Chapter 149
Chapter 149
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 149
Chapter Title: Antidote Treatment
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Cougar's gang used silencers, but the gunshots still rang out quite loudly. To Shin Eun-ha's group, the sounds of fighting right there in the hallway came through crystal clear.
Lee Bo-ra fretted.
"Who got hit? That scream just now—was it Oppa, Gang-in Oppa?"
That scream had come from the guy who'd been backstabbed by Lee Yeon-ji's toss courtesy of Na Gang-in.
Shin Eun-ha, overcome by the XVE gas, didn't even have the strength to shake her head.
"No way. Probably not."
"But..."
"I'm too weak to talk, so shut up and trust him."
Na Gang-in ducked behind a boxy decorative piece on one side of the hallway.
The gang's bullets couldn't pierce the decoration. And their ammo wasn't infinite.
Cougar barked an order.
"Cease fire! Hold! Conserve ammo!"
The mercenaries instantly pulled their fingers from the triggers and rested them on top of their pistols.
Cougar directed them.
"Keep them pinned while we flank..."
Na Gang-in suddenly grabbed the large box he'd been using for cover and hoisted it up with one hand. For a split second, his feet and ankles were exposed. The startled mercenaries snapped their fingers back to the triggers.
But Na Gang-in was faster than the mercenaries. He hurled the massive decoration—big enough for a person to hide inside—straight at the enemy.
What he'd thrown was made of solid metal and ceramic, heavy as hell. A direct hit could kill. Bullets wouldn't even budge it.
The moment he flung the statue, Na Gang-in charged straight at the enemy.
The flying statue smashed into the guy who'd been knocked back by the backstab to his shoulder, then rolled beyond him.
One of the guys who'd dodged to the side quickly raised his pistol toward Na Gang-in.
"You bastard..."
Na Gang-in grabbed the enemy's pistol, wrenched it outward, and kicked the guy square in the jaw.
"Gah!"
The enemy crumpled unconscious. Na Gang-in snatched his pistol.
Another enemy who'd dodged the other way spun around, saw the scene, and hurriedly aimed his pistol.
Na Gang-in pulled the trigger on the stolen gun. So did the enemy.
Na Gang-in was 0.2 seconds faster. In 0.2 seconds, a subsonic round could travel 50 meters. The bullet slammed into the enemy's right shoulder.
"Argh!"
The enemy did fire too. But his arm jerked from the shoulder hit, swinging the muzzle sideways. His shot buried itself harmlessly into an empty wall.
Na Gang-in fired three more rounds at the enemy. Bullets tore into his left shoulder and both legs in rapid succession.
"Aaaagh!"
The enemy could only scream as he lay sprawled backward.
He'd taken out three in a flash. But there was a problem.
Cougar had bolted while his men fought.
Na Gang-in aimed at the fleeing Cougar and fired. Almost simultaneously, Cougar dove around the corner. The shot sliced through empty air and chipped the wall.
AI Jeon Ji-in analyzed Cougar's footsteps and marked his current position. He was heading for the stairs.
Chasing now would catch Cougar. But the antidote was more urgent.
"The antidote?"
Na Gang-in checked one first. It had a combination lock you twisted to open.
He'd knocked two out cold but only shot the limbs of the third to subdue him. To get the code, he'd have to interrogate that one.
But there was no time for leisurely confessions.
Na Gang-in blasted the lock off with the pistol. The metal lock shattered in one shot.
He flung the bag open.
It was stuffed with jewels. Including the diamond Cougar had wrapped in a handkerchief.
"What the hell."
Jewels were useless right now.
Na Gang-in checked the other bag. It was locked too, but he shot that off as well.
He opened it. This one had useful stuff: three vials of medicine and syringes.
Using a mini flashlight from the mercenaries, Na Gang-in read the sticker on the vials.
"Ji-in, is this it?"
"These bastards really stole the antidote from that company."
Thank goodness for that.
"Good job, you pricks."
He pocketed the antidote and syringes. There were several syringes in the bag.
"They planned separate syringes for each? The ones who unleashed chemical weapons sure care about their own health."
AI Jeon Ji-in outlined the jammer in a red holographic border.
Na Gang-in shot the jammer to pieces too.
The gunshots rang out in bursts, then tapered off with screams. Soon even the sporadic shots stopped.
Shin Eun-ha didn't have the strength to lean against the wall. Neither did the others. Everyone except high schooler Lee Yeon-ji had slid to the floor.
Lee Yeon-ji was still standing.
Shin Eun-ha said.
"No more gunshots. The fight's over. What happened..."
Na Gang-in burst into the exhibition room.
"Eun-ha! Got the antidote! Injections time!"
AI Jeon Ji-in explained the dosage and administration from the vial.
Na Gang-in tore open a syringe's plastic wrap and drew the precise amount from the vial.
"Ji-in, I've never given a shot before."
AI Jeon Ji-in guided Na Gang-in's hand to inject Shin Eun-ha in the arm. Numb from the XVE gas, she barely felt a thing.
Na Gang-in administered the antidote shots to the others too.
For the last one, Lee Yeon-ji, he said as he injected her.
"After this, head to the rooftop. No gas up there."
The antidote worked fast. As the nerve disruption faded, strength returned. They were wobbly but could stand.
"Gonna need gas masks."
He knew where to find some.
Na Gang-in ran back to the mercenaries he'd just taken down. All three downed men wore mini gas masks. He yanked them off one by one.
The one shot in the limbs was still conscious. He squirmed.
"M-me too... I need a gas mask..."
"You need more gas."
Na Gang-in stripped his mask too.
"Should've clocked those guys back then."
"Anyway, these guys are tied to Jackal, so they were there that day."
"Then that must be Cougar."
Na Gang-in returned with the gas masks and fitted the first one on Shin Eun-ha.
Lee Bo-ra and Kim Yu-chan raised their hands in unison.
"Me too..."
"Save me."
Scarlett waved her hand.
"Somebody help me."
Na Gang-in gave the second mask to Kim Yu-chan.
"You're needed for something, Kim Yu-chan."
One left. He fitted it on Lee Yeon-ji.
Lee Yeon-ji said.
"I'm fine. I can move."
"You're a minor, fresh off surgery. You're in the worst shape here, so just take it."
Once Lee Yeon-ji had hers on, Na Gang-in said.
"The three with masks, help the others up to the rooftop."
Na Gang-in glanced back the way Cougar had fled—toward the stairs.
'Would he go to the rooftop in that situation? Grab a hostage there or jump to escape? Nah. Korean cops would nab him eventually.'
To avoid capture, Cougar had to use the XVE gas. Which was down in the basement.
Na Gang-in led the group out of the exhibition room first. He'd grabbed three enemy pistols too.
He needed one. That left two.
He handed one to Kim Yu-chan.
"Shot in the military?"
Kim Yu-chan nodded and took it.
"Only K2s, but I can handle pistols."
"That's why you got a mask. If you run into enemies, fight up front, risk your life."
Two armed was better than one. He eyed Scarlett and Jessica.
'Both American, maybe they've shot pistols.'
Shin Eun-ha held out her hand.
"I'll shoot."
"You know how?"
"Tried it at a pistol range."
"Shooting a hobby?"
"No. Figured being around you, Oppa, I'd need to shoot someday. So I learned."
"Holding a gun makes you a target..."
Shin Eun-ha whispered.
"Wore my Dragon Plate today."
"Huh? Why?"
"Planned to show it off to Scarlett, but why doesn't it block gas?"
"Wouldn't it be weirder if bulletproof armor blocked gas too?"
Na Gang-in handed her the pistol.
"Stay behind Yu-chan."
Shin Eun-ha ejected the mag to check ammo and asked.
"What about you, Oppa?"
"One left. Gotta catch him."
Shin Eun-ha patted the Dragon Plate under her clothes.
"I'll come with..."
"No backtalk. Go up. That's helping."
"Okay."
Lead actress Oh Se-na from Sunny Day asked cautiously.
"Gang-in, could you escort us to the rooftop?"
Na Gang-in shot it down flat.
"No."
"Pardon? Why?"
Na Gang-in figured Cougar had gone to the basement.
"Chemical weapons still down there."
"Eek! Eek! Let's hurry to the rooftop then!"
Shin Eun-ha asked.
"But why no mask for you, Oppa?"
His enhanced body was immune to XVE gas. But he couldn't say that.
"I got the antidote shot. I'm good."
"Still, staying here means you need one. Take mine at least..."
"Help the others up. That's helping. Oh, and comms should be back now."
Na Gang-in's smartphone had shattered fighting in the basement.
He held out his hand to Shin Eun-ha.
"Lend me your phone."
Even with silencers, pistol shots make noise. Small silencers muffle even less.
The shots inside the jewelry exhibition hall carried outside. Muffled enough a stranger might miss it, but anyone who knew could tell.
Two of Cougar's outside mercs reacted.
"Gunfight. They're blasting away."
"Armed guards?"
"All shots from our guns. Guards wouldn't have silenced pistols."
"Then we must've turned the guards into Swiss cheese by now."
Another merc radioed Cougar.
"Gunshots confirmed. Status?"
No reply. The uneasy merc pressed.
"The gas? Deployed?"
Still nothing.
His face hardened.
"Something's gone wrong."
His buddy worried.
"Botched the gas?"
"Damn. Makes this spot risky too. We retreat—"
Four plainclothes cops passing nearby suddenly wheeled toward them. Two whipped out pistols and aimed.
Orders were to shoot terrorists trying chemical weapons on sight. Their fingers hovered on triggers. Mags full of live rounds—no blanks. A twitch, and they fired, killing.
The other two drew tasers and fired without warning.
Wires stabbed into the mercs. Electricity surged through, scrambling nerves.
Both went down the same way.
Cougar's men convulsed from the shocks and collapsed.
The two pistol cops kept aiming. The taser ones swapped cartridges.
SWAT nearby rushed in and cuffed the downed mercs.
Three of Cougar's men watched the exterior. Two near the main entrance. One in a second-floor cafe across the street.
The cafe merc saw the entrance ones get taken and quietly stood.
'Busted. Gotta save myself.'
He turned to slip out.
Plainclothes cop Park Soon-gi sauntered up to the merc.
"Hey. Where you going?"