The Boss's lawyer was never surprised by ordinary events. He wouldn't bat an eye at seeing a person die from unilateral assault right in front of him.

  If he were surprised by such things, he wouldn't be able to serve as the organization's lawyer. A lawyer, who had to push people to ruin without hesitation, even if he didn't personally get his hands dirty, was different from a normal person.

  A life that walked the path of the abnormal would be like that, to begin with. He had to be able to state their demands with an expressionless face while a person was suffering from torture to be the Boss's lawyer.

  But even he was wearing a surprised expression now. No, he looked bewildered and found it difficult to accept the reality.

  The first to realize the situation was a call from the bank. However, when he first received the call, the lawyer wanted to think it was a boring joke.

  He wondered if such a thing was even possible, let alone if it had any realism. Even after hearing everything, he still wasn't sure if he had understood properly.

  "Crazy..."

  It was rare for obscenities to come out of the lawyer's mouth. But now, obscenities kept pouring out of his mouth without rest. To control his emotions, he couldn't help but continue cursing someone he didn't even know.

  The subordinates assisting with the work all looked at his face, unable to hide their astonishment. The lawyer had never shown such an emotional side.

  But soon, the subordinates realized.

  They were in the same situation as the lawyer. Checking the messages that came to them right after the lawyer, the subordinates all showed the same reaction as the lawyer.

  It looked like a struggle to deny reality. But no matter what they did, reality wouldn't change.

  The lawyer checked the content of the message on his computer once more. When his pupils trembled and he realized it was real, the lawyer felt fear.

  It was natural.

  The utterly pure mental shock came as an emotion beyond the realm of comprehension.

  But anyone would react that way.

  Starting with the corporate accounts, the accounts of all organization members were locked. From the accounts of the expendable punks, who weren't even low-ranking members, to the Boss's, all accounts were frozen.

  There would be no one in the world who could imagine such a thing happening. Such a thing shouldn't be possible in the first place.

  It was possible for one or two banks to be temporarily down and accounts frozen. But could anyone think that all the accounts held by the organization members—accounts in different banks—could all be frozen at the same time in reality?

  The lawyer wished it were a nightmare.

  No one would have thought that all members would be rendered financially incapable of doing anything like this. The probability of being struck by lightning while walking was likely higher.

  Even their credit cards were frozen, leaving pre-drawn cash as the only usable asset.

  The lawyer couldn't stand up. All the strength had drained from his legs. Now, only a sense of futility and laughter came out. As if to let the shock that exceeded the realm of understanding flow away, the lawyer began to laugh with the expression of one who had lost his mind.

  But the commotion had only just begun.

  Urgent footsteps were heard from outside the door.

  And with the loud noise made by hurried hands, the door opened.

  The people who came in with the most intense momentum were none other than the organization's executives. All of them entered the lawyer's room with their phones in hand.

  "What on earth is going on?"

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  The organization's executives shouted at the lawyer. Their voices were trembling, unable to hide their shock.

  Normally, they would go and vent their frustration at the accounting staff, but the executives saw.

  The accounting staff, who were terrified and didn't know what to do. They seemed to understand that shouting at them wouldn't change anything.

  Therefore, it was a natural step for them to seek out the lawyer, whom they considered the most knowledgeable in these matters. The middle-aged executives, all with rough faces, stared at the lawyer with eyes full of anger.

  "I am checking it now too."

  The lawyer spoke as cautiously as possible. If he spoke wrongly at such a sensitive time, they would likely resort to violence first.

  The saving grace was that the lawyer was in the same predicament as them. What could be solved by people in the same situation getting angry at each other?

  Everyone looked devastated.

  These were people who had never been foolish enough to manage their money in a way that would lead to their accounts being frozen. They had manipulated their assets by skillfully exploiting legal loopholes more than anyone else.

  But to be frozen so absurdly like this? Not even contacting their acquaintance bank managers helped.

  No, the problem was even more severe than that.

  The banks said it happened due to an unknown system error. It was a pinpoint attack targeting only the organization members.

  A story that could never happen in reality.

  The lawyer considered every possibility he could think of. But the more he thought, the more he felt all his common sense crumbling.

  Even hackers who lived in the shadow world and manipulated dangerous information would never do this. Even if they worked as a team to cause trouble, this was impossible.

  No, even at the state level, it would be no different. Even if a nation was determined to hack, the bank's security was never easy to breach.

  But a system error?

  And only targeting the organization members?

  But how?

  Doubt upon doubt tormented the lawyer. It was impossible in the first place, wasn't it? Who would enter the network system of not just one bank but multiple banks and dry up the money supply of the entire organization like this?

  Now, he felt like crying. Anyone would if such an absurd thing unfolded right before their eyes. It felt like it was impossible to control his emotions.

  That's when it happened.

  The lawyer checked that a message had arrived on his phone. A message from an unknown sender that he would usually treat as spam.

  But with an inexplicable feeling, he hurriedly checked the message.

  "What did he say?"

  The lawyer's surprised voice drew everyone's attention. But the lawyer didn't care about the attention. No, he couldn't care.

  "I'm going crazy. The Boss will go ballistic if he finds out."

  The lawyer said that, tossed his phone onto the desk, and began to laugh.

  It was a hollow laugh, like that of a person who had nothing left to lose. The executives simply stared at the lawyer until he stopped laughing.

  "Damn it. That lunatic threatened us. He said if we keep bothering him, it won't just end with the accounts being frozen."

  The lawyer, who had stopped laughing, spoke with a genuinely enraged expression. At his words, everyone looked dumbfounded.

  "What?"

  "Crazy..."

  "Let's go kill that bastard right now!"

  The executives were furious. And their subordinates were also furious. But the lawyer's next words froze everyone.

  "He said that since the money in the accounts is just numbers, if we want to turn it into zero or a negative value, we can keep doing what we're doing. Damn it!"

  The executive who heard the lawyer's words initially looked confused, not understanding the meaning. So, the lawyer continued to explain.

  "That guy is threatening that he can manipulate the accounts as he pleases. And the possibility of that actually happening is high. If that happens, none of us will ever be able to recover financially. Even if there's no basis for it, what can we do if debt shows up in our accounts?"

  The lawyer said that and forced himself to stand up. It was to go meet the Boss.

  "I don't know anymore. It seems we've messed with a complete lunatic, but he says if we don't bother him anymore, he won't get involved with us either."

  The room fell silent.

  No one knew what to say. They couldn't tolerate their pride being damaged, but the moment they felt their opponent was something non-human, they all felt a chill.

  "Let me ask you one thing, is this even possible?"

  One of the executives asked. The lawyer then showed them his phone.

  It showed the account balance changing in real-time. Whenever a message arrived, the number would turn zero, then negative, sometimes it would increase severalfold, and then return to the original amount.

  "This is not something a human can do. I don't know what to say. I even have a meeting with the other side soon, and ah... I truly don't know what to say."

  The lawyer repeated that several times and sighed. Then, the others all fell silent.

  They themselves didn't know what to do in this unprecedented situation. No one had ever experienced such an event.

  "This is the first time in my life I've felt this kind of fear..."

  One of the executives said. Everyone nodded in agreement with his words. There was nothing they could do in the suffocating atmosphere.

  That's when it happened.

  A message arrived on the lawyer's phone. The alert once again drew everyone's attention.

  "Oh, come on... Now it's a 'more interesting display of force'?"

  What crazy thing was he planning to do this time? The lawyer muttered distractedly. The moment the executives were about to ask another question, the power in the building went out completely.

  "What is this..."

  A blackout.

  Since they didn't know what was happening, everyone just stood there blankly. At that moment, the lights flickered.

  Since LED lights are different from fluorescent lights, they should hardly ever flicker like this. But as the lights flickered as if someone was turning the electric switch on and off, they felt like nothing could surprise them anymore.

  "What are we even doing right now?"

  One of the executives just said that. They might have realized that their enemy was not human.

  But no one spoke out about what they felt. They just silently watched as the power was fully restored.