Chapter 105
Chapter 105
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 105
Chapter Title: Chicks
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Na Gang-in spoke to the five agents taking the Total Fist Way class.
"In a bit, eight trainees will be coming to this gym. Just don't mention anything about the bomb in front of them."
Na Gang-in had called the four Puff Girls and the four Angel Warriors to this gym. He planned to handle both the Total Fist Way training and practice for the CF shoot all at once today.
The five agents replied immediately.
"Of course."
"We heard that matter's classified."
Officially, the incident had been reported as a truck transporting cosmetic ingredients spilling its cargo in a traffic accident. A few news articles had popped up, but they all said the same thing.
That much wasn't a lie.
However, the fact that those chemicals were bomb components had been kept under wraps as classified information. It was like covering their eyes and shouting "boo," but there were reasons it had to be handled that way.
Police agent Park Soon-gi explained the reason.
"Even if we revealed there was nearly a massive explosion in the city center, it wouldn't do any good."
That wasn't the only reason.
"Plus, we can't disclose yet that combining VTX-13 with other chemicals—like NG-3, for example—makes a powerful bomb."
An intelligence agent said to Park Soon-gi,
"I heard some VTX-13 leaked outside the company. We absolutely can't reveal it until we've recovered every last drop. If it falls into terrorists' hands, it could become a powerful bomb."
Bodyguard Choi Nam-su agreed.
"Exactly. If stuff like that starts circulating, it'll make our jobs a nightmare. We don't even have a solid detection method for that explosive yet."
AI Jeon Ji-in called the bomb made primarily from VTX-13 "November B."
Na Gang-in asked,
"Huh? How?"
Na Gang-in snickered.
"What's the point of having sensors like that in 2082 if you can't make them?"
Normally, when he said that, AI Jeon Ji-in would reply, "I'm a combat support AI, not a development or production AI."
But this time, her response was different.
Na Gang-in was slightly taken aback.
"Huh? November B hasn't even been developed yet—why are there detection sensors for it?"
"Ahh, so it has a smell."
Understanding the situation, Na Gang-in suggested to Choi Nam-su,
"Just buy some detectors and use them."
Choi Nam-su laughed.
"Hahaha. Master Na told us, so we did the explosion test, but how could detectors for a bomb that hasn't been produced exist in advance?"
AI Jeon Ji-in displayed the detector's product name and features in front of Na Gang-in's eyes.
Na Gang-in explained while looking at it.
"November B isn't a stable bomb. Even left alone, its particles evaporate and float in the air."
"Pardon? November B?"
"Calling it 'that bomb' all the time gets confusing, so I gave it a name."
Choi Nam-su realized it wasn't a joke and hardened his expression.
"How do we detect those particles?"
"Simply put, November B gives off a faint unique smell. There's an existing odor detector that catches it, and it's sold in our country too. Improvised explosives made by terrorists get snagged by it right away."
Na Gang-in searched an online shopping mall on his smartphone. Jeon Ji-in had given him the product name.
"It's something like this—98,000 won, shipping extra."
Choi Nam-su looked at the screen and was flustered.
"No way, multiple agencies were agonizing over this issue, and it's solved just like that...?"
"Until we recover all the leaked VTX-13, we can just carry one of these when inspecting for explosives."
Park Soon-gi hurriedly asked from the side,
"If you completely seal the bomb, doesn't the smell go away?"
"If you seal it through precise factory processes and clean the surface well, sure, no smell."
"Ah... So there are limits after all..."
"But if you seal it completely, it explodes."
"Pardon?"
"Then the terrorists wipe themselves out DIY-style."
"No, how do you know all this?"
Na Gang-in bluffed.
"I could predict it from the chemical formula."
Bodyguard Choi Nam-su immediately made a call.
"For now, buy a few of these odor detectors and coordinate with Baek Han-su Ryeo for tests."
Park Soon-gi asked,
"Nam-su hyung. Why buy several?"
"We'll stock up on the rest ourselves. I trust Master Na's words."
The other agents pulled out their phones right away.
"I need to tell my unit too. Prices might go up, so buy some in advance."
"Me too, before they sell out."
"Same here."
An hour later, the eight idols arrived at the gym.
After entering, they greeted first.
"Hello! We're the Puff Girls!"
"Angel Warrior Squad!"
The agents beamed at them.
"Whoa, I was wondering which unit sent trainees—it's idols?"
"They've got that idol vibe."
"Yeah. Different feel."
"Say it—they're different from us."
Min Young-hee laughed as she approached the idols.
"Oh my. You made it. We'll roll... teach you well. You have to learn Total Fist Way basics from us."
Male idol leader Nam Jeong-seok asked,
"Pardon? Total Fist Way?"
"Huh? You didn't come to learn that?"
Min Young-hee turned to Na Gang-in.
"Master Na. Then why are they here?"
"They're shooting a CF soon, so I called them to practice the moves for it."
"Can't you just do it in green tights?"
Na Gang-in narrowed his eyes.
"Where'd you hear about the tights?"
"At the drama wrap party, Eun-ha bragged that Master Na went all out on the CF shoot day..."
Min Young-hee had been on Shin Eun-ha's security detail at that wrap party.
Na Gang-in grumbled.
"Shin Eun-ha really lives for teasing me."
"Eun-ha does have that side. So the tights..."
"That's why I'm drilling these kids today—so I don't have to wear them."
"Tch. I was looking forward to it."
Thanks to rolling with Na Gang-in in the meantime, the five agents had reached a level where they could do basic training among themselves.
When training on their own, they lowered the intensity compared to when Na Gang-in drilled them and took more breaks. They had to, to avoid injuries.
During a break, the agents sat on chairs and cracked open sports drinks.
Choi Nam-su said,
"Isn't it ironic? The training intensity is higher with Master Na, but the injury risk is higher when we do it ourselves."
Park Soon-gi chimed in.
"No one would believe it if we said that anywhere else."
Na Gang-in left the five agents to their self-training and drilled the idols.
One agent pointed at the idols while sipping an ion drink.
"Look at them. Doing it super easy."
"Yeah. If we'd been taught that easily, we'd have coasted."
"He grabbed us, threw us, kicked us to teach, but with them, he catches them so they don't get hurt falling or rolling. Whoa. The favoritism is real."
Min Young-hee said,
"The day before yesterday, I was on actress security and shoved past reporters blocking the way—what do you think happened?"
"You knocked them down again?"
"No. I could push and pull them exactly as I wanted. I could handle one or two before, but the day before yesterday, I did it against several at once."
"Thanks to Total Fist Way?"
"What else?"
A military special forces agent shared his experience too.
"I tested it in my unit—seven guys lined up and rushed me, and I took them all down. Know what happened?"
"What?"
"Our brigade commander saw and warned that if I wash out here, I'm done in the unit too. I have to stick it out."
"Me too."
"Same."
Na Gang-in drilled the eight idols.
"How bad?"
"You can't compare them to active agents. But they're idols, so their bodies should be decent, right?"
"Hm... So what's the countermeasure?"
"Huh? Do some gymnastics and they become Earth Union soldiers?"
"If you train like that and make lowest-tier reserves, is it helpful?"
"Hm... Meaning even short training has effects?"
"Alright. Let's go with that."
Na Gang-in said to the idols,
"Okay, okay. After testing, the conclusion is your balance is so off that regular training won't mean much."
The maknae Choi Ji-hye complained,
"Wow, we really worked super hard!"
"You just worked hard—that's it. I'll teach you one gymnastics routine. Do this every day. That way your balance evens out, and you won't end up in the hospital later."
Na Gang-in taught the eight idols a gymnastics routine from the Earth Union reserve training program.
Choi Ji-hye raised her hand.
"Teacher! This is too hard!"
"Yeah. It'll get harder. This won't cut it, so now we're doing crash course training."
The five agents watched the idols' training and commented,
"Whoa, now Master Na's throwing them too."
"There we go."
"If only it was just us getting tossed, it'd be too pathetic."
"But that doesn't look like Total Fist Way moves?"
The gymnastics included motions applicable to attack and defense, but they didn't have the combat feel like when the agents learned them.
Park Soon-gi said,
"Should we ask to learn that too?"
Choi Nam-su hushed him.
"Quiet. Just learning Total Fist Way is killing us."
Shin Eun-ha arrived with PC bang night part-timer Yoon A-reum, loaded with food.
"Eat up first!"
Choi Ji-hye, on the verge of collapsing from exhaustion, shot her hand up.
"F-food first! We can rest during meals, right?!"
Yoon A-reum gawked at everyone.
"Whoa! So many celebrities here!"
In combat, hot meals are hard to come by. That's why field tactical cooking focused on stuff that tasted fine cold.
Na Gang-in had made plenty of that and brought it here. Since the gym was in the same neighborhood, Shin Eun-ha handled delivery. Yoon A-reum tagged along aiming for the food.
During the break, everyone gathered to eat.
The maknae Choi Ji-hye vowed before putting a spoonful in her mouth.
'Eat slow. Eat long to rest more.'
But after one bite, that thought vanished. She couldn't stop shoveling.
Having burned stamina rolling all morning made the food taste even better.
"What? Unnie Eun-ha, why's this so delicious?"
Shin Eun-ha boasted,
"Gang-in oppa made it ahead for you all to eat. Oh, the agents too."
Choi Ji-hye marveled,
"Whoa. Not just good at martial arts. Cooking too. Totally my type."
Shin Eun-ha snorted.
"Yeah, sure. High schooler Choi Ji-hye. You know even flirting with him would land Gang-in oppa in jail socially?"
"Nah, I just said that 'cause it's so good. I'm on your side, unnie."
"Aww, Ji-hye's the sweetest here? Eat lots."
Yoon A-reum asked,
"But why are idols learning martial arts from Gang-in oppa?"
The maknae Choi Ji-hye bragged about the wild boar incident between bites.
"So back then, our teacher blocked that wild boar with two iron pipes and just beat it down! Oh, who ate that boar? Teacher caught it, but did the neighbors eat it?"
"Hold on. Why do you keep calling Gang-in oppa 'teacher'?"
"'Cause he's a makeup artist teacher. Now he's trainer teacher."
"Huh? Gang-in oppa's good at makeup too?"
Shin Eun-ha boasted from the side.
"I saw the video—Cheongdam-dong salon level. And super fast. So tomorrow, Gang-in oppa's doing my makeup?"
Yoon A-reum's eyes sparkled.
"Gang-in oppa. I wanna be pretty too. Do mine?"
Na Gang-in shook his head.
"No."
"So mean! Flat-out rejection!"
"It's not that. I don't do full basics— I just replicate the existing makeup on your face. So you need a proper past video."
"Ah..."
"Got one?"
"I'm a college freshman? No way I went to a salon for that in high school."
"That's why I can't do yours."
"Well, it's not that I have none at all... No. I don't. None."