight, but if he thought calmly about it, the situation could not yet be called that urgent.
Today, he had merely caught a café thief by accident, and yet his karma had decreased by 500. On top of that, apparently his karma dropped by 100 every day he worked as a police officer. In a month, that was a basic reduction of 3,000.
‘If I just steadily resolve incidents every day like this… I can fill the quota in no time, can’t I?’
No, this was actually an opportunity. If catching a petty café thief reduced his karma by 500, then what if he threw a major villain into prison? Wouldn’t his karma decrease by a much larger amount?
The crime records of “Light City,” the identities of villains hiding in secret, and the characteristics of each incident were all organized in Gang Jinho’s head like a strategy guide.
Since he knew the answers, solving them would be a piece of cake. From now on, if Gang Jinho set his mind to catching criminals, his total karma of five hundred million would steadily drop, and by gaining fame, he would naturally be able to make the acquaintance of the “No. 1 Hero Ranker.”
Then, after securing the cooperation of the No. 1 ranker and carefully escorting his insane senior partner Bak Eun-yeong to a corner of prison…
‘If I quit being a cop and sweep up the hidden slush funds and fortuitous encounters scattered around the city… couldn’t I live young and rich?’
A smile formed on Gang Jinho’s lips before he knew it.
There was only one thing he had to do from now on.
Resolve incidents. Catch criminals. Become as famous as possible!
**
“Hm? Jinho? What are you thinking about?”
“Nothing, sir.”
Nothing like that happened.
Surprisingly, being a police officer did not mean being dispatched to crime scenes every single time. That was especially true for police officers in Light City.
Light City was a place where minor crimes occurred constantly. But if that was the case, then even if this was the outskirts, what happened to public order if the police did not respond?
“We just got a report! A robber with a gun is holding a convenience store part-timer hostage!”
“Oh, yeah? Everyone, get dressed! Prepare to move out! Grab your handcuffs and stun guns, and just in case…”
“A hero was dispatched and resolved it just now!”
“Mm, everyone forget what I just said! Only two people head to the scene to take photos and collect statements. The rest, return to your posts!”
This place had heroes. Beings far faster, far stronger, and far more reliable than police officers. Rather than arresting criminals, the police were closer to people who arrived late and handled all kinds of aftermath.
“There’s no traffic control duty today… We just need to go on patrol later. Did you finish the report?”
“Yes. Would you like to check it?”
“Yeah. Excuse me for a moment~”
Therefore, even if Gang Jinho was dispatched to a crime scene, there was no opportunity for him to earn karma. At best, all he did was boring administrative processing before coming back.
Recently, Gang Jinho’s daily routine could be summarized as patrols, traffic control, and paperwork inside the patrol box. Even now, he was in the middle of writing a report with Bak Eun-yeong’s help. (By now, he no longer trembled even when he was with Bak Eun-yeong.)
“Haa.”
Gang Jinho unconsciously sighed in the middle of writing the report. His current daily life was less that of a spectacular police officer and closer to that of a “civil servant,” plain and simple. It was not that he disliked a life where paperwork and drunkards were closer to him than criminals… but he had karma he needed to clear.
Remaining quota for this month: 2,200
There were seven workdays left this month. In that case, the additional amount of karma he needed to fill was 1,500. If a small incident gave him at least 500 karma, then he would have to resolve three incidents to meet his karma quota.
“Isn’t there any incident I can resolve somewhere…”
It was a mutter that slipped out without him realizing it due to frustration. At that, Eun-yeong, who had been reviewing the report, turned her head with curiosity sparkling in her eyes.
“Hm? What do you mean by that?”
“No, it’s… well…”
“Are you bored because you haven’t had a chance to catch a criminal yourself, like you did on your first day?”
“…No, sir. I apologize.”
“I’m honestly disappointed too, but even so, you shouldn’t say things like that. If we get dispatched, that means citizens are going through a difficult situation. Isn’t it better if the police have as little reason to be dispatched as possible?”
“You’re right. I misspoke.”
Gang Jinho nodded, but inwardly, he thought, ‘This villain is really pretending to be damn noble.’ To think the strongest villain in Light City would say something so admirable.
He wanted to retort, “Are you really one to talk?” but Gang Jinho was a kind-hearted person of good character who did not say such mean things, so he barely managed to hold himself back.
Instead, he pretended to be a hot-blooded patrol officer whose blood was boiling and grumbled with a disappointed look.
“But it’s not that there are no incidents. It’s just that we have no reason to respond because of the heroes, isn’t it?”
“That’s true.”
Eun-yeong nodded, then suddenly her eyes gleamed bewitchingly as she said,
“Maybe that’s why… sometimes I wish there were no heroes. Then we police would have a lot more to do.”
“…Uh, um.”
“Ah, I take that back. You’ll pretend you didn’t hear it, right?”
“Of course!”
When Eun-yeong’s crimson eyes turned toward Gang Jinho, he had no choice but to nod reflexively. Of course he had to pretend he had not heard it. It was not as though he could say he would remember it for generations to come.
The villain moments Bak Eun-yeong showed from time to time still sent shivers down Gang Jinho’s spine. He had to remember. This woman was insane. He absolutely must not do anything to get on her nerves.
“Now, that’s enough chatting. Shall we finish checking the report? Here, the reason you need to be careful when entering the reception route is…”
“Yes, I’ll listen carefully.”
And just as the two of them were about to focus on the paperwork once again.
-Ring-ring-ring-ring.
“Yes, this is Light City Eastern Police Station, Patrol Box No. 7. How may I help you? Uh, hm. Where did you say you were? Ah, yes. May I have the caller’s name and your relationship to the matter?”
The phone rang, and Eun-yeong continued the call for some time.
A moment later.
“Mm, Jinho. We got a case report. Shall we go out together?”
“Yes! I’ve been waiting for this!”
“Our Jinho is so full of passion. It’s truly nice to see.”
Gang Jinho sprang up from his seat and immediately prepared to head out.
Right now, he needed to resolve even one case as quickly as possible!