Chapter 146
Chapter 146
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 146
Chapter Title: Plunderer
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During the Gangnam Jackal incident, a few well-known names had been among the guests at Restaurant Penelope. The news lumped Shin Eun-ha in with them.
The government had deliberately grouped the victims from the seventh-floor restaurant in their announcement. It was originally meant to protect Scarlett Kelly, but it ended up shielding Shin Eun-ha's connection to her as well—since Na Gang-in had taken down Jackal while she was there.
That was why the international mercenary Cougar had no idea who Shin Eun-ha was.
But he'd known Scarlett Kelly's face for a while.
The international mercenary Cougar said quietly,
"That woman there. Isn't she the president of OmegaTech?"
One of his underlings glanced her way, then deliberately looked elsewhere.
"I'll confirm."
The underling searched the internet on his smartphone. There were plenty of photos of Scarlett Kelly on foreign sites.
"It's OmegaTech's president, confirmed."
Cougar scowled. He lightly pressed the transmit switch on his radio and asked,
"Any bodyguards outside the exhibition hall?"
The lookout outside reported back shortly after.
"She probably didn't want bodyguards tagging along while viewing jewelry."
"Probably Americans. OmegaTech security team."
"Let's assess the situation first."
Cougar scowled as he spoke.
"Word is Jackal got taken out by a Korean government secret agent."
That was the official line. The government had deliberately kept Na Gang-in's name out of it. A few reporters had chased leads on this nonexistent agent, but they all came up empty.
Cougar had visited Restaurant Penelope to check out the scene of the fight. It wasn't just idle curiosity about how Jackal went down—he was gathering intel in case that secret agent showed up again.
"That monster of an agent's combat prowess... we really need to watch out for it."
His takeaway back then: avoid direct confrontation at all costs.
He eyed Scarlett's group. Aside from one guy, they were all women.
Actresses like Shin Eun-ha and Lee Bora looked too slender to put up much of a fight. Lee Yeon-ji was still in high school, even smaller than the others.
But there was one solidly built man among the women: Kim Yu-chan.
Cougar's crew had only arrived in Korea recently, so they didn't recognize the actor Kim Yu-chan.
Cougar said,
"That guy with her. Korean agent protecting Scarlett?"
His underlings tensed up.
"Boss. Then that dude's the super-elite agent who wiped out Jackal's organization..."
"I wondered the same, but nah."
Cougar glanced at Kim Yu-chan again.
"No way an elite like that sticks around as a regular bodyguard. Might deploy after trouble starts, but not like this."
"Phew. Thank goodness. So he's..."
"Probably hired by the U.S. embassy, assigned by the Korean government, or OmegaTech security. Treat him like a top-tier bodyguard either way."
"Got it."
Cougar turned.
"Where's our target?"
The underling who'd scouted the exhibition hall yesterday pointed inward.
"This way."
Na Gang-in wasn't here to admire jewels.
He headed to the stairwell entrance at the back of the exhibition hall.
He peeked a small hand mirror around the corner. Jeon Ji-in reported.
"Blind spots?"
Jeon Ji-in highlighted a path.
"Wall-climbing again, huh."
Na Gang-in kicked off the stairwell wall and leaped up, then pushed off the ceiling corner to the opposite side. Dodging the CCTV, he climbed higher up the stairs.
The second-floor hall was empty, nothing on display.
The center of the second floor was open all the way through. Looking up from the first-floor center gave a rough view of the second.
Na Gang-in skirted more CCTV as he climbed higher. A door to the rooftop appeared.
"Digital door lock? Code?"
Na Gang-in lit up the keypad with his phone's flash. Jeon Ji-in scanned the surface.
Na Gang-in pressed his ear to the door to check for people on the roof.
"Hear any movement?"
Jeon Ji-in listened through his ear. Same sounds could be interpreted differently based on analysis skill—and hers was sharp enough to pinpoint footsteps behind walls.
"Let's go."
Na Gang-in tried 3-6-9-0.
No dice.
"Ji-in? That's not it?"
Dozens of possible four-digit combos from those numbers popped up in the air. 3690 glowed red.
"Kinda a lot?"
"Don't these locks make you wait minutes after a few wrong tries?"
Na Gang-in tried the second one on the list.
Wrong again.
"You said sorted by probability."
Jeon Ji-in's voice softened a bit.
"So if it's wrong, it's my fault? Ji-in's getting better at blaming me."
The entrance area featured mostly synthetic gems and cheap trinkets.
Deeper in, better jewelry appeared.
Even further was a special room with raw stones, guarded tightly with security right by the door.
Cougar grinned the moment he stepped in.
"Whoa. Diamonds."
He sized up a massive raw diamond with his fingers.
"This is it. Exactly what I wanted. Director Cha's intel checks out."
His underling chimed in.
"Boss, looks like just a clear rock to me."
"Process this baby right, and it'll fetch ten million bucks as the diamonds we know."
The underling snickered.
"Heh. Ten million."
"We'll split and cut it up before selling, so not quite that much."
Art and artifacts could be traced, but rough diamonds? Cut 'em up, and good luck tracking.
Cougar scanned the room. Plenty of other gems and stones on display.
"Look at all this good stuff. Grab it all, and ten mil's chump change."
The underling's face lit up with excitement.
"Boss, this beats every project you've pulled so far. Hope we get gigs like this all the time."
"High risk, high reward this time. Can't do it often or we get burned. One big score, then live like kings."
"Wise move, Boss."
The eighth combo, 6309, was the winner. The rooftop door unlocked.
"Got it."
Jeon Ji-in warned.
"Jam it."
Na Gang-in pulled a leather tool pouch from his inner pocket. Guided by Jeon Ji-in, he disabled the sensor in seconds using the tools inside.
"Quick work."
Na Gang-in cracked the door open.
"Other sensors?"
The AR lens marked half the rooftop as monitored. The other half was safe.
Plus, that CCTV faced away from the door, toward the opposite side.
Na Gang-in stepped out onto the roof.
"Why's it pointing the wrong way?"
"This place's security's a bit iffy. Target the blind spots, and it's breachable."
"I know. That was a compliment."
Na Gang-in moved into the camera's blind zone, pretending to inspect an AC unit.
"If this is really the chem-weapon terror target, someone's gotta be watching the building from outside, right? Anyone overlooking the roof?"
"What about below?"
Na Gang-in peeked over the edge.
Jeon Ji-in reported instantly.
He'd seen those faces before, at the local diner.
"Scarlett shows up, they tag along. Obvious stuff—why state it?"
Na Gang-in walked back to the AC unit.
"Show me the footage."
A holographic feed appeared: the hall, first-floor parking lot outside, surrounding buildings. Scarlett's bodyguards were in frame.
Jeon Ji-in boxed a guy at a cafe window.
"Zoom."
The man's face enlarged beside him. Clips looped of him glancing at the bodyguards.
"Sure he's watching?"
"Other clues?"
"Suspicious, yeah."
Na Gang-in had come to the roof to check for threats up top. Nothing there. The cafe guy needed looking into, but first things first.
"Machine room and vents probably in the basement, right?"
"Let's head there."
Na Gang-in bypassed stair sensors on the way down to the first floor, then called Park Soon-gi—the police agent and fellow Total Power practitioner.
Park picked up and immediately unleashed.
Na Gang-in cut him off.
"Chem-weapon terror takes priority, no?"
"Jewelry exhibition in Jongno right now. Runs yesterday through tomorrow. Scarlett Kelly's inside."
"Guess all that hardship paid off—she brought two bodyguards."
"Someone seems to be watching those bodyguards."
"Sending you the location. Send someone if you can spare 'em to tail the guy."
Park Soon-gi's tone grew serious.
"Checking if this is the chem-terror spot."
"Will do."
Na Gang-in hung up and scanned the first floor.
Ideally, he'd get Shin Eun-ha and the others out before heading to the basement.
But they were nowhere in sight.
"Where'd they go?"
With multiple exhibit rooms, they could be tucked away out of view.
He called Shin Eun-ha.
No connection.
"Hm?"
Jeon Ji-in warned.